I like to buy clothing at the thrift store, especially one just a couple blocks from where I live. It’s massive and has great finds, from vintage to name-brand to everything in between. The other day I was there with my daughter and we came across a shirt that she liked, but it had a big hole in it (actually unusual for this store, most merchandise isn’t damaged). She’d already pointed out a dress she liked that had tiered ruffles, so I decided to try to recreate the look of the dress with the top she liked.
You’ll have to excuse my messy photos – I didn’t bother to clean up my work table before starting in on the project. Now you see what my small IKEA sewing table looks like 95% of the time, including when I’m sewing. It just collects so much crap that I don’t have a good space for or am too preoccupied to put away. My husband, the neat-freak, has somehow learned to live with my messy chaos. Poor guy!
Besides buying the damaged top, I also bought a like-new black tank top to use as the base of the top. Without detailing every step, I’ll give these basic explanations about how I constructed the top:
The plaid blouse had a cowl neck, smocked front and little puffy sleeves. I cut off the sleeves, cowl neck and back of the shirt, so I only had the smocked front. I cut the neckline until it was the shape I wanted, hemmed it and sewed it to the front of the tank top.
I then cut the lower portion of the top into equal sized strips to be the ruffles, hemmed the (visible) bottom of each ruffle, and sewed the top part of the ruffle to the tank top. I created gathers as I sewed the strip so that it would create ruffles and not just hang flat. I believe I created 6 ruffles. Then I sewed down the sides of each ruffle along the side seams of the tank top. She’ll wear the tank alone or with a cardigan over it. The end!
My dad brought me up going to the library at least once a week and I’ve passed this tradition on to my kids. The thing that overwhelms me about the library – that I’ll never have time to read everything there – is also what I love so much about it. So much to learn about the world, right there at your fingertips! Though my online writing doesn’t always reflect it, I learned grammar, spelling and the roots of words just from reading all the time as a kid. When you see something done the right way long enough, it seeps in and you become able to do it right, too . . . or at the very least, you learn how to spot when someone else is doing it wrong.
Here are a few pics from a recent trip to the branch that’s 3 blocks from our house. My four-year-old wants to go to school so badly, and was over the moon when my husband brought home a Thomas the Tank Engine backpack for him. He just HAD to wear it to the library to carry his books home.
Most of these pics are of the kids' area at our small branch. I’d have taken pics of the tiny young adult & adult sections, but there were lots of people and I didn’t want to try to sneak photos.
The castle
Inside the castle. We usually put together a massive train set in here.
We cut off all his curls. Sniff. He always seems so much older when his hair is big and curly.
LOTS of books for beginning readers.
To the left of King Tut are cool non-fiction DVDs for kids, like “How to Knit” and so on.
The little one loves lighting up all these panels and looking at the different dinosaurs.
I’ve put off putting new items into my Etsy shop for the longest time. Some of my delay was due to perfecting the items, some due to spending my time on other things, and some due to just being scared to take the risk!
I finally did it, though, and you can see the headbands I have listed here. Below is a sneak peak of a few, just for you. What do you think?
And here are some that I don’t have listed yet because I still need to do some more photo shoots with my lovely co-worker models:
I’ve noticed that I behave differently when the seasons change. During the summer all I want to do is relax, enjoy the outdoors, go on little adventures, grill, and chill, chill, chill. Summers make me want to be lazy in terms of responsibility, and active when it comes to fun activity.
In the fall, I get domestic and more interested in taking care of the house and cooking. When I see a table that needs to be cleared of dirty dishes, I feel energy to do it rather than dreading it. I also get excited to find creative and involved ways of doing domestic things. I don’t just like to buy bread, I want to bake bread from scratch! I want to learn to can! I plan menus and try new recipes!
We’ve had a humid summer until the last couple of weeks where we had some cooler temps, another round of humidity, and then finally, this weekend – lower temps. 54 degrees! Obviously a sign that football season is starting (we’re a Bears household and Brian Urlacher, who my son prays for, is #54). Anyway, tonight we cooked chili and cornbread and I didn’t ask my husband to cook the whole meal as I’ve done all summer.
I’m excited to experience some of my favorite fall things (click on each photo to purchase the object shown!):
Sweaters
Boots
Football games (specifically, high school games – such great memories!)
Cold weather food (hot & hearty)
Return of favorite TV shows (looking forward to Parenthood and Sons of Anarchy if I can figure out how to watch the new season without cable)
My birthday (SCORPIO WHAT WHAT!!!)
Coming up with a complex meal plan that uses leftover food from the night before in a new way and then sticking to the plan for about 2 days
Knitting
Etsy sales
Reading books and watching movies all snuggled up with hot coffee (I’ve done this not snuggled up with iced coffee all summer)
Do you change with the seasons? What are some of your favorite fall activities?
The other day someone on Twitter mentioned Manor House, a reality series from PBS that follows modern-day people who are picked to live for a few months in a manor house from 1905, who are expected to live the way people did back then. They have to obtain food the way people did back then, follow the customs of the old times, use the same tools, wear the same clothes. They’re assigned certain social standing and have to live out their role without breaking character based on what that sort of person would have done back then. I was excited to hear about this as I’ve already seen PBS’s Frontier House and Colonial House which follow the same concepts.
I decided then that I needed to write about something I like to call #AmishTwilight and #PioneerTwilight. You may or may not be aware of a genre of books written mainly for women, set in a couple of very specific settings. Just as you have science fiction and mystery and romance genres in books, you also have subgenres of historical fiction. A couple very popular subgenres focus on women living in the pioneer days of the United States, and women in Amish communities during the last 50 years or so.
These books are sometimes written on their own, but much of the time they’re part of series, just like Harry Potter or V.C. Andrews. Yes, I read V.C. Andrews and I read her stuff waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyy earlier than I ever should have. You all know what Flowers in the Attic is, right? ‘Nuff said. Oh, are you familiar with the ABC Family series of movies that are all like, “Love’s Enduring Promise” and “Love’s Unending Faith” and “Love’s Pithy Remark” and so on? Those movies (which are based on a series of books) are a perfect example #PioneerTwilight.
You have a central character which is a Headstrong Young Women making her way out west with her family, sometime in the 1800’s. Unfortunate events happen. Axles break, people get dysentery – I mean, what is this, the Oregon Trail? Oh, yes, it kind of is. So HYW must make a way out of no way (Amen) and at some point she falls in love and has babies. The series of books follows her and the other characters, and in some cases she gets old and the books focus on her daughter who is of course a HYW. And so on.
Now, #AmishTwilight is usually in more modern times, but are usually based in Lancaster County, PA – or someplace similar – in the middle of an Amish community. The stories focus on a (you guessed it) HYW who is butting up against her Amish upbringing in some way. Maybe she (Ruth) loves Jakob but her father wants her to marry Caleb! And she doesn’t just want to be a midwife, she want to be a doctor! But only Englischers (the rest of us) put faith in that sort of thing . . . Oh man, once I read a series where the main HYW was in love with - wait for it – A MENNONITE!!!!! *gasp*
I know, y’all. This is heady stuff. So – these sort of books are like brain candy for me. I’ve ALWAYS loved historical fiction of all types and I’ve always loved books that detail the way people cooked, farmed, raised animals, made clothes, etc – back in the old days before everything was automated. As a girl I ate up the Little House on the Prairie series as well as Anne of Green Gables. Well, #AmishTwilight and #PioneerTwilight are the grown up versions of these series.
Oh, and what’s with the Twilight? Well, they’re series of books – so, Twilight. The main character is a HYW – Twilight (though I’ll say, dude, Bella turned really wishy washy and consumed with Edward, and ew?). Focus on the dude HYW is in love with – Twilight. Easy reading that is a nice break for your brain – Twilight. Obsessive following of readers – Twilight. All these things about Twilight are also part and parcel for the Amish & Pioneer series of books.
Next time you’re looking for some good reading that doesn’t require much brain activity but is fun and culturally interesting, check out these authors:
Ok, I guess you can call it a comeback. WELCOME BACK TO BLOGLAND, ASHLEY!! Oh wait, is that what you're supposed to say to me?
Anyway, I'm back. Being without social media hurt at first, but I got used to it, and will move forward with the intention of keeping it low key.
Today's DPF is going to be all about musicians and bands that made a comeback. Some came out with a new album after a long time away from the music scene . . . some came back with a tour after breaking up and saying they'd never play together again . . . some came back as a solo artist or as part of a group, when previously they'd performed otherwise . . . but all made an impact when they came back on the scene.
What's Love Got to Do With It was her big comeback hit, but I have a special place in my heart for Private Dancer, as I like to say, "I'm not your private dancer" when people tell me what to do.
We all love Johnny Cash, right? RIGHT? I resisted getting into him because everyone around me was gaga for him, but eventually couldn't hold out any longer. There is so much about him I identify with and admire. This is a great song (written by the dude from Danzig, what?!) on the American Recordings album that Cash did with Rick Rubin, decades after his prominence in the 60s and 70s.
Now, Prince wasn't completely out of the scene between this album (Diamonds and Pearls) and his prior hit, Purple Rain . . . but by this time he was battling his record company over his name, had lost Wendy and Lisa and gained a symbol and a set of twins.
Weezer did put out Pinkerton between their blue and green albums, but did anyone really listen to it? Ok, I did. And then, you know, Rivers kept going back to school and being moody and stuff. BUT THEN! Came this awesome album and a handful of amazing ditties.
So Jay-Z? Jay-Z is the Michael Jordan/Brett Favre of hip hop. One day he's retiring (Black Album) and the next thing you know he's blowing up radio all over the place with this huge, huge hit.
The Eagles are one of my favorite bands, I'd say a top 10 band for me. I daydream about going to one of their concerts, but dangit, tickets are expensive! Their famous comeback concert tour and album was named Hell Freezes Over because back in the day, they swore they'd never play together again. This is one of my favorite songs. Joe Walsh is the bomb.
I hope you've all had the pleasure of being Rickrolled. If not, well, it's something that has to happen to you. Ask a friend in the know to do it to you as a surprise one day. Here's Rick Astley singing his biggest hit (woop woop, this was my favorite song for approximately one full year as a kid) which gave him a comeback in popularity due to the whole Rickroll thing. Good for him. He's a good looking dude, by the way. Just saying.
You may not know of this comeback song with Ne-Yo (I personally like it), but honestly, NKOTB didn't need to record ANYTHING new. They came back touring with a vengeance and I partook, yes I did!! It was a great time with friends and thousands of fellow fans who had over-the-top obsessive crushes on these guys (too). I was always a Jordan girl, but I gotta say, Donnie grew up REAL NICE.
Loretta Lynn is a musician I always knew of, but only began listening to in the last couple of years. She teamed up with Jack White (Oh, I Love Him So) for an entire album that cemented a comeback for her after decades of consistent work that just wasn't as commercially successful as her 60s and 70s albums. Wait, didn't I just say that? Interesting that she & Johnny Cash had similar paths in this respect.
Who's missing from my list? What comeback blew you away?
