Lucky Zelda

A couple months back I did a little modeling for my friend's etsy shop. She is an amazing seamstress, plus just an all around great gal! She focuses mainly on her handbags which are super cute and very well constructed. However, lately she has been adding in more and more vintage style pieces that she creates either from vintage patterns or patterns she makes herself. She does custom sizing on what is in her shop and I'm sure could also do other custom work for you if you asked her nicely. So please check out her etsy shop, Lucky Zelda, and keep an eye on what she's putting in there.

Wool Skirt 1940s Style with Lace Trim

Retro Jewel Neck Blouse, check out the back!

Grey Wool Dress

Wrap Skirt in Purple Wool (Love this!)

One of her cute bags...this one is my favorite!

Viva Crunch Time

Well Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender is just around the corner and I've finally started planning what I need to make. This year money is tight since we've been dumping everything we got into the house. So I'm trying to make almost my entire wardrobe for the event myself and hopefully use fabric, patterns and notions I already own. I'm hoping that I can get each one done within a week since I'm so close to the event. I have also sketched out 2 of the 3 outfits I'm making so as to keep me motivated and on track.

Here is the one I've started working on and the fabric I'm using (this was a Hawaii purchase).

Eva Dress pattern 9662

This one I also really want to finish. I'm using 1959 Butterick pattern 9003 view A. If I don't have a brown fabric in my stash that I love then I will have to purchase some lightweight brown wool for the dress. I'm going to make a long wrap from some cheetah print fabric that I have in my stash. All my accessories for this outfit I already own.

Isn't the drape fantastic?

And my final outfit that I'm hoping to get made (although if any fall off the to do list this will be the one). This outfit was inspired by Jane Russell's outfit in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. I will use my favorite shorts pattern that I've posted about before and use some black twill fabric I already own. For the halter I will use a pattern that I own or possibly purchase a top if it gets down to crunch time. For the swing jacket I'll use Butterick pattern 5716 and do a contrasting collar, I will probably do a turquoise coat with black and white polka dot collar and cuffs.

I adore all Russell's swing coats in this film.

Butterick 5716

Well I better get to work on these!!!! I'll keep you posted on progress.

Backyard Tropical Oasis

Yesterday was a beautiful day. And while most people (in the states) may have been planted in front of the TV watching the Super Bowl game, my husband and I were doing a different kind of planting. Our new home doesn't have much of a yard. Just a little side yard that is sandwiched between ours' and our neighbor's house. However, everyone that walks up to our front door will see it. For the past few years this yard has been a mess and in need of some serious TLC. We were finally tired of being embarrassed by our little yard and paid some attention to it.

Here is my hubbie with our dog looking on as we discuss our plans. We decided that we needed to move some of the pavers around to widen the path in some areas and give it a more natural curve to where it opens up into the wider area of the yard.

 Here is the path all cleaned up. As you know we love tropical and with our recent trip to Hawaii we were inspired to bring Hawaii to us. We purchased bamboo fencing to separate the path from the planted section. We put in a fern, a sago palm, a bird of paradise, some begonias and my favorite a Ti Plant. Now I just have to let them do their job and get nice and lush!

Our little dog checking out the work!

This little side section is what you first see when you open the gate to come to our front door. We used the bamboo fencing again. We put in some Kaffir lilies, a Birds of Paradise and a Fiddle Leaf Fig tree. The tree we are actually going to keep potted, for two reasons, one there is cement under where it sits so we couldn't plant it and two I think I'll need to move it in the summer when it'll get too much sun. We also poured red lava rock into this area to add a pop of color. Plus its a great home for Fred and Ethel!!

Lucky for me there was already some planters up on the porch by the door. So I picked up a few more colorful tropical plants to drop into those to greet me every morning when I walk the pups. And of course, I couldn't resist putting in a dwarf lime tree for all my cocktail needs!

Hubbie with the kids looking at what will be the more daunting task. Under that clover is more pavers. We are going to dig all the clover up and expose the pavers then pour gravel in between all the pavers. Unfortunately we didn't get to that on Sunday so it is still looming in our future. This section actually still has alot more work to be done. We ordered some planted bamboo to put in and I still need to pick up a few more potted plants. We have to figure out a good way to setup our smoker out here and find some great chairs to relax in. Plus what tropical yard wouldn't be complete without an amazing tiki statue...guess that means another trip to Hawaii in my future to pick one up!!!

We are very proud of how much we got done. Plus I realized how much I love living in Southern California because it means I have the opportunity to garden pretty much any time of the year. Within the next few months we'll be having the outside of the house painted, and hopefully by then our little oasis will be flourishing so that come summertime this will be a happy little space to hang out with a Mai Tai or two!

Fabric Paradise

A friend of mine at work suggested I go into a fabric store while in Hawaii. When I walked in I thought I'd died and gone to tropical fabric heaven. I dropped into Fabric Mart just west of downtown Honolulu, they even have a website you can order from fmart.com This is my haul, although some of this is for the friend who suggested the store. Lucky for me I was able to put my fabric purchase on a container at my husbands work that got shipped this week. So even though I'm having to wait for it, I didn't have to worry about how I was going to get all that fabric in my luggage and remain under weight! I figure once I use up all this fabric I'll be ready to go back.

On a Tropical Island

I went to Hawaii last week...I'm hoping to get a post up about it soon. I'm also making plans for outfits to make for Viva Las Vegas so I can get back to blogging on things I'm making.

The Honeybees

Dollie DeVille, over at The Rockabilly Socialite, and I have started a ladies club in our area. We are two like minded gals who have shared a lot with one another on Facebook and through Blogger. We have also known each other out and about in the scene, but had never really had a chance to hang out. We finally decided, on Facebook, to get together and start baking and doing craft projects...then the idea of The Honeybees Ladies Club was born! The idea behind our club is that we'd be a social, hobby, and service organization made up of classy vintage ladies. Whereby we'd promote bygone “woman skills” of another era through social gatherings, crafting, and baking. We are still in the process of formulating all the aspects of the club and recruiting members, but we have already had our first meeting!! We decided to get together to do some holiday baking for our Honey Bears. Three of our four members met up at Dollie's house to bake three types of cookies and to start crafting on some holiday projects. The day was filled with tips and tricks, plus we got to know one another better.


Our club so far has four members:

Dollie DeVille: Dollie is the founder and Queen Bee of The Honeybees Ladies Club, but she is better known as The Rockabilly Socialite. Her history as a blogger helps her in her presidential duties of the club. When she is not crafting and baking, she spends her free time with her husband-to-be Zack Simpson seeing rockabilly bands, jiving, and finding pieces for her perfect vintage wardrobe.

Reagan Foy: Reagan is the co-founder and vice president of The Honeybees Ladies Club. We so lovingly call her the Lil' Suzie Homemaker Bee because she's always whipping up some fantastic vintage inspired dresses, hats, baking, working on her new house or crocheting. Maybe you have read her blog, Lil’ Vintage Homemaker. If so, you know that she is a perfect fit for The Honeybees Ladies Club. When this busy bee isn't working on some new project she enjoys spending time with her Honey Bear, Brian Jay and their two little pups who keep her laughing and young.

 Sandra Sprague: Sandra is a world traveler. Her and her musician husband Chris Sprague really get around. When she comes home she brings us tips and tricks from all over the world, making her an invaluable member to the club. We love her worldly cuisine and extensive knowledge of vintage collectables!

Amber Foxx: Amber is our newest member. When she is not singing with her all star band she likes to cuddle up with her pups and her Husband Bobby Cavener. She basically invented cake pops, which makes her the bee’s knees in our eyes! We always go to Amber with hair and makeup questions, because she is the pro!

We had a blast at our first meeting and we are looking forward to so much more!! Here are some photos I got from our event...of course I'm behind the camera but hopefully I can snag some more from Miss Dollie soon to share! Also check us out and like us over at our Facebook page to keep posted on what we are up to and to get more tips and tricks from us!

Perfect Date Night

Had an absolutely fantastic perfect date night with my hubbie last night. We got all dolled up and went to dinner then up to the Gibson Amphitheater at Universal Studios to see Brian Setzer Orchestra Christmas Extravaganza. We had so much fun enjoying one anothers company and of course, you gotta love a good Christmas show with the best music!!

Hubbie likes this one...but he forgot his coat.

I like this one...plus he has his coat on!

My bad attempt at a fashion model pose.

Love my new holiday dress! It has pockets!