Since you all seemed intrigued by the Midcentury BBQ we had, I thought I’d post just a few more pics of the crazy foods that people brought!

And then finally, this last photo just cracked me up…..we love vintage, but of course after all the clean up was finished, we had to pop back into this century for a little instagram break hah!

You know those vintage cookbooks we all love? With the crazy photos and elaborate creations? Well my friends and I have a habit of trying to recreate those dishes….and the results? Sometimes AMAZINGLY delicious! Sometimes…..wellll, a little scary! But always, always interesting!

You might remember last December when I posted about our fabulous friend Karen’s legendary annual Midcentury Potluck! It was a Christmas party to end all Christmas parties, with a treats like a savory gingerbread house, a Liberace jello mold and even a meatloaf Santa! (if you’d like to see, and you know you do, pop over here!) She had the brilliant idea that the Dames (our lil sassy supper club) throw a Midcentury BBQ—and we KNEW we had the makings for a great shindig.

We found an amazing locale and then spread the word….browse your vintage cookbooks and magazines for recipes and then get to work! I was on the hunt for something summery and fun. And then I remembered this:

Oh yes…..the giant pineapple shaped cheeseball!!!! Two pounds of cheddar later (and other secret ingredients), I had molded myself a winner! VOILA!

Next up, a festive outfit to match my pineapple dreams:

And off to the BBQ we went! OH MY WORD….talk about a colorful and fun afternoon! The dishes were all soooooo awesome, and amazingly many tasted REALLY GREAT! Here, take a gander:

(this was a baked bean jello mold which looked a tad frightening, but was dang tasty!)

My pineapple cheeseball was a smash success! I was so relieved it tasted pretty yummy….

There was an amazing assortment of savory and sweet dishes….everyone dressed up, and lot of people just bought fun vintage decor to spruce up the place!

Meet your hostesses, The Dames!

This cute little girl and her folks happened to bring the side garnish appetizer to my pineapple (you can see it in the cook book photo below on the left) so she was super excited to see the pineapple was already there!

The kids were so cute, running around playing horseshoes and tryng their hand at limbo (that’s Wolfie in the faux ‘coon skin cap below). And yeah, of course there was the requisite iPad/3DS break…..hey, they’re all just regular kiddos who are amused/bemused by their kooky parents!

All in all it was a most wonderful day! Have you ever made anything from a vintage cookbook? Was it awesome or awesomely awful?? Either way, I’d love to hear about it!

Every August our good friend’s Doe & Otto throw a big ol Tiki-Tastic Bash called Tiki Oasis. If you’re a long time reader, then you’ve seen the posts we’ve done on it over the past years (check some of them out here and here!). Basically it’s a super fun weekender in San Diego that celebrates 50s/60s tiki and exotica culture—the music, the art, the drinks and of course, the fashion! We take over the entire hotel and there is literally something for everyone: poolside lounging, super interesting historical symposiums, lots of vintage shopping, tiki carving, live music and big room parties at night for the more lively set.

Every year there is a new theme, like South of the Boarder, Tiki-a-Go-Go and last year’s awesome “Exotic Espionage”! In addition to the usual amazing Aloha Wear, there were some FAB spy ensembles in the evening—I went for a villainous Bond girl (ok fine, I wore a vintage dress with an eye patch….what can I say? It was HOT down there and I couldn’t do a trench coat!).

{mini update: Wolfie has kindly reminded me that I was also wearing my cool SPY PHONE PURSE! It’s a purse from the early 70s that actually is a functioning phone, if you plug it into the wall. Crazy!}

The kid’s love Tiki Oasis. Wolfie is an old pro—he’s been to four of them already! Our favorite thing is to swim while all the cool DJs spin cool old tunes poolside. It’s like your own retro movie soundtrack!

Little Miss Peach went to her first Tiki Oasis last year and loved it!

Dottie even made her a super cool pineapple princess tiki hat!

There are always so many great vintage tiki ensembles and patterns and colors—it’s a treat for the senses!

I have it on good authority that Miss Peach is not very fond of wearing dresses these days….unless they are hawaiian!! Haha. I love it. That’s our girl!

I loved this vinage Magnum P.I. shirt I found for Wolfie—although I have to confess  that initially he balked at wearing it and said, “What? WHO is THIS guy?? I’m not wearing this shirt!!!” I explained he was a private detective who loved Hawaii and that it kind of fit the theme. One bagel bribe later and he was sold….

Alas, I’ll be missing out on the Tiki Oasis fun this year, but Dottie will be heading down this week and I know she’ll do it up in style!! Be sure to follow along on her instagram @missdottie to check out all the tiki-riffic hi jinx! OH, and the theme this year? HULA-BILLY! (rock-a-billy goes tiki!)

Chocolate dip swirly cones….the Tilt-O-Whirl….sno-cones…corn dogs…frozen lemonade….that crazy game where you shoot water into the clown’s mouth and try to pop your balloon first to win a prize…I LOVE a good County Fair! We went to ours a few weeks ago (Weird Al was playing! Whoo hoo!) and man did we have fun. I’m not as into the “Everything Fried!” food stalls (although I was intrigued by the “Fried Nutella”) and to be honest, I’m not a huge fan of wild rides. But there is just something so fun about the lights, sounds and tasty smells of BBQ and sweet treats that just makes me happy.

This year was especially sweet because we were able to really watch Wolfie blossom. Like I said, I looooove a good merry-go-round but I’m too chicken to try rollercoaster/crazy rides. Greg is a daredevil and will try anything. And my little Wolf? Welllll, typically, he tends to be like his mama….not very wild at heart when it comes to rides. He’s cautious. A little nervous when it comes to anything potentially scary. But for some reason this time he was really pushing himself. He was riding things he normally refused to, going on some rides all by himself—and even trying to make things spin faster or raising his arms up (where he usually clung to the safety bar).  It was such a sweet sweet thing to watch and made me have an even better time than ever before!

How about you guys? Have you been to the County Fair this summer?? Are your kids thrill seekers or a little more on the cautious side?? I’m still too nervous to ride the ferris wheel….but for now, I’m just happy to admire it from afar.

1. Nancy Drew, Mystery of the Secret Clock.

When I was in second grade I discovered Nancy Drew, girl detective. I would go to our public library and walk away with stacks of her books. I’ve always loved mysteries and Nancy really started it all.

2. Claudia Kincaid, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

Another book from my childhood and one I adore. The heroine, young Claudia, decides to run away from home because she doesn’t think her parents appreciate her. She and her younger brother Jamie sneak into the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City where they “live”  for several weeks. How cool is that?? It’s also a mystery story and I loooooved Claudia’s spunk and tenaciousness.

3. Dorothy, The Wizard of Oz.

I don’t think I even need to go into detail here. The braids. The sparkling shoes. The dog. One of my all time favorite movies. Ever.

4. Scarlett Oâ€Hara, Gone With the Wind.

Did you know that Gone With the Wind was released the same year as The Wizard of Oz? WHAT a year for movies. I looooooved the book. And I loooooved the movie.  I was obsessed with Vivien Leigh as Scarlett O’Hara. She was brilliant—so gorgeously perfect. Scarlett as a character was amazing: feisty, fabulous and most definitely a fighter. AND she did it all in a hoop skirt.

5. Lynda Carter, Wonder Woman.

When I was a little girl in the 1970s almost all the famous ladies were blondes. But not Wonder Woman. She had magic powers. She drove an invisible plane. She defeated all the bad guys. AND she was a brunette!! What’s not to love?? I thought she was THE COOLEST. I think my love of accessories was learned from her.

6. Princess Leia, Star Wars.

Oh Leia, Leia, Leia. Sorry Cinderella and Jasmine….THIS is the Princess for me. I loved her wit. I loved her sass. And she could tote a laser with the best of ’em. “Will someone get this big walking carpet out of my way??” Sorry Chewie….When I saw Star Wars back in the day as a little kiddo I was blown away. And Leia rocked my world. She was the first bas ass princess I’d ever seen and I was hooked.

7. Helen Keller, The Miracle Worker.

I know sheâ€s a real life person….but in fourth grade I read a biography on Helen was very affected by it. Later on in high school I was part of a really amazing production of The Miracle Worker (as Annie Sullivan) and again I was profoundly affected by the power of Helen’s positive spirit.

8. Samantha Baker, Sixteen Candles.

I love all the John Hughes films and it was a toss up between Sixteen Candles and the Breakfast Club for me to add to this list. But as far as characters go, I really loved Samantha Baker. She was such a great “every teen” … funny, snarky, quirky, normal. AND she gets the guy. To this day I think Jake Ryan is quite possibly one of the hottest guy characters in any teen movie.

9. Sandy, Grease. 

OK. I have to admit. I was kind of a Little Mary Sunshine in high school. Not in a cloying, goody-goody way. But I def wasn’t a rebel….so it should come as no surprise that I thought Sandy was adorable. Sweet, loyal, wide-eyed. I totally loved her transformation to slightly-slutty sex pot at the end (hey, even goody goody’s like to vamp it up some time too, right??).

10. Maria, The Sound of Music.

Optimistic! Silly! Kind! Nobody has a joie de vivre like Maria von Trapp. Just think if SHE had a blog (“The other day the kids and I did a marionette show! It was fantastic. Tomorrow I’ll be sharing my tutorial on How To Make Play Clothes Out of Curtains!”). Nobody solves a problem like Maria and nobody sings with more joy. I so love this movie….my mother loves it too and we always watched it together. This movie will always hold a special place in my heart!

11. Indiana Jones, Raider’s of the Lost Ark.

OK, I totally had a crush on this swash bucklin’ hero BUT I also loved his spirit….he was brave but he wasn’t super human. (“Snakes….why did it have to be snakes??”) Indy was handsome but smart and had a great sense of humor…..I swear he’s why I decided to become an Anthropology major.

12. Ripley, Aliens.

Strong. Bad ass. With a mama gorilla mother-instinct. Yup. I love Ripley. I’d like to point out this is another of my mom’s favorite movies. My mom rules.

13. Miette, City of Lost Children.

This lush dark French movie is fantastic….I really love spacey futuristic stories and this one is like a twisted fairytale. At the center of it is a young orphan girl named Miette who leads a gang of street children. She is like an iron doe….wide-eyed and sweet yet totally a fighter. I used to wear stripey shirts and jumper dresses….I have brown curly hair and a beauty mark on the left side of my chin. I saw this movie and thought, “It’s me!!!!” (Well, if I was a reeeeeeeeeallly pretty orphan  girland lived in a futuristic land taken over by an evil guy who is trying to rob children of their dreaam…..so, you know, kinda close.) Rent it. It’s amazing.

14. Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and the City.

This seems a tad frivolous, but you know what? I can’t lie. I loved Miss Carrie. I’ve always loved fashion but I was never the “sexy” one. Or the “put together” one. I was the bright/crazy/colorful/somewhat impractical one. And Carrie spoke to me.  I loved seeing Carrie week after week….with her girls, looking fabulous, living it up. She was witty, smart, stylish. She was a writer and career girl. It sounds cliche, but she really made it cool to be single and fabulous and in yer 30s. AND she made it cool to have CURLY HAIR! Whoo hoo!

15. Amélie, Amélie.

I have always been a “glass half full” kinda gal. When life hands me lemons, I make strawberry lemonade. Or add vodka and make a cocktail. Ahem. So it should come as no surprise that my last inspiration is Amélie Poulain. This is another movie that left me dancing out of the movie theater. Amélie is a pixie of a girl who decides to change the lives of those around her for the better. The movie is a celebration of life, with optimistic Amélie reminding us of the small wonders that fill the world around us — if we’d only slow down to take them all in.

So there you have it. It was actually really hard to pick only 15. I kept thinking of more (Mary Poppins! Hermione & Harry Potter! Eliza Dolittle!) but these are my 15 and I’m stickin’ with ’em. OK, your turn! What are your 15 Favorite Characters?? They can be recent, from childhood. Whatever! Just list ’em in the comments below. And if you’re feeling more ambitious, post it on your blog with pix and then link in the comments below! Stay tuned for Dottie’s Top 15 picks later this afternoon. She has some wonderful ones!

Like many towns, my high school in Flint, Michigan always had dances as school fundraisers. They weren’t formal (that was the PROM) and were held in the gym (of course). The Valentines Dance was a popular one. During my sophomore year, I was the Class Vice President and once again we would be holding a valentines dance in the gym. One of my main duties as VP was to attend the dance and man the front desk—selling tickets, encouraging people to buy photo packages etc. Todd Richardson, our class treasurer, was working the same shift with me. The dance was pretty well attended and we were feeling all happy. As we sat there, this guy Lance from my choir class (yes. choir. I was Glee before Glee, ya’ll.) strolls up in his work out gear and casually asks, “Hey what’s going on here?” Obviously he didn’t see the GIGANTIC hearts and streamers. So I tell him it’s the Valentines Dance. (duh) Now Lance was a good looking guy and fancied himself a bit of a ladies man. He was also a big fan of Prince and was workin’ that 80s Prince hair. I guess he kinda liked me because after a little chit chat he said, “Hey, so if I come back dressed up, will you dance with me??” I sort of smiled awkwardly not sure what to say. I wasn’t dressed up and wasn’t prepared to have a date for this thang. To sweeten the deal he grinned charmingly and added, “We can get our picture taken!” I wasn’t sure how to respond. I stuttered a lame, “Uh…well.. I’m kind of working.” I look pleadingly at my buddy Todd to help me out. Todd did NOT help but in fact  totally pimped me out, saying, “Oh you can totally dance. I’ll cover.” Then to Lance, “She’ll definitely dance with you!!” Lance flashed another dazzling smile and sauntered out the door. I was glared at Todd who huffed indignantly, “We need to sell tickets Alix! It’s a fundraiser!” *sigh*

To Lance’s credit, he got cleaned up pretty quickly—to my surprise he strolled in 15 minutes later in a plum colored Miami Vice suit. Hot! We shared an awkward dance to Union of the Snake by Duran Duran and then got in line to get our picture taken. Bear in mind I’m totally NOT dressed up and look like a huge dork. Not to mention the photography set up was sooo low budget—it was literally a chair next to a tall skinny table with a rose on it. Lance thanks me and immediately leaves after getting our pic taken. So much for our “date”. I trot back to the table where Todd asks me “How was the dance?” I shoot him a look. I’m thinking, “What am I going to do with all these photos of me and Lance?” Cut to the end of the night. Our photographer (“Fred Best”….yes. Best name ever.) comes over and says, “Hey, you two kids have been working so hard all night. How’d you like a picture—on the house??” I start to demure but Todd lights up. “Sure! Sounds great!” Good lord, so now I have to take another awkward wierd photo with ANOTHER non-date??? This was turning out to be the most random dance EVER.

Two weeks later I was presented with not one, but TWO sets of photos. I was now the proud owner of multiple 5x7s and far too many wallet pics of the Valentines Dance…and TWO different dates. Of course I handed them out to all my friends. “Would you like something from the Lance Series or the Todd Collection?” I would offer.

Do you wanna see the photos? Oh you KNOW you do. Presenting:

TODD. Rockin’ the high waisted jeans and running shoes. Geek chic.

LANCE. Workin’ the plum trousers and grey leather skinny tie. Suave.

I’m not sure why Lance took his sport jacket off (probably because we had worked up such a sweat Cabbage Patchin’ to Duran Duran). All I know is I look like hell in these photos. It’s a testament to how much I love you guys I’m sharing ’em. Now that I have divulged the PHOTOS, I wanted to clarify a few issues I’m SURE are burning in your mind:

1) YES I am wearing a black lace bow in my hair. We don’t know why. Maybe I think I’m Madonna?
2) YES the photographer made me sit with my legs demurely crossed like that.
3) NO I was not jaundiced.
4) NO I was not responsible for the wicker chair and single rose.
5) YES, I picked that outfit out. I look like the Easter Bunny. I have on this GOD AWFUL Esprit pink sweatshirt that was all 80s and had no defined sleeves…the hood was also “freeform,” hence the pink linebacker effect. I think I have on pink cords and weird grey sneakers shoes that look suspicously like jazz shoes. Which are actually in style again, so hell, maybe I’m not as far off as I thought.
6) On a positive note, I *am* wearing a lovely vintage rhinesone necklace. Which you can’t really see. But trust me. It’s perty. And vintage clip on earrings. Can I get a few points for that??

I was made fun of by my friends for YEARS afterwards. I had actually pushed the whole sordid affair back into the far corners of my mind, when I got a Valentine’s Day card from my friend Jennifer, who I had lost touch with. Inside were the two wallet sized pics of me—one with Lance and one with Todd. I couldn’t help it, a small tear welled up in my right eye. Not from nostaligia, but from the realization that I was wearing Madonna-style lace gloves. But ONLY in the picture with Lance. It’s true. Scroll back up if you don’t believe me. Happy Valentines Day, Kiddos.