Roberts Digital Radio

I have always said to my Mummsy & Bri-Bri that my love can be bought and so keeping this in mind I was the lucky benefactor of an online voucher for the website http://www.alwaysonsale.com.au/ .

So exciting.

I ordered a few boring yet essential household items but I couldn't resist this fabulous thing. 

It is a Roberts Digital Radio.

The one I got is red but they also come in a nice bottle green and I think a range of pastals.

It arrived yesterday & I must say that it looks rather dandy in our pad. We mucked around with the seemingly millions of stations that it can pick up. I felt like I was back in the old days last night as we ate our dinner whilst listening to 'the talkies'. 

Roberts have heaps of very very cool stuff for sale & from what I can deduce are based in the UK.

http://www.robertsradio.co.uk/index.htm

I'm hoping that if I plug them enough they may decide to send me more things or even make me the face of their product!

A girl can dream can't she.

Sailor Jerry Rum

After almost a full day of driving (no stops at Collectors stores this time *frown * ) The Big Fella, myself & the in-laws hit Coffs Harbour for Mick's uncle's 80th birthday party. I won't bore yawl with the details of the shin-dig. Basically the night involved meeting many many many of Mick's cousins, second cousins, cousin's children & various other extended family members, eating copious amounts of party pies, mini quiches & NSRs (Nannas Sausage Rolls) and something called Impossible Pie and lots of cheek kissing and exclaimations "Ooooo haven't you grown!"

Thankfully we did a pit-stop at Dan Murphys on the way & I got a trusty bottle of Penfolds Merlot 2009 to help lubricate the family conversations & Mick decided to try a dram or two of the Sailor Jerry Rum. It was about $39 for the bottle.
Well me thinks that if Mr "Sailor Jerry" Collins was in the room Mick would have given him a big hug.
Mega thumbs up from The Big Fella. Now I'm no rum aficionado (prefering the grape) but I sampled a nip or two (straight up no ice) & thought it was a really really nice drop.
It is more of a spiced rum with a bit of a honey taste. More like Captain Morgans than Bundy.
Yep I think that DMs will be seeing more of this drink vanishing off its shelves in Kippa-Ring if The Big Fella has his way.

http://www.sailorjerry.com/

Atomic Martini Prom

Friday night saw me dashing home from work (after calling ahead to The Big Fella to put the hot rollers on so they would be really to go) in a hurry to get to The Atomic Martini Prom. Thankfully I have the hair setting, trowling the makeup on while carefully pulling the side-zip dress down over my rollers routine down pat now.

Unfortunately I couldn't pry my lovely husband out of his comfy and warm spot on the couch so reminiscent of my own high school prom (formal) I headed out alone. (This is not technically true, I actually took my Mum as my date to my high school formal... do not judge me).
After embarrassing myself by going into the wrong hall & interrupting a Fijian funeral wake, Ooops,  I found the correct venue right next door. The huge sign out the front may have been an indicator. Derr.

The first thought that struck me has I walked in to the Heritage Hall at Wooloowin was "WOW. Why has there not been any events held here before??! What a fab venue for a swing dance!". The old church with it's high ceilings & polished wood floors was beautiful. And what a great job Mz Lisa from Atomic Martini did with the decorating. The tres chic multi-tiered 'glass'ware combined with the assortment of mid-century style nibbles and the offering of both 'safe' punch & 'spiked' punch were gold. 

Naturally I had to get myself a glass of bubbly (to complement my fur of course) & was served by a very suave gent in a pastal blue safari suit. I quickly spotted my partner in crime Mz Karie from The Click-Clack Lounge who was channelling vintage couture Dior & managed to have a quick Hello Darling before she dashed off again like a mad woman.

Pretty soon the room filled with quite the array of gussied up guys and gals.  I think that everybody was very excited about having the opportunity to get all Frocked Up & pull out the furs, gloves & costume jewellery.
After a few words by Marty the dapper MC & our hostess with the mostess Lisa it was time for some tunes.

The Sugar Shakers proceeded to add even more ambience to the night and Mz Emma looked amazing in her frock. 

At half time it was time for a fashion parade of prom outfits through the ages. I had terrible flashbacks when they got the the Eighties part.  After this it was time for the crowning of the King & Queen of the Prom and their winning dance.

As I sat sipping on my bubbles I surveyed the fashions in the room with a mix of awe & jealousy.

Sadly, I do not own anything super formal or prommy.

Personally, my jaw hit the drop with a thud when I saw the beautiful Katrina Hill in her (to put it bluntly) freaking incredible green taffetta prom gown. Just magnificent.
Regrettably, like Cinderalla I could not stay at the ball as I had to be up at sparrows to go to Coffs Harbour in the morning so I bid the stylish crowd good-bye.
It was such a glorious evening & it was so nice to be able to get all dressed up in my fur.
Thanks to Lisa & her crew for putting on a wonderful night. The Prom theme was awesome.
I hope it becomes a repeated event.
xoxoxoxoxo

Bad Manners gig at The Step Inn

Well last night I gave the ole Docs a quick spit n polish, donned the Fred Perry & Harrington & drove into the Valley to the Step Inn to see one of my favourite bands of all time BAD MANNERS.
It had been 10 years since I last saw them perform at The Troubadour on the Gold Coast and I was mega excited.
It was also very cool because I was hitting the gig with my 3 of my favourite people.
My very own two-tone army.
The Three Ms. Mel, Mouse & Moose.

To be honest we didn't really listen to the support bands instead we stood outside the band area drinking Cascade Lites & talking music. However, when the last support band finished we quickly secured our positions right at the front of the stage. Poor Melly was crook-as with the flu & so she opted to stay out of the crowds as did Moose. Mouse & I stood firm, elbows at the ready front row centre. Very quickly the tiny room was packed & squished in with masses & masses of rude boys, skinheads & rude girls. The atsmophere was unreal especially when the DJ played any Madness or Specials songs. The whole room would erupt in a loud sing-a-long. 
Finally, the Bad Manners band members came on & the crowd began their chant to call the lead singer Buster Bloodvessel.
YOU FAT BASTARD YOU FAT BASTARD YOU FAT BASTARD!
When Buster came out in his hideous tiger print suit the crowd went beserk!

From then on it was a jumping, skanking frenzy. Mind you it was hard to skank when you only had the equilavent of the top of a twenty cent piece to dance on. Thank god I was at the front!  It was all going well until the sound went out on Buster's mic & he couldn't hear himself & me thinks he got a wee bit cranky. Then they got it fixed and the lights went out. Luckily it didn't affect the sound so the show just went on.  I got about 1/2 way through the show & I was starting to feel a bit faint & really needed to get some fresh non-BO'd air & a big drink of water. Mouse had already jumped ship needed a wee break and once you went out, there was no getting back in.
I elbowed my way through the throng of stinky Ben Sherman shirts & finally the freezing air hit me. Water never tasted so good.  I managed to watch the rest of the show with Moose from the sidelines.
Buster still sounds awesome & the band sounded fantatic & they really really know how to whip the besotted crowd into a frenzy. It was so cool to see a heap of people who obviously LOVE ska music but haven't gone to a live gig in ages. I saw one group of older rudies who were in their 50s and it was like a big reunion for them. They looked like they were having an absolute ball.
It was a great night & I must admit that I felt more comfortable in my rude girl threads than in a 1950s frock.
My only two bug-bears were 1. NO MERCH??? They only had a few collectable vinyl records but no shirts. Man, they would have made a FORTUNE on shirts if they had them. Crazy. 2. Shit venue. The Step Inn is a terrible venue. The room is wayyyyy too small for showing popular bands. Local bands perfect but International acts it is terrible. The Zoo would have been a MUCH better venue to have this gig.
Anyway the gig finished around 12.30 & Moose walked me back to my car as my body guard so I wouldn't get mugged. I would have pitied the poor person who would have tried to mug me with about 150 huge skinheads around to protect me!

Got to bed around 1.30am with my ears ringing & calf muscles caning! Brilliant!

Bexterity Bangles

On Monday I got my latest purchase. My favourite courier driver handed over the parcel & I tore it open with glee. Inside were my cute-as plastic bangles from the ever glamourous Bexterity.

Mz Bex is a pin-up glamour girl machine! In addition to doing the most beautiful pin-up girl photography, she also sells clothing & accessories, lingerie, shoes & hair flowers. PHEW!  How that woman remains so impeccable looking when she seems to be running around like a mad chook doing 50 billions things in a day is beyond me. I wish I knew her secret!
Anyway, I lurve my bubble gum coloured bangles & I would say that in addition to brooches you can NEVER have too many plastic/bakelite/lucite bangles.
I aim to have bangles in every colour, hue & tone available. 
That's not too much to ask is it?

Kate Miss-Vavavoom Mulcahy

I just wanted to do a big congratulations to one of the most gorgeous (in looks and in personality) gals I've had the pleasure to meet... The lovely Kate Miss-Vavavoom Mulcahy. 
I first met Kate around 6 months ago when she was working at my local vet surgery. I noticed that she had a bit of a 'rocker' look & she noticed my platinum hair & red lippie and we got chatting about all things vintage & rockabilly. She admitted that she needed some guideance & so naturally I directed her to the ever stylish realms of The Lindy Charm School for Girls and told her to speak to either Chrissy or Kim & tell 'em Mz Vicki sent ya. Well this young lady is now taking the pin-up world by storm!! First stop was a fabulous shoot shoot with Helen McLean for a fabulous pin-up photography shoot.

Next step was Cooly Rocks Miss Pin-Up Australia competition.  It takes alot of confidence to get up on that stage & strut your stuff. Unfortunately I was unable to go & take my cheer squad pom-poms but from the pictures she looked AMAZING!
WellI she got runner up for Miss Illustrated and she WON MISS VA VA VOOM!! Now she is off to the Austalian Grand Finals in Sydney next March! I cannot wait to see what she does next.
I reckon Australia is going to be seeing alot more of this beautiful young lady. oxoxoxox

Toowoomba Vintage Shopping

Friday afternoon saw me battling the masses of traffic on the Ipswich Motorway in my travels up to Toowoomba to visit the folks. Alas, due to a lack of funds & frocks I gave Cooly Rocks & Wintersun Port Macquarie a miss & opted instead for the artic cold of The Darling Downs.
Before heading out to Oakey to visit the Old Man I decided to hit some Toowoomba op shops.
"Oh" my mother exclaims "There is a big vintage clothing store above the LifeLine Emporium in Ruthven St!". Why in all my years of visiting Mother she has neglected to tell me about this store I will never know.
Slightly breathless with excitement I sped off. I found the store & parked around the back. I walked up the vintage apron-lined staircase to The Vintage Wardrobe.

I thought I would do the right thing & ask permission before taking some pics. The young lass who worked there went & got the manager who was a very very surly little asian lady. She was quite rude & seemed very very suspicious of me talking photos. I explained that it would be advertising for the shop & I wasn't photographing her security systems so I could drop in later ala Mission Impossible style to steal her scarf collection. Finally she grunted some sort of yes at me. The shop has lots fur coats, hats, gloves, scarves, shoes and heaps of men's ties. As far as clothing goes though it was mainly hideous 60s-80s.
Most of the people in the store were seeking costumes for fancy dress parties.

The prices were pretty cheap though. Gloves around $8 & handbags around $10. I went through all the racks pretty thouroughly under evil-eye asian lady behind the counter. Eventually, I settled on a nice plain cream handbag ($8), 2 x plastic bangles ($2 each) & a very cool little apron ($4). I thanked the manager who scowled at me & grunted.

Next stop was one of my favourite shops "Lancaster's Antiques" in Railway St.

When I approached the staff/managers of the shop to ask if I could take photos they were very very excited & even offered to set up things for me if I needed. The staff are always so friendly in this shop. It is very easy to spend a good hour in this shop. They have a real mix of goods & you never know what treasures you will find.

As I headed down the first aisle I saw it. My holy grail! A chenille bedspread! Mint condition! Only $88.
(I was willing to spend up to $150 for one in good condition). I immediately ran to the counter with my prize and bagsed it. It was there that the manager showed me the other cool thing that I bought ($10). A Taubman's interior design book from the 1950s. It is fantastic. I has all the colour wheels of what is in vogue & numerous guides to how to decorate your whole house. eg. If my rug is Green it is suggested that my drapes be Mustard, Tan or Grey. My walls should be painted Primrose, Shadow Grey, April Green or Orchid Green & my slip covers Primose, Mustard or Tan.
Now if someone asks me if my carport matches the drapes I will know how to answer (LOL).

If I would have had more time I would have loved to have hit every op-shop in Toowoomba but I had to get out to the bracingly freezing town of Oakey & make sure Dad hadn't frozen solid.

I was pretty stoked with my finds though. Big Smiles!

Marie Claire Magazine Rockabilly Shoot

I finally got myself to the local newsagency & picked up the latest issue of Marie Claire. Normally I don't buy fashion magazines due to the fact that most fashion now-days is either:-
A. totally hideous & trashy looking
B. totally amazing but costs a zillion dollars
C. not made for the more curvy figured lady.
However, when I heard that Pia Anderson & Pat Capocci were featuring in a rockabilly inspired shoot I couldn't wait to fork out my cash. I held my breath because I flashed back to around a year ago when I paid around $15 for a Vogue magazine that promised it was a 'Fifties' inspired issue. Needless to say I could have spent my 15 bucks on a few bottles of the red stuff. Disappointed.
The newsagent handed over my Marie Claire & I quickly dashed to the car. I flicked past the hundred of ads for SKII only $1000 a tub and the ads for the latest fragrance by whoever is trendy this month & found page 126.  WOW WOW WOW. Just beautiful!
Miss Pia & the boys looked so beautiful & handsome! It blows my mind that the fellas these days would rather wear awful skinny jeans & shirts untucked rather than dress in stylish threads like these rocker gents.
The fashion (including what the actual model is wearing) is just exquisite. I am so jealous of Miss Pia's wardrobe. That lady ALWAYS looks fantastic. I wonder if she ever dags out at home in a pair of old trackie daks & flanny like I do. 
We can only hope that other fashion mags follow suit & enlist Miss Pia for shoots so the fashion community might learn what true style REALLY looks like.

"Get Low" movie

I had won tickets to see the movie "Get Low" so Mick & I shuffled off to the Palace Centro cinemas in Fortitude Valley on Sunday arvo. I hadn't been to this cinema before & hadn't really gone to this part of The Valley either. I felt like a total slob. I went in my usual movie going attire. Jeans, Best n Less jumper & connies shoes. Hair in pig-tail with bandana. Just about EVERYBODY else at the movies was all gussied up like they were going to a cocktail party. Seriously. Almost everybody in the cinema was over 50 & instead of popcorn & coke they had bottles of chardy. It was funny when about 1/2 way through the film some bloke up the back must have had a bit too much & started snoring!
Anyway, the film was wonderful. I swear Bill Murray just gets better & better with each film. Robert Duvall was incredible & if he isn't nominated for an Oscar for this part I'll be surprised. It took me about 30 minutes to remember where I knew the lead younger actor from. He was Caleb on the show "American Gothic".
It was set in the 1930s/40s in the south and the costuming was amazing. Even Mick was sighing over the jackets & suits. It is a simple story & a nice film that is beautifully filmed. I wish I would have remembered to take my hankie as being the super sensitive gal I am I lost it a bit toward the end.

Vicki rating 8/10.

Swing-A-Billy Ray's Dance

After a day of shopping and a bit of a afternoon nanna nap I got motivated, put the hot rollers in the hair, whacked on a rayon 1940s frock (another Etsy find) & The Big Fella & I hit the M1 to Upper Coomera to Swing-A-Billy Ray's Dance. The night was brisk but there was still a bit of a dedicated tribe who come out from under the doonas to have a dance.  It was great to catch up will alot of people I haven't seen in ages. It was awesome to catch up with the second most attractive couple in the universe Ray & Chrissy.(Mick & I are number one of course).
A couple of Johnny & Cokes (purely to warm the cockles mind you) & I was ready to bust out some charleston kicks & swing-outs. It's funny how I can go months & months without dancing & it all comes back to me. I had some wonderful dances with the likes of Ken, Ray, my hubby & a great jive dance with a fella from the Sunshine Coast who I didn't catch his name. Just like riding a bike eh?
It was also fun watching Mrs Keepence almost busting out of her frock for most of the night. Such a hussy! Around midnight we hit the frog n toad for our hour journey home. It was so nice to have a dance with my super spunky hubby.
I wish there was Lindy Hop dances or classes closer to Redcliffe so I could dance until my feet fall off.
Honestly, even though I am FARRRRR from being a fantastic dancer, I feel SO happy when I am dancing!