good morning::full of links

I cannot sleep, so here I am at nearly one in the morn. It's not often I am unable to get to sleep, because I always seem to be tired. Nonetheless, it gives me a moment to write on this here blog.

::I feel like being random tonight, so that is what you're going to get::

I used to make cinnamon rolls for the local farmer's market and I had the best recipe ever from my aunt Susan. I am telling you, they're to die for. I'm craving some of those rolls right now. Maybe I will make a batch before the week is over. If I do, I will post the recipe. In the meantime, look at these lovelies from port2port (which is the reason I am craving cinnamon rolls at this time of the night).

I'm quite behind on the "This is..." game. I owe you all a picture of "My creation" and "My demon." Instead of a picture at the moment, which I hope I will be able to post soon, I will tell you what they are instead.

Creation: As I am a seamstress, I love to create clothing. Whether historical or clothing to wear every day, it gives me so much joy when I can take a piece of fabric and form it into something beautiful.

Demon: I had a hard time with this, but as it's a fun game I will choose a kind of silly one. I like to change my mind a lot where hair is concerned. I'm growing it out. No, I'm cutting it. Growing it out. Cutting. Growing. Cutting. ahhhhhh. I hate my hairstyle! So I guess you might say the fact that I always seem to cut it when I tell people I'm going to grow it out, is that little demon in me. That little guy who says "Cut it, Anna. You KNOW you want to..." Ah, well. I guess I have a weakness for different and new hairstyles. My hair needs to grow faster if it wants to catch up with my mood swings.

And if you guessed that I got my hair cut today, you would be correct. And it's short. And I really like it. I think I found a cool place to get my hair cut. Finally. You are right when you say you pay for quality. But that doesn't bother me, as long as I know I am getting the quality. Take a peek at Buzz Salon. They're pretty great. And I think I'll be going back...eventually. After I grow my hair out... :)

::This sounds absolutely delightful.:: {via not martha}

I want to design pretty summer dresses. And so I really must find the time to do it. Yes. I must.

My 1930s trousers are nearing the finish line. Had to make a few adjustments. But not much. I'm also thinking of adding detachable braces. But we'll see on that. I just want to finish the basic trousers first and see how I like them. Next pair in linen.

The other day I stopped at the antique store that I love so much and came out with 4 1/2 yards of lovely printed lawn and a bunch of cotton lace. I can't decide what to use the lawn for. Cute blouse or cute dress. blouse? dress? It's a toss up.

Things to look forward to this week? Friday. Because I haven't planned a single thing. I have no appointments. No one to meet up with. Just Friday all to myself. Of course that will probably change and I will agree to hang out with friends. But what would really be nice on Friday is one of those feel-good movie, a bowl of popcorn, glass of wine, some knitting and the house to myself. That sounds splendid. We'll see what Friday brings. In the meantime, I had better try to fall asleep, because I have a lot of work to catch up to tomorrow. That means waking up and getting started bright and early.

::Forgot to mention. My friend and I went on a little jaunt today. Snapped a few pictures on some random train tracks. A good day.

this is...

looking out my front door.



So not exactly the prettiest sight to see, but that's what I see when I walk out my front door. At least I am happy the snow seems to be melting. *crosses fingers* I have a feeling we will be getting another large blizzard and ice storm. gahhhh... But one can only hope. After all, I live in Iowa. You Iowans know what I'm talking about.

It's been a lazy weekend. Good and lazy. I am just not too happy about losing that hour of sleep today. As if I don't already have to get up early enough. Well one nice thing is that losing that hour of sleep means spring is coming and summer is not far off. We will soon be driving on clean roads (full of potholes, I might add) or rather, roads filled with puddles and mud splashing our windows. Here's to a new week full good things I hope.

this is...

my inspiration board.

I realize this is not exactly a board, but I don't have one. This is the closest thing to my inspirations which are compiled together. I also have a sort of scrap book of fashions that I have started, but unfortunately haven't really kept up with it. I'd like to make a new one for my spring/summer ideas. One more thing to do I guess. You might also check my flickr favorites for more images that inspire me.



And to be honest with you, these are just the pictures that inspire me for modern wear/living. I am also totally and completely obsessed with historical fashions, so that would be an entirely separate inspiration board. (Though you will notice a few historical images I have included in this wire.)

this week's "this is" postponed

I woke up early this morning with a terrible headache and a sick stomach. I'm wondering if I got food poisoning while I was helping out with a fundraiser dinner. It could have been something else that didn't agree with me or perhaps it was a mild sickness setting in. I have no idea, but I never got around to taking a picture of this week's theme. soo.... hopefully tomorrow I will feel better and be able to take that picture. Hope everyone is having a nice Sunday afternoon/evening. I've been lazy all day. Sleeping, reading, surfing the net. I hope whatever it is I have will be away from my body by tomorrow. I've got sooooo much work to get done.

this is...

me taking a picture of myself in the mirror with my favourite accessory.



At the moment, I wear these boots everywhere. With every outfit, whether it's jeans, skirts, dresses, you name it.

Happy Sunday. Think I'm going to take that 20 min nap and catch up from the late Friday where I stayed up waaaaaaaay too late. It can get annoying when I lose track of time. It's easy to do. Then get more sewing done and maybe even get in some reading. Tomorrow is Monday and guess what we have in the forecast? Snow. Ice. Snow. ugh. Well, it's not over yet! We've still got more snow on the way and I refuse to stop dreaming of summer...

this is...what makes me laugh out loud

So there are lots of things that will make me laugh out loud, but one thing I could capture was this scene of two of my favorite girls being completely themselves. Of course they would hate me if they knew I put this picture for all to see, but I don't seem to care. :) We've had way too much fun together and I imagine we'll have loads more in the future.

Have a nice Sunday! And keep warm! It's snowing buckets out here.

this is...sunday lunch

This is Cono Christian school and Bible Presbyterian church. I have recently been attending this church and as it's also a boarding school, they have lunch after the Sunday morning service. This place is transformed from church sanctuary to dining room to school theatricals to who knows what else. This is the spot where stuff happens most at this school. I really enjoy my time there and the wonderful and unique people I continually meet. So that's where I eat on Sunday noon. And the food is actually really really good. :)

this is...my collection

1930s vintage patterns.



I love pretty much all vintage patterns, but I'm drawn mostly towards the '30s. Of course these are the hardest to find for a reasonable price anymore. Occasionally I'll come across a few at an antique store for a few bucks, though. I especially love the rare patterns like the sailor pants, bathing or 'play' suits and the evening gowns. I swiped the bathing suit pattern off of eBay a few years back. I was so pleased when I won that auction. I still haven't gotten around to making it up, but that's a project I'd like to tackle this year. Can you imagine how much fun it would be to swim in a bathing suit made of wool jersey?? I CAN! That evening gown to the left of the bathing suit pattern is kind of my pride and joy. I grabbed that baby off eBay around the same time I got the suit. (A lot of these patterns I got around the same time and from the same seller - if you couldn't tell...) I paid more than I wanted to pay for that pattern, but it was worth it. I've made it once and I just love the wide bias-cut skirt. It's tricky to cut (especially if you choose silk chiffon as your fabric!!) but sews up heavenly. I personally think the 1930s translates quite well to modern apparel.

Sorry for the delay on posting my picture for the week. Some things came up today that were very unexpected. My dear friend was hit by a semi this morning and although I think she will be alright, as far as I know she's still in critical condition. I don't mean to end this post with a sad note, but would appreciate any prayers if you happen to think of it. She and I always like to dream up pretty vintage dresses to make and we both share a lot of the same passions. I do have faith that she'll get through this, if it's in God's plan.

this is what...

scares me.



In many cases change can be a good thing and I realize that, but it also can be very hard for me to accept change in certain aspects of my life. Reading this is a good reminder to me that I need to learn to "accept change as inevitable." This kind of goes along with being scared of new situations. I couldn't think of a way to capture "new situations" on film and as I almost forgot to even TAKE a picture today, this is what I came up with. Believe me, there's lots and lots more I'm scared of...but we won't go there today.

If you are interested in joining the little game "this is..." find new themes each Wednesday on this blog.