Picking Myself Up....and Starting Over Again!

That's always been one of my favorite scenes from a Fred and Ginger movie, that being from Swing Time of course.  And it's true for my personal life as well....this past year has not been an easy one to traverse and I'm hoping 2010 will be much less stressful!

When I started this blog a few months ago, I did so with the intention of it solely being a way to document my reclaiming of my health, physical and mental.  That intention got put by the wayside when I realized I didn't want to be limited in what I "vented" so it quickly became an all-purpose blog, leaving me free to write about whatever was on my mind. 

Unfortunately, my intention of doing the actual work involved to reclaim my health also got put by the wayside.  I am happy to say that I am re-motivated to get back on track in that aspect.  I also have to say that becoming a part of the Blogger community has been a HUGE part of that motivation! 

As I searched out blogs to read, I kept stumbling across more and more folk who love all things vintage and love the old classic movies of the 30's and 40's.  Sharing that same love myself, I was overjoyed at finding so many people who are of the same mindset!  Now, having older parents, I grew up being exposed to big band music and jazz, and hearing of what life was like growing up in the first half of the 20th century; I was a true child of the 80's though and Wanted My MTV.  But even while I was obsessed with Def Leppard and worked my acid wash jeans and mall bangs to the full hilt, I still had an appreciation of "days gone by." 

That appreciation grew even more when I discovered the work of Ms. Ginger Rogers.  I had heard, of course, of the iconic Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers but had never seen any of their movies, nor really even ever seen a picture of them.  All I knew was that they were famous for dancing and that she had blonde hair.  One day in 1988 or '89 (not sure specifically), I was channel surfing and landed on American Movie Classics (back when they were what Turner Classic Movies is now and actually played old movies!) and saw the most beautiful actress I had ever seen before.  It was black and white; she was standing in front of a window, through which one could see it was snowing, and the snow provided a lovely backdrop for her dark, curly hair.  I had no idea who she was, but just that freeze-frame moment captured my attention enough to watch the rest of the movie (which was excellent!).  When the movie was over I learned that it was none other than Ginger Rogers, and the movie name was Kitty Foyle.  What?  Ginger Rogers?  I thought she had blonde hair....and only did musicals.....well, I was hooked.  I kept the channel parked on AMC as often as possible and fortunately, the channel was playing a lot of Fred and Ginger, and Ginger's movies that she did without Fred. 

Now, as years passed, I didn't lose my love for Ginger, nor for old movies or the past, but neither was it the focal point of my life and hobbies.  It wasn't until 2007 that I realized that my love of the past could be incorporated into my everyday life.  That was when I stumbled across The Fedora Lounge , quite by accident.  Here was an online community of people who not only loved the past, but lived it everyday in some form or another!  Here people chat about WWII reinactment weekends and where to buy CDs of old radio programs.....women chat about how to do pin curl sets and what shade of red lipstick was truly authentic to 1940....guys chat about how to get properly fitted for suits and how to care for vintage fedora hats....they post pictures of how they've just installed an oven in their kitchen from 1953 and of the vintage pencil skirt just won on ebay they wore to the office that day.  I was enthralled!  Before this, it had never dawned on me to try and seek out vintage furnishings....or that people existed today who wore vintage clothes (and hair and makeup) as part of their everyday wardrobe.  It never occurred to me that I could do this, too! 

Despite my newfound knowledge, I kept to the fringes and continued to live life in the same way I had for years, until I found myself at somewhat of a crossroads this past July as my life turned upside down and I could no longer ignore the changes I knew I needed to make.  Ever since then I've been slowly, slowly, coming back to life, albeit with a few bumps in the road.

Now, I can't tell you what a shot in the arm discovering this massive vintage (and non-vintage too!) blogging community has been for me!  Not only has it re-awakened my love for the past, reading all of your blogs has inspired me to want to start living life with a more vintage eye for things....and more importantly, it's motivated me (again) to want to take much better care of myself and of my home.  It's so much more than just the aesthetics of vintage....it's a mindset that touches all aspects of life. 

So basically, I want to say thank you to all of you.....you have come to mean a lot to me in this short space of time.  I'm not a religious person, but I believe everything happens for a reason and I feel that I was led to you all by a force much greater than I. 

 I'm off to watch and record The Shop Around The Corner with Jimmy Stewart....have a great night and see you all on the other side!  :)