The Jane Austen Week Tag

This week Naomi is hosting a Jane Austen Week here. It's filled with Jane Austen related goodness, and games and fun. And of course it also has a tag.

The Questions:

1. On a scale of 1 to 10, how much of a Jane Austen fan do you consider yourself?

A solid 9. She is my favourite author ever, I have read all her major works (still miss the juvenilia, though), seen adaptions of them all and love to learn about the regency era to understand her novels better.

 

2. If "they" would make a new Jane Austen Movie, and you would be able to be cast in it, which Jane Austen character would you most like to play?

Well, I think we really need a new movie version of Mansfield Park, but I fear I wouldn't be able to play any of those characters well..

I have always dreamed of playing Elinor Dashwood, as we are very much the same in many aspects!

3. Is there any felicity in the world superior to a walk?

No, except perhaps that of the company of a good book.

4. Who's your favourite Jane Austen 'villain'? (As in 'villain' meaning 'the bad guy.')

I really like Henry Crawford. Not that I in any way condone his actions, but I think he was a nice layered character that had the potential for both good and bad. (Just a shame he chose wrong) 

5. What/Who introduced you to Jane Austen?

The first time I really heard of her was when the Pride & Prejudice 2005 version came out, and shortly after my mother bought the book.  After a while until I read it, and I have been hooked ever since.

6. Did you love/enjoy Jane Austen immediately, or has there been a time when you hated (um, prejudged) it?

Yes! 

7. Who, in your opinion, is the funniest Jane Austen character?

Mrs Norris. The way she can talk herself out of doing anything that would have a cost, while at the same time taking full credit for the deed, and the way she always claims to be saving money for her aquaintances while she is basicly living off of their income is just laughable. 

8. Do you quote Jane Austen randomly in public?

Sadly not. I think people would stare if I suddenly out of the blue started talking english, as it is not the language I use in my everyday life. (But if it was, then yes, I would never stop quoting JA)

9. Are children allowed to eat cake on weddings?

Certainly! How else would you keep them occupied and happy?

10. What is your reaction when you hear that an aquaintance (e.g. A lady at Church) of yours loves Jane Austen?

Hello, new best friend!

11. Who writes better letters, Mr Darcy or Captain Wentworth? (If you forgot what the letters were, shame on you, instead tell me if you prefer Strawberries to Chocolate or not.)

That is really hard to decide as the letters in themselves are so different. Captain Wentworth's letter was really sweet and romantic, but Darcy's letter shook me to the core and completely changed my perception of everything I had read this far, so I'm gonna choose that one.

                                   

12. Which Jane Austen heroine do you relate the least to?

Emma Woodhouse. She just never really spoke to me.

13. What's your favourite Jane Austen house (from one of the movies)?

Pemberley from the 2005 version of P&P. The real name of the place is Chatsworth and it is one of the most beautiful houses I have ever seen. (Did you know that Chatsworth was most likely the original inspiration for Pemberley?) I really want to go see it someday.

                                

14. What's your favourite Jane Austen dress (from one of the movies)?

How is it possible to choose just one?  I really adore this dress from Emma 2009, the colour and the pattern is so light and summery. 

15. Can you turn off lit candles with your fingers?

I probably could, but I have never tried as I wouldn't dare to touch the flame.

                              

That was all for now, but don't forget to pop over at Naomi's blog for a lot more fun and talk of Jane Austen.

What I've Been Doing - October Edition

I always enjoy reading those delightfully random posts on other blogs, so I thought to write one myself to fill out the waiting time until I have finished those 4 or 5 half finished drafts I am working on currently.
So without further ado; here's a little of what I have been doing this last month.

Reading

Hamlet, as part of Hamlette's delightful read-along here. It always makes me very happy, when I can say that I'm reading some iconic classic work of literature, so I've been very happy this month when people asked me what I was reading. (And I may have started up the subject more than usually)

Besides that I'm also reading Cranford (have been for several months now). It is quite a slow read. Mostly because it's composed as a collection of little short stories, which makes you feel like you finished the book after every chapter. But I will conquer it and have forbidden myself to start any new reading projects until I'm finished with this one.

                        

Watching

Quite a collection of classic 50's movies. It all started out with a rewatch of State Fair, which lead to researching movies starring Jeanne Crain, which lead to researching  movies starring Cary Grant, which lead to finding every single movie from the 40's and 50's available on Netflix (there's quite a few luckily). This far I've watched: People Will Talk, Monkey Business, On The Town, Singin In The Rain, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers and The Great Escape. 

I also started watching Jeeves & Wooster again - I completely forgot how funny that series is.

                                         

Listening To

My gorgeous 1940's mix - they sure knew how to make music back then.

The soundtrack to Pocahontas - one of the best Disney scores ever made.

                           

Writing

Blog posts - and lots of them. I have made a resolution to publish a post at least once a week, and I'm trying very hard to stick to that.

I've also finally pulled myself together to really start working on a story that have been lurking in my mind for the last 6 months - if I succeed you will hear much more about it in a future post.

                           

That was all for now.

What have you been doing this October?

Ball Gown Game - The Answers

Here are the answers:


1. Eliza Dolittle in My Fair Lady

2. Scarlet O'Hara in Gone With The Wind

3. Emma Swan in Once Upon A Time

4. Ella in Cinderella

5. Christine Daae in Phantom Of The Opera

6. Queen Victoria in The Young Victoria

7. Giselle in Enchanted

8. Anne Shirley in Anne Of Green Gables

                                           

And the scores are:

Olivia.................160 points

Naomi Bennet....120 points

Miss March........120 points

Littlemissberlin....60 points


Thank you so much for playing!

On The Town (1949)

I recently watched the movie "On The Town", and boy, was I positvely surprised. 

To be honest I had expected it to be rather boring, with a lot of dancing unrelated to the plot (there was a bit of that, but not as much as I expected).

So imagine my delight when I discovered how brilliant it all was. 

The plot is pretty simple: 3 sailors have a 24 hour leave in New York, and besides seeing the sights they also want to find some girls. When one of them gets infatuated with a girl he sees on a poster in the subway, his friends help him look for her all over the city, meeting a couple of girls themselves, on the way.

Throw in a few misunderstandings, a night on the town, a police chase and then you've got the gist of it.

Now the plot was really good but there is always more to a movie than the plot - as for instance the COSTUMES! 

They are brilliant and filled with 40's prettiness. Just look at that dress below: the cut, the colour, the contrasted pattern in the colour. I continuously found myself swooning and sighing over the dresses and the hair through the entire movie. It's like ever since I decided to adapt the 40's style for my own use, I watch movies from that time in a completely different way.

                          

But back to the movie and what I liked about it. Another important thing in a musical is naturally the songs. 

And the songs in this one did not disappoint. They were very catchy and most of them were just hilarious.

Like the opening song that really spoke to me on a personal level, when a harbour worker sings: "I feel like I'm not out of bed yet/ Oh, the sun's warm but my blanket's warmer." That is one relatable song :-).

Then of course there is "New York, New York, it's a wonderful town", which I sang for two days straight after watching this. 

"Main Street" is a very sweet song and accompanied by a little dancing sequence, it is just perfection.

Another sweet and humorous song is "You're Awful". From the title alone you wouldn't figure it's a love song, but just go and listen to it and you will understand.

The funniest song of them all is "You Can Count On Me". It is filled with puns and is really laugh out loud funny. 

                     

As I mentioned earlier, this movie also has its fair share of dancing, but with Gene Kelly in the lead that can't really surprise anyone.

Most of the dancing scenes I quite liked, because they were funny and it gave me more oppurtunities to admire the dresses in action ;-)

           

All in all I thought it a really funny and sweet movie, with gorgeous costumes and a better plot than I expected.

So it is definitely recommendable if you like musicals or movies from the 40's (or both). 

Now all there is there is left for me to do is watch the other 2 movies Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra made together: "Anchors Aweigh" and "High Society". 

That should be quite an enjoyable task, I think.

Have you seen "On The Town"?

How did you like it?

The Ball Gown Game

It's been ages since I last had a game, so I thought it high time to remedy that!

The theme of this game is ball gowns!

The rules as always are simple: guess who wears this ball gown and which movie/series it appears in.

10 points for each correct answer

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Have fun :-)

Movie Wardrobes: State Fair

State Fair is one of my new favourite movies for many reasons: the plot, the setting, the music and not to forget; the costumes! It is an enjoyable collection of 40's outfits from the beginning to the end!

I personally think the main character, Margy Frake, has one of the most enviable movie wardrobes of all time, so let's take a closer look on each of her outfits.

When we first meet her she wears this lovely outfit that's practically screaming farm girl and femininity. Just look at the details on her skirt - it has pockets! Who doesn't love a skirt with pockets? It combines the pretty with the practical, and must be very handy when going about your daily work.
And don't get me started on that lovely peasant blouse - the ruffles, the ribbons...I don't even have words.

When they arrive at the State Fair we see her wearing this gorgeous pinafore dress/apron (I am not entirely sure what it was called). Again; practical and pretty at the same time.

This!! This is my favourite dress in the movie!
The pale pastels that compliment each other so well, the flattering cut of the skirts, the discreet puff sleeves, the flower details - everything just works together to create perfection.

The dress she wears the first evening has me rather torn; on one hand I think the cut of it a bit strange, but on the other I love the pale purple hues.

Here's another lovely daydress/set. Notice the matching hat in the right corner, how well thought through is that? I wish we could have seen her wearing the hat as well! I really like the colour of the top (red is my favourite after all) and the trimming. The skirt is very simple and therefore works very well to balance out the adorned top.

Margy's second evening dress is very dreamy and billowy. What I love the most is the detail in the fabric - it is hard to see in the photo, but the fabric of the sleeves and collar is transparent and adorned with little bows as part of the pattern (hard to describe precisely, but it's so pretty).

And another pinafore/apron (because one work outfit is just not enough for a three day holiday). I just adore the gingham pattern in this one and the trimming at the front. If I could sow I would make a dress just like this one (and wear it whenever I'm having a stay at home day).

Here's one of Margy's more downplayed outfits - mostly for everyday wear I think. Not my favourite but I like the versatility it has, you can wear any shirt/blouse underneath that dress and get a completely new look out of it.

The dress Margy wears the final evening is really lovely. The placement of the coloured fabric gives a great focus on the waist, and as always I love the cut of the skirt. She just wears so many beautiful dresses. I truly wish I had a wardrobe like that.

That was the final outfit she wore and thus the end of this in depth costume listing. But Margy is not the only one to wear amazing outfits in this movie, so let's end this post with a few honorable mentions: 

This gingham dress worn by Margy's mother is just a plain daydress, but I love the pattern and the details around the collar. Shows that you can look good even if you're dressed for housework.

We actually only see this girl in 2 little scenes, but each time she completely steals the screen with her delightful outfits. Just look at the wonderful hue of pink, the contrast the white buttons make and the little peter pan collar - I want her in more scenes just to see more outfits in that style.

There actually isn't that many hats in this movie (wouldn't want to hide all the curly hairstyles), but this one is certainly a prime specimen. Relatively simple, but the big bow gives it a splash of colour that makes it festive (and you can make the bow match your dress if you like).

So...that's all for this time!
Have you seen State Fair? If so, how did you like it?

Welcome to An Old Fashioned Girl

It is here!!!
The day I have been awaiting for so long is finally here!!

                            

Welcome one and all to my new and improved blog!!

You must have noticed the new name by now (and if you haven't you should read the title again), but you may ask: why An Old Fashioned Girl?

Well, I am so glad you ask. Apart from it being a title of a book by Louisa May Alcott (which I have actually not read yet, but it is on the list), I think it is something that describes me very well as a person. I have always loved old fashioned things, I dream of having that old fashioned life described in The Little House-series and then of course, I love classic books and movies.

Will it affect the content on the blog? you may wonder.

Sure it will, that was the point of the name change. I will definitely still be writing about books and movies as I have done so far, but I will also be writing of a lot of new topics, the biggest one being my new found love for the 40's and 50's. That will almost certainly include some posts about my adventures with vintage hairstyling and trying to get a more 50's style (projects I embarked on this summer).
I will probably also write a bit more of my different hobbies.

Apart from that I am planning on starting several blog series, one of which you will soon hear more about.


And now for the true fun of this post: the give away!!!

Firstly I am giving away "Through The Looking Glass" by Lewis Carrol. It's the sequel to "Alice's Adventures In Wonder Land" and if you haven't read it yet, you are missing out. It is a truly entertaining and really funny read, though it doesn't make a lot of sense (but it is not supposed to; that is the wonder of it).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Secondly, as the cold season that just makes you want to bundle up in layers of soft and warm fabrics is approaching, I am giving away this lovely flowery scarf.

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Just a few notes: One blog post/comment is enough to enter both give aways and they are both open world wide.


Last but not least; a new blog would not be complete without some new blog buttons!
So here they are!
Grab one if you like!

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What do you think if the changes?

Be sure to let me know in a comment.