having a wonderful time

So far our spring break has been pretty fantastic. Seeing some of our friends, hanging out with family, and revisiting our favorite spots. And the weather! Perfection!

More photos here.

spring break

I know it has been quiet around here lately, but I've been busy working on my spring summer collection in time for spring break. We are heading back to Iowa this weekend and I hope to get in a photo shoot with my brother. I didn't have time to make all that I wanted with the fabric I got, but I will probably make some new pieces throughout the spring/summer months. But I am happy with the items I did make! I was half toying with the idea of just packing the outfits and wear them myself all week, but I think I'll save them. Maybe I'll steal one of the tops, though. :)

The weather is starting to feel like spring! I think it finally is here to stay. The forecast all week looks like it will be in the 70's. Hopefully I packed appropriate clothing to wear on our trip. It seems I always pack the wrong thing! Anyway, both Jed and I really need a break from all the work we've been doing (especially Jed)! We have a whole bunch of things planned for the week. I just hope we can fit everything in! Enjoy the weather everyone! xo

jed's 26th birthday!

It's been pretty hectic around here, as usual! But we are almost ready for spring break in a couple of weeks. I have a lot of pictures to share, but I'll start with Jed's birthday. I made him cherry 'cup pies' (inspired by Pushing Daisies) and we ordered pizza. The day was pretty fantastic! I just love birthdays! And boy am I glad for Jed's. : )

Valentine's

We've been pretty busy around here lately, but we made time for Valentine's Day! It was so much fun, though we both had to get back to work afterwards. We watched an episode of Pushing Daisies season 2 while snuggling on the couch and enjoying the dinner I made. The cake was supposed to be something else, but last minute it didn't work so I just made it into half of a cake filled with 7-minute frosting and topped with a cocoa powder concoction I made up. It was originally supposed to mimic those little ding dongs (is that the name?), you know the little cakes with the creamy filling. Anyway, this worked out just as good I think. Jed liked it anyway, and that's who I was making it for! Hope everyone had a special day, even those who don't/didn't celebrate the lovey dovey holiday. I used to not like it so much, but I've since been converted. It has turned into one of my favorite holidays! I wonder how that happened...? ;) xoxo

p.s. someone notified me awhile ago that their comment never showed up. please let me know [gracefullady at gmail dot com] if you are having issues with commenting. i'm not really sure why that would happen. :/

weekend.

Although this is not how I planned it, my weekend has turned into rather a relaxing two days. There is a dress calling my name in the sewing room and a file cabinet needing to be cleaned out. But I'd much rather read the book I just got, "A Guide to Green Housekeeping" by Christina Strutt and my Harper's Bazaar. Hope you all are having a rejuvenating weekend also! xo

scones for breakfast!

We have been on a huge cereal kick for quite awhile now. But the supply has run low, so I decided to make these yummy scones for breakfast yesterday. The grapefruit are especially sweet and juicy this time of year! I just adore grapefruit! The scones recipe is from the cookbook "Baking with Julia: Savor the Joys of Baking with America's Best Bakers." Copied the recipe from this cookbook at the library years ago and it's been my favorite ever since. I found the recipe again by doing a google search. I used half of the recipe for this batch and it made just enough for the two of us!

many thoughts.

The dresses I am working on right now are taking longer than I thought. Or at least, I started to realize how silly it was to think I could open up shop before finishing these dresses! Making historical clothing is so much different than modern apparel. There are so many little details. You can't just cut it out and sew everything up with a machine. Lots of hand sewing involved. And I am drafting the patterns from scratch, so it is time consuming. It's been awhile since I've made a historical garment. Probably not since last year! So I'm doing a lot of research at the same time, which I actually do for pretty much every historical dress project I start. That is the reason why these two dresses will be my last historical dresses for a long time. I have not made any public statement or closed down my website (I will probably keep it open for those who use it for reference) yet, but have decided it's time. Time to move on to other things. I already have fabric for my spring/summer clothing and am itching to start work on those. But alas, I have other work to do first. I also have more Henriette dresses in a new blue/cream plaid made out of a lovely silk/linen fabric. And I made the Eugénie dress in a hunter green silk velvet I picked up the other week. It's really a stunning color. Jed helped pick this one out, so if you like it you can thank him for the color selection! :) I am sorry I can't reopen the shop just yet, but hopefully these dresses won't take too much longer!

I also have a lot on my mind regarding some of the things I wrote recently in another post I made about making youtube videos etc. I have been agonizing over whether or not to make videos, even going so far as to make a few sample videos (I know, really lame!) but am not happy with any of them. And have decided, for the time being, that making videos and doing the YouTube "scene" really is not my thing. I've found that as much fun as it sounds to do little videos, most of the time it just makes me feel like I need more "stuff," that I don't have enough "things." That feeling of "needing" more in my life than what I already have is not healthy for me. I do like to watch YT videos, but sometimes it is hard for me not to want to buy whatever product someone is talking about. Thinking it is the instant cure-all for whatever I'm dealing with at that moment. And while I'm not trying to put anyone down for making these videos (I really do enjoy watching many of them!) I just don't think it is right for me. I want to be real and myself, and I have a feeling that if I made videos I would be too worried and would just copy someone else! Perhaps there may be an occasion to make a video for a tutorial or a hairstyle, but you know I kind of prefer photography over video anyway.

So that's that! Hopefully I haven't offended anyone. I am trying to be honest and true to myself. Anyway, blah blah... back to sewing for a little while. Perhaps a cup of tea and then to bed I'll go. I am sorry I wrote a book this time! Thanks to those who were able to sift through my writing. Have a really lovely and beautiful weekend! xoxo

a new week.

Well, the weekend is over and I'm about ready to shut off the lights and go to bed. I've got a new schedule that I'm going to try to stick to tomorrow. A fresh day, a fresh week. I have two new dresses that I tried to photograph today for the shop. I'm also working on a couple historical garments that are rather intense projects. But I am itching to open up shop again! So I'm going to try to be very good this week and get everything done so I can list them for sale. Hope you all like the new fabrics I chose. More on that later... Goodnight! xo