Title: Their Finest
Author: Lissa Evans
Genre: Fiction
About the book…
WWII is underway and everyone must do their part, whether it involve things they are willing to do or things that go well outside their accustomed norms. This book follows the lives of a budding script and copywriter, an aging actor, a seamstress, and a shy solider between the period of April 1940 and August 1941 and how the making of a movie about Dunkirk brings them all together.
What I think…
I only liked this book when I got to the last half, which I almost didn't make it to. There's a lot of scene setting throughout the book that came across as being more of a distraction than as well integrated or as being a means of adding to or developing the story in many cases. While the characters were interesting I felt like the different plot lines were not as suited for a book of shorter length and became tedious to keep track of. It was only when these plots started to come together in the
second part of the book that the story became much better and easier to get through.
On the plus side, research was clearly done in the writing of this book. I
also appreciated that this was not one of those novels that tries to
romanticize the war to the extent that it all sounds like one big lark.
To sum it all up…
Not my first choice for a recommendation of a book that takes place during WWII.
Yesterday I stopped off at the antique store while running some errands and ended up bringing home some fun new to me things!
Last time I was there, which was early fall, I saw a velvet purple cow toy that I decided to pass on and periodically since then I've thought about how I wish I would have bought it just because it was so funny looking. It was still there and I now own this tipsy little creature (and, in honor of national poetry month, I agree I'd rather see than be one) making it my second purple cow to come from this antique store. As I mentioned to a friend, propping it up with and positioning it next to the milkmaid was completely unintentional, although she does look appropriately shocked to see it.
Here's a better look at the above lunch set, which still has its original label and is still stapled to it's cardboard backing.
The final photo I have to share is this straw hat, which I love in part because it makes me think of Disney's Swiss Family Robinson. It's in great shape with the exception of the one flower, which I'll have to repair, and I'm looking forward to getting to wear it in warmer months!
Other than these I also came home with a small artist palette brooch, purple scarf, a ziplock bag of vintage sequins, and a wonderful beaded bolero.
♥️ ♥️ ♥️
Last month I came across an item that's been on my vintage wish list for a while, a corduroy dress and to make it even better it's red! Based on the style, the sizing, and a few other things, I'm guessing it's late 1950s or early 60's.
While we seemed to be heading toward warmer weather, a couple weeks ago we had a few days of cooler temperatures and I knew I had to wear my dress before it got too hot and I'd have to wait months before I could wear it again.
This dress has a lot of interesting details that I love with the skirt being made up of panels that aren't really visible in these photos and the bodice having not only some small pleats, but a bow and buttons as well.
Admittedly, I'm still not sure what I think about the bows and the pleats under them on the back.
I almost always forget to share a photo of the pin I wearing, but I'm trying to make more of an effort to remember to include one. I ended up with this tiny poodle in a lot of pins I found on etsy, which seemed much more suited to the dress than the other pompous poodle I tend to like to wear with black and red outfits.
Other than needing the hook part of the fastener sewed on again and the side seam right above the pocket needing a few stitches, this dress is in wonderful condition. Interestingly, construction wise, the tops of the pockets were left open and unpinked. To me this seems somewhat odd for a fabric that frays like crazy (my leggings and shirt had red fuzz all over it at the end of the day), although most of vintage dresses either have a patch pocket or no pocket at all, so maybe it's more common than I realize.
(The second, third, and fourth photos taken by my co-worker.)
♥️ ♥️ ♥️
