Grace's 70th Beatles Inspired Outfit Examples

It has been 6 years since I posted on this blog. So don't get lost on some of my posts.  Plus I had to edit my profile as I was 64 when I last made any updates.

Thanks for checking this out.  You may already have an idea or inspiration but if you don't, I hope you find this helpful! There are so many things that you could come up with for a Beatles-inspred outfit.  From the many albums, songs, the Beatles during their different periods over time. Here are some examples.

You can be one of these icons represented on this album, or a member of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band. Some of the icons pictured are: Mae West, Marilyn Monroe, Einstein, WC Fields, Oliver and Hardy, Shirley Temple a guru, etc.

A Blue Meanie?  Wear blue with a Mickey Mouse-looking hat. Be a Yellow Submarine, wear all yellow and have a periscope on your head :)

Be the White Album.

Beautiful people, Protesters, War is Over, Make Peace Not War, etc.

Here are some more examples of characters in their songs:

Lady Madonna

Mother Mary

Father McKenzie

Mother Superior

Eleanor Rigby

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, Cellophane flowers of yellow and green towering over your head

Rocky Racoon - Davy Crocket hat

Mr. Kite- Magician

Polythene Pam - wrap yourself in Saran wrap

Fireman- from Penny Lane

Postman- Please Mr. Postman

Lovely Rita Meter Maid

Piggies

Walrus, I'm the egg man, I am the Walrus

Octopus, Octopuses garden

Sailor-Yellow Submarine

Mean Mr. Mustard

Fool on the Hill, a Trump T Shirt

Maxwell's Silver Hammer, deranged doctor

Baby's in Black and I'm Feeling Blue - good for a couple 

Dr. Robert - psychiatrist

Sexy Sadie

Chairman Mao- from Revolution

Her Majesty

Long Tall Sally

More... 

Indian period, Maharishi, Indian Yogi, Ravi Shankar, Nehru Jacket, Saris, Kurdas

Anything British, British Flag, British fashion in the 60s

John and Yoko

Road signs, Penny Lane, Abbey Road, Liverpool

There you go!  Lots more you can think of.  I am an obsessed Beatles fan. We can re-live the sixties for a while celebrating my 70!  See you soon.  Don't sweat too much, there are many easy ones to be. Most of all I would love for you to come!

Point Isabel

A beautiful day in the dog park. 5 of our dogs; Lucia's...Lolly; Shelly's...Greys and Gabby and of course Abbe and Angus.

Lazy

I realize that it has almost been 5 years since I started this Blog and obviously as you can see I am not a diligent blogger.

Bill

My four-legged feline boy left the planet on September 2010.  He has presented himself lately in the weirdest and most humorous way.  I looked out the kitchen window for weeks just in case he came walking back, but I know he is in another plane.


One day,  as I swept the kitchen floor (I have to do this everyday when I come as the dogs drag stuff from the yard notoriously)...I shook the throw rugs.  I saw the usual specks of dirt.  But as I swept I noticed this wasn't just fragments of bark, weeds or sand...it was of uniformed size and shape.  The size of long grain brown rice, a little fatter, much browner.  I looked closer and they were cocoons and next some hatched larvae.  I couldn't make it out.  I looked at the garbage can...surveyed outside the house...looked at the larger trash can, nothing; no clue.  I swept them up and threw them in the outside trash.  I researched the internet-still couldn't figure it out.


I thought they were maggots, but those usually are on dead bodies (yes grotesque to think that Bill's decaying body was somewhere being consumed by maggots).  


Next day, came home and did my routine sweeping, and shook the dogs beds and the same thing...!  This time the other corner of the kitchen where Bill's kitty litter used to be.  Yuck!  I noticed litter debris coming from a crack between the floor and the wall-and thought...could it be coming from the wall?  So I cleaned again and threw the suckers out in the trash.


So a couple of weeks went by and no more strange creatures.  Great!  I thought this was Bill telling me he has transformed.


This past weekend, three weeks since Bill's departure another phenomena.  Flies!  The kitchen window which Bill used to come in and out is usually kept open during the day.  I noticed first a few flies around the window...so I swatted them.  As I swatted them, more seemed to appear as if they were gracefully cascading down from the behind the blinds on top of the window.  I swatted them.  Then I thought they were all gone.  A few minutes later when I cam e back to the kitchen...more flies.  I continued the same routine.  Swat, dead flies, sweep.  Swat, dead flies, sweep. Swat, dead flies, sweep.  Saturday evening I had had it so I sprayed bug spray.  They dropped like flies-because they were flies!  On Saturday and Sunday I must have killed over a hundred flies.  


I came home yesterday from work...usual routine.  A few more flies on the floor-I figured they died from residual spray.  I checked the window sill and grooved tracks of the windows...another 30 or so dead flies!  


This time I went up on the attic to see if there was anything dead, down under the house, around the yard, no unusual amounts of dog poop (which would attract flies) NOTHING!  I think they are all gone now...but it is still a mystery.  All I can sum up is that it is still Bill showing me that he has yet transformed again.  Well let's see how things are when I get home tonight.


Here is a re-post of what I wrote on Facebook about Bill.  


Isa’s friend found a litter of abandoned kittens on the hillside in Marin County. Her friend kept one of the kittens, Isa kept another and I had recently lost my cat in the Oakland move so, yes…we were ready for a new kitty. 

Bill was born before Clinton’s inauguration in 1993. That’s why we named him Bill. He grew to be a very big cat, up to 20 lbs in his day. He was an expert urban rat hunter. He was good at catching them but they sometimes got away….inside the house! One time in one’s attempt to get out, it made its way under the dishwasher and ate all the tubing. We only found out when we noticed water flooding the downstairs closet. 

I have many stories of Bill’s hunting foibles…one that included women screaming, upside down bucket captures, and some you would get creeped out if I told you. He was a good boy, a good cat, tolerant of his little dog family, Abbe and Angus and put up with Lilly-who loved to chase him although she was much smaller than he was. Abbe loved him…they would play together. I have a video posted on YouTube. 

He retired from rat hunting when we moved to Santa Cruz. Birds were easier. (birders cup your ears) He had a good life. He loved to lie in the sun! He was quite healthy until one day he got hyper thyroid disease. That was 3 years ago. He got treatment and he was cleared of it. But I think it came back….he lost a lot of weight in the last year. The last few weeks he was skin and bones. He was picky and ate very little…but he ate nonetheless and still loved to soak up the sun in the summer. I gave him a real bath, the first in his life. I never would have been able to do it in his youth – I would have definitely been scarred. But he was submissive and seemed happy to be clean. He came and sat on my lap at night and purred away. He was getting weak and senile but never showed signs of pain, I couldn’t let him go. I didn’t feel right about euthanizing him. 

While I was in Oakland from Friday to Monday morning like I did a lot…Bill decided not to come back Saturday night. I guess he just decided to die. His brother Wylee also took off many years back in the wilds of Ben Lomond. I’m sure he went to join him. 

I wish I could hold him in my arms and hear him purr one more time! Bye my Bill, my sweet boy, my loyal cat. Maybe I’ll see you some day.


Here is a link to pictures of Bill on Facebook.


http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/album.php?aid=198618&id=719536370

MVI_2908.MOV

So Let's Go to Kauai

Isa and Sean Take Off

Isa and Sean arrived a day before everyone else, August 4th. I'm sure that just getting on the plane was a relief.

They called us from Hale Luana and were all excited that the accommodations were beautiful-more than we expected. They gave a big thumbs up to both Hale Luana where the larger group was staying and their own little cottage close by. They had to go and get their wedding license, deal with the bakery and other important matters before the wedding, one of which was check out the site where the ceremony was going to be held, Anini Beach.

Me and Lucia

We left the following day August 5th. My 86 year old aunt Grace was flying with us. I wouldn't have it any other way. We were so happy that she decided to come! We were also going to meet Lillian (Sean's Mom) who was also in the same flight. So we rented a big SUV so we can fit four people and our luggage. Mine was larger than usual because I was carrying various items needed for the wedding.

The flight was fine, we got to Kauai in one piece and stopped by the famous Hamura Saimin Stand in Lihue to grab some lunch and bring home their also famous Lilikoi (Passion Fruit) Pie. My cousin and husband, Lele and Walter turned me on to this place and their specialties when we were in Kauai in 2008. All I can say is "YUM!"

So we got to Hale Luana without a glitch and YES, what a gorgeous place! There were two wings of bedrooms, one with the master bedroom with a master bath, and adjacent two-bed room with it's another bathroom in the hallway. The other wing had three bedrooms, one larger one with a king sized bed and two two-bed rooms and one bathroom to share. There was a separate studio-type unit down stairs with a king-size bed a single bed and an outdoor shower. The living room and dining room were separated by a large open lanai with several couches and a ping pong table. That area also had a bathroom. Across from the huge lawn was the swimming pool and the two other suites. You had a view of the ocean to boot. I was just happy as can be. It was a perfect place, it much more than we expected. The web site photos didn't do it justice. The owners were also so gracious. It wasn't just the lay out, it had a well-appointed kitchen with a lot of plates and utensils. There was a lot of extra linen, beach towels, beach toys. You just couldn't ask for more. I don't think that any of the photos I took can really show you what this place was like.

More People Arrive

After my posse got there, others arrived. The following day my sisters arrived, Eileen from San Diego and Chelong  from the Philippines. My cousins also arrived from the Philippines and were staying with in laws in Kapaa. Then my niece Patricia and Rita came....before we knew it in a few days the entire wedding party was in Kauai!


Hale Luana was always bustling with activities.  It was nice to have little kids around and a very mobile crawling baby, Lilly around us.  Mornings in the kitchen making breakfasts, swimming in the pool, ping pong, etc.  Everyone independently went on different adventures.  The Secret Beach seemed to be a favorite because it was close to where Greg, Jenny and Lucas were staying.


Wedding Rehearsal August 7


We had a barbecue party that night and grilled all kinds of different things that people brought.  Almost the entire wedding party attended.  It was a lot of fun with all the kids.  It was also intended to be Sean's  bachelor party, or last hurrah, but I wasn't privy to what happened the rest of the evening after the actual rehearsal.


Throughout the week we made final arrangements with the florist, paid the bakery, ordered the fish and Sushi and the Dolphin Fish Market in Hanalei  a second cake at the Kilauea Bakery and other food for the reception, confirmed everything that needed to happen with everyone involved.


Wedding Schedule Change


We often checked for the status of Hurricane Felicia, it was hard to figure.  The wedding date was August 10th, at sunset.  From everything we were looking at it looked like there was less chance of rain on August 9th, so we made the switch.  Contacted everyone about the change.


The Day Of - August 9, 2009


Isa took her brides maids and Lillian for pedicures that morning .  Then early afternoon they were at the cottage making all the dress-up preparations.  Hair, make up, primping, etc.  Sean spent the time with his family while Isa got ready.  I stopped by the cottage and watched my daughter get ready.  (Tearing again)  David was kind enough to take pictures that the 'official' photographers weren't going to cover.  


Greg and Jenny went to the site ahead of time to set up the place with the small offerings altar, sarongs on the sand, a set up for the slide guitar man, the bubbles, and all the wedding ceremony accoutrement.


The tables and chairs arrived at Hale Luana and Lillian and Sherry and the kids prepared the flowers for the tables and set up the area with my sister Chelong who arranged the candles.  I prepared the buffet table for the food and cake to arrive.  It looked beautiful.


Anini Beach - The Ceremony


Did I tell you yet that it was a beautiful day?  So Lucia, Isa and I got there - excited happy nerves - the time is here!  The set up was great.  All the guests went straight to the beach via this small alley bordered by a hedge of tropical plants.  This alley way was the perfect aisle where once all the guests were seated the wedding party made their entrance.  The bridesmaids wore turquoise and carried parasols.  The mother of the groom also carried a parasol as well as the flower girl; Jesse, Sean's niece.  Isa's gown was beautiful with the bottom of the skirt gradated, passing imperceptibly from one shade of turquoise to another until it turned to ivory midway through the top.  Sean wore the barong and Brandon a guayabero.


The ceremony was short and sweet, Katie Sample was just perfect as an officiant with a lei crown and a purple outfit.  She calmly led the ceremony, called to the four corners, honored Hawaii and the mothers, Lillian and me with leis, the matron of honor and the groom's man read sweet loving words then Isa and Sean read the vows to each other exactly as the sun was setting in the horizon.  The waves curled up to the shore gently almost touching their feet throughout the ceremony.  Just wonderfully beautiful!


The photographers were so good, they moved around almost invisibly non intrusively taking pictures during the ceremony and then after.  Now I can give you a link to the photos and you can see for yourself :D  http://www.sealightstudios.com/Isa+Sean/

The Hale Luana Reception


While everyone drove back to the house, the wedding party stayed for picture taking.  Thanks to my sister Eileen who grilled all the fish (delicious Walu) before we all got there.  Greg rehearsed "All You Need Is Love" by the Beatles for all the kids to sing when Sean and Isa arrived.  Sean and Isa had been rehearsing for months a Bollywood dance and finally performed it right after their first dance to Iz's (Israel Kamakawiwo) Over the Rainbow.


There was dancing and singing and movin' to the groovin'...kids playing.  Isa had brought stick-on mustaches and Indian bindis to play with.  Before you knew it there were all kinds of mustachioed people, women, men and children- a;; colors of mustaches being totally silly.  Also by this time we have had a few to drink and were feelling silly happy anyway.


Isa and Sean left the next day for their honeymoon in a cottage in Hanalei.  And they are living happily ever after!


Here is the link to the other pictures in Kauai.


The wedding prep and reception:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/gracereb/sets/72157621888562943/


Other pictures from the week:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/gracereb/sets/72157622015160286/


In the next few days I will finish this lively story after I tell you more about the reception in Ben Lomond, California.

Sean and Isa's Wedding - Final Preparations

Well, it is January 2010 but I am committed to finish this wedding journal. At this point it may no longer be chronological but will try my best for some order. Also as you are witnessing it isn't linear either (not with the Devo thing/Kristy's Birthday Party inserted in between). So 2009 review will have to wait because this is actually the BIGGEST thing that happened in 2009.

Okay...I left off where I was telling you about the accommodations and the officiant.

So about the original accommodations; Shambalah Ranch. It was a blessing that they were able to book the ranch for another wedding so we got the entire deposit back. Very good and timely because who can afford to lose $1500?

Early in the summer, Isa and Sean took a trip to Washington to fit her wedding gown and to visit the groom's man Brandon Lanich. They brought back the gown and I thought it was beautiful. It was designed by Wai Ching. http://www.wai-ching.com/

Sean ordered a Barong Tagalog from the Philippines. This is the traditional formal wear for men. I always thought that it was influenced by the Spanish colonials but it turns out I was wrong- it is interesting that it may have been a precursor to the guayabera. If you trust Wikipedia, check it out...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barong_Tagalog

You'll see for yourself when I finish how beautiful and appropriate the gown and barong looked!

The Officiant and Photographers

As I mentioned the original officiant couldn't make it and gave us the name of an alternate; Kate Sample. We had major communication issues with Kate, a lot of course exacerbated by the fact that the wedding was getting closer and Isa just wasn't getting the warm and fuzzies from Kate.

We reviewed the new proposed photographer's work (Sealight Studios) and although it was comparable, again it was just challenging dealing and accepting the change.

We settled with both, we didn't have a lot of choice in the matter but I wasn't too worried- I wasn't the bride, only the bride's mother.

One thing we didn't settle for was the florist that Kate had been working with. This is something we had control of so we chose another Kauai North Shore florist and got a better price and we were very clear on what we were getting.

You will see later on how this all worked out. I especially recommend the photographers.

Celebrations

Well we had several planned.

1. A barbecue the day before the wedding - the rehearsal dinner

2. The wedding reception in Kauai

3. The wedding reception in Ben Lomond

Invitations and Save the Dates

This was not a traditional wedding, therefore we used non-traditional forms of invitations including email "save-the-dates". They are big Chagall fans as I am and we used Chagall's Enchantement Vesperal. I'm sure he wouldn't have minded the small edits and I'm sure I haven't broken any copyright laws as it was only sent to a small group of friends and family.

It fit the color theme of orange, turquoise and brown perfectly! Oh and I had crazy dealings with Kinkos and finding the right paper color and labels that were out of stock. You know, the usual-nothing is ever as you plan or expect. The good thing is that really it all turns out for the better. This IS the big lesson.

Storm Warning

Tropical storms alerts for Hurricane Felicia were being posted early in the week. Oh no, let it not rain on August 9th! We checked the weather site frequently and called Kate Sample to see if we had a back up plan should the hurricane hit. Do we really need to add this to the mix? There is already enough anxiety. Well, Kate simply said that this is what is to be expected of Kauai weather. Again- we just had to accept in and hope for the best.

For mothers out there and others planning weddings, just know there are gadzillion details!