Skipped Work & Went To The PNE!

Wednesday I skipped work and my mum, aunt and I went to the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver. It is a large yearly fair that has been going on since 1910. 

 Even though I am trying to be on a diet I had poutine with grilled chicken on it for dinner. You're supposed to eat naughty at a fair, aren't you? If you have never head of poutine - it is French Canadian and consists of french fries covered in cheese curds and gravy. Hardy low cal.

There was an ABBA tribute bank playing in the park. They were excellent, but what was even a better show was watching one guy who was sure they were singing only for him. Blowing kisses, holding his lighter and spinning - awesome!

The main reason we went to the fair was to see The Proclaimers. I've wanted to see them since the late 80's. Finally it worked out and they were wonderful. They sang all the songs I wanted to hear, they were funny and they were excellent musicians. PLUS - there were a number of men in kilts attending, which certainly wasn't hard on the eye!

What Do You Wear To A Funeral?

My great aunt Nora died at the end of July. She lived in Cupertino, CA, but her funeral was some place north and east of Mission BC - by Stave Lake & Golden Ears. Reeeeeally far out there from the lower mainland. On the way back we drove home through Burnaby and East Vancouver. I guess I haven't been through these places much, because it was like a whole new city. Businesses that had only Filipino writing on the front, strange apartment complexes, funky old house tucked away between industrial buildings - it was like being in another city!

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My beautiful cousins Heidi and Christie and I - a thorn between two roses. It seems a bit unfeeling taking smiling photos at a funeral, but I hadn't seen them in quite some time and was really happy to visit.
They we dressed, as was I in an modest black dress, which we thought appropriate for a funeral. I was shocked at the attire some of the attendees wore - capris, shorts, tee shirt, a bright red dress so low cut I could almost see nipples. ITS A FUNERAL! Can't you dress up for a few hours? Am I the only one who thinks this?

It was my grandmother's sister who died. At 85, she still has 4 brothers and sisters alive, so she is luckier than most. But - Nora was her best friend . Auntie Nora was always nice to me, always wanting me to visit. Just until a few years ago, she sent me a cheque in the amount of my age for my birthday!

My cousin Chuck works for Yahoo! in Cupertino. They not only gave him a paid week off to attend the funeral, the offer of more time if he needed it, they sent this bouquet of lilies to my grandmother! 

Lunch & Presents With Insomniac's Attic

On June 9th I won Insomniac's Attic $100 giveaway at her online store! I was travelling to my dad's in California at the time, and did not realize this until a few days later. I felt horrible because it looked like I couldn't even bother to respond, but I had no idea I'd won! Anyway... Insomniac herself was planning a visit to Vancouver in July, so we met up for lunch at Granville Island, and she brought my winnings!. The ONE photo I took of us ended up being corrupted on my camera :( 

It was such a lovely day at Granville Island, my mum, Insomniac, her daughter and I had lunch in the main part of the public market. Even though I hadn't been there in like 6 years, I was so happy they still had pierogies. We went tooling around shopping and Insomniac bought me an espresso ice cream at Rogers Chocolates! It was so awesome meeting someone whom I had so much in common with and she was SO nice! I wish Calgary wasn't so far away!

This is what I chose from her shop:

Silver Austrian Spider - It is so delicate and lovely, I'm going to convert it into a brooch. 

Bela Lugosi Mug - I used this immediately, as you can see it is filled with brownies and ice cream.

Edward Gorey Mysterious Messages Cards - My best friend just got engaged, so I sent him one congratulating him. These are so lovely I think I'm going to frame a few.

Gothic Metal Wall Plaque - I hung this up right away, but I need to find a way to secure it more soundly, I don't want anyone to steal it!

True Crime Cake & California

 

I visited my dad in California for 2 weeks and the moment I came back I started making this cake. My aunt loves true crime novels and I needed to top her previous birthday cakes. I designed the "cover" and had it printed on an edible sheet. Only $8! This was my first time working with rolled fondant, and although it was messy and scary it went pretty easy. My aunt loved the cake and is freezing the top part.

 These are two of her past birthday cakes. The scrabble tiles were was made with gum paste. The cake on the right is 10 layers of ice cream flavours. I was so scared it was going to fall over!

 I was at my dad's for 2 weeks and only managed to take pictures of his cats. Not even one of him on Father's day. Minnie on the left is a devil with a porcelain doll's face. She was glued to my side and sat at my feet every night. Midget in the middle is not all there and scared of every visitor ever, save me. Mikey on the right is wearing a toupee of Midget's hair!

On another note, my friends Willie and Alex, who have been separated by years worth of government bureaucracy were finally both together in Canada for the first time! They've been married for 4 years and have done everything by the book, but Alex could not cross the border. I'm so happy for them!

Victoria, Sting & Highland Games!

Hello all! I've been super busy at work and even busier at home. For some stupid reason I took a commission from a local bed & breakfast  - who is re doing all their rooms. I've been making pillows by the dozen as well as complicated window bench seats. I've been sewing so much I dislocated my thumb last week! This weekend I got to take a break and visit Victoria and see the highland games.

 

1890's animatron ladies drinking tea at Murchies. On the right is a blurry shot of the Sting concert. My mum is a huge Sting fan and this was or 25th Sting/Police concert. A million years ago I dated someone who worked at NBC and we got to meet him 3 times at the Tonight Show, so no concert is ever quite as good as that.

 Saturday we went to the Royal British Columbia Museum. This is my most favourite museum EVER! I've been there dozens of times since I was little. Once I was old enough to go by myself at around age 8 I was giddy with excitement! To my amazement they had a wonderful exhibit of the British Antarctic Expedition of 1912 and an IMAX about Shackleton's amazing deeds in the Antarctic. My real love is the Arctic, but the Antarctic will do too. I became obsessed with the Arctic while visiting Victoria in 1986. The remains of Franklin's expedition had just been found and there was a huge to-do about it. The wax museum had recreations of the exhumed bodies, I was so scared and thrilled at the same time!

Ice cave workshop on the left. George Vancouver's ship on the right.

Hair work in the Victorian hotel. Sitting on 19th century barrels.

We took the ferry back on Saturday and went to the Bellingham Highland Games on Sunday. The weather was lovely and there were men in kilts EVERYWHERE! Next time I should go without my boyfriend so I could do some hardcore lusting! To the left is the world champion Simon Fraser Pipe Band and to the left are some lovely girls dancing the Hornpipe. The Hornpipe is the cutest dance that can ever be, if you've never seen it click here.

 

There was a display of Scottish military uniforms. On the left is one from WW1, similar to the one my great-grandfather wore! On the right are some braw lads heaving the caber.

Sophistique Noir's Montly Theme Post - Vintage

 

OK, ok, ok, so I know I took waaay too many pics of my vintage stuff, but once I got going, I couldn't stop. So I apologize for all this junk, but I still blame Mrs. VictorianKitty for picking such a great monthly theme!

Yea Vintage!!!!!

One of my most favourite skirts. My old boss gave it to to me years ago, it is wool & still has it's 50's tags inside. I have a number of 50's wool poodle skirts, but only one giant pocket watch skirt!

 Two of the shelves in my dining room. I cannot fit another thing on them. Can you even see the 1870's Chang & Eng figurine, the Expo 86 bell, the 60's saccharine container & 50's swizzle sticks? I think I need to put a few more shelves & thin this mess out.

 OK, on to some of my vintage clothing. At the left is a mid-1920's orange silk and black lace dress. this fits, but it seems so fragile I am scared to wear it. In the middle is a wool 50's dress I bought at the Sally Ann for $1.50. The copper lace dress on the right is bias cut and I think it is from the late 1930's or early 1940's. Back when I was painfully thin, I wore it to a fancy dinner and people thought I was pregnant. Ever since then I've stayed away from bias!

 The mid 1920's dress on the left I think is made of rayon, not silk. The early 1930's dress in the middle IS silk and is totally fragile. The sort of 1940's dressing gown-ish dress on the right used to look so awesome on, until I ate too much Ben & Jerry's.  :( (not pictured - Victorian blouses, bright 60's mod dresses, 50's prom dresses, Edwardian summer whites, Victorian boots, flapper hats etc...)

 The wall by my tv is on the left. It features framed sheet music, postcards and prints from my editions of 1920's La Vie Pariesiennes. In the middle are are some of my tiny (mostly vintage) books. At the right are the bookcases and wall by my computer. On the bookcase are vintage shoes, hats & a posture brace. That's a framed photo of my grandmother in about 1925. My mother said my house was like Pee Wee's Playhouse meets the Haunted Mansion, so I like to think that - instead of it just being an utter schizo mess.

A few of my vintage dishes - I am very partial to pine & thistle. In glasses I am partial to Scotsmen, curling and bowling.

A little bit of my bathroom, I bought Elvis in a junk shop in Richmond, B.C. in about 1986. I have so many postcards, I like to rotate them in frames, currently I have big bum postcards up. At the right are my vintage clowns. I don't know why I did this to myself, as I am scared of clowns. The little ceramic fellow holds my tv watchin' glasses at night.