It's beginning to look a lot like...

I suppose the one positive thing about this insanely cold weather we've been having, is that it has forced me into the holiday spirit. We put up our 1950's aluminum tree this year and we were able to find a color wheel at an antique store to light it up.  The tree has tiny red and pink metallic ornaments at the tips of the branches, which I think is a bit more rare.  I filled out the rest of the spaces with similar colored Shiny Brites, hand painted glass ornaments, and some quirky vintage handmade ornaments which all either came from antique stores or estate sales.

Hand painted elephant ornament

Framed 50's Christmas typewriter ad

Japanese Santa and reindeer

What about you? Are you feeling the holiday spirit yet? 

Butterflies and Bomb Shelters

The hubby and I wanted to take advantage of the amazing bomb shelter that I put together for the Pueblo Modern Art Show.  We ended up doing two sets of photos; a story line outfit post and a cheesecake pin up shoot.  Sorry, as much as I love you guys, I will not be including the pin-up photos here.  I'm not ready to appear in my peignoir on the interwebz, as classy as (I swear) the photos were.   I'm breaking my 3 picture rule though, because I loved the way the photos turned out.  The photos are lit using only ambient lighting from the lamps, and a tiny bit of natural sunlight that was coming through a floor grate from the second story.  We used no filter, the warmth in the photos is a result of all that "Mamie pink" we painted the walls.  The dress I'm wearing is a 1950's novelty butterfly print with velvet ribbons that I bought from the Robot Exchange a couple of years ago.

Reading a 1950's edition of "How to Have Charm"

Pouring Scotch

This last photo was totally candid.  I was trying to smash my hair back into place and Wade snapped a photo.  I included it because I think I look like a stoic June Cleaver. :)

Happy Sunday!

xox, Hannah

Mad Men Game Night

It's that time of year again, when my hubby packs up and goes to Dallas with a caravan of friends to attend BGG.con, a huge board game convention.  This year he worked the booth for a friend who was selling his game, Dark Horse.  I get little text updates throughout the day, telling me quirky happenings, and about what new game he is playing.  For the last two years, the actor Rich Sommer, who plays Harry Crane on Mad Men, has been in attendance.  I must admit to being super jealous when he sends me pics of the two of them together.  Apparently he's super friendly and agrees to take pics with everyone.

  My husband left on Tuesday, so by Saturday I was pretty desperate for some adult interaction.  It's been snowy and miserable, so I was worried that no one was coming over for our regular Saturday game night.  I sent out messages to all of our regulars, encouraging them to come over and dress 60's for some game night shenanigans.  I think the subtext though was, I'm one night away from running down the street, throwing cats at people. Bat Shit Crazy.  Trapped in a house with four kids and freezing temperatures will do that to you sometimes.  I wanted to send my hubby some shots of all the fun Mad Men game fun we were having.  Fair is Fair. ;)

Playing Notre Dame

Liar's Dice...I think they are on to me

Terrible liar

Busted!

Playing For Sale.  I'm not sure of the context, but I think Juan must have been kicking our asses.

On a side note: Wade and I are going to co-design a board game, and maybe next year I'll get to go to Dallas to help him sell it!

If you are interested, Rich Sommer has a whole blog about his board gaming hobby.  He doesn't post very regularly, but he's insanely funny.  Check it out: here

Happy Sunday! xox, Hannah

The Opening for Pueblo Modern

  Friday night was the opening of the art exhibition that I co-curated, called Pueblo Modern.  It was all about mid-century fashion, art, architecture, and lifestyle.  I spent hours sitting in archives at the CF&I steel museum and the library, picking out images to share.  There was a theater room in the basement that played propaganda films, strange commercials, and educational cartoons from the 1950's.  We played iconic school instructional films about what do to in case of a nuclear attack, absurd drug PSAs, and instructional movies about how to spot commies hiding among us.  The second basement room was set up like an atomic bomb shelter.  I partnered with some local antique stores; Hooda Thunk, The Nest, and Colorado Ave. Antiques and Collectibles who loaned accessories and furnishings, and we even wallpapered with authentic deadstock 1950's wallpaper from Fred's Decorating Center .  I took items from my personal collection to fill in the gaps.  A fellow collector friend, Mark Mihelich, also lent some gorgeous pieces. The Starlite Classic Campground brought one of their campers and a station wagon, where they parked outside and roasted marshmallows on the sidewalk.  A caterer provided some authentic mid-century staples, like pigs in a blanket, cucumber sandwiches, and jello.  We also created a fashion show, highlighting clothing from the 40's, 50's, and 60's.  Two vintage shops; Vintage Treasures and Robot Exchange each styled models for the event. After walking down a spiral staircase, models went into the windows and acted as live mannequins! We had a great turnout, and everything came together perfectly.  A big thanks to Kadoya Gallery owner Gregory Howell, for believing in my vision and pulling all the pieces together so seamlessly. 
The show will be going until December 12th.  Our next big event will be on First Friday Art Walk (Dec 6th), when we'll be having a mid-century casserole and Jell-o bake off.
        Images by Bill Belden

Images by Wade Broadhead

Images by Bill Belden

theater room

Images by Wade Broadhead

Images by Kellie Cason O'Connor

Models dressed by Vintage Treasures in Trinidad.  Hair by Rockstar + Lambs Salon & Jodi Shannon @ Infinity Salon

Models dressed by Robot Exchange.  Hair and makeup by Wicked Scissors Salon.  Image by Fred Greenwood.

Image by Kellie Cason O'Connor

Many of the items in the bomb shelter are for sale, as well as some beautiful photographic prints of mid-century locations, handmade vintage style aprons, and also a limited run of Solar Roast Coffee.  It's my own blend, called "Hyper Housewife"!

Happy Sunday!