It's A New Dawn, It's A New Day

I love mornings. That's probably a bit ironic as I sit here at my computer late at night eating everything bagel thins and drinking chamomile tea. Or maybe fitting, seeing how it is technically the morning. Mornings are just so full of possibility; one can hold so very much. I often wonder (as I typed that I realized what a cliche it was, but I still like it so there) why it is I feel so empty after it gets dark, especially during the winter. I think it is why I stay up so trying to get something out of the day, even if it is just finding out an interesting fact, or watching Mad Men or Once Upon a Time on Netflix. But I thin the real reason that I stay up is because...you'll never guess...I slept in late. So is the viscous cycle that is my sleeping pattern. Whenever I wake up late, I feel of cheated out of the best part of the day, so then I stay up late trying to gain back what I lost, but mornings simply cannot be replaced. I know I never get as much done, or even half as much, in the evening or nighttime as I can in the morning. It's a breath of fresh air. 

I guess you can gather that I am morning person, but by way of bad habits and not a very strict work schedule, I fall into a pattern that suggest I am lazy, or a night owl. I usually start yawning around 10, but my normal bedtime is around 1 or 2 am, and in April and May I was going to sleep around 3 or 4 (that was mostly due to the fact that I had left my job and kept getting seasons of TV shows from the video store. I am not sure if I was depressed or just really liked not having to be at work before 8 in the morning. It also didn't help that the TV didn't usually free up until 11 or 12).

So, in conclusion to this somewhat rambling post,I am decidedly a morning person. 

Here is a picture I took about 2 months ago of a sunrise, and then one of the sunset for good measure. Sunrise was taken in my front yard,and sunset in my backyard (it is just lovely to have an East/West facing house).

Chihuahua + Papillon....Chialon or Papihuahua

This past week has been pretty crazy. My sister Jaime and her husband and two boys have been visiting because they are moving from New York all the way to Arizona! So they decided to stop in for a week and visit before traveling across the whole country. And my sister Heidi came down for a couple days as well. My sister Jaime has a long-haired Chihuahua named King Louis. He was originally my mom's, but we gave him to them for a pet. My dog, a papillon, was thrilled to finally have a playmate her own size. Neither one of them is fixed, and I was secretly hoping she would get pregnant because they would make the cutest puppies ever! And they are both purebreds, even though Louis doesn't have his official papers. Maybe when I visit them in Arizona, I will take her and maybe get some puppies!

Sorry for the messy bed, it was a busy week!

Don't Wear Pajamas to the Grocery Store

I like to think that I am one of those "always be fancy" people that are always well-dressed, even if it's just a pair of nice jeans and a t-shirt. But the fact of the matter is, I'm a giant scrub. I let my hair get greasy and don't like to wear make-up and I will find myself wearing ratty old Star Wars shirts and sweat pants more often than I would like to admit. So whenever I dress up, or am looking very polished, I usually get lots of compliments (I still have yet to pull off a messy-cute look). You would think all this praise would motivate me to dress nicer, yet it never does. However; a recent happening made me think about this a little more than usual.

I was feeling very good and decided to wear a skirt to the fabric store. One of my favorite skirts, in fact. It is a vintage red circle skirt with white ric-rac trim and has sweet lace edging the bottom. I wore it with a white button-down shirt and wore a bow in my hair. As I was walking into the store, I heard someone shouting at me, so I turned around. It was the mother of an old friend. She thought my outfit was super cute and asked if I would let her take a picture, so I said sure, and then we chatted a bit before going on our merry way. And it made me think, what if I had been wearing my usual outfit? I wonder if she even would have recognized me in dirty sweats and a grubby pull-over. And if she did, she certainly would not have asked to take a picture. 

So, while subscribing to the school of thought that wearing pajama pants to the grocery stores is abhorrent, I myself partake in it. Hypocritical, I know. Anyway I am hoping to change myself in that respect and model the very behavior that I expect out of other people.

Any situations that motivate you to be better dressed?

Red Hair and Blue Velvet

A little while back my sister went to the end all be all of estate sales. It wasn't just an estate sale, it was a vintage costume/antique shop sale. The building itself had been closed for about 20 years, so nothing has been touched for a long time. I really wanted to go, but didn't find out about it until the last day of the sale, and didn't really have the gas to drive 150 miles round trip (I'm in Columbus and the sale way in Dayton). I found it quite fortunate that my sister lives only a few miles away from where the sale was located. She said there were rooms upon rooms of vintage and antique clothing, furniture, and everything else you could possibly imagine. Had I been there I probably would have all but died. My sister got some pretty awesome things for  reasonable prices. One of the items that she procured was a blue silk velvet dress from the 1930's.

It's a longer length, with no zipper and made of an awesome silk velvet which hasn't been crushed even after all these years. It has a really detailed bodice and a great shape to it. It also a keyhole neckline that fastens with a large hook and eye. The downside of velvet is that it shows all the specs of dust that normally can't be seen on fabric.

 I wore it with awesome shoes about about 8 months ago on Modcloth. I believe they stopped carrying the brand, but they are from Aris Allen. They specialize in swing dance shoes that come in retro styles form the 30's, 40's, and 50's. I they also have sueded bottoms, which I was surprised by, but didn't mind.

 I love the how the velvet looked with the color of my hair (it's dye, I'm naturally a dark blonde). Anyway, I wore it out last Sunday because it was unusually warm for November. I belted it because I recently lost about 10 pounds and it looked a little dowdy without the belt.

 Dress- Estate Sale

Belt- New York and Comany a few years ago

Shoes- Aris Allen

Hmm

Wow, I have abandoned this blog for a long time! It's funny, I am home all of the time, so you would think I could at least ramble to the internet a few times a week, but no. Anyway I am currently in Las Vegas visiting my sister and she is in Mexico right now while I am babysitting her kids. There is definitely a lot of down time. I did decide to take a few classes this spring at Columbus State, and will most likely be going back for the 2012/2013 year. I can't really think of anything else to say at the moment, but this will remind me to write here more hopefully.

Until next time!

I Went Saleing Today

If you are wondering how to pronounce that word, it's sale-ing.  My friend Heidi told me about a church rummage sale and a sale at a senior citizen center near where her grandma lives.  We went to the church sale first.  I got a couple of cute vintage girls dresses and two adorable "Freezing" books from 1958 and 1959.  The senior center sale was much larger, and we went on the last day, so everything you could fit into a brown paper bag was only $2!  Got some very cute things.  I would put pics up, but I lost my camera charger, so it is out of commission until I find it.  We also stopped at a garage sale and I bought a dresser/vanity for $34.

I think it was a pretty good deal :)

So that was my Saturday.  Even though it was raining here in Ohio, we still made the best of it.  Well, it is late  now, and my dreams are waiting.  

Abbi

Roxie! (And Cookies!!!)

Hey y'all!  I should be posting more, but I have been so busy lately with school work, ugh!  Anyhow, I got a puppy.  I have wanted a Papillon since sixth grade,ever since one I saw one of my relatives with one on a trip back there.  My mom almost got me one for my sixteenth birthday, but due to some miscommunications, she got sold to someone else.  But all is not lost because now I have Roxie.  My sweet 8 month old Papillon.  She is a very timid girl, but I have only had her for 6 days, so maybe she still has to get used to some things around here.  She sleeps in my bed every night, and loves to snuggle and be held.

That's her on my bed.  Isn't she a cutie :) <3

Currently I have been obsessed with the Regency Era, and I am dying to try and make a bib-front dress and a jacket, but I haven't really found a decent pattern for one.  I may just have to do trial and error with some muslin fabric.  But I think it will be a fun project :).  I think I may go about it by finding elements I like in garment I find in thrift stores, and then de-construct them and use them as a pattern.  

Meanwhile I am also obsessed with Pumpkin Sandwich Cream Cookies!  I have made them twice this week, and think I may make more soon.  They are so good.  They're more like mini-cakes, very soft and moist.  And oh! the cream cheese is to die for!  Recipe and pictures:

Pumpkin Sandwich Cream Cookies

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I use more than that :)

Dash of nutmeg

1 cup white (granulated sugar)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup canned pumpkin 

1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

4 oz butter, softened

Frosting

 2 cups powdered sugar

4 oz butter, softened

6 oz cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.  Cover baking sheet with buttered parchment paper, set aside. Mix up dry ingredients in medium/large mixing bowl.  Put both sugars and butter in a separate large mixing bowl, beat till smooth.  Slowly add milk, eggs and vanilla.  Add pumpkin.  Add dry ingredients and beat on medium until blended.  Don't over do the beating!  Drop onto baking sheet, texture will look funny, like cake batter almost, don't worry about it.  Bake for 10-14 minutes.  While they are in the oven, place all frosting ingredients in bowl and beat until smooth and creamy.  When the cookies are done, let cool 5 minutes.  Then place frosting on the the bottom of one cookie and affix it to the bottom of another cookie......and Viola! You have just made my favorite recipe :D.  Enjoy!

Happy Baking!!

Abbi