Tag Archives: casual looks

Golly, What a Day!

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The Disneyland Resort likes to make their annual passholders (also known as APs) feel special, and last year they started doing a month long event called AP Days. AP Days usually means exclusive merch, special screenings, and exclusive meet-and-greets with characters who rarely make appearances at the parks. You might recall a post around this time year, when Roger Rabbit was one of those exclusive characters and I made a parasol featuring the Toon Patrol. This time, the Disneyland Resort is celebrating the return of the Main Street Electrical Parade, which debuted in the 70s, and in keeping with that theme, the brought back characters from their 1973 version of Robin Hood. I was overjoyed when I heard this, as this version of Robin Hood is one of my favorite Disney films, and quickly put together my Allan-a-Dale Disneybound and grabbed my matching parasol to visit with the characters.

Now that I feel like I’ve finally gotten the hang of this whole Disneybounding thing, and doing it with my own personal style, I’ve been thinking of doing a blog post about it to just have in my back pocket as a reference in the future, or to help out those who like the idea of Disneybounding, but not sure how to integrate their personal vintage esthetic into it.

Outfit
Peasant Top: Pinup Girl Clothing
Clam Diggers, Scarf, & Bangle: I don’t remember…
Shoes: Re-Mix
D Brooch: Match Accessories
Robin Hood Brooch: D23 Expo

Westworld

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Being the fan of westerns that I am, I was immediately taken in by the new HBO incarnation of Westworld. Even though I enjoyed the original 1973 film, it wasn’t without its flaws, which is why I was open to a new take on it, and I can say the show did not let me down, and ended its first season with me begging for more. Parts of the show, including its jaw-dropping finale were filmed at the very accessible Paramount Ranch (which we visited before, back in 2015, you can view that post here) so I felt it was time for a revisit! I also took along my friend, Kaitlyn, also a fan of the show, who had never visited Paramount Ranch before.

If you didn’t read my previous post on Paramount Ranch, but are familiar with the 1990s TV show Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman, then this will look very familiar, as it was used for Colorado Springs. It was also used in the sci-fi sudo-western, Firefly.

Between our first visit and this one, little changed, with the exception of fresh paint and the addition of the church, which was used in Westworld, and I was delighted to find still there.

Keep reading for more images of Paramount Ranch!

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Christmastime Teddy Girl

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Sorry for the radio silence for awhile. If you like my page on Facebook, then you may know why; my grandmother on my dad’s side passed away. My family and I spent last week prepping for her services, which were last Friday and I spent the following day with my family. As I look to this week, I’m trying my hardest to get all sorts of errands out of the way before my mother-in-law arrives to spend a week here (which may cause some more radio silence). Some of those errands included selling at Buffalo Exchange, my favorite place to trade in those items I’m not wearing for some fanciful new (to me) stuff.

Ironically, almost everything I’m wearing came from Buffalo Exchange! Seriously, I love this place. And I walked out two bags of clothes lighter, and with four new to me things, including more 70s-does-Victorian blouses and pair of 50s jeans!

Outfit
Blazer: Antique Alley, Portland, Oregon
Blouse, Pants, Penny Loafers, and Purse: Buffalo Exchange
Christmas Corsage and Earrings: Don’t remember…
Ring: Belonged to my great-grandmother

Museum of Neon Art

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Over the weekend Patrick and I spent a day shopping in Burbank (I came home with quite a few goodies which will show up sooner or later on the blog, I’m sure) followed by a visit to the Museum of Neon Art. I would likely say that signage from the mid-20th century is my favorite art. Neon is simply spellbinding to me.

Interested in seeing what the museum has to offer? Keep reading!

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Happy Trails to You

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Gosh, I haven’t blogged since the New Year!? That’s crazy! Well, for good reason. Like mentioned before, Patrick and I caught colds in December, and have been battling them since, including New Years. And after recovering, my dad came down from Oregon to visit for a week, hence all of this non-blogging! But onwards!

Sunday was a rather emotional day at the Disneyland Resort as several attractions closed permanently, and Patrick and I spent the day visiting such locations. As mentioned in past posts, the Big Thunder Ranch area of Frontierland is meeting the wrecking ball, or perhaps should I say the beam of the Deathstar? As the location (and some backstage areas) is the future location for the upcoming Star Wars themed land. Just to clarify, when I say Big Thunder Ranch, I mean three specific areas, none of which include Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, which is safe. The areas I mean are the Big Thunder Ranch Jamboree, Big Thunder Ranch petting zoo, and the Big Thunder Ranch Barbecue. Other areas being affected include the Rivers of America (including Tom Sawyer’s Island, the Sailing Ship Columbia, the Mark Twain riverboat, and the Davy Crockett Canoes) and the Disneyland Railroad, as these converge with areas that will be under construction. So, Sunday we visited the Ranch one last time, as well as rode the Mark Twain and Railroad.

The area was also the location of my favorite hidden Mickey in the Resort, which was made up of horseshoes. When we arrived in the morning we were shocked to see the Mickey was gone! Apparently someone stole it! But we watched as a Cast Member selected horseshoes to create another one. You can spy it in the background in the above photo.

We were lucky enough to witness the last running of the goats, which is when the goats are herded from their pen to Circle D (the backstage ranch), as well as watch the final performance of Miss Chris and Tex Tumbleweed (in which other Cast Members joined in) and eat barbecue, before riding the last Grand Circle Tour aboard the Disneyland Railroad.

Sadly, the Jamboree area closed after spring (you can see pictures from our visit then here), and Miss Chris’ cabin, located within the petting zoo area, which housed a table with coloring pages and also was home to character meet and greets, shuttered after Halloween. I was upset to not be properly informed of these early closures to give them a proper goodbye and I am crushed to see this area go (and I say that as a huge Star Wars fan). It was one of the few quiet locations in the Resort to escape the craziness, maybe pet a a few farm animals, and in years past was home to the presidentially pardoned turkeys! I’m glad to have been able to have experienced this area so much within the little over a year we’ve been here, and I just hope the new Star Wars area is beyond amazing to help take the sting out of losing such a gem. The Rivers of America and the Disneyland Railroad will be out of commission for one to two years, but the Disney Parks Blog will be keeping people up to date with the expansion, and already has by releasing the new Rivers of America concept art, which you can check out here.

Outfit
Fringe Leather Jacket: Plucky Maidens Junk Fest
Western Wear Shirt: Really not sure…
Jeans: Freddies of Pinewood
Boots: Antique Alley, Portland, Oregon
Cowboy hat: Disneyland

Jack-O-Landia

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“You want to go to another weird western town?”

This is how Patrick woke me up this last Thursday. Since moving I have pretty much dragged him to every old west town, be it fake or real, I could find. From Pioneertown to Calico to Knott’s Berry Farm to Paramount Ranch, I’m all about going to places that feature old west buildings. Bodie is next on the list. But Patrick brought an odd ball to my attention that I had never heard of. Thanks, Atlas Obscura. Enter Jack-O-Landia.

This place is just weird. Located right along Highway 18 in Lucerne Valley is Jack-O-Landia, a bizarre, tiny, wanna-be western…town…amusement…thing…I honestly don’t know what to call it. And here’s the thing, the internet doesn’t offer much on it, despite locals claiming the place has been there for around 30 years, according to Atlas Obsucra, anyway.

By just driving by you may mistake it for a mini golf corse, or an amusement park of some sort, but then as you pull up you realize it is something else entirely.  And what that is exactly you don’t know. The land is scattered with sheds that have been given western style porches, a “Last Stop” gallows and jail grace one side, meanwhile on the other side is what appears to be a legitimate tiny cemetery (I say legitimate because most of the headstones are laser etched, and feature relatively recent death dates) and a hearse, complete with casket inside (yes, I opened it, a glass or plexiglass sheet lay just inside, and I didn’t feel like crawling in further to see what lay beneath). Located in between is a playground, fake service station, wooden train, tipis, and a memorial for one Victor Cruz (all I can find is a short 2011 obituary for him, which invites people a celebration of life at Jack-O-Landia). Additionally there is a memorial sign for Freddy Fender. There are even handicap spaces located inside the fence, and restrooms, though they are actually just porta-potties (no, I did not go in).

The area has a strange feeling of both abandon and upkeep, because the buildings are free of tagging, and other forms of destruction. But maybe that is just because the area of Lucerne Valley doesn’t have a lot of vandals in its population. Who knows?

Outfit
Feather & Totempole Print Blouse: Magpie, Portland, Or.
Shorts: Patti Smith West, Portland, Or.
Belt: I think Buffalo Exchange…
Mocs: Minnetonka
Bracelet & Ring: Capistrano Trading Post, San Juan Capistrano, Ca.
Purse: From my mother-in-law

Universal Studios

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After living in California for nearly a year (seriously, where does the time go, but I’ll reflect on that in a later post), Patrick and I finally made it to Universal Studios yesterday. I hadn’t been since I believe 1997, and Patrick had never been. With the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opening in spring of next year, I assumed there is going to be a mob of people visiting the park, and decided that we should go and experience Universal prior to all of that madness, and then return once Harry Potter opens and enjoy it without the stress of needing to visit other portions of the park. Thankfully Universal Studios was also doing a promotion of buy one day, get two days free, so we have two more days (until mid-February) to return.

A lot has certainly changed over the years, gone is the Back to the Future ride, as well as the E.T. ride, and sadly the Wild West Stunt Show has also shuttered its doors. With a fire in 2008 that took out many iconic sets, as well a King Kong animatronic, which was part of the studio tour, a 3-D experience has been installed, featuring a scene from Peter Jackson’s 2005 remake of King Kong. Additionally, for you Fast and the Furious fans, Universal has added a 3-D aspect to the end of their studio tour that incorporates the latest film. 3-D has a much greater presence at Universal verses Disneyland, with multiple attractions using in, such as Despicable Me, Transformers, and the Simpsons ride. Which, I won’t lie, is kind of disappointing. I often feel like 3-D, simulation attractions are cop outs. We see movies every day that are images on screens, which use special effects, having an image virtually come toward me doesn’t feel much different. I am much more impressed physical and practical effects when visiting amusement parks. But these feelings aside, Universal Studios is still a really neat place to go, and the studio tour offers a unique look behind the scenes of movies and television, and it’s always wonderful to be so close to such iconic locations that have been used in countless movies and television series. Some of my favorites that have graced Universal’s backlot are I Dream of Jeannie, The Muntsters, Back to the Future, Pirates of the Caribbean, Jaws, Psycho, and Universal’s classic horror films such as Creature from the Black Lagoon, and Frankenstein, just to name a few.

Outfit
Shirt: The Wigwam Motel, Rialto, CA
Shorts & Belt (I think…): Buffalo Exchange
Jewelry: Here and there
Mocs: Minnetonka
Purse: Target, bought when I had a purse tear on me while on vacation awhile back, has turned out quite useful actually.