(Un)Inspired and Instagram

I've been sitting here with the blog post window open for at least half an hour, now, and for all that time it's remained blank. Much like with my movie blog, I'm trying to get into a regular schedule of at least three posts a week so I don't neglect my blog whilst studying.

But I didn't have time to pre-write any posts and today I felt uninspired. I looked through my Flickr favourites, my pinterest, my Tumblr archives...but nothing inspired me. I know I shouldn't force myself to blog, and this is still a relatively 'personal' space for me,

So, for now...more instagram photos. As some of you pointed out last time, when I said it might get a bit repetitive, not everyone follows me/can follow me on there and even those who do may not see everything I post! I'm still not sure how I feel about these posts and I think it may just be time to reassess what I want out of this blog overall. But those thoughts for another time (or, well, they may just stay private).

But what have I been doing since my last Instagram round-up?

I joined a doll club. I haven't talked about it much but I went to my first meeting and it was a bit weird but it's nice to be around people who also collect and who will be great sources of knowledge for me. My girl is in the back in tartan - this is her 'back to school' look. 

The cover of a mixtape I made many years ago. Which I'm posting so I can post a link to my 8tracks for anyone who may be interested in listening to the mixes I make.

I read this book on Hank Williams. It's very good. I knew very little about Hank before and it was a very interesting read. I have a lot more to say on the book but not sure it fits into this post.

I found my oldest Barbie to date (in terms of op-shop finds) - she's going to need her hair and eyelashes rerooted but even with those issues paying $1.50 for her was an incredibly good bargain.

An outfit that never made it to the blog. I've since dropped that necklace behind a cabinet and I shudder to think of the dust behind it so, for now, I'm pretending it doesn't exist. Ha.

Another outfit that didn't make it to the blog. I love pink and dark green together.

Did some record shopping. There was a little record 'fair' on and there were so many records packed into one room that I felt overwhelmed. I just came away with these as most were out of my budget and all of these, with the exception of the Slade LP, were 3 for $10. I've been listening to a fair bit of disco lately so I was pleased to find the Eruption LP. I've another of their records and I love it. Oh and, I know it's not a clear photo, but how great is the cover of the Pearl Bailey record? (On the left).

I found (but didn't buy) this Aquaman 'retro' figure and now I'm determined to find the Batman...at a price I can afford. I've found a few but they're a little out of my price range at present.

A recycled outfit that didn't make it to the blog. Oh, and for anyone who didn't notice (which was nearly everyone) my hair is red again!

Related to the first photo: there is a Barbie convention here in August and I'm planning outfits to make for the dolls I want to enter in the various competition categories. I know it's a while off but can never start plans too early...right?

As always, I'm andibgoode on instagram.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x

Murder Mystery Monday #5 {Gumnaam}

I've opted to write about another film, rather than series, for my fifth Murder Mystery Monday. As it's based on an Agatha Christie novel (And Then There Were None) I felt it was an apt addition.

Gumnaam directed by Raja Nawathe, 1965

Gumnaam is one of only two Bollywood films I've seen to date but I definitely want to see more, especially from the '60s, at some point.

Most people would be familiar with this film from the song Jaan Pehechan Ho being included in the opening sequence to Ghost World...

However I think this may be my favourite song from the film.

Is Duniya Mein Jeena Ho To Sun lo Meri Baat sung by Lata Mangeshkar and picturised on Helen.

Great songs aside, both Helen and Nanda sport some amazing '60s hair and outfits throughout the picture...

Nanda's perfect flip!

Helen had some truly beautiful clothes.

Look at this top! And those pants!

And it's possibly my favourite adaptation of And Then There Were None. Maybe. It is one of my favourite of Christie's novels. But I think Gumnaam adds humour without detracting from the suspense of the plot.

Any other fans? I think it was a very good choice for my first foray into Bollywood.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x

Winter is coming!

OK, so, probably totally overused title - I just couldn't help myself! Ha. I'm really excited about the weather cooling down (though I'm glad we don't get Westeros length seasons...)

This was my outfit for yesterday, my first seminar as an MA (of art history) student. It took me a few confusing weeks to figure out what I want to be doing this year but I'm certain I've made the right decision, now. I'm not entirely sure what it means for my blog but very soon I'm going to write myself up a schedule and try to fit in time to write up posts for this and my movie blog so I don't neglect either over the year.

 

I've mainly been in the mood for wearing pants, lately. I'm feeling less inclined to wear skirts and dresses - I'm not sure if it's because I feel more comfortable in pants as my body has changed (i.e. I've put on weight) or if they somehow feel 'easier' and therefore suit my low energy moods better. Or maybe it's neither and I'm just digging pants, right now. At any rate, I'm definitely looking to increase the number of pairs in my wardrobe.

I look cross because the sun came out and I was trying my best not to squint.

And, see, the title was appropriate for more than one reason - I wore my Hand of the King pin that I just want to wear every day. Luckily, I've not yet fallen victim to beheading or poisoning (and hopefully I won't at all, of course).

And my old faithful saddle shoes made an outing, too. 

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x

You need a bit of, ooh, shock treatment!

My costume for the second day of Oz Comic Con was slightly more obscure than the first: I went as Nation McKinley from Shock Treatment (the 'sequel' to Rocky Horror Picture Show). This costume had been on my list since I first made one and when I heard that Patricia Quinn (who played Magenta in RHPS and Nation in ST) was going to be a guest I knew this was going to be one of my costumes for the weekend.

For so long, as we were working on the costume, I was incredibly disappointed with how it was going. And then I did my hair and make-up and put the dress on and I loved it. I'm really happy with how this costume turned out. And I was approached by a few people who were impressed to see a Shock Treatment costume so that made me happy, too.

This was the pattern we used to make my final dress. I couldn't find anything that had the right front in the time frame I was working in so I basically just drew the front up myself from looking at photos of the dress in the movie. I'm not much of a seamstress so the sewing was mainly left up to my mum but I helped figure out how it was going to go together.

Nation is pictured on the left. It's not the best photo of her costume but one of the best quality I could find online to show anyone who hasn't seen the film.

Patricia is still looking fabulous. Hope I am as stylish as she is when I'm her age!

And I love that her brooch was a pair of red lips - fitting, no? (It was her mouth used in the opening credits for Rocky Horror).

During the panel I'd been sitting in the second row and as soon as Patricia looked over she said 'It's Nation McKinley!' and how she'd forgot about the earrings. Then when I went into the photobooth (shaking a little - I've been a Rocky Horror fan since I was 4!) she said 'Hello, Nation!' And was really impressed with my costume. She said 'you've even got the hair!' and she was 'proud of me'. I just said 'thank you so much' because I couldn't think of anything else (and there were other people waiting for photos) and, I'm not going to lie, had to suppress tears as I left the booth. Such an amazing moment. Not just to meet her but that she loved my costume and appreciated the effort I (well, my mum and I) put into getting it together.

Sorry to get a bit emotional there! Ha. I'm usually not fussed about meeting celebrities (half because I fear I'll make an idiot of myself, half because it's usually so fleeting) but when you've loved a movie practically you're entire life, meeting one of the actors is a pretty big deal, I think.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x

I don't know, I'm making this up as I go!

In my last post I mentioned that I was getting some costumes ready for Oz Comic Con. Well, it's now all over and done for another year! (I say that as though I actually went last year. Ha.) And here are some shots of the first of the two costumes I wore over the weekend.

Bah da da DAH ba da dahhhhhhh! And so on.

I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about this costume. There are a few things I'd like to tweak but I think it's fairly good. And someone who has been cosplaying Indy for years (I think) came over to tell me he liked my costume. And that it all looked great. So that was nice.

I'd initially been going for an Indiana Jones by way of Katharine Hepburn look but I'm not entirely sure that's what I ended up with. I suppose I wanted to marry the classic Indy (screen accurate Indy) costume with women's leisure/casual/sports-wear of the 1930s and my mind inevitably turns to Katharine Hepburn when I think of that style of clothing. I'd probably take this shirt in (or make a smaller one) next time but I was working to a pretty small budget.

"Snakes. Why'd it have to be snakes?" 

I didn't take many photos of other people's costumes (again!) so the post is just all me...and it looks like the next post will just be me as well. It's still one of my goals to be more confident about taking photos of other people so...I'll get there. I hope.

Also, I'm sure I've asked the question before but do any of my readers cosplay (whether occasionally, like me, or not-so-occasionally)? This was only the second time I've really cosplay-ed so it's all still a bit daunting (and new in a fun way) to me.

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x

Too darn hot...to blog

Too hot to blog! Gone fishin'...

Actually, the hot weather has just made me useless. It'll be cooling down soon but I've got costumes to finish for the weekend so I'm taking this week off blogging (again). I'll be back next week with (hopefully) photos of my costumes and I'll get back to the Murder Mystery Monday series the week after that.

Keep cool (or warm if you're suffering through the cold)! 

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x

In my room

I'm not sure if anyone really wants to see photos of my room, but it was tidier than it's been in weeks so I wanted to document it whilst I wasn't entirely ashamed of it. Ha. The photos are all a bit too yellow, which I realised after they were uploaded to Flickr. But there are some older ones in this set with a more natural light to them.

I have always loved this quote from William Morris: “If you want a golden rule that will fit everything, this is it: Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” Maybe he wasn't thinking about Minnie Mouse bedspreads and stuffed toys when he said that, but everything here is, to me, either beautiful or useful. And makes me happy, which is important in such a personal space.

Some people like minimalism and sleek design. I like an organised clutter. And tend toward the kitschy and cute.

Never mind the bra. Or the bin. Ha. (Art prints, by wardrobe, from Ghosts Waltz and Gingerhaze).

I think this is my favourite view of my room. And in some ways is almost a summary of a big portion of what I love in life, I think. (Art prints from Devon Smith, Wishcandy, Audrey Malo, prettylittlethieves and The Black Apple.)

My poor mandolin (who I named Joxer on a whim) doesn't have anywhere to live, yet.

Sometimes I like to just sit and stare at my bookshelves (is that odd?)...

or my DVD shelves! (This is just my TV on DVD collection. You can see my movies here if you wish.) And a peek at my Pullip dolls.

The Bat-corner! It's a little lacking...

I use my vintage Nallyware container to store my stockings in. My jewellery is on a two-tiered cake platter (got the idea from Fleur de Guerre a few years ago). And I got the idea to use the paper towel holder for my bangles from a friend. And you can see that dust is one of my favourite decorations...I'm going with that for now.

Well, hopefully some of you enjoyed this little tour around my room!

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x

Fun in the sun

Well, it was a sunny day (as implied by the subject) but I tried to stay out of the sun as much as possible. This was an outfit that I wore on the weekend to have (a late) lunch with one of my friends. I needed to wear something that went with my sandals as I'd had sore feet from some other shoes, which is why I chose this dress. It's not the best fabric for a warm summer day but it's one of my favourites nonetheless.

I'm kind of annoyed I didn't notice the car in the photo until after I'd taken these. Oops.

To prove I actually did go out to see a friend - so bad at taking photos of/with other people! 

The dress turned out being pretty good for walking around (and eating) in and the sandals didn't hurt my feet. Hurrah! So difficult to find shoes that don't do that. And, whilst they are dangerously close to the sandals I wore in primary school and didn't necessarily like, these are the only pair of sandals I've loved in a long time.

And apologies for the poor quality/lack-lustre photos, once again. Slowly trying to step up my game with the photos. 

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x

Murder Mystery Monday #4 {Gosford Park}

I'm fairly certain that most vintage and/or murder mystery lovers will have seen Gosford Park by now but just in case you haven't...you really ought to! I mean, the cast alone is enough of a draw: Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, Kelly Macdonald, Kristin Scott Thomas, James Wilby, Stephen Fry, Richard E. Grant, et al.

The first time I watched Gosford Park I didn't think much of it plot-wise because, for me at least, it fell flat as a murder mystery. But, upon re-watching, I realised it was a very nice snapshot of this sort of life. Like an Upstairs, Downstairs type of thing. And it works far better on that level for me than it does as a murder mystery. But as that is part of the plot, I felt it belonged in this series of posts.*

It has a lot of the tropes/clichés associated with a cosy murder mystery - an assorted cast of characters staying at a country mansion on a rainy weekend; a central much-disliked character; everyone has a motive (well, not everyone but enough of them do) and so on.

But it really is the characters, their backstories and their interactions that interest me the most. And, of course, there are the costumes.

Look at these gorgeous waves in Kristin Scott Thomas's hair!

More gorgeous waves. Swoon.

Kelly Macdonald's sleek and practical bob is adorable.

And the house is so beautiful, too.

I know that in the DVD extras it is discussed that Robert Altman and Julian Fellowes consulted various people who had worked in the service around this time. There is a scene where one of the staff spits on a fork and polishes it and one of the consultants is horrified because no one would ever have dared to do that. They assured him the scene would be cut but, of course, it wasn't. I found that a rather amusing little snippet.

Anyone else love this movie? I've lost count of the times I've watched it. And how did it work for you as a murder mystery?

(Screencaps from here and here).

Love,

Andi B. Goode

x

*I feel like I've written about this movie before, now, but I can't quite remember. Oops.