Audrey Friday

Since it's a holiday weekend, I thought it would be very apropos to post some very adorable, and rare pictures from Roman Holiday (1953) via one of my very favorite Audrey Hepburn picture blog sites Rare Audrey Hepburn.  Roman Holiday also happens to be my second favorite Audrey movie.  She and Gregory Peck make such a perfect pair in this movie. Someday I will visit Rome, and ride a Vespa just as she did, you watch ;)

ah..and finally, this one just steals my heart <3 she looks absolutely beautiful in this shot, doesn't she? 

Wishing you a wonderful long weekend dahlings!

Happy Birthday to My Mister

Happy Birthday to my better half! Yes, his birthday is exactly a week after Goobie's.  He had hoped that she had been born on his birthday, but she decided she wanted out a week before! Boy, this month leaves me scrapping for change in my couches! but it's all worth it!  ;)

Anyhow, he has requested a steak dinner for his birthday dinner so this is what I have in store for tonight's dining affair thanks to the wonderful recipes of The Pioneer Woman Cooks.  You have to check out her recipes!

Grilled Rib-Eye Steak with Onion Blue Cheese Sauce 

and Crash Hot Potatoes

.

followed by an ice cream cake. I had planned on baking a cake, but I'm running short on time, so I had to buy one...but I am sure he will enjoy it very much as it's mint chocolate chip; his favorite :) 

So off into the kitchen I go! Have a good evening lovelies!

I've Come to Wish You an Unhappy (Belated) Birthday!

What kind of Morrissey fan am I?!  I completely and utterly forgot that Saturday was the Mozzer's 51st birthday! It wasn't until my friend Jimmy comes up  to me on Saturday during Goobie's birthday party, "hey aren't you going to play some Morrissey or The Smiths today"? and I said "are you crazy? I don't want the guests or the kids to get depressed during the party!", he laughed and said, 'well I just thought that being that it is Morrissey's birthday today,  and that you're a die hard fan, you'd be playing at least some of the cheerier Smiths songs', and then it hit me! I thought, oh crap! I forgot his birthday! How dare I? so I ran to my iPod, and went through my Smiths and Morrissey playlists, and played the happiest songs I could find! 

My guilt was assuaged for a bit, but it came back to haunt me...it wasn't fair that I gave everyone else but Moz a birthday tribute post! The nerve of me! So...although I am four days late on wishing The Charming Man  an unhappy birthday, here is my birthday post in honor of my all time favorite songwriter, lyricist, and crooner, whose morose, yet witty lyrics never fail to make me chuckle, smile, and yes, sometimes brings me to tears.  Oh Moz, how I love thee! I hope you had the unhappiest of birthdays ;)

Stephen Patrick Morrissey

May 22, 1959
"Age shouldn't affect you. It's just like the size of your shoes - they don't determine how you live your life! You're either marvelous or you're boring, regardless of your age."-Morrissey

Steven Patrick Morrissey was born on May 22, 1959, in Manchester, England. Son of Peter, a night security guard, and Elizabeth, a librarian, Morrissey recalls his childhood as being morbid.  His parents divorced when he was 17. Morrissey spent his days reading, writing pages of poetry, and listening to music.  During an interview with Spin Magazine in the 90s, he said "The power of the written word really stung me, and I was also entirely immersed in popular music [Actor James Dean and nineteenth-century Irish wit Oscar Wilde] were the only two companions I had as a distraught teenager. Every line that Wilde ever wrote affected me so enormously. And James Dean's lifestyle was always terribly important. It was almost as if I knew these people quite intimately and they provided quite a refuge from everyday slovenly life," he revealed to Rolling Stone 's Henke. Morrissey also found refuge in the feminist writings of Susan Brownmiller and Molly Haskell, as well as the "terribly gloomy" and "terribly embittered" British novelist Charles Dickens. Where music was concerned, Morrissey lost himself in mid-1960s British pop hits and later, the androgynous glitter rock of the New York Dolls and David Bowie. 

Morrissey left school at 17. Jobs as civil-service clerk, hospital porter, and record-store salesman did not interest him past the first paycheck. It was guitarist Johnny Marr's 1982 invitation to join a band that finally got him out of the house. Within months, the Smiths burst onto the British music scene.

The Smiths released six studio albums  from 1983 to 1987 and found critical acclaim in both their native England and the US. They never broke into the mainstream in the US, though they became college radio legends, mainly due to Morrissey's intelligent but often controversial themes. The band broke up in 1987 over a conflict of musical interest between Morrissey and Marr. Morrissey found solo success after The Smiths, achieving a far greater status in the US than The Smiths ever had. Since the 90s he's released sixteen albums which include B Sides.   The wide popularity Morrissey holds until this day, is a testament that he will forever remain a powerful music icon for those who hold him dear to their hearts.  

I wanted to Share...

A few pictures of Goobie's birthday party on Saturday with you my dear readers. I also and want to thank you all for your birthday wishes. So thank you! ;)

The party was a success! Goobie had tons of fun. We had loads of fun too! She was scared of going in the jumper at first, but finally got the courage to go in, and had a blast. Boy, those jumpers really come in handy! I never imagined the endless hours of entertainment it provided for the kiddies :)

Last year, Goobie wasn't able to really enjoy herself at her party, but this year, she was unstoppable. It was a long day of playing hostess and running around after Goobie, so you'll have to pardon the last picture. My make-up was melting at that point lol. Anyhow, without further ado, a few pictures for your viewing :)

Birthday Dress

playing with ice! 

In the Jumper with her auntie

 Time to break the piñata!

and finally I was able to steal a moment with her but as you can 

tell, she was ready to go back and play! 

Wishing you a wonderful day!

Happy 2nd Birthday Goobie!

 

I remember this day, as if it were just yesterday.   After hours and hours of labor pains, you finally decided you wanted out... you arrived into our lives at 9:20pm on Monday May 20, 2008, a night when a very special bond began; a bond which will last a lifetime.... Since that fateful Spring evening, we have made many memories, and have shared many moments which I will never forget...you have brought immense joy into our lives... so, as always thank you for being in our lives! We are blessed to have you, we cherish, and love you sooo very much! Here's to celebrating many more birthdays with you little Goobie!

Goobie's first appearance May 20, 2008

This is Goobie last year during her first birthday

and this is her this morning on her 2nd Birthday, always

smiling!

Happy 2nd Birthday my little darling!

Well daahlings, I am off  for the remainder of the week, to finish preparing for Goobie's Ni Hao Kai Lan themed birthday party which will be taking place this this Saturday! I wish you all a wonderful, fun, or relaxing weekend!

Happy Birthday Katharine Hepburn

 Katharine Hepburn 

May 12, 1907-June 29, 2003

Katharine Houghton Hepburn was known as a spirited performer with a touch of eccentricity. Her looks;  sharp-planed face defined by remarkably high cheekbones (which someone once called the greatest calcium deposit since the White Cliffs of Dover!). In her youth she did not have classical leading-lady looks, but a handsome beauty.  Hepburn was an unlikely Hollywood star, wearing casual particularly trousers, at a time when actresses were expected to exude glamour 24 hours a day. 

As an actress she was noted for her brisk upper-class New England accent and tomboyish beauty.  Possessing a distinctive speech pattern and an abundance of quirky mannerisms, she earned unqualified praise from her admirers and unmerciful criticism from her detractors. Unabashedly outspoken and iconoclastic, she did as she pleased, refusing to grant interviews,  and was noted for openly clashing with her more experienced coworkers whenever they failed to meet her standards.

She played sharp-witted, sophisticated women with an ease that suggested that there was a thin line between the movie role and the off-screen personality. The romantic comedy The Philadelphia Story(1959) and the screwball classic Bringing Up Baby (1938) were among her best, most typical roles.  But through 43 films and dozens of stage and television appearances, she played comic and dramatic parts as varied  in Little Women(1933) the reborn spinster in The African Queen (1951)and The Lion in Winter(1968)

 Katharine Hepburn  and Spencer Tracy

Hepburn was married once, to Philadelphia broker Ludlow Ogden Smith, a union that was dissolved in 1934. While filming Woman of the Year in 1942, she began an enduring  intimate relationship with her costar, Spencer Tracy.  Tracy was unhappily married and the father of two when they met, and he remained married until the end of his life. He and Miss Hepburn never married (Tracy was Roman Catholic and would not divorce his wife) but they lived together for 27 years, until his death in 1967, and made nine films together which include Adam's Rib (1949) and Pat and Mike (1952).

Cary Grant and Katharine in Bringing Up Baby

Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, John Howard and Katharine Hepburn

in The Philadelphia Story

Katharine was a 4-time Academy Award winner who was 96 years old when she passed away on June 2003.  She died of natural causes in her home in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.   

Today, the U.S. Postal Service honors Hepburn on what would have been her 103rd birthday with her own U.S. stamp.  Happy Birthday Kate the Great! What is your favorite movie starring Katharine Hepburn?

Stormy Weather

Lena Horne
June 30, 1917-May 10, 2010

Audrey Friday

Let's face it...Audrey had STYLE.  She always looked good in whatever she wore, wouldn't you agree? With an innate knowledge of her flaws and attributes, Hepburn developed a unique style which perfectly complimented her personality and remained loyal to it throughout the seasons.

Over the years she would be responsible for bringing the little black dress, ballet flats, toreador pants and the black turtleneck to the forefront of fashion; all items of such simplicity that they still seem modern today. Standing at 5ft7' and weighing a mere 110lbs for most of her adult life, one of the great secrets of Hepburn's elegance was her extraordinary ability to exploit her strong points to maximum advantage.

"I'm not beautiful. My mother once called me an ugly duckling. But, listed separately, I have a few good features." -Audrey Hepburn

“I never thought I was pretty,” said Audrey about herself. She felt too skinny, too tall and too flat, and felt that her feet were too big for her size ( A size 8! ). This did not prevent her from learning to value her looks. “You have to look at yourself objectively. Analyze yourself like an instrument. You have to be absolutely frank with yourself. Face your handicaps, don’t try to hide them. Instead, develop something else.” This was an advice she gave to her fans. She would decline the offer to cap her uneven front teeth, she would also refuse to pluck her heavy eyebrows. Go Audrey!

Because of her height, Audrey made flat shoes and ballet slippers an integral part of her look. However she did not to hide her being too skinny. Her look in “Sabrina” brought out by Givenchy, had become legendary. This look emphasized deliberately Audrey’s slender figure.

 Her beauty secrets were revealed in a press release of December 29, 1953, where it was mentioned that she did not use a shade of powder and preferred the pale shades of lipstick at all times. She wore almost no jewelry and no furs.

“Jewelry just doesn’t suit me, and if I wear too much makeup, my face looks like a mask instead of me…Put me in furs and jewels, and I look like something off a barrel organ.”

Having learned to make her beauty choices, she had established a new standard of beauty.  Audrey Hepburn’s incredible style lives on in women all over the world.  Audrey remains a style icon. The simplicity, femininity and classiness of her style, is still prevalent in the collections of some of the most well known designers of our day, as well as in the wardrobes of many of us.  What is your favorite, signature Audrey look

  "It's So Audrey-Style Icon"

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Before you sip on that mighty margarita, or have a shot of your favorite tequila, and indulge in the plethora of Mexican cuisine tonight... Here's a little bit of history of the holiday Cinco De Mayo, The 5th Of May.  Cinco de Mayo commemorates the victory of the Mexican militia over the French army at The Battle Of Puebla in 1862. It is primarily a regional holiday celebrated in the Mexican state capital city of Puebla and throughout the state of Puebla, with some limited recognition in other parts of Mexico, and especially in U.S. cities with a significant Mexican population. It is not, as many people think, Mexico's Independence Day, which is actually September 16. 

And that my darlings,  concludes your history lesson for today ;) now... go out there and have that tasty margarita...and have one for me too, as I will not be able to partake in the festivities tonight due to a my weekly school commitment... but it's mighty alright...as I have a date with Bogie...on the screen that is... we're watching Casablanca ;)

I hope you enjoy these colorful, and cheerful vintage images of some beautiful Mexican Señoritas I found this morning here.

 
Cheers!