Umm red, need I say more? After a long day of shooting, we enjoyed a scrumptious meal at the Shady Lady. I highly recommend fried green tomatoes and Portobello mushroom sliders.

Speakeasy Photos
MUAH: Self
Wardrobe: Authentic Vintage from my personal collection
Location: Shady Lady Saloon in Sacramento
This Series:
Four LadiesDriving Ms.
Roadside Assist
Neighborhood Frolics
Backyard Break
Grassy Knoll
Gettin’ Outta Dodge

Shane works from home, and as a housewife I spend much time there as well with the two children. As much as we occupy and enjoy our space, the hunt for new huts has begun. No one likes moving, but we look forward to new adventures in a new town. The process will be months in the making. A new chapter begins, anticipation builds to turn the page.


Samuel Nesbitt Photography
More images from this Viet Nam scene:
Return to Post includes a video of the road traveled to make it on set
Honor the Veterans

Sweets enjoying yummy treats. After a night of dancing with the Element Brass Band’s second line, we were ready for a snack at Rick’s Dessert Diner! Danee and I have some more exciting plans coming your way! She’s a genius! Check out our last project: Body Paint



Speakeasy Photos
MUAH: Self

Life has been churning for me for a while. As slow hand churning cream the old fashioned way produces delicious results, days are becoming sweeter, creamier and overall more palatable. I had to put in the work to get these results, and the taste is worth every ounce of effort.

I found this darling authentic 1950s vintage playsuit on my favorite vintage swap and sell group. Femininity never wears old.

Speakeasy Photos
MUAH: Self

Guest post by Shane.

After a year of anticipation we headed off to Las Vegas to attend Viva Las Vegas. Last year we learned about Viva about a week before the event. Prior commitments prevented us from making a last minute trip to Vegas, so we planned on attending this year instead.

After a short flight on Thursday, we landed in Las Vegas and headed to The Orleans Hotel. We were immediately greeted by the sight of a large number of guests in pinup and rockabilly styled clothes. Vintage inspired and true vintage in every direction that we looked.

Friday we enjoyed the fashions of a number of vintage inspired designers at the annual fashion show. Later we migrated out to the pool to watch the men’s swimwear competition. A wide variety of men’s swim fashions were modeled, but the finalists all had matching shirt and trunk sets. Friday evening greeted us with a sick baby and mommy, so it was decided that they would fly home early on Saturday.

A car show on Saturday provided a well-needed break from being inside a building for hours on end. A huge number of vendor booth were available to satisfy any vintage fashion desire. Hundreds of well appointed cars greeted visitors with personalities as flashy and unique as each owner.

With the pool beckoning once again, I headed back to watch the couple’s swimwear competition. Three couples consisted of a man and a woman, but one couple was two women with the same bathing suit. Funny story for that one: one lady found the suit in a vintage store, the other found the identical suit at Goodwill for $5! With only four couples competing, the judges decided to offer a prize to the 4th place couple in addition to the top three. Upon completion of the contest, those of us in the audience were graced by a hula performance by CocoTiki.

Returning from the pool I noticed a familiar face near the elevators. It turned out that it was Bernie Dexter! I patiently waited for a few minutes to have an opportunity to chat with her, and let me tell you, she is a gem of a lady! Very kind and gracious and genuinely interested in sharing a conversation.

At 2 AM Saturday night / Sunday morning, Levi and the Rockats took the stage in the ballroom. I enjoyed watching the band play. After snapping a number of pictures from the front edge of the stage, I ventured to the back of the dance floor, scoping out if anyone knew East Coast or Lindy Hop Swing Dancing. A few partners were found and I ended up dancing until 7 AM!

A sleepy Sunday morning gave way to the big event of the day: Tiki Pool Party, with a women’s swimsuit competition. Fifteen competitors all wearing a wonderful variety of swimwear from yesteryear. The judges had a hard time deciding on who they wanted for 3rd place, so in the end a 4th place contestant was also named. Upon conclusion of the competition, I was in a pinup photographers paradise: a pool filled to the brim with beautiful women wearing vintage swimsuits of all designs! In all, over one thousand pictures to sort from my time in the pool area.

The evening lead to catching the tail end of burlesque bingo, which I wasn’t planning on attending but ended up being quite a fun event. After, a trip to the ballroom was in order to conclude the evening with more dancing and spending time with new found friends.

Monday morning rolled around and it was time to say goodbye to Las Vegas for this trip and start planning for next year!

More pictures to come as the backlog of images from the weekend is sorted through. Watch Viva Las Vegas 18 gallery for more images in the next few days.

I have been working on some major clean up in my personal life. Time now to downsize my home and burn away more chaff from my life. I may be posting items for free and others for sale.

The closets are my first line to attack, motivated by an upcoming clothing swap with friends. The kids’ toys will be next. Then the kitchen. A new chapter brings new perspective, and there are so many things in my life I just don’t need.

Speakeasy Photos
MUAH: Star High Beauty
Featuring model Rachel Anne Taylor

Shane gets made fun of so badly when he is in charge of this luggage, but I LOVE it! Packing these bags today for a weekend in Las Vegas heat with fellow Viva attendees. I look forward to enjoying the fashion fruits of mine and others’ acquisitions and styling. Whatever will I pull out and photograph? Stay tuned!

Speakeasy Photos
MUA: Alyssa Plough

Sometimes, you just need to get out.

Speakeasy Photos
Featuring Meloday Payne, Justin Alonzo, Danee Badeaux
Wardrobe styled from my personal collection of authentic 1950s dresses, hats and gloves
MUAH: Self

Where is your sexy? Dance workshops by Justin Riley are centered around such a question: what makes a dance more sexy? Or so I hear, as I have not taken such a workshop myself, but a common consensus in these classes is to exude confidence. Some say everything is about sex, except sex. Sex is about power. Confidence exudes an heir of power, yes? I think this is entirely relevant food for thought, but sexy is more than confidence. That heir of confidence will soon deflate if you have no genuine self-worth to back it up. Sexy is also more than the go-to body image of muscles for men and curves for women, or abs on both. Dress that form, sure: tighter or well-fitting garments, taller heels, shorter hemlines. There is an art to dressing which makes a form more appealing, I will not deny this nor the psychology behind wearing clothes that make you feel powerful or otherwise awesome. I had a friend in college who changed his entire world by wearing business suits instead of jeans and T-shirts. He slipped into otherwise closed events, commanded the respect of people twice his age, and ladies adored.

We cannot discuss sexiness without including ethereal youth, vastly escaping us all. Makeup and hair dye or more extreme cosmetic surgeries boast entire industries playing up the ideal of youth. Let me tell you, my ninety-two year old grandmother was still going on blind dates months before she died. I want to be that wholly alive senior. I will not deny that in her 60s she had some work done. At the age of 92, there are no disillusions of youth. For heaven’s sake if sexiness depended solely upon youth, we could all consider our lives over by a certain age. Which one? You pick. Have you considered your younger self’s approach to sexy compared to your now more mature approach? Ha! Assuming you have matured. Curiosity defined my younger days, and while I am yet curious, also am I wiser to my body and to others’ integrity. I want more out of my sexuality now than I ever could even begin to understand in my younger days. I know myself, and what I want is much more complex and requires deep knowing for myself and another to fully enjoy.

So where is your sexy? Did it make an exit along with the youthful body image now evading an older self, or post-baby body? One baby and my body was generally intact save a misshapen belly button. Baby number two? I have stretch marks, extra stretched out belly skin, deflated boobs and as flat a chest as early puberty. The chest thing is a recent development nearing an end to five years of nonstop pregnancy and breastfeeding. There for a while, that post-baby body gave me some curves to boast for this very blog. Change is inevitable and I am working to embrace each one as it flies at me. My sexiness cannot rely upon my body, though I can take my bodily experiences and turn them into something sexy. We do live in our bodies and need to find comfort within them. Housing and nourishing two children may not sound “sexy” but I assure you biologically or evolutionarily speaking, ain’t nothing sexier than creating and growing life. So I could choose to focus on a more constant to my appearance: I like my legs, I’ve always had my smile. Let’s quit physicality for a moment. I know it’s important. I’ve had a broken knee. I’ve lost half of my blood volume on another occasion, and consider myself familiar with physical limitations and how they impact the psyche. Let’s go back to the aged and a desire to drink life and sexuality down to the dregs through-out our time on this earth. What is sexy? Sex or gender is a primary way we relate to and identify with the world. I venture to say it’s in your head, the mind as the most powerful sex organ in the body. How do you carry yourself? Consider your mental and feelings state, and that may vary moment to moment. How in touch are you with your desires and emotions, and how does all that play together with your interactions in the world? Yes, dress to feel and appear as you desire to present. Yes, by all means take care of your body as this vessel is the only one you get in this life, until science advances otherwise: exercise, eat foods that feel right, look at the stars now and again to consider your place in all the space. Sexy is who you are, and you must know yourself to find your sexy.

A popular photographer and blogger recently published a beautiful four minute read on the notion that she cannot make her clients beautiful; beauty is who they are, joyfully interacting with the world, or who they aren’t denying the world in the name of propriety. I say the same for sexy. Sexy is not your clothes nor is it removing them; sexy is not some seductive look, in fact that look may have the opposite effect if you’ve got nothing inside you to back it up. Sexy is knowing your self and your worth. Sexy is the stuff that makes confidence real and from the core. Build relationships with those who honor and respect you, participate in activities that cause you come alive, and you will discover your self-worth. Relationships are the sharpeners to the blades of life. Mindful of who is touching that blade and in what ways. Your self-worth may depend upon those relationships and the ways you allow others to interact with you. Get outdoors, find activities that remind you of your place in this world. Is it the wooing of the ocean’s waves, the giant Redwood stretching the skies, or star-gazing, or pushing your body up a mountain or on the dance floor to sound of emotions. Art forms are glorious pools of exploration: music, paintings, photographs, fashion, sculpting, cooking…. Know and own who you are, and in that space sexy is a wonderful byproduct.

Speakeasy Photos
MUAH: Danyelle “The Hair Maverick” Johnson

The Mid-century fashion event of the year is one week away! Time to begin packing, at least three outfits per day! We will not be sailing to Las Vegas by water, but by sky and I plan to make much of it! Easter weekend keep your eyes open for some serious candy as we experience the Rockabilly event of the year! Treasures await among the desert sand.


Speakeasy Photos
MUAH: Self
Swimwear from Unique Vintage, the Sacramento Antique Faire delivered the hat, thrift shop find on the red heels