Cool things about living in a small town....

As UN-cool as it feels sometimes, living in a small town has its perks.....


- people in the grocery shop say, "Bless you!" when you sneeze
- men in the shops will run after a lady with a baby in a pram to return a lost frilly lacy sock
- you can leave for school 20 minutes before the first bell and know that your 5 year old can still get a go on the monkey bars before class
- inevitably you can run into someone in the shops who a) you know and b) is free for a chat & a coffee
- you can pick up a sleeping baby, pop him in the car, drop kids at school, drive home and then pop him back into bed for more sleep for another hour or so
- friends live no more than 10 mins away (unless they live way out of town and then a cut lunch is needed ;0)
- I can call my mum at 2:30pm to see if she can pop into to mind two sleeping kids so I can go and pick up Miss 5 and still be early enough to get a car park at school
- a bigger more exciting city is only 1 1/2 hours away
- the hospital, shopping centre, cinemas and good restaurants are only 5 minutes away
- friends and sisters are always around for spontaneous craft nights, coffee nights, lunches, shopping trips and other random get togethers

Then and now.... A Review of 60s Advertising

I had a great chat with my mother-in-law (MIL) the other day about make-up, clothes and hair, it was fun to hear her stories and really interesting to hear her beauty routines, in fact, I may even do a blog about it soon.  I have always been intrigued by the era when my mum and MIL were young women, it seems as if they lived in a time with a different set of social rules and expectations.  I love to compare different times in history to guage how much things have changed - is this dorky? 

Make-up and appearance have always been important to my MIL, as a young woman she would read magazines and make lists of items she would like to add to her wardrobe and what colours of eyeshadow and lipstick she was going to wear for each season (she actually still does this).  My MIL said that when she began working she knew she had 'arrived' when she was able to purchase Lemon Delph Toner and Revlon Foundation.  I wondered what it was about these products that appealed to her, so I started researching - I do love a good topic I can research....  I found a marvellous vintage ad website called Vintage Ad Browser - it is very cool - some of the ads are hilarious!  


I don't think I realised the 1960s were quite so glamourous....








They even made home appliances glamourous.....





Although tvs were HUGE!








Food seemed space aged - with colours and flavourings being big selling features....








Clothes were fabulous...  How cute are these dresses!





Hair was a bit scary....





As for underwear - yipes!

Make up was sophisticated and beautiful....

There are also hundreds of ads for cigarettes and feminine hygiene products, clearly something that was needing glamourisation....  Thought it best not to add them to this photo gallery... 

This project has really changed the way I view two women in my life who have shared their stories, given advice and helped me to realise the importance of my role of wife, mother and woman.... I love that my mum and my mother -in-law have kept a lot of the values of the 1960s but have adapted, changed, learned how to be true to themselves in these modern times.... In a way, doing this project, I am not as scared of getting older. I wonder what my girls will think of this ad in 30 years time....

  

 

Is this cool?

Red, Black, Grey and White

I seem to always have full circle moments when I am left thinking, "Hey, I think I have been here before." Let me enlighten you on my rickety train of thought.

I have a five-year old daughter. She is so beautiful it can break your heart, long blonde hair, big brown eyes, rosy cheeks. She is a stunner. But, my oh my, can she talk, argue, whinge and excuse herself with an ever eloquent tongue. My mum is very understanding and gives great (if not whacky) advice, but I cannot speak ill of my five year old to her. Why? Because my dear old mum gives me 'The Look'. You know, 'The Look' with powers you receive only when your own children have had children? She looks at me with that withering, all knowing 'Look' that says, "Yup, you were exactly the same". Sigh, she is usually right. I did argue... A lot. Especially with my dear mum. About everything. A lot.

For example, when I was in pre-school (for reference sake I was nearly five) my mum and I had a war raging about one of the outfits I was assigned to wear for church. Mum had made me a black and white houndstooth checked, wrap around skirt, it was darling. But, the shirt she bought to match it was a red t-shirt. When Sunday approached, I would refuse to wear this outfit, insisting that my mum had no idea about what colours matched and that you COULD NOT wear black, red and white together. Me being small and my mum being older, I was forced against my will to wear this outfit, in fact, if one day you have the privilege of seeing my official pre-school class photo, you will see me wearing this outfit. I wore (possibly under force) a green frog necklace to finish the ensemble off. And flip flops - but I am not emotionally ready to discuss this yet.

At the time of writing this blog, I am pregnant. I think I have a cleverly assembled ensemble of clothes that can be mixed and matched to make several outfits. I have leggings, dresses, skirts and long sleeve shirts that all match. I have either made them or bought them in range of colours so as to maximise their flexibility. But, it wasn't until one of my dear year eight students pointed out an obvious trend, that I had my full circle moment. All of my maternity clothes are red, black, grey and white.... Full circle. How could I not have noticed that these are my favourite colours to wear? I herein dedicate this post to my mum, whose sense of what colours match far outshines that of a five year old.

Huh, look left, then look right, check out the colours I chose for my blog. Funny.....