Farewell 2013

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Crashing Nightingale

It’s here, it’s here! One of my favorite times of the year! I get excited about New Year’s Eve. Why, you say? Not because I want to kick the previous year to the curb and not because I’m armed and ready with tons of resolutions that I could have started any time during the year. Because I’ve never been shy to embrace something new. A new year signals just that, a new year. Another year in my life and another year to spend it exploring life.

Change and embracing something new has never been a stranger to me. I’ve lived in two different states, several different cities, attended two elementary schools, a separate middle school, two different high schools and three colleges. I was never afraid to face what was ahead during each stage of my life. I’m not afraid of getting older, I’m just afraid I’ll get older and regret all the opporunities I allowed to slip by. I’m big on self-reflection too. Which this time of year seems to invoke that as well. I think it’s good to reflect on what I’ve done, what I haven’t done and what I want to do. Doing this helps me see what is working and what isn’t working in my life. I’ve never been someone that held on to dead weight. Whatever that may be. And once I realized it was dead weight, I politely walked away from it, not causing a scene, and didn’t look back. Why continue to allow things in your life that make you unhappy? Life is way too precious and there are so many things or people in the world that will bring happiness.

So I hope you let go of 2013 and close this year’s chapter in your life. Don’t reflect on what was bad or didn’t work, just learn from it and take what you learn into 2014.

~ * Best wishes for a happy new year! * ~ CN

Date Night with Bettie

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Crashing Nightingale

This past Friday, my husband and I attended the Bettie Page Reveals All movie premier at the historic Belcourt Theatre. It was a sight to see all the Bettie fans eagerly await the showing of the film. So many movie goers were dressed up in retro 1950s attire to see Bettie on the big screen.

The hubby and I wore our matching black with white piping 1950s western outfits. The clothes did not come as a set. My husband had originally bought his and I found this dress that seemed to fit it quite well. I channeled my inner Bettie and curled my hair and snipped my bangs to create the infamous “Bettie bangs.” My husband slicked back his hair and threw on his cowboy boots. We were ready for the show!

Everyone looked so excited before the film began. Ladies with their 1950s-inspired clothing and victory rolls in their hair and gentlemen looking super dapper. Just as a sidebar: this historic theater happens to serve alcohol so we sipped on drinks while we enjoyed the show. The lights dimmed and the camera rolled and there was the iconic “sultry siren of the southland” as she was introduced in the opening of the movie.

The film is narrated by Bettie herself during her older years. The movie began with her childhood and chronologically showed her life through pictures as she told us about the moments of her life. It was great to hear about her from her. Not all biographies have the opportunity to have the actual person do this. Towards the end we see how much Bettie influenced culture and art. Bettie has been the muse for many artists; one of my favorites being Olivia De Berardinis.

Bettie is such an iconic women that has bedazzled and inspired so many people. Thankfully, she is still an inspiration today and still hypnotizes anyone that lays their eyes on her famous pictures.

Vintage holiday gifts

Posted on December 26, 2013 by Crashing Nightingale

I hope you all had a very merry holiday. I’m pretty exhausted from all the hustle and bustle this time of year brings. But I only slow down a bit to catch my breath so I can get ready for one of my favorite holidays, New Year’s Eve! But for now I’m going to share a few gifts my husband gave me for Christmas.

You may have figured it out from reading a few other posts that I am an antique lover. A lot of the furniture and decor in my home are antiques. And one of my very favorite things to do is go “antique-ing.” I’m fortunate my husband loves to do the same as well. We could spend hours exploring an antique shop.

Which brings me to the gifts my husband gave me for Christmas. Four out of five of them were antiques and I’m going to share these treasures with you.

These pieces are a necklace and earrings set. My husband told me he asked the staff at the antique store if they had any art deco jewelry. The staff directed him to the booth where he found these gems. The dealer told him she bought the set in the 1980s from another antique shop. I love how bold the colors are and that the necklace pretty much demands attention. It is the perfect art deco piece to display around my décolletage.

My husband did a little research on the second necklace and earrings set. This beautiful necklace and earrings set are by a designer name Miriam Haskell. She was an American designer of costume jewelry. I’m not a stranger to costume jewelry because I have a lot of my grandmother’s costume jewelry. The earrings “screw” and they are what I like to call “ear screws” because that’s how these types of earrings were described to me growing up. This is also another great set that sparkles.

The next two gifts are antique handbags. One is from the Victorian era and has a little wear and tear. I just can’t believe it’s survived all these years. The second handbag is 1930s French art deco. Definitely just as gorgeous as it’s older friend from the Victorian era.

These vintage treasures were a pleasant surprise. I love the fact that my husband gives me antiques for gifts. I hope to give these lovely items the same love their previous owner(s) gave them. 🙂

Do you love antiques as much as me? And has anyone ever given you a vintage gift that you’d like to share?

These items were purchased from Gas Lamp Antiques in Nashville, Tenn.

Say hello to Second Empire Style

Posted on December 21, 2013 by Crashing Nightingale

I am a big admirer of architecture. Specifically architecture between the late 1800s to the 1930s. I literally swoon over anything Edwardian, Victorian or Art Deco. My heart falls in love with these styles, whether it can be seen in buildings, furniture or style.

For now, I’d like to shine the spotlight on Second Empire architecture. This style was the popular one of it’s class roughly between 1855 and 1885. Second Empire evolved during the time of Second French Empire. It was our French amis that gave the world the gift of this exquisite style. The design sailed across the sea and the United States was lucky enough to catch on to the trend. It was notably distinguished by the tower element incorporated into the homes. Which may remind someone of our favorite ghoulish family homes like The Munsters, The Addams Family or even spookier, the Bates’ home in Psycho (go ahead and Google, I’ll wait until you get back 🙂 ).

Another notable feature is the mansard roof (see above, left). Just like a perfectly designed wedding cake, which was sometimes what described the style, the roofs were carefully crafted. The windows were like pieces of artwork by themselves. An interesting fact about Second Empire style is where in the United States it was most popular. The Northeast and Midwest gave this design a lot of love because these are the regions you would find this type of architecture. The least common was the Pacific coast and it’s a rarity you would find this style in the South. Being from the Southern region of the United States this information disappointed me!

This style may not be everyone’s cup of tea but we do have to appreciate the work that went into designing and building these structures. These were the days when a single person hand-carved staircases, which that information by itself just blows one’s mind. So say hello to Second Empire style!

Bringing sexy (lingerie) back

Posted on December 15, 2013 by Crashing Nightingale

Recently I watched an episode of Showtime’s series, Masters of Sex. The show is set in the 1950s. During the episode, one of the characters is getting ready for work and you see her sitting at her vanity in her undergarments. It dawned on me how the undergarments she was wearing, bullet bra, waist cincher, garter belt and stockings, were such the normal thing to wear under daily attire. Of course I’ve known this for a long time and I have these items myself but it just hit me that wearing these daily have gone by the way side. I am certain there are women in the world that do, but it’s certainly not in every women’s wardrobe. So I thought, why don’t we?

Sure, your comfortability-level may get thrown out the window wearing tight, constricting fabric. But just like putting on a pair of heels for the first time, you’ll get use to the feeling eventually. You didn’t do sprints the first time after putting on a pair of six-inch heels. So it’ll take a few times to get use to wearing these items underneath your clothing. It’s all about taking baby steps before taking the big dive. To me, I love the feeling of sophistication these undergarments give. It makes any skirt or dress slip right on when you have the silky material on. I enjoy wearing dresses and skirts more often than jeans or pants so maybe it’s just more of my preference to include putting on a good fitting waist cincher to smooth out the body.

I feel undergarments have gotten a bad rap over the decades because some may associate it with their “grandmother’s girdle.” I’ll admit, growing up I heard my grandmother on many occasions reference her “girdle.” But whatever you want to call it, our grandmothers knew what was up. Like any kind of accessory you pair with your outfit, these classic pieces of underwear should go wherever you go. Whether it’s the office or date night, sophistication is what these pieces bring.

So I declare we bring these beautiful and sexy garments back. (Queue the Justin Timberlake song).