Semester End

Hey Readers!

My spring semester just ended today - exciting, I know! Unfortunately, I leave on Tuesday for Haiti to visit my mother and little sister, and do not return here to San Francisco until the 13th of June. Therefore, I must take my leave until that time, since I don't know how much time I can spend writing for y'all while I'm out and about. I promise to do an article on the condition of Port-au-Prince and the Haitian people, and I'll even take pictures, but for now I need some rest after finishing finals...

See you in a few weeks,

Hindsight - On How to Be Lovely

So, yes, I haven't posted in a while. This week has been pretty crazy - guests, kittens, etc. I'm now completely unsure as to where I will be living starting in February. I may return to San Francisco to continue on-campus studies, or I may remain here in New Orleans until the summer... Everything is up in the air. I've also got finals coming up, followed by Christmas and New Year's. I can't promise to post every day, but I will do my best to post at least twice (if not thrice) a week. Did you like my little inclusion of thrice there? It's one of my favorite obscure words.

Image via Wikipedia

Zemanta Assistant seemed to think this picture was relevant to my article...?

Anyway, today I wanted to share some vintage beauty tips. I find these videos bizarrely fascinating. I guess I'm really just a historical voyeur in that I love catching glimpses of daily life in other time periods. I got the title for this from one of my favorite movies, "Funny Face":





On to the point. I've recently discovered the delights of Glamour Daze - in their own words "An Archive of Vintage Fashion and Beauty". If you haven't had a chance to peruse this blog to head over there and poke around. It's definitely worth it! They also do a series of Youtube uploads of vintage beauty and glamor one-reels. I've posted a few of my favorites below. Enjoy!

Movie Starlet Constance Bennet's Guide to Skin Care - late 30s. I always sleep with my makeup on, don't you?



A "Guide to Glamour" from 1940s stylist Ratherly Stern. I honestly think that teaching young people (not just girls) about good posture and hygiene is important.





And here a beauty series from the 1950s:







Remember, girls: Soda pop and a big gooey sundae do not a balanced diet make!
Nostalgically Yours

The Orange One - Continued

Looking to adopt? Click here for more information!

As those who follow my blog will know, the little orange kitten is still at the vet. Recap: His sisters thought his penis was a nipple so the literally suckled it raw (I know that sounds like a crass sexual joke, but I couldn't think of any other way to put it...). Now he's at the vet for at least a few more days and vet bill is probably going to be in the ballpark of $500... I just think it's more important to get him all fixed up now rather than incur greater fees later on, you know?

I got to visit with him a little today at the The Cat Hospital of Metairie. The folks there are so sweet! I'm going to send them some pictures to put up on their website to get the word out. His sisters are doing well, gaining weight (though still a bit small for seven weeks). I've gotten the chance to use one of my favorite French phrases this week: Comme ils sont delicieux quand ils ferment les yeux...! Which is a fancy way of saying "aren't they cute when they're sleeping?"

In my research regarding adoption, I've also heard rumors that there are people in this world who seek out kittens to adopt in order to a) feed them to snakes or b) use them as bait in dog fights. In my Candide-esque optimistic sensibilities, it's difficult to imagine that anyone could do something so awful to a defenseless creature. Despite this, I'm forging ahead with my plans for an adoption campaign that will put Soviet Communist Propaganda to shame!

I've actually been really good about not posting lolCats... Be proud!

In other news, the Calico really likes the rug in the back room...




If my aunt Victoria is reading this: no worries, they know how to clean themselves now and are no longer constantly covered in cat food! I'd like to give a shout out to Donna Baumann, our second donor to the Kitten Kause. The above video is dedicated to her.

I'z on your feet - taking a nap!

Love, Peace, and Kittens,
Nostalgically Yours

The Orange One

Looking to adopt? Click here for more information!

I'm sure you've all been dying to know more about what's going on with the kittens. Well, they're all pretty much potty trained and I'm teaching them to like dry food. They groom themselves now and no longer require baths. They're up and playing all the time, except when they sleep - they look like angels.

He's going to be quite a lap cat.

The Orange one has given me some trouble, as explained in previous posts. He's basically stayed at the vet for the total of about a week. He's in for the weekend again, but I feel it's a lot better than having him at home, constantly trying to figure out if he's okay. I'm not vet, after all. He's in great hands with the folks over at The Cat Hospital of Metairie. If you own a cat in the New Orleans area, I highly recommend this place.

I was really surprised to hear from the woman at Lakeview Veterinary Hospital - not because they weren't professional and courteous, but because I wasn't able to return to them after my first visit. She called to tell me that someone was interested in potentially adopting a kitten. It's a demonstration of the caring and professionalism of the folks at this vet that they called me despite my not being a client anymore. This place also gets high marks in my book because of this and their great pet healthcare.

Although I had originally thought to keep one of these kittens, I've decided against it. These aren't my kittens. They are my babies, but like any other parent my goal is to raise them to send them out into the world and make sure they have the best life possible. It's simply not my time. In the words of Sarah Brown, "I'll know when my [cat] comes along."


I'd also like to thank Donna Baumann for her contribution to the kitten fund. I'm going to post another video later this week to honor my promise for the contributors.


Please send your good vibes out to the Orange One so that he can get better and come home ASAP.


Thanks for sticking with me,
Nostalgically Yours

PS: I've gotten questions as to why I have yet to name the kittens. I have a thing about names. I don't think I would ever want to adopt a cat that already had a name. It wouldn't be my cat. I'm waiting for the future owners to name their cats, because I feel that's more appropriate. I hope that makes sense?

Kitten Update

Looking to adopt? Click here for more information!

I took the kittens to the vet today for their first real exams. Unfortunately there were some problems with his privates due to suckling by his sisters. Orphaned kittens tend to have a suckling complex since they cannot suckle at will from their mothers. Luckily, mine have stopped since being weened, but the damage was already done... The Orange One required a minor surgical procedure and is staying at the vet's over the weekend. I'm sick with worry and I miss him terribly. I know he'll be alright, but I can't help it. Please keep him in your thoughts and send him plenty of happy vibrations...

On a lighter note, the other kittens are doing just fine, though they are a bit underweight, according to the doctor. She encouraged me to let them eat as much as possible to keep them growing at a healthy rate. They have noticed their brother is gone, though. They're not playing as much as they normally do. Here are all four kittens yesterday, in a continuation of the video posted then:






Also, I would like to thank Angela Steele for being the first to donate to my Kitten fund! This video is dedicated to her! Thank you, Angela. The money will be going toward their vet bill.

Thanks,
Nostalgically Yours

More on the Kittens

Looking to adopt? Click here for more information!

If you take a gander at the right sidebar, you'll notice something new: a slideshow of pictures of the kittens, as well as a "donate" button. I've started a PayPal donation fund to help pay for vet bills, food, etc. I'm relying on your generosity to help keep me out of the poor house, since I am using my personal funds to take care of the kittens right now.

Being a full-time student, part-time blogger, and part-time mom doesn't leave room for work, so think of this as compensation for my blog posts on the kittens. The more donations I get, the more videos and photos of the kittens I will post! Here's a little teaser:



If you decide to donate, you should be aware that PayPal keeps about 3% of whatever you donate, so if you want to give me $5, you should make it $5.15 if you want me to get the full $5... Of course the kittens always welcome larger donations, but by no means is anyone obligated to donate.

The kittens are going in for their first official vet exam tomorrow, and I'll be sure to keep you all posted on their health!

Enjoy the video,
Nostalgically Yours

PS: They haven't learned to eat without making a mess, yet, so that's food on their schnoz, not poo!

My Kittens at Play!

Looking to adopt? Click here for more information!

Does this need an introduction? I think not.





Enjoy,

Nostalgically Yours

The Kittens - Part I

Dear Readers,

I'm so terribly sorry for not having written so far this week. However, I promise that I have five very good reasons for falling behind on my posts - and here they are:

These are the five orphan kittens I've taken under my wing. Here's the back story: My family and I went to Petco because we wanted my little sister to see the animals they had up for adoption. While we were looking around, two frantic women came up to the temporary adoption desk carrying an old cardboard box. Inside? These five, teeny-tiny kittens - not even a week old - huddling for warmth. The women had discovered the poor dears somewhere outside UNO's campus. They had been feeding them all night, but could not keep them due to allergies. A friend had recommended they go to the adoption center to try and give them away, but the adoption lady had to refuse them.

"The best thing to do will be to take them to a shelter and have them put to sleep. It's the most humane thing to do..." One of the women (who I later found out had recently lost a cat of her own) began to cry. I couldn't help myself.
"What are the options for foster care?" I inquired.
"Well someone would have to take care of them; feed them, make them pee, keep them warm..."
"What if I did that?" The women looked me over.
"That's between you all," the adoption lady said warily.
The rest is history... After taking down the numbers of the two women, promising to keep them informed of the kittens' health and such, I brought the five little tykes home with me. My sister was thrilled. I've been hand feeding them every four hours, and since Saturday they've learned to eliminate by themselves.
I took them to the vet today to have them checked out, but the doctor couldn't do much since they're still so young. They have yet to open their eyes...
I'm a bit worried about finding homes for them, but my primary concern at this moment is keeping them happy and healthy.

I'll have more time to post after this coming weekend. The kittens require my attention, and I'm going to try and get as much of my school-work done early this week because my parents are visiting for my birthday on Sunday (10-10-10!). Next week the kittens reduce their number of feedings per day and will be slightly more self-sufficient. I promise to make up for lost time and all the missing Halloween costume ideas then. In the meantime I will be posting sporadically to keep you up to date on the kittens as well as any other snippets I have time for.

If you happen to live in the New Orleans area and would be interested in adopting one or more of the kittens, please email me!

Blog Update and Halloween

Dear Readers,

Bear with me, I promise there's some more interesting stuff after some administrative stuff... which might just be interesting to you as well!

Not much of a costume, but still adorable!

You may have noticed some changes to the layout of the blog. If not, here's a basic low-down of what's different:

1) I've added a link gadget specifically for my segments to the left sidebar, as well as the Human Calendar. Click on the link to find out more - very interesting project, if you ask me.

2) You'll notice a new "Share" gadget at the bottom of each post. I like this one better because of the shortcuts to Facebook and Twitter. With this gadget you can also share my blog posts on almost 300 different websites - feel free to test this feature out as many times as you'd like!

3) Finally, the right sidebar also has some changes - I've updated the links list as well as the "Friends of the Blog" list, and added a list of books I've read or am currently reading. Below that is the latest Blogger gadget, "Popular Posts".

Kids: Don't be like Snow White!Never take apples from a witch... even a pretty one!

Now, on to the interesting portion of this post! I have a big announcement regarding October (which starts tomorrow, if you didn't know). In honor of Halloween, I've decided to feature a new costume idea every day until the 31st! Music Mondays and my Project Runway reviews will still remain throughout the week, on top of the costume posts, but as usual, there will be no posts on Sundays.

Don't worry, my costumes will be much more modern than these...Unless you don't want them to be?

I'm trying to arrange these chronologically in descending order of complexity, so as to allow enough time for each costume. Next week will also be couples week, where I hope to feature some more original ideas for couples costumes - don't worry single readers, you can always use these costumes as separates.

I personally highly recommend against cliche and "type" costumes in general.These are culpable of double Joepardy.

I'm also trying to balance the ratio of male to female costumes, as well as the ratio of costumes referring to current events to those that are a bit more nostalgic in appeal. I also welcome any and all suggestions to my e-mail at nostalgically_yours@hotmail.com

...They got a rock.

Can't wait to see what I come up with? Subscribe or follow to get updated on all my costume ideas throughout the month. You can also follow me on Twitter to get instant updates and extra thoughts on just about anything!

Only one of these folks planned ahead.The rest show you what happens when you wait 'til the last minute.

Happy Halloween!
Nostalgically Yours

Back by the Indelible Power of Patience

Thanks to wonder of home shopping I am able to write to you all from a full-size computer. Though it is not my personal computer, I hope to have one soon - which isn't too much to expect considering I start my online classes on the second. Anyway, I want to finish up a bunch of stuff this week, like the "About Me" page. I'll also have the first installment of my advice columns up this week, and I'm still working on the project I mentioned in this post. Lots to look forward to this week! Please check in often!

Don't forget to comment to tell me what you think, or you can e-mail me at nostalgically_yours@hotmail.com

A Brief Hiatus

Dear Readers,

Some recent complications with my surgery from last week mean that my recuperation will take more time than expected. This also means that I'll be unable to post regularly over the next week. Hopefully you'll check back starting next week for more, and in the mean time perhaps you could use this as an opportunity to look around a bit, read some of my older posts, etc.

See you next week!
Nostalgically Yours

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes

Dear Readers,

You may have noticed some significant changes to my blog. I think they're a great improvement, but I still have a couple of minor tweaks to finish up, but things won't be changing very much for now.

You probably will also have noticed the tabs I've added: About Me, two Portfolio pages, and two "Ask" pages. Here's a brief overview:

The Portfolio pages are now home to a sample of my artwork and sewing portfolio. I'll update it every so often and keep you posted when I do.

The About Me page will soon contain a more detailed description of myself and my motivations for writing this blog.

The Ask pages are the new feature I wanted to talk to you about: Starting today, I will publicly answer your questions in two arenas: Etiquette (Ask a Gentleman) and Costume Design or Sewing (Ask a Costumer). You can e-mail your questions to nostalgically_yours@hotmail.com, and please specify whether it is a question about Costumes/Sewing or Etiquette. Every two weeks I'll answer one of the two columns in turn. Please see each individual page for more details!

Hope you like the changes!
Nostalgically Yours

Update

Just letting you know I've posted some relevant (and irrelevant) pictures on my Facebook Group. Check them out, join the group, and check back often for exclusive content and updates from yours truly.

Thanks for Reading!

Nostalgically Yours

Readers! Opinions Please!

Dear Readers,

I've recently been looking into the possibility of posting some "pages" as extras in my blog - things like "About Me" or a "Portfolio" page... Perhaps even a new "Ask Me Anything" column! I wanted to know what you, my readers, would be interested in seeing. Please comment below, or contact me via my new blog e-mail: Nostalgically_Yours@hotmail.com!

Any and all comments are appreciated!!

Nostalgically Yours

Apology for my Absence

Dear Readers,

I just wanted to apologize for my absence from the blogosphere since last Wednesday... As much as I enjoyed posting on my iPhone, I just had to take a break from the tiny screen and keyboard. Since my return to Northern Virginia, house guests, doctor's appointments, and packing have all but entirely consumed my time. Thus, the lack of posts since Wednesday. Some of you may not even have noticed, but I still feel the need to apologize in the form of a lolcat:

More today,
Nostalgically Yours

Just a Quick Note...

...to say thanks for the responses to yesterday's post. I wish to state publicly to you readers that photos for this past week's blog entries will be uploaded by this weekend. I return "home" tomorrow evening to finish packing for the move down here to NOLA. I'm truly bummed out about going back, but I'm ecstatic at the amount of visitors I received today, breaking the record for most visitors by about 20 people. This leaves me to womder why only three of you actually commented, but I shan't be ungrateful for your readership. Being back in DC brings the good fortune of having a computer with which to create more fully-rounded posts, including pictures. Of course blogger allows us writers to blog via email with pics, but I couldn't quite figure that out this trip- there's always next time!

Nostalgically Yours

This is just to let you know that I will be putting up pictures to go with my Running of the Bulls story! Can't wait to show off my camera skills

Nostalgically Yours

Return of the Blog!

Hello readers,

After a hiatus of several months, I am back! Many things have changed since I've last written:

-My family is moving to New Orleans (and I with them)
-I'm taking a year "off" from school in San Fran to help out down in "crescent city"
-Both my parents will be changing posts this fall

Basically a lot is going on, but I really do want to get back to writing. I've decided to focus this blog more on my historical costume perspective, as well as on goings on in pop culture, etc. I feel a bit more in touch nowadays, since I'm watching the news regularly again as well as talk shows such as "The View", "Ellen", and "Oprah".

I've actually already gotten started on my first summer project: a medieval gown for a cousin's school event. See more in later posts.

It's good to be back!