What Would Audrey Do Wednesday

In this installment of What Would Audrey Do, she shows us How To Be A Movie Star In Your Own Life (part 1).

Take yourself seriously. Audrey was lighthearted, but never silly. Modest, but not lacking in confidence. It doesn't matter where you are on the food chain - the point is to imbue yourself with the grace and guts that Audrey had. And move forward.

We know we are asking you to walk a fine line here: Take yourself seriously (but not too seriously). Because if you don't, no one will.

You are a star - act like one. Again and again, in speaking with the people who worked with Audrey (on her films, during photoshoots, for UNICEF), they said that you met her once, and you never forgot it.

Tzetzi Ganev, the legendary designer with Western Costume in Los Angeles who worked with Edith Head and practically every star of the mid to late century - Julie Andrews, Lauren Becall, Greer Garson, Deborah Kerr, Anjelica Houston, Natalie Wood, Liz Taylor, Barbara Streisand, Bette Davis - says that "the ladies of that time were so well groomed. They were so well prepared - they were made up, and their hair was done, the high heels they were going to wear, and their makeup and stockings!

"Now there is no such thing - actresses today they come without makeup for fittings, without proper underwear, without shoes, the proper heels, they say - oh I forgot! I forgot the bra, so they come without the bra, and they don't have the bra they are going to wear!"

Tzetzi shakes her head. "Stars today just don't know how to behave..."



**all information comes from the book: What Would Audrey Do? by Pamela Keogh

Picnic

To celebrate spring this year, I thought I'd show you some amazing vintage pieces that would complete the perfect picnic! All these pictures came from Etsy and are all currently for sale.

First, you need to choose your color scheme, to make sure everything matches. This time, I have chosen red and white gingham. It's so bright and cheery!!

Find some sweet invitations in your color scheme and send them to all your friends!!

Then, find your perfect picnic basket, dishes and cups:







You will also need containers to store your food in, and a tray to keep the ants away:







Now, you need a place to sit: tablecloth (on a table or the ground) and cloth napkins:







Last, but not least, you have to find the perfect outfit!







Have a great spring picnic, and remember, always have fun with your vintage style!!

WWAD Wednesday

Rule #3: Maintain a Sense of Wonder About Your Life and the World

Having survived WWII and then landed in Hollywood, Audrey was lucky as hell, and she knew it. One might ask, did she have any sense of what the impact of Roman Holiday might be when she made it?

"Not at all." said Audrey. "I had no sense, period! I was awfully new and awfully young to be doing my first movie, and thrilled to be doing it. But I was not even aware of the significance of doing a picture with William Wyler - who William Wyler really was...He came to England, looking for an unknown for the picture, which in fact was my only qualification."

On some level, though, she knew that her life was about to change. Audrey's response when she learned of Paramount's decision to cast her as the lead in Roman Holiday was touching in its simplicity: "Lord, help me live up to all of this."

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Modest. Extremely talented. Strong willed. Shy. Beautiful. Disciplined. Hidden. Audrey was all of these things and more. "The test of a first rate intelligence," wrote F. Scott Fitzgerald, "is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function." Maybe these conflicting dichotomies are what made Audrey such a compelling personality.

**all information comes from the book: What Would Audrey Do? by Pamela Keogh

satisfied customer

it's always great to hear positive feedback about an item that you have sold, but yesterday, a dress of mine was featured in a blog! http://frolleinvonsofa.blogspot.com/2011/04/polka-dots-purple-legs.html

What Would Audrey Do Wednesday

I thought I'd start a new weekly post all about Audrey! WWAD Wednesday kicks off today:

Rule #1: Be Memorable

As a star, or even as an unforgettable person making your way in the world, you do not want to be like everyone else.

Even at a young age, Audrey knew what worked for her and what didn't. She had a very strong vision of her place in the world and, in this sense, was very much like a princess. Robert Wolders observed, "She was secure in her values and early on found a level where she felt and functioned best. Her personal style was a result of her unwillingness to compromise on those values and to focus on what is basic and real. She showed a good deal of stubbornness toward outside influences, always insisting on what felt natural and comfortable.

"Her sense of appropriateness and decorum was happily mixed with a sense of irony and humor - not taking yourself too seriously, but seriously enough."

Rule #2: Be Modest

It sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it? Stand out in the crowd and be modest. But in addition to her will and ambition (and a talent that she was perhaps only beginning to recognize), Audrey had a very real modesty that was encouraged by her upbringing. A modesty that was rare to come by - and not at all encouraged in Hollywood. Her professional ascent was swift and decisive, and she had a great deal to brag about. In the following year she would win a Tony Award for Ondine, a play she was performing on Broadway, and both an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award for Roman Holiday.

Still, Audrey never forgot where she came from. This core of certainty was one of her strengths. Years later, she would remember something her mother said to her - " 'Considering that you have no talent, it's really extraordinary where you've got.' She said it in the middle of all the lovely successes I was having. She wasn't putting me down," Audrey reasoned. "She was saying how fortunate I was."

**all information comes from the book: What Would Audrey Do by Pamela Keogh

victory garden

a few weeks ago i started planting my victory garden. i got several packs of seeds from a trip home to missouri last fall and have been planting them in recycled tin cans. i still have several more that need to be planted but it's so exciting to see the little guys sprout!!

right now it's mostly herbs and greens, but i found a carrot sprout this morning!!

now a little history of victory gardens:

victory gardens, also called war gardens, were fruit, veggie and herb gardens planted at private residences and public parks during WWI and WWII to help ease the pressure on the public food supply brought on by the war effort. in addition to indirectly contributing to the war effort, these gardens were also considered a civil "morale booster" — in that gardeners could feel empowered by their contribution to the war and rewarded by the produce grown. this made victory gardens become a part of daily life on the home front.

posters were printed and displayed to help advertise the idea, and it worked. here are a few posters: