Monday, November 26, 2012

The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt.


One of my all time favorite books is The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt by Caroline Preston. If you are a lover of the 1920's you need to check out this book! The pictures alone are total 1920's eye candy. I had never even heard of this book before until one of my blog followers, Stephanie Ruby Feldman of rubymusings.blogspot. turned me on to it. I went to the book store only to just take a peek at it and then I was going to check it out at the library but as soon as I laid eyes on it I had to have it!

Caroline Preston, the author has a huge collection of vintage ephemera and she wanted to find a creative idea to utilize it. She came up with the idea to tell the story of a fictional character (Frankie) in a book that is all laid out and written like a real scrapbook from the 1920's. The book starts off with Frankie having just graduated from high school and several years following. Many adventures and twist & turns are in store for the reader. To find out more about the book, the author and the ephemra collection visit the website: carolinepreston.

My very favorite picture from the book!
 
Until next time luvs!

Brooksie

Monday, November 19, 2012

Roasted Chestnuts.

Picture from Allrecipies.com
 
It is a very blustery and wet day out there today with intermittent torrential downpours! I had an appointment earlier today then I went home. I have not wanted to set foot outdoors since. Instead I am roasting chestnuts, this is the second time I have ever roasted chestnuts. The first time I tried it was a few years ago and I loved them. I saw them at the grocery store the other day so I picked up a bunch, today is the perfect day for chestnut roasting. Oh what a treat! This time I am trying a little bit of a different recipie (last time I just cut an X into them, put them in a shallow roasting pan, when done cooking I wrapped them up in an old kitchen towel then peeled the skins off) this time I am cutting the X, roasting them for a 1/2 hour then putting them in the old towel, peel off skins, place them into a skillet with some butter to saute' then back into the oven with a pinch of salt and a bit of cinnamon. For the complete recipie: allrecipes.com


Enjoy!

Brooksie

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Birthday fun at the coast!

It was my sweetheart Tim's Birthday on November 6th so we went for four days and stayed at the Inn at Otter Crest to celebrate. The Inn at Otter Crest is a wonderful place to stay, Tim's family has a time share there. They have a living room, kitchen, two full bathrooms and a bedroom. There is a pool, hot tub and sauna (I love the hot tub) with a wonderful view of the ocean from the room. It is also just a few miles to town which is Newport. Here are some pictures of our adventures:



Tim's car.


These pictures above are all pictures of the view from our room.The first night we got there we just cooked dinner, ate and relaxed.

The next day was absolutely beautiful for this time of year sunny with blue sky and some fluffy white clouds, the temperature was about 67 degrees out with very little wind. We took a little hike through a wooded area which led to the beach and then we walked the rest of the way back on the beach.

Me with the view of the Inn at Otter Crest and the ocean in the background.


Me on Otter Beach.


Water fall at Otter Beach.

Tim at the waterfall on Otter Beach.

After the long beach walk we came back fixed lunch and ate then we got into the car for a little drive a few miles down the road and some exploration in a little town called Historic Nye Beach.

Historic Nye Beach
This is a wonderful little place to visit, it is right on the ocean and has several nice stores and bistros. We came home had dinner then went in the hot tub and relaxed before bed.

On day three we woke up to much cooler weather and lots of rain and drizzle but we did not let it get us down, we forged ahead anyways. We went to Newport on the bay to pick up some fresh caught seafood to cook back at the room and to also do a little bit of window shopping.

Me at down at the bay.

A lady told me today that my outfit looked very smart!

Look at all of those seals on that rock!

The little town of Newport.

More pictures of the bay.







Fresh seafood from the market: Oysters, scallops and crab, fresh caught earlier that morning.

Before heading back to the room we stopped off at a antique mall and I found some things:




 
My antique mall finds include: a really cute velvet Jessica McClintock dress with built in crinoline, a pair of springolator shoes from the 1950's and a Banana Republic 1930's style vintage inspired dress (the Banana Republic dress is 100% silk and was only $2.00 and is in perfect condition). After shopping at the antique mall we headed to the room and cooked up our delicious seafood and took a dip in the hot tub once it got dark (a perfect way to end a cold drizzly day at the bay).

The next day we cleaned the room and headed for home! We had a lovely time.

Until next time!

Brooksie

Monday, November 5, 2012

1920's Style Shoe Give Away!



American Duchess is having a contest! The1920's 23Skidoo Shoe Give Away: americanduchess. The lovely 1920's reproduction shoes have a t-strap and are spectator style. They come in two color variety's, solid white along brown and white.

Go over to American Duchess and enter today!

Sunday, November 4, 2012

New Coat!


On Friday night Tim and I were out and about in downtown Portland and we had some time to kill so we ended up at Nordstrom Rack. I found this most beautiful princess style coat there that was half price. This coat was too beautiful to pass up so I of course had to buy it. I do not normally buy new or modern things - I usually shop at thrift stores or vintage clothing stores - however I will buy things that are new if they are of high quality and reproduction vintage or vintage inspired. This coat is very well made and is completly lined inside with very nice fabric. This coat I would say is vintage inspired because it has the same shape and lines as a 1940's princess coat combined with a belted trench. Also while at Nordstrom Rack I got the pretty silk hair flower I am wearing and also a pair of very pale pink thick patterned thigh high stockings which are not shown. I had the opportunity to wear my new coat out last night (when this picture was taken) because Tim and I met another couple who are friends of ours for a double date at the Portland Seafood Company.


Until next time!

Brooksie

Thursday, November 1, 2012

October 30th and 31st.

I thought I would do a couple of outfit posts. On October 30th I went to the chiropractor (I never wear make-up on Chiropractor days but I usually put on a nice frock though) then afterwards I went to Goodwill and I found the cutest little leather western style costume skirt (I do not know how old this skirt is so I can not say it is a save the vintage from Halloween find that and it did appear to be a part of a costume at one point and time) but I did end up wearing it as a part of my Halloween costume last night while out on the town with friends and I will probably wear this skirt in the future - because it is so darn cute - at other times then just Halloween.

What I wore on Oct. 30th.

Close up of my Halloween socks.

Cute little leather (black with pink fringe) western skirt.

Me striking the traditional Marlboro Man pose with my Halloween costume (no I do not smoke).

One more of me and my costume.
Oct. 30th outfit:

Dress - Goodwill
Slip - Thrifted
Orange ribbon - Oblation Press
Halloween socks - Mom
Dansko heels - Clogs ~N~ More Store

Halloween costume:

Straw hat - Tim
Levi's western shirt - Goodwill
Leather jacket - Pacific City Library Thrift Store
Skirt - Goodwill
Boots - Steve Madden from Nordstroms

Au revoir!

Brooksie