Monroe Monday

Christmas Nails

26 December, I just have time to show you my Christmas nails, before we pack away all the Christmas decorations.

The green glitter polish is Color Club's Magic Elf stamped with spruce forest, from one of my new PUEEN plates.

This is my favourite Christmas nail design, Candy Canes. The white polish is from Depend and the red one is Color Club's Ruby Slippers.

I made this design the day before Christmas. The trees are made with tape and decorated with rhinestones. The white polish with golden shimmer used as a base is OPI's new Ski Slope Sweetie and the green one used for the trees is Essence We Rock the Tree.

Merry Christmas to All of You

Monroe Monday

Christmas Fashion

What should you wear for Christmas? I like something red or green, and if you search for Christmas Sweater/Cardigan, then you surely get a lot of seriously ugly ones to choose from. But I was lucky to find this red one with hollies embroidered on (on Etsy):

Thick and warm. It will be nice to wear when reading in my sofa during December.

Just for fun I kept surfing on Etsy and found this lovely home made poinsettia circle skirt:

And no, I am not going to use the holly cardigan above with it, because I think it will be just a little too much. I think a thinly knitted simple green blouse will be a lovely match.

Well, I adore petticoats, so I simply had to invest in this red one:

It is also from Etsy (Dodo Trading), only cost about 25 dollars and is shipped from the UK, so no problems with Danish customs and VAT.

Yep, I am crazy, but why does it always have to be so boring?! ;)

Monroe Monday

Christmas Music

In 2009 I was a Christmas DJ, yes, it is already that long ago. I played nostagic, modern and Danish Christmas music. I LOVE Christmas music! Especially the oldies song by the American crooners. I have a large collection of Christmas music, both on CD and vinyl, because Christmas music is the only music I hear in December. But why is there never made any new Christmas music? I found out last year when I read an article in a newspaper about it that said it was "artistic suicide" to write a Christmas song! Well, I simply don't understand that, because I really don't think that Bing Crosby ever regretted White Christmas, which became the most sold single in the world:

Of course I have it in my vinyl collection, both as a single and as an LP

And I can quickly mention other great stars, who didn't ruin their career by singing a Christmas song. E.g. The King, Elvis. He could even do it wearing black leather:

And Madonna was almost as mawkish as Mrs. Kitt was:

Even Bon Jovi has made a rocking Christmas song:

I have the LP which is shown is in the video.

Bryan Adams has made a rocking tribute to Rudolph:

And The Boss has also joined the Christmas chorus without ruining his career:

So what are you waiting for out there? Write us a new Christmas hit, so we all get something new to listen to and you get a fixed income every December for many years to come. :)

Monroe Monday

ALT for Damerne, December, 1955

It's time for some nostalgic Christmas spirit from 1955. I've scanned from Everything for the Ladies number 50 - yes, I've made a translation error, it is not All for the Ladies, and I will go back and correct this later - and I could hardly stop when I got started, so this is the great Christmas edition. Remember that all scans can be clicked into large format.

We are in the middle of December, because I fell completely in love with the cover - so perfectly Christmas:

Notice the lovely Christmas decorations on the tree in the background. And THREE puppies! :)

Let's start with an article about Charlie Chaplin - Life and Laughter in the Garden of Happiness (unfortuntaly in Danish):

Here a SAHM has found a way to work from her home:

She makes fairytale elves of cones and has created her own little business. And it was before Etsy.

Look at the photo at the top left, I don't think they are difficult to copy:

Fashion is now about coats, because the season has gotten colder:

I love the big check patterns and elegant fur collars.

Here is the second part about the coats and there is also a diagram and guide for making yourself something warm for your ears:

But December is also a month with lots of parties and what shall we wear for all the dinner parties?

Well, an intermediate dress, of course. It looks very wearable for a lot of different occassions, because I think it all is in the accessories.

Bettina is wondering occurred every week in 1955:

Here she wonders if Christmas is too long and how early you are allowed to start your Christmas preparations. I think it all depends on your temperament and life style. Each year, I try to start in good time, but it is not always I succeed.

Back then gifts were often home made, which the hood (above) is a good example of, but this letter box is a brilliant gift for him:

Because then you don't have to look at all his paper mess. If I had talents within braiding round pith then I had made one for myself, because it would look lovely on my desk.

Dinner is served! Here is suggestions for all the dinners of the week:

When writing your wish list ... Then you could do it lounging in your chaise longue wearing this elegant Asani night gown and pretend you are a movie star from Hollywood:

But WHAT should you wish for? You can be practical and wish for one of these very smart and lovely coffee machines, that perhaps are too expensive to buy for yourself:

My granny always used the one at the top left, she said it made the best coffee in the world.

But the one below right is fabulous, almost art:

You can also wish for knitting yarn:

And knit this lovely winter blouse with the great detail at the back:

Or you can wish for these lovely warm boots:

I have long wanted the model below left. I know they are reproduced, but either they are too expensive or I cannot find them in Europe (they get way to expensive if they get caught in customs, sigh). So if you know where to buy them in EU, please let me know.

BUT - you could also be completely unwise and wish for some perfume luxury from Arden:

Just give me some of all of it, I cannot choose. :)

Or Dubarry face powder which gives the most beautiful teint in seconds:

And 4711 is still around today, if that is your taste:

Triumph promises Swing Action with their lovely slip:

Nivea cream was also popular back then, in fact I often use it as night cream during the winter months:

Let's end with the nice and classic watch, which I wouldn't mind wearing.

Did you notice? I went directly to the ads without mentioning.

Merry Christmas to you all. :)

Monroe Monday

My Christmas Coffee Set

Long time ago my brother's x-wife and me went to flea markets together, and once we visited one nearby her home I saw a nice cup with holly leaves on, and regretted I didn't buy it. I asked her if she could look for it the coming Sunday, because then it should be my special Christmas cup. I love Christmas, you know. She did, but unfortunately it was sold. Never regret what you didn't buy on flea markets. Well, about two months passed by and it became my birthday (26 November, in fact) and guess what she gave me:

Yep, a complete set for no less than 18 persons, which she had collected secretly during the months since I mentioned the cup I regretted not having bought. It was my best gift that year, and around 1 November I look forward to unpacking it, so I can enjoy it for two months and not only in December. And every year I think of my dear x-SiL.

Happy Birthday to Me

Today, I turn 29 for the 22nd time! :)

Monroe Monday

A Few Autumn Nails

Here are just a few autumn nails. Either I've forgotten to take photos or I didn't think it was worth showing, but here we go:

Here is a mani made with my fantastisk striping tape, which DH got for me from the car painter at his job. The broad tape was great cutting in with my funny scissors, even the cheap one worked well. It was a dream working with, it sat perfectly on the nails and didn't break when I took it off.

The golden polish is a mini from a no-name brand I bought at the local supermarket (containing gold, silver and bronze). The duo chrome dark brown is from Model's Own's Beetle Juice collektion and is named Pinky Brown.

I love my duo chrome polishes from Models Own during autumn. Here it is Golden Green with dots and an accent nail of the above mentioned dark brown polish:

Yes, I did this manicure last year too, but if you think it's nice then why not do it again. Here I have improved it a bit with the accent nail, so I could enjoy the beautiful duo chrome dark brown polish.

After I spotted Sally Hansen's Amber Ruby at Eva's blog Coewless, I simply HAD to own it, because it was simply so beautiful:

I could only find it in the US and of course I was unlucky that it was stopped in customs. Normally, the small padded envelopes never get caught in customs, so it became quite expensive, but it is worth it. Since it was close to Halloween, I made an autumn/Halloween combination with one black accent nail with spiders. I have also painted one layer of black polish as base (over my base coat of course), like Eva did. I have read before that a black base makes the duo chrome polishes really pop, and it truly did. But it is difficult to paint it nicely. Remember that a white base makes the neon polishes pop too.

Monroe Monday

Say Hello to Albert

Do you wanna meet Albert? Of course you do! :) Albert is an old fellow and the crown juwel in dad's collection of vintage vehicles. But why is he named Albert? Here is the story:

Albert is a Harley-Davidson from 1925, a very rare jubilee model, that were first officially released for sale in 1927-29, so some says that there max. are 10 left in the whole world. He is a beauty:

Let's look at some details - here is the nice tool box ("the lunch box") at the front of the handlebars:

And here is the simple engine that still runs impeccably - with some TLC from dad:

I love old speedometers:

A view from the tank:

The gear-change is at the tank and there is foot-clutch. Not many know how to drive like that today:

In 1971 we moved to the isle of Moen and dad heard the rumour of the fantastic vintage Harley, which an elderly gentleman would not sell - several had already tried. Dad went out to see it, he gave it some TLC, oiled it and started it and thus became friends with the nice old man - Albert. The engine had not run for at least ten years but dad started it with the old gasoline. Dad wanted to borrow it for a Harley meeting, since he thought it should drive and be shown, but Albert said that he should then register in his own name, since Albert himself was old. But dad didn't want to do that.

Time passed by and the friendship continued. I remember Albert became a kind of reserve grandpa for my siblings and I. He often came to dinner and we visited him until he could not recognize us anylonger. Finally, Albert said that dad could buy it, but since dad didn't have any money he had to refuse - although the price was only about 90 dollars. Dad just wanted to take good care of it and borrow it now and then. But Albert said that he could have it and pay when he could afford it. That is true friendship!

Dad took it home to his garage and took it completely apart. Albert was a milkman and when the weather was bad, he didn't want his poor horse going out with the milk, so he drove the milk in the sidecar, so the Harley has never lived an easy life. Dad changed the sidecar for a speedometer, which unfortunately got stolen with some other vintage spareparts. Albert also drove a lot of contour races and had a wall full of prizes. Dad only got a few of them, and you might always discuss whether such prizes should follow the machine or the family. Albert bought the Harley in 1925, and although it was very expensive - he could have bought two other nice cycles for the same price - it was the one he wanted. So it is also special that dad is only the second owner! Very rare for such an old cycle.

My parents have attended mc meetings in every part of Denmark, and my siblings and I also sat at the back seat since we were small children. We had a tiny helmet to share. Our favourite was when we were invited to a birthday party, then we wanted dad to drive us on the coolest mc in the world. But we had to pay, the cycle should shine, so the cleaning was quite easy for dad when we were kids. At each mc meeting dad won the prize for oldest cycle, and we were afraid if he would get disappointed if he one day didn't win it. At first mum sat at a back seat made of an old football directly on the rear mudguard, but her butt hurt, so later dad made a twin-seat by taking a cast of the original seat.

The Harley was metallic baby blue for many years, which looked really good, but a few years ago dad painted it its original colour - horse shit brown, in daily speech. ;) He has improved it a bit, but it is the most original vehicle he owns. He has only built an alternator since he thought it lacked light. He often rides it with open exhaustion, which means he opens the little lid on the exhaustion and then it is really noisy. Much more than normally. Many years ago he was sure he woke up everybody in the City of Stege when he drove through early in the morning. The Harley has 7 to 9 HP when the lid is open, and 7 when it is closed. But those "tricks" are only for use in the country, as he says.

My parents have driven all the way to Paris on it, attending an mc meeting with 15,000 cycles and about 20,000 participants. And who did the oldest machine prize to to? Yep, dad! :) The Harley drove all the way down to Paris and almost back again, but right before the ferry the engine broke down (the cylinders got a huge grove). Ough! But another benefit of driving a nice vintage cycle is that everybody wants to help, so they were picked up by a truck. The truck driver drove the Harley into his truck by using a ladder. They have also driven all the way to the Netherlands and to Sweden, where they have visited High Chapperal.

Here is dad at the annual MC Moen meeting at the square of Stege:

Lovely moustache, dad! ;)

Notice the royal jools:

Dad has put on his old and original vest with the club logo:

And if you think his leather jacket looks worn, you're right - he bought it when he was 16 years old:

There is always a lot of audience when dad starts the Harley:

But beware, if you hear Albert, because it always starts raining when he is out.