The 1930's In History

On Sunday, August 19th I will be attending The 7th  Annual Jazz Age Lawn Party which will give me an opportunity to make a dream of mine come true. Does anyone have a crush on the 1930's? I mean a deep, long-standing head over heels, mad crush?? I am sure my hand is not the only one that is up right now hehehe 

I have been longing to learn more about the 1930's and longing even more to dress the part. So I decided to dedicate this week to the 1930's. My hope is that we all learn a little something more about this decade in history.

This timeline was found here:

1930

• Gandhi's Salt March
• Pluto Discovered
• Stalin Begins Collectivizing Agriculture in the U.S.S.R.

1931

• Al Capone Imprisoned for Income Tax Evasion
• Auguste Piccard Reaches Stratosphere
• Christ Monument Built on Rio de Janeiro Hilltop
• Empire State Building Completed
• Scottsboro Boys Accused of Rape
• U.S. Officially Gets National Anthem

1932

• Air Conditioning Invented
• Amelia Earhart First Woman to Fly Solo Across the Atlantic
• Lindbergh's Baby Kidnapped
• Scientists Split the Atom
• Zippo Lighters Introduced

1933

• Adolf Hitler Becomes Chancellor of Germany
• Assassination Attempt on FDR
• FDR Launches New Deal
• First Nazi Concentration Camp Established
• Loch Ness Monster First Spotted
• Prohibition Ends in the U.S.
• Wiley Post Flies Around the World in 8 1/2 Days

1934

• Bonnie and Clyde Killed by Police
• Cheeseburger Created
• The Dust Bowl
• Mao Zedong Begins the Long March
• Parker Brothers Sells the Game "Monopoly"

1935

• Alcoholics Anonymous Founded
• Germany Issues the Anti-Jewish Nuremberg Laws
• John Maynard Keynes Suggests New Economic Theory
• Social Security Enacted in U.S.

1936

• Carnegie Publishes How to Win Friends and Influence People
• Hoover Dam Completed
• King Edward VIII Abdicates
• Nazi Olympics in Berlin
• Spanish Civil War Begins

1937

• Amelia Earhart Vanishes
• Golden Gate Bridge Opened
• The Hindenberg Disaster
• Japan Invades China

1938

• Broadcast of "The War of the Worlds" Causes Panic
• Chamberlain Announces "Peace in Our Time"
• "Extinct" Fish Found (Coelacanth)
• Hitler Annexes Austria
• The Night of Broken Glass (Kristallnacht)

1939

• First Commercial Flight Over the Atlantic
• German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact Signed
• Helicopter Invented
• Refugees on the St. Louis Refused Entry Everywhere
• World War II Begins

Are you as impressed with this decade as I am? Goodness there is so much history to learn. I defiantly want to take some history courses asap! Anyone care to join me??

xox

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Weekend Cinema Spotlight: Roman Holiday/Sabrina DOUBLE FEATURE!

"Roman Holiday" (1953)

Roman Holiday is the first role Audrey Hepburn received in films and it's the role of Princess Ann that won her an Academy Award in 1954.

Hepburn plays a Princess who is overwhelmed by her royal duties and decides she needs to get away from it all. I know many of us would love to get away from our daily routines to be a Princess for a day! Oh a girl can dare to dream....

She comes across an American reporter by the name of Joe Bradley (more like he comes across her lol), played by Gregory Peck. Bradley eventually finds out who she really is and decides to spend the day showing her Rome all the while having their photos taken by Irving Radovich, played by Eddie Albert.

They spend a glorious day together and fall in love, although the Princess knows this could never continue. She then leaves Bradley to return to the embassy. For me the ending is so bittersweet-just thinking about it makes me want to take a deep sigh.

The next day Princess Ann attends a news conference and discreetly, in their own way, say profess their gratitude and care for one another. The last few moments of the film, you see Bradley lingering behind as everyone at the conference has left, wondering what could have been.

Have you wondered after you have finished watching a film, especially a really good one, whether or not the cast got along well? I can imagine that Hepburn and Peck got along nicely especially because they were both incredibly down-to-earth and nice people. Many reports say that Bogart despised Hepburn and thought she was a horrible actress. I suppose only Bogart could tell us if that was true or perhaps his widow, Lauren Bacall? I like to think he was a gentlemen around her and he was professional because the scenes they did together were just marvelous.

"Sabrina" (1954)

Sabrina was the second film of Audrey's and it starred the talented Humphrey Bogart and the dashing William Holden.

Hepburn played the role of Sabrina Fairchild who was the only child of a chauffeur named, Thomas played by John Williams. Sabrina is desperately in love with David, who is the youngest of two sons of the super wealthy Larrabee family. David is a playboy and doesn't even notice Sabrina. 

Her father sends her to culinary school in Paris (lucky girl!) hoping that she will forget him. I simply adored the interaction between Sabrina and her father, it reminded me so much of my relationship with mine.

Two years later Sabrina returns home, more refined and glamorous than how she left. David immediately sets his eyes on Sabrina but his older brother Linus (Bogart) his arranged a merger of companies as well as lives between David and Elizabeth (Martha Hyer).

While David recuperates from an injury, Linus takes Sabrina out on several outings. It is there that Sabrina gets to know Linus as a man and not just someone she saw as aloof and "not attached to a woman" as she puts it. Slowly she falls in love with him and encourages him to experience Paris just as she had. Linus has other plans, hoping he can send her away to Paris so that the meager can continue as planned.

But it is thanks to his younger and less responsible brother that Linus gets the encouragement to take a chance with love and races to join Sabrina on the ship heading for Paris.

This film is the first time that Hepburn and Givenchy worked together on a film, a collaboration and friendship blossomed that would literally last a lifetime.

Both films are fun, sweet, endearing, and just simply really good. I have to say, Audrey really embraced her role as an actress and first two films gave us all a taste of what was to come.

xox

Classic Film Actor Spotlight: August: Audrey Hepburn

This month I really wanted to spotlight Audrey Hepburn's films. She was just a delight to see on screen. I hope one day I can see one of her films in a theater-what an experience that would be!

I spotlighted Audrey back in November during my Pinup of the Month Series but I didn't really share all the tidbits of her life with you so here I go!

Audrey Kathleen Ruston was born May 4th, 1929 in Belgium. Her mother, Baroness Ella van Hemstra was a Dutch aristocrat and her father, Joseph Ruston was of British and Austrian descent. Audrey's father had become a Nazi sympathizer and abandoned his family. It would be many years before Audrey would see her father again.

Audrey as a girl in the 1940's.

By 1944, Audrey had become a proficient ballerina. It was her life-long dream to one day become a Prima Ballerina. She danced in dance companies after the war but due to her height (she was 5"7") and poor nutrition during the war, her dreams were dashed. 

Her mother Ella (d.1984) and her father Joseph (d.1980).

Audrey then decided to turn her efforts into acting. After gaining some experience in theater, she landed her first starring role in Roman Holiday. Now what a way to begin a career! Her first on screen role was that of a princess who longed to live a normal, everyday life-who escapes the confines of her kingdom and meets with a dashing reporter played by the ever-so-handsome Gregory Peck.

Hepburn and Peck in "Roman Holiday" and Audrey with her Oscar.

Audrey won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Roman Holiday in 1954. As soon as she finished filming for "Roman Holiday" she began filming Sabrina with Humphrey Bogart and  William Holden.  She won a BAFTA Award that year for her performance. 

Audrey's career was on a roll! But not only her career but also her love life as well. After collaborating with actor Mel Ferrer on a play that year, they fell in love and we married on September 25th, 1954. Their union would last fourteen years and  produced a son named, Sean Hepburn Ferrer. Later on Audrey would remarry one more time to an Italian psychiatrist named Andrea Dotti on January 18th, 1969. Their union would last thirteen years ad produced another son named, Luca Dotti. In 1980 she entered into a long term relationship/partnership with Robert Wolders until her passing in 1993.

Audrey with Ferrer, Dotti, and Wolders, respectfully.

Audrey's sons today~Luca to the left and Sean to the right.

Audrey's leading men~can we say wow!!!??

Audrey's career in Hollywood started on a high note with winning an Oscar and continued to rise in the 1960's where she did some of her best work. Some of her films are; Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), The Children's Hour (1961), Charade (1963), My Fair Lady (1964), Two for the Road (1967), and Wait Until Dark (1967). From 1970 to 1993 she only made four films and that was because she opted to focus on raising her sons as well as focus her efforts aboard working for UNICEF.

Audrey Hepburn passed away on January 20th, 1993 at the age of 63 from cancer. Her passing was truly a loss to our world.

She was many things throughout her life and as I have said before-her more important role was that of being a mother. If you are interested in learning more about Miss Hepburn I highly recommend the book written by her eldest son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer called Audrey Hepburn, An Elegant Spirit.

Tomorrow I will spotlighted a Double Feature of Audrey's films because the following weekend will be dedicated to a special event I will be attending. I will fill you all in on it in the days to come :)

Happy Saturday!!!

xox

Remembering MM

Today being the 50th Anniversary of Marilyn Monroe's passing, many people have some out and expressed their love, adoration, and admiration of Hollywood's blond bombshell. I came upon this amazing article that expressed the way I would like to remember Norma Jean. 

An interview with MM's niece from her sister (half but who cares if its half-a sibling is a sibling, right?) just warmed my heart as she shared her precious and sweet memories of her beloved aunt. The things she said about MM are the things I for many years have felt about her. That she would have made an amazing mother, that she was smart as heck, and that she was in simplest terms, a sweet and kind person. At the end of the day she was a girl with dreams like the rest of us.

I hope you enjoy the article as much as I did~My Aunt, Marilyn Monroe

Berniece and her sister Norma Jean

MM's niece, Mona posing for her aunt

Berniece, Norma Jean, Gladys, and little Mona

Berniece (now 93) and her daughter, Mona

Sweet dreams dear Norma Jean.  xox

Besame Violet Powder Review

Last month as I was preparing myself to attend the Gene Kelly Event, I tried a new product by Besame Cosmetics called Brightening Violet Powder. I managed to sell a few things on ebay and I snatched the opportunity to try this product after I read what it does.

"Brightening Violet Powder is a translucent loose powder that adds just a hint of brightness for an instant lift to any complexion. Sets make-up beautifully and leaves a soft matte finish. The powder does not contain shimmers, but brightens because of the unique violet hue in this special formula. Deliciously fragrant, it suits any skin tone. Wear alone, over foundation or to add a lightness to tired eyes and under eye circles."

I defiantly need some brightness and lift for my tired eyes (and face) after my days of mommyhood. Now I wish they made a powder to lift the rest of yourself on those super tired days hehe But I just had to try it and I took the opportunity and ordered it. Now I want you all to know I am not doing this review for Besame or any other company~this is because I want you all to know if this product works or not.

When I first got the product I was pleasantly happy with the way it was packaged and seriously I mean how much more beautiful can a package get??!!! I didn't want to open the box at first because it was too darn pretty! Well, of course at some point I did and as you see in the photos below its just stunning from box to product!

Now this isn't my favorite photo of myself but I took it the day of the event right before I applied the Violet Powder. As you can see from the photo next to it, it really did wonders. I did use a light cover-up from Clinique beforehand and then I added the powder or you can use the powder by itself-it's all up to you.

I loved it-the compact and the product. I love how small it was and reminded me of the way makeup was made back in the 40's and 50's. It also reminded me of the products my grandma used to have. All in all I would recommend it-its easy too use like any other powder cover-up and just makes your skin look flawless.

Have you tried any Besame Cosmetics products? If so, what are your favorites?

xox