Our 4th Anniversary and the Dress to Go With it

Brian and I celebrated our four year anniversary last week. We left the baby at home with her grandparents and went to dinner at a local Italian spot. We have a special honeymoon tradition that we record the year's goings on and put a new family photo in our wedding anniversary book. The book is pretty. It looks like this....

We received it as a wedding gift from my aunt, and we do enjoy taking a few moments to recall how far we've come in the last four years- from being a party pair in downtown Tampa to being a settled married couple in rural NC with a 17 month old. We wouldn't change a thing.

Another anniversary tradition for us is to drink champagne in our wedding flutes (we don't get many opportunities to bust those out, and they are lovely as well.) This year we forgot to toast in the flutes, but as Brian's birthday is the day after our anniversary, we had a special occasion to toast the next night too.

Back to our dinner out though. It was pretty funny- my husband is a teacher who wears a suit and tie to work because he likes to be professional. He was still wearing his suit when we went to dinner, and I wore a dress I finished sewing the day before from Simplicity 3463 circa early 1960s.

We got a lot of funny looks and stares for being formally dressed! It didn't bother me any- I guess I still believe that one cannot really be overdressed. How are you supposed to dress to go out for dinner on your wedding anniversary? I know many vintage seamstress/bloggers have lamented the demise of regular formal attire, and it does appear that nice jeans and a black shirt are the new version of "dressy." I don't really care either way what other people wear, but for me it is hard not to sew pretty things, and once you sew them, you have to wear them, no?

We like to snap a family photo whenever we are dressed well at the same time

LOVE!

And my husband snapped a few pics of the dress for me to share....

Gotta get some use from these heels before Labor Day, har de har! 

I don't know why I like to show the hem lace...it's just so pretty!

Ever since I read about Amy's Swirl Dress Project on Sewing through the Motions, I have badly wanted a back wrap dress pattern to make my own (Hey! Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!) Now I have one! Dresses are all about how you feel wearing them, and I must say I felt really good in this one. If you sew or are interested in vintage sewing, I am posting more on the sewing process at Sew Retro.

Uh Happy Birthday to Me, Barump Ba Dum Dum Da Dum!

DISCLAIMER! GLOATING AND GUSHING TO FOLLOW!

Today was my 31st birthday! My man made me French Toast for brekkie with fresh bread and eggs (yum!), and my baby brought me a birthday card in bed. Then hubby piled Gremel and I in the car to "go have a picnic at the Biltmore." On the way there, we stopped off at one of the best pattern thrifting spots, and I bought some pretty separates patterns. Then we got to Asheville, only we didn't go to the Biltmore, but we went near the Biltmore.

 My husband surprised me with an hour and a half in the spa for a Swedish back massage and a facial! Love that man! I would have never done that for myself being a self-neglecting mommy and all, so it was really fab. Da took baby to an art show, and I got all pampered up.

Then, on the way home, we stopped at another thrifty spot that I kinda love/hate because it has big bins of stuff that you have to dig through, but you pay by the pound ($1.10!). I picked up a couple of books and while scanning over a few of the clothing bins, I found an original Pendleton Wool '49er! It has the pretty little gathers in the back and the neat shoulders. It also has a couple of moth holes, but nothing that'll keep me from wearing it this fall.
So, thank you, Universe, for another lovely year. I think this is going to be my best one yet!

My Vintage Button Stash...Too Much of a Good Thing?

So when I was sewing the Sorbetto top I wrote about last time, I tried a few buttons just below the neckline in front. I rooted around in my large button coffee can, and rustled up a few possibilities. Some of my buttons are strung or on cards, so they are easy to locate, and I always know how many I have to use. The rest of them were (!) in a miserable heap at the bottom of the can. I inherited our late Grandma's button stash, and while I'm sure she knew what was in her tin, I had only a faint inkling from previous rummagings. I thought of this as I tried the buttons out on the blouse, and today I set about making them all visible and tidy. Would you believe it took me a good portion of the day? Turns out, I have buttons....

 And more buttons....

 And, yes, more buttons....

 And, well, even more buttons....

There are more buttons that I didn't photograph here, because they were in my "to get rid of" button bag already. But don't call "Hoarders" just yet. I now have one tidy coffee can full of the buttons I intend to keep, and the ones I am getting rid of are on their way out. I will probably list them on eBay or Etsy. How did I organize this off the chain collection? I pilfered a wonderful idea from a fellow seamstress (Jenny of Kerrfect) over at the Sew Retro blog. I reproduced one of my own vintage button cards (you can have the download for your personal use here free), and printed several with which to wrangle these little beasties. I wish I had looked back at Jenny's files first, because she has some really cute button cards! Oh well, when I was out scouting the thrift and antique shops today, I spied some fabulous vintage red and gold buttons that I probably have to buy. And, I will probably have to put them on Jenny's adorable button card.
Here is my collection being wrangled:

Recognize these lovelies Portia? :)

Aren't they purty?

And just for fun, here's what I am doing with the odd buttons out:

I had some adhesive magnetic tape in my craft cabinet, and we can always use fridge magnets. Plus, they make me smile.

Birthday Sorbetto

I just finished up this blouse tonight. It uses the free Sorbetto pattern as well as the Sew Weekly's sleeve pattern. I had fun experimenting with my narrow hem foot which I used successfully (for the first time!) to hem the sleeves.
Now, my 31st birthday is coming up, and I have requested that my husband take me bowling. At our local bowling alley, after a certain time they do that crazy "Space Bowling" (or whatever) where they switch to black lights and project stuff around on the walls. Wouldn't it be positively revolting of me to wear this top? Yeah, I think I'll do it! Cover your eyes.....

On the Road Again.....

We got on the road with our Shasta. It isn't finished, but we aren't too fancy (and we are very impatient), so we took it down to FL. We pulled it with our Subaru Forester, and it pulled well. It took us many more hours than usual, as we drove U.S. highways instead of interstates, but I prefer to drive the highways and admire the old houses, farmsteads, and towns along the way. We all slept surprisingly well considering I was in the bunk, the baby in her pack and play, and my hubby on the cot under the bunk.

We leave tomorrow, and I am hoping to do some rural thrifting on the way home- maybe pick up some fabulous, long forgotten sewing supplies for a pittance.

I griped about Florida the whole way here, and it has been miserably hot, but we have familial ties that bind us to the state (we still have a house here, but I don't see us ever living in it again). My family came from all the way up the east coast to be here for my younger sister's bridal shower. My elder sister and I were hostesses, and it went off without a hitch. This kind of party can be tricky, but I felt we managed a pretty good blend of camp and class. Here is the bride-to-be in the paper plate bow hat we tried to make her wear while she opened gifts. She wasn't having it, but I did manage to snap one photo. Even wearing a paper plate, my sister is beautiful!

We also had fun Saturday night when my husband got the chance to perform with the reggae band he played trumpet with for close to 10 years. They are excellent and have quite a following. Three of my sisters came along, and we got to catch up with a lot of people we haven't seen in a long while.

In fact, the catching up was for sure the best thing about our visit. That and the fact that the baby had so many family and friends to love and hug her. She met Great Grandma Rizzo for the first time, and I finished hemming and tacking on Great Grandma's blouse just in time to give it to her for her 88th birthday. I wish I had gotten a photo, but she says she will be wearing it to my sister's wedding in September, so I hope to snap some then.

Overall, this trip had me feeling really relaxed for the first time in forever. Who would have ever thought relaxation would come in the city! But it did, and although I am ready to head back to lovely western Carolina, I am already missing all of the excellent company. And the sunsets.....

Well, until next time Florida!

A Little Sewing

I have done a few shorter projects as of late that I never posted and wanted to quickly share. Here is my second pair of shorts from McCall's 3132. I sewed the first pair over a year ago, and I see definite sewing improvement.

Yeah, sorry about the crappy pic. I have no excuses. I was happy that I made these using leftover fabric from my aborted Lady Grey Sew Along coat project. This khaki jacquard is some of the most expensive fabric I have purchased (which isn't saying much, only that I paid full price), and I didn't want to see any wasted. So, now I have used that fabric for my cape, these shorts (a little more practical and wearable than the cape), and also this purse.

This Buttercup Bag was actually made from the sleeves of what would have been my coat. I used piping along the bottom seam, made my own shoulder strap, and covered a button for the closure using a little plastic ring as described by Casey of Casey's Elegant Musings here. This Buttercup pattern is great (and there is a free version!) I bought the large pattern sometime last year, and whenever my bag gets a little dingy looking with use I just sew up a new one.

Finally, I am now in the process of sewing a Bow Blouse for my Grandma's birthday. Grandma is one of my favorite people on the planet Earth, and I am excited to be seeing her in about a week. It is the utmost of compliments, in my opinion, when she says that she and I are "cut from the same cloth."

Here we are together at my wedding four years ago

So, that's it for my little projects. Brian and I are making progress on the big project too, and I should have pics to post soon. Until then....

The Garden Knows What to do!

We have been grossly inattentive to our garden this summer. As I wrote in the last post, we have been preoccupied with our camper. Well, it appears that the plants know what to do, even without our help.

All this, and we didn't even make it all the way down the row! Now if we can come up with a dish that will incorporate the beans and some of our six dozen eggs.....