Downton Abbey, King Tut, and Period Clothing

Earlier Time magazine came out with an article that discussed some of the history of Highclere Castle. Today, Highclere is probably best known as a site for the TV series Downton Abbey, but previous Highclere was well known for being the place where the fifth Earl of Carnarvon used to reside. Lord Carnarvon is famous for his role in helping to finance Howard Carter's significant archaeological expedition to Egypt in 1922, in which Carter discovered King Tut's tomb. Later that century, the grandson of Lord Carnarvon (who also had the title Lord Carnarvon) discovered hundreds of ancient Egyptian artifacts that were hidden away in cupboards and unused rooms at Highclere.

Now I want to watch Downton Abbey over again, and think about the Egyptian connections that the space has! Maybe the curse of King Tut's tomb helps to explain all of the tragedies that happened on the show (ha ha!).

Speaking of period shows, I came across this article which highlights period television dramas that have great antique and vintage costumes. I haven't seen very many of these shows, but I am interested in several of them. Costumes are one of the biggest draws for why I watch period shows. The clothes! The hairdos! Downton Abbey is especially fun for this reason, because the fashion styles noticeably change between the show seasons.

What is your favorite period drama that has great costumes?

"My Fair Lady" original audio tracks

Audrey Hepburn month is continuing around here, and I plan on posting more of my thoughts on her biography and career in the next few days. But I wanted to share some clips that I found on YouTube which combined a rehearsal track for the show (with Audrey Hepburn's real singing voice) with the final filmed scenes. (In fact, this YouTube account has a lot of great videos that restore the original singing voice of actresses with film clips that were dubbed-over.)

"Just You Wait" (with the middle section using Hepburn's real voice, although she did have her own voice used in the final film for the first and last section):


"I Could Have Danced All Night"


"Without You"


I just finished reading David Spoto's biography Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn, and he complained that the dubbing of Marni Nixon's voice for My Fair Lady really spoiled the whole image of Eliza Doolittle as a poor flower girl. I never really questioned Eliza Doolittle's singing voice (as a character) before, probably because I grew up listening to the My Fair Lady soundtrack and, as a child, just accepted what was presented to me. But Nixon's classically-trained voice does seem inappropriate, now that I think about it, not only for only the role of Eliza Doolittle but also for Audrey Hepburn's own petite frame.

That being said, Audrey Hepburn's voice is definitely not up to par for the sheer spectacle of My Fair Lady as a film. Her voice is a little delicate, raspy, and I have to admit that I especially cringed when listening to the sustained notes in "Without You" that she should have delivered with more energy and subpulse.

Old-Timey Celebrities Project

Last year my friend JB had a project to listen to music from fifty-two different calendar years, starting with the year 1963. Essentially, each week of 2015 was dedicated to music from a different calendar year. A few weeks ago I decided that I was going to do a similar thing this year. I'm not going to exclusively listen to music, nor explore things at the impressive rate that JB did. Instead, I thought that I would dedicate each month to learning more about some old-timey celebrity or musician. I hope to read a biography and/or autobiography each month for these people, as well as watch/listen to several of their films/music:

• Audrey Hepburn
• Fred Astaire
• Elvis
• Buddy Holly/James Dean 
• Louis Armstrong
• Billie Holiday
• Frank Sinatra
• Grace Kelley
• Bing Crosby
• Sammy Davis Jr.
• Marilyn Monroe
• Leonard Bernstein

J helped me come up with this list, based on the types of movies and music that he could handle being played in our house all year long. I asked him if he wanted to have Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly on the list, and he said, "You choose just one. I can only handle one 'dancey guy' next year." Ha! 

This month is Audrey Hepburn month. J and I watched Breakfast at Tiffany's last weekend to kick things off. I'd seen that film before, but J hadn't. We'll see if I get him to watch My Fair Lady before the month is through...

A December Whirlwind!

This past month has been pretty crazy. I sang in two choir concerts, gave a capstone presentation at the art museum for my docent class, finished the school quarter, and then started prepping for the class that I just started to teach.

A few days before Christmas, Grandma P passed away, and we went as a family to Utah to attend her funeral. She was an amazing lady who loved to learn and read, and she accomplished a lot of great work within her community too. I think it is pretty impressive that the administrations of both local universities sent flowers to the family:

The B family men at the funeral

The kids were quite good at the funeral. My dad and sister L came, and I think Sam was a lot more attentive because he was sitting next to L. We actually stayed at my dad's house, so we got to spend some time with family and extended family while we were there too. Sam and Lucy loved playing in the snow with some of their aunts:

V got to see Lucy in the Christmas Queen outfit that V bought for her

Second cousins! Lucy and Vera

I got visit with three good friends in three short, thirty-minute stints. It was good to see Joanna, Heather, and Katherine, although each of the visits was much too short!

We made sure that we went down and visited my Grandma L. She is doing better than when we saw her in July, and I'm glad that we were able to have a nice conversation with her (although she kept getting confused as to whether she was in her right room in the nursing home). I'm glad Sam got to see his "Gingerbread House Grandma."

Before we flew home, we met with V by her work and got to eat lunch downtown. V took us on a tour of the underground tunnels near her work, which Sam thought was pretty neat!

We came home right before Christmas Eve. That day was a little bit of a blur, since we were getting last-minute things ready for Christmas.

Christmas Eve bedtime story

Christmas morning! Sam got a Kylo Ren helmet (he specified to Santa that he did not want a mask) and costume!

Santa brought Lucy a toy kitchen, which came with a little phone!

Christmas breakfast. J made delicious cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting. Sam said that he made this face in the picture on purpose, but I think he must have been about to sneeze.

Christmas also didn't go quite like we expected. On Christmas afternoon, Lucy tried to take her new Fisher Price popper vacuum downstairs to our basement and fell down the flight of stairs, breaking her arm in the process. She fell just about thirty minutes before E and C were supposed to do a video chat with our family from their missions in the Philippines and Hong Kong. Lucy calmed down enough that we were able to start the video chat, but in the middle of the chat J was worried that something was wrong: Lucy wasn't using her right arm, although she could wiggle her fingers. J ended up taking Lucy to the ER before the video chat had ended.

J and Lucy in the hospital

J's brothers and their families arrived in town on Christmas night. We joined them at RB the next morning, since Lucy and J were at the hospital the night before. For the most part, Lucy was really cheerful and happy, despite her cast. The kids had a fun time playing with cousins.

Cousins peeking at each other between the banister

Sam got to join the grown-ups on an outing to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It was really fun to see it at the Cinerama, since Paul Allen's personal collection of Star Wars costumes was on display in the foyer!

Cousins walking in Snoqualmie after an outing at a bowling alley

Lunch at the Seattle Center! 

Lucy chose a bright lime green color for her cast. Maybe she and her mom like the same colors.

Cousins and brothers

J and I were also able to slip away to Vancouver, BC for a few nights to celebrate our ten year anniversary. We are so grateful that we had family members who were able to watch the kids so we could get away. J pretty much planned the whole thing. We stayed at a lovely Bed and Breakfast called Thistle Down House in North Vancouver. It was really nice to relax and spend time with each other. J said afterward that it was nice to spend time as two people, without the titles or roles of "dad" and "mom."

Anniversary selfie in Lee Bul's installation Via Negativa (2012) at the Vancouver Art Gallery

We went to Granville Island to seek out the Giants installation by Os Gemeos. This is a detail of the installation (there are actually four silos that are painted, but two of them were hidden behind some industrial machinery).

At the Hotel Vancouver New Year's Eve party, where we danced to a live band playing Motown music!

Brunch at the Tea Room in Stanley Park

And now we are back home, and things are getting back to normal! School started up for me and Sam again, so we are getting back into the normal routine. 

Lucy has learned how to get along with her cast. She makes a great padawan for Kylo Ren.

And she can still push her stroller!

Black Lace Dresses and Buttons

I'm pretty sure that Kate Middleton and I would be friends if we ever met. I mean, we both love art history and we both love black lace dresses. What more do we need to have in common? I've been smitten with the black lace dresses that Kate has worn, and I think I'd like something similar to wear for my anniversary date with J.

I found on on a blog entry from the What Kate Wore website that this is the Long Sleeve Amoret Dress by Temperley London which sells for about $4,000. That's a little out of my price range!

Kate Middleton in a black lace gown by Diane von Furstenberg

Black dress by Beulah London (for only $1,000 this time!)

I love the scalloped neckline and hemline of this black lace Dolce Gabbana dress.

This Erdem dress is navy blue, but is also is really great.

This Dolce Gabbana dress is more plum-colored than black, but I like the neckline and the long sleeves.

Here are some more affordable black dress options that I like:

Scallop Lace Dress

With This Ring Dress Black (Shabby Apple)

This is a maternity dress (eek!), but I wonder if a non-pregnant person could get away wearing it.

Milly Celia Lace Dress

And on a side note, I've been thinking a lot of about small buttons and how much I love them on dresses and shoes. Speaking of Kate Middleton, look at the back of this gorgeous greenish-blue Jenny Packham gown of lace and chiffon that she wore at the London Olympic Games gala:

Also, I think I need some Victorian boots that button up. I've always wanted Victorian button boots (ever since I watched Shirley Temple put them on, while using a button hook, in A Little Princess). These are the best options that I have found so far, but I'm going to keep looking.