The Rockabilly Socialite

My Vintage Obsession

2012-03-05T19:48:00.000-08:00

Hello all!

A few months ago I was contacted by TLC to be considered for their new show, My Collection Obsession (later changed to My Strange Obsession). I was referred by fellow blogger Ashley of Lisa Freemont Street, who also referred the fabulous Doris Mayday to the show scouts. I figured they would pick Doris for sure, so why bother right? I spoke with Doris about it because she is so friendly and open about it, and she said the scouts were talking to her but still considering other options because they were unsure what they wanted for the show. They said they wanted someone totally living in the 50s, like no internet, phone, etc. Obviously, no one really lives like that! But, I decided it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot, right? So they interviewed me over the phone and then asked that I make a 5 minute video to submit it to them. It was a busy week for us, but we did it quickly after work one night. We did it all in one take, even though a messed a few things up (I called the bathtub the stove-doh).

They ultimately emailed me back and said they went with Doris. They said it was because she is geographically closer to TLC in NYC. But I know it is because she is freakin' amazing, right? We are friends on facebook and she finds the coolest stuff out in the mid west! She also has a really unique paint theme in her house. I can't wait to see it all on the show!

So, since they won't be using me, I thought you all would enjoy to see the video! It is my very first YouTube video! Enjoy!

Make sure to catch the lovely Doris on TLC's My Strange Obsession and on Anderson Cooper promoting the show! I am sooooo excited for her and can't wait to see it! I will be DVRing this asap and you should too!

XOXO
Dollie

Fish Fry Hollywood Speakeasy

2012-03-05T18:44:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago we went to Hollywood for the Fish Fry Speakeasy. It's a free monthly record hop put on by our friend Chris aka DJ Lucky La Rocka. It is a great place to meet up with your friends, grab a drink or two, and dance!

While I was there, Chris played one of my fav songs from Don Cavalli's The Pharoah record. I was so excited that I had to see this record in person. I have always wanted it but it is so hard to find and very expensive. If anyone has one lying around, feel free to send it to me!

With Cara. I went casual and wore a pink sweater and barkcloth skirt.

Dj Lucky La Rocka

Pablo and Zack

some crowd shots

nice looking crowd, right?

After the socialized a bit and the bar closed, we decided to hit Bob's Big Boy in the way home!

I was super excited!

I had breakfast

Zack had cherry coke and chili spaghetti

We had to pose for pics with Bob!

I though he could use break from holding that plate!

Zack and Bob- a match made in heaven.

Fun Fact: Zack and I's first date was at Bob's Big Boy when I was 17. Still going strong 7 years later!

XOXO

Dollie

My Vintage Wedding: Prom Attire!

2012-03-03T22:52:00.000-08:00

I knew I always wanted a 1950’s prom themed wedding reception, that is why I bought the perfect white prom dress when I found it at Viva Las Vegas in 2010, before I was even engaged! The seller that I got the dress from, Boss Vintage in Denver, suggested it was not actually a prom dress because an all white dress was too mature for prom. Rather instead that it was probably a graduation dress (because we mature so much in those few months between prom and graduation, right?). No biggie, it looks like a prom dress to me, so I am sticking to it!

I think it will be so cute to see all the girls in pastel colored dresses and me in a big white poofy dress, ballet length of course! I am so looking forward to the prom dresses that I plan to make a “best prom dress contest” to encourage people to go all out with it!

The boys will look so dapper in white dinner jackets (that is at least what Zack is wearing), fleck suits, and heck, even tuxedos!

I am not one of those crazy matchy-matchy people that insist my bridal party wear matching outfits, so I told them to wear whatever they want. Some of them already had appropriate prom outfits in their closet, which is awesome because I don’t want anyone to spend too much money. Heck, I only spent $90 on my dress, and I am the bride!

Love his two tone look with the white bucks-sharp!

Nice white jacket!

Cute!

I had to include one Cry Baby photo!

XOXO

Dollie

My Vintage Wedding: Honeybee Crafting Party/Bridesmaids Luncheon

2012-02-29T08:00:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I had my Honeybee's and a few of my bridesmaids (not everyone could make it) for a crafting party/bridesmaid luncheon. So, I just wanted to share a little bit about the afternoon with you. But first........one of the perks to getting married.....

lots of free delicious cake!

We went to a new hip cake shop in town to get a price quote to see if our wedding cake was more expensive then it should be or not. The baker came up with a cake for us using our theme, but it still looked so modern and typical- exactly like you would see on "The Knot". Also, it was $150 more for 50 less servings then the previous quote we got. After that we were 100% set on the cake shop and design we chose. But the visit was not a total loss, we got free cupcakes to take home as our taste test! We enjoyed them immensely and may go back for cupcakes or cakepops in the future.

Now, back to the main event- wedding crafting!

I wanted to make a "congrats" pennant flag, so I started it before the gals arrived.

This was my first time making one and it was so fun and easy! I will have to make more!

Basically, you cut the fabric using a triangle pattern you make out of paper. Then you pin it on the cord how you want it (I liked this gold cord so I picked that, but a lot of people use bias tape) and then stitch it down with a sewing machine. Then you cut the letters out of felt and glue or sew them on (I have yet to finish that part).

Reagan, my Honeybee V.P. and Deen, my bridesmaid. Love these gals to death!

I made sure to hang up my flag banner before they came!

I made us a cocktail with fresh juiced strawberry, lemon and lime.

I made croissants and blueberry scones served with English lemon curd. I also made a little honeybee hive cake and matching cupcakes!

I put together a little veggie tray with hummus and made some chocolate chip cookies too! Reagan brought the chocolate from Hawaii!

Once we had enough to eat and drink we started crafting.

We were glittering my glass coke bottle centerpieces!

I love my new up-do inspired by Constance in "American Horror Story." I want to age gracefully just like her! She is gorgeous!

This is about 1/3 of my bottles, in my wedding colors- pink, teal and gold!

I am so thankful that they came to help out! I would have gone crazy glittering all of those bottles by myself.

Once Sandra got there we took another break.

Close up of my Hive cake! It had little bees flying out of the top.

Honeybee hive honey jar. I have started collecting honeybee stuff since forming the ladies club.

This close up of the food is making me hungry!

Time to eat this cake!

This is the top layer, just a perfect mini cake!

After the cake and champagne we got back to work making more table centerpieces out of vinyl 45 records. We also made more little paper flags. No pictures yet, so I have to take some for you!

XOXO

Dollie

My Vintage Wedding- Rockabilly Prom

2012-02-28T07:48:00.000-08:00

I know you have all been dying to know the theme of my wedding reception (yeah right, I am so self-centered, I know), and today is the day I tell you! Drum roll please……

ROCKABILLY PROM!!!!

I have always dreamed of having a 1950’s prom themed wedding. Crazy fun idea, right? I know, I am so excited! Poofy pastel prom dresses as far as the eye can see, live bands, balloons and streamers, the stroll……..ahhhh heaven! But we didn’t want it to be too bubble gum sweet, we wanted a little rock-n-roll too, so Rockabilly Prom was born! The colors are pastel pink, teal, (the 50’s part) mixed in with gold and a little black (the rock-n-roll part). I will be wearing a poofy prom dress, but while holding a beer- just what a juvenile delinquent in the 50s always dreamed of! I am a bit obsessed with 1950’s high school stuff, so I am uber excited about all of this! It’s not a traditional wedding reception by any means, but exactly what I always dreamed of. If my guests don’t agree, those squares can stay at home!

After hearing all of the details in coming posts you will think this doesn’t seem like a wedding reception at all (which Zack likes. For a musician he sure doesn’t like to be in the spotlight! He tried to tell me a first dance would make us seem arrogant!), but we will have some touches that make it seem like a wedding, such as the ceremonial cake cutting! We ordered a beautiful traditional tiered wedding cake in our main wedding color, pink. With the vintage cake topper from our elopement, of course! It cost a small fortune so we are really looking forward to it.

We mostly tried to take normal wedding tradition stuff and put a prom spin on it. Although, stuff like a limo with grand entrance, father-daughter dance, bouquet toss, garter toss, rice throwing when we exit…..won’t be happening, much to the MIL’s dismay. But, that stuff is just not important to us. I mean, nowadays it seems like a sin to not have escort cards, a photo booth, and a Viennese hour (what the heck is that?), but that stuff is soooo far off our radar as a rockabilly couple. I think that all of those expensive extras that we “must have” just adds to the headache of planning! It also distracts from the real point of the day, celebrating the love of the couple. But, that is just what is right for me, doesn’t mean it is right for everyone. We are adding one (only one!) recent modern wedding trend- the candy bar! I couldn’t help it! I love sweets and always think the candy bars are so cute and fun. So that will be our favors to the guests. We are doing it all ourselves with stuff we got on sale to keep the cost low. I did a mini mock up the other day and it is so darn cute!

Following prom tradition, we ordered matching pink corsages instead of bouquets for the girls in my bridal party, or “Prom Court” as I like to call them! The boys will be sporting classic pink carnation boutonnières we ordered for them. I imagine it like the song, “White Sport Coat and A Pink Carnation.” They will be darling! More on what will be worn in another post coming soon. For now I guess I should mention who my “Prom Court” is…..

Gals:

Sandra Sprague

Amber Foxx

Deen Dioria

Alana Amarillas

Guys:

Chris “Sugarballs” Sprague

Bobby Cavener

Brandon Dixon

Rene Cervantes

We are so excited to have them to share our special evening with. I am most excited to see who the guests crown the Rockabilly Prom King and Queen! The suspense will kill me! And yes, there will be vintage crowns involved! Squeal!!! Then the prom king and queen will have their special dance and after the rest of the prom court will join in the celebratory dance.

But we can’t dance without music! You knew that was coming into play at some point, right? We have a ton of amazing musician friends who lovingly agreed to play for us. Because so many people are willing to play, they each only have to play a few songs, allowing everyone time to socialize, dance and have fun! We also have an amazing DJ who will be spinning vinyl 45s in between live bands! I anticipate that dancing the night away will be a highlight of the event. In order to foster the dance party atmosphere I might have a jive contest so the best jivers can show off a little! Sounds fun, right?

This is just a little taste of what is to come. I felt so bad planning this amazing (to me) party and leaving all of my loyal followers in the dark! So sorry about that. I am trying to make up for lost time now. I will continue with the My Vintage Wedding series to include details on the venue we booked, the DIY crafting, etc. Stay tuned!

XOXO

Dollie

My Vintage Wedding- Looks Nothing Like A Modern Wedding!

2012-02-27T21:19:00.000-08:00

Hello friends, new and old! I am sorry for my absence lately. As you all realize, I am engaged and planning a wedding. But since I have not told you any of the details, you have no idea what, where, and most importantly when I am planning it. If you are a Facebook friend then you are much more “in the know,” as I post there pretty much daily. So, the reason for my lack of posts is because we are rapidly approaching my wedding- already! I never told you all this, but we are planning my bachelorette party at Viva Las Vegas, then my elopement/destination wedding shortly after, and then my reception a month later when we are back in town. It’s all coming up so fast! I have been in the thralls of wedding planning, but doing a pretty good job of keeping my head on straight (in my opinion). Therefore, really cementing in my head that an elopement/destination was the right thing for us.

What we are doing can’t really be classified as an elopement because it was planned out (a year in advance due to the high demand of the location!), so really it is more like a destination wedding for two! This elopement (what I will call it for the sake of this post) wedding is to-the-tee exactly what we have always wanted, and we couldn’t be more thrilled. It has the feeling of high school sweethearts who just woke up one day and decided to get married, while also having a few extra things that are important to us: like a photographer (to capture it for the family) a pretty bouquet, and a boutonniere. It is low-key, romantic and personal-just right for us. Although, it’s not exactly what our friends and family would have picked for us. Especially Zack’s mother who wanted us to have a golf course wedding, white limo, and all the traditional what-not (which in reality is not “traditional” anyway because most weddings weren’t like that when our grandparents got married. That is all modern mumbo-jumbo sold to us by the big bad white wedding industry). While I just couldn’t stomach the thought of that, we can compromise. So, we decided to plan a “formal” reception about a month after the ceremony back in town. This way our friends and family can share in our joy and celebrate the marriage with us. We will wear our wedding outfits again to please the parents, cut a cake, and do a first dance (sort of). But, being us, we still couldn’t conform to traditional white wedding standards, so we are having a really rockin’ themed reception (details to come in another post-stay tuned). This reception may be for the friends and family (and honestly, something we could do without), but if we have to plan it, pay for it, and execute it, it has to be 100% us. It’s not going to be sophisticated, chic or ritzy, but it’s not going to be a hillbilly barn dance either (but I would have loved that, no way would MIL go for that!). What we want it to be is FUN FUN FUN! We will eat, drink, and dance the night away. Luckily, we have pretty modest tastes (compared to most modern wedding couples), so we don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to be happy. So, we are paying for it all in cash, all by ourselves (go us!). We also don’t have to save for a down payment on a house right after the wedding because we did that all over a year ago and already own our lil’ dream home (again, go us!). So, like a said before, I have been mostly low stress and have really been enjoying our engagement. We have been super busy with wedding crafting though, so I look forward to everything being done so we can just enjoy some quiet along time together again. I have enjoyed the wedding crafting (I love DIY!), mostly because of the one on one time it has provided with my bridesmaids/honeybees and myself. I adore these girls second only to my soon-to-be husband, and I could not have done this whole “wedding” thing without their continued help and support. Nothing like a wedding to make everyone come together and feel all warm and fuzzy! Really, that is what a wedding is all about, so that is what I have been doing- basking in the joy of an upcoming wedding instead of sitting on my computer and talking about it.

We did have one setback though, that sent me into a bout of depression for, oh, about a week. We were counting on another large tax return from the purchase of our house to finance our dream honeymoon to High Rockabilly in Spain (last years tax return paid for the ring and ½ of the elopement costs, thank god). We don’t normally count our eggs before they hatch, but we trusted our tax guy when he said we were in for a large return. Unfortunately, he was dead wrong and we got nothing back. That meant that a lot of things were on the chopping block, the honeymoon being the most expensive was an obvious choice. We have been trying to go overseas for years and can’t seem to afford it, so I thought if we couldn’t do it this year we won’t ever be able to do it. I was heart broken to say the least.

We thought about canceling the reception to use that money for the honeymoon, but it wouldn’t cover all of the costs, and so much time and planning had already gone into it from our loved ones and us. I mean, people had already bought dresses and matching shoes! Save the dates had gone out, people had booked hotel rooms, everyone was so excited! So, we just couldn’t do that to everyone.

We brain stormed mini-moon vacations. We knew we wanted to do something we had never done before, but something in California that would be within our tight budget. So, we decided on our absolute cheapest back up option- Palm Springs! We have only been there on a day trip to see Amber Foxx play, but we loved it and have really wanted to go back. I was so disappointed at first that I couldn’t see the good in it. But now after talks with Zack and lots of contemplation, I stopped being a brat and started to look forward to Palm Springs. I mean, most people our age doing it all on their own are not lucky enough to go on a honeymoon at all! And really, Palm Springs is totally cool to us and a place we have always wanted to go for a little get away. It is more in line with what a honeymoon would have been for a (well off) couple in the 50s. It also makes for a more suitable honeymoon in the fact that it will be just us and not a ton of friends and fans like the High would have been. There will be more relaxing time, instead of us running all over town trying to get to the next thing, and it will be more private. The hotel we booked, The Orbit Inn, is a 21+ mid-century modern boutique hotel that is quiet, peaceful, and kid-free. We have always wanted to stay there. Each room is full of mid-mod furniture, a record player, and has views of the surrounding mountains. They also offer a free breakfast, free beach cruisers to take to town, and a free nightly cocktail hour! The room we booked has a fireplace, private patio and outdoor shower- romantic, yes? We can spend our days lounging by the salt-water pool, and our afternoons vintage shopping. We can go on mid-mod home tours, and visit museums. And at night we can try the town’s nice restaurants. And since Palm Springs is only a few hours away, we can relive our honeymoon anytime we want! It’s not an overseas adventure, but what do we think we are, rich? We have a mortgage to pay for, for Christ sake! But we are now really looking forward to a peaceful getaway, just the two of us.

There you have it, the first mention of my modest elopement ceremony, reception, and honeymoon. It’s not “The Knot” worthy, but if anyone wants to look down on me for keeping my dreams within a realistic budget that we can actually afford, then you are reading the wrong blog!

XOXO

Dollie

Deke's Guitar Geek Festival Day 2

2012-02-16T22:05:00.000-08:00

On the second night of the guitar geek festival one of our oldest friends Brandon took us to Clearman's North Woods Inn for dinner. I always have wanted to go there! It stands out because you can see it right off the freeway and get this- the restaurant is covered in snow!

See the snow in the roof???

The inside is all themed out like a log cabin.

There is a big stone fire place, warm toned wood furniture.....

and a bear!!! Ahhhhh!!!

The bear is not alone though, he has friends like this buffalo

and this moose!

This is also the kind of place that gives you free peanuts and you get to throw the shells on the floor. So fun! The food was super yummy too-I was so full when I we left!

Once we got to the Guitar Geek Festival Deke was inviting a few people up on stage for an impromptu jam session. It was so fun and a great warm up for the evening.

Then Nathan James and and James Harman took the stage. They did some great blues on a washboard guitar. I dug it- I love the blues!

We had four more guitars that Gretsch donated, so we raffled one off between each band. This one was a beauty! I made sure to represent Fender by wearing an old highschool tee- "groupie looking for band members".

Next up was a super fun act- Rick Vito as King Paris! He has something going for him with this King Paris act. Hard to even describe, you should youtube him!

He even had super cute belly dancers on stage with him!

Next up was Freddie Roulette backed by Joel Patterson, Deke Dickerson and Chris Sprague- an All Star Band!

Here is another beautiful guitar we raffled off. I kept trying to win them for myself, but I guess I am just not that lucky!

Deke was always so nice to introduce me to the audience. I made a lot of new friends!

Next up was the incredible....the amazing.....the talented........

LOS STRAITJACKETS!!!

Can't beat this show- period!

After the show everyone ran straight to me-

to buy some Los StraitJackets merch!

I fit right in!

Who could follow that act???

The last act of the night was The Hellecasters. We are so lucky to have been able to see them play, apparently they have not played in over 10 years! They put on a fantastic show and were a real crowd favorite.

After all the excitement of the weekend I was pooped! What a fantastic weekend it was though!

Thank you so much to all the of the bands that played, all of the event staff, and especially Deke Dickerson for puting this monumental event together! Also, thanks for having me be apart of it!

XOXO

Dollie

Deke's Guitar Geek Festival Day 1

2012-02-04T19:49:00.000-08:00

The weekend before last I had the pleasure of attending Deke's Guitar Geek Festival #9. The event was held at the Anaheim Plaza Hotel for the 3rd year running.

I also had the honor of being merch girl extraordinaire and guitar model for the charity raffle.

One of the event sponsors, Gretsch, donated some beautiful guitars to be raffled off to go to diabetes research.

Deke was also hosting a "garage sale" with guitars, record players, etc for sale.

close up of the goods!

While working the merch booth I also got to see some amazing live acts, like one of my all time favorites, Joel Patterson (of the Modern Sounds). It was refreshing to see him solo, even though I love the other guys.

Another highlight for the event is always Deke's guitar museum. Deke has the most extensive collection of this type I have ever seen. So it is a real treat for myself and others that he brings it out of storage one weekend a year for us to enjoy.

He brings most of these guitars, amps, etc from his personal collection, but some are on temporary loan from the owners.

Each piece has a tale: It's one of a kind, was owned by a famous guitar player of the past, or simply very cool and rare!

Bigsby!

glass case- fancy!

Even pedal steels too!

I wish I could post pictures up close and tell you about the unique history of each piece.....

but I am not THAT much of a guitar geek!

I wore the Gretsch shirt I won in the Viva Las Vegas swimsuit collection to show my support for the event sponsor. I also wore my fabulous new Nicole Katherine Designs Montana Dungarees. I got a ton of compliments!

Showing off the cool event posters for sale....

and the CD and DVDs!

After Joel was done with his set I made sure to grab a photo with him.

Next up on stage was Brian Lonbeck, or as I call him, the master of the double neck! He is an amazing Joe Maphis style picker, who studied under him, and who played with Barbra Mandrell in the 60s. I don't know how much he is playing nowadays, but definitely see him if you ever get the chance, or see him in the Guitar Geek DVDs.

Next we auctioned off a beautiful guitar-

a Gold Gretsch Doublejet with a Bigsby! Sweet!

The lucky winner was a youngin'.

Sally Jo and the lucky winner of the Gretsch. It's nice to see young people interested in this type of music. We have to keep it alive! Maybe we'll be seeing him perform at a future Guitar Geek!

Next up was Freddie Roulette- a blues steel guitarist. Everyone loved him.

Then the All Harvey band played, featuring Deke, Joel, T.K. Smith, Sage, the Harvey family, etc all on Harvey's!

Then we auctioned off a few more guitars from Gretsch to some lucky raffle ticket buyers!

working hard!

Next up was Nokie Edwards, the original guitar player of The Ventures. He performed with Venturesmania.

They just released a new album, Bound & Sidejacked Again, and it's great! I recommend you get a copy too!

With all this testosterone in the room, I had to make sure to get a picture with my gals! L to R: Alana, Sally Jo, Sandra Sprague, Amber Foxx and I.

Then we raffled off the last guitar of the evening, an orange Eastwood Airline to match my shirt.

The last band up for the evening was Paul Gilbert. He was more of a shredder, with lots of widdally-whaas. Not my style, but he was good at it for what it was. I think he had a lot of fans come over from the Namm show, so he had good support in the audience.

Before I left I snapped a photo with Nokie.

I had a blast at Deke's Guitar Geek Festival that night, and I got to do it all over again the next night! Stay tuned for the post on Saturday nights shenanigans.

XOXO

Dollie

Our Engagement Photos

2012-02-01T20:42:00.000-08:00

I completely forgot to share my engagement photos with you all! So, I figured I better get with it. We took these about 5 or so months ago at our house. All photos were done by Jessica Rose Photography (check her out on facebook!) and are unedited. Hair, makeup, wardrobe and styling by me. Enjoy!

All Dolled Up With Nicole Katherine Designs: Montana Dungarees!

2012-01-26T23:00:00.000-08:00

My first official sponsor post! I am ready to start this off with a bang!

I am so happy to be sharing Nicole Katherine Designs' Montana Dungarees with you today. Here is the photo from her website. I fell in love with these jeans immediately. They look as close to vintage as I have ever seen in a pair of reproduction jeans. A good pair of jeans is a must have in any girls wardrobe, but a high quality, figure flattering, high-waist pair of jeans is even more important in a rockabilly girl's wardrobe! After having such a good experience after ordering NKD's overalls I had high expectations, but, I was even more amazed with these Montana Dungarees! They fit like a dream! I was blown away and can't stop talking about them. So this post is a good excuse to sing Nicole Katherine Designs praises a little more!

I paired the Montana Dungarees with the Linda blouse in red. I think it is a perfect combo! These separates really pair well together. I did some pig tails to complete the "All American" girl next door look. Did you know Nicole Katherine Designs are made in America? Remember to support small business in America!

These jeans are cut long, for long tall Sallys, or for girls like me who MUST cuff her jeans! I love the extra cuffing room! It is also nice that you can change the cuff length (because they are not sewn in) depending on the shoes you are pairing with the outfit.

I must say, my favorite thing is the rear view-

Perfect to show off a shapely bottom! These jeans are cut using the new size chart, and offered from XS to 2XL, assuring that every gal can be a hep cat in these cool jeans!

I approve!

I think the inseam is more natural on these jeans compared to other vintage reproduction jeans I own. They feel more comfortable in the private region, especially while sitting down. I wore these during a 3 hour car ride with no discomfort at all! Now that's what I call a test drive! You can trust that I will give you the truth, 100% of the time, even the "private" details- pun intended!

I love the curvy look of these jeans, I just can't get over it! I love the slightly narrower cut throughout the leg too! Maybe that helps to accentuate the hips and make the waist look tiny tiny.

Here is the hanger view.

One of my favorite things about these jeans is that the zipper is on the side, not hidden awkwardly in a pocket like some others. It is also a good quality metal zipper, so it doesn't fall down like some other jeans I own. There also is no protruding button, the zipper just goes all the way to the top and is hidden in a fold. That's Jean-ius (get it?). This creates a perfectly smooth look!

Rear view on the hanger.

Another trait that is unique to the Montana Dungarees is the red stitching. To-Die-For! Just like vintage ranch wear jeans! This V cut on the bottom is extremely flattering too!

I can say, hands down, these are the best jeans I have ever owned. The denim is not too stiff, the color is a perfect blue (not too dark and not too light), and the cut is impeccable. They look perfectly tailored but still feel comfortable. I highly recommend you follow this link and get a pair for yourself:

http://www.shop.nicolekatherinedesigns.com/Montana-Dungarees-by-Nicole-Katherine-NK-Montana-Dungarees.htm

Don't you just adore these Montana Dungarees? Give us your feedback!

XOXO

Dollie

The Doll House- Turned Recording Studio

2012-01-26T21:39:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago I had my beautiful little doll house turned upside down. The house was full of music equipment, boys, pizza, and beer. Yes, the fiance's band, Blue Collar Combo was recording their CD! When I offered up our house, I had no idea what I was getting into! I thought it would be limited to the common rooms, but no, they set up and recorded in every room in the house, including the pink bathroom- as evident by this photo:

I woke up from my slumber one morning, stumble into the bathroom and what do I find? A bar stool, guitar, and mic stand! You can imagine my confusion....

This was the living room, after the drums and other equipment were all packed up.

with a new table set up with recording equipment.

The amazing Chris "Sugarballs" Sprague was recording extraordinaire for the weekend. He provided all of the equipment and know-how to get the job done. He was a great help and the boys couldn't have done it without him.

On the first night of recording I decided to get out of the house, so I went to Sandra Sprague's house! We did a little shopping and then ate dinner with Deke Dickerson at Brent's Deli and discussed the upcoming Deke's Guitar Geek Festival (which was last weekend, so stay tuned for the post on that.). The boys were extremely productive while we were away and had recorded 12 songs by the time we got home! On the second day of recording they did vocals, so Sandra and I decided to hang out there and work on some crafts. I snapped a few photos of them, but was unable to get photos of them with their instruments as they did that the day prior. It still give you some idea of the excitement around the house that weekend.

We also got to get a sneak peak of the songs- I think she likes it!

Dollie approved!

The boys apparently liked my dressing room best for recording vocals. Here Brandon Dixon is singing Baby Baby.

Zack Simpson singing Bacon.

Meanwhile, Sandra made a bazillion pairs of clip on earrings!

3 part harmony in progress.

Travis Mullins singing Red Man Rock.

While they finished up I cut out a vintage dress pattern with vintage fabric. More on that project soon! I also made some yummy chocolate chip cookies that everyone enjoyed. While it was a slight inconvenience to have all that going on in my house, I actually enjoyed it! I was nice to have all of the guys over for the weekend, but even nicer to know that they are that much closer to their new hit record! Zack and I got the first copy, and I must say, it's great! I see a Blue Collar Combo CD giveaway in the near future!

If you are at Viva Las Vegas this April, make sure to see them on the main stage Friday night at 8:30pm! Make sure to get your copy of the new CD as well!

XOXO

Dollie

Announcing my new blog sponsor: Nicole Katherine Designs!

2012-01-21T12:15:00.000-08:00

I am proud to announce that Nicole Katherine Designs has offered to sponsor my blog. Of course I graciously accepted! I am so looking forward to working with her! I couldn't support any company I don't believe in, but that is not a problem in this situation; I believe in Nicole Katherine more than any other vintage reproduction company I have ever ordered from, so I know I can back her 100%. Therefore, I am so excited to share my love of Nicole Katherine fashion with you all. This is just a brief post to announce the sponsorship, but my first official post for NKD will be in just a few days and will feature the brand new Montana Jeans! So stay tuned!

In the mean time, please visit Nicole Katherine Designs website: http://shop.nicolekatherinedesigns.com/

Or on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/NicoleKatherine

Or on her blog: http://nicolekatherinedesigns.blogspot.com/

Or on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nicolekatherinedesigns

Rockabilly Friday Night at Viva Cantina

2012-01-18T21:23:00.000-08:00

We have a new venue to see live bands at: Viva Cantina!

Karen Mamont aka The Reverend Martini has moved her Rockabilly Friday Night shows from Weber's to Viva Cantina in Burbank- a new, bigger, better location! So, we knew we had to go check it out and report back to ya all!

This is the front view. The restaurant and bar is located next to the Los Angeles Equestrian Center and across from a cool vintage bowling alley.

They even had preferred parking for hot rods and kustoms! Zack and Alana posing next to the cars.

Alana and I went western that night- muy bien!

The shows are held in the Riverside Rancho room. There is a stage, dance floor, and booths. There is even room for DJ Vic to set up!

Me, Alana, Dave "Pappy" Stuckey, and Cara!

The boys liked the bar, even though the lines were long! They make a mean margarita though!

The Chumbuckets at the bar.

There is a lot of seating in the lounge. Perfect for resting your feet and enjoying some delicious mexican food!

The Chumbuckets were the band on for the evening. They even added a few additional instruments for this show.

They play for the dancers, so the crowd loves them!

Ramon of The Side-Wynders did a guest appearance for a song or two. Make sure to see them Saturday Night in the main ballroom of Viva Las Vegas.

Lovely ladies.

Zack and DJ Rockin' Vic

Records are used to decorate the ceiling.

Fully stocked bar!

After the band played, we did a little bopping.

then some strolling....

Then more jiving!

I forgot to mention the best part- this new location has no cover charge! You get to see all of the coolest LA bands free!

The End!

Thanks to The Reverend Martini and The Chumbuckets for putting on a great show. If you are local to Southern California, I would love to meet you at Viva Cantina one Friday night!

XOXO

Dollie

Looking Forward To The Weekend!

2012-01-18T19:13:00.000-08:00

This weekend is the 9th annual Deke's Guitar Geek Festival- I hope to see you all there! Yours truly will be workin' it at the merch booth Friday and Saturday!

XOXO

Dollie

Nifty Neighbors Shag Pad

2012-01-08T21:23:00.000-08:00

We have a lovely couple that lives across the street from us and they have a very cool pad. So while we were there for dinner this week, I asked if I could snap a few pictures. I knew my readers would love to see their house !

Living room

we stole that idea of the amoeba above the fireplace!

comfy seating

love all their cool atomic star burst clocks

Record player

dining room

love the diamond on the wall

cool art and tiki glasses

tiki bar in the kitchen

seating area in the kitchen, perfect when people want to congregate in the kitchen.

Another bar area. I love that stool!

Even the pet bird has an atomic ranch house!

appetizers

beautiful dinner- chicken tacos, beans, and the edamame salad I made!

After dinner the boys had cigars

yummy

Cool Deco dresser with lamp, star burst clock, etc.

Even the back yard is all tiki theme.

So, tell me, you LOVE it right?

XOXO

Dollie

Reader Love- Vintage Gifts

2012-01-08T20:37:00.000-08:00

I love all of my readers, and some of them love me too! Recently I received a few vintage gifts from readers, so I thought I would post about it to tell them how much I appreciate it!

The other day I walked into the house and found this in my living room:

It must be for me- it has my name on it!

This cute card said it was a housewarming/engagement gift from Susan at a Practice in Time!

She sent me this beautiful floral print vintage apron

and this vintage pink and white gingham apron! They are so sweet and I love them so much! She must have known that I collect vintage aprons! Thank you Susan!

There was also the Pyrex dish I won in her giveaway. So this is like a gift for being her blog reader!

I already have it on display in the kitchen and have a dinner party in the works so I can use it! Thank you so much Susan- this made my day! You packaged it carefully too- much appreciated!

This next gift comes from possible my biggest fan, and sweetest person ever, Leslie Kahlenberg!

It is a vintage 1962 "just married" car decorating kit from Fiesta!

This is so amazing, I had never seen anything like this! I comes with enough to decorate two cars for the bride and groom and two bridal party cars.

There are streamers in cream, pink and teal: My wedding colors! I guess I chose era-appropriate colors pretty well for a vintage-themed wedding!

This transparent tape is not very transparent anymore!

2 just married posters.

2 bridal party posters.

1 smaller just married poster.

1 smaller bridal party poster.

I am so excited for this set to decorate the cars for the wedding ceremony, the bike for the ceremony (yes, I am taking a bike ride to get married), the hotel door possibly, and for the cars at the reception. So fun! Thank you Leslie for such a thoughtful and unique wedding gift! This is my first wedding gift and it makes my heart all warm and fuzzy.

If that wasn't enough, she also gave me this impeccable condition vintage day dress! I love the buttons and embroidery along the buttons. It eve has the matching tie belt- those always get lost! Thank you so much Leslie, you are too sweet!

I have the best readers ever. I am such a lucky girl!

XOXO

Dollie

GIVEAWAY: 2012 Pinup Calendar Results

2012-01-08T18:32:00.000-08:00

We have a winner for my 2012 Pinup Calendar. I used random.org to draw the winner. For some reason I couldn't figure out how to cut and paste the results into this post, but the winner number that was drawn between 1 and 24 was: 11! That is Jennifer! Jennifer, please email me at missdolliedeville@yahoo.com to claim your prize! I will need your mailing address to send it to you. Enjoy!

Thank to everyone for entering! I hope to have more giveaways in the upcoming year!

XOXO
Dollie

New Years Resolution-Juicing!

2012-01-06T19:14:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again, New Years Resolution Time!

Every year after the holidays I do a detox diet, but this year I wanted to kick it up a notch!

Earlier in the year I watched a documentary called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. Basically it is about a guy who is fat, sick, and nearly dead and travels the US while on a juice fast and talks to people about the relationship between food and illness. This is a topic I have been very interested in, especially this year because I have had a very unhealthy year (lots of antibiotics, a cancer scare and surgery). One of the doctors interviewed in the film is Dr. Fuhrman and he talks about a plant based diet being used to cure and relieve the effects of illness. So, months ago I bought the book and read it cover to cover. I loved his diet in the book, so I did it for two weeks and lost about 5 pounds that I had gained from being sick. I also watched a few other documentaries, read up online, and decided my new years resolution would be to try a juice detox for New Years! I went to Join The Reboot's website and decided to do a 15 day detox while also eating fruits and veggies, and follow it up with Dr. Fuhrman's plant based diet of veggies, fruit, beans, seeds, nuts, grains, and meat/dairty/sweets limited to once a week at most.

1st step: Buy lots and lots of fruit and veggies. Nothing else.

2nd Step: Get some fruit and veggie cleaner and a brush designated for only that.

3rd Step: Buy a juicer. I bought the Breville they use in the documentary.

It looks like I am running a fruit stand!

The detox says to drink hot herbal tea first thing in the morning and night, so I bought some fresh loose leaf tea and a tea-dipper-thing-a-majig. I bought green tea and lavender.

Next Step: take juicer out of the box and learn how to use it!

I made a juicing station in the Costco cart.

The first one was a all fruit juice, working my way up to the stiffer green ones!

It was delicious! It was a little sweet though, and made me feel like I had a blood sugar spike, so now I am mostly going veggie and fruit mixes. I did read that your stomach does not respond well to fruit and veggie mixes, which I haven't experience yet, but need to read up on more.

So, I have been on this detox diet for 6 days now, and I love it! The best part is that I already lost those stupid 5 lbs I had been trying to lose for months! I feel really good too.

I hope to keep it up another 15 days and report back on my progress. Happy New Year to all!

XOXO

Dollie

Christmas!

2012-01-04T22:36:00.000-08:00

I may be a little late, but I still have Christmas joy, so I wanted to share it with you too! I love Christmas more and more every year. Mostly because Zack and I try and make it really special every year. We put a lot of thought into our gifts (not just stuff picked up at the mall the night before), and we really focus on family time. During Christmas I bake a lot too, which makes me happy. On Christmas morning we slept in a little, then went out to the living room where Santa had filled our stockings and tree with gifts!

We never want to wait to get ready before we open our gifts, so it became a tradition to open them in our robes, no makeup, messy hair and all!

Lots of presents!

Even more back there!

Our cat Gravy even gets into the Christmas spirit! She loved the paper, ribbon and boxes.

This was Gravy's gift from Chris and Sandra- a catnip ball! She loves it.

I got Zack this vintage atomic print robe because his old one sucks!

Close up on the cool print.

What could this big box be? How did Santa fit that through the cardboard fireplace?

It's a Hi-Fi!

1958 Emerson record cabinet. Pretty clean too!

Santa brought me a vintage celluloid necklace!

Close up of the necklace.

Santa also brought Zack 375 original 45 records to go with the new player. You wouldn't believe how many cool songs are in that lot! Mostly rockabilly, county, honky tonk, 50s -60s pop and rock'n'roll on Decca, Starday, Columbia, RCA Victor, Capital, and many many more. I will have to tell you all about it some time. The best one is probably Blue Suede Shoes by Carl Perkins on Sun Records, because that is a classic! Also good songs by Johnny Horton, Billy Haley, The Ventures, Buck Owens, Everly Brothers, The Beach Boys, Johnny Cash......

The cat was really happy

and wascally!

I got this cute vintage atomic print day dress- fits perfect! Zack is such a good shopper!

I love the gold glitter lucite buttons! The print is so cool too.

I also got this AMAZING green fish print Shaheen!

I love the unique color, it is under represented in my closet.

Close up of the fish print.

This is now the permanent position of the record cabinet.

Zack still playing with all those records. It took him all day just to open them all!

45s as far as the eyes can see!

Close up of the celluloid necklace.

Zack played records all day!

Sun Records <3. This thing can crank!

I also got some home wares: A teal salad serving set,

Pink baking gear to match my "new" rolling pin!

A close up of the bee honey holders Sandra gave me! I love those little metal legs.

Sandra also gave me a mint Aug 1965 Playboy to display in my dressing room.

These vintage kitchen towels came from my grandma. I could use these!

Some more Benefit, tweezers, and a honeybee pin from my sister.

Zack got me these cute little deer....

and these Siamese cats!

This vintage mink stole came passed down from my grandmother.

A little pink hand blown ornament from Zack's mom.

I also got two new lady head vases- in the back. The left one was from Zack's mom and the right one was from Zack's dad. Something tells me they had help selecting gifts this year!

My shadow box is getting more filled out now!

I also got a new pot holder from Amber, and a glass wash board from my sister.

I was very spoiled this year! At least I know everything I got was vintage, therefore "green" while still stimulating the economy. Yay for vintage Christmas! After opening gifts we made a nice breakfast of cinnamon rolls and bacon. Then that night we had a traditional dinner with Zacks family.

I hope everyone had a peaceful, joyous, and beautiful Christmas!

XOXO

Dollie

Christmas Eve

2012-01-04T21:04:00.000-08:00

Zack and I have a Christmas Eve tradition that we really love- every year on Christmas Eve we stay home and have a nice meal, just the two of us. We listen to music, play a game or two, and enjoy a drink. It is really nice and relaxing during a hectic time. It is also a nice way to reconnect after a busy month. We really look forward to it every year!

This year we started with a super yummy appetizer, a pesto and tomato flat bread.

We also put on a nice dinner outfit.

Aren't you all so happy I figured out how to use the self-timer so I can take photos of both of us at the same time?

This year we made bacon-wraped filet mignon in a pepper sauce and a twice baked potato.

We love our little kitchen table. Very intimate!

We enjoyed a delicious dinner, drinks, and games. Then we were fast in bed to await the arrival of Santa Claus!

XOXO

Dollie

Christmas Entertaining

2012-01-04T20:12:00.000-08:00

I had a few dinner parties this Christmas season (I love entertaining!), but today I will just share photos from one of them: when our good friends the Spragues came over! We love having Chris and Sandra over because they are the nicest guests. They always arrive on time (never early or late), they always enjoy whatever we cook and complement us on it, oh, and the also bring beer! So, we have them over often.

We had an Italian theme, so I made the most delicious antipasto salad: romaine, pepperoni, salami, marinated mozzarella, artichoke hearts, olives, pepperonchinis, croutons, and fresh parmesan.

For an appetizer we made spicy sausage stuffed mushroom.

Then main course was spaghetti with homemade meat sauce.

Cheers!

Oh, and there was garlic bread too!

After dinner we had some drinks and opened gifts.

Chris got a hillbilly wine glass made out of a mason jar.

Sandra got a set of red glitter serving dishes. She loves glitter stuff!

I got a man beater!

...I mean a rolling pin! It's pink, I love it!

Such a cute vintage-y gift box full of goodies!

I got two cute little vintage bee honey holders to add to my new bee collection!

Then we played a very serious game called Eye Know, very un-seriously.

I thought I would show you some of the Christmas decoration I had around the house.

I have a lot of these little vintage pink hand towels that I put out at Christmas, in different sizes and prints!

This was our aluminum tree with color wheel, cardboard fireplace, and other vintage Christmas decor.

Festive bar.

Holiday cards

So, that is a little taste of what Christmas is like around here. I hope you enjoyed!

XOXO

Dollie

Christmas Party and Gift Exchange at Amber Foxx's House

2012-01-02T13:22:00.000-08:00

Every year we go to Amber and Bobby's house for a Christmas Party and White Elephant Gift Exchange. This year it was raining and my perfect 'do got all rained out, so I went straight to the pink room to do damage control. While I was there I ran into some lovely party guests:

Mary Simich in a beautiful homemade frock by Southside Market.

Nicole Bernstein with the cutest suspenders and scarf ever.

Mary, Emily, and Chris lounging on the living room couch.

Allison and Damien looking dapper.

Zack, Chris, and Tommy.

Tommy and Leslie always look so Mad Men!

Memo showing off his cool tie.

The hostess with the mostess, Amber Foxx, explaining the rules for the gift swap.

The presents are all ready to open!

Leslie is modeling the first gift to be opened....

What could it be?

A Jesus painting! Perfect for Christmas!

Next up was a Liberace album!

Zack got some wooden clogs!

They didn't fit him, but they fit me, so he gave them to me.

Jesse got a book with photos of pets and their owners, it was a hoot!

Amber got a ceramic hillbilly jug for her collection.

Allison got an atomic bar set, but I knew I would be stealing that from her.

Sugarballs got a beer bottle holster- perfect for him!

Someone stole Chris's gift, so he has to re-select. He picked wrong and got the MC Hammer pants and MC Hammer cassette tape.

Allison's gift was stolen too, so she got something new- original Care Bear and Brave Little Toaster cells!

When it was my turn, I stole the atomic bar set again, for the 3rd and last time. I made sure that baby was coming home with me! I wore a vintage black sweater dress that my friend Alana got for my birthday. I love it!

Mary was the one to pick the gift I brought- my 2012 pinup calendar!

To boost sales, I had a lot of pretty girls show off the calendar....

Doesn't this make you want to buy it? Only $20 including shipping! Email me at missdolliedeville@yahoo.com if interested!

Then we celebrated Tommy's birthday with cake!

Look at Amber's beautiful Christmas tree!

At the end of the afternoon there was a special delivery of a Christmas Story leg lamp! Sugarballs played in the box after.

Another successful Christmas Party and White Elephant Gift Exchange! Thanks to Amber and Bobby for hosting!

XOXO

Dollie

The Honeybees Ladies Club

2012-01-02T10:59:00.000-08:00

In December I started my own Ladies Club, with help from my friend Reagan Foy. We had been talking about making a crafting/baking club for a while, and finally decided that nothing is stopping us so we took the plunge. We decided I would be the president, and Reagan would be the vice president. Together we decided on the name The Honeybees Ladies Club, and came up with our mission statement and focus:

Mission Statement:

The Honeybees Ladies Club is a social, hobby, and service organization made up of classy vintage ladies. It exists to promote bygone “woman skills” of another era through social gatherings, crafting, and baking.

Our Focus:

To welcome talented ladies from our vintage community and to encourage friendships, loyalty, and the nurturing of our “woman skills” by providing a variety of social activities. We also support one another and our community during challenging times in anyway possible. We are always open to suggestions and activities that fit the needs of our ladies.

Together we also invited other members, including Sandra Sprague and Amber Foxx. As our first official "Hive Party" I had the girls over for Christmas cookie baking and a Christmas tree skirt crafting. I would like to share a few photos from the afternoon with you:

Before I had the ladies over I prepared a light brunch.

snacks!

I decided to make Charles Phoenix's Astro Wienie Tree which is based off of a vintage photo.

Vice President Reagan and Queen Bee Dollie

Isn't she the cutest, sweetest, best VP EVER? I think so!

Regan helped sift the flower and sugar while I made the batter for our first batch of cookies- pecan snow balls!

Of course, our baking equipment is vintage!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

7/8 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup ground pecans
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
Cream butter and white sugar. Add nuts and vanilla. Blend in flour and mix well.
Form dough into small balls and bake on an ungreased sheet for 8 to 10 minutes until barely brown. Coat in confectioner's sugar while still hot.

After the batter was made we scooped out the dough into balls on prepared cookie sheets.

After we scooped out all of the batter we baked them in a vintage O'Keefe and Merritt stove- that makes them taste better. he he he

After they cool you cover them in sifted powdered sugar.

Display on a cute tray-and-DONE!

Next Honeybee Sandra shows us how to make homemade biscotti!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup white sugar
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon anise extract, or 3 drops anise oil
Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, beat together the oil, eggs, sugar and anise flavoring until well blended. Combine the flour and baking powder, stir into the egg mixture to form a heavy dough. Divide dough into two pieces. Form each piece into a roll as long as your cookie sheet. Place roll onto the prepared cookie sheet, and press down to 1/2 inch thickness.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Remove from the baking sheet to cool on a wire rack. When The cookies are cool enough to handle, slice each one crosswise into 1/2 inch slices. Place the slices cut side up back onto the baking sheet. Bake for an additional 6 to 10 minutes on each side. Slices should be lightly toasted.

We support keeping hydrated while in the kitchen. No Honeybees were harmed in the making of this Hive Party.

Of course, we chat while baking.

While the biscotti was in the oven baking we had brunch. I made challah bread french toast casserole.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

challah* or other firm white bread

1/3 cup pecans or walnuts

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon or to taste

8 large eggs

1 3/4 cups milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

maple syrup, for serving

Directions:

Using a piece of waxed paper, generously grease a 13- by 9-inch glass baking dish with softened butter. Slice the challah into 12 (1-inch-thick) slices, then cut each slice into 1-inch cubes. Chop the nuts using a knife or a food chopper. In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped pecans or walnuts. Arrange half the bread in a single layer in the prepared dish, then sprinkle half the sugar mixture evenly over the top. Add a second layer with the remaining bread and the sugar mixture. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs. Add the milk and vanilla extract, whisking until well blended. Starting from the sides of the dish and working toward the center, pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread. With a spatula, gently press down on the bread to coat it with the egg mixture. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight or at least 4 hours. Heat the oven to 350°. Bake the casserole covered for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and continue baking until the casserole turns a light golden brown and looks slightly puffed, about 30 minutes more. Serve the casserole warm with maple syrup.

Yum yum!

Once the biscotti was out of the oven Sandra carefully cut it into slices.

Beautiful! I later dipped mine in chocolate and topped them with hand crushed candy canes. Perfect for dipping in coffee!

Then we took another break and retired to the living room for a....

Photo op!

Cute- but get back to work ladies! Those cookies won't make themselves.

Next we made my favorite cookies: Peanut Butter Cup Cookies!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
40 miniature chocolate covered peanut butter cups, unwrapped
Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Sift together the flour, salt and baking soda; set aside.
Cream together the butter, sugar, peanut butter and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla and milk. Add the flour mixture; mix well. Shape into 40 balls and place each into an ungreased mini muffin pan.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately press a mini peanut butter cup into each ball. Cool and carefully remove from pan.

Once the little peanut butter balls were out of the oven we stuck a peanut butter cup right in the center.

Then I topped mine with red, white, and green confetti sprinkles.

After all of our cookies were done baking we got on to our craft for the day: Christmas Tree Shirts!

To make the base of the skirt we cut a circle out of some high-quality felt. Reagan chose green.

Then we used vintage style clipart to cut shapes into colored felt. Reagan did red bells-

I chose pink poinsettias to go with my white skirt edged with faux fir.

Then I hand stitched them on with gold needle point floss.

After that I attached sequins- and whala- DONE! I fits my house much better then any store bought tree shirt. It is made in the vintage way, making it very authentic looking! Next year I will make matching stockings.

Not pictured at this Hive Party was Honeybee Amber Foxx, as she had other engagements. She was missed. Thank you to the other girls for coming, it was a bee-utiful afternoon! We were busy bees for sure. Also, a big thank you to Reagan for all of her help as a VP! I couldn't do it without you!

As of now, we only have a few members of close friends to keep the group small and productive. Logistically we can not invite everyone into the group, so as a way to spread the Honeybee gospel we made a group Facebook page. If you liked these vintage tips and tricks from The Honeybees, like us on Facebook for many more updates:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Honeybees-Ladies-Club/213403572067128

XOXO

Queen Bee Dollie

What Katie Did Melrose Boutique

2012-01-01T17:32:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I was invited to a press day for the What Katie Did Melrose Boutique. They said they enjoyed my blog and wanted to have their favorite bloggers to cover the new boutique opening. I have been waiting for the boutique to open for months so I jumped at the opportunity to visit. If you are unfamiliar with What Katie Did, it is an English vintage reproduction lingerie company that is known for their fully fashioned seamed stockings, corsets, and circle stitched bullet bras. If you are a lover of 40s and 50s clothing, then you know how important the proper undergarments are to creating a beautiful silhouette. As vintage reproduction lingerie goes, What Katie Did is the best on the market. The cuts and styles are authentic and based on vintage patterns. The fabrics and stitching are as close as possible to their vintage counterparts. Vintage undergarments are the hardest thing to find deadstock, and used is not always sanitary, so there is a big need for quality reproduction undergarments. I am very picky when it comes to reproduction clothing, so believe me when I say this is the best vintage reproduction lingerie on the market!

They have a beautiful store front right on the main drag of Melrose Blvd in Hollywood. It is next to a midcentury modern Danish furniture store too!

For Christmas they had a cute little window display with the Hollywood Robe, some lingerie, and a Christmas tree!

The Christmas tree was decorated with Besame Cosmetics- a vintage gal's dream come true!

The first thing you see when you walk into the boutique is the Besame Cosmetics counter. You all know how much I adore Besame! What Katie Did lingerie and Besame Cosmetics are a match made in heaven!

For the event they had champagne, cupcakes and chocolates! I died and went to heaven!

The cupcakes had white chocolate hearts with a Christmas pinup on them.

The chocolates even had What Katie Did logos on them.

Now for the main event- Lingerie shopping!

There are racks and racks of the most beautiful lingerie you have ever seen!

This was my favorite rack.

More goodies!

As a special treat, I got to meet the founder and head designer Katie Halford! She was a sweetheart and a real vintage beauty. She answered all of my questions too. Now I know everything about What Katie Did!

I need a trunk like this!

They also made their own Lingerie book! It is full of beautiful, glossy, all color photos!

This is the holy grail of fully fashioned seamed stockings

They have multiple large dressing rooms for you to try all of the beautiful lingerie in!

They also have cute retro- inspired swimsuits!

They come in one piece and two piece.

Even the sales staff is gorgeous here.

Shelly Erdmann and T-Bone.

Reagan shopping. She came as my guest- thanks Reagan!

When you shop here, you don't have to settle for a black bullet bra, because they have them in multiple pretty colors, all circle stitched. I want the peach color!

They also have sassy gloves to match! Those could be fun!

I wore my newest vintage suit. I love it!

La Cholita, look fabulous as always. I am terrible, and didn't catch this raven-haired beauty's name. I did overhear that she has a successful rockabilly blog called something like "Hell Yeah Rockabilly" or "Fuck Yeah Roackabilly"....something like that. I couldn't find it via google though. If anyone knows what her blog is, please leave the info in a comment below because I would love follow it!

Reagan and I talking up Katie.

One more quick photo before we left.

Find more info, products, and to make purchases visit their website at: http://www.whatkatiedid.us.com/

While I was on the website I thought I would share a few of my favorite items with you:

The Glamour Merry Widow in peach. I think this will be the perfect foundation garment for my wedding dress! And of course I will need to get the matching pieces to go with it!

I love these tap panties too! I think they are perfect for under circle skirts when you are cutting a rug!

I love this pink 1940s bra too, especially the high sides!

Of course, I NEED these nude seamed stockings by Viva Las Vegas and my wedding.

So gals, when I get my tax return you know where I am going-straight to What Katie Did! I hope to tell you all about these when I get them!

If you're a SoCal girl then why not visit the store to view the whole collection and get expert fitting advice?

What Katie Did is open 7 days a week and can be found at:

7970.5 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood, CA 90046.

Open 11am to 7pm Monday to Saturday, 12 noon to 6pm on Sundays. If you plan to visit us on a Sunday allow time to also visit Fairfax flea market on the next block which has some great vintage goodies!

After all of that shopping, Reagan and I worked up an appetite, so we went around the corner to Mel's Drive-In.

Reagan and I

The menu is so big that it is hard to decide what to get. I went with turkey sliders with goat cheese. They were so delicious! I had so much fun with Reagan.

When I got home I opened the goody bag they gave me for attending the press event. I love the WKD tote it came in!

There was a pair of their beautiful gloves, wrapped in a cute little gift box.

The gloves in black.

There was also a sample trio of Besame lipstick.

One color, Carmine, was a color I don't have and have never tried. I loved it! It is a coral orange toned read. Perfect for summer. I think I will be getting that next time I am there.

This was a very successful event and I am honored to be invited! A big thank you to Katie of What Katie Did for having us. I can't wait to go back, get a few new things, and review them on my blog!

XOXO

Dollie

Dinner With New Friends

2012-01-01T14:43:00.000-08:00

The night after the Venture Mania show we went to the Sprague house for cocktails to meet some friends they had in town from Australia- Ross and Sarah Attwell.

We met Ross the night before at the show, but I wanted to meet his wife Sarah because she is a blog reader!

After a drink we went around the corner to a Mexican restaurant.

Chris, Sandra and Ross.

Best Friends!

Sarah and I! I wore a mexican circle shirt to fit the theme. I paired it with a vintage sweater, snood, and vintage jewelry.

Ross, Deke, and Sarah's son.

Group photo!

We did that typical thing where we left the restaurant just to stand outside and talk more, all the while I was freezing my buns off, so Deke offered me his super warm jacket-what a nice guy!

It was a fun night! I loved meeting Sarah and Ross!

XOXO

Dollie