The Best of A Vintage Nerd Blog From 2015

January 22, 2016
A Vintage Nerd, 1960s Pinup, Vintage Blog

Today I want to share with you some of the best posts of 2015 from A Vintage Nerd blog. I love looking back and reading old posts on other blogs so I hope you enjoy looking back at 2015 with me.

Getting Spoiled with Vintage 










Special Cinema Spotlight: Unbroken

A Vintage Nerd, 1960s Pinup, Vintage Blog

Any of these your favorites? I loved them all but I think the first four I shared are some of my faves. Here's to a new year to fill our days with more vintage love and good reading!

Pop Culture Tuesdays: Pretty in Pink 30th Anniversary

January 19, 2016
A Vintage Nerd, Pop Culture, Vintage Blog, Pretty in Pink Molly Ringwald, 1980s Movie Recommendations

Are you also reminiscent about the 80's? Or wishing you were able to experience the 80's first hand? How about 80's movies? Are you totally hooked on them? Do they put a silly smile on your face even if its the 100th time you have seen the movie?

Well, hold onto your hair gel and jean jackets because I am hear to share with you the BIG news that a 1980's teen movie classic will be in theaters all across the states in February!

Pretty in Pink is celebrating their 30th Anniversary and Fathom Events is hosting two days of screenings on February 14th and February 17th. They will be shown at 2pm and 7pm on both days or depending on the movie theater you may see it in.

Aside from being able to view this John Hughes classic on the big screen they will also be showing behind the scenes footage as well as the alternate ending. That is, the ending many of us fans longed for and was actually the real ending of the book also called Pretty in Pink.

A Vintage Nerd, Pop Culture, Vintage Blog, Pretty in Pink Molly Ringwald, 1980s Movie Recommendations

I don't know about you but I never got the chance to see this movie on the big screen. I was ten at the time and this would have been considered a teen or young adult film and my father would have never taken me. So, like a lot of folks back in the day, I first saw it on cable and then on reruns until of course I bought my dvd copy.

I already purchased my ticket and I cannot wait to go. This is going to be trippy in the best way and on a personal level to be able to see what the original ending should have been is going to be beyond dreamy. I hope you end up going to see it. Was Pretty in Pink a movie you loved or hated? Team Duckie or Team Blane?

Special Cinema Spotlight: Housewife, 49

January 19, 2016
A Vintage Nerd, Must See TV, Period TV Shows, Special Cinema Spotlight, 1940s Show, Housewife, 49

This made for tv movie came out in the UK in 2006. I didn't discover it until recently and I'm glad I did. I feel like its one of the those little treasure films that once you uncover it there are delightful surprises are in store for you.

It is set at the beginning of World War Two and follows the life of a housewife by the name of, Nella Last. She married a man who is emotional unattached to her, she has two sons that serve in the military in different ways, all the while suffering from anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem.

I know its the year 2016 but I think a lot of women can still relate to how Nella was feeling in those first years of the war. Being alone or unable to have the freedom others have or not having the support and friendships one needs to get through the tough days that life gives you. But at her doctors very smart request he encourages her to take on a diary and write her thoughts and feelings, Then one of her sons then encourages her to join the WVS (Women's Voluntary Service). She eventually does both; submitting her diary entries to the Mass Observation as well as spending her days with the MVS and the Red Cross.

Before you know it Nella begins to stand up for herself, address the  issues with her husband, and faces honestly the tragedy and grief that was brought on by the war. Basically her life and her story as she shares it opens up like a flower. It was painful and beautiful to watch. Painful to see her so isolated and beautiful to see her find her voice.
A Vintage Nerd, Must See TV, Period TV Shows, Special Cinema Spotlight, 1940s Show, Housewife, 49
The film is named after what the Mass Observation labeled Nella as, Housewife, 49, which was her age when she began submitting her entries. She made entries from 1939-1966. She passed away in 1968 at the age of 79. But her experiences as a wife and mother and most importantly as a women didn't go unnoticed.

All of her submissions can be seen at the University of Sussex and four books were published based on her diaries. I think reading someone's private thoughts and feelings in a diary can feel strange but it also gives one such a personal and special insight into the life and times of that person.

I personally felt inspired by just going through the journey of watching the film, I have no doubt I will feel the same once I read her books. Have you heard of Nella Last or this film? What are your thoughts about it?

TCM Presents Big Screen Classic Events

January 14, 2016
A Vintage Nerd, TCM Big Screen Events, Classic Film Recommendations

Once I discovered that Fathom Events was the place I could score tickets to see some classic films on the big screen I always made sure I would check out their site a few times a month. Just a few days ago I took a peak wondering what goodies they had for the new year and to my delight they have some great ones.

TCM is now presenting big screen classic events via Fathom Events to showcase classic films for entire year!  They will be screening one classic film every month and it will be shown all across America at selected theaters which you can find when you get on the site. Fathom has cyber calendars so you can look at the dates and find the two days a month it will be showing.

Now I have been lucky to have seen eight classic films on the big screen in the past few years. That was when TCM (Turner Classic Movies) would have these specials one day screenings of these films. Now TCM is going to give us folks here in the states an opportunity to see a different classic film on the big screen every month of this year. I cannot tell you how excited I am.

A Vintage Nerd, TCM Big Screen Events, Classic Film Recommendations

Here is what you can see on the big screen this year thanks to TCM and Fathom Events:

January 17 & 20: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 

February 21 & 24: The Maltese Falcon (75th Anniversary)

March 20 & 23: The Ten Commandments

April 24 & 27: On the Waterfront

May 15 & 18: Ferris Bueller's Day Off (30th Anniversary)

June 26 & 29: Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory

July 24 & 27: Planet of the Apes

August 28 & 30: The King and I (60th Anniversary)

September 18 &  21: Dr. Strangelove

October 23 & 26: The Shining

November 27 & 30: Breakfast at Tiffany's

December 11 & 14: From Here to Eternity

A Vintage Nerd, TCM Big Screen Events, Classic Film Recommendations

A Vintage Nerd Supplementary Reading:




Reflections on watching  White Christmas on the big screen

Must See TV: Home Fires

January 08, 2016
A Vintage Nerd, Must See TV, Period TV Show Recommendations, Home Fires, 1940s Women in WWII

I feel like I am drawn to Masterpiece Theater and period themed shows like a moth to a flame. And every time there is a new show or older show that I haven't seen yet I already know that at some point I have to watch it. And that's what happened when I learned of this show called, Home Fires (which I confess for some reason every time I say it in my head I hear Home Fries-oh dear)

The setting is a very small country town in Cheshire, England. The town is beautiful and in my eyes, idyllic. I want to move there immediately! It begins just right before the second world war has been declared on England and moves through the war years at a believable pace.

The cast of characters are a array of women who all are members of the Women's Institute. An organization founded before the first war and still exists today. Each of these women plays a specific role in the show but at the end it is always their work in the WI that brings them together. They are united under that prestigious organization and given a voice in a war where voices where often silenced.

Season One is available on Amazon and on Netflix while Season Two has already been filmed and is speculated to be coming out in May 2016.

If you love period themed shows like I do, if you find struggles during the second world war to be inspiring and moving, and if you enjoy watching an array of female characters battling the war on the home front-then you will be very please with this show.

A Vintage Nerd, Must See TV, Period TV Show Recommendations, Home Fires, 1940s Women in WWII
A Vintage Nerd, Must See TV, Period TV Show Recommendations, Home Fires, 1940s Women in WWII
A Vintage Nerd, Must See TV, Period TV Show Recommendations, Home Fires, 1940s Women in WWII
A Vintage Nerd, Must See TV, Period TV Show Recommendations, Home Fires, 1940s Women in WWII

A Letter To My Readers

January 06, 2016
A Vintage Nerd, Audrey Hepburn, Old Hollywood Letter Writing, Vintage Blog

Happy New to you, my dear readers! I've been meaning to share with you some things so here I am writing a letter to you all.

So my life as a blogger has been this amazing cycle of change from the very first moment I got online in July 2011. I had many lows and challenges thrust upon me but I also had a lot of unexpected amazingness happen as well. 

I got published a few times in Vintage Life Magazine, I worked with some fantastic photographers, I interviewed  Karolyn Grimes who played Zuzu in "It's A Wonderful Life" which you can read HERE, and I even interviewed a NY Best Selling author which you can read about HERE. The fact that I am still here and blogging is awesome unto itself. At least for me.

A Vintage Nerd, Audrey Hepburn, Old Hollywood Letter Writing, Vintage Blog

If you haven't noticed the blogging world has changed a lot lately. With the wonder of Instagram and all sorts of new social media outlets more and more bloggers have either stopped blogging altogether or are attempting to reinvent their blog into something else.

I'm here to say that I am definitely not going anywhere as a blogger. I will be keeping my blog as a traditional blog and use my social media outlets as an extension of what I do as a blogger. I will confess to you that the last few months have been a struggle in balancing my fatigue (comes hand in hand with my disability) and juggling the demands of motherhood but just because I struggle doesn't mean I don't want to be on here doing what I love to do-writing, sharing, learning, teaching, inspiring.

I want you to know that you can still be creative or express yourself or be a blogger even if you have a tight schedule, children to tend to, or long hours at work to deal with. You can. I'm doing it but I am doing it on my own pace and not being a slave to my blog. I think its important to keep a balance.

A Vintage Nerd, Audrey Hepburn, Old Hollywood Letter Writing, Vintage Blog

Recently I have  gained a fresh new perspective and understanding about my creative process. First thing is, I NEED to be creative. I NEED my blog. I LOVE my blog. I LOVE being a vintage nerd. I LOVE challenging myself. And I LOVE connecting with all of you.

In order to grow as a creative person you need to keep things flowing in a way that adds to your life and not take away. My blog has never made me feel that way thank goodness but trying to keep up with the blog and vintage community has. So I decided no more of that. No more trying to keep up with the Joneses. What was I thinking? I simply cannot compare myself to those who have no children or who have more of a creative support system than I do. Doing that to yourself only hurts you. I feel like it poisons your way of thinking and creating and I no longer want to do that to myself. Funny thing is I didn't realize I was doing it until I asked myself why I felt frustrated all the time (about my blog etc). Be kind to yourself. It's what I am doing and its freeing me of all the silliness out there.

A Vintage Nerd, Audrey Hepburn, Old Hollywood Letter Writing, Vintage Blog

So here are the things I am working on and in the process of working on:

What is new at A Vintage Nerd blog
  • More outfit posts and fashion inspiration: Vintage, Vintage Inspired, and Pop Culture Inspired
  • A Vintage Nerd Supplementary Reading Section: On every type of post that I can, I will add websites, article and video links for further reading and learning
  • My You Tube channel will be on hiatus for a bit
  • I will be sharing my everyday and vintage nerd fun stuff on my Snapchat as often as I can. Drop by and say hi! Find me @ avintagenerd
  • Confidence building posts: You may have seen a bit of my AVN Confidence Challenge on my Instagram, Its my way to focus on the positive and it has helped, I don't do it everyday but I have done it a bit and I will do more confidence building posts

What you will get from reading A Vintage Nerd blog
  • How to incorporate vintage into your daily modern life
  • Reviews on classic film/tv shows as well as period films/tv shows
  • Insight into the Golden Age of Hollywood
  • Reviews on books steeped in the past
  • A dash of history and historical information
  • Finding joy in looking back on Pop Culture on Pop Culture Tuesdays posts
  • Celebrating body positivism as I continue to embrace my size 12 bod, my fabulous plastic leg braces, and better still, being a newly turned 40 year old woman 

I do hope you tune in when you can here at A Vintage Nerd blog and feel free to reach out to me on my Instagram. I am always happy to chat and exchange ideas or even collaborate.

Here's to a new year for us all to do the things we dared to dream and face our challenges head on!

With My Warmest Affection,
        Daffny

 
Copyright © A Vintage Nerd || Exploring Old Hollywood Through Fashion, Film, & Books. Designed by OddThemes