Total Inspiration

the1960's:

my total inspiration

(Rockin' Through the 1960's by Charles Fazzino)

Hello Readers! I'm not totally sure how to begin an introduction to an entire decade post, but I gotta figure it out because this has to be the most inspirational one to me, personally. When most people reflect on the 1960's, they think "hippie/peace/Woodstock," and uh, yea! I'm sure those were pretty great times. Although if you ask folks who attended possibly won't be able to tell you how it went, if you know what I mean. 

I see these years more as a revolutionary time where rules were totally thrown out the window to improve people's way of life. It was a time when women were becoming more socially independent, People of Color were finally being heard and recognized for basic human rights, music was taking over the world. It was a future-thinking decade. Mind you, even though we've come a long way since then (and still have a long way to go), it was the start of something great. 

The '60s began with a fresh start and a young President Kennedy. I could turn this post into a history lesson, but I'll lighten it up and mention some iconic influences, like President Kennedy's talented wife Jackie Kennedy:

(Jackie Kennedy photographed by Mark Shaw in 1961)

Just look at her effortless elegance, I love her signature hairstyle (and missing: famous round sunglasses). 

Some of my main inspirational women from this time are Twiggy and Mia Farrow. I love their cute, petite, European style. 

(Mia Farrow in 1968 photographed by Bill Eppridge)

(Twiggy photographed by Terence Donovan in 1966)

Whenever I feel like I'm stuck in a fashion rut, I get totally inspired all over again when I look through photos of these women, including Mary Tyler-Moore, Patty Boyd, Jean Seberg, Francoise Hardy, Jane Birkin, Marianne Faithful, Jean Shrimpton, Sylvie Vartan, Susan Bottomly.. you get it. I've never used this term, but I feel like they "give me life" and I'm rejuvenated again. The fashion and style during that time was getting shorter with cleaner edges. 

The music was getting louder and deeper, too. In the beginning of this decade, there was still classic Rock n Roll like "the early Beatles," but by the end of it, there was heavier music, like CCR and Savoy Brown. I feel like there was a lot of diversity in music during this time, with Garage Rock, Surf music, Soul, classic Country, Doo Wop, Folk, the beginning of early Disco, etc. 

While I'm writing this, Harrison asked to listen to Simon & Garfunkel. 

Our mom and dad definitely introduced my siblings and me to this music very early on (duh, it was the stuff they grew up listening to): Emmylou Harris, The Mamas and The Papas, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, The Beatles, The Beach Boys.. Later in life I started exploring more artists, like Joni Mitchell, 5th Dimension, The Velvet Underground, Etta James, Bob Dylan, etc. 

It's pretty nice that both our kids are really interested in this music as well, but we'll see how long it will last after they enter school and wanna listen to the radio like their friends. Oh, well. They'll be well-rounded. 

Pop Art was becoming huge with the help of Andy Warhol. He ran The Factory in NYC with Edie Sedgwick as his temporary muse, and helped promote The Velvet Underground and Nico. 

(Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup silkscreen 1968)

I love his simple and complex take on every day items and icons. 

Some of my favorite movies happen to be musicals from the 1960's, like Mary Poppins, and The Sound of Music (what's up Julie Andrews!), and haunting movies like Psycho and Rosemary's Baby. One of the earliest movies I saw from this era was To Kill A Mockingbird in school after reading the book. 

I love the pop culture during this time, with TV shows like The Addams Family and The Jetsons, style could go either way. 

(Eye of the Beholder: The Twilight Zone)

My husband and I both share a love for the time, so we agreed to name our kids after icons from this era. 

(George Harrison photographed by Richard Avedon)

(Nico photographed by Billy Name)

I don't know, but I just hope they appreciate their names later in life. 

I think it's only appropriate to share (during this 2016 Presidential campaign) a photo of Bernie Sanders from 1962 speaking at a Civil Rights Movement sit-in.

 (#feelthebern2016) lol?

Like I said, this time was the beginning of a modern revolution, I think, with The March on Washington in August of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968. It was a busy decade of moving forward, but also had a few setbacks like the Vietnam war.

(some photos my dad took while parachuting in the 101st Airborne in 1966)

My love for the style of the 1960's stretches as far as my personal appearance (depending on what mood I'm feeling), the majority of my taste in music, and the decor of our apartment.

(mix and match pop art)

(vinyl collection)

(a portion of my mini dress collection)

(I have around 25 mini dresses, but these are some of my favorite)

Now that I've re-read this post, there isn't much to it other than how much I love the 1960's. And to be able to share some of the ways I get to create a feeling with decorating. 

For the record, I wouldn't rather live in the 1960's, but am glad I'm able to reflect on that time from a "distance." 

Over and Out:

Sixties Pixie

This Is Halloween: part 2

This Is Halloween! This Is Halloween!

(part 2)

(some light Halloween decor: kid not included)

Hello readers! Thanks for coming back for Part 2 of my Halloween post! As I mentioned in Part 1, I've been working on my 4 year old's custom Queen Elsa costume. Before I dive into that process, including tantrums and all, I wanna share some Halloween traditions we share with our kids. 

First off, I've been referring to them as my "4 year old" and "2 year old," but these girls have names.. Harrison Amelie (4) and Nico Louise (2).

It's pretty amazing having kids at my age because it's my excuse to go all out as much as I'd like. I feel like there is a social pressure between the ages of 18 - parenthood to kinda let go of the Halloween spirit. But seeing as I've never missed a year to dress up and celebrate since childhood, I'm sure I'd still be going all out if I wasn't a parent. 

My heart starts to flutter in September when I see the Halloween costume stores popping up around the city. It's a sign that I can start working on costumes in an appropriate timeframe (and I feel like a kid in a candy store, there's so much to look at!!!). 

(look how cute this shopwindow display is?)

(i had to)

(these classic clown hats are too cute!)

In one day, I took Harrison and Nico to three different Halloween stores to get inspired. We don't ever buy costumes there, but sometimes I find cool details/accessories to complete an outfit. I'd say we've visited about 7 different Halloween stores this season. I can never get enough. 

There are some amazing pumpkin patches around town also, I think the girls are much more interested in those than the stores. I mean, there's a petting zoo and pony rides. 

(can you blame them?)

(Harrison thought it was a female horse because of his braid, but that was definitely a male horse, alright)

(how CUTE is Nico's little pony??)

(hamming it up)

(not hamming it up)

For me, the activities at the pumpkin patch are pricey enough (x2), so luckily we live walking distance to a Trader Joe's that sells super affordable carving pumpkins (and sugar pumpkins and gourds etc etc). Oh, but let me just call out this one ridiculous pumpkin patch near the mall - they charge you $5 to take your own pictures. Like, there isn't a professional photographer, you can't take your own pictures without paying $5. OK, I just had to get that off my chest because that was just crazy. 

Now, let's get into my favorite part of the season: making costumes. Growing up, making costumes involved just me, myself, and I. Now, 2 kids later, it's a bit more challenging. I wanted Harrison to be involved in the process of customizing her Queen Elsa costume, so I decided to bring both girls with me to JoAnn's fabrics. Oh my gosh. Just walking through the mall to get to that store was a task with .25 cent candy machines distracting Nico along the way. It was a bad start. I thought I'd have Nico sitting in the shopping cart while Harrison and I picked fabric, but, well, it was wishful thinking. Lots of running in and out of the aisles, pulling fabrics off the shelves, running into people's shopping carts and falling, grabbing breakable decorations from their displays, trying to get into the shopping cart alone and almost pulling it over, crying because she wasn't allowed to run off without me. My anxiety was getting there. Not only did I want to just leave the store, but we had to wait 40 minutes at the cut counter to get our fabric measured. By the time we bought everything we needed, Nico began to throw a real fit because she didn't want to leave. And then on our way out of the mall, she saw the .25 cent candy machines again. Good god. I thought if I got them each their own candy, we could leave the mall peacefully. It must have been their nap time because by then both kids were throwing themselves on the ground. Definitely a memory I wanna keep in the past. 

I had better days to look forward to, like working on the costume!

(i actually had to dust off my sewing machine. a sad realization.)

Having Harrison in preschool has been helpful to get more things done, but then I remember Nico is 2 years old. Trying to prepare even making this costume is the longest step in the whole process, cutting and pinning fabric with the pattern can be a sweaty job. I tried setting up Nico with snacks and Nightmare Before Christmas, but about 20 minutes into my project, she noticed there was fabric to play with! I think she was a cat in her previous life. Despite that I gave her loose fabric, she insisted on stepping on the fabric and patterns that I was using. I mean, if that isn't a feline move, I don't know what is. 

(scraps)

I didn't start actually sewing until Rafael was home so I wouldn't handle the girls by myself. I wanted complete focus. I love the ability to sew because it's kind of like instant gratification for me - you see the pieces coming together and you can envision how it will turn out. Harrison, on the other hand, just wanted to see the train of the dress done and done. Real quickly, Harrison is pretty slim for her height, so she was a size 3 for her measurements, but a size 5 in length. I knew she wanted to train of the cape to be long, like - what girl doesn't? - so I made the train a size 8. It's long. She was excited about the process of me sewing this dress, but she was also anxious to see the result of the train. She was taking a bath when I completed her favorite part, but when I brought it into the bathroom to show her, I didn't really get the reaction of an eager kid. She was happy, but way more focused on playing with her bath toys instead. Okaaay. 

She got to try it on and when she saw how long the train was, then she gave me the response I expected. 

(princess Anna and queen Elsa)

I feel bad that I haven't made Nico's costume, as you can see she'll be wearing a store-bought Princess Anna nightgown, but she's pretty laid-back about costumes for now. I guess the only thing I can justify this decision with is that it's a nightgown, not a costume, and clearly no other kid is gonna be wearing a friggin' nightgown on Halloween. But again, Nico is cool with it so she'll make it work. 

My favorite part of this year's costumes for my husband and me is that we didn't pay .01 cent for them. Also, I've had this theme in mind for over 8 years, and now I can finally bring them to life. 

I'm still missing a few details, but this is what I've put together so far:

(who doesn't love Mary Poppins and Bert the chimney sweep?)

Man, it feels good to be able to express my love for Halloween. 

Over and Out:

Sixties Pixie

This Is Halloween: part 1

This Is Halloween, This Is Halloween!

(part 1)

(why did my parents think this was a decent picture to take?)

Hello readers! Anyone who truly knows me knows how much Halloween means to me (and after this post, you'll understand why). I am usually stuck in a rut because it only comes around once a year, and I don't have many friends - so I don't ever get invited to costume parties. Do you understand? I don't have a 3 day weekend to swap out multiple outfits! I have to narrow it down to my absolute favorite, and that can be frustrating when I have about 7 costumes in mind and readily available in my closet. I started planning this year's costume back in February but recently realized that it wasn't appropriate to wear to take our 4 year old and 2 year old trick-or-treating. Mind you, I've never had the gall to wear a risqué outfit (not my taste), so that isn't the issue. But not a lot of people outside of West Hollywood would understand my 

Gwen Stefani-as-a-bride-in-the-Simple Kind of Life-music-video: 

(I'll have to save it for a few years down the road when my kids are too embarrassed to go out with me on Halloween) 

Back story/side note: growing up we didn't have too much money to spend on expensive, yet cheaply made, store bought Halloween costumes (that you wear once!), so we had to get crafty. This is where a lot of my creativity blossomed from (thanks mom! honestly!) You gotta make do with what you have. 

I'm trying to instill that same tradition in my kids, but when a 4 year old wants to be Queen Elsa for Halloween, you have to let her be Queen Elsa for Halloween. ::sigh:: But who am I kidding? If I could have been The Little Mermaid from ages 4-11, I totally would have. 

Sub side note: why haven't I still fulfilled that dream to this day?

Anyway, I'm planning on writing a 'Halloween: part 2' blog about the process of custom-making my 4 year old's Queen Elsa costume. Tantrums and all.

OK! So without further ado, I've compiled some photos from throughout the years of a few costumes I've worn. These are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the ideas I haven't lived out yet.

1980's Rock n' Roll (2003)

Decades Theme: 1960's Modette, 1970's Disco Queen, and 1980's Dogtown (2004)

I don't have any proof for 2005, but a friend and I dressed as Andy Warhol and Edie Sedgwick

Alice in Wonderland inspired by Gwen Stefani's 'What You Waiting For?' video (2006)

French Mime (2007)

2008 I planned on being Snow White before I got dumped, but changed plans to a 1920's Newspaper Boy as a newly single gal! (and I had a backup costume of Little Orphan Annie - but where is my photographic evidence??)

Cowboy, and Max from Where The Wild Things Are (2009)

Pregnant costume inspiration: When Pigs Fly (2010)

Amelia Earhart (2011)

Family costume: Alice in Wonderland (2012)

Family costume: Wizard of Oz - Dorothy and TinMan (Papa and baby were Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion) (2013)

The next few pictures I'm posting didn't make the cut, but I was itching with ideas and needed to document them. I ended up being Twiggy (1960's), but here are some great runner-ups:

Frida Kahlo (2014)

Equestrian Rider (2014)

Circus Lion-Tamer (or tap dancer, depending on the details: whip or dance shoes) (2014)

1950's Synchronized Swimmer (2014)

A modern take on Snow White (attempt #2)

Hamburglar from McDonald's

Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen (2014)

Pirate (2015)

Gwen Stefani circa '95 (2015)

These last three photos aren't actually from Halloween, they're from themed birthday parties instead. But hey, I love sharing any kind of costume idea when I have the chance. 

This year we are dressing as Disney characters where the girls are a pair and Rafael and I are a pair (I'll go into detail over each costume in my next post).

 Just like this year and every year of my life, everything we wear is straight out of our closets. If you look closely, my costumes are just regular clothes combined to create a character. Otherwise I've hand-sewed them. 

As you can see, I absolutely adore Halloween. If you asked me why, it all comes down to expressing myself creatively. I love the idea of temporarily "being someone else" because it's fun, light-hearted, and a conversation starter. I try not to ever half-do my outfits, I'm all about the details (that's what sets the costume apart). Generic Halloween costumes, I think, are one of my top 3 worst nightmares. 

With all this said, have a fun and safe Halloween and hopefully you got inspired with a costume idea!

Over and Out:

Sixties Pixie

Sixties Pixie Tour!

Roll Up For the Sixties Pixie Tour

(step right this way!)

Hello readers! This is my first-ever blog post, and I am so excited to share it with you. I have so many ideas I want to express, but I feel it's only polite to write some kinda intro.. 

Growing up in Hawthorne, CA, I had a pretty cool childhood. It was like the best of both worlds, just the right amount of exposure and naïveté. (although if you ask the "right people," I'd be considered more naive than street-smart) 

My parents were the product of the 1960's, however you want to interpret that, therefor my mom always gave us the freedom to choose our own paths. Again, you can interpret that however you'd like. My dad was a bit more "particular" to make sure we didn't relive his life. 

Like most young, impressionable kids, I totally fell for the entire Bride/Princess/Dolls lifestyle. I mean, like, so much so that I entered in the Hawthorne Mall beauty pageant, just to lose and receive a "thanks-for-entering" trophy. 

(forgetaboutit: losing pageants didn't get my spirits down too much. 

I'd just ride homemade skateboard/scooters IN my dress afterwards. That'll show those stage moms.)

When I was in 4th grade (circa 1995/1996), my personality was basically set in stone, it was like coming-of-age for a 9 year old. I had discovered No Doubt and Gwen Stefani (yea, I'm taking this blog there). I'd wear leopard and plaid with kiddie-size Dr. Martins. I mean, I was pretty cool in my own world because I found this band that no other elementary school kids were listening to (I'm up against B2K and Mariah Carey fans at this point). I was a "KROQ-er," remember? That didn't mean, though, that I wasn't raised listening to my parent's music of the 60's and 70's - 'The Beatles' was my go-to answer every time my dad would ask which band I thought was on the record player. 

(HELLO!: does this not scream Gwen Stefani circa 1996? No? oh, well..)

Let's just say my school career didn't take flight, like, ever. I always struggled to concentrate and found anything that I didn't love to be super boring. Yea, a lot of kids might relate, but most could still pull through it and get A's, B's, and C's. I just gotta thank somebody that I was never held back. A lot of my childhood memories involved being "talked down to" (let's be P.C., amiright?) because I did so poorly with reading/writing/math/science/history.. uh, everything except art and recess. Eventually I left High School in 11th grade because I wasn't the right fit, and went on to get my GED.  In those High School years, specifically 10th grade P.E. class (shout out to Mr. Murray!), I met my husband Rafael. We dated for a few months but it didn't work out then because we were like, 15 years old and really immature. We always kept in touch throughout the years and eventually got back together 7 years later. How cool is that story to tell my grandkids? Kinda like H.S. sweethearts. Or not. But anyway, it makes me feel really cool telling people, "we dated 13 years ago," like it's pretty solid and we're really young. 

Since I'm on the topic of how I met my husband, I'll say this: he and I simultaneously dated our respective ex's and when I was dumped, he jumped on a second chance. I won't spill how all that went down, but I will say within 2 months of dating, he asked me to marry him, and 6 months of being engaged, we were married at The Little Church of the West in Las Vegas. I'll be posting an anniversary blog in a few weeks (on our anniversary, you know?) Almost 6 years and 2 kids later, he's still an awesome and respectful guy. 

(22 and in-love: our first picture walking out of the chapel)

Excuse me while I become a Debbie Downer and backtrack a little (since this introduction points out some major events in my life). I definitely want to dedicate an entire post about this topic eventually, but I also feel like it should be mentioned in this one as well. When I was 20 years old, my dad was 61 years old, and that was the year he died. I had never dealt with a major death until his, and for the next few years life was pretty hard to handle. There was some relief to it, but it was so hard to accept for the longest. I am mentioning it now because I believe these events have lead up to the person I am right now, and also who I'm going to be later in life. 

(I won't undermine everything he taught me, but I'm most grateful to my dad for our common interest in good music)

(and the amount of no-shame for dancing in public)

There are a lot of things that have happened since he died, most I'd love to share with him, like having 2 kids, being married, and just recently going back to school for an Esthetician program and graduating/getting licensed. I know he would be proud that I finally made a goal, went through with it, and completed it fully. 

I have always had big dreams for myself that I haven't made a reality, but I'm doing what is realistic and trying to use my resources to get there. 

Thanks for reading my first blog post, I'm already planning my second one. 

Here's a hint: Halloween!

Over and Out: 

Sixties Pixie