Strictly Vivien of Holloway!

I used to be such a huge fan of Strictly Come Dancing when it first started but over the past few years I knew less and less of the 'celebrities' and lost interest.  I took to recording it and fastforwarding everything that wasn't the dacning itself, squeezing the show into a 25 minute or so show and eventually gave up.

So it was a nice surprise when I just happened to turn on to the Swingathon that aired this weekend.  Not only do I love this style of dancing but it was a Vivien of Holloway dress fest!  I have far too many of the VOH halterneck swing dresses than I care to count so it was very tempting seeing some new patterns in action.  Here's the clip:

Burlesque NYE at Floridita's

This week, Floridita hosted the official premiere party for Burlesque, the new film out.  Stars including Christina Aguilera, Cher and Christian Bale were among the 600 guests and celebrities who partied the night away, whilst the stage was graced with the tantalising guilty pleasures of Immodesty Blaize.Floridita is in Wardour St and a great place for a party and I've organised a few events there for work.  Nestled within the heart of the bustling West End, it emulates the 1930s style of the legendary El Floridita, creating the perfect blend of glamour and decadence. With deep reds, luxurious leather and an abundance of crystal, this Latin-inspired supper club combines the iconic and vibrant restaurant with the infamous Floridita Cocktail bar.

Just in case you haven't organised your NYE, here is a suggestion.  Celebrate the end of 2010 in style with a glamorous and decadent electro-swing spectacular at Florida.  You'll be entertained by:

• FLORIDITA’S NEW YEAR’S SPECTACULAR MC
• THE NEW YEAR’S VAUDEVILLE GIRLS
• ZAZOU AND THEIR ELECTRO-SWING BAND

You will begin your evening in Floridita’s infamous cocktail bar… The incomparable Alex Mendham & The Rhythm Boys will grace the early evening setting the mood with their unique blend of showtunes, pop and jazz. Our Spectacular MC and her Vaudeville Girls will keep spirits high throughout the night whilst Zazou – with their sextet electro-swing band – will take over into the early hours of 2011 for an unforgettable New Year’s Celebration.  Click here for more info.

ALEX MENDHAM AND THE RHYTHM BOYS

Festive Warmers

As promised here is the recipe of the wonderful cocktail I had at the Palm Court last week.  It makes enough for 6 or I suppose 3 very very thirsty people:

500 ml apple juice

120 ml pear schnapps/vodka

250ml St Germain liquor

2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

1 green apple (cut into slices for decoration)

Yummy, you can have this cold with lots of crushed ice or hot by putting all liquids in a pot and warming but not boiling.

Another lovely thing I've seen is on the Waitrose Christmas website where it's suggested you warm some milk in the microwave or on the hob and then add 6 Maltesers and stir in until the are melted.  I can't wait to try that one!

'Malty Slumber'

Lastly, and a whole lot easier, is making a cocktail for any unexpected guests out of three parts warm apple juice to one part Winter Pimms.  It's the brandy based Pimms no. 3 and is very strong but tastes all Christmasy because of the brandy and orange.  I realise this post makes me seem like a bit of a lush and I'm really not.  I very very rarely have a tipple and when I do just a few sips get me tipsy!  These are all ideas for you in case you are hosting a party this holiday season and fancy doing something a bit different.

In the meantime I have a makeup find for you.  I normally stick with what I know but on a shopping trip out I saw this wonderful lipstick.  I think I fell for the colour first and then the packaging ;-)  It's the Clarins Limited Edition Rouge Prodige Lipstick in 130 Barocco.  It is slightly pricy at £16 so not that much more than a Mac lipstick and it is great quality and really stays on.  The colour reminds me of a 1930s Hollywood starlet, very vintage looking and very glamorous.  There is a slight sparkle to it as well, don't let that put you off though it just gives a nice shine.

The 3 days of Christmas

I have to say that I am truly in the Christmas spirit after spending 3 days doing nothing else.  Friday mum and I went to The Park Lane Hotel for their Christmas afternoon tea and it was amazing.  We had to admit defeat in the end and to ask to take home the little cakes that we just couldn’t finish and I’m so pleased we did! 

I tried to get myself looking Christmasy with one a fascinator I made just for Christmas.  It's a black base with holly leaves and white poinsettia.  I love the vintage look of the photo - thanks to the clever phone App.  I am wearing my favourite lipstick of the moment, yet another Mac one called 'Chic', and one of my vintage fashion staples my Tara Starlet jacket.

We started with a lovely winter warmer cocktail complete with cinnamon (recipe to follow), a gorgeous trio of finger sandwiches, a tartlet of haddock, hollandaise sauce and quail’s egg (complete with gold leaf) and a smoked salmon milk roll. 

Then came tea....I chose a black leaf vanilla and it was divine!  The smell and taste was beautiful and complimented the next courses very well.  We were given plain and fruit scones with clotted cream, a Satsuma jam and an apple with cranberry jam, both delicious.  Then we admitted defeat sadly...we were presented with 2 darling little cakes – a lemon, polenta and pistachio mini cake and a chocolate Yule log.  They were stunning to look at and survived the cab journey to Kings Cross and the train home.  Finally they arrive home in one piece and were demolished by Mr P.  He very graciously has let me keep the panetonne that was given to us as a gift after tea.  I have to say it was such a wonderful way to spend a few hours.  I haven’t seen my mum that relaxed for a long time.  I did take some photos but only had a little camera that could fit in my handbag so they aren’t that good.  I’ll have a look through them though and see if there are any worth adding to this post.

The next day was out annual Christmas trip to Waddesdon Manor.  The east wing did not disappoint and was decorated with floor to ceiling trees in most of the rooms. This year the theme was Paris and there was even a tree celebrating champagne with bottles in the tree and crystal baubles to represent the bubbles.  We ended up having a Christmas lunch, our first this year and it was a real treat – crackers and all, but I couldn’t wear my hat as I could’ t get it over my victory rolls.

Then Sunday, my family had their Christmas for this year as my brother will be away on the 25^th itself. Yet another Christmas lunch so I was relieved to be wearing my high waisted trousers.  My family were very generous, and even though I needed nothing this year and asked for donations to be given to Brain Tumour Research Campaign, I was still treated.  As I am apparently very difficult to buy for (have any of them read my blog I have to ask) they have given me some money to put towards something and I have found that something...

I have always gone for things that are unusual and one of a kind, trying to keep an individual style.  A lot of people who love the vintage look go for true vintage I think as it will be a one off and the chances that you will see someone wearing the same thing is very remote.  However, as mentioned before I love to make myself a little glamorous using a few vintage secrets and inspiration but I also have no problem buying things from the high street and wearing jeans on the weekend.  I think it’s very easy for people to wear the same thing and wear it in a different way and adapt it to their personal style which is why I have no problem posting vintage/vintage repro finds that I’ve come across.  So back to the question in hand?  What am I going to by myself as a gift from my family?  As a crafter I prefer handmade things and I find a lot of lovely things on www.notonthehighstreet.com  This site does what it says on the tin.  It features a lot of artists who want a platform to sell their wares.  I am frequently on the site and have found my present:

It is the ‘Ladies French Handbag’ by French and Floral and I can’t wait to get it home.  Christmas delivery is still an option as well – hurrah!  Whilst I was deciding which delicious bag to go for I treated myself to these as well.  Naughty J

Brrrrr - cup of tea?

Wow, it is so cold at the moment.  I don't deal well with the cold very well so really feel for those poor people in Perth where the high temp today is going to be -15!  I can't imagine being that cold, at the moment I'm wearing as many layers as I can and still wearing my furry boots.  Oh, and I bought myself a hot water bottle for emergencies, I'm thinking about buying one for work as well....

Anyway, my fingers are still nimble enough to type and google - hurrah and I had to share with you this gorgeous little single teacup from Mrs Stokes, I thought it was very apt for the season and for the cold weather.  I am drinking more tea than ever in the cold.

I think this is so sweet!  If you want this though you better hurry as there is only one of these on the site.  All of Mrs Stokes china pieces are vintage and pre-loved.  Think of owning one of the tea sets as being green, you're practically recycling well done you!

I've done my bit for the environment and treated one of my friends to this lovely set, it's not for Christmas so I haven't spoiled the surprise.  The sets are just beautiful and come with some sugar almonds, presented in a flocked gift box like the one below or darling mini suitcases.  That's 2 presents in 1 I think.  China shopping heaven!



I love it when a plan comes together ;-)

Oooh I’m so excited!!!  I have wonderful news but I can’t give full details yet.  I can hint at a couple of things though.....my plan for the new year was to do more fairs and that is exactly what I’ve been organising.  When I have confirmation I will let you know but the lovely ladies who organise a vintage fair have me down for a table (hopefully a regular one if I have my way) and I am going to take part in a vintage tea party event in Bath at the soonest opportunity.  Unfortunately I can’t do the January date but will make sure I do the other dates offered.  In the meantime, I need to start putting together a tutorial that I’ve been asked to do for the new year.  I think I will practice over the holidays and bore all my family and friends in the process.  I am lucky enough to have a nice break at home coming up so I plan to do a couple of video vintage hair tutorials.  Not sure if I can do this on my own or if I’ll have to enlist the help of Mr P but we’ll give it a go.  The thing I am dreading the most is the editing.  I have no idea how to do this so that leaves me with one alternative and that is doing my hair perfectly in one take.  Hmmmm....more practice needed I think.  So the idea is to get 3 hair tutorials done soon – victory rolls, a ‘50s updo and another style involving hotsticks that you can pin up for a glamorous 1940s updo or brush out for those Hollywood curls.

 Hopefully this will keep me out of trouble, I think I have been making a bit of a pest of myself but I love making things and just want to share it with people.  I feel like there is a really momentum behind things now and I just want to keep it going. As soon as I have the dates in the diary I’ll post them on here and hopefully see you on the dates themselves.

 I have been making a few more bags and loving everyone I make, it’s going to be hard to sell them!   

I wanted to share my new business cards with you too, I am so proud of them and love how they turned out.  It’s amazing to think that they are already out there, I would never have thought that possible but have to put it down to the love and support I have been constantly given by Mr P (sorry for that nauseating comment but it's true).  Thank you Mr P! 

Advent calendars are open!

I have to apologise in advance as I can’t see any of my future posts before Christmas being about anything else but Christmas itself.  I promise I will try though.....This weekend we put our tree and decorations up in the house.  Old and new things came out:

We bought this lovely 'Joy' from good ol' John Lewis which never fails to get me into the Christmas spirit. 

I like a traditional look to the rooms when we decorate but at a time way before the 1940s and a post-war Britain.  In the 1940s children would spend hours making paper chains out of newspaper which  would be coloured in and then allowed to use some precious flour to make paste to glue them together. Christmas cards were sent a few days before Christmas — again mostly homemade… stockings would be full of fruit, a shiny new sixpence, pencils, hankies and knitted clothes.  There was the wireless for entertainment and card games. how things have changed now!

In the 1950s, the era that I mostly style myself on, there was more colour and fun.  I’ve found these photos which I love.

While our decorations won’t be vintage in a 1940s/50s sense I think a lot of people will be having a ‘vintage’ Christmas.  In our current economic clime I think people are cutting back a lot more and this is more in keeping with past generations.  At a craft stall I did the other month, I met a lovely lady who bought a couple of hair flowers for her niece’s present.  She explained that her family stick to buying gifts for each other under £5.

People will be reusing decorations from the past years, certainly when I was little our Christmas tree and decorations were stuck in a 70s time warp and paper garlands covered everywhere. 

A tradition that we have come to do every year to get into the Christmas spirit is take a trip to Waddesdon Manor near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire. Each year the house is closed and only one wing opened that is then decorated to a certain theme. It really is a magical place and we can't wait to go this year!

Another Christmas day out that I am looking forward to is afternoon tea in London with my mum this week.  We are going to try the St-Germain Christmas Afternoon Tea at the Park Lane Hotel served in the stunning surrounds of the Art Deco Palm Court at the hotel.  The whole thing is themed around the taste of St-Germain elderflower liqueur.  Finger sandwiches are smoked turkey and cranberry, honey-baked ham and piccalilli, and egg mayonnaise with baby rocket, then warm tartlet of smoked haddock with soft quail egg and hollandaise (decorated with gold leaf!) and a milk roll with salmon and dill mayonnaise.  I better have a run before we go in the morning...or maybe I should run there??!!

I will be taking a camera so hope to get lots of lovely shots to tempt you into going yourselves. 

Due to the snow and the cold I've been spending a lot of time in doors and have only just managed to finished watching something I recorded weeks ago.  just by chance I found that the BBC were showing a drama called 'The Landgirls', it was worth watching for the 1940s fashion and hairstyles alone. Amazon is selling it as a preorder here, excitingly enough as 'series one' so hopefully there will be another one soon.

 On the subject of the forties if you were after a different kind of NYE this year, the wonderful people behind the Blitz party are putting on a special evening.  The gin cocktails are out of this world and drinking a champagne cocktail from a vintage glass is hard to beat.  I think it's the first time there has been a Blitz NYE party and think it will be truly wonderful for those lucky people who can go.

Candlelight Club

Hi lovely people of blog land!

The UK has been such a cold place over the past week and the snow that came home made it feel like Christmas is really on its way.  I have to admit that other than hair and makeup, my vintage ‘look’ has gone out of the window.  There was a time when I didn’t own a pair of jeans and now I do and I have recently bought something I thought I never ever would.  So, I have to admit I am an owner of a pair of Emus.  I came into work the other day with a cardigan and vintage brooch, black silk fishtail skirt and.....my Emus.  It was a bit of an odd look but to be honest, my feet were so nice and toasty I didn’t care! I think that I find summer so much easier to dress for, normally I can get away in winter with wearing what I wore in the sun but with an extra jumper, this year I have no chance.  I will preserve and adapt though.

So back to something useful.  As mentioned before I’m a member of the New Sheridan Club and Mr Hartley has started the The Candlelight Club evenings through this.  The next event is Saturday 18th December, 7.30pm–12am.  The venue is kept a secret until you buy your ticket but it is guaranteed to be in London.

Tickets are limited but will include (and I am very very excited but all of this!)

• A free cocktail on arrival

• A quirky supper of exotic, Christmas-flavoured sandwiches, in our basement hideaway specially decorated for the occasion—including a proper six-foot Norwegian spruce tree

• Live 1920s jazz from Albert Ball's Flying Aces

• Vintage shellac spun all evening by MC Fruity, London's premier vintage DJ

• A one-off menu of attractively priced Christmas cocktails. Details to follow, but Will usually invents half of them himself—and I know that one involves homemade mincemeat vodka…

• Our Christmas present for you to take home: a free limited-edition CD of Candlelight Club 1920s music, cleverly fashioned to look just like an old 78 record—this album will only be available at this event—PLUS a mini bottle of SW4 gin, "The Gin of Champions".

See www.thecandlelightclub.com for more details and I’m sure it’s on Facebook somewhere for all of you who use it instead of ignoring it like me.

I’m currently looking to after Christmas and planning for next year and it looks like the vintage mafia have struck again.  There are so many vintage fairs that insist on the real McCoy – no reproductions are allowed.  I think this is such a shame as I feel that what I make would go down so well at a vintage fair and always be an affordable option for vintage lovers.  Like I’ve said before – for me, I feel that vintage is a look rather than a lifestyle but it seems that other people disagree.  I’ve managed to make a few contacts so hopefully I’ll be at a lot more fairs in the new year.  Very exciting!

Wrap up warm if it’s snowy and I’ll post again soon on some lovely vintagey Christmas things to do and give people this year.  I should be in the spirit of it all as we’re putting our tree up on Saturday and I’ve bought a batch of mince pies –scrum!