Elements of Summer

Greetings!

Yes, I am home after surviving my first year of college and have been loving the relaxation of summer and lovely time with my family and friends.

Now, I'm beginning to really get serious about some projects that I've been looking forward to doing all year long. Indeed, thinking about these projects would get me through some of my toughest homework assignments when it seemed like the winter would never. end.

But it did! And now is the time to accomplish the things I've been dreaming about.

First I finished the dress that I started last August. It's been hanging on Maxine for almost a year just waiting to be hemmed, poor thing. Anyway, it turned out really well and I hemmed it up on Saturday, so here are a couple of pictures:

Here's the overall look. Sorry about the terrible lighting!

A closer look at how the front looks. 

And here's the back. 

So there you have it! I was pleased with it and wore it for Mass on Sunday morning (that was the incentive needed to finally hem it at 11:00 the night before...) and it was very comfortable for playing piano in :) 

Now I've moved on to a new and very exciting project. First, a slight back-story. 

I believe I talked about this in an earlier post, but as that was a few months ago, I'll review. (Yes, I know I've been silent for over two months. I'm sorry!) 

Anyway...I made two very close friends at college, and we identify ourselves with the three good fairies in Sleeping Beauty - Flora, Fauna (that's me!), and Merryweather. We also take delight in all things Jane Austen and on spring break we had a dress-up party where we invaded the costume collection in my closet and had a blast. 

However, I've never made a 'Jane Austen-style' dress before - a fashion otherwise known as "Regency" from the early 1800's. 

In what seemed a quite natural train of thought, somehow we (probably me) came up with the idea of sewing three dresses in the regency style and also incorporate themes of the three fairies - mostly for color inspiration. 

We had a couple of design sessions (Again, mostly me) where we came up with some ideas, and would talk about how fun it would be to dress up and have a tea party, maybe a photo shoot, etc. And hey, if we ever need a costume for Halloween next year, this would be perfect! 

I think my friends didn't quite think I was serious about accomplishing this what might seem an enormous task to non-sewers of constructing three long dresses, but I clung to the hope of playing with fabric and making something new and was very much in earnest. 

Anyone who has followed this blog for a while knows that I love to make costume dresses just for fun. They usually end up being Medieval, so it's going to be fun and challenging to branch out from that habit. 

Last week my lovely mother and I went into JoAnn Fabrics (a dangerous place for us, to be sure) and by the time we exited we had a delightful pile of fabrics that were destined to become Regency costume dresses. 

Pretty sure there was a permanent grin on my face for a while after that, I was so excited!

Of course I haven't had a chance to start on anything for a week, but today I was home all day and decided to tackle the first dress. I decided to start with Merryweather, and it was fun to find all the pattern pieces cutting everything out. It took me most of my afternoon just cutting al the pieces out, but that is a huge piece done and I'm eager to begin sewing - hopefully tomorrow. 

Here's a picture of the three dress fabrics:

Blue & Yellow=Merryweather, Pink & White=Flora, Green & Natural=Fauna

I'm very excited to see what the dresses turn out to be like :) I have great expectations, naturally. 

Wanna know what can make sewing even more fun? Listening to awesome music, of course! Lately the inspirational playlist has included The Piano Guys, Dallas String Quartet, 2Cellos, and Lindsey Stirling. I brought my nice speakers downstairs so I can listen to these amazing artists with quality sound...it's EPIC. And very motivational. 

Here are a few of my favorites: 

Lindsey Stirling - 'Elements'

The Piano Guys - 'Code Name Vivaldi'

Dallas String Quartet - 'Viva La Vida'

2Cellos - 'Smooth Criminal'

And so many more....those are just to wet your appetite ;) Or at the least simply to clue you in to what I've been listening to! 

"A friend is one who knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow." ~William Shakespeare

Of Easter and such.

Sometimes, methinks, writing on my blog can get my brain working a bit better for homework, so I'll try it now :)

Yes, I'm supposed to be writing a paper right now. Fun fact? Not due for almost two weeks, but it's one of those "get this done sometime this semester" things, so I decided earlier today that I should accomplish it tonight since I have the time.

But maybe it'd be better to put it off a bit more. I tend to be more motivated the night before things are due.

...

So, how was your Easter?!?!? Mine was simple fabulous. I had SUCH a wonderful time being home, relaxing, cooking, dressing up, going to church, dying eggs, and cuddling with my kitty.

I even took pictures! Now THAT is rare, I know. I'm trying to get better about pulling my camera out, though.

Okay, I have a LOT of pictures to share, so bear with me. And mostly, they're random - if you want to see the fun outfits my sister and I pulled off, you can visit Trudi's blog, since she already posted some lovely pictures.

Okay, first of all, I had a more interesting ride home than most might manage. My friend (remember Flora from my road trip adventure?) well, Flora's dad decided to pick us up in his plane! It was SO. AWESOME. I'd never flown before, so it was extra special. Took a short length of time, too. Then my mom picked me up at their house, and it was lovely to return home after much excitement.

Watching our ride arrive...

Lovely views of the snow-covered lands of Minnesota...

On Good Friday, we made the traditional Hot Cross Buns :) 

I braided the rest of the dough into a huge cross. 

It baked up beautifully. And tasted delicious. ;)

I dyed 2 dozen eggs :) 

Trudi's puppy, Francie, has SO much energy. 

Mom loves to make centerpieces for the table. 

My outfit during the day on Saturday...

Interrupting Bootsy's nap. 

Actually got some relatively decent shots of her...

Like I said - ENERGY. 

Such a model ;)

So sleepy. 

So yeah, that was my Easter. Watched "The Hobbit" Sunday night, and then returned to school on Monday. Now I'm procrastinating about the 'school' part, but so far it hasn't been so bad being back. I have fun at school. Right now I'm working on figuring out my schedule for next fall. Seems ridiculous to be thinking about that already - the time FLIES. 

"Music is a code that opens a door to a world everybody interprets differently because our aesthetic and sensory values are different and each generation has to discover its own." ~Yo-Yo Ma.  

In Great Anticipation...

In case you were ever wondering, I rarely, if ever, plan what I'm going to say on this blog before posting. What you see here are my thoughts, typed out as they come into my mind, going 'splat' on the page.

It's my favorite way to write.

Splat.

So here we go again.

Today, I'm thinking about the delightful fact that it is Friday. And that I made it through this week. And that the reason I made it through this week is all thanks to God. Because He's awesome.

What is this leading to? On Sunday we begin my favorite week of the entire church year: Holy Week!!!

From the Passion and palms on Palm Sunday, to the traditional Sedar-style meal on Holy Thursday followed by the lovely beginning of the Triduum, to Good Friday - usually with hot cross buns - and the melancholy service, to the waiting of Holy Saturday, filled with preparation, which climaxes at the Easter Vigil celebration after dark, with candles and incense and lots of music and awesomeness, and then you get to party all day on Sunday, with feasting and games and candy and more music and more prayer...

I just love how each day has a theme, and a mood and a particular moment that you remember and reflect on. I love that you go to church four days in a row, wearing a different and fun outfit to each one, and seeing the same people there and celebrating the beauty that is the Catholic church with those that you love.

 I love both the ancient, traditional and sacred side of Easter (gives me thrills every year!) and the spring-y, yummy, party side of Easter.

To me, dying eggs is super important, and so is venerating the cross on Good Friday. All the different things that we do, that I have done throughout my life, represent Easter to me, and I look forward to it all the Lenten season.

So, while maybe I'm messing up in this post on the technicalities and proper terminology, I just wanted to express how excited I am for Holy Week to begin.

Added bonus - I get to go home from college for four days, which has be SUPER THRILLED. I miss home, I miss my family, I miss my cat. I can hardly wait to get home and just....glomp everyone.

And yes, glomp is a word. In the urban dictionary. haha!

Counting down the days to getting home, and for Easter!!!

“What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again.” ~Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay

Spring Break = Road Trip

Rather ironic that it's called spring break when everything is still covered in snow...

This semester has been going swimmingly, I think. Mostly. I've been working on staying positive about all my deadlines and stressful projects, and right now I've avoiding a paper by writing this blog. Call it warming up the writing muscle, kinda like I have to warm up my voice or fingers before my music lessons.

We'll go with that, anyway. ;)

I had a wonderful spring break. I hope you all had a good time, as well - whether you too had a spring break from school work, or whether you were continuing on with your routine. It's March! Spring is coming! (the huge snow-fall that I barely got back to campus in yesterday contradicts me, but I have faith.)

Thought I'd share a bit about what I did for my break. Two of my closest friends and myself left campus together and 'road-tripped' to each others houses, spending two days at each house and meeting the families.

We had So. Much. Fun!

We started with Stations at my friend (since I don't have their permission to use their names on this blog, for safety reasons lets call them Flora and Merryweather. I'm Fauna in this trio.) Merryweather's house/church, and it was an excellent beginning. At her house, we watched The Fellowship of the Ring (Flora had never seen The Lord of the Rings, so it was a purpose in the week to catch her up - with the extended editions, of course!), went to the Mall of America (I'd never been - it did not disappoint!), went swimming, and had a wonderful time eating her dad's delicious chili.

The chocolate chip cookies we made after midnight on Saturday kept us happy for the rest of the trip, too.

On Sunday we went to Flora's house. It was very different being out in the country after the taste of city life, but it was relaxing and fun. We went snowmobiling, knitted, sang, and watched The Two Towers, among other things. On Tuesday, we stayed an extra day because we were snowed in. We made the most of it, however, and watched more movies, played games, and even started The Return of the King!

Wednesday morning found us getting up before 6AM (what!) to get an early start on the road to my house, since we were a day behind schedule. We made it to the barn safely, and then there was a fun-filled day, helped with my mother's delightful hostess skills, with lots of fine dining (thanks to my sister Trudi, who makes delicious food!!!), a dress-up party, and a tour of my itty-bitty town - complete with touristy pictures!

My fellow fairies departed on Thursday, and I spent a delightful-yet too-few days with my family. On Friday my mother took me shopping. She shouldn't have, because I convinced her to get me way more than I technically needed, but we had a wonderful time and I'm very happy with my new clothes. My favorite purchase of the day? New eyeglasses!!! Yes, they are cuter and I can see better. Plus they're comfy, so I can actually wear them! Much improved.

A highlight of my weekend was watching the new Celtic Thunder concert, Mythology, with my sister - we love them so! And the show was so good we watched it twice! haha I kinda wish we'd watched it a third time...very excited to see the other half, since it's only part of the concert on the first DVD. Oh well, I can handle the anticipation.

Sunday morning dawned stormy, but we made it to church for 10:30 Mass, and left from there to make the usually 6-hour trek to my school, but it took an extra hour (not too bad, really) and some stressful driving for Dad, but they got me here. I have awesome parents - just saying. They even stopped at a Wal Mart to re-stock my dark chocolate supply! No complaints from this girl.

Well, now I'd better stop distracting myself - although it's been might fun! - and get to work on that school work.

Not sure who said this, but someone pinned it and I thought it suited me:

"Don't change so people will like you. Be yourself and the right people will love the real you."

True story.

Shabby Dreams

Greetings! It has been far too long since I posted, and I apologize to anyone who missed me :)
Hopefully I'll be able to be more consistent in the future.

Quick update on my life: I'm over a month into my second semester of college, I've been thriving as a music major with three music-related classes, two non-music related classes, choir, piano and voice lessons, and awesome friends that I do crazy things with like...watching movies and staying up for dance marathons...

Yep, that was last night. I had a great time dancing to oldie music until 3 in the morning!

But we're not going to talk about my current life today.

No, I've been dreaming big dreams, and today this blog is going to share some of those dreams, because I think they are lovely, and thinking about them makes me happy.

First, the shabby country chic dream.

I'm sure many of you have seen the summer-y style of clothing that sort of goes by the 'shabby' title - it involves lots of denim and lace, floral prints and crochet. It's delicate and beautiful, and I want it!

Yes, it has become a sort of obsession the past few days. I've been going to town on Pinterest, finding inspiration, and plotting about how I can make this style happen this summer. It's going to involve some sewing, thrifting, and most likely some new purchases, but it'll be so. much. fun!

So that's one dream.

Next up, the Fairy Tale immersion. Okay, immersion isn't quite the right word, but it'll work for now. I have a plot up my sleeve for coming up with different settings and creating costumes, and making my sister use her new camera to take beautiful pictures replicating/reminiscing of popular fairy tale stills. For example, Sleeping Beauty: sleeping, obviously, with flowers and pretty fabrics. Or Snow White, holding a perfect apple...maybe a before and after - before: holding the apple, about to bite. after: passed out on the ground, hand pointing to the apple, now missing a bite....

Oh, I am feeling very dramatic about this, and I think it'll be a gloriously fun summer project!

Speaking of Fairy Tales. Because I'm obsessed, I'd like to explain my current obsession. I've recently read the third book in a series by Melanie Dickerson - this third book was titled "The Fairest Beauty", and was based on the fairy tale 'Snow White. Set in medieval Germany, her stories make me very happy and have beautiful descriptions of clothes, scenery, and historical tidbits that add interest.

Okay, I'm not very good at summarizing, and I'm sorry - just take my word for it that they are amazing! I'm so grateful my sister Trudi suggested I read the first one, because my life has been a more beautiful place ever since.

Hey, it's the small things in life.

Okay, so those are my two little ideas that I'm dreaming about these days, and now I've shared the core of the idea, I can try to expand on those ideas from time to time. Already counting down the weeks until summer, when I can sew and imagine and dress up and dream even more without stressing about homework and classes and remembering everything.

Because college is stressful, even though this semester I've been working really hard to not let the stress take over, because life is too short to be panicking all the time. And so far it's been going really well, I think! But I need to keep positive with lovely ideas like fairy tales and lace and Jane Austen tea parties that I look forward to with my mom and sister, because those are a few of the things that truly make me happy.

Getting in the mood of these dreams, I've been listening to a lot of country music, which makes me even more impatient for summer to get here, and today I started working on a fairy tale playlist, began with two songs by Taylor Swift, "Love Story" and "Enchanted" - it's amazing how perfectly those two songs encompass my feelings for fairy tales...

Found this picture while looking for inspiration - so pretty!

You can listen to/watch the video for Love Story here.

“Fairy tale does not deny the existence of sorrow and failure: the possibility of these is necessary to the joy of deliverance. It denies (in the face of much evidence, if you will) universal final defeat...giving a fleeting glimpse of Joy; Joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief.” ~J.R.R. Tolkien

"This night is sparkling, don't you let it go
I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home
I'll spend forever wondering if you knew
I was enchanted to meet you" ~Taylor Swift, Enchanted

Finally

Well, I'm almost done with my first semester as a college student! I've made it through finals, I'm almost all packed up to go home, and I'm just waiting to take one more final before I get to begin my homeward journey!

It's been a good semester, and I guess I can handle this college thing. Right now, however, I'm totally sick of school and can't hardly think anymore. I just want to go home and relax with my family - and get ready for Christmas! Can you believe that Christmas is just one week from today? I can't! It's coming so fast - I feel like it was just last week that it was the first week of Advent, and here there's only one week left! How the time flies when you're in school...

The snow has mostly all melted now, what with rain and such, but we had the loveliest snow here at school. I took pictures :)

It was beautiful, and I kinda miss it. It was literally a winter wonderland!

Speaking of Christmas music, I've really been enjoying some new cd's this year. Francesca Battistelli, Matthew West, Lady Antebellum, Colbie Caillat, and others have been wonderful additions to my Christmas playlist! Beautiful music and wonderful holiday cheer.

So now, I get to start looking forward to making candies, decorating the house for Christmas, and meeting my sister's new little puppy! And of course, there will be cuddles with my lovely cat, Bootsy - I miss her so! And then I will be practicing music for church a lot, because I play for so many masses during break, including Midnight Mass! I'm so excited for that - the choir's going to sing, and I must do my best to be amazing on the organ.

Christmas is going to be wonderful, and I look forward to seeing all my family over the holidays, too!

So much to look forward to!

I'll leave you with one of my new favorite songs :)

Onward we go

The Nutcracker has ended, my friends. It was a beautiful show, everyone danced wonderfully, and I'm so happy to have been a part of it! On the whole, a most pleasant experience, and I hope to be a part of it again in two years.

That said, we're diving right into finals now - only 2 weeks left of school! So excited for this semester to be complete - although I still can't quite believe how fast it's gone. Funny how at the beginning it was so slow and the semester looked like it went on forever, and now I'm wondering where the time has gone. Funny ol' world, ain't it?

However, I've taken most of today to unwind and relax, and really didn't worry over anything all day. Honestly, I don't know that it's fair how un-stressed about finals I am. Maybe I'll eat these words, but I really don't have anything much to worry about. The most complicated final I have is a 10-page paper for Script Analysis, and I suppose that's going to freak me out a bit before it's over, but at the moment I'm not overly concerned.
Otherwise, the rest isn't too freaky.

So, this afternoon I had time to go and practice music for however long I wanted to, and I ended up practicing for an hour and a half. It was lovely. And then this evening I cleaned up my room a bit, watched 'Swan Lake', and knitted until I thought my hands were going numb. (A bit out of practice, alright?)

Now I'm going to go to bed before midnight. Whoa!

It's December, it's over 50 degrees out (seriously insane weather for this time of year!), and I seem to constantly have the theme song from BBC's Downton Abbey stuck in my head. Not going to complain - I love it so!

Until next time!

The flowers my parents gave me after seeing The Nutcracker. I even have a nutcracker glass to put them in! 

"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." ~John Lennon