Retro Clothing Alert at Target!

Keep 'em peeled ladies, because Target - my home away from home - and Merona, my favorite brand, (which happens to be Target's house brand),  have cranked out some really cute retro/classic looking pieces lately. I've adored Merona for years because of this, plus they are affordable-SCORE!

Alright gals, feast your peepers on these beauties :

50's cuteness!

Lovely collared dress - so nice to finally have a "day" dress that is still dressy enough for work! 

Perfect cardi (I've been looking for this style/sleeve length for about 100 years)

This shirt! Something else I have been searching for for AGES, they came tied at the bottom, a perfect 50's staple!

Who doesn't love polka dots!? Oh and I have seen polka dot cardis on other retro clothing sites for around $50- at Target it's $19.99

60's cuteness!

Casual mini (for a later 60's look)     Striped dress - think happening

                                                          beach party!

          Cute pencil skirt!              Early 60's looking ankle pants

These are just a few of my favorites that can be found in store, they have a lot more online. And ya know the best part? The most expensive thing here are the pants at $27.99, not bad eh?

Save Bomb Girls!

If you haven't heard of this incredible show yet- you really, really ought to. It's set in 1940's Canada, following the lives of a group of young women who work in a factory building bombs for the war.

This little trailer gives a great quick introduction to the main characters:

As you can see there are plenty of outfits and handsome men to drool over...

But this show had so much more than that. I'm sick to death of "reality" programs, and so to genuinely care about these characters was very refreshing. It also gives what I think to be a pretty realistic, less focused on account of the time-the difficult dynamic between men (especially those not serving) and women, and often the prejudice these women simply trying to earn a living received. The actresses captured the spirit of those strong and brave women perfectly.

This  program sadly only aired two seasons before it was announced this past April it would not be renewed for a third, despite a huge fan base and multiple awards. Here in the U.S. the first season is available via Netflix, and the second I watched on YouTube. There's a petition you can sign to help save this wonderful show, they still need a little more than 1,600 signatures before they can submit it. We need more quality programs like this around, so please sign if you can, it only takes a second! Also if you're interested there are more ways to help, please visit the Save Bomb Girls website for more information.

Fish and Chips, Flowers and Fun in San Francisco!

This past weekend my mom and I spent a lovely Saturday in San Francisco celebrating Mother's Day. Other than a lot of Toms shoes, there was lots of beautiful scenery to be seen and amazing food to be had.

First we stopped off to look at some flowers and patio furniture at Flora Grubb Gardens, a gorgeous nursery/pottery/outdoor furniture oasis in the middle of the ghetto. Like people selling dodgy pies on the corner ghetto. Combination laundromat and car wash ghetto. Anyway, I digress. Flora Grubb seems to be the place to stock up, none other than Martha Stewart made an appearance last month (apparently her people called ahead of time to warn she'd be there) and everybody's favorite scoundrel President-Bill Clinton was there earlier in the week! Sadly mom and I missed them both, but at least mom can take comfort in knowing her taste in patio furniture is in good company. 

This was the most interesting part of the nursery to me:

This awesome old car (possibly a Ford Edsel?) converted into a massive planter box! 

Now of course I'd rather see it up and running, but I guess not being in a dumpster is a plus.

                 ^That's me and my always stylish Mom!^

After Flora Grubb, we did some shopping at The Gift Center (a bunch of little indoor shops selling jewelry), nothing vintage-y to see there aside from this leftover sign painted on the side of an unrelated building (no idea what it used to be!) down the same street (Brennan).





Our next stop was The Cliff House for an early bird dinner! A couple of nifty sights along the way:

Now abandoned cinema but the building still stands and some New York looking apartments

Mel's Drive-In! (Holy fog Batman)

The parking lot for The Cliff House is directly across from the once happening Sutro Baths:

Sadly today as you peer over the side of the cliff this is all you'll see:

 Aaaand after a little windy walk uphill and a quick photo-op stop...

We'd arrived!

How could you not love this building from the get-go!? The surrounding scenery, the architecture, the history, even those palms! Just divine.

Inside did not disappoint either, it splits into two restaurants, one more traditional and the other some fru-fru place charging God-knows-what for about two tablespoons of food. Luckily we ate in the older restaurant, the "Cliff House Dining Room":

There were gorgeous details everywhere-

From beautiful woodwork above the bar, to fab tile patterns on the floor!

 Even the bathroom doors were cute!

This incredible "ceramic muse"was once a feature in the Sutro Baths, created early 1890's.

Our table had some fantastic views as well:

 The walls inside were lined with pictures of their celebrity patrons! I sat next to Judy and Bob!







After and delicious portion of Fish and Chips, we headed on our way, but not before a quick photo with a cowboy that once resided in Playland !

Alright, and now for the major highlight of the day, I got to see where Marilyn Monroe got married!! San Francisco City Hall! And holy moly what a stunning building it is!

Marilyn and Joe leaving just after being married there on January 14, 1954:

Another of the couple on their happy day!

I hope to see the inside someday!

Well after a full day it was time to head home, a few parting views of the city:

 Hope you enjoyed my mini tour of San Francisco, till next time darlings!

Miss Doris MayDay

As I was having a typical lazy evening, avoiding doing any and everything productive-I browsed through the TV listings and stopped on TLC's "MyCrazy Obsession" after seeing the following description: "Flashback to the 50's; Everything about Doris is from 1950." Of course my thought was "Well that doesn't sound "crazy"!! Poppycock!" (because obviously I love to use old timey swear words) Too bad I had to sit through the first half of the show to get to Doris (a husband AND wife who collect "love dolls", use your imagination, or don't, at any rate-EW), but the last 15 minutes I sat there in awe. She deserved the whole episode if you ask me!

Major kudos to this girl. How much work goes into her make up/hair/outfits!? I mean sweet holy moly. Don't even get me started on that breathtaking house of hers. Immediately I had to google this 50's goddess, turns out she's very well known as a model and all over the Pin Up Girl Clothing site. And what a glorious discovery that site was, now if only I had more money, le sigh. This girl gets paid to look fabulous and wear vintage or vintage inspired/reproduction clothing, and/or be a vintage ambassador of sorts at conventions and fairs. 

Beyond jealous. That is all.

50's Movie Review...It Came From Outer Space!

Circa 1953...It Came From Outer Space!

This is one of those classics I have been meaning to see for ages but never got around to, lucky for me it was on TCM not too long ago! I'm not big on science fiction films but 50's sci-fi has something extra that today's movies of the same genre just seem to lack-the mystery. They didn't have fancy CGI or effects, so it was left up to your mind to imagine the worst possible scenario, which is often far more frightening then anything they could show you! 

And can you imagine seeing it in 3-D as advertised in the trailer? How fun would that have been?!

I'm not sure if it's leading lady Ellen's (played by the beautiful Barbara Rush) perfect hair and outfits, or the chemistry between her and love-interest, leading man John (Richard Carlson), but this movie is just a kick, I loved it!

Ellen and John are the only ones clued into the fact that some of the townspeople are acting a little... strange lately (could it have anything to do with that "meteor" they saw the other night?). Problem is, no one will believe them! Could it really be that aliens have taken over? Will they be able to convince the sheriff before it's too late?

Guess you'll just have to watch for yourselves and find out! ;) 

Till next time darlings!

Amy's 50's Housewife Experiment!

Oh yeah, it's a two-post-kind-of-day. Why you ask? Because my friend Amy revived her blog with her own take on the 50's Housewife Experiment! 
                               Check her out! 

This lady has two little ones, a husband, a cat, one hamster, a house to take care of, and still finds time to be awesome!  Go on and give it a read!

                               
                                                         

 (The original experiment by the lovely Jen can be seen here!)