Norma Jean lives on

Good afternoon from BeaverCleaverville!
I've been spending a lot of my sick time reading and watching biographies and documentaries. I guess I have never realized even in my own life how much of an impact Norma Jean had on me and my fashion. Of course when I refer to Norma Jean I am referring to none other than Marilyn Monroe.

Born in 1926 Norma Jean had no easy life. She was in and out of foster care and orphanages most of her early life leaving her with the feeling of never truly being loved or wanted.
In 1945 she went to work in a munitions factory where she was discovered during a shoot for a pro-American advertising. She was later introduced to several agencies and in the 50s her career took off' with two major events: she signed with MGM studios and posed for Hugh Hefner in a Playboy magazine.

(Iconic image from "the seven year itch")

During what would be the hay day of her career Marilyn suffered multiple tragedies in the form of her marriages, first to baseball great Joe DiMaggio and then playwright Arthur Miller. Unfortunately these men couldn't cope with the sexual caliber of Marilyn's personality and how brightly she shone in public. To these men they simply wanted a wife, but the world wanted their Marilyn Monroe.

Unfortunately like many who are thrust too quickly into fame and want so desperately to be loved tragedy struck the world on August 5th 1962 and as the famous song goes "her candle burned out long before her legend ever will." 

There is a lot of mystery and theories surrounding the death of Marilyn Monroe. I say she was still little Norma Jean looking to be loved. Well we love you now! You were and are one of the greatest icons to ever walk this earth! 

Forever stuck in the 50s

The modern Lucy Ricardo 

New project

Good afternoon from BeaverCleaverville!
Seeing as I am about to have my PICC line placed next week sometime I have been on the hunt for some covers for it. I found a few on etsy and eBay but I wasn't wowed. I decided that I would take it upon myself to make them. Here is the material I found:

They should go over the line and keep all the extra tubing in place....then again I have never sewn before so this should be interesting lol!

I'll keep you posted on my progress! 

First I measured my bicep and then added 1 1/2 inches to each side so I could have overlap for the Velcro. 

I decided it would be 15 1/2 by 5 inches. I also decided to also work with my snowflake material first that's way if I mess up I have my nicer material left over.

I began by checking he length and the width twice before cutting.

Then I began to hand sew the pieces, which us no easy task!

Hopefully I'll show you the finished product tomorrow!

Forever stuck in the 50s

The modern Lucy Ricardo 

Health update

Good evening from BeaverCleaverville!
I apologize for not being around this weekend but my health took a bit of a turn this weekend. I've been extremely ill since Brimfield flea market weekend and been going downhill. My nausea and vertigo have made even the simplest tasks almost impossible.
Today was my second appointment with my Lyme doctor. It was determined that I had lost ALOT more weight than I had thought due to my insane nausea and my hair loss had increased. after much discussion (and mind she has tried me on several antibiotic treatments now) it has been decided that we will now be going the Iv antibiotic route.
Next week I'll have a PICC line inserted in my arm for up to three months. The Iv line will go directly to my heart and will be a feed for the antibiotics for my treatment. To say I am not nervous would be a lie, but to think I will have some relief from the excruciating stomach pain and nausea, at this point I am willing to try anything.
I will keep you up to date as the procedure date comes closer and show pictures when it is done.
On a happier note this weekend was spent celebrating my aunts birthday with a good old fashion barbecue. While my nausea did interfere in some ways it was wonderful to be around my family and have time to relax. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well.
Forever stuck in the 50s
The modern Lucy Ricardo

De cluttering

Good afternoon from BeaverCleaverville!
Did you ever notice (either if you can remember) or if you have seen photos from the 50s their houses were so neat and tidy and never cluttered? I often wonder how to go about doing that in my own life. It's a seemingly overwhelming task indeed to declutter your life, and for someone like me, that sees memories in everything, it is even harder. More and more though, things have begun to overwhelm instead of me enjoying them.

(Not my house!!!!!! Lol just a fear of what I might become some day lol)
So I've begun to come up with a philosophy that I think may just work. If I haven't put it to use in the past six months and it isn't of deep emotional value....chuck it or donate it. I am quite fond of donating things that others can use. As I have stated before I get quite a bit of my vintage clothing from second hand stores and to repay them for getting my clothing at a bargain I often donate my gently used modern clothing or household goods right back to the same stores I shop at. I personally use Salvation Army but I also recommend Goodwill or something new in our area is one called the ReStore. It supports Habitat for Humanity which is a really good charity and the store will actually come and pick up your furniture and household goods for you.
I hope this has gotten you thinking. I'm certainly off to start some of my projects!

Forever stuck in the 50s
The modern Lucy Ricardo

Biker......Gentlemen?

Good afternoon from BeaverCleaverville!
So today for the first time in awhile I got to go out to lunch with my family. It was quite enjoyable and my son was quite excited as well. Well Thursdays for us is "clam box day" so off we went to our favorite seafood restaurant.
Once we arrive Zachary went off to "help" grandpa and I agonized over the menu to find something gluten free (no easy task). Behind me strolled in a group of three burly typical older "biker guys". Rags on their heads, cut off tops, and my son was fascinated with them. I'm never one to judge so while I was watching carefully he chatted with them and I told them a bit about the restaurant and that was that. Them seemed nice enough but a bit on the rough side still.
Well boy did they prove me wrong outside. Outside when we were leaving my son Zachary spotted those motorcycles and went crazy wanting to see them. Those three "tough guys" turned into teddy bears and goo cooing and oozing wanting to be the first to reeve their engine for him, which only got Zachary more excited. Then one kindly offered "do you want to honk the horn?" Well Zachary marched right up and pressed the button and the other two obliged with allowing him to as well.
My son didn't stop talking about it the whole way home!! "Mommy I honked the motorcycle horn! I honked it!"
I know those three gentlemen will probably never read this but I can't thank them enough for making my son's day! You truly were my sons heroes today!
Forever stuck in the 50s
The modern Lucy Ricardo

Happiness is a warm cat

Good morning from BeaverCleaverville!
Finally I find myself fever free! I woke to my 20lb Maine coon curled up and purring on my chest waiting to be scratched. While Oreo had always been a cuddly boy he had never been THIS cuddly. I enjoyed this fluffy warm ball of love while I woke up and thought about why anybody wouldn't want a cat.
Egyptians had worshiped cats as gods. Anyone who injured or killed a cat was themselves murdered. Cats were given places of honor on homes and treated royally in homes. Proof of this was shown I. The jeweled mummified remains of cats found in royal tombs in Egypt centuries later.

Siamese cats were considered royal creatures in Thailand and also treated like gods. (And in my humble opinion one of the most beautiful breeds)

Even the famous Russian royalty of the Romanovs (Anastasia's family) had many cats. So maybe there is something to owning a cat...seems to me the royals thought so. I personally own three very lucky black cats including my rare tuxedo Maine coon 

So if you would like to feel like royalty own a kitty! 

Forever stuck in the 50s

The modern Lucy Ricardo 

Recipe from gluten free on a shoe string

Good afternoon from BeaverCleaverville!
I realized I haven't shared a gluten free recipe in awhile and I found a delicious one from gluten free on a shoe string so I thought I would pass it along:

Gluten free lemon pudding cake

Prep time: 10 minutes       Cook time: 35 minutes       Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

Zest of 1 lemon
3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (2 fluid ounces) freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 big, juicy lemon should do it)
3 eggs (180 g total, out of shells) at room temperature, separated
1 cup (8 fluid ounces) milk, at room temperature (any kind of milk should be fine, just not nonfat)
2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (70 g) basic gum-free gluten free flour blend (46 g superfine white rice flour + 15 g potato starch + 9 g tapioca starch/flour)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease 6 small (about 6-ounce) oven-safe jars or ramekins and place 
  them in a large pan with at least 2-inch sides. Fill the pan with water that reaches about 1-inch up the sides of the greased jars or ramekins. Set the pan aside.
• In a blender, place the lemon zest and granulated sugar. Blend until the zest is fully integrated into the sugar, and is very fragrant. Add 3 tablespoons of the lemon juice (reserving the final tablespoon), egg yolks (set the whites aside), milk, butter, flour blend and salt, and blend until the mixture is smooth. It will be a relatively thin liquid. Set the carafe of the blender aside while you beat the egg whites.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or a large bowl with a handheld mixer), place the egg whites. Beat on medium speed until the egg whites become frothy. Add the remaining tablespoon lemon juice, and continue to beat on medium-high speed until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. The addition of the remaining tablespoon of lemon juice to the egg whites as they beat creates fluffier and more stable whipped egg whites. Slowly pour the blender mixture of the other ingredients along the side of the bowl of whipped egg whites, and carefully fold the mixture in to the egg whites until few if any white streaks remain. Divide the mixture among the prepared jars or ramekins in the water bath. It will be very pourable. Open the preheated oven and pull the lower rack out about half way. Carefully place the pan on the rack, and pour about another inch of water into the pan to bring the water bath a total of about 2-inches up the sides of the jars or ramekins. Push the oven rack all the way, close the door and bake until the cakes are puffed and very pale golden (about 35 minutes). Remove the pan from the oven, and transfer the cakes to a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes before dusting lightly with confectioners’ sugar and serving warm. The cakes can be covered and stored in the refrigerator, but they will shrink a bit as they chill in the refrigerator.
• 
  
• Happy baking!!
• Forever stuck in the 50s
• The modern Lucy Ricardo