Sweet and coy

I bought this bit of vintage ephemera at an antique store in Omaha, NE several years ago. I could not pass it by because of the expression on the lady's face -- she's got 'im where she wants 'im! :)


Bonus: the back of the postcard has a message!

Birthday table

Complete with vintage china from my great-great-grandmother!

Fashion in literature II

Various excerpts describing Harriet Vane's wedding gown in Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers:

"Fierce bustle about wedding-dress -- Worth's -- period gown in stiff gold brocade, long sleeves, square neck, off-the-face headdress, no jewels except my long earrings that belonged to great-aunt Delagardie." -- The dowager Duchess of Denver

"...very well she looked, all in gold, with a beautiful bouquet of chrysanthemums." -- Bunter

"Yesterday she looked like a Renaissance portrait stepped out of its frame. I put it down first of all to the effects of gold lamé, but on consideration, I think it was probably due to 'lerve.'" -- Miss Martin

I'm fascinated by this description -- if I recall correctly, this story is set in 1935, so were past-fashions a fashionable choice for wedding dresses? I wonder where Dorothy Sayers got the idea for this dress. I've never heard of Renaissance-style dresses being popular in the '30s (or perhaps Harriet was a fashion renegade). :)

Creation and the Fourth

My dad, a pathologist and creationist, has recently written an article titled Creation and the Fourth of July. It's a good read at this time of year. Enjoy!

Birthday cake

A pleasant diversion

Today's my birthday, so for a pleasant treat after lunch, Mom and I went to an antique store downtown. Stores change so frequently down there, and somehow I had missed the fact that there are three (!) antique stores within one city block! Two of them were closed, but we enjoyed browsing through the third. The prices were reasonable and we didn't have to wade through a lot of junk. My finds:


The pattern is a classy 1940s suit, in my size! I love the polka-dotted version on the pattern cover -- perfect for the Glenn Miller Festival, if I ever make it there someday. The fabric beneath it is a flour sack remnant, which I plan to make into a baby dress. I'll either sell it or keep it for my hope chest.

Butterflies and zinnias

I took these photos last summer, actually. How many butterflies can you count in the second picture?

Speaking of photography, there is a rumbling in the ranks that we may be getting a new family camera soon. (All photos featured on my blog thus far, unless scanned, have been taken with my Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-S90, a 4.1 megapixel point-and-shoot.) I have been researching various digital SLR cameras, and have somewhat narrowed down the choices. Right now I'm looking at the Canon Rebel XTi or the Sony Alpha. They seem fairly comparable in price and features. Next, I want to compare available lenses for both cameras.

I have a bit of experience with shooting with an SLR camera, though my knowledge is very, very basic. It's enough to wade through online reviews, though. If any of you have any thoughts on these models (or would like to throw in a suggestion for something completely different), please feel free to leave a comment or drop me an e-mail.

Favorite summer salad

(I made this for dinner tonight. It's absolutely delectable!)

2 lbs. new potatoes

1/4 lb. fresh summer green beans

1/2 pint cherry tomatoes

salad greens

basil-garlic vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Clean new potatoes and halve or quarter as needed. Toss the potatoes with some olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on baking sheet and roast for approx. 30 minutes or until tender.

Remove the stem ends from the green beans and cut in half if they're large. Bring a small pot of water to boil, and cook the green beans until they are tender (around 3-4 minutes, depending on the size). Rinse under cool water. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half or leave whole if they're small. Toss potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, greens, and vinaigrette together. Serves four.

Basil-garlic vinaigrette:

2 tbsp. Champagne vinegar

6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

1/2 tsp. salt

1 garlic clove, coursely chopped

Combine everything in a blender and blend until smooth.

--adapted from Field of Greens by Annie Sommerville

June rose

"Oh, blushing buuuuuds of ever-blooming beeeeeauuuuty...."

(Points if you can tell me where the quotation's from. I've already given you a hint.)

David and Karen

(Dad and Mom in their "going away" attire.)
Don't they look classy? You can hardly tell it's the '70s! :) (Unfortunately, the discoloration you see is a problem with the original photograph, but I think this picture is too cute not to share.)

Yesterday my Mom and Dad celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary. I am so thankful for their commitment to each other and to my brother and I! Thank you, Mom and Dad, for your godly example. I am so blessed to be your child!

Beethoven

Lately I've been in love with this movement from Beethoven's 7th symphony. And, better than providing a link to a short clip on Amazon, I've found the entire thing on Sonific! Take the time to listen -- it is so beautiful.

Retread

Making the leap in Salisbury, England, 12 years ago:


And nine years later:

POINTE SHOES!!

Today saw the fulfillment of a girlhood dream of mine -- I NOW HAVE MY VERY OWN POINTE SHOES!! Yup, those feet in the picture are mine. If I don't break my ankles first, soon I will be skimming across the floor on my toes. :)

Foxgloves

This is my foxglove plant, of which I am inordinately proud. (This pride is a little misplaced since I literally did nothing to bring this plant into being -- my parents, having pity on my failed attempt to grow foxgloves from seed, bought me two foxglove plants at a nursery near Clarkson, NE.)

As a girl, I picked up on foxgloves as a necessary component of English gardens from the way they consistently figured into Agatha Christie's plots (the short story "The Herb of Death" probably being the most well-known instance). What could be better? I have lovely blooms to look at, and also a means of poisoning my enemies should the need arise. ;)

Butterick 5681

(click to view the full pattern front)
This was a bit of an impulse buy on eBay -- but relatively inexpensive and in my size! I probably won't make it up anytime soon since I just made a '30s wool suit this past winter, but someday...

I think it would be great in a beautiful chocolate brown tweed.