Balcony Makeover - Holiday Edition

Hello Lovelies!

On Sunday I hosted a fabulous Advent party for my family, The Ladies, and their families.  If you are new here or haven't been paying much attention, my Oma and her two closest friends have known each other since 1959 and the three of them together have come to be known as The Ladies.

Through the sixties and into the seventies, the families would get together to celebrate the four Advent Sundays each year, but at a certain point that tradition, for a multitude of reasons I'm assuming, faded away.  Since I grew up hearing the stories of the Advent parties and all the other important and seemingly unimportant reasons that used to bring everyone together, I decided that I would start the tradition back up.

Traditions are fabulous...but there is A LOT of pressure when throwing a party that all three of The Ladies will be attending.  Or maybe it was just me that was putting a lot of pressure on myself since I saw the importance of the passing of this torch.  The Ladies threw Advent parties every year, but their children dropped the ball, so as the first grandchild to have any type of party with all The Ladies in attendance, I knew I had to do it right!

And that started with the terrible state that my herb garden had fallen into.  Shortly after I created my fabulous patio herb planters, I got some kind of virus and this:

 Deteriorated into this:

I am convinced that my new plants or even the soil had some plant disease of some kind as the jasmine that had been flourishing for two and a half years suddenly died as well.

There was no way that I could allow The Ladies to see my balcony in this state.

When I first purchased the planters, I was very unhappy with the teracotta color, but didn't really have the time to do much about it.  Since I had something of a second chance, I decided to deal with the planters themselves while I was dealing with the plants for the second balcony makeover.  So that's where I started, with the help of my fabulous neighbors.  Bridget's husband, Mike, got inventive and lined the planters with wrapping paper, taped them up, and we spray painted the outside and the inside of the lip.  This way, when I finally plant something else, it will look amazing without having the paint kill my new plants.

 Now that I had some fancy planters, I thought I would keep things simple and festive for the holidays.  So I went with poinsettias.  A bunch of them.

Not wanting a lot of fuss, I simply unwrapped them and dropped them, pots and all, into the new jazzed-up planters.  And the end result is something that I like to call Holiday Glam.

Three large plants in each turned out to be perfect!!

Unfortunately, the day I put the planters together was the first day of the cold snap here in Southern California and I was so afraid of something happening to my new friends that I have been tucking them in at night.  That's right, I build a little fort for them with my patio chairs and some old towels to keep them warm.  I don't think most people realize that poinsettias are actually tropical plants because we associate them with the holiday season.  Essentially they die if they are exposed to temperatures below 50 degrees and the second I brought them home, the nighttime lows dropped into the low forties.  FANTASTIC, but I tucked them in every night and they seem to be doing well.

Nite, nite little babies!

My little fort may not be very pretty, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!  Hopefully this will ensure things on my balcony stay holiday-tastic for the forseeable future.

Until our next balcony makeover!
XOXO!!

A Twist on the Traditional Christmas Wreath

Good Morning Kittens!

I hope everyone had a fabulous week!  Per usual, this first week of the month was crazy for me at work, which has been compounded with getting ready for an Advent party that I'm hosting on Sunday.  In the last five days, I've received four packages - three of the four were items I'd ordered to get ready for the party.  (A party that I'm determined to make into an epic event!)

The packages arrived throughout the week - last item arriving on Thursday and I was so excited to get it home to open it, I almost couldn't contain myself!

I consider myself somewhat traditional and somewhat not.  While I consider wreaths to be pretty traditional and I mainly associate them with moms in puffy-painted sweaters (I apologize if you are wearing a puffy-painted sweater right now...we can still be friends?), lately I've discovered some pretty fabulous wreaths.  So, it is with some hesitation that I admit that I might just be becoming a wreath kinda girl...  Now, I need to stipulate that it needs to be the right kind of wreath.

You may remember my fabulous Victorian wreath for Halloween, well, I am now the proud owner of a fabulous Christmas wreath!  While all the materials were Christmas-y, incorporating black into it is definitely NOT traditional.  Not traditional, but totally gorgeous!!

Some of the ornaments are so shiny that you can literally see yourself in them!

A few weeks back, I decided that I needed a Christmas wreath and started my search.  If you search for wreaths, most are pretty terrible!  It's damn-near impossible to find something that is not incredibly tacky and looks like a bunch of women in puffy-painted sweatshirts got together, drank too many wine coolers, and decided to have arts and crafts time.  (I simply can't bring myself to apologize for the lack of love puffy painted articles of clothing are getting today - admit it, you think they're terrible too!)  If you need some proof - here is the Google Image results page for 'Christmas Wreath'.  And if you want to visit the website for the first image and scroll down, the other items on the site...well, I can't tell which is the worst.  Perhaps the wreath made entirely of peppermints or perhaps the pine cone and apple wreath?  I really can't decide....and there are so many other hideous ones to chose from.  It's good for a serious laugh!

Okay, so you might be thinking that I'm being too harsh or perhaps you think you aren't a fan of wreaths, but I'm pretty sure once you see all the wreaths in the PrettyClassyParty Etsy shop,  you might be singing a different tune.  The woman behind the shop, Leah, is A-Mazing!!  I've never seen more glamorous Christmas wreaths in my life!  And to boot, she makes them custom!  I initially saw this silver and gold one and fell in love!  Although silver and gold aren't my colors, I couldn't take my eyes off of it!

buy it here

While this wouldn't be my personal color choice either, here is another one of the wreaths that PrettyClassyParty carries.

buy it here

Leah's wreaths are all made of ribbon, foam, and over 150 shatterproof Christmas tree ornaments.  She will even make wreaths for the sports fan on your list in their team colors and incorporate their logo.  It was actually when I saw one of these team wreaths with the red and black combination (I don't pay attention to sports, so I have no idea who the team was) that got me excited and I immediately knew I'd be ordering one!

Once my tree is done, you will understand exactly why this wreath in red and black appealed to me so much.  While it may look a little Burton-esque, I think it's pretty perfectly inline with how I do Christmas and I am absolutely in love!  And up close, the care that Leah took creating this work of art is evident.  It's absolutely flawless!!  Even the back is pretty!

If you, or anyone you know, is the market for the most sumptuous, beautiful ornament wreath available, stop by the PrettyClassyParty Etsy shop.  You will NOT be disappointed with your purchase and Leah is so genuinely nice!  She seemed as jazzed about my wreath as I was and got it done in record time since she knew I wanted to have this up for my party.  If I could give this woman a big kiss, I would, for giving me the most beautiful Christmas wreath I could have ever hoped for!!

I hope your holiday decorating is coming along as nicely as mine is.  And now to run some errands and get my tree decorated for tomorrow!  A big thank you to my mother who tipped me off that it was supposed to rain this morning since I was going to get up early to get my tree today.  It all worked out rather perfectly - I went to get my tree after work yesterday and it is not only gorgeous, but I woke up to the most wonder smelling apartment!  I truly love this time of year!

PS - perhaps you should put wreath shopping on your to-do list for today.  I'm pretty sure if you find the right one, it'll make you very happy!

XOXO!!

Advent, Advent, Ein Lichtlein Brennt

Guten Abend Kätzchen!

I hope everyone had a great weekend with family and friends.  Now that Thanksgiving is out of the way and we are officially in December, I once again find myself surrounded by some really fabulous traditions!  I am not remotely religious, but I absolutely LOVE the Christmas season and all the traditions that come along with this time of year.  These traditions may be rooted in religion, but to me, they represent the family, friends, and warmth that fill the season.

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As I was raised in a German Catholic immigrant household, we've always celebrated Advent.  While I personally am not sure about all the details of Advent, (here is a little light reading if you're interested) I've always loved sitting down on the four Sundays prior to Christmas with an Adventskranz (Advent wreath) and a festive drink (and, if I'm being honest, perhaps a Christmas cookie or two) to light one candle to mark each Advent Sunday.

About two years ago, I thought that I should start putting my own stamp onto the traditions I've always enjoyed.  While I'm not in anyway an arts and crafts, DIY kinda girl, I was determined to make my own Adventskranz or Advent wreath.  I have some pretty crafty friends and the four of us have had a few Crafty Bitch Parties (where I typically end up as someone's helper) and I thought that I would throw my own party, where instead of everyone bringing a craft as we'd done before, we all make our own Adventskranz.  Sounds super fun, right?  Right!

So, I had everyone over on the First Advent, which I turned into a Brunch (SHOCKING, I know!) and also brought in my mother and our resident Adventskranz expert, Oma to lend some authenticity and credibility to the event.

This photo may be a little blurry, but it's quite apparent that the spinach scramble and potatoes were a success.  And were quite necessary - it's a well known fact that you have to fuel the craftiness.

An equally well-known fact is the fact that mimosas are integral to the creativity process!

My lovely crafters - Britni (with her pine cones), Lisa, and Stephanie!

I stocked up on all the necessary items to build our wreaths.  

And then we got to it!

Britni and her fabulous bow!

 I must say, our Adventscranzes turned out so great!

And then we rewarded ourselves with coffee and the traditional German Christmas cookies that Oma and I made over Thanksgiving weekend!

 It's okay to be jealous, it was a fabulous day!

And now, I have my very own Adventskranz to enjoy every year!  Which made last night possible.  I made a cup of boozy tea in a Christmas mug and lit the first candle to mark the First Advent.  As I was lighting the candle, I couldn't help but think of the German poem about lighting the Advent candles.

"Advent, Advent, Ein Lichtlein brennt.
 Erst eins, dann zwei,
 Dann drei, dann vier,
 Dann steht das Christkind vor der Tür!"

Translation:
"Advent, Advent, a candle is burning.  First one, then two, then three, then four, and then the Christchild will be standing at your door."

Port and I hope all of you were able to celebrate the start of the holiday season in an equally fabulous way!

Happy Advent, Kittens!
XOXO!!

What Am I Thankful For?

Happy Thanksgiving Lovelies!

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I know you are going to see lists of things that people are thankful for today, but I thought that I would compile my own as I've never actually put one onto paper before - not that this is 'on paper', but you get where I'm going with this.

I find myself taking a step back quite often to appreciate how lucky I am.  I may not be where I envisioned myself at this point in my life, and there are still plenty of things I want to do, see, and accomplish, but I acknowledge that I have a good life.  A very good life.

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What am I thankful for (aside from the fantastic vintage photos above), you may ask?  In no particular order, I am thankful for:

-The fact that I have my Oma in my life.  That she is happy, healthy, active, and self-sufficient and has more love to give (and gives it freely) than anyone I've ever known.
-My mother and my sister who I love unconditionally and who love me the same way in return.
-My warm, cuddly little Port.  While he can be incredibly needy and I have forgotten what it is like to own my own lap (the second I sit down, he makes it a point to commendeer it!), this little ball of fur is the most loyal, affectionate, trusting, smartest cookie I've ever come across.  He's also incredibly handsome.  No, I'm not biased.
-An incredible group of friends.  People who sometimes know me better than I know myself, who I know are there for me through anything, and people I love and support regardless of circumstance.
-The absolute best neighbors in the entire world.  Two people who will watch Port when I'm gone, who will spend an ENTIRE Sunday running to two Home Depots in an attempt to help me hang curtains, and who will bake cookies from scratch and pick up the absolute BEST macaroni and cheese when I am sick.

And a few other items.  Not as sentimental, but things that make life absolutely fantastic!
-The smell of freshly brewed coffee
-The smell of rain, the sound of a good downpour, and how deeply I sleep during a storm
-The smell of jasmine and gardenias on a warm summer evening
-The feel of fall in the air
-Being up to watch the sun rise (and then going to bed)
-Watching the sun set over the ocean
-The sound of popping the cork on a bottle of bubbly
-The first night of sleeping on clean sheets
-Warm towels on a cold winter morning
-Laughing so hard and so long that I am in physical pain
-People who say please and thank you
-People with elevator etiquette
-The open road on a solo road trip
-Sleeping in and spending an entire day in my pajamas
-Having a glass of wine and dancing around in my kitchen
-Finding a fabulous pair of heels
-Brunch

The first few are obvious and most people will list similar things in their top five, but what seemingly unimportant things are you thankful for?  Those are always the fun ones!  I've left many items off this list either because I didn't want a list 87 pages long, but also because I didn't give myself a lot of time to sit and really think about this list.  These were the items that first popped into my head.

Perhaps it's good that I know I've missed things since that means I have new material for the next list of things that I'm thankful for...

I hope you all take a few minutes to really think about the things you are thankful for today.  And that you do so more often than just one day a year.  As many things may not be going exactly as planned, there are far more things that we can all be thankful for than not.

Now to get back to making the dishes I'm bringing to my Mom's for Thanksgiving Dinner.  I wish you all a fantastic day with family, friends, good food, and good wine!!

XOXO!!

This Charming Dame Lesson 7 - Wear Pajamas

Pajamas?  How dreadfully outdated.  Boring even.  Oversized T-Shirts and sweat pants or boxer shorts...now that's the ticket!!  Right?  Wrong!

Oh Kittens, I don't know why it's taken me so long to write this post, because this one idea - the idea of pajamas - was one of the main drivers behind starting The Vintage Project.  I'm not sure how many pairs of pajamas I am personally responsible for being sold in the last year, but I'd say it was rather significant.  All through the fall of 2012, I was waxing poetic about pajamas to anyone that would listen and I was pretty surprised when other people were getting excited about pajamas as well!

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Now that we're FINALLY getting winter weather in Southern California, it's only fitting that I mention pajamas here.  Are pajamas strictly for cold weather?  No.  But the majority of the ones I own just happen to be.  This might have something to do with the fact that I had my Grand Pajama Revelation in the fall and immediately went to my dresser and threw out most of my T-shirts and pants I'd been sleeping in post haste and began purchasing pajamas.  Yes, I was one of those people that had lost the inclination to dress nicely for bed once I began living alone.  Since no one was going to actually see me, I didn't give much thought to what I was sleeping in.  Ashamedly, I had regressed to wearing ratty old T-shirts and sweat pants full of holes to bed.  And whenever I saw myself dressed for bed, I felt terrible about myself.  Even if you don't have company in bed, knowing that you take absolutely no pride in what you're sleeping in is pretty detrimental to how you feel about yourself as a woman.

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Classing up your nighttime ensemble is an easy way to feel better about yourself.  There's simply something romantic and classy about the idea of sleeping in actual pajamas.  But somehow, I had just associated them with a different time, and I know for a fact that I'm not alone.  How foolish are we?  To think that pajamas, of all things, are out of our reach!  I'm not sure exactly how the shift happened for me, but I'm incredibly embarrassed that it took me so long to get the memo.  Le sigh... 

Kittens, what have you been wearing to bed?  Perhaps you aren't as terribly lazy as I was, but ask yourself, are you happy with your ensemble choices when you turn in?  You don't need to go as far as matching pajamas with your significant other - although, how cute are Lucy and Ricky?!?  (PS - a man in pajamas??  That's the ticket!!)  No, you can (and in my opinion, should) be pulled together all on your own.  If you still aren't on board with the idea of pajamas, these incredibly fabulous ladies might bring you around to my way of thinking!

See, Lucy doesn't need Ricky for her pajama set to be fantastic!  (She probably didn't even need Fred the puppy, but he certainly was adorable!)

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Jean Harlow looks divine - even amongst all the mess!

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Carole Lombard's geese approve of her plaid pajamas.

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Sophia Loren does a little reading before bed!

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See how fabulous the pajama set can be?  I picked up four pair last winter while Victoria Secret was having a pretty spectacular sale which included free slippers.  Yes please!  The leopard print and polka dots are The Dreamer Flannel Pajama (though neither of these designs seem to be available this year), the black is The Afterhours Satin Pajama, and the grey is The Sleepover Cotton Pajama.  While the Sleepover pajama is ultra light-weight, most of my light, summer pajamas have come from Target and I LOVE them, so you don't need to spend much on your pajamas if you don't want to.

If full pajamas aren't quite your thing, there are plenty of night shirts out there for you to chose from.  Or you could always pull a Holly Golightly and simply wear a tuxedo shirt!

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With her sleep mask and fabulous tasseled ear plugs, Holly is super glam while sleeping!  You can either accessorize like her, or you can simplify like Marilyn.

While it may appear that she's sleeping in the nude, she's not.  She famously told reporters, "What do I wear to bed?  Why, Chanel No. 5 of course."

Really, the choice in what you wear to bed is your own, but please, do something for yourself and toss out the T-shirts and sweat pants riddled with holes.  You'll be glad you did!

Wishing you a beautiful night in beautiful pajamas!
XOXO!!

Ten Thousand Pageviews!

Yes Kittens, you read that right!  This little blog is trucking right along...we just hit ten thousand pageviews!!!

I am incredibly grateful that you keep dropping by for a visit!  And on this particular visit, I say we celebrate in true Vintage Project fashion by popping a bottle and doing a little dancing!

When I think of people really letting loose, I think of the 1960's.  May I submit for your consideration, Exhibit A.

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And Exhibit B.

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And Exhibit C.

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Exhibit C looks suspiciously like The Twist.

And this looks suspiciously like Conway Twitty, Chubby Checker, and Dick Clark getting down and doing The Twist themselves.  FUN TIMES!!!

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The Twist that we all know and love and attribute to Chubby Checker was actually a cover of the Hank Ballard and the Midnighters song.  Dick Clark heard the song and tried to book them on American Bandstand, but they were unavailable, so he brought Chubby Checker in to perform it.  It was such a hit that Clark suggested that Checker record his own version and the rest is history!  (I strive to be educational and informative.)

The Twist as a dance is obviously interwoven into the song's history, and as the song reached Number 1, the dance became a full-fledged craze and took the world by storm!  When he was on American Bandstand and The Ed Sullivan Show, Chubby Checker taught the move by telling the audience "Just pretend you're wiping your bottom with a towel as you get out of the shower and putting out a cigarette with both feet."  Doctors warned of back injuries and religious institutions warned of deteriorating morality - which means it's super fun!

"We're gonna twisty, twisty, twisty
 Til we tear the house down!"

For those of  you who haven't heard it in a while, or those of you from Mars who have no idea what I'm talking about, please behold the magic of Chubby Checker!  This song automatically puts me in a fantastic mood and makes me start moving!!

And if you needed further proof that no one can have a bad time dancing to this song, here it is.  This video of people twisting is pretty spectacular!

And who could forget one of the most iconic scenes from 1990's cinema?

So let's twisty, twisty, twisty, but leave the house in tact...we've got a lot more Vintage Project goodness ahead of us!

Here's to the next ten thousand views!  Imaging all the fun we'll have before we go dancing again!!
All my love - XOXO!!

All Aboard the Green Smoothie Train!!

Good Morning Lovelies!

How did you start your day?  I started my morning the same way I have for the past week and a half.  With a green smoothie.  So L.A., I know, but I think I'm finally a convert to this whole green smoothie thing.

While I haven't been as successful with eating clean consistently as I'd like, I've been back on track for the past few weeks and in adding green smoothies to my morning routine, I'm finding it easier to stay on track throughout the day.  It might be psychological, or it might be that inundating my system with something so densely packed with the good stuff only makes it only want more.  Whatever the reason, I foresee this becoming a permanent thing for me.

There have been many benefits associated with green smoothies, they're super easy to make, and if you haven't tried them before, let me assure you, they can be incredibly tasty!!

The only downside, is that you have to make sure you're always stocked up on produce, because you will use a lot.  And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT!  I went through two of these large tubs of organic spinach between the smoothies and as part of my salad mix for lunch!  While I'll be changing things up (really there is no limit to what you can put together), I've essentially perfected this first incarnation.

My mother gifted me a Magic Bullet and I've put it to VERY good use!  While one of the selling points of the Magic Bullet is that you can put things into it, blend it, and go, I tend to make things more complicated than they need to be, so it shouldn't be surprising that that's not exactly how things go for me.  I wanted to blend certain things and found that the individual cup just wasn't big enough to accommodate everything.  But I will say - the Magic Bullet truly is no muss, no fuss when it comes to clean up.  Which makes me super happy!

So, I've established a really great little system.

I fill three of the containers with two stalks of celery, a pear, a banana, and one and a half of them full of baby spinach (using as much organic as possible - except for the bananas, there's no point in getting those organic).  Instead of any type of milk, yogurt, or water, I brew a few cups of green tea and use that as my liquid.  I love green tea and who couldn't use a few more antioxidants??

 As each individual cup is finished, I dump the contents into a bowl.

After all three cups are done, I add a few drops of Stevia to bump up the sweetness and give it a good mix.

And then ladle the mixture back into the little cups.  It ends up being about two and a half containers full.

I do all of this each night so that I can have the one that's half full while I'm getting ready in the morning and take the other two to work.  I enjoy one while I'm catching up on email once I get there and give the other to a friend who doesn't have a nifty little Magic Bullet just yet.  And we're both feeling fabulous!  She's not a fan of celery or raw spinach and she loves these.  So, there's your endorsement!  I can't wait to try a different incarnation next week!!

Did you drink your veggies today, Lovelies?  I highly recommend you try it!
XOXO!!