Wednesday, December 31, 2014

December in Snapshots

December is almost over and it was a whirlwind! From operas to recitals to concerts and church services, December is the month of music. Something magical happens in December: music drifts out from schools and churches onto busy street corners, white twinkling lights glow from the windows, and greet cards fill our mailboxes.







Here's a look at The Vintage Chanteuse's December snapshots.













Christmas isn't complete without a trip into the City!





My fiancé and I sang 8 concerts and 12 church services! Tis' the season!






I said goodbye to Marianne as I closed Der Rosenkavalier with Connecticut Lyric Opera.




You know what they say: "Behind every successful woman is a coffee!"





We celebrated my birthday by taking a painting class together! It was terrifying and a really great time!






This year marks my first year with a real Christmas tree and it was pretty spectacular. I can't bring myself to take it down. Maybe next week....

Salut!

The Vintage Chanteuse

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

A Very Retro New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve is one of my favorite evenings out of the year!  I love the traditions, the glamour, the memories shared with friends and family, a promise to live the next year as fully alive as possible. It is pretty incredible to think of the happiness and love that fills the air as one year ends and the next begins. In honor of this coming eve, here is The Vintage Chanteuse's list of musts for a very retro NYE:

1. Auld Lang Syne

2. Red Lipstick
 3. Vintage Costume Jewelry
4. Champagne in vintage glasses
5. The perfect cocktail dress
6. Resolutions
 7. Kiss at Midnight
8. A Date (even if it is just a bottle of champagne)
9. Streamers and Confetti
 10. An excellent watch for the count down to midnight
And now, the final question....




Happy New Year!

Salut,

The Vintage Chanteuse

Monday, December 29, 2014

Remembrance Jar

As I prepare to ring in the new year, I am faced with the sobering memory of last year's uncompleted resolutions. Ugh! Depressing. Then I remembered all of the amazing things I did do in the last year and it made me so excited for year ahead!  So I thought, why not create a jar to keep all of my wonderful memories, accomplishments, and happy moments to help reminisce and celebrate the end of 2015 instead of creating unrealistic resolutions that leave me feeling uninspired and unfulfilled?


This is the simplest little project and will only take 5-10 min to create but will deliver very special mementos for 2015.
Supplies:
  • Vintage or repurposed Jar
  • Pretty Paper
  • Scissors
  • Double Stick Sheets
  • String

Simply print a special photo, quote, drawing or image on a 4x6 photo paper or print it up at you local photo printer. I love my canon printer for these small projects!  Think of vintage family photos or quotes like this one by Dr. Seuss.


I then simply used double sided tacky paper -- you can get it here -- to adhere your print to the jar. Just be sure to measure your paper to be sure it will fit your jar.


To add a little extra color to my jar I added vintage blue baker's twine I picked up from a local flea market. Feel free to use a vintage ribbon, hanky, or scarf. Whatever makes you happy!



And that's that! It is just as easy as I promised. I put my first memory in a bit early....


Here's to another new year! This time my resolution is to celebrate life's small accomplishments.


Until next time!

Salut!

The Vintage Chanteuse