Musical Interlude {The Baseballs}

Before I get on to the subject of this post I just want to address the fact that I've made it to over 600 followers (through google connect). It's hard to believe over 600 people find me that interesting but, hey, I'm not arguing! Thanks to all my followers, new and old alike.

So: I first heard of The Baseballs via Miss Emmi's blog (you can read her post here), They'd Have Called Me the Bar Nothing, but after my initial 'squees'* of delight they sort of passed to the back of my mind, as many things often do. I'm sure I thought of them once or twice after, as well. Anyway, yesterday when I was at JB Hi-Fi (thinking, for some unknown reason, that I needed to buy even more DVDs) I was walking through the CD section and, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the cover for The Baseballs' album Strike! I nearly walked straight past but I did a double take and, remembering how much I enjoyed their music, picked it up and didn't hesitate to buy it. 

For anyone who hasn't heard them, The Baseballs do rockabilly/doo-wop covers of contemporary pop songs (everything from Rihanna to Roxette) and it's all quite delightful. Plus, they're adorable! Hurrah.

I actually like a lot of the original songs that they cover (I went through a phase where I vehemently denied liking pop music at all but I was reared on the bubblegum pop of the '50s and '60s so it's only natural that I will, at times, like it's descendants - I'm also at a stage where I'm happy to like what I like, if that makes sense) but I'm usually not precious about people covering songs I like. (At the moment, I'd say my favourite from the album is their cover of Bleeding Love, which is rather lovely).

Their cover of Rihanna's Umbrella, with a very clever film clip. The stock footage is edited together so well with the new footage of the band!

And their cover of Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars, which is another great video! I'm a bit of a music video junkie so I'm always happy to see a well made one. I hate to admit it, but this made me giggle (I think it was all the, er, hip shaking). I feel like a '50s teenager swooning over Ricky Nelson or some other such teen idol.

Apparently they were on an Australian show called Hey! Hey! It's Saturday! (which is not a show I care to dwell on) but, as I barely watch television I missed it. It also means they were in Australia and I didn't realise. This, however, does not surprise me as I barely ever seem to know what's going on in terms of music, etc.

Hopefully some of you won't have heard of them or this will be the most redundant blog post ever. Here is a link to their official site and their YouTube channel as well, just in case.

This will probably be my last post of 2010 so, thanks once again, and I will see you all on the flip side! Happy New Year, everyone.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x

*I most likely did emit a sound akin to a 'squee' and there, no doubt, would have been arm flapping, flailing and possibly a little bit of a swoon, too. I'm so predictable!

Tumblr

Stepping slightly away from the intention of this blog to blog about another blog (eep!) - still following me?

Anyway, while I did take a break from this blog, I had no intentions of taking a break from Tumblr. I'm addicted to it! It's just so appealing - there are endless amounts of pretty pictures for a magpie gal like me to reblog (plus I've found some very interesting artists and articles that I wouldn't have come across otherwise). Unlike this blog, the main focus of which is 'vintage' and my life with it, I use my Tumblr to post pictures of anything I love or find inspiring. Or attractive men. The combination of these three things seems to lead to me reblogging an awful  lot of pictures from the 2008 adaptation of Brideshead Revisited. The movie was fairly OK but add Matthew Goode & Ben Whishaw (two of my very many current crushes) to the gorgeous clothes, etc., and maybe you can understand my compulsion to reblog!

As well as being addicted to Tumblr itself I've been fascinated with just staring at my archives (which I only recently discovered!) so I've got a few screenshots of them to share with you...(plus this will give you an idea of what I like to reblog).

For picture credits go to: andibgoode.tumblr.com/archive

Feel free to follow me (or just reblog whatever you want) and also feel free to leave links to your own tumblrs here! 

http://andibgoode.tumblr.com/

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x

Summer Knittin' Had Me a Blast

So, this knitting wasn't actually done in summer (oh dear, I lied to you via blog post title!) but I do so hate coming up with post titles! Also, please excuse how cheesy the title is. That aside, let's move on to the point of the post, shall we? My latest knitting endeavours. Or, rather, endeavour as I only have photos of one thing that I have made...the other was made by my mother.

Hat & shirt made by me; 1930s crepe skirt from Red Ruby Vintage; same old saddle shoes you always see from Payless.

Except for the shoes (& socks) everything is made either by myself or my mother. 

Pendleton blazer from eBay.

I made this hat quite a few months ago from an original 1940s or 1950s Patons knitting booklet. As you can see, I quite love wearing it!

I was a little wary of the size of the pom-poms (each one took me two hours to make - I don't remember pom-pom making seeming so tedious as a child...) but I'm quite taken with them, now. I still have dreams of a pom-pom headpiece like the one Carmen Miranda is wearing in this screencap I took of The Gang's All Here...actually, I wouldn't mind one of each of the hats in that film! Not to mention the dresses and the shoes and the hair...

I suppose I'm quite proud of this - I think it only took me a couple of days to make.

I had good intentions of knitting this sweater myself but, as someone who hasn't been knitting all that long, I decided I wasn't quite feeling up to the challenge. So I passed it onto my mother and I'm awfully glad I did because she did a darn good job!

This is the picture from the pattern she used - I downloaded the pattern for free here.

I do have a question for you all - would you like more details about my knitting projects (the yarn I used, etc.) where I can provide or are you happy just to see the pictures?

I have a couple of other projects on the go but I've taken a little break from knitting at the moment, though I'm sure I'll get back to it quite soon...

Love,

Andi B. Goode 

x

Swing Sesh Christmas Ball

Hello one and all! I hope everyone has had a lovely time over this holiday season, which I suppose is still going but I've decided I feel ready to get back to blogging. So, here I am!

One of my goals, which I tried to work on whilst I was on my blogging holiday, is to take more photos of my friends. It’s a goal I’ve had for a while but was reinforced when I was watching Buffy one night and saw how many photos of the ‘Scooby Gang’ she had in her room. Anyway, it just so happens that some of you, in the past, said you’d like to see pictures of the Adelaide swing scene – combine this request with my desire to document my friends and these pictures are the result!

A few atmospheric shots…

In at least one of these you can see the Corner Pocket Big Band up on the stage (the Ball was held at the German Club).

My lovely friend, Abi, who you’ve seen here a couple of times before, I believe (here and here). She made almost her entire outfit! 

And here’s Abi again, first with Catherine and then with Enken 

The colour photo of Katey is pretty much my favourite shot from that night! 

And this is my other favourite! (Beck).

And here is yours truly, wearing a dress my mother made me, especially for the occasion. My 'hair piece' was actually just one of those bows you stick on presents. It was sparkly, too!

You can see a few more here at Flickr - didn't want to overload this post. Hopefully I can keep up with taking photos of my friends – as lovely as it is to have memories, it’s just as nice to have visual reminders of things that have happened, I think. I’m always tempted to print some out, too, as I miss the idea of the snapshot being something tangible as well as visual. How do you keep your photos? Just as something digital or do you print them, too? Or do you still use film (I rarely do now as I'm being a bit stingy)?

Also, for those of you who weren't following my blog last year, this is what I wore to last year's Christmas Ball.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x

Blogging V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N

You may or may not have noticed that I haven’t been blogging as much lately. Well, after reading this post on Oranges and Apples and this one on ‘Beating Blogger Burnout’ at IFB, I realised that I’m probably in need of a break. I just don’t feel like I have the energy for blogging – I don’t even feel like taking decent outfit shots, right now! So, I think a little time away from blogging may help. And it is the holiday season, after all, so a blogging holiday is probably timely!

I still have a couple of ideas I may work on and I may do some outfit posts, so it probably won’t be a break completely void of posting but I’m just not going to focus myself on it; I’m going to refresh my blogging brain (I hope). I’m basically just not going to stress about it.

I’ve also just started something called the Encompass program, which is run through Carclew Youth Arts. You can follow the link for more information (on Carclew, I couldn't find info on the program) but, in short, the program was set up for people aged 18-26 to train in Arts Administration through a course as well as work placement – my work placement is with the Adelaide Fringe Festival.

I am both excited and daunted by the idea – the daunting part is the thought that it may take over most of what used to be my free time. It’s kind of making me quite anxious but I’m trying my best to work through it and I’m almost 100% certain that I will be fine. Once I settle into a routine again, it should be OK – it’s just the initial process of settling into something different. But I was pretty ‘burnt out’ with my blog before I started this, anyway.

I’d also like to take my blog more ‘seriously’ in 2011 – I’m going to work on a few things that are just vague ideas, right now, and see how I go. But, again, I’m not going to stress. I started the blog for fun and to share my love of vintage and it has started to feel a lot less like fun and a lot more like a chore. I want to get back to it feeling like something I want to do, rather than something I feel obligated to do.

I’ll still be around on twitter (like I could give that up!) and tumblr and I’ll do my best to still comment on other blogs, too.

If anyone does have any suggestions (whether they are for blog posts or just how I might re-inspire myself) I’m more than happy to read them – you can leave them here or send me an email if you really like: andi.b.goode@gmail.com

In fact, if you want to send me an email just to say hi I’m happy, too!

I’m sure you will all understand my need to take a break (and if you don’t I suppose there isn’t a lot I can do about that) – as much as it is my blog, it wouldn’t have been half so fun, thus far, without all of my lovely readers, and I’m so thankful for all of you.

I’ll see you all on the other side (or if I manage to get a few outfit posts, etc., done)! I'll leave you with one of my favourite songs about being on holiday/vacation

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x