Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Fall In New England

It's the end of the summer and time to get ready for fall.  To me, that means getting ready for Halloween! And around here, the only place to celebrate Halloween and all that goes with it, is in Salem, MA.

                                                                   

                                                      
For those of you that who may not know, Salem is famous for the Witch Trials that took place in 1692. In January of 1692, the daughter and niece of Reverend Samuel Parris of Salem Village became ill. William Griggs, the village doctor, was called in when they failed to improve. His diagnosis of bewitchment put into motion the forces that would ultimately result in the hanging deaths of nineteen men and women. In addition, one man was crushed to death; several others died in prison, and the lives of many were irrevocably changed.

By summer, 180 people had been accused and imprisoned - defenseless against accusations of witchcraft in a society driven by superstition and fear. The court, formed to try the victims, acted quickly. Bridget Bishop was tried on June 2 and hanged on June 10 thereby setting the precedent for a summer of executions.

                                                           

If you haven't visited Salem, been to the Witch Museum, toured the Witch Village, Witch House and the Witch Dungeon, you should really make it a point to do so. 

                                                    

The month of October in Salem is packed with events starting on the 1st all throughout the month.


                                                                   
                                                                  Haunted Happenings

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

How do I love thee, dry shampoo? Let me count the ways...

I watch old movies religiously. And when I say "old movies" I don't mean things like Pretty in Pink, Star Wars, or even The Godfather. I'm talking the silent era to the mid-1960s. I kick it old school. Word.

Anyhoo, one thing that always strikes me as odd is that women in these movies make a big deal out of washing their hair. They go to the salon once or twice a week or can't go out on a date because they have to stay home and shampoo (a favorite line of mine is from Cabin in the Cotton where Bette Davis says "I'd love to kiss you, but I just washed my hair..."). What the hell?

Apparently, it's a fairly new habit for women to shampoo their hair daily (and by "new," I mean in the last 40-50 years or so). According to Web MD, we're only supposed to wash our hair 3-4 times a week.

Who the Franchot Tone are these women who don't have to shampoo daily?

This is a (pretty bad) picture of my hair:
Vintage handmade embroidered flower barrette hair accessory brown blue green flower hair clip
(For this hair clip and other hair accessories, visit our Etsy store!)
For all intents and purposes, I have the hair of a young Asian girl. It's long, ridiculously straight, and a strange dark brown/black color. And, 15 hours after being washed, it's greasy. Again. In order for my hair to look clean, I'd have to wash my hair twice a day; there's no way I could even imagine skipping a wash.
 
Or so I thought...

I recently discovered the Holy Grail of hair care that is dry shampoo. And like most new converts, I feel the need to share it with everyone.

My favorite dry shampoo product is Bioluxe. It doesn't smell horrible or leave a white powder residue (which would stand out in dark hair like mine). It brushes out well and, seriously, works magic in my greasy-morning hair. It sells at CVS for $6-7 (for a 5.5 oz can).

Bioluxe dry shampoo
I like to pair the shampoo with a  dry conditioner (sprayed on the bottom half of my hair; I have to keep it away from my roots and bangs as it tends to make them greasy again). A few spritzes is all you really need. I really like Suave's dry conditioner (CVS has 3.2 oz cans for around $4).
Suave dry conditioner
Suave also has a dry shampoo (which sells for about $3.50) which I buy if I'm low on cash. But it (and the conditioner, actually) has a weird smell. Their dry shampoo also leaves a light dusting of powdery residue on my hair which takes a bit to brush out. It also fills my room with a cloud of the same residue.  For the price, though, it's a decent enough product.

I use the dry shampoo and conditioner every other day. I'm a morning shower-er so I do the dry stuff first, put on a shower cap (it has a floral pattern. Very chic and sophisticated and not at all "sad old lady"-like) for when I shower.

 When I do wash my hair, I like to alternate between Aussie (if I can find their volumizing conditioner), Garnier Fructis, John Freida, and L'Oreal. I highly recommend all 4 products.
AussieGarnier FructisJohn Freida Root AwakeningL'Oreal


     Because you were just dying to know which shampoos I use...


The point of this blog post? Dry shampoo is good. Like, "Holy Pop-Tarts, this stuff is amazingly magical" good.

John Travolta in "Grease"          Jacyln Smith
   (My hair before...)                                               (...and after dry shampoo-ing)
The only hair-problem dry shampoo doesn't cure are "morning bangs." Those require a good soak, comb/brush, and dry. Then you can dry shampoo for grease-free bangs.
Jean Dujardin in "Lucky Luke"
(Pictured above: Morning bangs. And a stupid moving GIF)

(PS, I know what you're thinking. "Really? More Jean Dujardin? Have you no life?" The answer to all of that is "Yes." (even the part about the life). But, seriously, my bangs look like that in the morning. I can never marry as I wake up looking like Lucky Luke with a retainer and a face covered in cold cream and shame).

(And by now, fair reader, you've probably noticed that there are two of us Retrospect-ers who write this blog. One likes spoon rings and wants a new back yard. The other likes charm bracelets, old movies, and shampoo.  I tell her that her money spells don't work, she tells me there's nothing special about Jean Dujardin. It's a harmonious win-win :) ). 



Monday, August 6, 2012

Deliciously charm-ing

It's no secret that I love bracelets. I'm always wearing at least one, carefully coordinated to match the rest of my outfit because I'm fastidious and OCD. This may be not-so due to my love of bracelets but rather a strange fear of wrists, but that's another story for another time.

My bedroom is full of bracelets. Literally. I have hundreds of bangles stored around candles, pill bottles (supplements; Calcium, iron, etc. I'm no Judy Garland), deodorant, etc. My jewelry holder overflows with all other wrist accessories. It would be borderline pathetic if I weren't so fabulous and stylish.

Recently, though, I discovered the charm bracelet. The English major in me wants to say that charm bracelets, through their little tokens, tell a story. The rest of me tells that part to shut the hell up with that English major malarky (the rest of me is 60 years behind, vernacular-wise).

I love charm bracelets so much that I've made a million for the Etsy store (wish I partially regret not keeping for myself). I made two with Clue and Monopoly tokens (I got to play with the drill), but those sold awhile ago and I need to get more games to make more. But we currently have...

European Travel Bracelet: 
vintage Euro. charm bracelet

Key to My Heart Bracelet:
Charm Bracelet Chain Key to My Heart Lock And Key ChHandcuff Jewelry Accessory Silver Chain Ribbon Funky

I just finished a charm bracelet for myself. It's 100% me...in that it has my initials, anyway. They don't really make "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" or I-have-an-obsessive-collection-of-old-movies charms (and if they do, let me know ASAP). The rest of it are just charms I liked: a fleur de lis, teapot, sunglasses, sewing odds and ends, a picture of Jean Dujardin...

Okay, so maybe those last two things are 100% me.

(PS, if you hear of a beautiful, intelligent, talented, wonderful young woman who died in a car wreck because she was too busy staring at the Dujar-charm on her wrtist, that was me).


Tuesday, July 24, 2012

And It Burns, Burns, Burns....

This is what I want, to be able to sit in front of the fire with my toes in the sand and have a beach bonfire in the comfort and convenience of my own yard. 

Pinned Image

This is what I have. A folding chair in front of an old cast iron stove we use to burn wood. I sit with my feet in the dirt while getting eaten alive by mosquitos.



How do you get from what I have to what I want? Well it's certainly not by begging and pleading with your husband. I live 2 miles from the ocean so he doesn't feel having my own beach is necessary. He just doesn't get it.  Anyway, I've decided it's not that difficult to make it on my own and by "on my own",  I mean my husband, who is a perfectionist, is going to take over pretty much from the get go because I'll be "doing it wrong". 

Hopefully soon I'll be sinking my toes in the sand while sitting in front of the fire in my own personal beach!



Saturday, July 21, 2012

SurfSide5 Bar & Grill at Salisbury Beach

                                              

                                            SurfSide5 Bar & Grill at Salisbury Beach

If you visit the Salisbury, MA. Hampton, Nh area and are looking for a great place for drinks, dinner and music, you must come here! It sits right on the ocean, with great views and is a fun place to hang with friends and family!

This place sits right in my backyard and although I frequent it here and there, I don't go as much as I would like/have time to. But you should...so what are you waiting for?

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Jean Dujardin, "Lucky Luke," WTF?

Apparently, the solution to many of life's problems is to bitch and complain until things go right. After spending the majority of the week complaining to all who would listen (and those who would not), my Lucky Luke DVD came in yesterday.

Of course, Murphy's Law intervened, and I spent a few hours hooking up my region-free DVD player. I should probably explain that my parents bought my TV before I was born; it has no remote, knobs, and faux-wood siding. It's a glorious example of late-1980s aesthetic. And it's a pain to hook up modern technology to it (DVD/VCR, region-free DVD player, and cable).

But being a plucky gal who'll push up her sleeves and get things done in the name of Jean Dujardin, I got everything settled and sat down and watched the weirdest movie ever.

Mind you, I love and actually get Rocky Horror Picture Show and enjoy John Waters movies. But Lucky Luke was a huge, sexy WTF-slap in the face.


Jean Dujardin
That's how my bangs look in the morning


It was a visually stunning movie, and I really, really liked it, but what the hell? Maybe it's because I'm not French or maybe it's because I've never read the comics, but, again, what the hell?

So, aside from the perplexing French-Westernness of it...and the fact that Mrs. Dujardin/the chick from "Un Gars Une Fille" (she's a bitch on that show so she's naturally a bitch in real life, according to my brain. Just like how Brad Pitt and Edward Norton are actually the same person), I highly recommend this movie. Mostly because Jean Dujardin is hella hot in it.

Yippie cay-ay, and all of that stupid cowboy nonsense!

(Oh, and I've been asked by my partners to ease up on writing about Jean Dujardin. So, there goes that blog about how he's a handsome, dark-haired Frenchman with a swell cleft in his chin and I'm a pretty, smart, wonderful bibliophile brunette who hates sheep and muddy boots and isn't that strange?).

Belle and Gaston, "Beauty and the Beast"
I wouldn't care if Jean couldn't read...or constantly wore gardening gloves. 

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

The Postman Had Better Damn Well Ring Twice...

Recently, I discovered that Amazon UK may just be the most adorable website ever. Maybe it's because I'm a cloistered American, maybe it's because I'm easily amused, but I'm in love with the fact that instead of adding items to the "cart," the Brits "Add to basket." After a fit of "Awws," I added a Lucky Luke DVD to my basket, waited until it "dispatched" (instead of "shipped"), and was expecting my movie to arrive yesterday.

...and by "expecting," I mean eagerly, obsessively, waiting, counting down the minutes until it arrived. Why? Because Lucky Luke stars Jean Dujardin, the most wonderful man in the world. And he plays a cowboy. Truth be told, I don't like Westerns and I don't speak French (am pretty sure the DVD has English subtitles), but Jean Dujardin's sheer charisma and sex appeal surpasses this. Hell, I'm not even sure what the movie is about; his being in it is enough for me.

The most wonderful man in the world
I also don't like hay or white shirts (...I'm clumsy...) but find myself not caring...

Amazon UK didn't give me a bleeding tracking number, so I have no idea where my package is. I went to the post office and Post Office Lady (a surly woman) seemed to get angry at me for asking if my package was stuck in post-office-Limbo.

So now, I'm desperate for a Dujar-fix. I'm also waiting for "Un Gars, Une Fille" Vol. 1-3 (French sit-com he was on) to come in from Amazon France, but that's not due for another week or so. I've nearly exhausted my copies of OSS 117: Cairo Nest of Spies, OSS 117: Lost in Rio, and The Artist and, oddly enough, have no interest in the other 312 movies I own.

If I sound like I have an obsessive Jean Dujardin-fixation it's because I do. I suppose.

"Lucky Luke" poster
Maybe if I'm lucky, my copy will be in by Oct. 21.
(Oooh! Dujar-bum!)

But, damnit, I want my movie.