A very pink christmas

Last night Mickey's Pink Ladies held our first Secret Santa exchange and Pink Christmas evening at the Grand Hotel lobby in Downtown Disney. 

The Lobby of the Grand is always gorgeous but especially so during the holidays, I can't say it enough it's just beautiful. We were even interrupted by caroler's during our secret santa who gave us a front row seat for some fantastic renditions of holiday songs. 

My outfit was inspired by my new favorite movie Frozen, so I was feeling extra winter-y and festive.

The people sitting across from us said I looked like a Disney star, I am not sure what that means but it kind of made my night. 

I am so thankful for a wonderful evening with all these fantastic ladies. 

Lunch at the Orange Circle

Had another day trip to one of my favorite local areas, the Orange Circle. I had bought one of my beloved Groupon deals for an extra discount at Watson's Drugstore. Since my mother had the week off thanks to Thanksgiving I figured what a better time then to enjoy a few hours pretending it's the 1950's.

We split an amazing chef salad and curly fries, accompanied by cream soda... one of my favorite diner indulgences. She treated herself to some pumpkin ice cream for dessert, unfortunately I was too stuffed to partake but I did manage a bite or two...

After eating we hit a few of the regular antique malls and I even found a lovely Elvis record to add to the collection and a pink wicker purse, which happens to be one of my obsessions at the moment and for less then $20 and on sale I couldn't say no.

I still have to make time to make one more trip before the year's end to enjoy all the lovely Christmas decorations. It really is so quaint and beautiful around there.

Outfit Details:

Top: Savers $3

Skirt: Elle, Kohls $24

Sunglasses: Amazon $7

Bag: Peace Ribbon Project, Goodwill $5

Winter Fashion Inspirations

One of the unfortunate things about living in Southern California is our lack of seasons. Yes, it's true the weather is lovely most of the year which is a blessing, but I love the changing of seasons, especially when it comes to Autumn and Winter.

So even if it's just wishful thinking I've been googling some vintage ads of colder weather clothing just to torture myself. And then you look at the prices and you die all over again.

I want every single one of these, I still want a personal seamstress.

I guess for now I'll just have to settle with throwing on a stole and hat on particularly chilly days.

My personal vendetta against the pre-bought wall of Halloween costumes

I love Halloween. It's been my favorite holiday for as long as I can remember. I'm not a huge fan of horror or being too scared but I love the theatricality of it all. I love the dressing up, I love carving pumpkins, I love watching Thriller every single Halloween without fail. There is one thing however about Halloween I just cannot stand for and that is buying a pre-made costume in a bag.

I took my annual trip to 'Party City' yesterday. I needed a wig last minute, and synthetic or not I didn't have the time for any other option. To be honest the quality of the one I purchased is better then I thought it would be which was a surprise but that's neither here nor there.

Back to my vendetta. When I was a child my mother made all my costumes till about grade 4 when I cried and complained about wanting a 'real costume' from the store and not something my mommy had made me. I suppose the rebellion had already hit me and I thought a store costume would be more adult or more cute, who knows how a 12 year old's mind works.  So I picked out a southern belle dress that never looked even slightly similar to the photo on the bag and was more then unflattering on my not exactly ideal frame. We bought my costumes from a party store wall the next few years. A jester, a teen witch(with a bare stomach! Yikes) and freshman year of high school a 'sexy nurse'. Every years' costume had a dilemma that came with it. The fabric was see through or snagged before even getting it on, rips and holes and just shoddy craftsmanship that we payed right through the nose for.  And to boot every year there were other girls with my same exact costume, accessorized identically like a handful of Halloween clones.

Then sophomore year of high school I discovered my love for vintage and the thrift store and I found my costume that year for only $10. An authentic 1970's flower print jumpsuit. I still have it in my costume trunk, I couldn't bare to part with it. All I bought from the party store that year was a cheap pair of plastic peace sign earrings, and I'd never been prouder of a costume. I had no wardrobe malfunctions and no costume clones- I had been converted. 

Now when I posted the photo above on my Instagram and commented slightly on my distaste for the 'wall of costumes' I lost a few followers and was reminded a few times about the fact that a lot of people don't have the money to spend on more elaborate costumes and such and all they can do is get an inexpensive costume and try to accessorize it better then others might conceive possible. But that's the thing that really gets me, because all those costumes are far too expensive for what you actually receive. 

The companies who manufacture these cheap, flimsy costumes prey on people as if they have no better option then to buy what they can offer and people should not accept that. If money is tight and you have a family with children you should not be shelling out $50 a kid on a crummy polyester suit that can't even sufficiently cover their bodies and ultimately just allows them to conform. 

Instead we should garner creativity and being thrifty and smart on Halloween. Learn to sew, or scrounge through vintage second-hand or thrift stores, go through your closets and find or create your own characters to dress up as. The costumes you remember each year are the ones off the beaten path that remind you of the imaginations of the people around you. And that's what I try to remember every Halloween, not to buy into the costume but to commit to who or what I want to be and make it the way that only I could.

Disneybounding Snow White: 1950's Style

For our October meet and greet the fellow Mickey's Pink Leaders and myself thought it would be fun to ask the girls to come to Disneyland in our Disneybounding best. (For more on Disneybounding check out disneybound.tumblr.com - they reblogged my post which is so flattering!)

I had to be my favorite princess Snow White, I didn't even have a choice.  She's always my first choice, although I do have a few characters in mind for the future...it really was so much fun, I want to do it every week! ;)

Another year, another ticket to twenties

Another of my favorite annual events has come and gone. the Ticket to the Twenties festival and the Workman Temple Homestead museum. 

I always attend with my mother, and we always have a great time. This year seemed even more crowded then the last two years combined! Even the nearly 100 degree weather didn't seem to scare people away.

The day for me was full of a fantastic silent film with live accompaniment, enjoying lots of wonderful live music, a lovely fashion show out on my the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles and some delicious ice cream from a food truck.(I know, not exactly Gatsby Afternoon level authentic) 

As always I leave feeling bittersweet that every weekend can't be a little bit more 20's. 

 

Dapper Day Fall 2013

Another Dapper Day at Disneyland had come and passed. This fall day was a real doozy, during a bit of a heatwave with humid nearly 100 degree weather it was pretty hard to feel too dapper, but we all did our best. 

After the drama of my dress breaking the day or so before and the warm weather I wanted to be a little more casual then dapper days of the past, not out of want but necessity. I decided to stow the furs and glitz away for next time when I can actually enjoy wearing them. 

It's really been amazing seeing how each event becomes more and more crowded in attendance, and now with the addition of 'dapper disney bounding' the creativity level has just gone through the roof. I love looking at everybody's outfits and what they've managed to come up with. 

I've started to feel a bit like Dapper Day has become a new 'Halloween' for me, where once it's over I just start planning for next time. Constantly looking at the antique malls and thrift stores for that something extra special that will be used at dapper day. And now the countdown begins till February... 

How to survive Dapper Day at Disneyland

Well, unfortunately the old blog has been really neglected since I've been without a working computer for the past few months. I'm still surviving with just my iPhone and iPad and unfortunately neither of them are too blog writing conducive. 

Anywho with one of my favorite 'Disney holidays' approaching and a few events under my belt I'd thought I'd write down a few tips on the extra precautions to take when attending Dapper Day.

If you are either not a constant vintage wearer, or perhaps not a frequent theme park visitor a day like Dapper Day can easily be overwhelming. But hopefully with a little extra preparation you can make the day go much smoother.

1. Check the weather report. Dress appropriately.

Now this might seem obvious but I cannot stress enough, know what to expect from Mother Nature. This upcoming fall dapper day is supposed to be 100 degrees! Now I am going to stick it out with the dress I bought but I've nixed the fur stole and back seamed stockings. Don't make it harder then yourself then it already will be.

2. Take all the pictures. 

Honestly, you'll want them, so just take as many as you can bear. Some of my past dapper day photos are my favorites at the park, and being dressed up really adds something special.

3. Pack smart.

Charge batteries beforehand or bring a spare. Don't forget a phone charger. Being makeup for touch ups and Tylenol for headaches. Bring band aids for blisters and sunscreen for uv protection. Make a checklist. You won't regret it when you leave for the resort and know you have everything you'll need for the long day ahead.

4. Pick shoes you know you can walk all day in.

Plain and simple. I learned my lesson when I wore a pair of vintage heels earlier this year and had to leave in the afternoon because my feet could barely walk. As much as your look may be important, try to choose something that's both cute and relatively comfortable. Or bring flats to switch in and out of during the day.

5. Be friendly

It's a great experience to walk around the park being greeted by strangers with 'happy dapper day' and complimenting each others' wardrobe choices. Attend the meet ups and talk to other attendees. It will make the day so much more amazing!

6. Enjoy the theme.

I enjoy theming my outfits to the time when Disneyland would have first been opened in the late 50's, and I get so much joy out of incorporating tidbits from that era into my day. I change my iPhone ringtone to a favorite 1950's song, I buy 1950's candy to put in my vintage purse and bring along a 1950's magazine for photo opportunities. By any means don't pack for a photoshoot, but by bringing along a few things you can really enhance your experience.

Well, that's the best I can muster! I can't even wait till Friday, my third Dapper Day here I come!

Have you attended Dapper Day before? What tips would you give a first time attendee?

Wondercon Adventures 2013

It's that time of year again, and that sweet, albeit sticky(maybe closer to musky) smell of Comic Conventions is in the air.

This year Wondercon suddenly was here and I hadn't planned anything at all, so I was pleasantly surprised when my old SDCC roomie Jennifer asked to stay with me as she was coming down from San Francisco. I knew I hadn't reserved much energy for the weekend so I was glad she would be there to kick me into action a bit more then I would do for myself.

Honestly, conventions always fly by in such a blur, there's so much to talk about but then suddenly it's gone quicker then it had begun and you just have to attempt to gather all the pieces you're left with.

So instead of any sort of in-depth line up, here's my highlights:

Friday: The first day of the convention is always overwhelming, and since there wasn't much in the way of panels that interested me, I spent most of the time on the exhibit floor. Jennifer brought me to the Jason Palmer booth, where we oogled lots of art and I bought too many buttons. We saw the WB Archives Panel with the legendary Ron Ely (Look him up ladies, he used to be Tarzan) and a writer's panel (we had to see Jane Espenson). After the convention we met up with some of Jennifer's Nerd HQ posse at Umami Burger, where I'd never been. They have some pretty stellar sweet potato fries. Then we headed to The Anaheim Grove to see The Nerdist Podcast, which was AMAZING. I actually won the tickets and the whole experience was fun, I have been addicted to that podcast since it's inception so meeting those guys was a-ok.

Saturday: All I cared about Saturday was getting into the Vikings panel. I've been hooked on the new History Channel series since two minutes into the first episode, and I had a hard time containing my adoration. But Conventions are when it's okay to nerd-out, at-least that's what I'm told. I succeeded, and the rest of the day is a total blur.

Sunday: I wore a Star Trek inspired outfit, got called Star Trek Katy Perry too many times to count. Final day of the convention we spent most of the day in The Arena, The Much Ado About Nothing, Nerdist and Arrow Panels were all entertaining. I didn't manage to get an Arrow signing wristband, but my friend Jennifer did so I just stood inside the DC booth and oogled the cast while I waited for her to get her poster signed. (I'm not complaining) I ran into a handful of great people and ended the night at my favorite sushi place.

Lots of things happened in-between, but really who can remember. I only get through these things with the help of Starbucks, oh so much Starbucks.