I am sooooo horrified........

A BIG warning: I have no idea how this happened, other than that my Alice Jean's blog was hacked, so I want to warn all my wonderful blogging friends and followers out there. And I also want to apologise if Alice Jean's has inadvertently been a difficult blog for you to use due to any pop ups etc. Please, don't stop reading my blog if this has been the case. Maybe you could use what happened to me to warn your other friends in cyberland......

I seem to have no end of trouble commenting on my favourite blogs, and even replying to comments left on my own blog. So yesterday I set about to remedy this problem once and for all....I spent ALL DAY backing up my files and restoring my computer...only to find that the problem still exists. In the course of all this, I managed to find a website that offered assistance for what appeared to be my problem......

Problems = Assistance

I had nothing to loose, so I attempted what it suggests. When I loaded Alice Jean's again after doing this, I looked closely at all my content, particularly the disclaimer that usually appears at the end of my blog pages..... I WAS HORRIFIED to see buried in the middle of my text a link type piece of text hooking up to a casino website.

Firstly, I HATE pop ups and such advertising (and I am not a big fan of gambling either - I already loose enough money on ebay without loosing any more somewhere else !!!). Secondly, I felt so violated to think that someone has been on my blog and manipulated it for their own creepy purposes. How long the hidden text had been there I do not know but.....

I promptly removed the text and anything else I could find on my blog that was not 100%. Unfortunately for me the problem with being able to comment STILL exists to my great frustration and dismay. It simply must be a problem with blogger....I have done all I can short of blowing up my PC (which I dearly wanted to do at one point !!)

Please let this be a warning to you all - if something is not working right in cyber space, check and double check it. And please please please forgive me if my blog has been the cause of any disruptions on your PC (such as pop ups), or if you have wanted to comment and have been unable to.

I do value your comments and from them, the friendships I have made !! Happy blogging (at blogger - for now.........)

Old Fashioned Flower of the Season - Winter 2011

Isn't this pretty as a picture? I have always ADORED camellia's, loving them ever since childhood. In fact, they would probably be one of my most favourite flowers, except that they have such indiscriminate scent when compared to roses or jonquils. This pretty shot was taken down at the local Cohuna Library where is is blooming profusely at the moment and drawing much adoration from my little family. We love it's colour, it's frillyness, it's seemingly strong, and yet at the same time genteel, bloom amidst glossy japonica leaves. What a treat Camellia's are right in the heart of winter cold and chills !!

Here is a bit of practical information about the beautiful Camellia, sourced from Wikipedia for those who would like all the facts and figures about growing one of these beauties:

Camelias are evergreen and small trees up to 20 meters tall. Their leaves are alternately arranged, simple, thick, serrated, and usually glossy.Their flowers are usually large and conspicuous, one to 12 cm in diameter, with five to nine petals in naturally occurring species of camellias. The colors of the flowers vary from white through pink colors to red; truly yellow flowers are found only in South China and North Vietnam. The so-called "fruit" of camellia plants is a dry capsule, sometimes subdivided in up to five compartments, each compartment containing up to eight seeds.

The various species of camellia plants are generally well-adapted to acidic soils rich in humus, and most species do not grow well on chalky soil or other calcium-rich soils. Most species of camellias also require a large amount of water, either from natural rainfall or from irrigation, and the plants will not tolerate droughts. However, some of the more unusual camellias – typically species from karst soils in Vietnam can grow without too much water.

Camellia plants usually have a rapid growth rate. Typically they will grow about 30 cm per year until mature – though this does vary depending on their variety and geographical location.

Camellia reticulata is very rare in the wild but common in culture Camellia sinensis, the tea plant, is of major commercial importance because tea is made from its leaves. While the finest teas are produced by C. sinensis courtesy of millennia of selective breeding of this species, many other camellias can be used to produce a similar beverage. For example, in some parts of Japan, tea made from Christmas Camellia (C. sasanqua) leaves is popular.

Tea oil is a sweet seasoning and cooking oil made by pressing the seeds of the Oil-seed Camellia (C. oleifera), the Japanese Camellia (C. japonica), and to a lesser extent other species such as Crapnell's Camellia (C. crapnelliana), C. reticulata, C. sasanqua and C. sinensis. Relatively little-known outside East Asia, it is the most important cooking oil for hundreds of millions of people, particularly in southern China.

Mainly due to habitat destruction, several camellias have become quite rare in their natural range. One of these is the aforementioned C. reticulata, grown commercially in thousands for horticulture and oil production, but rare enough in its natural range to be considered a threatened species.

Garden history : Camellias were cultivated in the gardens of China and Japan for centuries before they were seen in Europe. The German botanist Engelbert Kaempfer reported[2] that the "Japan Rose", as he called it grew wild in woodland and hedgerow, but that many superior varieties had been selected for gardens. He was told that the plant had 900 names in Japanese. Europeans' earliest views of camellias must have been their representations in Chinese painted wallpapers, where they were often represented growing in porcelain pots.

The first living camellias seen in England were a single red and a single white, grown and flowered in his garden at Thorndon Hall, Essex, by Robert James, Lord Petre, among the keenest gardeners of his generation, in 1739. His gardener James Gordon was the first to introduce camellias to commerce, from the nurseries he established after Lord Petre's untimely death in 1743, at Mile End, Essex, near London.

With the expansion of the tea trade in the later 18th century, new varieties began to be seen in England, imported through the British East India Company. The Company's John Slater was responsible for the first of the new camellias, double ones, in white and a striped red, imported in 1792. Further camellias imported in the East Indiamen were associated with the patrons whose gardeners grew them: a double red for Sir Robert Preston in 1794 and the pale pink named "Lady Hume's Blush" for Amelia, the lady of Sir Abraham Hume of Wormleybury, Hertfordshire (1806). By 1819, twenty-five camellias had bloomed in England; that year the first monograph appeared, Samuel Curtis's, A Monograph on the Genus Camellia, whose five handsome folio colored illustrations have usually been removed from the slender text and framed. Camellias that set seed, though they did not flower for more than a decade, rewarded their growers with a wealth of new varieties. By the 1840s, the camellia was at the height of its fashion as the luxury flower. The Parisian courtesan Marie Duplessis, who died young in 1847 inspired Dumas' La Dame aux camélias and Verdi's La Traviata.

The fashionable imbricated formality of prized camellias was an element in their decline, replaced by the new hothouse orchid. Their revival after World War I as woodland shrubs for mild climates has been paralleled by the rise in popularity of Camellia sasanqua.

Today many other camellias are grown as ornamental plants for their flowers; about 3,000 cultivars and hybrids have been selected, many with double flowers. The Japanese Camellia – often simply called "the camellia" – is the most prominent species in cultivation, with over 2,000 named cultivars. Next are C. reticulata with over 400 named cultivars, and the Christmas Camellia with over 300 named cultivars.

Singer Sewing Machine on Ebay...

Dear Friends and Readers, just letting you know I have a 40's-50's singer sewing machine on ebay, finishing on Monday....here is the link....if you are a keen sewer/sewing historian, then please check it out......I have my fingers crossed that it might pay this weeks rent for me.....(or at least a part of it - he he !!)

Beautiful Kerry's easy peasey Orange Cake

Kerry’s amazingly easy and scrumptious orange cake

Blend whole orange (with skin) in blender to a reasonable pulp.

Add:

185g melted butter

3 eggs

1 Cup caster sugar

1.5 Cups Self Raising Flour

Blend ingredients again till well combined.

Pour into lined and greased cake tin and cook in moderate (180) oven for 35-45 mins or until golden on top.

Ice with lemon icing or cream cheese icing if preferred.

Mmmmmmmmm !!!!! It doesn't last long !

 

Quote of the month - July 2011

Wowee....this is one very smart and savy woman !! I just love her to pieces ! Check out her quote about Tom Cruise....hilarious !!!!

 

A man's illness is his private territory and, no matter how much he loves you and how close you are, you stay an outsider. You are healthy.

Lauren Bacall

A woman isn't complete without a man. But where do you find a man - a real man - these days?

Lauren Bacall

Find me a man who's interesting enough to have dinner with and I'll be happy.

Lauren Bacall

I am essentially a loner.

Lauren Bacall

I am not a has-been. I am a will be.

Lauren Bacall

I don't sit around thinking that I'd like to have another husband; only another man would make me think that way.

Lauren Bacall

I figure if I have my health, can pay the rent and I have my friends, I call it 'content.'

Lauren Bacall

I think your whole life shows in your face and you should be proud of that.

Lauren Bacall

I used to tremble from nerves so badly that the only way I could hold my head steady was to lower my chin practically to my chest and look up at Bogie. That was the beginning of The Look.

Lauren Bacall

I wish Frank Sinatra would just shut up and sing.

Lauren Bacall

I'm not a sedentary person. I've always been active.

Lauren Bacall

Imagination is the highest kite one can fly.

Lauren Bacall

In Hollywood, an equitable divorce settlement means each party getting fifty percent of publicity.

Lauren Bacall

It's inappropriate and vulgar and absolutely unacceptable to use your private life to sell anything commercially.

Lauren Bacall

Looking at yourself in a mirror isn't exactly a study of life.

Lauren Bacall

Stardom isn't a profession; it's an accident.

Lauren Bacall

They're guys who want to screw around all the time, which interests me not at all. God knows we've done that, been there, and we don't want to do that any more.

Lauren Bacall

When you talk about a great actor, you're not talking about Tom Cruise.

Lauren Bacall

You can't start worrying about what's going to happen. You get spastic enough worrying about what's happening now.

Lauren Bacall

Candice De Ville's Salon Show - what a wonderful day !

Above - the exquisite Candice De Ville who hosted the most beautiful day for a roomful of ladies and gentlemen at Como House, presenting the fashions we all love from the mid 20th century. Everything from Dior's 'New Look' to fairytale prom dresses were modelled by a group of sophisticated, stunning women (I guess I include myself in that description !!) - it was a day of elegance, beauty and above all, fun....for the guests and for all of us 'backstage' ! Here are a few shots to give you a snippet of the array of darling garments we wore.....

Photographs by Finessence

Sweet and sexy Bonnie Rose in her lingerie

Miss Sharon wowing the crowd in her sophisticated suiting

The incomparable Foxtrot India giving a day dress some va va vom !

Beautiful Miss Marrianne of Esme and the Laneway looking as picture perfect as ever !

Yours truly from this very blog !

The amazing Dolores Daiquiri - a total knock out once again !

And Miss Geeves who stole the show with her total elegance in her 'Dior New Look' apparel.

That's me above - looking a tad tired..... unfortunately, we were nearing the end of school term and middle of winter, and I was feeling generally life exhausted .....but what an amazing dress this was ! The beading was overwhelmingly beautiful and the weight.....lets just say that it required a heavy duty coat hanger !!

Can I just say an enormous thankyou to Candice for including me in such a wonderful event !! It was a thrill, a delight, a pleasure and an honour to have been amongst such stunning women - and Candice, you are one ever amazing woman ! Mmwwwaaahhh !

You can also check out Candices fantastic footage of the event here.......and what a glorious little piece of production work it is tooo.....ahh, Nat King Cole (sigh).....

Get on board lovely people....it's on again !!!

All aboard for the Rose Seidler House 50's fair !!

Oh yay !!! It's nearly time for the Rose Seidler House 50's Fair - only aprox one month to go and counting down !!! Here are the link details....... clap hands !! I am so very excited !!!!

Living Doll - July 2011

People can surprise our lives with such beauty and vivacity of spirit, and I must admit that since becoming more involved in the vintage loving community, I have been blown away by the goodness, generosity, care and kindness of so many of the lovely people I meet. Despite what the media would have us believe, the world is not 'going to the dogs' any more than any other time in history, and this months adorable living doll is proof that people in general are beautiful on both the inside and out !! Here is the darling of 'Lucky Trix', Tara-Lee......

What does 'vintage' mean to you?

Vintage to me is anything from the 50s and earlier.

What was it that first prompted your interest in vintage culture?

My partner, Jesse and his family have been a part of the rockabilly scene for a very long time and when he introduced me to Wintersun, I fell in love with it. The clothing, the music, the cars – I loved it all. I have always had a admiration for pin up girls and try to incorporate that style into my every day look.

 

What is your favourite era, and do you 'live it' every day? In what ways?

I’d have to say the 50s, the outfits back then were amazing. I would love to try hunt down some fabulous dresses, skirts and capris from this era (or inspired by the era) to wear in everyday life. I think the 50s were such a glamorous and beautiful time for fashion. It seemed to be all about embracing the hourglass figure =)

Tell us about your favourite item of vintage clothing, kitchenalia, music, furniture or whatever !

My favourite vintage item does not actually belong to me, it is my daughter’s. Her Grandparents bought her a beautiful 50s sailor dress and she looks ever so adorable in it.

Can you share with us why vintage culture continues to hold such appeal for you?

Nothing is the same. You go into a mainstream store and buy an item of clothing and I can guarantee that you will see a lot of other girl’s walking around the shopping centre in similar or the same items. With vintage, I am yet to find two women ever wearing the same item. I love that, it gives us a chance to be original.

Do you have any tips for anyone starting out in the vintage scene?

I am also just starting out in the vintage scene and I guess all I can say is do your research. Ask people you know in the scene where the hot spots for purchasing vintage items are and even check out some op shops, you can find some little treasures in there. Another piece of advice – even though ‘everyday people’ may look at you funny, if you love it – do it! It doesn’t matter if you don’t fit into society, you’d be surprised how many people love vintage like you.

Now is your chance to provide us with an overview of who you are and what you do.

I am a Mummy to a gorgeous 17 month old little girl, Miss Lily Trix. I am a Stay-At-Home Mum who is obsessed with anything cupcake related and I run a hair accessories and jewellery line – Lucky Trix Creations (www.facebook.com/luckytrixcreations) in my spare time =)

I love to bake, I am dreaming of a kitchen right out of the 50s.

I enjoy spending time with my family and friends =)

I am looking forward to shedding the baby weight and getting into some pin up modelling in the future !

Finally, what or who inspires you and why?

My better half, Jesse. He brings out the creative side in me and is always so supportive of my dreams. He works hard for the family and is the most laid back and down to Earth person I know. My daughter also inspires me to step back and just enjoy the little things in life, stop and watch the butterflies dancing over our heads and giggle at silly things and always have a smile for everyone.