Free Stuff for a Lazy Sunday

Hello Everyone!
Wooh, have I had a busy week-end.  This week-end has been a mostly work week-end for me, so I decided that today would be a do-nothing-Sunday.  On do-nothing Sunday's, I don't even like leaving my house, so I am always in search of things that I can do that don't involve leaving my house and, preferably cost me little, to no money, to do.  In fact, if I can do it in bed, in my pajamas, surrounded by my puppies it is perfect.

I did not stay all day in pajamas, although I assure you, it wasn't from lack of trying.

As those of you who read my blog are probably already aware, I love vintage things, especially vintage fashion and decorating, but I also have other vintage interests including movies, books and art.  So, I thought that I would share some of my favorite FREE vintage themed things for you to enjoy so that you too can have a do-nothing Sunday.

To Watch

By now, everyone has heard of YouTube.  You go there to get free videos of cats playing piano or to watch a plethora of cute French Bulldog videos.  It is also a wonderful place to get tutorials on how to create vintage hairstyles, make-up looks and crafts.  But it is also the place where independent film makers can post their movies.

Hedges Pictures

http://hedgespictures.com/home.html

I have a friend who creates many independent films under his film label of Hedges Pictures, some of which he has actually allowed me the privilege to act in.  Recently he decided to take up a forty-eight hour challenge.  For those of you who don't know what that is, a forty-eight hour challenge is when you create an entire movie, from writing, filming, to editing in 48 hours.  It's not near as easy at it may sound and I think he came up with one of the funniest films I have seen in a long time.
Purposefully bad/kitschy, the movie, called It Came from Somewhere, is about 15 minutes long and is a spoof on the B-rated alien/monster movies that were created in the 1950's.  (I am in this one, you'll recognize me by the green hair.  My husband is also in it, he plays the general.  Sigh......  I just love a man in uniform.)

Sorry this picture is so bad and doesn't actually link to the movie.  But I spent about an hour trying to figure out how to do that and couldn't figure it out so I had to take a picture with my phone.  (Sorry Travis!)

To watch It Came From Somewhere, just click on the link below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-G7Ju68jBc&t=19s

Another movie that I love by him is the romantic comedy he filmed entitled Must Love Board Games. Although you don't have to know alot of the new classic board games that gamers love to play, it helps. I watch this movie to get my fix on a romantic movie with unexpected and REAL characters that I find I can relate to. (I am also an extra that you can't see in this.  I do not have green hair in this film.)

To watch Must Love Board Games
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff9zbFCnTjs

If you would like to see other films by Hedges Pictures, you can click on his website. (I have included a link to the site below the picture of his logo.) I also love both of his Taylor Swift Stalker movies.  (Trust me, they're not as creepy as they sound.)

Documentaryheaven.com

In keeping with free things that you can watch, sometimes vintage, I love me a documentary.  Especially if it is a historical documentary.  A great site to go to for free documentaries is http://documentaryheaven.com/.
This site has full documentary movies on variety of subjects.  I like to go to the history category but there are several others to choose from, right now I want to watch Italy's Mystery Mummies and the Victorian Way of Death.

To Listen To

I did not bother to put anything musical here because, quite frankly, that is what the radio is for, but I do want to let you know about some podcasts that I think are worth the time to listen to.

Dorque Podcast

Since I have already shamelessly plugged a movie that I am in, I thought I would shamelessly plug my husband's podcast - which I am almost never in but I have had guest appearances-- and a little nepotism can be a good thing.  In his podcast my husband and his friend James just sit down and discuss all things Dorque together.  Since both of them are stand-up comics, it can make for some pretty funny listening.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/dorque-podcast/id737962013?mt=2

You Must Remember This Podcast

In going back to things that are vintage, one of my favorite podcasts is http://www.youmustrememberthispodcast.com.
This podcast is full of historical information about old time Hollywood - especially the stuff that Hollywood wanted to keep secret. It also tells forgotten tales that should never have been forgotten.  It has all the guilty pleasures of reading a National Enquirer with none of the guilt because ITS HISTORY!!!  And that's educational right?  Even when it is scandalous. I have to admit, that I am a little obsessed by the series called Dead Blondes.  Again, it is not as oogie as it sounds.  The dead blondes series covers the lives and deaths of famous blondes such as Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe and Peg Entwistle and is an entertaining way to spend some of your Sunday afternoon.
Below is a link to the Peg Entwistle podcast.
http://www.youmustrememberthispodcast.com/episodes/2017/1/26/peg-entwistle-dead-blondes-episode-1

To Read

The next one I am about to tell you about you have to be a  subscriber to in order to get the free stuff.

Bookbub

If you sign up for this site, it will send you a daily e-mail that will let you know books that are available for a very low price and, usually, at least, one book per day that is free.  There are several ways that these books are available, but I have a Kindle so I only have experienced the books available for the Kindle.  When you sign up for this site it has you take a small quiz so that it can know what type of books you are interested in reading: mystery, romance, biographies, etc.  Once you are done filling out the information you will start receiving daily e-mails for books that are in your interests that are on sale or free.  I have actually learned about quite a few new authors that I now love by getting some of their books that have been available for free that I never would have known without this site.
To sign up go to Google and look up Bookbub.  (For some reason, it won't let me link that and save it in my blog, so sorry there is no link.)

Free Art

Decorating can be expensive, especially when it comes to purchasing art for your walls.  I personally like my art to look a little vintage and a little pop-arty.  For a couple of sites where you can get that type of art for the can't beat price of FREE try the following websites.

http://www.remodelaholic.com/?s=art
This site has fun prints, many of them with a vintage flair or style, especially if you are into that mid-century vibe.

http://www.freevintageposters.com/
I think this site the name gives the only explanation that you really need.  But, for those of you who still aren't sure, this site contains free vintage posters that you can print or just look at - rather like an art gallery on your laptop.

Well, that is it for my free things that you can do on a Sunday post.  I may make it a regular feature, who knows - we'll see how I feel and if I find any more awesome free things.

Happy Birthday Julia!!!

Hello Everyone!
Oh my goodness, do you know what today is?!?!?!

No?
National Non-Profit Day?
Well....  Yes.
National Thrift Shop Day?
Actually- yes.
And both of those are things that are very close to my heart.  But still no!
What is it then?
Today is the day that the Grande Dame of Television Cooking was born - the amazing Julia Child!!!!

This is the little station I have made for myself out of my night stand and my iPad where I have been watching the black and white episodes of The French Chef. Joy!

And yes I am that excited about it.  In my mind, we should make her birthday a national holiday because she was one of the main reasons that we have the infinite varieties of food that we eat in America today.  Thanks to her bringing over French food and its preparation on her show the French Chef,  a genuine interest in food in the American public was created and for this she will have my constant adoration.  In case you were wondering, we would celebrate this holiday by preparing and eating dishes that were Julia Child staples.
So, to help you prepare for what is, undoubtedly, going to be a National Holiday any year now, I decided that I would include some recipes for some of Julia's most classic dishes.

Vichyssoise

This first dish is one of my husband's favorites and is the perfect dish for summertime.  The recipe I have posted below is not a Julia Child's recipe - as she has a cookbook that is still in production and I don't want to be sued by big, scary publishers that can make it so I live in a cardboard box -  but this recipe is highly based off of hers which I have pared down for two people - rather than 6-8 people.  (She always seemed to be cooking for ALOT of people.)
You will want to prepare this dish ahead of time so that it has time to chill.  And by chill I mean it is served ice cold.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups potatoes, peeled and diced (You can use any potato, but I like golden potatoes)
1 1/2 cups leeks, sliced -  including the tender greens (As Julia says.)  If you don't trust yourself to know what the tender greens are, just use the white of the leek
1 quart homemade chicken stock  (Julia just used water and you can also use vegetable stock - but I like the taste of chicken stock)
Kosher Salt, to taste
1/4 to 1/2 cup whipping cream
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp. minced chives or green onions

Instructions
1.  I thought that I would mention this as the first step in case we have people that have not ever really cooked with leeks.  Leeks can be very dirty and gritty.  A good rule of thumb before you cook with them is to cut them in half lengthwise and then slice them up.  Once they are sliced, put them in a bowl with water and rinse them thoroughly.  You kind of want to run them through your fingers in the water and separate them by rubbing them in between your fingers.  Once they are cleaned remove them from the water and dry them thoroughly, the easiest way to do this is with a salad spinner.
2.  In a large, heavy bottomed saucepan add the chicken stock, potatoes and leeks.  Simmer, with the pot partially covered with a lid,  until the vegetables are tender - about 30 to 40 minutes.
3.  Working in batches, scoop the soup into a blender and puree.  (Julia has you using a fork or a food mill!!!  Can you imagine?!?!  This soup would have been so much work back in the day.) You want to make certain that you puree until your veggies are rather creamy with no large lumps or pieces.  You can run it through a fine sieve if you are worried that your blender wont puree it fine enough.
4.  Pour back into the pot, making sure the pot is on a cold burner, you don't want to have any heat on under your soup,  and slowly pour in the heavy cream, stirring constantly until you have a gorgeous creamy consistency.
5.  Taste for flavor.  Add any salt and pepper you desire.  If you feel it is too plain for your tastes, you can also add herbs at this time.  Basil is always nice as is rosemary, but this is one of those dishes that I like plain, so I just add salt and pepper as my taste buds determine is needed.
* Tip:  You may want to make your soup slightly saltier than you normally would as salt does lose some of its....ummm.... for lack of a better word..... saltiness when it is in a dish that has been chilled.  But don't overdo it!
6.  Allow the soup to cool a little before removing to a bowl,  Cover and chill in the refrigerator.  I like to let it chill for at least 4 hours, but you can have it chill overnight as well.

To serve:  Spoon cold soup into chilled soup tureens and garnish with the minced chives or green onions.

Ratatouille

The next dish is ratatouille.  Which I can't even hear about or see without thinking of the Disney film by the same name. Because of this, I thought that I would include the recipe that this modern classic Disney film based their ratatouille recipe.  Yes, this is the same ratatouille that Remi served to the food critic.  Yes, this was an actual dish created by a real chef.  His name is Thomas Keller and he is something of a food legend and he advised on the food portrayed in the film.  I personally have never had the patience to make it, but I do think that it is beautiful. Keller actually doesn't call it ratatouille, he names it Confit Byaldi but, trust me, it is the Remi Ratatouille from the film.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/13/dining/131rrex.html

For those of you would would like a more practical approach, I have a ratatouille recipe that you can do on the stove that was one of the very first recipes that I ever posted.  If you would like to see that much easier recipe, just click on the link below.

http://frugalfemmecarole.blogspot.com/2016/01/eggplant-ratatouille-with-lemon.html


I was going to post a quiche recipe, as this was one of Julia's big staples, but I really want to save that for its own post on another day, so instead I will leave you with a link to some classic Julia television, The French Chef.  This one shows you how to make a classic Boeuf Bourguignon.

Isn't this a great behind the scenes photo?  There are four people sitting behind her.  Talk about a crowded kitchen!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS32uLoshrs&list=PL7_E3CqOntSjTb0LqH9pHlt4-cBh9oeCv

Well, the only appropriate way to end this post is the Julia way so...... Happy Birthday Julia!  And, to everyone else,  Bon Appetite!