Wrapping on a Budget

This Christmas, after one too many plane tickets and hair color appointments, and I am broke as a joke. Luckily, I already have most of my gifts, but after checking out the craft closet it has come to my attention that I have very little seasonal wrapping paper. This afternoon I stumbled upon some simple and creative packaging techniques on Design Sponge. My favorite (which I will be trying out tomorrow evening) is the Magazine Bow. A fantastic tutorial can be found at How About Orange.
(Picture by How About Orange)

November Snow

It actually snowed today! In the city! Before Thanksgiving! It was brief and slushy and had no hope of sticking, but we may get more tomorrow. In honor of our first snow:

(Gram's friends circa 1942)

apt. 2b baking co.

A friend who I went to college with just started up her own baking company out of NYC, apt.2b baking co. The online shop is suppose to open before the holidays and judging by the photos on her blog, it's going to be amazing. I'm totally inspired to start baking some of my own winter treats.
(Photo by Yossy, apt. 2b baking co.)

The Photo Booth

Have I ever mentioned that I love photo booths? I have quite the collection of bookmark sized black & whites. My friend asked us to visit the photo booth at Ace Hotel for her birthday last Friday and it was a delight. If I a) ever get married and b) have the money, I'm going to have one of these at my wedding.

Movie of the Month: Home for the Holidays

This movie isn't vintage (unless you count the 90s as vintage - and many do), but it is my most favorite holiday movie ever. It makes me laugh. Cry. Pine for the hunky Dylan McDermott. It's about as perfect as a movie can get. And the cast! Holly Hunter, Robin Downey Jr., Claire Danes (not pictured) and the late-great Anne Bancroft. I can't wait to snuggle up with some cocoa for my annual viewing.

Sunday Soup

Today was our first real rain this fall. It was also the perfect opportunity to stay in and cook some soup. My friend sent me a link to Potato-Leek Soup by David Lebovitz. Cheap, easy and delicious.

Getting in the Spirit

Free vintage halloween cards here. Yay.

Costume Inspiration

Terrariums

Terrariums appeal to me for 2 reasons. 1: They are easy to maintain. 2: They look whimsical. If a tiny fairy happened by, she may be tempted to rest for a bit here.

Today I made my first terrarium at Artemisia, a lovely shop around the corner that specializes in indoor gardening. It was surprisingly tricky to pick, choose and place my objects, but the end result was totally worth it. And made a great birthday gift for Emma.

So long sweet summer

I'm not really ready to let go of summer, but the rain is making it VERY difficult to hang on. In my futile attempt to delay the inevitable, here is a picture that represents everything summer: the beach, a bathing-suit, sun, laughter, friends, toe-nail polish, happiness. The model is my Grandma Edie circa 1939.

Movie of the Month: An Education

An Education stars Carey Mulligan as Jenny, the bright school girl who blossoms into a sophisticated (though somewhat naive) young woman, with the guidance of David, her charming, much older seducer. Oh lord, where to begin? If there ever was a film that made me want to be a costume designer, this is it. Every dress, shoe, tie and button are to die for. Happily, the acting and cinematography are just as stunning.




This film really resonates with my inner dreamer. As a teenager I longed to be sophisticated, to be in Paris and drink wine by the river. But as Jenny learns, adulthood is not something one can simply jump in to. In one of my favorite moments of the film, Jenny asks her school mistress, played by the brilliant Emma Thompson, if she thinks of Jenny as a ruined woman. Her reply? "You're not a woman." Touché, Ms. Thompson, touché.

Old School

This has been a big month for birthdays. My favorite gift purchase - if I can pick a favorite - was a clothbound copy of Jane Eyre (Penguin Classics). So beautiful. And heavy, like books ought to be.


(Anthropologie)

One Year Older

Wrapping paper that was almost as exciting as my presents.

Movies Al Fresco

Tonight I'm headed downtown for an outdoor showing of Sixteen Candles and I have to take a moment to be thankful for the resurgence of outdoor cinema. Drive-In Theaters are a dying breed. But outdoor movies are all the rage in parks across the nation. We may not have the privacy of our own car or the 1950's nostalgia, but I am more than happy to munch on popcorn in Pioneer Square (for free no less).
(Image courtesy of this site)

The Great Outdoors

What summer would be complete without camping? My girlfriends and I spent the past weekend at Lost Lake, a gorgeous campsite at the foot of Mt. Hood. Before we left I pulled out this photo of my Grandma Kathy (2nd from left) and her girlfriends, circa 1943.

Today, nylon tents and handy-wipes are necessities for the modern camper, but it's surprisingly easy to give your camping trip a vintage feel. Handkerchiefs, plaid-shirts and rolled jeans are timeless staples that are easy to pack. A handmade banner or flag adds a little classic flair. We also did plenty of campfire singing (to the delight of our neighbors) and s'more making.

Movie of the Month: To Catch a Thief

Alfred Hitchcock was a genius. I've seen most of his movies, but the only one I actually own is To Catch a Thief. Grace Kelly is unstoppable. Rich and fashionable, a bit spoiled, mischievous and clever. Her outfits alone could carry the film. And then there is her counterpart, the "cat burglar" himself played by the dashing and witty Cary Grant.





If I wasn't already fantasizing about the French Riviera, this film would do the trick. The waters are warm, the air is sweet, the villas are charming and the people are beautiful. I'm not entirely sure that the Riviera is this luxurious, but Hitchcock does a superb job of making us believe it is.
(To Catch a Thief, 1955).

Daddio

Happy Fathers Day! I found this retro children's book in the library at my work and thought it was very fitting for today.



(What Fathers Do, 1977)


(The best dad in the world...mine. 1976)

Plaid

I'm a little funny about trends. When a trend first hits, I tend to avoid it like the plague. But then later, usually when its shininess has worn off, I give in. Plaid is timeless, which is probably one of the reasons why I like it.

My grandpa was renowned for his plethora of plaid shirts. My super talented brother, Simon, put together a Visual Biography of our late grandfather. I especially love Simon's plaid gradient (above) featuring an assortment of grandpa's finest plaid.

Paris '71

Recipe: Bliztkuchen (Lightening Cake)

I inherited from Grandma Edie a 1953 edition of "The Joy of Cooking." I keep finding her handwritten notes in the margins, hidden messages intended to save me from kitchen disasters.

It took a long time to narrow down my first recipe and in the process I learned what aspic was (yum!). Opting for something safe I chose to bake Blitzkuchen, a German tea cake known for it's quick baking time. My co-worker says it tastes a bit like a Snicker-doodle, but the cake version.



Beat together until light and creamy:
1 cup powdered or granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter
Stir in:
4 well-beaten egg yolks
1/2 tsp vanilla

In a separate bowl, sift together:
1 1/8 cup cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
Combine wet and dry ingredients, then mix in:
3 Tbsp milk

In a separate bowl, whip until stiff:
4 egg whites
1/4 tsp salt
Fold egg whites lightly into the batter mix.

Place the batter in 2 greased 8x12 inch pans (*I cheated and used one 9x13 pan). Spread top with 1 egg white mixed with 1 Tbsp water. Sprinkle on top:
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup shredded almonds
Bake cake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Birch Bay

I spent the rainy Memorial Day weekend with my family in Birch Bay, WA., a small, infamous beach town about an hour south of the Canadian Border. Our family has been going to Birch Bay for generations. We meet there every August for the Graves Family Reunion (which happens to coincide nicely with crab season). To most outsiders Birch Bay is a pokey little town with a mish-mash of quaint beach cottages and large, impersonal condos, tacky t-shirt stands, and a rinky-dink water park better known as 'Wild n' Wet'. But to us, there is no place like it. (Pictured above: Some of the Graves Family circa 1960)


(The Seven Dwarfs Cabins - part of Davidson's Terrace and owned by my Great Grandfather and Grandmother)


(Great Grandma Eva outside of the Davidson's Terrace Gift Shop)

Like many beach towns, Birch Bay saw its hay-day in the 1950s and 60s, when it could boast such attractions as the Birch Bay Carnival, the Roller Rink, and Dance Hall. According to my mom, on summer holidays the cars were lined up, bumper to bumper, on the waterfront road.


(Aunt Susie with Davidson Terrace in the background, 1955).