Cullman, Alabama

 I had QUITE the weekend. Long story short, my keys were stolen Saturday, and I went nutso trying to find a locksmith and was locked out of my apartment until Tuesday at 12:30pm. This is why I have been absent. The weekend was not all bad though as I got to see my love, Allen, in Cullman, Alabama at his grandparents. Since he is camp counseling in Alabama for the summer, I'll be making random trips down to see him when he has breaks. We visited the Ave Maria Grotto built by Brother Joseph, and it was absolutely stunning. I'll be posting those pictures tomorrow with a better description. Allen and I also went to Smith lake for Memorial Day (which was MUCH too freezing for my blood), and he showed me around some thrift stores. His grandparents were utterly adorable and his grandmother spoiled me with an abundance of good food. The house was so cute (especially the Teddy Roosevelt on the piano) with all their old furniture and country style decorations. My favorites were the cabinets and the couches. I also met their dog Bandit who was the same size as me basically, and is only 18 months. I still have scratches and bruises from rough housing with him. It was a fun filled vacation of 2 days, and I can not wait to see Allen again this coming Friday.

 Till next time,

Jess

New Items Added!

Hey all! I have added some new items to my Etsy Shop, Lillian Sheik! I also now have a Lillian Sheik button that will be making it's home to the right side of my blog that takes you to my shop. (Click on the descriptions underneath to go to the link)

1950s Vintage Antique White Shawl with Flowers<-click!

1980's Cristian Italian Leather Cross-Body Purse<-click here!

1940's Crystal Bead Brooch<-click!

Beads and Bronze Multi-Strand Bracelet<-click!

1980's Mardi Gras Mask Brooch<-Clickeroo!

1950's Leaves and Beads Bracelet<-Clique!

Brass-Plated Ribbon Earrings and Brooch Set<-Click here!

Mardi Gras Mask Earrings<-clickedy click!

Till next time,

Jess

Cheesecake

A pin-up girl, also known as a pin-up model or cheesecake, is a model whose mass-produced pictures see wide appeal as popular culture. Pin-ups are intended for informal display, e.g. meant to be "pinned-up" on a wall.

I have always loved Pin-ups. I have different folders filled with Marilyn Monroe, Bettie Page, Betty Grable, Gil Elvgren's prints, etc. I love the accidental sexiness Gil Elvgren's models pull off; a vacuum cleaner "accidentally" lifts her skirt to show off her undergarments, or a dog just so happened to pull the strings of her bikini top. I also adore the real life pin-up babes. They all just looked so happy and confident and their lines and cellulite and rolls were never photoshopped out. Any chance I get I love to make myself up to be a pin up. Today was more inspired by Marilyn's beach photos. She looks so effortlessly beautiful and playful and that's more of what I wanted to capture through these. I ended up playing with them a bit in Photoshop to get a more grainy/dusty look like what I see in the older pin up pictures. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed doing this. Maybe next time I'll do a more Gil Evgren's "Oops! Is that my garter showing?"

 Till next time,

Jess

A Little Peek

This post is going to be a little different today. It's going to be an hourly/behind the scenes/a look into the Shealy weekend life. I am feeling a bit quirky today so I'm blaming that for the reason behind the post! Also, I have a lot of photos of the kitties/coffee mugs and I wanted to share <(^-^)>. Click on the photos to make them larger

When I wake up, after much persuasion to leave the bed, I have to have my coffee. Well I don't have to have it (yes I do), but I just love coffee in the morning and my breakfast burritos (Allen and I lovingly call them BTOOOOOOOOOS! Ok. ok. Maybe I just call them that). I get Don Miguel's Triple Play Breakfast Burritos from Walmart, because I haven't seen them anywhere else yet and they. are. the. GREATEST!!! Burritos also have freckles like I do, and that's just neat. So there are all the reasons as to why burritos are my favorite. Oh...well *ahem* speaking of favorites, I also love my morning chats with Allen now that he's away for the Summer. Mornings would be so much more dim without talking to him.

The kitties periodically come say hi to me, though Sheik takes a little more coaxing since she's more timid. Sheik is finally becoming comfortable enough to lay sprawled out in the living room though, and it makes for more frequent lovin's. Lilly and I make sure to stretch out our muscles after waking up and having our coffee. (Lilly also likes to hog the laptop and make it nearly impossible to use.) Edit for any yoga enthusiasts: This is not a correct downward-facing dog pose. The feet and hands should be farther apart and your body and legs should be making a 90 degree angle. I was just trying to be cute with my cat.

Then I get ready for the day...sometimes. Here's a little behind the scenes look from the Fairy Tale post I did. I felt like a bad ass Princess Leia in the original trilogy with my braids and secretly wished I was yielding a gun and running around in a white jumpsuit (I can hear my mom now, "My daughter is a huge nerd." Psh yeah, whatever mom!). I was actually surprised with how well my makeup and hair turned out since I spent a total of 15 minutes getting ready. I ended up being the opposite of jumpsuit/gun yielding in my soft lace slip and sparkly golden shawl, but I still loved it, because it reminded me more of being an elf queen like Galadriel (Who is most definitely bad ass as well) from Lord of the Rings (Yeah mom...I know, more nerd stuff. She just doesn't get good movies/books).

source

Don't pretend like you don't want to be Leia.

 These pictures are from Mother's day last Sunday. There's my mom smiling with a little peep of my dad in the background. My little and only sister Brittany is in the picture below that with 2 of her favorite things, a cell phone and Funyuns. She probably finished them off 5 minutes after the picture was taken (the Funyuns not the cell phone).

 Making her second cameo appearance is the loveable and loyal Sweet Pea, our big and bad guard dog who shakes and hides under the bed when she hears thunder (Except she's too big so only her head and shoulders make it into hiding).  

Our Sundays are usually lazy and we just sit around and watch movies or whatever else is on T.V. and hang out on the deck. Friday we listened to music and played pool (or billiards will you) and Saturday we had a mother's day dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse. So really Mom got a mother's day weekend. There's the spoiled rotten Tiger getting some affection from Mom and giving dirty looks to the camera. Boy is she the dirtiest cat you've ever seen. Seriously look:

 What she lacks in beauty, she makes up for in one of the greatest personalities out of any pet we've ever had. Poor thing also has a deviated septum and snores as about as loud as my dad. As the day turns into evening I try and play some piano, if Lilly allows, and then we start getting snuggled up and ready for some shut eye.

As you can see, Lilly has no problem sleeping. I hope you enjoyed looking into what a usual day looks like for me when I'm visiting the Shealy house! Stop by again and Mom will make you the best homemade meal you've ever had! 

Till next time,

Jess

Fairy Tales Come True

I decided to play dress up in my great grandmother's slip and shawl. I felt like a fairy tale, and my heart is pounding as I make this post. It's not often you get to feel like something you read in a book come to life. I could cry over how beautiful and special this post is to me. I'll just keep letting the photos speak for themselves.

Till next time,

Jess