The Home Front Housewife

For all of you readers that are interested in life in the 1940's please check out my new blog, The Home Front Housewife. The blog will be my chronicle of my experiment to live my life as if it was the 1940's for a whole year. Each month I will cover a different topic such as beauty, food, around the home, hobbies and leisure time and a whole host more. If you like what you read please feel free to promote the blog on any medium you see fit.

What Emma Did - 30th January 2011

This week I have been:

♥ Going out to dinner with the lovely UN lot
♥ Taking our nephew to see The Green Hornet in 3D (I'm 3D obsessed recently)
♥ Heading in to the city to see the fabulous Smoke and Mirrors
♥ Receiving my order from Heyday (I'll be sure to post some outfits soon)
♥ Having a gorgeous lamb dinner that the hubby cooked

Daily Outfit: Daisy Duke without the Boots

Top - Dollydager
Shorts - Jay Jays

Earrings - EBay

This is my new top from Dollydagger. The outfit kinda reminds me of Daisy Duke but without the cowboy boots (thus the title)
Also as promised (many months back) here is a pic of the gypsy top I made. I have been waiting for my camera remote to arrive so I could take outfit shots a bit more easily but now I have it I will be sure to post a few more outfits!

Smoke and Mirrors

The hubby and I headed into the city after work yesterday to the Famous Spiegeltent to see Smoke and Mirrors as part of the Sydney Festival. Smoke and Mirrors is a fabulous carnie cabaret with the sensational iOTA as the kooky ringmaster and a cast of curious characters including a vaudevillian tap dancer, a twisted chanteuse, bouncing rabbits, a sublime aerialist, a bewitching magician and a blistering live band, for a show that’ll blow your socks off.

Smoke and Mirrors combines acrobatics, magic and fantastic lyrical theatre that will take you on a heady and extraordinary journey. The show has won three Helpman awards and its not difficult to see why!

Smoke and Mirrors is on until 6th February so catch it for yourselves soon. Tickets available here and for all those that can't make it here's a snippet of what you're missing.

Imelda May

I was browsing Bex's blog, Subversive Lesbian Anarchic Femme the other day when she happened to mention that she had tickets to see Imelda May in March. Having never heard of Imelda May I checked her out on YouTube and I've been listening to tracks off her album ever since!! When I found out she is playing a gig in Sydney in March I quickly booked tickets for the hubby and I.

Imelda May, born in Dublin and raised in the Liberties, may be an unknown name to some, but to many she is already a superstar. She is unmistakable both in her music (a fusion of surf guitars, blues and rockabilly that wouldn’t be out of place in a David Lynch film) and her style, with a solitary curl and shock of blonde in her jet black hair. In Ireland, her debut album ‘Love Tattoo’, which she recorded and released on her own label, has gone Triple Platinum. She has shared a stage with Eric Clapton, Chuck Berry, David Gilmour, Sharon Shannon, Jeff Beck, Shane Macgowan, Kirsty McCall, Van Morrison, Lionel Richie, Wanda Jackson, Paul Brady and Meatloaf. And now, with the release of her new album “Mayhem”, she is about to go stellar.

For all those that have yet to hear of Imelda May here is the track Psycho from her album 'Mayhem'

Emma aime on Facebook

You can now follow Emma aime on our facebook page just click on the link in the sidebar or here! Also I am creeping towards 50 followers. Once I get there I will host a giveaway to celebrate so tell your friends and spread the word!

What Emma Did - 23rd January 2011

I just realised I've failed to post my 'What Emma Did' post on time yet again. So without further ado this week I have been:

♥ Going with the hubby to watch Burlesque (the movie) which although wasn't really burlesque and had a plot that was a little hard to believe at times was still alot of fun!
♥ Having my nephew stay over for a few days and watching Heston's Feasts with him in readiness for when we see Heston in person in March.
♥ Finishing the Bachman books so I'm now at a loss for something to read. (I will have to search the piles of books stacked up ready to be boxed)
♥ Going to the pub to see the girlies and having the lovely surprise that our two friends Grantus and Barb were here for a visit from regional VIC
♥ Going to see the fabulous Immodesty Blaize and Co at Burlesque Royal and enjoying a yummy steak beforehand at the Retro Cafe

Burlesque Royale - Part 2: The Show

The hubby and I headed to the State Theatre last night to see Immodesty Blaize's Burlesque Royale. I've a huge fan of Immodesty Blaize since seeing her on Channel 4's Faking It Christmas Special. In fact it was through that show that I was introduced to burlesque.

The show started with a bang with the fabulously funny Supergirly who compered the night and kicked it off with her reworkings of the Pussycat Doll's Dontcha. First up was Pearl Noir who in an act inspired by Josephine Baker starting in a sultry dress and after stripping came back on stage in an tribal outfit and bounded around boucing her beautiful black booty!

Next up was the fantastic Hollly JaDoll who gave us disco fever with her 70's inspired act After that the gorgeous Kalani Kokonuts seduced us with her sexy showgirl routine. This was followed by Lauren LaRouge with an homage to the martini glass act. Starting as a sophisticated french lady who was lost in an Ozzie pub and resulting in a Lauren splashing around in a beer glass!

Then the divine Immodesty Blaize took to the stage looking like a 1960's film vixen with her bubble bath and reverse strip act.

The second half kicked off with Kalani Kokonuts looking very glamarous in her western style outfit.

This was followed up with pocket rocket Kelly Ann Dolls fantastically sexy tango routine where she was torn between two men. Her moves were so fab that they left the audience gasping (especially when one of her dance partners almost dropped her!) Next was Michelle Amour's stunningly beautiful fan dance that left the audience silently looking on in awe and reduced the gentleman sitting next to me to tears.

Then Danica Lee attempted the Guiness World Record for most balloons popped during a performance in 3 minutes and almost succeeded (if it wasn't for that pesky balloon on her behind!)

The audience were entertained between burlesque performance all night by the magical illusionist duo Mada and Vegas culminating with a duel between the two that at one point saw them swallowing and regurgitating razor blades!

Immodesty Blaize then took to the stage again, looking every bit the glamazon for her trademark telephone routine and the night was wrapped up by Supergirly's hilarious reworking of Lady Gaga's Bad Romance.

Overall the show was a sparkling spectacular with burlesque beauties abound. I adored every second of it and can't wait until Immodesty Blaize and Co come back to Sydney (I hope its soon!)

And for all those who couldn't make it here's a quick peek at what you missed!

Burlesque Royale - Part 1: What I Wore

The hubby and I went to see Burlesque Royale last night. I will post a review of the fabulous show but first I'll show you what I wore. It was my first attempt at curling my hair after I chopped it and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out although I did panic a little when I first took the curlers out and it had bounced up really short but once I brushed it out it was just fine. It definitely needs tidying up by a professional though because there was a few long bits in it!

I was hopping to wear the Mary dress I ordered from Heyday but unfortunately it didn't arrive in time. I was given this gorgeous black dress from a friend. I wasn't sure about it at first as I though it was an a-line skirt but when I tried it on and realised it was a pencil I loved it.

I rediscovered these gorgeous silver art deco style earring that I bought from Past Times in the UK years ago but haven't worn in ages. They are a fan shape with onyx and mother of pearl in the middle and a marcasite pattern around the edge. They're no longer on the website but this is the matching pendant.

Stay tunned for my review of the show!

Power Plant at the Chinese Garden

The hubby and I headed into the City yesterday evening after I finished work to check out the Power Plant exhibition at the Chinese Gardens. Power Plant which is part of the Sydney Festival, is a playful and enchanting Festival experience for all ages, Power Plant transforms Sydney’s tranquil Chinese Garden at Darling Harbour into an enticing nocturnal world of sound and light.

Power Plant is a collaboration between five visual and sound artists led by Mark Anderson, who specialise in site specific installations on a grand scale. Together they will animate and illuminate one of Sydney’s most serene locations through a series of spectacular installations inspired by the natural environment.

Wander along the Chinese Garden’s many paths and discover a secret, sensory and sometimes eccentric world with old gramophones spinning peculiar sounds, clicking insects casting vast moving shadows and sudden fiery explosions. As haunting whistles rise and fall, sparkling flowerbeds dance to their own tune in a dream world come to life.

Power Plant is presented in association with Ten Days on the Island and Hong Kong Arts Festival.
Originally commissioned by Oxford Contemporary Music and University of Oxford Botanic Garden.

The hubby and I both loved Power Plant it was both stunning and mesmerising and definitely worth the long queues that we didn't expect on a Tuesday night! The hubby and I both agreed that while we loved Power Plant we preferred the Chinese Garden in its normal tranquil state without the huge crowds. I got some fab shots of the exhibition however when I went to put them on my computer today all the files corrupted so I will try to fix them then post them soon (hopefully!)

If you're in Sydney check out Power Plant for yourself its on until 30th January.

Burlesque - The Movie

The hubby and I went to see Burlesque today. Burlesque is this generations Caberet or 42nd street. It is a classic story of small town girl moving to the big city to make it as a star!

I have to say it was more cabaret than burlesque with all the glitz and glamour of an old musical just sexed up for a modern day audience. Cher was fantastic as Tess, the owner of the struggling burlesque lounge. Even amongst a bevy of burlesque beauties she took centre stage and held her own. Christina Aguilera was a true starlet as Ali with a great set of pipes! Stanley Tucci's character Sean was charming and sweet and the camaraderie between his and Cher's character seemed both genuine and touching. Alan Cummings character seems to be a reprisal of the one he played in Cabaret. Having said that I would have liked to see more of him in the movie as his scenes are few and far between. In fact the movie seems to tip its (bowler) hat to Cabaret in more than one scene.

I have to say that overall I loved the movies glitz and glamour. I love a good musical and this is certainly that. The only downside for me would be the lack of back story for both of the main female characters Tess and Ali. I understand that the movie is already 2 and a half hours long so alot of this may be cut but without it the characters just seem to be missing something for me.

What Emma Did - 16th January 2011

This week I have been:
♥ Going to see Tangled in 3D which was brilliant
♥ Heading into the city to see Romeo and Juliet but on the way the Hubby got a call from his boss to ask if he could work that night so we headed to the cinema instead to see Love and Other Drugs - which was very funny but a bit of a tearjerker in places
♥ Getting free cinema tickets after the projector broke down halfway through Love and Other Drugs. They got it up and running again and but gave us free tickets anyway.
♥ Making jam tarts. I used to make Jam tarts with my Grandma whenever we went to visit when I was little so they bring back good memories.
♥ Blowing my spendies on a Heyday order!
♥ Heading over to the pub to catch up with the girlies after not seeing them for a few weeks!
♥ Chopping my hair off afeter the humidity became unberable!

New Year, New Hair!

I finally had enough of the heat and humidity in Sydney and hacked off my hair with my sewing shears! I'm pretty happy with the results although I am toying with the idea of having it cut shorter after seeing this pic of Johanna on her blog. I'm not sure whether to go shorter though because at the length it is now if I curl it it's up off my neck and it's still long enough to put a back roll in.
I did try to curl my hair with a few hot rollers but due to this ridiculous humidity the curls dropped out in a matter of minutes!

Heyday Sale

Shona is having her first ever sale over at Heyday Vintage Clothing. I meant to blog sooner as the sale started on Thursday morning UK time. I've already put my order in for a pair of trousers in duck egg blue, two tie shirts one in pink and one in blue gingham and the red Mary dress. I'm hoping it might arrive before the Immodesty Blaize Show next Saturday but that might be a bit of a stretch as its coming from the UK. For more info on whats on sale check out Shona's blog In the Heyday or just head on over to Heyday!

Montly Muse?

Its almost halfway through January and it just occurred to me that I haven't posted this months muse post. To be honest I'm not sure if I want to continue the subject in its current format or even at all! For the last few moths the muse posts have consisted of information that can be found on wikipedia or similar sites. Personally I don't like to wade through long blog posts on other blogs I read and I feel that this section doesn't really have any merit on the blog. I have though about changing the type of post that the monthly muse is with just a few paragraphs biography of the muse and the reasons they are inspiring!

Any thoughts on the subject dear readers?

Practical Vintage Hairstyles

It may sound a little strange but since the start of summer and the onset of the warmer weather I've developed this strange hair neurosis. I hate having my hair on my neck and for speed and practicality purposes for both my jobs I have resorted it to putting it up in a ponytail with a roll like a fake bang at the front but its not a style that I'm particularly happy with. It got me thinking that if I never wear my hair down I may as well get it cut into a more practical style.

This got me thinking about what the vintage women did to have practical but stylish hair.
It seems that pre 1940s practicality was not a big issue when it came to hair. Women were rarely in the workforce so they had time at home to style their hair without work being an issue. With the start of the war women had to enter the workforce so hair had to be both fashionable and practical. After the war many women returned to the home so they had time to style their hair again so I'm going too concentrate on the war years to try to find hairstyles that are both practical for work and a genuine style of my favourite era.


My research showed that styling your hair in the 1940s was alot more of an ordeal than nowadays. Because of rations on water and the palaver of boiling water women tended to wash their hair just once a week. Thus the saying 'I can't come out I'm washing my hair'. Women would washing and set their hair on a Friday night (generally!) so as the week went on and hair became dirtier and greasier women had to come up with more elaborate styles to disguise that fact that their hair wasn't the cleanest. Women also had to take ensure that their hair was out of the way as many women had jobs in factory's and similar so they had to make sure their hair was out of the way of heavy machinery. Actress Veronika Lake had her long peekaboo style hair cut short to show her support for the women in the workforce and alot of women followed suit. Many women would also cover their hair with scarves, hats or turbans whilst working to keep it out the way and try to stop dirt from their work getting into their hair.


With all this in mind these are the styles that I found that will be both practical and stylish for me to wear my hair:

Product Review - Palmolive Naturals Hair Repair Shampoo with Macadamia Oil & Keratin

Please note: This is not a sponsored post. I am simply letting you into a few of my beauty secrets!

As I may have mentioned in previous posts way back in June I had a disastrous perm that wasn't really the curl I wanted and left my hair in awful condition. Ever since then I have been trying to find products that restore it to its previous healthy condition.

In the past, when it comes to shampoos I have used Nicky Clarke shampoo which was fantastic when it first came out in the metal bottles but when they changed they packaging they seemed to change the product as well and it wasn't as good. I then, after a period of trying many shampoos settled on Sunsilk's Deeply Brunette shampoo which left my hair smooth, shiny tangle free and so soft I didn't even need to use conditioner. It also smelled like chocolate orange which was a yummy bonus!Sadly when I moved to Australia this shampoo wasn't available so I experimented with many different brands but after I had the perm I knew I needed something special so I got my mum to send me over the Sunsilk shampoo (which is now very hard to find as Sunsilk are no longer making it!) Sadly, although this did help the condition of my hair a little it couldn't return it to its previous condition so when the bottle ran out I went back to randomly trying different brands and by chance picked up Palmolive Naturals Hair Repair Shampoo with Macadamia and Keratin. The macadamia oil helps smooth and condition the hair and the keratin extract helps build strong healthy hair.

After I used the Palmolive Shampoo (along with the matching conditioner) for a few week my hair was back to its old healthy self. It was soft, smooth and tangle free. Infact it was so good that last night I washed my hair and fell asleep with it wet when i woke up I was worried that it would be horribly tangled but it didn't have a single knot! As an added bonus the shampoo smells like pineapples which is yummy. Infact it reminds me of a Bodyshop face wash that I used to use when I was a teen which was fab for my skin but is sdaly no longer avaliable, but thats by the by. I picked up large bottles of the shampoo and conditioner at a Hot Dollar store super cheap!

What Emma Did - 9th January 2011

This week has been a little more eventful than the last. So this week I have been:
♥ Shopping for DS Games and then playing Ace Attorney Mile Edgeworth Investigations obsessively
♥ Going to dinner at the Purple Fairy's for the Hubby's birthday
♥ Swapping our bedroom from the front room to the back in an effort to avoid our noisy upstairs neighbours and moving about 1000 books in the process (they say a change is good as a rest but after this change I needed a big rest!)
♥ Booking tickets to see Romeo and Juliet next week (The hubby and I got engaged at a RSC performance of Romeo and Juliet so it means alot to me!)
♥ Buying a new modem after the old one gave up the ghost, which sped my Internet up significantly
♥ Receiving this top I ordered from Dollydagger. I will do an outfit post at some point (probably!)
♥ Going out to Lunch after work today and enjoying a gorgeous fruit platter at Alley Break Cafe

Guess who was featured on Pocket Changes Be in Style Fashion Blogs Best of the Web?

Yes it was me! (and that is the longest title ever!). Pocket Change is a shopping blog where a helpful team of bloggers write posts that fit into over ten categories. The Be in Style fashion blog has is all about women’s fashion trends, and Be Suave is the men’s equivalent. If you’re all about shoes, Be Heeled gives reviews and comments on everything from heels and sandals to regular street shoes.

Be@Home is our home and garden blog that has everything from kitchen gear to arts & crafts. Be is for Baby is a parenting blog that offers tips about handy baby gear. Pet owners will find plenty of pet-focused info on Beloved Pets. Be Green is all about eco-friendly living and clothing. Be in the Game is perfect for people who love sports and the great outdoors, while Be Active offers healthy eating and exercising ideas.

Check out the feature they wrote on Emma aime here.

The Bookworm Presents: Mad Men - The Illustrated World

After posting about it way back in October I finally got my copy of Dyna Moes Mad Men: The Illustrated World. I loved Dyna Moe's art work ever since I stumbled across Mad Men yourself on AMC's website.

The book includes:
• The office culture, including secretary etiquette and hangover workarounds
• The cocktail craze, with Sally Draper's cocktail menu
• Pastimes and fads, such as Pete and Trudy's dancing lessons and Bert Cooper's art
• '60s icons from Jackie to Marilyn
• Boardroom and bedroom shenanigans
• The burgeoning suburban lifestyle
• Fabulous fashion, including hairstyle how-tos and bonus paper dolls of Joan

All fabulously illustrated in Dyna Moe's fun style.

Emma aime in the Kitchen - Chicken and Leek Pie

Yesterday was the hubby's birthday. I felt a bit of a failure as a wifey as what with the non-whooping cough, the queasiness and Christmas and new year I hadn't really planned anything for the hubby's birthday. I didn't get him a card, I hadn't baked a cake and all his pressies failed to arrive so all he had to open was a battery pack for the xbox 360 (not very exciting!)

It seems to happen alot like this on his bday as its so close to Christmas and new year it gets a bit overlooked. Not that the hubby cares at all hes not really worried about celebrating birthdays but I want to show him how much I appreciate him so next year I'm going to put a bit of forethought and budgeting and do something extra nice for him.

I'm still not feeling 100% so this year we just had a quiet one and headed over to the purple fairy's. She couldn't think of anything to get her lil bro for his bday and the hubby wasn't being very forthcoming with gift ideas so she (and my eldest nephew) cooked this yummy pie for dinner as a bday pressie to the hubby. The pie was supper yummy so I got this recipe to share with you:

Ingredients:

For the Pastry:

150g Butter

350g Plain Flour

2-3 tbsp Water

For the Filling:

3 skinless chicken breasts

1 carrot thickly sliced
1 small onion quartered

6 black peppercorns

1 bouquet garni

50g butter

2 leaks thinly sliced

50g grated cheddar cheese

25g grated Parmesan cheese

3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

2 tbsp wholegrain mustard

1 tsp cornflour

300ml double cream

beaten egg to glaze

salt and pepper to season

Method:

The Pastry:

Mix together flour and butter with your fingertips until you get a breadcrumb consistency

Add water a tablespoon at a time and knead. Wrap in clingfilm and chill for 30 mins.

The Filling:

Put the chicken, carrot, onion, peppercorns and bouquet garni in a shallow pan, add water and bring just to boil. Lower the heat and poach gently for 20-30 mins. Leave to cool in liquid, then drain and cut into strips.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees centigrade, divide the dough into 2 pieces, one slightly larger than the other. Use the larger piece to line an 18 x 28cm baking tin. Prick the base, bake for 15 mins then leave to cool.

Melt the butter in a frying pan over a low heat. Add leeks and cook stirring occasionally for 5-8 mins until soft. Stir in the cheeses and parsley.

Spread half the leek mixture over the pastry base cover with chicken strips then add the remaining leeks. Mix together the mustard, cornflour and cream in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and pour into the pie.

Moisten the pastry base edges, use the remaining pastry to cover the pie. Brush with beaten egg and bake for 30-40 mins. Serves 4-6.

What Emma Did - 2nd January 2011

Today has been a bit of a non day for me. I've finally got over my cough and cold only to be struck down with stomach troubles. It seems the excesses of the party season have finally caught up with me. I've spent most of the day feeling horribly queasy and sleeping so it only just occurred to me that its Sunday and time for the first 'What Emma did' of the year!

Personally I find the week between Christmas and New Year a bit of a no mans land. Not alot happens and the hubby and I have spent most of the week couch surfing and channel hopping! So there's not really anything to report for the first week of the year. I normally try to start the year as I hope to go on but I certainly hope this isn't the case this week and hope to bring you news of a more exciting week next Sunday.

Goals for 2011

I'm not setting myself resolutions as such this year instead I am setting a series of goals for the things I want to do in 2011. So here are my goals for the first half of 2011:

January 2011
♥ Apply for our next visa and TRA
♥ Learn to knit
♥ See Imodesty Blaize at Burlesque Royal
♥ Sydney Shakespeare festival - Romeo and Juliet and Midsummer Nights Dream
♥ See Opera in the Domain
♥ Chinese New Year Twillight Parade and night markets
♥ See Smoke and Mirrors

February 2011
♥ The Ultimate Rock and Roll Jam Session
♥ Go to Opera in the Caves

March 2011
♥ Move to bigger place
♥ Take a dressmaking class
♥ Go to Sydney Tattoo Festival
♥ See Heston Blumenthal

April 2011
♥ Go to see Mary Poppins
♥ Love Vintage Fair

May 2011
♥ Way we wear vintage Fair
♥ Miss Burlesque Australia Festival
Australian Burlesque Festival

June 2011
♥ Get married
♥ Learn to drive
♥ Wintersun - Port Macquarrie
♥ Winter Magic - Katoomba

July 2011
♥ Good Food Show

August:

♥ Grezefest - Brisbane