I'm a very lucky girl to have a close friend like Audrey, who will let me come over and turn her living room into a photo studio while I model and play dress up for hours. Audrey and I became friends after bonding over our love of Marilyn Monroe and old movies, and it has only grown since then. Our artistic partnership has only gotten stronger over the years, and so it made sense to us to team up for a Marilyn Monroe inspired shoot! I couldn't be more excited to share these pictures, or more grateful to Tell a Story Studio for making me feel so beautiful and glamorous. I hope you enjoy these images as much as we enjoyed creating them!
I would be lying if I said I didn't get into holidays. Halloween is just about to happen, and I can already tell you what I'm wearing and what I'm making for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love to dress up and be ridiculous on a daily basis, so it only makes sense that I would get a little wild on holidays! This doesn't just translate to my wardrobe or cooking, I like to start early with music and movies to get me in the mood.
I won't reveal my Halloween costume yet, but I will tell you the movies I've been watching while I've been making it! These are my favorite, must-see Halloween movies that are a little out of the box.... The box in your parents attic, that is. They aren't your usual Tim Burton or Universal Monster choices, these are fun ones to mix up your Halloween screening with!
Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein
This screwball comedy is my favorite Halloween movie. It features almost all the original Universal Horror characters, but is hilarious and quirky too! Perfect for a quiet night in, or if you aren't a big fan of real horror but want to scream anyway. I have to see it every season, it never gets old for me.
From IMDB:
The world of freight handlers Wilbur Grey and Chick Young is turned upside down when the remains of Frankenstein's monster and Dracula arrive from Europe to be used in a house of horrors. Dracula awakens and escapes with the weakened monster, who he plans to re-energize with a new brain. Larry Talbot (the Wolfman) arrives from London in an attempt to thwart Dracula. Dracula's reluctant aide is the beautiful Dr. Sandra Mornay. Her reluctance is dispatched by Dracula's bite. Dracula and Sandra abduct Wilbur for his brain and recharge the monster in preparation for the operation. Chick and Talbot attempt to find and free Wilbur, but when the full moon rises all hell breaks loose with the Wolfman, Dracula, and Frankenstein all running rampant.
I Married A Witch
A Halloween romantic comedy, this one truly can't be missed by any old movie fan. Completely enjoyable, the plot line is not heavy, but very cute and a great start to a bombshell Halloween! After all, who can resist Veronica Lake?
From IMDB:
In 1672, two witches (Jennifer and her father Daniel) were burned by puritan Jonathan Wooley. In revenge, Jennifer cursed all future generations of the Wooley family, that the sons will always marry the wrong woman and be miserable. In the 20th century, a bolt of lightning frees Jennifer and her father from the tree that had kept their souls imprisoned. Jennifer assumes corporeal form and decides to make up-and-coming politician Wallace Wooley, then unhappily engaged, even more miserable by getting him to fall in love with her before his wedding. Wallace is a straight arrow, though, and Jennifer has to resort to a love potion. As we all know, love potions tend to backfire, with comedic results.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
A classic for film buffs, I first saw this film in a class on Dada and Surrealism during my brief stint in college. I walked out of the classroom stunned, feeling like my life had changed. This film is definitely surreal and powerful, and if its mention in Portlandia hasn't urged you to see it yet, then stop waiting and do it now!
While you may be more familiar with the 1986 remake of this classic, I assure you the 1960 original is just as fun! I'm pretty sure this film is played in my parents every Halloween while they wait for trick or treaters, it's as traditional as the trick or treaters themselves! I can't get enough of it, and I'll give you bonus points if you wear this monster themed dress when you watch it.
From IMDB:
Seymour is a young man who works in a flower store. He manages to create a carnivorous plant that feeds on human flesh. Nobody knows about it, so Seymour and the plant become good "friends". The plant needs food to grow up, so it convinces him to start killing people.
Arsenic and Old Lace
I could watch this anytime of year, but Halloween is most appropriate. Cary Grant dazzles in this quirky tale of love, family, and terror. It should be noted that Boris Karloff played Jonathon Brewster in the original Broadway production! It's a shame he wasn't in the movie, but Raymond Massey fills those creepy shoes very well.
From IMDB:
For the clan known as Brewster insanity runs in the family. Two sweet old aunts take it upon themselves to poison lonely old men with nothing to live for, as an act of charity. Their nephew Mortimer has just got married, and is trying to negotiate his way around the shenanigans of the house, while trying to keep his new bride from fleeing. Shady brother John returns from a world adventure involving using corpses to change his appearance to allude capture. The merry mayhem continues with bugle-blowing brother Teddy who is charged with burial duties.
A sneak peek of my current project, I won't say what it is, but I'll do a full post when I finish.
This last full moon reminded me more and more to prepare for Fall! I've lined up my sewing and knitting projects (Fall really means early work on some holiday gifts for me), dug up my blankets and sweaters, and worn my favorite sun dresses one last time before I'll need to cover them with layers of tights and cardigans. I'm excited to break out my favorite pumpkin recipes, and start playing with root vegetable entrees, but a little sad to say goodbye to shorts, rompers, and sun. I felt inspired by our last moments of sunlight, so I woke up and made some vegan lemon poppyseed muffins this morning.
Lemon Poppyseed Muffins ! Recipe from Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
Seattle has had a beautiful, long summer, so it's hard to imagine that in a few short weeks we will return to our infamous grey, rainy weather. Until then, I'm soaking up the last few nights of sitting outside for dinner, light and bright colors, and a wide array of seasonal summer flavors! I think any season change is a great moment to re-evaluate what we need, want, and are working towards. I'm mid-reassessing my goals, and am looking forward to a little Autumn cleaning before I dive into the season with full force! What are you doing to prepare for fall? Are there any projects you've started to work on?
Disneyland may truly be my favorite place on earth. I can not resist any princess story, or happy ending. I love the rides, the night time attractions, and the scenery. I was spoiled the first time I went, with a large group of friends, one of whom had worked at DisneyWorld. They made sure I did Disney right, and got to enjoy everything in 3 jam-packed days! When my friend Kerri and I decided to go this Spring, we aimed to do the same, but in 4 days. We aimed to Disney so hard, we would never want to come back (spoiler alert, that is an impossible task).
To do this properly we had to carefully plan a good portion of our trip before we even arrived. We studied maps of both California Adventure and Disneyland Park (if you're going to Disney-hard, you have to get the park hopper pass), outlined which attractions were happening which nights, carefully select our outfits, set up reservations at restaurants in the parks, and made sure our hotel gave us a Disney view. Once we got there, we were thoroughly prepared to enjoy ourselves!
Outsides Flo's, wearing Pin Up Girl Clothing
Day One we spent exclusively in California Adventure, beginning in CarsLand. CarsLand is so new, the line for fastpasses alone spanned almost the entire park. We got there as the park opened, ran in line for Radiator Springs Racers, and struck poses in our cute outfits as the line slowly moved forward. It was a long wait, but selfies and country music always seem to make time move faster.
Disney tip: Ask someone else to take your picture in a long line
After CarsLand we ran around the park making sure to do every ride we could, no matter how long we had to wait. We took a hot tub break at our hotel and came back just in time to get in the splash zone for World of Color!
First day in Disneyland, wearing Pin Up Girl Clothing
The next day we knew had to be all Disneyland! We started on the Disneyland Railroad, for a quick view of the park while we decided which ride we wanted to do first! We spent the next 15 hours running around trying to get to all our favorites, and somehow managed to save enough for the next day! We stopped to eat and watch Fantasmic, and a rain storm helped us save some rides for better weather, and gave us quick access to others (riding Pirates of the Caribbean alone is an experience I will never forget).
Princesses are my favorite part of Disney! Wearing Bernie Dexter
The obligatory ride picture!
We used our Magic Morning on Day 3 to get to the big rides quickly. A 10 minute wait for Space Mountain is too good to pass up! This day we slowed down to shop, watch the Parade twice, and even take a nap. We came back for fireworks and Fantasyland at night, and rode Peter Pan as our last ride in Disneyland.
Saying goodbye to Pacific Pier, wearing Trashy Diva
By Day Four we were exhausted! Our plane left that evening so we only spent about half the day in the park. We decided to revisit our favorite California Adventure rides, say goodbye to our favorite views, and get french fries and drinks before leaving.
My travel buddy and I closing our trip!
Our trip was better than we could have hoped for! Kerri helped me set new traditions for when we go back, such as making sure to get a new tiara every time we go (you can never have too many). One of the best parts of traveling with a friend for me was having someone to share my grief with as we left. We wrote down ways we could make everyday more like Disney, and vowed the Happily Ever After isn't something that happens to you, it's a choice you make.
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