From Closet to Cameo: The Wedding Singer

Have you ever wanted to be in a movie? Do you have a great outfit and no acting skills? Well here is your big break! I watch a lot of movies and to showcase and celebrate the ones I like, welcome to "From Closet to Cameo"! And honest to goodness, all of the items that my friends and I will be wearing were taken directly from our closets...no joke. This week's spotlight is The Wedding Singer--one of the greatest 80s movies not made in the 80s. I mean come on, who wouldn't want to live in Julia and Holly's vintage pink house, dance like crazy in lamé, and have a friend who puts his limo through an obstacle course. My cousin, best friend and I can nearly recite the whole movie from memory.

For my outfit I selected this wonderful authentic 80s number, gifted to me by my cousin, who could not pass it up in a thrift store. It has been hanging in my closet for the past year and finally has a purpose! If you wonder where I would be in this film, you could probably find me kickin' it on the dance floor or chatting up one of the mutants at table 9...oh who am I kidding, I am one of the mutants at table 9.

Rock the 80s!!!!!

Favorite quotes:
"Billy Idol gets it, I don't know why she doesn't get it!"~Robbie
"Do you really want to hurt me?"~George
"I don't have any clean Tupperware!"~Rosie
"Get out of my Van Halen t-shirt before you jinx the band and they break up!"~Robbie

Why it's good to be a child in an adult's body...

I can eat this for breakfast and no one tells me I can't. In my world, this can substitute any meal. Hey there's milk in it...and fruit right?

Hobby #1 - LETTERPRESS

It is no secret amongst my family and friends that I am something of a hobbiest. I collect hobbies the way my cousin over at Swanky Lady Vintage collects aprons. I'm a sucker for learning something new to do with my mind and hands. In no particular order I'm going to give props to all of those pasttimes that have captured my imagination and most of my nights and weekends.

Aw, Letterpress. For those of you who do not know what I'm talking about, it's old school typesetting 101, the way newspapers and pretty much everything used to be printed before computers came down the pipe. It's very tactile and theraputic, one of my past design professors is trying to keep the art alive right here in Peoria! There's nothing like the smell of rubber based ink in the morning.

This is the poster I made for my dad for Father's Day...finally, a gift he didn't already have!

Happy St. Valentine's Day...Star Wars Style!

This is so stinking sweet and geeky at the same time. Cuts right to my ever-Wookiee-loving heart.

What I kept...Treasures!

I took a photo of my treasures that I kept for myself from our day of thrifting. A quite obscure mixture of things, I think the He-Man tv tray makes me feel like a hero every time I look at it, hehe. I'm a sucker for the 80s and the shoes make me feel like a 1940s secretary. Now if you'll excuse me I have to go part with some of my junk so I can keep all this new junk. Ta ta!

Thriftiness is a Lifestyle...

A few days ago I went on a thrifting adventure with my cousin Carrie, Mom and Aunt--and let me tell you, it was a very good day! We are notorious junkers in our family, in fact the majority of the items in my home are second hand, and as always laughter ensues as we pillage through others' refuse, debate over a rhinestone peacock purse and wince at the grody wonders that we just can't bare to leave the store without. I walked away with two vintage purses (one being this cherry red marvel that opens with three compartments), a Chinese fan necklace, a retro sugar holder, an art deco Kodak camera, a mother's brooch, an 1885 book on the history of the US, a strawberry tray, Isaac Mizrahi shoes, an elephant figurine, a ceramic peanut for my obscure friend Allison and the coup de grat--a 1982 He-Man tv tray!!! My cousin found it stashed behind a basket in our favorite hole-in-the-wall jaunt. I am a sucker for 80s toys and look forward to chronicling my treasures. Until then you can find some of my treasures listed in my etsy shop: The Furnace Room at coleblk.etsy.com.

After the Storm...

Ah, two snow days in a row! Bliss. I mainly stayed inside watching tv and old Star Trek films that I picked up at the thrift store for 50cents and eating chicken soup while the thunder snow apocalypse raged outside. Snow days are also a chance to try new hobbies that you otherwise would not have the time to try. I picked up my beadwork again and am almost finished with an intricate black and neon yellow necklace pattern that I've never tried before that I will blog about as soon as I have it finished. This is the view out my door, it has been years since we've had thigh-high drifts. God bless the kind stranger who plowed my driveway and my dad who made it possible for me to get to my garage!