Good news!

I DID IT!
I am hired at the salon. Whoohooooo!
I'm so happy! Finally I get to do what I love the most, making people happy and beautiful :)

Here I am at work...still all nervous but smiling.
So excited and curious about what I'm going to learn from the kinki team.

Now I still have a lot of photos in store for you, so I'll start of with some pics of the Brian Setzer gig I went to with Wesley. It was amazing, I stood in front and he even gave me his plectrum :D He played with the rockabilly riot. So now I have seen him in all set-ups. Stray Cats, Orchestra and Rockabilly riot!
Too bad he didn't do a singing session.

Next post will contain photos I made during my stay in England.
Goodnight y'all!

As promised.

A lot of things have happened in my life recently.
The most important one, is that I have quit my job at the supermarket.
This means that I am going to move in with my boyfriend! Also, I have a shot to
prove myself at the kinki hairdressing salon. (www.kinki.nl)

I have improved my hairdressing skills, and I am a lot faster with haircuts since I finished school.

Of course we went to England! Brighton certainly has changed over the years, and it's busier with tourists than ever. But it was nice to come back there. I just love the seaside. We visited a lot of vintage shops as well, but a lot of it was more 80's style. We also payed a visit to Yesterday's world at Battle. It is a museum where they have recreated the life of the past from 1900's till the 1970's.
Picture post will come soon. Another exciting thing we did was going to a village fest in Iden. You must believe that the Brits are the nicest people you have ever met! They don't care how you look and what or who you are, they are always in for a nice chat. No judging, no rudeness, just polite and civil.
So we spent an entire day at the fest, and there also was a flea market. I got myself some 1940's magazines, a 1950's travel alarm, a 1950's can opener and a Vince Ray shirt. Wesley and I split up at the market to be sure we would be the first if we have spotted anything we would like. He came back with a present for me: a 1930's men's razor! in perfect condition and intact. Isn't he the sweetest man on earth?

Now I must tell you a story about the magazines. I bought them from a middle aged woman, who didn't seem to care much about the items. While I was browsing around, I found the alarm clock from the 50's which was sold by an elderly woman. The second time I came back with Wesley and he spotted the can opener. I told the woman we love 40' and 50's stuff and I showed her the magazines I bought. She looked at them and said: ' Ah! I remember those, I still have them at home. I have a great idea, write down your address and I'll send them to you.' I was so surprised and excited, she didn't even want money for it. So 1 week later a package arrived with a lot of 40's movie magazines inside! Such a sweet lady! It is too bad she didn't write her address on a note or the package, because I would like to thank her personally.

I have so much to tell, but it would not make sense in one big post.
I am also planning to post new hair tutorials, so stay blogged!

Till' we meet again!

I'll be back soon.

Going to update very soon guys!

Retrospect and what did I do last weekend.

Howdy y'all!
I've been in a country mood lately, can't explain why.
Anyhoooo.... Last weekend was fun as usual. Friday we went to visit Denise and Barry at their new home, they just moved in together. For the record: Denise is Wesley's sister.
They have a nice place, and it makes me want to move in with Wesley even more!
I'll just have to wait until I find a job in Purmerend.
Saturday I went to the hairdressing wholesale store and got me a few things.
We also went to the thrift store and I found two shawls and a blouse. All together for 5 euro's! Now that's a real bargain!

Sunday we went to rock 'n roll Hoorn, but it was very windy. Nevertheless we had a good time.

We've seen Hillbilly Boogiemen, Kieron Mc Donald and the Hayride Silvertones.

Our original plan was to also see Annita and the Starbomber, but we've missed it since all the bars were so far apart :( I really wanted to see her, because I always sing along to her music in the car :) 

This just makes me want to form a band and make music! I would love that. Oh dreams....

I do the occasional singing at a jam session, but I always get very nervous haha! 

Well tomorrow I have fiddle lessons again so that's fun :) Thursday is some sort of holy day I believe in English it's ascension day? There's a carshow and the hillbilly boogiemen will perform there too! 

Their music makes me happy, and above all they are kick ass musicians. 

Almost bedtime now, have to get up at 5:30 again so I'll turn in pretty soon.

Sleep tight! 

I am still here!

Something weird happened to my blogger account so I wasn't able to post a new entry.
But I am back baby!

It's almost weekend again but I will tell you about last weekend.
Friday:
First, I had to work and it was kinda busy. After work I went to Kruidvat (drugstore) and bought myself nail polish. When it was 17:30 it was time for my physiotherapy. It hurt. So when I arrived at Wesley's we went to see Mellow Jo and the Hightones at the Maloe Melo in Amsterdam. We had a ball and got home at 4 AM. I love Marjos, she is such a nice person and she sings beautiful! Maybe one day she can give me some tips and tricks with singing.

Saturday:
I went to the barbershop to ask for a job, but sadly they are fully occupied. So now I have to go and look for a new salon that might suit me. I am thinking about Kinki Kappers. They do alternative hairstyles, but you need to follow their Academy. Well at least that's what I've been told.
After being told 'no I am sorry we don't need any new staff' I was depressed and went to the fair again. Yes, it was still there! We had fun, I got a free Yoshi plushie because someone forgot to play their credit in the 'grabbing' machine. I got it in one go! haha!

Sunday:
I cut Luc's hair (Wesley's nephew) and he was very pleased with it. But the most important event of that day was that I won this record on ebay:

It cost me quite a lot of money but it's worth every single euro! I have been looking for this record for about three years and Wesley came across it by accident. I nearly fainted haha! Let me tell you the story about Be my baby bay....
Three years ago I was browsing on youtube to listen to some nice rockabilly tunes.
There was a guy who has a lot of records, and then I stumbled on Don Winters' record. I immediately fell in love with the song, especially the lyrics. I am a sucker for love songs :) I had one thing on my mind: I MUST have that record! I literary searched everywhere. Ebay, Marktplaats, all possibilities on Google, but nothing came out of it. I even mailed the guy who uploaded the song, but he got it of a c.d. I felt desperate, then another guy uploaded the song, and he actually had the record! But he didn't want to sell it, and he got it in 1993. Gosh, we even mailed Don Winters his son! But he got rid of all his pa's records... what the...how can you do that? I never gave up looking, but it never appeared on ebay, until last Sunday. The day that my lovely boyfriend typed 'rockabilly' on ebay, clicked on records, browsed an user and saw Be my baby baby.
I was flabbergasted, and screamed: IT'S MINE!!!!! I don't care how much I have to pay it's MINE MINE MINE!!! (sounds very materialistic) Now I just have to wait for the mail to deliver my beloved record :D

The rest of this week:
Monday:
Nothing interesting, worked, went to the gym.

Tuesday:
Got hit by car, I hit the break because traffic was moving slow. The guy behind me was tailgating so he hit the back of the car. I stepped out and so did he, but started to yell and swear at me right away. It was impossible to have a normal conversation with that ***hole, so I just told him to back off and shut his trap. The result: my blood was boiling all morning long. Fortunately my car (Wesley's actually) had some minor scratches but his had a dent and his license plate came off. Serves him right!

Wednesday:
Work, and went to the gym.

Today:
School day! Practiced water waving and updo's!

Next time there will be a photo entry, since I haven't posted many.
Nighty night!

Brighton here we come!

I finally booked the ferry to Dover! Sometimes I've got so much on my mind, that I tend to forget things...well actually it happens a lot lately.

The main thing that got my brain working overtime is school and work.
Good thing is, I finally decided to post my hairdo pictures on Facebook. I think it will be a good advertisement for the work that I do. I don't like my current job, it makes me unhappy. So I have to buckle up for next Saturday, as that will be the day that I am going to apply for a job at the barbershop. Maybe some luck will come my way. I really hope so, I am sick and tired of being cussed and shouted at. My goodness Dutch folk can be darn rude about the most insignificant things. Example: Strawberries on sale. Sometimes it happens that a product runs out of stock, which is understandable if it's cheap. A woman came up to me and started like this:
W- Yeah uh I don't think you probably know anything about the fruit department, but I want strawberries and they're out of stock over there. (points into some meaningless direction)
Me- Okay, I will go and look whether we have it in stock at the back.
I went looking and asked for the strawberries but our goods still had to be delivered so no strawberries.
Me- I am sorry madam, we don't have it in stock right now. The strawberries will arrive in about an hour or so.
W- What the hell is this!! I want it now! What's the use in waiting for it...yapyapyapyap blaaaaaaaaah!!!
That's just one of the dozen examples I have of being mistreated by people.

Today work was okay, people were acting normal and I went to the Kruidvat for a Max Factor haul.
Buy one get one free! So I got myself 2 nail polishes, a lipstick, lipfinity, mascara and foundation.
Will post pics later.

Going to brush my teeth now and off to bed!
Goodnight :)

Busy weekend!

Hey there y'all!
I had a marvelous weekend, you too?

Friday:
Friday night Wesley's nephew celebrated his 18th birthday. After we stuffed our faces with food and pie, we went to the fair in Purmerend. It's quite a big one and it was very crowded! Actually it was crowded with a lot of
modern day youth.... But who cared about them! We were there to have some fun :) After strolling around for a bit we decided to take a spin in the Octopus.

Yay for cotton candy!

The guy on the picture is Wouter. He is the boyfriend of Wesley's cousin Amanda. They have a cute baby boy, he was at his grandparents that moment. (that would be Wesley's uncle and aunt) The cotton candy was very nice an it matches my jacket.

Saturday:

Rock 'n roll Franeker. We had to get up early because Franeker is a 2 hour drive and I had to do my hair and everything. It was nice and we had a good time. We even made some new friends! Here's a picture of me in Wesley's 1951 pick-up.

Giggles.

It went colder and we decided to go home and have some pizza. After dinner we went to the Cruise Inn where it was very quiet. There were two bands playing.

I really liked Al Willis and the new swingsters, they had a lot of fun on stage. We stayed for a few hours, I danced with Hans and then we went home. I think it was 4:00 when we went to bed.

Sunday:

Got up at 11:30 and we were very tired. God, we felt like zombies! But the most fun about that day was in the evening when we went to the forest to go mountain biking. It was my first time so I was excited but also a bit scared of falling. Well, the falling part wasn't left long to my imagination because I fell like 6 times! I even fell straight into the poison ivy :( It's harder than it looks to cycle over the track, but there's bumps, leafs, twigs, sand, mud, corners, trees, bushes, mosquitoes, downhill, uphill and loads more. So it's not your average touring on a mountain bike, it's hardcore off road dirt :P Good thing I was wearing a helmet.

So that was my weekend!

Maybe someone will post some photo's of Franeker or the Cruise Inn on Facebook , then I will post them here too.

I'll be back.

Snorefest

Today was a total snorefest, I mean literary boring.
Work was boring, I felt bored, the costumers were boring...just everything was boring!
Except for one thing, and that was going to the gym. I always go to the gym with two of my co-workers on Mondays and Wednesdays. I love working out, it makes me feel good about myself. Swimming is also fun, so we decided to do that sometime soon.

Haven't heard anything from Inge yet, so I'll just have to wait. Gosh am I freakin' nervous!

Since my day was not spectacular, I will tell you what I'm looking forward to.
This weekend, the 14th there's Rock 'n Roll Franeker in Frysland. Rock n Roll Franeker
There's cotton candy, dancing, old timer cars, a rockabilly barber (not me :( ), live music, fifties market and a whole lotta fun :) The best part is the hula-hoop dancing contest! I am so going to win that haha!

The 29th it's time for Rock 'n Roll Hoorn!
Great bands, a fifties market and old timers.

11th of June, D-day at the Cruise Inn.
Live music, fifties market, food and usually the whole rockabilly gang is there.

At the 18th of June I am getting a new tattoo! What will it be? I'll surprise you ;)

25th of June: We have a festival here that's called Golden Oldies, mostly 80's music but there's one bar that always hires a rockabilly or a blues band.

12th of July: BRIAN SETZER IN CONCERT!!!!  This needs no explanation.

24th of July: Harley Davidson festival right here in my hometown! Bring on the beer and the bikes!

25th of July, the start of my three week holiday with my love!
We're going to England, Brighton to be precise :) Nice vintage shopping there!
Oh my, just look at these lovely photo's.

It has such a 1930's atmosphere, what's not to love?
On that note, I'll be saying goodnight to you all! Maybe you'll have a nice dream about shopping in Brighton ;)

On the road

Driving home from school today was heaven and hell at the same time.
It was heaven because:
I had Brian Setzer blasting out of the stereo
I was singing along loudly with all the songs
The sun was shining
I had the window rolled down and also the rooftop window thingy
It was hell because:
Terrible drivers on the road
It was very busy
Pollen were flying into the car through the open window
I am allergic to pollen

School was fun, I learned to finger wave and it's pretty darn difficult! After trying 4 times, I got the hang of it.
The tricky part is to get it even all over the head. I also made an up-do

 


Notice the limited edition pin-up coca cola can ;)

After school I went to the education director, Inge. She is the one that takes care of everything that has to do with the education of B Academy but she also hosts lessons at other schools. You know that I work at the supermarket, but I really want to be working at a hair salon. A barber salon to be precise. Here is how our conversation approximately went:
R: Inge I finally know where I wan to work!
I: Oh, really? Tell me what I can do.
R: It's a barbershop in Purmerend, but I don't have any contact info right now
I: Well, go and look it up then send me an e-mail

When I arrived at home I immediately turned on the computer and started looking for information on the salon. Well here's the link, go check it out it's awesome!
Clickety click!
If all goes well I might be applying for a job there! That is, if they want to hire a student and have a place for me on the staff.

Also when I arrived at home, there were two packages waiting for me. Gotta love Ebay!!
I got myself a nice dress, a little purse and vintage work wear which I am going to wear when cutting people's hair, making up-do's or doing make-up.

I love it! I was looking for a work coat for a long time and this just happened to cross my path while I was checking out the purse.

I'll finish this post with some music.

Goodnight!

Just another monday

Hooray, I have survived the first day of the week!

Work was boring as usual, costumers complaining about everything, the weather was warm and damp.

Tomorrow I have to go to school and according to my planner we are going to water wave with the comb!

I am so excited, I love doing those old school barber styles. To show you how excited I am, I even bought an old textbook (well re-print) on water waving.

All is going well, I just have to come up with a good name for my business.

I thought of: Romy's retro barbershop and beauty salon or a catchy name like Slick and Glam.

Oh dreams, haha! No I am not kidding, this is what I want to do so there's nothing that can stop me.

That being said, here's our up-do with the Hollywood Wave!

What do we need?

- Bobby pins and hairpins

- Curling iron

- Hairspray

- Mason Pearson or any other kind of bristle brush

- Two hair elastics

- Heat protecting hair lotion/spray

- Practice! 

First you start by sectioning the front part and clip it away to the front.

Then you make a supertight ponytail. You do this by first grabbing the lower part of your hair and put an elastic around it. Grab the rest of your hair and gather it with the rest, make sure you brush everything smooth so there are no bumbs and lumpy bits. If you have a ponytail which you are satisfied with, grab a small section of hair and wrap it around the hair elastics, so they are covered. Secure it with a hairpin.

Next up: make the Hollywood Waves! While you let them cool off, go to the front section which you had clipped away. I made XXL pin-curls and started at the bottom, then worked my way up. Now the difference with normal pin-curls is that these aren't entirely flat against the head. Make sure the shape of the curl matches the shape of your head, it must look soft and feminine. Also, if you look from behind and the sides it looks like you have some sort of pompadour going on.

Now...if you don't know how to make a pin-curl, it's easy but you need to practice!

Take a section of hair and roll it around your fingers. Yes I said fingers, because we're making XXL pin-curls.

When you reach your scalp try to grab the curl with your other hand and roll further upwards with both hands, secure with a bobby pin, or maybe two when you have a lot of hair.

If you're satisfied with the result, your curls are cooled off and you can brush them out so you get a nice wavy ponytail. Spray with hairspray, decorate with a scarf or a flower and you have a nice up-do!

I hope you enjoyed this how-to and be creative! I chose to do pin-curls but there are so many other things you can do with that front section. 

And remember: practice makes perfect!

Weekend

Wow how the weekend flies by so fast!
I hope you all had a good one :)
My lovely boyfriend stayed for the weekend since that's the only moment in the week that we see each other.
If all goes well, I move in with him by the end of the summer.

Yesterday my uncle celebrated his birthday, so we went to visit him. It's always very nice and cozy so it got really late. There's no outfit photo of that day.

Today was/is mother's day! I got my momma a nice fragrance set of Maja. It has a bar of soap in a nice soapbox and a bottle of perfume.
The perfume is hard to find, so I was pleased to stumble upon it in the drugstore. Which they have refurbished by the way! I was totally lost, couldn't find a thing. Normally I know my way around there but the new layout doesn't make sense at all. I must say that the make-up counter does look much better now.
I also cut Wesley's (boyfriend) hair today. Last time I cut it, I had exams and he was my model. His hair grows so fast, so it's good that he has his own personal hairdresser to maintain his style. (a pompadour)
I am just going to keep you waiting until tomorrow, when I'll be posting the ' how-to' to the up do with the Hollywood Wave. 
Goodnight everyone!

Feeling hot!

Hey there!
It was mighty hot today, even now at 20:41 it's still warm.
So I wanted to show my new hair color:

Hot red! That really suites the weather today haha!
My outfit today:

I mixed modern with vintage.
Top: modern
Shrug: modern
Skirt: vintage, I got this from my boyfriend's grandma. She had no use for it anymore.

My day was kinda boring to be honest, I made an appointment with my physiotherapist since my neck is killing me! A few years ago I got hit by a car while I was riding my bike. The driver didn't see me and scooped me right of my bike and I landed in the grass with my head on the ground. That's about three years ago right now but I still suffer from the consequences.
I wanted to visit my grandparents with my momma but they weren't home.
So that was my day, like I said very boring.
Sweating and melting the day away.

To make this post a bit more interesting I want to talk about hair.
Like I told you, I am studying to become a hairdresser and I love to pass on some info on the updo's that I have created on my doll head. Now you must know something about that dolly! I am not allowed to cut off the ugly split ends, so it looks nasty and frizzy at the bottom. If I had a say in it, my scissors would have gone right through it a long time ago.  Let's start simple by telling you how to create the Hollywood Wave.
If you know how to do this, you can create many nice do's.

What you will need:
- Curling iron
- Mason Pearson or any other bristle brush since the mason is very expensive!
- Prep/ heat protection spray
- Hairspray
- Patience

If you wonder, what the heck is a Mason Pearson..??

These guys are great for untangling and make your hair look soft and shiny.
So whatever it is that you want to do whether it is straightening or curling the hair, always start at the bottom.
Just take one section at a time, otherwise everything gets tangled and you might get confused.
You can prep your hair with a heat protection spray to reduce any damage that may be caused.
Hold your iron horizontal and roll upwards. Wait a few seconds, make sure the iron is really hot!
Do not touch your freshly curled hair! Let it cool off, even when your entirely done just wait a few minutes.
*Ding!* Yay we're done! Now start brushing out your curls with the bristle brush, and again work your way up. Start with the lower section, you might need some hairspray if you have extremely long hair to hold the curl. *brush brush brush brush* When you're done brushing out, spray some hairspray, pop a flower in your hair and you're vampy kitten!

Well, I hope these instructions were easy to follow and that you will have luscious looking hair!
Next post I will tell you how to work the Hollywood Wave into an updo!

Liberation day May 5th

Ladies and gentlemen, it's a good day! (like many great performers sang)














Today is the day that we honor and celebrate our freedom.

translation: Freedom!

Yesterday we remembered the casualties of the second World War.

I believe in this tradition, and will remember it every year as long as I live.

Normally I would participate in an act (re-enactment that is) or go to a festival.

This year I had to stay at home as I am diagnosed with some sort of respiratory infection. Not really severe but the doctor ordered me to relax.

So what did I do today?

I dyed my hair red, and I watched a movie. 

This one:

There's not really a good storyline but fun to watch anyway :)

Ah, you want to see my new hair color huh? You thought, ah she's going to show me that instead you get Marlon Brando!

Ok, I have to make a picture but I do have a 'what I'm wearing' picture of yesterday!

Here's me, never mind the clutter behind me since I still have to do my spring cleaning. Plus I really need to move out of the house, because I have too much stuff in my room.

My blouse is probably from the early 50's, got it from Ebay

My momma bought me the skirt from a thrift shop in England

Shoes are from the 50's and got them from http://www.vintagestore.nl

Okay, so I'll better go and tidy my room now!

I'll get back to you later.

Interview with myself

Who am I?

My name is Romy, 23 years old and I live in the Netherlands.

My English will be crap sometimes, but nobody's perfect.

What am I doing with my life?

At the moment I am studying at the B Academy in Amsterdam to become a hairstylist. 

Bills must be paid so I'm also working at the supermarket.

I've finished high school and got my HAVO diploma. After that I studied at the school of arts, but found out that nobody can make a decent living out of it. So I went to Amsterdam to study photography, found out that nowadays 99,8% is photo shopped so it has nothing to do anymore with actual photography. I started to think, what do I like to do and am I going to make a living out of it? Several people told me how they love the way I do my make-up and asked me if I'm a professional. The answer was no, but I got excited about the idea of becoming a make-up artist! I signed up and finished beauty school, so now I've got my make-up license. I was told that if you can offer the whole package: make-up and hair, you would get a job much quicker than someone who masters only one of those skills. That got me thinking again, so that's how I ended up studying at the B Academy. I love hairdressing, and especially old styles like the ladies and gentlemen from the 30's, 40's and 50's. Right now I am training hard to master men's haircuts. It is so much more different than the way you cut woman's hair. But more about that later on.

So, old styles huh...vintage lover?

I love vintage and to me it's a lifestyle that reflects the way I am. The era that appeals the most to me are the 1940's and 1950's. Woman were so stunning and feminine, nothing like those stick figures from nowadays who starve themselves to death to get an assignment from their model agency. My boyfriend and I collect 45 and 78 RPM's and love to stroll around flea markets for rare finds. I collect vintage barber stuff, old magazines, golden era movies, and everything that's pretty for decoration for our future home. 

Why do you love vintage so much, is the modern world not good enough for you?

Well, to be honest, yes and no. Our manners have changed so much, some are better now and others are just forgotten. Good thing: woman are emancipated. Bad thing: woman are treated like objects. Yes, woman where always seen as objects of lust but it wasn't rubbed into your face every single day. I can rant on and on about that but it's a waste of time since things are the way they are at the moment. 

Ooooh and what about modern clothes! Some stuff is actually nice but one thing I will never get is the sweatpants tucked inside uggs boots. How can you actually be willing to caught dead with that!? Are we losing touch with our femininity and the urge to look desirable? Okay, you get it now, I dislike most behavior and the way we dress nowadays. But there are also good things about modern living, like internet! Where would a vintage lover be without the possibility to order vintage stuff from ebay that has sellers from all around the globe? I love that invention!  So I think you can say that every era has it's pro's and con's but people and the way we treat each other has changed a lot.

Fair enough, let's lighten up a little shall we? What are your hobbies?

Music! Making music, listening to music, visiting concerts, everything that has to do with music!

I play guitar, double bass, violin, the recorder (alt and soprano) , harmonica, drums and I love to sing.

So I am not great at playing all of them, some better than others but good enough to say that I can actually play them. I also love reading, watching movies, dancing, going out, exercising and drawing. 

You mentioned that you have a boyfriend, do you still have time for him with all those hobbies?

Hehe, yes, it's a good thing we share the same interests. 

Ah okay, can we see him?

Sure, look at this handsome guy! Hubba hubba hubbaaaaaaa!!! 

Well that's about it for now, next post will be less talking, more pictures.
Goodnight and sweet dreams!