passementarie

Reflections

2012-01-28T19:59:00.000-06:00

Today I watched boys make and play with fake snot. It was the first lazy Saturday I've had in a while. The Paperwhites bloomed.

Reflections

2012-01-15T20:04:00.000-06:00

I made a new friend today. The world seems to have a habit of bring you what you need just in time.

Welcoming in 2012

2012-01-07T21:16:00.000-06:00

New years are always a time for resolutions. Even if we know we are going to break them we still make them. I made a lot of resolutions, one I already broke, two I have yet to even work on. But here is the start of one, to take more time for myself ( I think I have made this resolution before). Blogging is one of those things I want to make more time for. Now how do I blog more while working, going to school and having a family? Well this is really inspiring me right now. Not only is it short and sweet, I love how it is a little bit of blog poetry. If I don’t have time to blog I’m going to at least try to snap a photo and condense the week down to no more than three sentences.

Here is the start of my new year’s resolution and photos of a new life to start out a new year. I took these photos of my niece while in Seattle over New Years. She was born December 26. She looks like me and my brother when we were little.

The Battle of Black Jack

2011-07-04T10:07:00.001-05:00

The other week Marty participated at the Battle of Black Jack. He played Henry Clay Pate, I was there just as local color. The reenactment was a benefit for the Black Jack battlefield, which the reenactment was on. This wasn't a battle of the civil war, this was one of the "Bloody Kansas" events involving John Brown. So I wore my 1850s style dress and Marty and I had our image taken by Wendell Decker.

I pick the pose. It was inspired by the below photo that is in the book "Dressed for the Photographer". (Which is great book, by the way).

No this isn't a normal pose, but it did happen, and I was sick of doing all the normal ones and though this would be fun. Everyone really liked it.

Still here

2011-07-03T22:07:00.000-05:00

Lately I feel that I have been just getting what is necessary done and not a whole lot else. Though I am trying to remedy that. I haven't yet quite settled in here, but I'm working on it. My new full time job has started. I like it, but have yet to really find my place. I just signed up at the local community center, where they have Zumba and Yoga classes along with all kind of gym equipment. And in spirit of trying to meet new people and explore new things, today I attended a Unitarian service downtown KC. It was nice, but it also felt a bit strange to be attending church. I'm not a church person, but Unitarian churches are different so I thought I would give it a try. I really miss my friends and am trying to do anything to find new ones around here. It will take a while, I know. But I am feeling a little lonely here and making friends doesn't come very easy for me. In big news, I was accepted to grad school. So I should be meeting a new group of people there too, but life will soon be getting even more hectic. Though it will all be worth it.

Before I started my job I was able to take a whirl wind trip back home to visit my mama and a few others. It was just an extended weekend, but worth the trip. My mom is having surgery soon and I worry about her, seeing her made me feel a little better. Here are a few pictures from my trip.

My morning view. I didn't want to get out of bed...ever.

Ocean Shores.

My brother and his wife. They just celebrated their one year anniversary!

Blooming in Missouri

2011-05-13T11:53:00.000-05:00

One of the things that I love about our new little house is the yard. First it’s huge! Second it came with flowers! First to pop up were daffodils, then lilacs, then poppies and now peonies have started to bloom. I even found a few little strawberries coming up. I’ve been able to have cuttings in the window that is above my kitchen sink. I can look out to the back yard and smell flowers as I do dishes, which makes it a bit more pleasant. (Bad thing about the new house is it didn’t come with a dishwasher). This week I dug up a little piece of grass and planted a small vegetable garden. Getting grass up is a pain in the you know where! So hopefully the vegetables grow and not just a ton of weeds. I’m planning on doing the lasagna garden in the fall to prep for next year’s garden. But for now I’ll just cross my fingers for this year.

This garden is the beginning of me trying to live a more sustainable life style. With my job situation buying good organic food isn’t in the cards, so I’m trying to grow it. (I’m dying to join a CSA, but I don’t have a steady enough income for that yet) I’m really excited about doing some canning this summer. Another thing that I am going to start doing is getting rid of all the unnecessary stuff that I have accumulated. This house is little, so little that I had to rent a storage unit. So my goal is to sell enough stuff to get rid of the storage unit by the end of the summer. So I will be having a garage sale, ebaying and starting an Etsy store! I’m also trying to make more things from scratch; hopefully the garden will help with that. No one would eat anything that I just made up (I’ve tried, it always ends up disastrous) but I’ll try to share recipes that I have found, made and loved. Here is one for risotto that I made the other night. I had everything in the cupboard that I needed so I gave it a try, it turned out really yummy. You have to spend a lot of time stirring the rice, but it is easy enough to make. I used vermouth, but cut it in half, I don’t like a strong alcohol taste.

{create} 19/52

2011-05-10T08:30:00.001-05:00

I'm back at my long neglected 52 photo project. I'm finally getting back into the swing of things after the big move, so hopefully I will keep it up.
19/52 {window light}
my kitchen window.

Camp Jackson

2011-05-09T14:17:00.000-05:00

My MR and I traveled to ST. Louis the other weekend for a recreation of the Camp Jackson Massacre at Jefferson Barracks. MR was the star of the show during the Massacre. He was the guy who got the crowd all rallied up and shot the first shot. I wore my late 1840s/1850s dress. We were portraying lower class people in Missouri, so I figured it was appropriate to wear a little bit later fashion. The event was a lot of fun. We were able to sleep in the laborer’s house, which was a lovely stone building built in the 1850s and decorated with period furniture.

MR and I try to be as authentic as possible at these events, but food prep is sometimes the hardest to do when you are trying to be authentic. I cheated a little by premaking our Saturday dinner and bringing it to the event frozen. There usually isn’t proper food prep areas (not even 19th century ones) so this was the easiest way to do it. Our food need to reflect our working class status and the season, so I wanted to make a meatless soup that had vegetables that would have been available in Missouri at the end of April. I ended up using this recipe (minus the cheese) and it turned out great! I totally recommend it. No I didn’t get it out of a period cookbook and some might look down on it because of that, but I did use logic and I think came up with what I thought was a great basic recipe.

On Sunday there was a camera crew filming the battle. Turns out they were from the BBC! Billy Connolly is filming a series about Route 66 and St. Louis being on the route, was in town. I guess a civil war battle is something you shouldn’t miss when traveling in America. We got to meet Billy and might be on TV! (Well in Britain anyway).

Extra, extra

2011-04-28T09:19:00.000-05:00

The other day I got a gig as an extra on a movie. It is a piece for the boiler maker's union. For this film Wide Awake films is recreating different points in boiler maker history. This shoot was for the 1830s section. So I got to wear a giant bonnet!!! (Now I'm itching to make an 1830s dress. I love that style!) Being on a film shoot isn't all it is cracked up to be. There is a lot of sitting around and waiting and filming a tiny piece takes all day. But it is really fun to see how it is all shot and to see it up on the monitor. And I am always a sucker for anything that involves dressing up!

What have I been up to?

2011-04-10T09:48:00.000-05:00

Moved into this cute 1950s Ranch in a suburb of Kansas City. I'm not much of a 'burbs girl, I prefer the country, but having a grocery store down the block is quite convenient.
Unpacking, unpacking and more unpacking. Bringing two households together is a lot of work.
Looking for work, but in the mean time taking pictures of babies to bring home some bacon.
Applying to school and studying for my GRE.

I wish I could say I'm doing lots of fun things right now, but I just haven't had any time. Life has gotten in the way of living. I hate when that happens. I try not to let it get like that, but it happens. Today we are going to take a break and go to the art museum and I have plans for future fun, so hopefully I'll have something to talk about soon.

{create} 10/52

2011-03-08T23:03:00.000-06:00

MCP project 10/52 {children's toys}
I took a brief break from packing to take this. Getting in my photo project when ever I can.
This is of a Gene doll that was given to me by my good friend Bonnie.

Final count down

2011-03-04T16:44:00.000-06:00

The count down to the big move is on. I am trying to squish in everything I am going to miss about this place into the next two weeks. This morning I ate this

With these guys.

There are quite a few things I will miss about living in a small town and fellows like these is one of them.

{create} 8/52

2011-02-23T22:55:00.002-06:00

MCP 8/52 {view from here}
Sushi bar at Three Samurai in Coralville Iowa.

I am going to miss Three Samurai when i move to Kansas City. MR and I have tried a few sushi places in KC, but nothing has lived up to Three Samurai for me yet. The snake roll is amazing. And this guy, pictured here makes great sushi.

Well MR and I found a house, but I don't have a job yet. This move to Kansas City is a little bit of a leap of faith for me. But in my heart I know it is the right thing to do, and it will all work out. I am excited to take on this new adventure. The house is a 3 bedroom ranch built in the late 1950s. It's really cute, just what we wanted. I will get pictures soon.

My days in Amana are numbered. I'm sad to leave here,this little church and all the great people here. But others await. I hope you follow me on my new journey, to a new town. Thanks for listening!

{create} 7/52

2011-02-18T15:45:00.000-06:00

7/52 Open Your Heart

This photo was edited with MCP mini fusion action for PSElements. Download it for free here.

I've barely had time to live let alone take a creative picture lately. I totally missed out on last weeks photo. But new and interesting things are coming my way and I am working very hard to make them happen. I feel like I am living a bit of a double life, I don't know how those spies do it! But very soon I will be moving to Kansas City! I am very excited to have new opportunities and new places to explore. All the details aren't worked out yet, but I hope they are soon. I'll try to keep you updated. I am just hoping my life settles down for a little bit soon.

{create} new dress

2011-02-02T06:42:00.007-06:00

I finally finished a dress I started last summer. This is the Laughing Moon Mercantile round dress pattern. It is a late 1840s-early 1850s dress. I used a 1850s design calico and black antique buttons. I think I fitted this one pretty well, though I maybe could take it up a little in the shoulder seems. Man, am I short waisted! Even with being so busty. I am really proud of the gathers; I think they turned out really well. Now I’m all ready for some antebellum events! My next project is to make some things for Bailey, she still needs under pinnings and a nice middle class dress.

{create} 5/52

2011-02-01T17:41:00.000-06:00

MCP 52 Project 5/52: Muse
My muse: pretty vintage fashion and fabric

{create} 4/52

2011-01-28T11:55:00.003-06:00

MCP Photo project 4/52
Soothing Repetition
(I'm trying to work on shooting with indoor light. It's pretty tricky.)

Inspiration

2011-01-27T20:47:00.000-06:00

Have you seen OMG that Dress!? It's a great historical fashion blog with lots of pictures. Sometimes the dates are a little off, but it is really fun to browse. Just make sure you have a lot of extra time when you start, you'll be there for hours. Here are a few of my favorites.

Lumber Jill

2011-01-21T23:18:00.000-06:00

This week I spent an afternoon in the woods with a couple of lumber jacks. I know you are thinking, “is there still such a thing as a lumber jack?” “ Isn’t it January and 20 degrees in Iowa?” Why yes and yes. Well actually I hung out with the two guys who make up the forestry department here in my town. I’m not sure if they would appreciate being called lumberjacks, but I like it. And don’t worry, I wore my long underwear and snow boots.

Larry

Tim

I was able to hang out with Tim and Larry under the guise of my other blog. They showed me around their office (the timber) and even treated me to lunch. To get the full story, check it out here. But what I am really excited about is that I used a chain saw and ate deer for the first time on my little adventure with Larry and Tim! It was awesome. What can I say, I'm a cheap date.

My Town Amana Colonies has been quite the blessing for me. Not only have I been stretching my writing and photography skills, but it has allowed me to really see what people around here do in their day to day lives. It has been a lot of fun and people have been really kind to let me follow them around and take pictures of them. Next on my interview wish list? Interview the cowboy who works on Amana Farms. He wears chaps and spurs. I can’t wait!

{Create} 3/52

2011-01-17T22:23:00.000-06:00

MPC 52 Project week three: Shades of Grey

The High Amana Cemetary

{Create} 2/52

2011-01-14T08:41:00.002-06:00

This week's assignment: Interpret a Song.

9to5 by Dolly Parton

{Create} 1/52

2011-01-12T20:36:00.002-06:00

This week's assignment: Something around the house.

{Create} Time

2011-01-11T20:33:00.001-06:00

Where the heck did December go?

It was a busy one for me…

I went to Seattle to see my family. It was a quick, but fun trip. I definitely miss the PNW beauty.

MR feeding the seagulls at Ivars in Seattle

Had Christmas in Kansas City. MR gave me a beautiful handmade card and the kids and I drew portraits of ourselves for him.

Started a new blog

Recently began the 52 Photo Project ( so you should be seeing a lot more photos from me.)

All this amongst everything else called my life. My New Year’s resolutions are to take lots of pictures this year, dance more and stand up for what I believe in.

Hope to be seeing a little more of you all soon. Thanks for sticking with me!

{Create} Gifts

2010-12-10T06:22:00.001-06:00

I was trying to think of an inexpensive Christmas present to make for my family and friends this year. I came across this marshmallow recipe from Smitten Kitchen and thought it would be fun to try. Put it together with homemade hot chocolate mix and it is a fun little gift from the heart. Both were easy to make. Don't be afraid because you need a candy thermometer to make the marshmallows. I have never made candy before, and this was a great way to start out. Give it a try, they are waaay better then store bought marshmallows, and you can make them any flavor or color you want.

{Create} memories

2010-12-09T06:00:00.000-06:00

For my birthday my friend Laura gave me this sweet little scrap book. It must have been printed in the nineteen-teens. I love the illustrations in it , which are just enhanced by the fact that they were printed with a printing press. Can't you just imagine putting pictures of your friends in here with those little black corners? I would love to see one filled with ephemera from the period. I tell you, they don't make anything like this anymore! Enjoy.

{Create} Sugar High

2010-12-08T20:16:00.000-06:00

My MR brought the kids up to Iowa for the first time this last weekend. It was our town's holiday festival, so there was plenty for them to do, and eat..

First stop was the church's cookie walk. Cookies, cookies every where! Lots of chocolaty ones, colorful ones, dipped ones, and even fudge. Way to many to choose from. You only have 15 minuets to pick out the kind you want and to fill your box then they hustle you out so others can have a chance. It felt like Supper Market Sweep.(Anyone else used to watch that show?)

I think MR won the prize for most cookies consumed. I had to take the box away from him.

We visited the Tannenbaum forest to see all the decorated Christmas tree and to see Santa.

MR had to get in on the Santa action too.

Then off to the Chocolate Haus where the kids dipped Chocolate. I think this was their favorite part.

It turned out to be a long sugar filled day. When we finally went home, I made dinner for everyone. Which possibly should have had more vegetables in it to counter act all the sugar. But I tell you cooking for five is very different then cooking for one. And, man do kids eat a lot. I mentioned this to my mom and she laughed, really hard .

Is there elastic in that?

2010-11-28T21:30:00.002-06:00

leggings and boots, originally uploaded by ghgirl79.

It might be all the food I ate this weekend, but I am loving leggings right now. Especially with boots and a long tops. Dream wardrobe above.

Dreaming of England and wool

2010-11-28T12:40:00.001-06:00

Have you seen I Capture the Castle? I just did. I realize that this movie came out in 2003, so it is probably old news...but it's great! I love this movie. The best part? The costumes! It makes me want to live in the 1920s in an English castle. The colors and the textures in this movie are really beautiful. The main character is Cassandra, who is played by Romola Garai. She is mostly in blue and beige and usualy linen. She is the soft, sweet, naive, but thoughtful one. Her sister Rose, played by Rose Byrne, is the pretty, snotty one, who wants to be rich. She is always in pink. There are lots of berets and cardigans in this movie. So fun and inspiring. Now I am dreaming of England and wool.

i capture the castle by Ghgirl79 featuring vintage tops

Here is my version of living in I Capture the Castel

buttery goodness

2010-11-27T12:01:00.000-06:00

Every holiday my mom always makes Spritz cookies. These buttery, crisp little cookies go amazingly with coffee or tea. They are simple and fun to make, though you do have to use a special cookie gun. But it’s worth it. You can make them in it all sorts of shapes, trees, wreaths, stars, flowers and add a little food coloring and they are very festive. The recipe I use is from the Betty Crocker Cookie cookbook. Mine is a facsimile of the 1962 printing. My mom has the original printing and I think she used it to make most of the cookies as I was growing up. What are your holiday traditions?

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T22:58:00.000-06:00

I am so thankful for my family and friends! My family is far away, but they always manage to stay close. And my friends always make me feel at home when I am away from my family. Today I had the best Thanksgiving dinner with my friends, the Hoover family. They really made me feel at home. Thanks Hoovers!

And now a Thanksgiving treat...or not....just for you. Me and my brother, Thanksgiving 1990.

I still have that dress. It started out as my Pilgrim dress for Thanksgiving. It then turned into my nerd girl little house on the prairie dress. I used to wear it around the house when i was about 14, begging my mom to let me use candles instead of electric lights in my room. If only I had 19th century reenacting way back then.... Anyway I hope you all had somewhere warm to go and some good food to eat.

Venturing into the world of Ebay

2010-11-18T20:12:00.004-06:00

Well I have done it! I'm selling on Ebay. Things are getting a little crowded around here, so I thought I would sell some unused items on Ebay. If this goes well I am hoping to venture into the world of Etsy too. But I thought I would try this out first. I'm really nervous about it, really. Did I tell the bidder everything? What if they are disappointed when they get it? How the heck am I supposed to ship this thing? Is it even going to sell?

deep breath. And just go for it! That's what I did.

So here she is, the first dress up for auction on Ebay. Its the first reenacting dress I ever made. I don't wear it anymore because it isn't totally historically accurate. But its cute, and would be perfect for a woman just getting into reeacting.

If you are interested you can bid here. I have two more dresses that I plan on selling once I figure out how this whole online selling thing works.

time for tea

2010-11-16T20:49:00.009-06:00

Sunday I celebrated my birthday in style with a tea party. The treats were delish. The menu included scones, lemon curd, flourless chocolate cake, molasses cookies, meringues, asparagus tart and stuffed mushrooms. I served the end of my yummy crème brulie grey tea from Teacup in Queen Anne, which was gifted to me by my good friend Jenny. I’m going to have to make a trip out to Seattle to get more. I also served hot chocolate, because that’s what Emily Post said was served as an alternative at teas. Oh yes, I defiantly consulted Mrs. Post on this one. All of my friends arrived in their tea party finery and even brought me gifts! It was a great way for me to celebrate 31Photo by Anna Allen and can be found here.

it takes a village

2010-11-08T19:31:00.006-06:00

Tomorrow is my 31st birthday. This year went by really fast, it seem like just yesterday I was bitching about being 30. For some reason 31 doesn't seem as bad as turning 30. Maybe I'm finally resolved with being in my thirties, maybe it’s because this year didn't turn out half bad. I have a lot of changes in the works for 31. I’m really looking forward to them and I promise I'll share with you as they come along.
Every birthday I have this feeling that I should send my mom a card. Do they make a “thanks for pushing me out of the womb, Mom. It’d be cramped in there if you hadn’t” card? (Here I come Hallmark). But really, if it weren’t for the people who loved me and raised me, I wouldn’t be the woman I am today. Like these women. This is me just a couple weeks old, my mom, my grandma and my great grandma. My great grandma just died this year. I kind of wish I had a little girl before she died so we could have taken this picture again.And this picture of my mom as a baby with her mom, grandma and great grandma, reminds of where I came from. And today I think of them and all the other people, men and women, who loved me (and who aren’t necessarily related to me). So on my birthday, hey thanks for everything you have given me.

Nermal

2010-11-06T20:28:00.004-05:00

This is my MR Cutie's sweet, sweet, girl kitty, Nermal.
She loves me. I love to tease MR Cutie about it, because she comes to me when I call her, but not when he does. She crawls into my lap and cuddles with me.
She also chews on my hair when I am trying to sleep. But I forgive her, since she is so darn sweet and cute.

Tea Party

2010-11-02T22:52:00.007-05:00

It's November, which means my birthday is coming! This year I decided to throw myself a party. A tea party! It isn't for a couple weeks (I'll make sure to share pictures). But the invitations have been sent and planning has commenced. I made the invitations by using t-shirt transfers to put the invitation on little tea napkins that I then sent in envelopes that I made with scrap book paper. It was fun, easy and I had all the materials, so it didn't cost anything. The hardest part was getting my text to be a mirror image so I could transfer it properly to the fabric. Apparently some printers have a t-shirt transfer setting. Mine does not. I ended up using photo editing software to make a jpeg of the invitation and using Microsoft Publisher to flip the text.
The invitations went over well, one of my friends even hand wrote and mailed her acceptance to my tea! I'm so excited. I have great plans for food. I still need to come up with some decorations though. It should be a fun time.

hay bales

2010-10-26T14:03:00.003-05:00

It is harvest time out here in the country. Tractors are creating traffic and dust is flying, along with the Asian beetle infestation. My favorite part of harvest time is hay bales. I find something magical and romantic about hayfields. The farmers having transformed the grassy field into a yellow, flat place. Rolling the land into big orderly bales. I can imagine curling up behind one of those big bales and reading a book on a sunny afternoon. (Of course in my imagination there are no bugs whizzing around buzzing in my ear). Or using them to playing a ruckus game of hide and seek.

At it again

2010-10-24T21:39:00.004-05:00

Well I was at it again, tempting the flour fates. But success, yet again! I was able to make some nice malleable pie dough (for once) and made pork pies. It was a lovely fall day here in Iowa and I was feeling inspired. Out side the fall colors are in full bloom and the sky this afternoon was cool and grey. The day was just begging for some good wholesome food. So I made these muffin tin pork pies.(I added a little grated apple and some allspice to the recipe) I also made brussel sprouts. My mother hates brussel sprouts and never made them for me as a child, so this was the first time I have ever eaten them. I wouldn't say they are my new favorite vegetable (you're still safe broccoli) but I would eat them again.

Pizza

2010-10-23T21:33:00.004-05:00

I actually made something that involved flour and yeast that turned out well! It was a baking miracle! I made pizza dough using the olive oil dough receipt from this book. The dough turn out to be crunchy on the bottom and soft on the inside. It would have been a little better with some herbs thrown in, but it was still good. And it was easy to make with the bread hook attachment on my mixer and I made it a few days before I wanted to use it. We made BBQ chicken pizza, using BBQ sauce from Jack Stack in Kansas City as the sauce. It turned out really yummy! And it encouraged me to think about giving making bread another try.

when I grow up

2010-10-11T21:55:00.005-05:00

When I grow up, I want to be a photo stylist. I want to create beautiful spaces where people at home will dream of being . I want to set up vignettes that tempt you into wanting everything in the picture. I want to take you places you have never been, just like Loreta at All of the Beautiful Things. This blog comes from Lithuania, but luckily there isn't a whole lot of text. Just beautiful, beautiful photos. And the styling! Just look at the styling! That's what I want to do!

Portland OR

2010-10-05T22:36:00.004-05:00

I am beginning to think that the most lovely of things come from Portland, Oregon. First and foremost, my mama, who was born and raised there. I have spent a lot of time there visiting relatives and have always thought it very fun. I even celebrated my 21st birthday there. As I search the good old net, I notice that there seems to be a lot of fun blogs coming out of Portland, like this one, and also artists like Emily Martin and my new find Julianna Swaney. Julianna makes the loveliest little drawings inspired by fair tales and has a lot with Victorian themes. Like this one. She all so makes these, which I am totally in love with, and very much need to own.

Oktoberfest

2010-10-04T19:47:00.006-05:00

This weekend was Oktoberfest in my little town. There was beer drink'n, there was brat eat'n, there was polka dance'n, oh and there was the Chicken Dance. This weekend was the first really cold day we have had this fall, but it was also beautifully sunny. I love sunny, cool fall days. The mornings smell so yummy, it makes me want to bottle them up and wear it as perfume. This weather makes me want to wear warm snugly clothes and flannel. It also makes me want to lace up my hiking boots and take to the woods. I did both.

Happy October!

2010-10-01T18:55:00.004-05:00

Today was one of those amazing 70 degree fall days here in the Midwest. Oktoberfest started to day. I finished reading O Pioneers! last night. And I was feeling inspired, so I wore this today. Happy October everyone!

Jynx

2010-09-30T20:05:00.003-05:00

My little corner

2010-09-29T20:54:00.008-05:00

Welcome- Want to look around?
Living in an old building has been quite the adventure. I love the way it looks and they way I have decorated it, but there has been run ins with mold, spiders and a bat. I'm coping though, and every time I cuddle up in bed and look at the hardwood floors and my rust walls, I smile. Though I am definitely considering building a new house that looks old, that is if I ever own my own house. For right now I'll keep the insecticide handy and enjoy my hardwood floors.
I didn't plan for everything to match, it just turned out that way. I guess I really like the rust color. An Emily Martin print in the back ground with a nineteen-teen dress on an antique dress form.
(for Silvana)A little vintage card of cows I got on Ebay, a Emily Martin print, and a vintage piece of embroidery I framed.

New Look

2010-09-23T20:35:00.003-05:00

I changed the look of my blog. How do you like it? I like that it is green and pink, my two favorite colors!

Third wedding of the season

2010-09-15T15:56:00.005-05:00

I have to admit, in the beginning of the summer I was kind of bitter about weddings. I thought they were just about really expensive dresses you only wear once and following outdated traditions (like the father giving away the bride). But after seeing three people I love get married this summer I have come around. My friends Katie and Rob’s wedding was the third and final wedding of the summer. It was simple and lovely, short and sweet. It is really nice to be part of and to see the start of someone you love’s new life. To see the couple so happy and to be able to give them a hug and tell them you wish them the best on their new journey, is such a great feeling. As I ate cake and watched Katie and Rob smile at each other, I thought about how sometimes the party masks what really is at the core of the event. How we need to not let the worries and the plans of the day overshadow the new life that is starting. Katie and Robs wedding was so simple I was able to peek through the tulle and see the love. And it made we wish that we celebrated life together as a family, or a community or as a group of friends more often. Not just to have fun, but to acknowledge how wonderful and magical life really is and to be grateful for one another and for what we have. From now on I am going to try to pause and see the magic of getting together and celebrate life. Not worry so much about being on time, having the perfect side dish or who is invited and who is not. But to celebrate the coming together of people I love. I think this means I’m going to start having birthday parties again…

Sunday Morning

2010-09-12T11:28:00.006-05:00

The other day I attempted to make curried butternut squash soup. It did not turn out well. My problem is I always want to alter the recipe, and I should realize that I shouldn't do that, because it always turns out badly. The recipe called for frozen squash, but there is beautiful locally grown fresh squash here that I wanted to use. But because I didn't cook the squash enough before hand my soup turn out really grainy and unpalatable.

This morning I was at it again, but the results were much better. I used this recipe from Martha Steward to make blueberry muffins. The recipe calls for two cups of all purpose flour. I decided to use one cup whole wheat flour and one cup unbleached white four. And the muffins turn out great! I guess cooking is like sewing; pracitce makes perfect and sometimes your project just needs to be thrown away and you need to start over.

rain

2010-09-10T18:56:00.003-05:00

There are two types of rain here in the Midwest. The most common rain is hot and sticky. This is a rain in which you are unsure if you are wet because of the sweat or the rain. It is usually accompanied by heat lighting and the smell of hot earth and crops. There is also the freezing rain, which we get in the fall and winter, oh and sometimes in the spring. This rain covers your windshield with two inch thick ice and makes you wish you worked from home. Every once in the while we get a rain which I call the comfort rain. It is the rain that happens in the late summer and fall, when the temperature sits in the 60s. It taps, tap, taps on your windows while you work away. It brings a cool earth smell of mushrooms and trees. This rain brings on a fog that floats through the crops and sits on top of the corn. A fog that makes you want to put on a big wool sweater and boots; to walk under a grey sky amongst the trees and the fog, the hem of your skirt getting soaked from the raindrops resting on the underbrush. This is a fleeting kind of rain here in the Midwest. It is the rain of my childhood. It is the comfort rain, the soft tender rain of the Pacific Northwest. When it visits me here in Iowa I smile and wish for a cup of coffee.

Girly Girl

2010-09-08T13:49:00.005-05:00

I was the girl who always had the lace parasol in her Sears pictures.
I was the girl who wore dresses to kindergarten everyday.
I was the girl who decided that her stage name would be Gypsy Lynne.
I was the girl who wrote poetry about goddesses and fairies.
I am the woman who wants to wear this...and thisoh and most definitely this (all found here)Not really the perfect accessory to wear touring farmers around a manure digester...where does one wear such pretty girly things in Iowa?

Lamoni

2010-09-06T22:16:00.002-05:00

This weekend my MR cutie and I took the kids to the annual Lamoni Civil War reenactment. This was the first reenactment for two of the kids. They had a great time playing in the dirt, consuming tons of sugar and making new friends. Lamoni is a mainstream event, but we decided it would be good way to start the kids out. We went as a refugee family, which confused quite a few people and impressed others. We made the kids carry all of their stuff and slept in a big rug rat pile to keep warm. I was a little worried that it would be too hard on them, but they were troopers and had a good time. The highlight was walking through thigh high weeds at eleven o’clock at night to find camp. I thought we had lost the little one in the weeds for a second, but his little head kept popping up. Everyone is ready to go out again!

Inspiration of the week

2010-09-01T22:49:00.004-05:00

Artists Mia Cabana and Oliver Scott's collaboration which I found here and also here. I love books and miniatures, so this is right up my alley. I find it so beautiful and delicate, I wish I could make art like this!

Beginning of the season

2010-08-29T22:52:00.004-05:00

Football season that is. I would have never thought I would be talking about football on my blog, but here I am. My boyfriend has three “nerdlings” as he calls them. His middle one, had his fist football game of the season this weekend. He is 11 so it is peewee league.
Now I never participated in sports. I tried quite a few, but I always just ended up playing in the dirt. In high school I was one of those kids at the pep rally who sat in the back, scowling making fun of the other kids. (So super cool, teen angsty). Though I do admit when I was in kindergarten I said that I wanted to be a cheerleader when I grew up. I don’t even like to watch sports on tv. I’m more of a oohhh Swan Lake is on PBS, kind of person. (This may be a problem with my boyfriend when fall come, he is a KC Chiefs fan). So I have spent little time on the sidelines of sports games. But it was actually fun to watch. The nerdling made a really good catch and his team won 14-0. Then there was “can we have money for a snack” which, “snack” of course means junk food. But I too caved and ate nachos, which my grown up tummy really regretted. Not having kids myself, it has been an adjustment dating someone with kids. At one point I asked “do they bicker like this all of the time?” “Yes.” “hum, I guess I used to do that too, with my brother.” Damn, it’s payback time already and I didn’t even birth any kids. But they are fun, and sweet. They’re good kids, I like them a lot. But they sure are little nerds, just like their daddy.

fairy seamstresses

2010-08-08T19:44:00.002-05:00

I have a little sister. Well a little sister through the Big Brother Big Sister program. We hang out for a couple hours every week. So far we have gone roller skating, swimming, to a play, for a walk around the lake, made homemade ice cream, and cooked dinner. My little really likes crafty stuff, so our thing to do recently has been to make tiny fairy clothes out of paper. I found this book at my local craft store and thought it would be fun to make fairy fashions. My little likes it so much we have done it two weeks in a row. Lucky I have quite the stash of scrap book supplies. So we use glitter, ribbon and beads to make the haut couture of fairy land. So what do you think? My new spring collection is all about nature and flowers. It seems that my little sister goes a little more avant garde, lots of pattern and lots of purple.

Another wedding

2010-07-19T20:55:00.004-05:00

On Saturday my good friend Tera got married. I met Tera my first semester at the University of Iowa. She was in my English class and one day, as we were waiting at the stop light to cross the street, she started talking to me. She asked me what I was doing that weekend. I told her I wasn’t doing anything because I was new in town and didn’t know anyone. She invited me to a party that night and we have been friends ever since. (I think that may have been the party where Tera was grabbing random Gay Boy butt. We were just meant to be close friends!) We even lived together for a while in college (oh the stories we could tell on each other).
Tera’s wedding was the first Jewish wedding I have ever been to. It was truly lovely. So much so that I am thinking about becoming Jewish so I can have a Jewish wedding too. Is that allowed?
I really love that in the Jewish tradition the parents and the guest truly become part of the celebration of the couple. Both the bride and the groom’s parents walk down the aisle with them and stand up with them during the ceremony. And at the reception the guests who come from out of town are thanked by name for coming. It was also fun to join in with everyone for the Hora, or the chair dance. These things along with other traditions really bring everyone together to be a part of the celebration.
The part I loved the most was the reading of the Ketubah. Originally a prenuptial agreement that protected the wife, the contact talks about building a loving and equal home. The couple pledge to trust, support and encourage each other. Now this I can get behind. After Tera and Mark and their grandparents signed the contract the Rabi gave it to Tera’s mother for safe keeping.
Before the breaking of the glass, Tera and Mark walked around each other three times signifying that each was the center of the others universe. Some weddings I have a hard time with because it seems that the wife is being sold to her new husband by her father and she is now to do what her new owner tells her to do. Sounds Jaded, I know. But really, does my father have to give me to my husband? Isn’t that my decision? Tera and Mark’s wedding was nice because I felt like it really brought their family and friends together to help them pledge themselves equally to each other in love and understanding. Congratulations Tera and Mark!!!

Today I

2010-07-15T21:45:00.003-05:00

hung laundry out on the line...

history geek

2010-07-11T23:56:00.003-05:00

I have always had a dream of owning a piece of property. A hilly place with lots of trees and maybe a creek. Here amongst the trees I would build a settler’s cabin. Complete with rope bed, potbelly stove, a herb garden and out buildings. The little cabin would be a place to hide away from the modern world, a place to play and relax. A place to invite friends and play make-believe.

Luckily MR is into history as much as I am. So when I told him about my dream he suggested that we go look at the houses at two local history parks, Scholl Creek and Missouri Town. So I spent this weekend oohing and ahing over historic building, talking about how cool it would be to have this one or that one. How did they construct this or that? Definitely need a loft, oh and a summer kitchen…. Totally history geeked out this weekend. It was fun!

My brother got hitched!

2010-06-29T19:20:00.009-05:00

the bride wore a simple sweetheart neckline gown and the groom wore a dark brown suit with french blue shirt...
The brides maids wore seafoam dupioni...
Pacific Rim and den Hoed wine was served along with a champagne toast....
The setting was the den Hoed vineyard, the weather perfect...
The linens were blue and brown and the center pieces were peonies and blue bells
a gastronomic cornucopia was served.

Wedding Shower

2010-06-22T18:34:00.007-05:00

My baby brother is getting married on June 26, so I am in Washington getting ready for all of the festivities. This last weekend my mom and I threw a wedding shower for Lisa, my brother’s fiancée. Since I live so far away it was a little difficult to plan a shower, so my mom helped a lot and we tried to keep it really simple. We rented a suite at the Tulalip Casino and Resort. Because the suite was so nice we didn’t do any decorations, just a nice bouquet of flowers. The food was all catered by the resort and was very good. Because it was a lingerie shower I had corset shaped cookies made for take home gifts , along with this really pretty oatmeal soap that had Lisa’s and H’s names written on it. I found the soap here. It was a classy, upscale and simple shower, perfect for Lisa. After the shower the moms went home and the girls headed down to the casino for gambling, drinking and dancing for the bachelorette party. (shirts found here) But before that Lisa and I spent three hours at the hotel spa, which was soooo indulgent and lovely. It was a great idea to have the shower and bachelorette in the same place, that way we could drink and play then go up to our rooms and I was able to participate in both!

Thrifting

2010-06-14T14:41:00.007-05:00

My MR. cutie likes thrift stores, so I showed him around the best ones in Iowa City this weekend. First stop was Stuff Ect. They are a little local chain of consignment stores with everything you could ever think of. Cutie is on the lookout for 70s stuff. He is quite obsessed with the 70s home décor actually. Right now he is all about swag lamps. But at Stuff he found this chair for $30. Great little find, except it was too big to fit in his little car. So he is going to have to wait to put it in his place until I drive it down there to KC. For now Jynx is enjoying it. I found this Franco Sarto purse and these Hush Puppy sneakers.

I got them for $15 each! Franco Sarto bags retail for anywhere between $50-$150 and the sneakers retail for about $70. So I was pretty happy about my finds. The second stop was Houseworks. This place is kind of a pit, but you can find some good vintage household items here. I found a really cute pair of gloves. They are the perfect length for 1860, dark blue with a white edging and little buttons. But they didn’t have a tag on them. When I went up to check out the guy grab them out of my hand and said he can’t sell anything without a tag and then went on to help the person behind me. No “sorry about that” or “oh let me look that up”. I was super bummed, because they would have been perfect. So that was kind of a bust, but the great finds at Stuff Ect made up for it.

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-02T20:46:00.002-05:00

My life is still CRAZY! I am hoping that once July comes along things will slow down a bit. I am still unpacking from the move, I promised to be in a movie that starts shooting tomorrow, I am a new Big in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program and have been hanging out with my Little, all amongst other things. Oh yea and my little brother is getting married this month! But I was able to slow down a bit for the holiday weekend to go down to KC to see my boyfriend. We hung out at the lake, he took me to the dinner theater (totally his idea and super fun) and then we went to a Memorial Day service where he played taps on his bugle. It was a lovely long weekend spent with an amazing, sweet (and really cute!) guy. Hope you all had a great weekend too.

rainy weekend back in time

2010-05-19T22:26:00.002-05:00

I spent this last weekend down in Defiance Missouri at Boonvillage again. It rained most of the weekend, so Anna and I spent most of it in our house sewing. I am currently working on a 1850s dress to wear to an event in June. It was a nice relaxing weekend. It is always fun there, I really love catching up with everyone. I was also able to try out my new rope bed this weekend. I found this little bed in an antique store in Mt. Vernon Iowa. It is like a little trundle bed, nothing fancy and smaller then a twin bed. It worked out really nice. Anna and I were able to make it pretty tight. It was almost as good as a real mattress and the best thing is it is small enough to throw in the back of the Subaru.

April where did you go?

2010-05-02T22:40:00.006-05:00

Sorry I have been gone for the month of April. I don’t know where April went! At the beginning of the month I moved into my new apartment, but have yet to finish unpacking. Work has been crazy with programs and school groups. I toured a group of 60 5th graders around the Colonies the other day. Last weekend I went on a world wind trip to Seattle to try on a bride’s maid dress and wish my dad happy 50th birthday. On the 16th I took a trip to Kansas City to swing dance to a live band. It was a blast and I got my friend Marty, who I know through reenacting, to come out and dance with me. I also spent a lovely afternoon in Lawrence Kansas with my friends Jessica and Doug. Lawrence is such a neat town, I really like visiting there. This weekend Marty came up here to Iowa for a visit. I showed him around Amana and we had a great time. Now I have a cute reenactor boyfriend! So with unpacking, traveling and being moony over a guy, it has been a busy month! The weather here has been beautiful and I can’t wait for the reenacting season to start. Happy spring!!!My new apartment. More photos here.
The bridesmaid dress.

Meret Beret

2010-03-29T21:42:00.003-05:00

I finished this knitting project in record time. Usually it takes me forever to finish my projects, but this one was so fun it went really fast. It is the Meret pattern by Woolly Wormhead. It is a free pattern on Ravelry.com. It is a really great pattern for someone who is going from beginning to intermediate knitter. I made the medium size, but didn’t work the extra repeats for extra slouchiness. I kind of wish I had. I wore it with my striped shirt and felt very French. Oh la la!

New Digs

2010-03-25T22:46:00.003-05:00

Very soon I will be moving south to a new apartment. I am super excited about it. It is a little apartment that is in the south end of a 1860s church building. It is the only apartment in the building and the church part is still just like it was in the 1860s. This winter the apartment had a busted pipe and flooded. So the last few months it has been being renovated. I know the landlord and told her I was interested in renting the apartment, so she has let me be part of the renovations. She let me pick out the paint and the counter tops. I also had a say in some of the design work. It has been a lot of fun and I can’t wait to move in.
The new apartment is much bigger then my current apartment. So now I am able to get all of my belongings that have been stored at my parent’s house in Washington. This move is part of me living my life for the here and now. I have always wanted a house, but can’t afford to buy one right now. What I can afford is a bigger place, and this has given me the opportunity to have a place that I can make my own. I am getting a real dining room table; it will replace the outdoor patio furniture I am using for a dinning set now. I am also getting a couch, so when people come over they don’t have to sit on the twin bed that substitutes for a couch right now. (That is a little awkward when I have dates over). It will be a grown up apartment for me to be a grown up in. I can’t wait to decorate it. And it is going to be a great place to have dinner parties! Check out the renovation photos here.

Dear Companion

2010-03-16T21:13:00.006-05:00

Last night I went to CSPS and saw Daniel Martin Moore and Ben Stollee perform songs from their album "Dear Companion”. It was a fantastic show and it is a fantastic album. All the songs on the album are about mountain top removal. They are using this album to spread the word about surface mining that is killing the Appalachia Mountains. Daniel is a singer/song writer and Ben is a cello player, both are from Kentucky. On the tour with them they have Cheyenne Mize on fiddle and guitar and Dan Dorff on percussion. This album is beautifully melodic and smooth; quiet and upbeat at the same time. My favorite part of the album is the use of the percussion. I wasn’t expecting a drum kit to be on stage with a cello and a banjo, but the addition was surprisingly amazing. Also I am now in love with the drummer Dan Dorff. First of all he is gorgeous. Second he toured with Stomp, which he uses in the show; stomping, clapping, and beating body parts. It was amazing. Cheyenne’s voice is sweet and beautiful. I am sad that she is not on the album. I did pick up her record, and I mean vinyl record. It is beautiful, even if she didn’t have an amazing voice, I might have bought it anyway because it is so pretty. Here is a video of the four of them performing the title song. I mean come on, amazing right? And Dan Dorff? Yeee, (girly squeal).
Here is a more detailed explanation of this project.

Kansas City Tango

2010-03-15T23:59:00.006-05:00

This weekend I drove down to Kansas City for the KC tango “spring fling”. It was a three day tango festival with people from all over the country in attendance. I was only able to participate Friday night and all day Saturday, but had a total blast!

I have been tangoing for about nine months now. All but one time the dancing has been in Iowa City. I think I have hit this point with tango where I need to expand my horizons. See what people outside of Iowa are doing. This weekend was the weekend for that. I tell you it was an all time high. I have experience the next level in tango and am in love with it.

Not only did I have a fantastic time dancing, I also had fun meeting new people and exploring Kansas. I stayed in Lawrence and was shown around by two lovely well informed tour guides. I ate cookies made by the person who grew the wheat in her back yard. I saw a kick ass loft in down town KC(with hard wood floors which were perfect for some more dancing) and before I headed home I stop for some shopping at Anthropologie.

Spring Fling

2010-03-11T21:47:00.003-06:00

Today I actually went for a walk outside! Outside I tell you. The snow is almost all gone, just little patches here and there still trying to hang on. But now the sidewalks and the bike trail is all clear. It actually hit 50 degrees here in Eastern Iowa. Some of you in more balmy climates might be giggling at that, but it is very exciting for us Iowans. Heck people are even starting to wear shorts. See Washingtonians, you aren’t the only ones to don shorts at the first sign of the sun. The little sneak peeks of spring are so beautiful I had to go back home in the middle of my walk and grab my camera. Here are some photos I took of the ice breaking up in the Mill Race, a canal that runs through the colonies. Spring sure is on her way! I can’t wait to get out in the timber and go mushroom hunting and wild flower picking!

Tonight I am packing for my weekend trip to Kansas City. I am attending the spring fling Argentine tango festival there. I haven’t really danced all winter, so hopefully I am not too terrible and actually remember what I am doing. Maybe in honor of spring I will wear a flower in my hair.

Spring is in the air

2010-03-02T22:53:00.004-06:00

The spring thaw has finally come to Iowa. Today I stepped in mud and went outside in just a sweatshirt. No coat. No scarf. No hat. No gloves! The sky is getting to be a beautiful golden color during the day and the evening sky is finally a pale blue, turning into dark. Soon I should be seeing Red Winged Blackbirds, the first real sign of spring for me. Lately I have been obsessing about this blog, by Emily Martin. I tell you if I owned this outfit, I would want it to be winter all of the time. I am totally jealous and inspired by her wardrobe. Plus she is a fantastic artist. Check out her other blog here. This new piece of hers is my favorite. Oh how I want her to be my friend, though it might be a little creepy if I wrote her and told her so. I mean come on! How cute is this!
All photos by Emily Martin

Ain't nobody here but us chickens

2010-02-28T19:49:00.008-06:00

The dance party started off with a chicken (does this only happen in Iowa?). From there all sorts of silliness and fun ensued: limbo, the twist, fantastic music DJed by Dustin, the guitar player extraordinaire, and lots of fun dancing!!!! Oh and I was wearing a festive feather headband that I made. Perfect head wear for a dance party.

State Fair Dress

2010-02-27T17:48:00.005-06:00

I splurged the other day. I saw this dress (the state fair dress from Anthropologie) and just had to have it. I can't wait to wear it this summer, but for now I am wearing it to the dance party I am going to tonight with tights and a sweater. (oh yeah, the boots are Anthropologie too) Happy Saturday!!!

Technology

2010-02-25T18:56:00.003-06:00

I have a love hate relationship with technology. I lament how cars and appliance are now run with computers. Anyone used to be able to fix their own car or washing machine with a little knowhow, but now it’s practically impossible. You now have to pay ridiculous amounts of money to get someone to put a new computer chip to fix the broken machine.

I still have a VHS player; I didn’t get a DVD player until someone bought me one. I just refused to update. Why do I need an IPod? My Discman works just fine. Yep someone gave me one of those too. I do eventually update to the new technology (no one can help but do it), but I tell you I do so grudgingly.
But I do have to admit to myself I really do like this internet stuff; so much so that I have caved in and bought a phone that I can get my email on. I can’t believe it. I am following the masses, listening to the man. And I have gone and done it again. I signed up for twitter. I swear I just wanted to try it, to know what everyone is talking about. I have a feeling that it might become a habit for me. I actually like it a lot. It is really great to be able to get news in snippets about things I actually care about, like organic food, art, crafts and local happenings. In the beginning I thought what it the point? Does anyone care that I had an amazing breakfast of organic plain yogurt, strawberry’s and honey? But it turns out it is a fun quick way to share things with the world. Not that anyone is really listening right now, I only have four followers. But hey if you do care what I had for breakfast or want to know my current obsession I am @passementarie. Tweet me! Or retweet me or something. A warning though, Twitter doesn’t have spell check, so if you are a spelling Nazi don’t tweet me.

Oh and just for a little balance in my life I recently bought these glasses for $12 at an antique store and had my prescription put in them. I may have a Droid, but I am rocking the ‘50s glasses!!!

Sunday dinner

2010-02-23T20:36:00.005-06:00

Sometimes I like to not be lazy and cook. Most of the time cooking for me is boiling some pasta and put it with pesto from a jar. Not hard and not supper adventurous. Though really I like very simple food; simple, fresh food that is easy and quick to make. But I do like to experiment with cooking and try something a little bit more complicated. Sometimes it turns out well, sometimes not so much. There was a memorable disaster that involved rice noodles and peanut butter. This weekend I was at it again, and this time it turned out well (well mostly).
The Feb/March issue of Mary Jane’s Farm has recipes for both chicken pot pie with cream cheese crusts and sirloin and potato pie. I love chicken pot pie, so I thought I would give it a try. To make it more economical I made the chicken for two nights dinners. I went to the local co-op and bought a roasting chicken that comes from the Amish that live in a neighboring town. So Saturday I made roasted rosemary chicken. That turned out well. I also decided to try to make the Milk and Honey Bread recipe that is in Earth to Table. Now I do not have good history with bread making (also with pie crust, I think I should stay away from recipes where the main ingredient is flour), but I thought I would give it another shot. Well apparently bad idea. To date I have not been able to make a loaf of bread. Good thing I don’t really like it that much anywayWhat my bread looked like.What it was supposed to look like.

After the bread making incident I decided that maybe trying to make crust for a pot pie was a bad idea. So I decided to combine the chicken pot pie and the potato pie recipe. It was quick, easy and it turned out really yummy (and all ingredients were organic).
Here is what I did:
I shredded the left over roasted chicken and threw it into a pan with two cups of chicken broth along with frozen peas, carrots, corn, and broccoli. Added some salt and pepper and let it boil until the veggies were warm. Then I used a blender to combine 1 cup of chicken broth with ½ cup of flour. This mixture is slowly mixed in to the pot, until thickened. Meanwhile I made some mashed potatoes. The chicken mixture was then placed in a baking pan, mashed potatoes were spread on top of the mixture. Then I placed the baking pan in a 500 degree oven for 10 minutes or until the top is brown.

ruffle wristlets

2010-02-21T10:29:00.002-06:00

I just finished making this Blue Sky fingerless glove pattern with baby twist alpaca. This was kind of an adventurous pattern for me. I haven’t done anything like this before. I decided that I wanted these mitts to be more like a decorative cuff under jackets and shirts so I turned them into wristlets. One turned out longer than the other, oopsie. But all in all it turned out pretty good.

Back in the Game

2010-02-20T17:28:00.002-06:00

What is this blog about? It’s about me. When I first started it I thought it would have a focus, but it ended up not having one. I have no thesis. I have not one thing to share, but lots of things to share. I have me to share. Why people care I’m not sure, but hey thanks if you do! So in the spirit of being open and honest and… me below I am reposting the entry I took down. Because I felt what I wrote, I recognize it kind of makes me sound like a looser, but oh well.

Thing is a lot has happened since I wrote that post three weeks ago. I have changed. So much so you can see it in my eyes if you look close enough. I admit it; I had a slight melt down. Turning 30 in November has been a little hard on me. At thirty you are supposed to be on your life path, you’re in the beginning of settling in to your life. I recently had someone show me that I am on the same path that I was on 7 years ago. And it’s not a path that I want to be on. So I was forced to look deep inside of myself and get my act together. Which was horrible and amazing all at the same time. For a while there I thought the universe was playing one big practical joke on me, turns out it all happened for a reason.

So I was wrong. 30 doesn’t suck. It is awesome. I am an adult and have decided to start acting like it. I am going after my dreams now, and am not waiting until I “grow up” or have enough money to get them. I am living in the now and am joyous of who I am and where I am in life. And hey thanks again for your interest. I love you too.

Post I took down……………………………………………….

Warning!!! This post contains complaining and whining. If you are not in the mood for such things do not continue reading. But if you like that kind of thing, please continue.

Holy shit I’m thirty! You would think that since my thirtieth birthday was three months ago, I would be ok with this by now, but no, today the shit hit the fan. Really I shouldn’t be complaining, I have my health, everything I could need, a job, food, good friends…. But yet here I go. Thirty sucks. Today I broke into tears at my work dinner party because since I wasn’t in a couple, I kept getting moved from seat to seat to accommodate couples. What the hell? Why was I crying? Because I’m thirty.
I always though thirty was going to be so fabulous. You really come into your looks at thirty, and I have to say I have, I doubt I will get any more attractive then I am now. I tell you that hair cut was a good idea. But looks isn’t what it is all about. Recently I was told that I was good looking, but he just wasn’t in to me. Well what the hell am I going to do about that? Why didn’t anyone tell me growing up that I should have spent less time praying and working on getting more attractive, and instead should have been working on being cool? Well honestly I will never be cool. But I am ok with that.
Hum, ok maybe it is being thirty and single that sucks? (insert drunk singing “All by Myself” ala Bridget Jones).It does not help that my little brother is getting married, three girls I went to high school with are pregnant with their second child, all of my girl friends have boyfriend ( it isn’t too much fun to tell the waitress that I am the only one who isn’t paying with someone else.) And I wasn’t an hour off the plane at Christmas when my mother informed me that she had been watching “the Doctors” and they say if you want to have kids later in life, you should think about freezing you eggs at 35. Only 5 more years for me, until I am all dried up!
I am quite mad at myself for being this upset at being single and …thirty. I am a strong, smart woman! What do I need with a pain in the ass man? Oh but they are just so cute, damn them! I tell you living in a small town in Iowa makes the whole situation worse. I swear 80% of the male population here only talks about college football and sits around drinking Busch Light beer. Not my kind of guy. When I do happen to find a guy, it is SO exciting, but such a huge let down when it turns out he isn’t even close to right. And it isn’t even that I am looking to get married. I just want a man to be my companion, to do fun things with me, to respect me and to care for me, (and to not be needy or whiny, to cook and clean, to always think I am sexy, to take me on new adventures, 5’7, black hair, blue eyes, likes history and DIY and arty stuff, hates sports...) If you know a single man like that please send him my way. Maybe 30 wouldn’t suck so much then. But it still might so I am going to go work on making myself more awesome for me, so I don’t cry at anymore dinner parties.

Valentine

2010-02-11T17:21:00.001-06:00

I received these in the mail today. Valentines from Seattle!!!! No the photo isn’t out of focus the valentines are holograms. Thanks J & P. Glad you two are my Valentines!!!

knitting bag

2010-01-30T17:42:00.004-06:00

I just finished making this bag. I decided I needed a bag dedicated to my current knitting projects, so I chose to make Amy Butler's "Birdy Sling". I think it turned out pretty cute.

Wide Awake

2010-01-27T16:15:00.002-06:00

Here is a little snippet of the work that Wide Awake Films out of Kansas City does. You can see me at 1:18.

Winterfest

2010-01-26T21:07:00.010-06:00

I spent the past couple months helping plan Winterfest, the winter festival in Amana. The big day was Saturday; man was I glad when it was all over. But it all went pretty well. Here are some photos I took of the day. PS, I’m really tired of winter. We had our third blizzard of the winter yesterday. Oh sunny walks, swims in the lake, late nights around the camp fire, where are you?
cooking breakfast for 30 people on the 1860s communal kitchen hearth.
my kitchen girl
best beard contestants
log sawing
ham throwing

Ritchie Lee and the fabulous '50s

Lovelies from Scotland

2010-01-07T21:28:00.003-06:00

These lovelies arrived in the mail today from Scotland. I ordered them from Luxe Deluxe on Etsy. A little Christmas present to myself.

New Year

2010-01-01T22:29:00.006-06:00

I spent New Year’s Eve with Jane Austin, a fire place and a bottle of Champaign. It was very quiet and relaxing, but not very glamorous. Sorry.
I’m not really into New Year’s resolutions, because I don’t think I need to wait until January 1st to start working out, but I would like to start out the year right. I have always kept a spotty journal. I think the last time I wrote in it was January 2009. So I have decided that this year I will write just a sentence or two every day. This should be pretty easy and not to daunting. I bought this cute date book that looks like an old ledger to entice me a little more to write.
(I also think it will be fun because I have this little fantasy of my journal sounding like a 19th century one. “Rain today, worked, nothing much happened.” “Received an email from Anna, she is well.” Stuff like that.) I really love to write and should do it more. Hopefully this will help me get in the habit. The other thing I decided that I am going to do this year is to live my life for me. I am not going to worry about other’s life, they can deal with themselves. I need to just worry about myself and do what I want to do and not worry about what others think, or worry about making them happy.
2009 was a lot of fun. I hope 2010 will be just as fun, with some great new adventures. I hope the same for you. Thank you again for popping in and reading my little blog.

Rainforest

2009-12-31T23:37:00.012-06:00

Today my mom and I took a road trip to Quinault Washington to see the rainforest. The Washington rainforest gets 15 feet of rain annually, mainly falling in the winter. So why not go in the winter when we can see a rainforest in the rain? And we totally did (but first we stopped and bought rain jackets), I tell you we saw a lot of rain today. When we arrived in Quinault we first stopped and had lunch at the Quinault Lodge, which is one of those beautiful old national park lodges. The woman at the restaurant told us that elk had been spotted at the golf course; we should stop and see them. So we did. Here are the elk…um…I mean cows?

Apparently you have to move to Iowa to know what a cow is. So on we went getting very wet seeing giant trees, moss, ferns, waterfalls, eagles, a rusty truck and is that? Oh yes elk.

Oh and before we left I saw a neat big cedar tree that had a hole at the base of it. I jokingly asked my mom what she thought was in the hole. So I went and peeked in. From the dark hole two large yellow eyes looked right at me, as if the Cheshire Cat was in there. I made a squealing noise and quickly turn around telling my mom I was ready to go home. I’m sure it was a panther, but my mom seems to think it was a raccoon. Either way I stay away from wild animals.

Washington vacation

2009-12-30T22:59:00.010-06:00

I am spending this week in between Christmas and New Years here in Washington. I have been spending time with my family, eating amazing Pacific Northwest food, and trying on bridesmaid's dresses for my brother's up coming wedding. Tomorrow my mom and I are heading to Quinault Washington to see the rain forest. I am super excited. Here is where I got the inspiration to go from. Hope you all have a safe holiday. See you next year! It was rainy here today.
Ivar's fish and chips. I totally crave this in Iowa.
Played some Mexican Trains with my grandparents. One of my favorite things to do when I see them.
The back of Lisa's wedding dress. My brother H and his fiance Lisa hanging out at the Hy-U-Hehe. The best bar in Gig HarborSleepy giant kitty.

Christmas in the Northwest

2009-12-26T00:24:00.011-06:00

Well I think I just barely made it to Seattle yesterday. We were having quite some winter weather in the Midwest, but I lucked out and made all of my flights. Today I am enjoying the beautiful Pacific Northwest weather on this Christmas day. My brother is in Mexico enjoying even better weather right now. We are waiting for him and his fiance to come back to open presents and celebrate, so Santa didn't bring me anything today. But I had a lovely day with my family and friends. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas where ever you are. Here are some pics from my day.What I saw when I woke up and looked out my window this morning.

Went for a walk with my parents and the dogs around the Harbor
Ate LOTS of guacamole made by Jenny
Held a cute sleepy baby
Ate an amazing Mexican dinner all cooked by my friend Jenny
I made my first flan. It didn't turn out so well, there was a little trouble with the carmelization, but it still tasted ok.

My Style

2009-12-23T23:06:00.003-06:00

On the first day of school my mom would always take my and my brother's picture. I would always create an outfit that I thought was so cool. Only the best outfit could be worn on the first day of the school year. Here is some proof of my amazing childhood fashion sense.

I mean come on, bubble necklaces were so cool. Ok so I have come a long way from those days, or maybe not, I guess only time will tell. But I have always loved clothes. I am not the kind of person who looks at magazines and copies the fashions. I wear what I like and what I think looks good on me. Ok sometimes there are misses, but creating outfits to wear is one of the ways that I like to be creative and have fun and it makes me feel good about myself.

Photo by the Gazette

Well now I have finally made it to the big time. I am featured in this week’s issue of Hoopla’s Mystyle section! Hoopla is a magazine published by the Cedar Rapids Gazette. My friend Jessica knows the editor and nominated me for the section. The Mystyle section highlights young professionals with a unique sense of style. I answered some questions, a photographer came to Amana and took photos of me and filmed a video. I can’t watch the video with sound, I’m sure I sound like a moron. I didn’t rehearse what I was going to say, I just made it up as he filmed. It was a fun experience and I think it turned out pretty well. Check me out in the Hoopla Mystyle section here.

Snow Day

2009-12-20T19:56:00.003-06:00

It snowed again today. I am pretty tired of winter weather, especially since I have a fear of driving in it, so I stayed in doors today.
Jynx and I watched the snow fall by the warmth of my big chair and a cup of tea. (No tea for Jynx, it makes her act out)My lovely friend Katie gave me this wonderful hand knitted scarf for Christmas. Even though I didn't go outside today I decided that I would wear it around the house
Then I decided to make some Krumkake. It was a lovely winter day.

6 days until Christmas

2009-12-19T21:18:00.003-06:00

And 5 days until I leave on a plane for Washington! I can't believe it has been a whole year since I have been home. So to help count down the last days until Christmas here is a list of my holiday favorites:

Movie: Love Actually (I LOVE Natalie's wardrobe), with White Christmas making a tight second (all I can say is "Sisters").
Drink: Hot Chocolate and Baileys Irish Cream ( I like to use Ghirardelli's sweet ground chocolate).
Cookie: Krumkake
Song: A Soalin by Peter Paul and Mary
Tradition: Jumping on my sleeping brother and telling him that it is Christmas (which I don't get to do this year because the jerk is going to be in Mexico with his fiance).

But mostly I love being with my family, even if it is only for a week. Only five more days!

Kansas City weekend

2009-12-15T20:01:00.003-06:00

On Saturday Anna and I were supposed to go to Kansas City for a holiday party. Four hours too far to drive for a party? No way! But in bad weather, yes way. So since we just had a blizzard here in Iowa on Wednesday and there was a 40% chance of sleet on Sunday we made the choice to not go to KC. We decided that we would instead go to the “What a load of craft” craft fair in Iowa City. It was a good little punk rock craft fair. I didn’t buy anything, but I love the renegade craft movement.
Driving to Iowa City Anna and I were talking about the party. “I’m sure it will be lame, we don’t really want to go, and who drives to Kansas City for a party?” “But these roads are just fine, not even wet.” “Yeah and it is nice out, lots of blue sky.” “Dam I kind of want to go.” “Me too.” “Want to keep driving?” “Yes!” So we stopped by my place picked up the address and the GPS unit and headed to Kansas City.
Ok so sometimes I can be a little bit of a control freak. Doing things that I didn’t completely plan in advance makes me nervous and I admit just deciding on the spur of the moment to go to KC did make me a little nervous. But it also made me feel empowered and proud of myself. Why not just go somewhere on a whim? I had nowhere to be, no one to report to. Why not drive four hours to see friends? It was great and I am glad that I went.
Besides a little sprinkle, the weather driving down was just fine. When we hit KC we first stopped at KC Sushi (which Anna thought was called KC Fishy, and I thought was the best name ever) for some dinner with Jay and Ed. The sushi was amazing and the company fun. Then on to the holiday party. It’s great to hang out with my reenacting friends without having to wear a corset, or act in a certain way. It was great to get up in the morning and go out to breakfast. We talked about what ever and I enjoy the company of people who love reenacting as much as I do. This year I seriously questioned if I should continue reenacting. There are a lot of issues I have with it, but when I get together with my friends I realize how much I truly love it and how I really don’t want to quit.
The weather back was just perfect. At the end of the weekend I was glad that we decided to go.
Hanging out at KC Fishy

The Drunkards's Progress

2009-12-06T14:18:00.001-06:00

Quote of the Day

2009-11-25T18:28:00.002-06:00

"The score never interested me, only the game." - Mae West

Movie Star

2009-11-22T21:17:00.004-06:00

I think the stars must be aligning for me right now. I am on this weird roll with media. Covers of magazines and websites, movies and a photo shoot (more about photo shoot later) have all been coming my way. I spent this weekend in Kansas City being an extra for a Wide Awake Films shoot. It was a lot of fun. I hung out with my friends, met lots of new lovely people and helped make a film! I was very close to having a scene of my own, but we ran out of time. Maybe next time. On Sunday I stopped by the market and the Arabia Museum.

Bummers AAR

2009-11-17T21:14:00.005-06:00

In November 1864 Atlanta burned. After Atlanta Sherman marched his troops though Georgia to Savannah. The troops took little supplies and relied on forging off of the civilians in their path, causing all kinds of chaos and destruction. This weekend I traveled to Molina GA to experience what these civilians did while Sherman marched his troops to the Sea. Here is my ARR for “Bummers”.
My impression was one of a traveler. I was traveling by myself back home from my sister’s house, where I was helping her after the birth of her latest child. On my travels home I just happened to be caught in the line of Sherman’s march. Being a poor uneducated girl, I had no political notions and answered honestly to all I met on the road who questioned me. My impression was partly inspired by the girl who smoked the pipe and had a two hour conversation with a federal picket that is mention in the book “Southern Storm” By Noah Andre Trudeau. So everyone who was friendly to me I introduced myself to and tried to have a conversation with.
I started my adventure on Friday night at a cabin that had once been a general store. It was inhabited by three sisters, one who was pregnant, their cousin and a midwife. They were very nice to me, giving me food and a place to sleep. The general store still had items stocked in it. It seemed that the owners had run off, abandoning their store. That night we drank some of the wine and laudanum that was left behind as we watched the stars by the fire. Carried and Liz entertained us with songs as I taught Anna how to smoke my pipe. We had a few visitors during the night, including a preacher and a group of Georgia militia.
Saturday morning brought a large group of Confederates to the front door of the general store, so I decided it was time for me to move on. My road home took me passed Moss Fall, a lovely little water fall that fed a pretty little stream. The path along the stream was quite steep, with a drop off on one side and a hill on the other. The leaves in Georgia had changed color, but not all had fallen. It was a beautiful walk. On the road I saw baskets filled with candle sticks, silver platters, sweet potatoes and crates of corn. Locals that had heard that Yankees were on their way were trying to hide their possessions in the woods to save them from being stolen. I didn’t take anything, because they did not belong to me. Also on the road I saw three Yankee. My first Yankees! They looked scared and asked me if there was any Sesch farther down the road. I told them I had seen some men on horseback up a head. Farther down I found that my road was washed out so I turned around and headed south to find a different road. I ran into a large group of Georgia militia on horseback. They asked me if I had seen anyone on the road. I told them I had seen three men. The man on horseback, who seemed to be in charge, asked me if they were wearing a jacket like his, tugging on his blue jacket, with yellow piping. I said yes, well without the yellow. Not knowing that there was a difference in Confederate and Federal uniforms. Farther on I came upon the twin cabins on top of the hill inhabited by the three good Good sisters. They were very lovely to me and gave me food, including some delicious pears. There were also some refugees there. It was interesting to hear all that had been happening in Atlanta. After a good lunch I decided I should move on even though I was warned that it was dangerous to travel alone.
After going about a quarter of a mile I saw a man in a black hat sitting on the side of the road, then I saw there were quite a few men on the side of the road. Yankees! I tried to avoid them, but was escorted into their camp. I was questioned about where I was going and what I was doing. I told them the truth about going home and the washed out road. I was asked to have a seat and my things were all looked through. The inspector seemed to get a kick out of my long socks. It was quite funny to watch him closely inspect my handkerchief that I had used earlier that day and the bundle of rags that I carried to use as toilet paper. One of the soldiers asked me if I sewed and I said of course. He made me sew a button to the back of his pants while he was wearing them. But I didn’t complain in case he decided that he would take them off and then make me sew it on. Some crazy Dutch man pointed his finger at me and yelled at me in his native language. I was asked to draw a map of the road that I had come from; I did so truthfully and told them I had seen men on horseback on the road. Soon some of those Georgia militia on horseback came down the hill shooting. This actually frightened me for really quite a bit. I started to cry a little and tried to run away, but was grabbed by a soldier, who became my nanny and kept me by his side. Really this group of men were quite nice to me, not taking any of my things and protecting me from the shooting. They took me to the top of the hill to the twin cabins and started looting the nice ladies who had fed me lunch. I felt very bad that I had lead to this destruction of the nice sister things. But soon more cavalry arrive, we women hid in the out building while the cavalry over took those Yankees.
Finally everything calmed down and we tried to put things back to normal. I saw some women down at the watering hole and decided to go greet them. While I was there I saw more Yankees coming in from the south. I told the ladies, one with a baby, that they should leave quickly and not let the Yankees see them. I had left all of my things at the cabin so I went back to see what my fate would be with this new group of Yankees. This group was much less friendly then any of the others I had previously run into. They ransacked everything, plundering food, stealing even my bundle of rags that I had for toilet paper. One solider tried to rummage through one of the sister’s trunks and she almost stabbed him in hand with a fork. Another solider declared that the Good sisters were traders for feeding the confederate soldiers and that they deserved to have their home burned down. They forced the sisters to take everything out of their home, but just burnt the out building. Since it was becoming dark and it looked like the Yankees weren’t going to move on, I stayed the night with the Good sisters in their make shift camp. A nice Yankee named Mark kept trying to give us money if we would tell him where more ham was hidden. We were truly unsure what had been found and not found, but Char thought of a ham that probably hadn’t been found, since these Yankees seemed to be pretty bad foragers. I told Mark that money was useless these days but that we would get it for him if he would give us some. He promised, so Char and I got the ham that was hidden under a bundle of sticks by the watering hole. We ate dinner and were visited by a confederate soldier, named Will, which had visited us earlier. He told us his story of being a deserter and then being captured by the Yankees. He very nice and later brought us some coffee. Just as the sun was setting I went to the watering hole and saw a sight that I will never forget. In the foreground soldiers sitting in the woods around their fires eating dinner. In the back ground a line of soldiers, in silhouette, marching, guns on shoulder, the red sunset bright behind them. At the watering hole I met another friendly soldier who told me his story.
On Sunday I left the sisters and traveled back to the general store to see how my friends were fairing and to see if Liz had had her baby yet. When I got to the cabin I saw the Indiana boys who had detained me the day before were being held captive by the Confederates. Liz was having pains and all of the ladies were getting ready for the birth. There were rumors that Yankees were coming up the road, just at the time it was Liz’s time. The Confederates tried to fight off the Yankees, firing their cannon at them right in front of the cabin. But the Yankees could not be held back and swarmed onto the homestead. I was in the cabin, and was quite frightened to see an angry Yankee barge in, ripping down the door. I started to scream for them to get out. It was an intense moment. A Yankee officer told the soldiers that there was a lady having a baby in the cabin and that her husband was a Mason, so they were to stay out and a guard was posted at the door to keep people out. I started to throw items out of the cabin through the space where the siding had been ripped off by a soldier (though he did tried to put it back when he found out Liz was mid delivery). I opened a bottle of tooth powder and flung it on to a Yankee, covering his hat and jacket with white powder. He looked quite ridiculous with his serious face and his hat and jacket covered in tooth powder, it was a serious situation, but I couldn’t help but giggle. Once thing had calmed down we tried to clean up the destruction. An old wounded Yankee came up to Liz to say he too was a Mason, like her husband. He wished to help her and new baby Joseph out and put a gold coin in her hand. He then took a piece of charcoal and drew the symbol of the Masons on it, protecting the building. It was a really touching moment. It seem like the Yankees were on their way out of the area so Anna and I collected what was left of our stuff and walked on down the road and out of Georgia.

on the cover again

2009-11-10T13:15:00.003-06:00

I am on the cover of Citizen' Companion for the Month of November and this time I'm actually in the photo. This was taken at the St. Louis botanical garden. I am the one wearing the white dress in the middle.

weekend

2009-11-08T22:15:00.006-06:00

I had a great pre-birthday weekend. (Tomorrow I will be 30!). On Friday I went with my friends Katie and Rob to hear Tim Eriksen perform. Tim Eriksen is the guy who taught the cast of Cold Mountain how to sing Sacred Harp music. He performs 19th century music, including Sacred Harp and murder ballads along with original songs written by him that sound similar. Now that I told you this what do you think this guy would look like? Old? Beard? Overalls? Nope like this!
Got to love a young guy with a gypsy rocker style singing Sacred Harp. I think it is so great that a young guy can have a career singing traditional American music today. Also him being a cool young guy makes me feel like less of a nerd attending such a show. I love traditional American music! I just can’t help it. The best part of the show was the last song. Tim sang a hymn, giving the audience the first note and had us hold it. He sang the song over us holding this note. Sometimes he would hit that note and hold it, making the audience grow louder. The space filled with this beautiful buzzing harmony. It was a truly amazing experience. Second best part of the night? Tim came out and signed my CD! Here is a video of Tim so you can get the idea of his music.

On Saturday I had a private tango lesson with a visiting instructor. It was great. Nothing like paying someone to yell at you. No, she didn’t yell, really. She just kept asking “why are you doing that? No! Why? To fast! To Slow!” It was great. I had to run back home after the class and change. We had a wine tasting for the museum that I had to make an appearance at. Then another costume change and it was back to Iowa City for the milonga. It was really fun; there were a lot of men (it really sucks when there are a lot more women than men) and quite a few new people. A guy that I always have a lot of fun dancing with was visiting, so it was great to dance with him again.

Today I slept in late. Did some laundry and then went out to sushi with some friends. After sushi it was to Cold Stone for ice cream cake. Here are some pictures of my silly friends celebrating my birthday!

Jewelry box

2009-11-03T22:54:00.005-06:00

I found this little shelf at a great junk shop in Iowa City. I thought it would be the perfect solution to my jewelry box problem. Problem being that it is a jumbled mess, and sometimes I forget what I have. With the the new shelf it is all organized and now I can see all of my pretty jewelry!

Anthropologie

2009-11-02T18:58:00.003-06:00

November issue of the Anthropologie catalogue came in the mail today!!! yeah!!Here are some of my favorites.

Halloween

2009-11-01T15:37:00.003-06:00

I'm still recovering from Halloween, my favorite holiday! Laura Sue and I helped the local theater plan a Halloween party. We had a pretty good turn out and I think everyone had fun. I sure did!! I dresses as a zombie pinup. See my inspiration here. Hope you had a good holiday!
Before I zombiefied. brains...Anna and Jed Me and Laura Sue (as Jem)

Feeling inspired by

2009-10-24T22:05:00.002-05:00

Peneolope

Loving this right now

2009-10-23T19:19:00.003-05:00

I am loving the jewelry in the Sundance cataloge right now! (even though it is out of my price range).

Beat girl

2009-10-14T21:43:00.004-05:00

Ok I couldn't resist. I bought thisand this

Wearing them with my ballet flats and black sweater makes me feel like this

and reminds me of this quote that I love from Joyce Johnson's Minor Characters
"I noticed that naturally a girl had appeared- a nocturnal wraith with sharp, pale features and that hipster cool I could never approximate. Slowly butting up her coat, she stood waiting with the air of having waited successfully before".

On the a cover again!!!

2009-10-07T08:27:00.003-05:00

A photo I took this summer at the St. Louis botanical garden is on the cover of the Citizen's Companion this month!!!