Turkey but No Touchdowns

Last year was the first year in 10 years that I went home and spent Thanksgiving with my family. This year I was back to spending it with friends. My love of sweets and baking had me making desserts all morning--pumpkin pie and chocolate cheesecake. Gus and I watched the Macy*s Day Parade and took a lovely morning walk in the beautiful weather Los Angeles was and often is blessed with. My friend Sarah hosted her first Thanksgiving dinner at her sixties mod pad in West Hollywood with myslef, our friends Ben and Josh, and her two brothers John and David. We ate great food, stuffed ourselves silly with my desserts, drank wine and beer, and played board games. It was such a great day, but Thanksgiving isn't Thanksgiving without football.

Saturday night, Sarah and I sat field level at the USC vs. UCLA football game. Sarah's brother is a freshman band member at USC, so I (a proud Bruin) sat in a sea of red and yellow. With the rowdy rivalry that has been alive since 1954 when UCLA won the NCAA championship over USC for the first time, I decided to go sans blue and yellow and sneakily show my Bruin pride by wearing a greenish-aqua (blended blue and yellow.) I was not in the mood to be irately yelled at on Thanksgiving weekend.  Although the game and excitement of the crowd was contagious, I felt such sympathy for my Bruins who had to walk away with a humiliatiing final score: 50-0. This game had Bruin coach Rick Neuheisel fired by Monday. Hopefully they all had some turkey and pie left overs at home to comfort their pride.



Sea green sheer blouse, vintage scarf, 1950's beaded purse, mustard cotton mini skirt from American Apparel, plum tights, vintage 1960's white heels.





Sea green sheer blouse from American Apparel and vintage scarf tied in a bow. I think my secretary look was a little dressy for this Thanksgiving get together.



I bought this purse at a vintage shop on Magnolia in Burbank.



These 1960's heels give a punch to an outfit paired with tights.



With a breakfast like this...I knew this national day of eating was going to be a good one!



All morning I baked and used my mid-century mixer that I absolutely love!



This chocolate cheesecake I made was soooooo good!



Sarah the hostess



I think it's the rule that holiday group photos must look awkward...family or no family.



My alma mater...I still love you UCLA!



UCLA fan vs. USC fan



A huddle was definitely needed.




Our band.




I don't know what they're cheering about.




The only time that we were sooooooo close to getting a touchdown. I don't see why USC couldn't just give us this one.



Vintage Tip Tuesday XX

Thanksgiving weekend is done and it's time to bring out those Christmas decorations...for those of you that celebrate Christmas. I decorated last Saturday morning, and it's always such a treat to pull out memories in the form of ornaments and knick-knacks.  The older the better in my opinion. In years past, I have decorated my apartment with white lights and elegant Christmas decor, but this year I'm going kitchy! I wanted my apartment to emulate an early 1960's pad. Silver tinsel Christmas tree, cupie doll elf ornaments picked up at the flea market, mid-century glass balls and character ornaments, tinsel garland, colored lights, and plastic light fixtures in the shape of bells and candles. I have to say, I'm loving this look! It's fun, stands out, and in small doses (no need to cover every empty spot on a wall, every door, and every table top with kitchiness) has the ability to be tasteful.

Have a kitchy Christmas my friends!!!




My first stocking.

 

 My tinsel Christmas tree...they debuted in 1959 and were all the rage for the next few years.



I don't have a star or angel for my little tinsel tree, so I used a vintage mischievous elf instead.




My first ornament as a child.





A little elf ornament I paid 25 cents for at a vintage shop.




Glass ornaments always give off that mid-century feel.





Although vintage glass ornaments can be found, their delicacy makes them rare. Replicas can be found all over and are quite inexpensive.

 



My kitchen decor...the Santa Claus kitchen towels were a gift from William Sonoma that also came with dessert plates and mugs...so adorable! 

 


My table setting of a small tinsel Christmas tree from Anthropologie, an elf, a green and red plaid dinner napkin, a couple of plastic candle decorations for the window and more elegant silver candle holders for the table.





A vintage elf I found for $2 at the Fairfax flea market a couple of summers ago.

 



These plastic candles that light up are from Walgreens...I love how mid-century they look!



My livingroom window display.




A plastic bell decoration also from Walgreen's with a little Christmas tree decoration and the Eiffel Tower which always sits by my window.





Old family Christmas photos and a vintage candy container made out of old Christmas cards and yarn.

 



  



Inspirational Icon Monday: Grace Kelly

Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco is considered to be one of the most stunning women of all time. Not just by me but by all that have laid eyes on her soft but strong visage. She may have been blond and blue-eyed, but she wasn't just another all-American fresh faced beauty. Her poise and charm transcended her into an elite class of loveliness that was beyond physical attractiveness. James Stewart, her co-star in Hitchcock's 1954 film Rear Window, said, "You know, I just love Grace Kelly. Not because she was a princess, not because she was an actress, not because she was my friend, but because she was just about the nicest lady I ever met. Grace brought into my life as she brought into yours, a soft, warm light every time I saw her, and every time I saw her was a holiday of its own." She made the day brighter for those she came in contact with, and to me, that is true class.

Against her parent's wishes despite having two uncles involved in the performing arts, Kelly embarked upon a stage career at age 20. Her broadway debut came after attendance at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York in 1950 with a role in August Strindberg's The Father. After spending over a year performing on stage and in live television tapings, she was given a role opposite Gary Cooper in High Noon (1952.) Her Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in Mogambo (1953), however, is what gave her movie star status. She went on to become Alfred Hitchcock's muse and star of three of his most critically acclaimed films, and the winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of a married woman torn between her drunk and suicidal actor husband and her husband's charming director who becomes her lover in The Country Girl (1955.) Although Kelly married Prince Rainier III of Monaco and retired from acting at age 26, fans and colleagues continued to recognize both her beauty, her eye for fashion and of course her undeniable talent.

There are modern takes on the red lace dress Grace Kelly wore in Dial M for Murder for less than $100 at stores Topshop, American Apparel and Urban Outfitters. They would make a perfect holiday dress, so I can't wait for a sale so I can snag up one of these numbers!