Back From The Boogie

Hello there! Now that I'm back home after our Nashville Boogie trip, life just isn't as exciting, ha. It likes being in an alternate reality when we attend these rockabilly weekenders; getting to be surrounded by many other people who are dressed similiarly to us and listening to music that we all love is a neat experience. I'll post pictures from the trip in another blog post. 
The trip of course went super fast. We were only there for four full days though; we got in Tuesday night and left for the airport late Sunday morning. We had a lot of fun, and I got to meet a lot of new people, people I recognized from Instagram, and also others I didn't. 
We also got to meet up with my sister and her husband a couple of times; they had just gotten back from a ten day honeymoon in Greece.
This trip just makes me even more excited for Tiki Oasis! I talked to a couple of people this trip about Tiki O, and they said how fun it is, and that people are so relaxed and friendly there, which I'm very happy to hear!
In the pictures below I'm wearing my new to me vintage skirt that I got at the Boogie. I love the southwestern/Mexican print on it, and the colors. I'm wearing a petticoat under it, as without one it doesn't flare out much. I of course paired primary colored fruit accessories and shoes with the skirt. My favorite part of the print is the basket of fruit. The price tag hanging off the skirt called this a "Carmen Miranda skirt", and I can see why, with the woman on it with the fruit on her head. I rarely buy skirts, as I much prefer wearing dresses, but I just couldn't pass this special one up.
I actually didn't buy anything the Boogie other than the skirt and a piece of artwork (a tiki print to hang on the wall), oh, and also Charles Phoenix's newest book "Addicted to Americana". I got to meet him, get a picture with him, and he signed the book! He was super nice and easy to talk to. I was a little nervous to talk to him. He puts on such a great slideshow! We've seen two now. I did get some items outside of the Boogie; two super cute dish towels, and a Nashville magnet that looks like a vintage postcard. 

Skirt: Nashville Boogie (Vintage)
Top: Pinup Girl Clothing
Necklace, brooch: Etsy (Luxulite)
Bangles: Splendette
Heels: Re-mix Vintage Shoes

~Bye bye for now!

Tiki Tiles

Hello there! It felt like summer yesterday, and evidently it's going to stay that way through the weekend. Yesterday I took a walk/job/run outside, which I hadn't done in years. 
I normally just work out on my treadmill, but since it was so beautiful out yesterday, I wanted to get outside, and I'm glad that I did.
I'll be meeting my friend for dinner tonight, and tomorrow afternoon I'm getting my nails done with my mom and sister. I haven't gotten a pedicure since right before my wedding four years ago, ha, so I'm looking forward to it. Friday is the rehersal & rehersal dinner, and then I'm sleeping over my parent's house.
We leave for Nashville in twenty days, and I've of course been thinking heavily about what outfits I'll be bringing! I just can't wait to get away with Bob; we haven't gone away together (other than to the shore in September) in a year! I just can't wait to get away from everything here, and have an amazing time with him.
In the pictures below I'm wearing my Pinup Girl Clothing tiki tiles Jenny dress that I got a couple of months or so ago, from a Facebook group, and now it's warm enough to wear it outside, sans layers! I missed it when it originally was released last summer, but I'm glad I was still able to snag one. I'll definitely be bringing this to Tiki Oasis in three(!!) months!! 
By the way, Bob and I got our Tiki O tickets this past Sunday. and I'm so relieved! I was sitting in front of the computer, waiting for the ticket release, and as soon as they went live, I got them. I was concerned about them selling out, and evidently some types of tickets have already sold out.  

Dress: Facebook group (Pinup Girl Clothing)
Necklace: Splendette
Bangles: Splendette & Etsy (BrighterBakelite)
Heels: BAIT Footwear

~Bye bye for now!

Part II Of My October Trip

Hello there! I have a four day weekend, which starts today! The school is closed today & tomorrow for teacher's convention. Last year I was in California during teacher's convention, so I'm excited to be at home, and doing a lot of relaxing this long weekend. I have a doctor's appointment today, and am hanging out with friends tonight.
 Well, I'm finally getting around to blogging about the second part of my trip with my mom to New Orleans & Nashville! In my first post about the trip, I talked about the first part in New Orleans. In this post I'm going to talk about Nashville. We flew from New Orleans to Nashville on Thursday morning. The flight got in on time, and was quite a short flight, I think it was just over an hour. My mom and I took an Uber from the airport to my sister's apartment, where we picked up her car to use while she was at work (she rides her bike to work).
We had lunch at Nashville Palace, which is my favorite bar in Nashville; it's where a lot of the Nashville Boogie was held. There was a guy singing and playing guitar while we were there. 
I think they have live music all day and night, every day/night. We also went to three antique malls, and I got a newly made canvas print of vintage kitchenware, and I also got one last year from the sale booth at that antique mall, and I also got a cheap bracelet. The woman running the antique mall where I got the print from recognized me from May. I thought that was neat! Her co-worker, who was probably about 15 years old, told me she liked my accent. Ha! I don't hear that too often. I love some southern accents (I think some are just TOO thick), and I do love Nashville and New Orleans accents.
When my sister got out of work we headed over there to hang out with her for a bit, before we went back to the house we were staying in (Air Bnb type thing), which was about ten minutes from her. Friday morning we headed out to Loveless Cafe, which is about half an hour away, but still is in Nashville. Bob and I went there in May, and loved it. It's quite famous, and has been around for a long time. I got the same meal as last time ha, I got a chicken salad sandwhich. They have amazing biscuits too, which are unlimited. On the way back to my sister's, we stopped at Pharmacy Burger, and we sat at the bar and I got an orange phosphate drink (it's orange soda and cream), and my mom got a milkshake.
My sister got out of work early, and we headed back to her place. We did some shopping nearby, and then headed to the airport to pick up my aunt & cousin who were coming in for the weekend, and live in Texas. We had dinner with them at a German restaurant in a mall. I just got a sald, and it was good. We dropped my mom and aunt off at the Grand Ole Opry afterwards; they were catching a show there. My sister, 15 year old cousin, and me headed over to Nashville Palace, and heard some live music, and my sister and I had a couple of drinks. We sat out on the porch in the comfortable nighttime weather. It was nice to catch up with my cousin; we usually see her only a couple of times a year. 
On Saturday we headed to Franklin, a cute little town about half an hour from my sister's place. Bob and I also went there in May. We did some shopping and went out to lunch. 
I didn't buy anything there. In the afternoon we left there, and they dropped me off at the airport. I LOVE the Nashville airport; it's tiny, and so fast and easy to get through. The airport by me, Newark, is unfortunately the opposite of that.

Nashville Palace

My sister on the left & cousin on the right

Yummy drinks at Pharmacy Burger

Vintage curtains inside Loveless Cafe - love them!

LOVE this sign so much!!

Canvas print I got an antique mall (althoug it's newly made)

 

Nashville, Part II

Hello there! This is a longgg overdue post, since I got back from Nashville close to two months ago! I had already written about the first half of my Nashville trip, but in this post I'm going to write about the second half of it. I had previously covered Wednesday night - Friday night. Saturday night Sara & Cody were flying home, so we spent the morning and early afternoon with them, before Bob and I headed back to the Opryland Hotel to catch Charles Phoenix's slideshow. 
We explored a different area of Nashville we hadn't seen yet; we went to East Nashville, where there are a lot of vintage shops. At one of our first stops, I found my very first vintage dress! I was drawn to it because of the pretty floral print and bright colors, but when I pulled it off the rack, I didn't have high hopes it'd fit me, as most vintage is tiny, and I am not. Well, much to my shock, it did fit me! In fact, the buttons over my chest barely even gape; it was a miracle! I know Sara was my litle good luck charm. She found some items at the same shop, herself. She has better luck with vintage clothing than I do, though. But, I had a lot of fun shopping with her that day. 
We grabbed pizza for lunch at Five Points Pizza, Bob and my first and only pizza of our Nashville trip. I had heard it was really good, but honestly, I wasn't impressed. This also is due in large part to the fact that I live in NJ, where pizza is basically a religon, ha, and I've of course had NYC pizza....which is incomparable. I just got a couple slices of plain at Five Points and tried one of Sara's garlic knots, which was yummy, and worth my stinky breath, haha. The area we were shopping in doesn't feel like you're in a city at all, it feels like you're in a small town. There's houses all around there, too, and the shops are mostly spread out from each other, so we had to drive to most of them, instead of getting out and hitting several at once. 
After lunch we sadly bid goodbye to Sara & Cody, and we headed to the Opryland Hotel, and got there right at the time the slideshow was starting. I really enjoyed it! I had missed the one Charles did in Vegas the previous month, so I wanted to make sure I saw this one. 
The slideshow consists of slides of pictures of neat old signs, cars, etc. that either Charles has taken himself, or of actual old slides that have been given to him by miscellaneous people. 
I'd say it's mainly 50's era slides, with some outside of that. Charles is really funny, too!
I laughed a lot during it. 
Bob and I watched a few bands that night. We saw the Rythm Shakers at the Opryland Hotel, and the singer was 8 months pregnant! I love her voice; it's so strong and sassy. We headed over to Nashville Palace after that, where we grabbed dinner, and stayed there for hours, until very late, later than I had wanted to be out. We saw The Desperados, Sara Vista, and Hillbilly Casino. We hadn't planned on seeing HC, but we had started hearing from some people that they put on an amazing show, so we stuck around to see part of their set. They didn't come until midnight! They definitely lived up to the hype, though, and I'm so glad we got to see them. 
Sunday was the last day of the Boogie, but we didn't go over there at all. We had had our fill, ha, and were a little worn out. These events are so much fun, but exhausting to try and make it to everything you want to see and do! We took it a lot slower the rest of the trip. Sunday morning we headed to Franklin; I had wanted heard good things, and wanted to check out that town, and it's about 20 minutes away. We stopped at an antique mall there first, where I got an orange fridgie; it's a piece of Pyrex, and was in great condition. We grabbed lunch on the main street, at an Irish restaurant, and I really liked it. After that we just walked around and went in a few stores, including another large antique mall. I didn't end up buying anything else in Franklin.
Next we went to the famous Loveless Cafe for an early dinner, and it was great! Bob loved it too, and he has high standards for food. The biscuits were amazing (every table gets unlimited free biscuits). The menu has a lot of options, but it focuses on traditional southern cooking. There's also a couple of gift shops there, and I bought a few items, including a tote bag and pot holder with a really cute fruit print on them. The prices were really reasonable, too.
Monday we hit a more shops nearby where my sister lives (where we were staying Sunday-Tuesday) that we had missed before, including an antique mall where I got a really cute vintage dish towel. We had lunch at Dandgure's, which was great! Dandguere's and Loveless were our favorite food stops of the trip. We had seen Dandgure's on an episode of Anthony Bourdain's "Parts Unknown", and my husband had made a note that he wanted to visit it. 
It's cafeteria style, where you get a tray and are served from behind the counter of what dishes you'd like. I got fried chicken, mac & cheese, and a couple of rolls.  
On our last day in Nashville we got lunch at Pharmacy Burger. I loved the burger I had there, as well as their creamsicle drink! I would definitely go back there, too. We left for the airport around 2 p.m. We had a great time in Nashville, that's for sure! I'm glad we got to do a lot of exploring there too, and also got to check out Franklin. I look forward to going back to Nashville.

Yummy creamsicle drink at Stillery

Vintage dress that I bought in Nashville!

Isn't this mural we randomly spotted adorable??

I love this candid pic that Bob got of us!

 

Go Retro

Hello there! Well, Bob and I are back from Nashville, safe and sound. We got back late on Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning. We were supposed to get back Tuesday night at 10:00 p.m., but got back a little after midnight, due to Newark airport temporarily closing to investigate an engine fire on another plane. After picking up our luggage, and making a stop at the grocery store to pick up something to eat, we got home a little after 2:00 a.m. 
We had a really fun trip though! There's a lot to do in Nashville. It surprised me how big it is. We had use of my sister's car the whole time we were there, so we drove to a few different areas of Nashville, as well as Franklin. We got to do a lot of antique and vintage shopping, too. We saw about ten bands play at the Boogie, and they were all great. Most of them I had planned on seeing and had heard their music before, but some I hadn't heard before, and it was fun to discover those new bands, as well. We also had a lot of fun with Sara and her boyfriend Cody, who we hung out with Thursday - Saturday.
I'll post more info on the trip and pictures of the trip soon, in a future blog post.
I have a 4 day weekend (the school I work at is closed on Tuesday, too), and I'm so excited for it! I came back from the trip, and worked Thursday & Friday, and now get to enjoy 4 days off. Not bad, huh? It'll be nice to have slower paced days off, after having such a busy trip.
In the pictures below I'm wearing my new Bernie Dexter dress. The style is a new style of hers, and it's called the "Drive In", and the print is called "Go Retro". This is my first Drive In dress, and it is quite similar to her Kelly style dress, which is my favorite style of hers. 
It fits very similiarly, except that there's no waistband on the Drive In style.
I had liked this print since it came out about a month or so ago, but debated ordering it, because I wasn't sure how bright it would be in person. There's a lot of tan, brown, and black in it, but it's still bright enough for me. I'm also wearing my new to me vintage sunglasses in the pictures. I picked them up for $10 at the Nashville Boogie, and I love them! They're my first pair of vintage sunglasses, too. 

Dress: Bernie Dexter
Sunglasses: Vendor at the Boogie (vintage)
Bangles: Splendette & Etsy (BrighterBakelite)
Earrings: Etsy (Luxulite)
Heels: BAIT Footwear

~Bye bye for now!