Hot summer afternoon- exposed luscious flesh, and 1st totally handmade garment

Hello my darling!

I've been neglecting this blog, my apologies. Things are going full-force over at www.fatglamkitchen.com, I've been devoting most of my time to cooking up a storm and sharing it with the world.

Not much is new besides fitting in some thrifting when I can, and getting outside as much as possible. Today is one of the warmest days we've had this year, and I dressed appropriately.

I thought I'd share my outfit today, not only because I love it, but it was wonderfully empowering to go out in public with my midriff exposed. Yes, fatgirls can wear tummy-tops, too. Suck on that, haters.

Also, I'm proud to say I made the skirt myself, from vintage 1950s fabric I scored from an antique shop for $10/a bolt, sewn with a slightly altered vintage pattern. It was the first garment I've made 100% from scratch, while it isn't perfect, I'm very happy with it!

My hat is vintage , which I embellished myself with lots of flowers to cover a hole. Make do and Mend!

Happy Summer, everyone!

xoxox Lenora

Lenora- In PRINT!

My darling bunnies!

I'm so thrilled to share this with you- today I was featured in our local newspaper!

Read the eletronic article here http://herenb.canadaeast.com/news/article/1415620

..."I'm saying, have the body you're comfortable having, enjoy it, make the most of it, be passionate and eat great food. Live your life. Who cares if you're not a sample size. My blog is very political in that sense. I'm not just cooking, I'm breaking convention about what good food can be and what fat people are and can be."

Thank you so much to the lovely Victoria Handysides for the wonderful interview!

Go click on over to www.fatglamkitchen.com to read whats been cooking!

xOxOXOX

Fat and Glamorous in the Kitchen!

Hello bunnies!

Just a quick shameless plug for my very own cooking website Lenora Le Noire: Fat and Glamorous In the Kitchen where I cook up delicious, healthy, gluten-free delites! Many vegan and vegetarian dishes as well!

In coming weeks I hope to have the time and energy to record and post some HD video cooking blogs!

Stay tuned, my darlings!!! XOXOXO

I've lost my bright star.... RIP Kira, my baby girl....

My heart is broken.....I'm sad to announce my baby girl Kira has passed away.




I cannot properly explain how much of an amazing creature she was. She helped me through so much heartache through the years and was a source of so much joy. Her wild, vivacious character always put a smile on my face. She was fearless and quirky, and the very best little birdy cuddler.

She passed, in her sleep...with her Nanny (my mother ), whom she loved so very much. She'd always get so excited to see my mother, but my heart is still very heavy with guilt that I wasn't with her when she passed....this is something I will never forgive myself for.

I have a tattoo scheduled in 2 hours....I will regain my composure for her . I will have her name worked into my peice, and toast to her tonight.

To by babyblue, I love you and will miss you every day. I will always remember how you'd nibble my ears when I was crying, as if to say " Cheer up mummy"....how you'd sip from my drinking glass, and try and jump in for an ice-cold bath. I will miss you when I'm sick, when you'd sit on my chest and softly coo, as if you were trying to sing me back to health. I will miss you most of all in the mornings , your quirky good-morning-chirps. You were such a trooper,and you lived such a long and full life. Thank you for being in my life, and I hope you rest peacefully, wherever you are.


more photos of Kira here http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenoralenoire/sets/72157626500495883/

More feelings/ramblings here http://lenoralenoire.tumblr.com/post/5746469925 and a video

I love you.

One Lovely Blog

Nicole tagged me in the "One Lovely Blog" Award. I'm flattered!

I admit, I've been so slack with blogging, I mostly use my Tumblr and Twitter for quick updates. So, if any of you are interested in ready my day to day exploits, my twitter is here : www.twitter.com/lenoralenoire and my Tumbrl, where I post photos of my outfits, thrifting/ antique hunting finds is here http://lenoralenoire.tumblr.com/


Here are the award guidelines:
1. Post linking back to the person that gave you the award
2. Share 7 random things about yourself
3. Award 15 recently discovered blogs.
4. Drop them a note and tell them about it.

***

1- The beautiful Nicole over at Highway 101 tagged me in this little award. Go check her out- she is a fellow retro-loving chick that I met last year at Viva, at the Neon Boneyard. Her and her hubby are about to embark into the wonderful world of parenting and I wish them all the luck in the world. The photo she posted of her little baby bump is too cute- she looks radiant!

2- 7 Random things about me:

-I am a certified lifeguard and swam competitively for years, yet I am terrified of falling out of a boat. It takes me a few minutes to psych myself up to get in and out of a canoe/rowboat, etc. Irrational fear!!!

-Despite looking like a prissy lady- I LOVE the outdoors. I love to camp, hike, fish, explore... and yes, I do it all in a dress. I *never* wear pants. I build one HELL of a fire, and cook one hell of a campire meal. I can pitch a tent in minutes, and am the most prepared camper you'll ever meet. I have been nicknamed the "Martha Stewart of Camping" by many friends.

-I love interior design. My home is decorated to the nines, and I have had several invites to post photos to various design websites. I am have been slacking big time, but plan to do a virtual tour of our flat soon. I am highly influenced by Mid Century Modern , but my style is all over the place- some victorian, some Art Deco, kitchy 50s... you name it!

-When I really need to relax- I get a tattoo. I have close to 25 hours of tattoo work done on me so far, with a half-sleeve in the works, which I will be getting this coming Saturday at the Maritime Tattoo Festival . The buzz and burn of a tattoo is very relaxing and healing for me , it helps me focus and ground myself. Does that make me a weirdo? Most of my tattoos are from times in my life where I've needed a little help to heal after stress, a loss of someone, a breakup, a mental breakdown, etc. All my tattoos are war medals that I've fought for and earned, and I wear them with pride. I also find it empowering to do things with my body and skin that society tells me I can't - "Ladies don't get tattoos" they say. pppft. My boss once asked me " Well...what are you going to do when you're 60??"..... " Get More!" I replied.

-I love to create. Be it jewelry, clothing, home decor... I love to take an idea ,the peices involved and work it all together to create something beautiful. I usually rework/ upcycle bits of broken antique jewelry into wearable art, we well as refinish antique home decor bits into new peices of different function- example, I refinished an old 1940s dartboard cabinet into a hanging jewelry box for my vintage pearls. It is one of my proudest DYIs, I added hooks, antique brass handles, etc. Functional and pretty!

-I'd like to buy an old house out in the country someday.... out in the middle of nowhere, with lots of trees. Maybe an old refinished Victorian, with a garden and a workshop. I'd like to grown my own food in the summers, and maybe have a Bed and Breakfast someday. Having a B&B makes sense, as I LOVE to cook and bake, decorate, and host!

-I am a crazy bird lady. When I used to work downtown, I was constantly late as I would always stop to feed the birds. Any bird.... wild, domestic... I just think they are so magical, quirky and fantastic. We have 3 parakeets at the moment and they are like my children. Nick and I are not the breeding type, but do plan to expand our little family with a sun conure sometime in the near future.


3- Award newly found blogs ( 15 is a little high, I'll stick with 5!)

-I think Tasha over at By Gum, By Golly already has been tagged in this, but I adore her blog, so I'm tagging her again! Another fellow vintage-lover, crafter and part of one of the most adorable couples I've ever seen. Go check her out!

- Tempermental Broad - Found her post on bakelite through a friend, and have since looked through some more of her posts. Adore her style!

Advanced Style - By far my favorite blog around. Showcasing the beauty of women, particularly aged ladies with mad style! This blog gives me hope and has taken away my fear of growing old.

The always perfectly polished Lolita Haze of Vintage Starlet - I love seeing her outfit and hair tutorial posts.

Another gal with great style, another vintage-lover Yesterday Girl


XOXOX
Lenora

Please vote for Ellen!

PLEASE go vote for my beautiful friend Ellen- http://www.inkinginthevalley.com/ to be their 2012 covergirl, and win $1000 for her and her family of three beautiful kids and hubby.

Ellen is one of the most kind and generous people I’ve had the pleasure to meet, and she definitly deserves your vote. Please take the time to click over and vote.

Please repost if you'd like, I know quite a few of you VLV gals are also friends with this lovely lady, so lets help her out!!

Vegas Day 3- Thursday Recap - Dreams of driving an antique car still unfullfilled

Hello again my darling little bunnies!

Are we all enjoying my Vegas recap? I am…its like reliving it in a small way….oh how I wish I could teleport back right this second…

On to day three! This was the day I was SO excited for. Why? We had rented a 1959 red Cadillac convertible, to finally fulfill my life-long dream of cruising the desert in an old convertible….scarf in the wind….*sigh*

However, the universe decided it was not time for me to fulfill that dream just yet.

Late the night before, I received a call from the rental company. The 59’ Caddy was in a wreck. Totalled.

Not to worry they said- we have a ’64 you can have! She’s a little beat up, but she’ll do!

She did not do.

More on this, after we talk about BREAKFAST!

We decided to brave the high-priced room service menu and splurge. $60 for two omlettes with hash browns and sausage, but hey…maybe they’d surprise us with something really wonderful? Let me tell you, they did! When I mentioned my gluten allergy, they we’re so kind and accommodating, something I really appreciate! When room service arrived, the table was unfolded to reveal all sorts of little toys, a Rubix cube, Easter eggs, etc. The food? Amazing. Worth the money and more. Since I couldn’t eat bread, they sent up extra hashbrowns- the best hashbrowns I’ve ever had in my sweet little life. I could go on and on about the amazing service and food…but I wont. I’ll save that for a Vegas Food entry over at the Eat-a Von Teese blog. I’ll leave you with a photo.




After we ate and got dress….it was time to tackle the impending nightmare that was the car rental.
So off to pick up the car we went. I was overjoyed! Look at her! How beautiful!




I was so excited, I even had a matching hair-scarf to protect my curls. ( That matched my beautiful 1950s deadstock daydress to boot, my favorite dress I wore all week)



Looks can be deceiving...She was falling apart.
Simply sitting in her made the suspension rattle, everything inside was broken, she hardly started… My red flags went off. I did not feel safe driving this car. I went back in, explained the car was just not up to par, and they gave me a different one instead.


Not a classic, but still a convertible! She’d do! And off we went!


Driving in Vegas was TERRIFYING!!!!!! I’m from a small town. We have two lanes. Trying to maneuver 8 lanes, with people honking and yelling? Ah! I however did well, and stayed calm!

We took a drive to the Vegas sign and took some photos.

Miss Eddie Vee and I



Nick and I


It was beautiful and sunny, but SO windy! I was very happy I wore a headscarf!

Then we took a short drive out in the desert.


I was happy.

Even happier once we found a DISCOUNT LIQUOR OUTLET!!

Now, we are Canadians. We know booze. However, our booze is really expensive. We couldn’t believe the prices at this little store. We loaded up on our favorite tipple- Mr Jack Daniels. That giant bottle would have cost us about $200 in Canada…We picked it up for $60. Amazing. Also, we don’t have Tennessee Honey nor Cherry Vodka in Canada yet, so we picked some up for our bar.



Then, it was off to pick up our VLV wrist bands!




YAY! ROCKABILLY FESTIVAL YAY!!!!..... My excitement would soon be squished. Too many people. WAY too many people.

Where was the boot? What the hell were these plastic tiki mugs? Scratchy ribbon wrist bands? Well I was willing to accept the change, and we went upstairs to check out our very first band…. And the only band we really saw all weekend.


The crowds were just too much for us. We decided to head downstairs, and in true Canadian tradition, DRINK UNTIL ITS FUN!








We were drunk and tired. We tried a few more times to brave the crowds, but damnit, I’m just too much of a small-town girl to enjoy being knocked around shoulder to shoulder. We checked out the vendors, Nick bought some more pomade and a hat. People took pictures of his mustache. I craved our big bathtub and comfy bed. We hailed a cab, and defeated….went back to our hotel.

Maybe I’m getting old, maybe I’m just not “hip” enough…but the festival isn’t really for me anymore. Last year, I was excited to be there and didn’t notice the politics as much… but truth to be told I don’t like the drama, I don’t like the attitude and judging of everyone’s outfits, being “’billier than thou” . Yes, you can ignore it, but even just a little bit sneaking in is enough to make you a little cranky. I’m on vacation- one I worked DAMN hard to get, and I want to enjoy it. I don't care about being cool or popular or a "socialite" and schmoozing with all the "who's who". Sure, I enjoy finally being able to be around other people who share my interests ( since where I’m from, there are VERY VERY few rockabilly lovers)…but all the headaches and crowds just weren’t worth it to me. I’m happy with getting to talk to you all online, and maybe see a few of you out to our Canadian Rockabilly festivals, The Hotrod Hootenanny in Niagra Falls Ontario, and the Red Hot and Blue in Montreal.

Sorry Viva…I know some of you had good intentions, and I wish I’d been able to see more of the acts that I’d paid for…but alas. Maybe I’ll give you another try next year , since a bunch more New Brunswickers want to attend. We shall see…

Day 4 recap coming soon!
xox