Walking in Armenia

Just a few random snapshots of when Marina and I walked through her neighbourhood in Colombia. It was pretty fantastic.

 

The Bridges of Historic Smithville

The Hylander's Home

These pictures are from Nana Irma's photo albums. They are of Bud and Blanche Hylander's home in York, Pennsylvania. My grandmother's style, in regards to her home, is so similar to this because she copied Bud's mother's home to the tee. Clearly Bud and Blanche kidnapped Aunt Helen's sense of decor and interior design as well. It may seem strange that these are the only photos taken of the Hylander Home, but my Nana was known for taking some strange pictures. It is one of her most endearing qualities.

Wisdom c/o Becca

From Californication:

(photo kidnapped from pinterest)

My Teenage Bedroom

Here is a glimpse into my bedroom in late 1995. Clearly my main loves were, and continue to be, music and film. The teenage Star was obsessed with Madonna, loved Al Pacino, rocked out to Melissa Etheridge and The Dead (Sidebar, that Grateful Dead poster was a gift from my father when I was about eight and was the first poster I ever had. I would lie in bed at night and stare at the winding path that vanished behind the mountain and the setting sun and wonder where that road led.) Oh, and that centerfold tear-out of Kurt Cobain still hangs above my pillow at my current home.


To the far left you will see a bit of Ikea furniture that I still have and to the far right, my great-uncle Tom O'Brien's gorgeous purple chair that I also still possess. The old turntable, speaker, and music cabinet strewn with stickers have since been taken to the city dump.

Just below the Depeche Mode poster is Snoopy in his railroad worker uniform clearly caught in the midst of a disco nap. (I wonder whatever became of that oversized brown pup with the black fluffy ears...maybe Ashlee has it...)

Anyway, this room reminds me of all the daydreams I had of who I would grow up to be and where I would go in life. But mostly, I remember blasting Barbra Streisand, lip syncing along and imagining that I was beautiful with perfect hair and a voice so extraordinary that it astonished all those that heard it.

Underoos!!

As a child of the late 1970s and early 1980s, I had an obsession with Underoos. They were not merely undie-wear, they were a costume! I loved posing in them and feeling like Diana Prince letting the world know that she is also Wonder Woman. I was also the best Spiderwoman of all time.

Vegan Pumpkin Cupcakes

These tasty treats were a big hit. I need to make another batch to really perfect it, but even so, they were seriously yummy. I kidnapped the recipe from peta2. It's super simple - you pick up an accidentally vegan Duncan Hines box cake mix, I used yellow cake for the pumpkin cupcakes, and in place of the eggs, you just mix in a can of pumpkin puree and continue with the instructions. Duncan Hines even makes an accidentally vegan icing that's a delight. Couldn't be any easier! Next I wanna try the Orange Dreamsicle cake...it sounds heavenly.

Watershed

Artful Dodger - Woman Trouble
Johnny Mathis - Didn't We
Hozier - Take Me to Church
Broken Circle Breakdown Bluegrass Band - If I Needed You
Melody Gardot - Our Love is Easy
New Order - Touched By the Hand of God
Scott Walker - It's Raining Today
Bikini Kill - New Radio
The Carpenters - We've Only Just Begun
Jim Croce - I Got a Name
Shelby Lynne - Dreamsome
Merry Ellen Mark - Blinding Me
Zedd - Clarity
Rick Astley - My Arms Keep Missing You
The Cramps - I Can't Hardly Stand It
Ella Fitzgerald - Wait Til You See Him
The Julie Ruin - Just My Kind
Father John Misty - Chateau Lobby #4
Depeche Mode - Suffer Well (M83 Remix)
Olly Murs - Beautiful to Me
Dion and the Belmonts - Just You
Joy Division - She's Lost Control
Roy Orbison - Only the Lonely

Advanced Style

I watched this fabulous documentary and have since been following the Advanced Style blog (which needs some serious proofreading - lots of grammatical errors...) and really admire Mr. Cohen's love of the older generation. The photos are absolutely inspiring and my Mum bought me the book and the colouring book as well!!

 

 

The Danish Girl

I am loving this book. There is one particularly beautiful line on page eighty-three that says, ...still caught in the hazy foyer of sleep... Isn't that just gorgeous? The Danish Girl is a fascinating read about real life Lili Elbe and is written in a way that you see everything laid out in your mind's eye. Those are the very best books to read. The ones that draw you right in and make you feel as though you were a spectator; someone standing beside each character, and not just a gal in a scalding hot bathtub in South Jersey turning the pages of a novel.

Ellery Queen

Last night I got a chance to see season one (sadly, it seems this was the only season), disc one of Ellery Queen starring Jim Hutton. Each episode is a who's who of classic Hollywood and 1970s small screen! The faces I recognised (but had to look up some of their names - thanks IMDb!) were Ray Milland, Kim Hunter, John Hillerman!, Monte Markham, Joan Collins, David Doyle, Ray Walston, Herb Edelman!!, Farley Granger, George Wyner, Thayer David!, Don Ameche, Ida Lupino, John Lawlor, and that's only the ones in the first three eps! Can't wait to see what disc two has in store for me. I love me a good Who dunnit?!

(photo kidnapped from hulu)

Pride and Prejudice

After Far From the Madding Crowd being such a disappointment a few weeks back, I dug out my old copy of Pride and Prejudice. I haven't watched it in years (maybe seven? is that possible!!?) and it was just as charming and wonderful as when I first saw it back in 2001ish. Colin Firth was perfection, and so dreamy as Mr. Darcy, and Jennifer Ehle was absolutely remarkable as Elizabeth Bennet, with the world's most magnetic smile. I cannot believe that this show is twenty years old. Still as fabulous as ever, though!

(photo kidnapped from lecturasreunidas)

Teenage Irma

Here is a photo of my darling grandmother when she was about eighteen. It was taken at Willow Grove Park in the late 1930s and truth be told, she is even more gorgeous now.

Kat and Evie

(May 2013 - look at Evangeline's skin!! it's like porcelain.)

Wake Me

Nana Irma recently shared some old love letters and little notes that my Grandad had written her. Apparently she was his alarm clock, as is evident from the note below, and he certainly was not short on modesty when he ended with Your handsome, honest, faithful, and devoted husband. He was all those things and so, so much more.

Glamour Shots

If Donna were still here, she'd probably throttle me for posting these photos, for they are so nineties. But I remember how proud she was of how they turned out and she and Jenny had such fun. I like the Flyers one the best!

 

 

(miss you lots and lots, lady.)

Window Pane Selfies in Antwerp

When traveling alone it's impossible to prove to people that you were there unless you get a selfie or two. I try to be slick and take them on the sly; my favourite way is taking my reflection in a glass window. Some of them turned out not-so-bad.

 

 

 

Family Drawings - January 1983

I came across these two family drawings both from January of 1983. The second picture is my favourite of the two.

Apparently if anyone was going to play imaginary golf with bumblebees, it was gonna be me. An art therapist would first question my missing arm and then move on to the fact that I have drawn my family members as plump little marshmallow snow-people. That and we are all clearly miserable.

Jax in Boots

Goofing around today, I put half-naked Jackson in my slipper boots and made him pose for me. He wasn't crazy about being in them, but once he saw the pictures he couldn't stop laughing at himself.

 

 

Let the Fire Burn

A superb documentary about MOVE and the bombing of the house on Osage Avenue in May of 1985 that led to the deaths of five children and six adults. I was only eight at the time, but I vividly remember the news showing a blazing fire across the bridge in Philly and my father being very angry at the whole situation. Especially that the city would drop a bomb on a house which they knew contained children.

(photo kidnapped from workers)

Touring the Grounds at Winterthur

Walking through Winterthur, I couldn't help but feel transported to a place close to magical; as though I had stepped back in time to the world of Thomas Hardy and Jane Austen. Cloudy and overcast days in mid Springtime are the prime time to visit, for the scent of the trees, the grass, and the freshly bloomed flowers are awake and in full swing. That and there are fewer people to maneuver around. It was a day near to perfection and I can't wait to return in Autumn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Micky Flanagan's Detour de France

A mother-effing laugh riot all the way through. Oh my goodness, just so unbelievably funny. Best purchase I've made in months.

Knight Rider

If memory serves, my older brother picked this picture up for me at an auto show in the mid 1980s. Look at that hair...and my god, the crease in his trousers could cut a man's throat!