Random photo! Sneak peek of the red linen dress I finished. (More to come!)
Maybe I’m just the perpetually curious and nosey sort when it comes to my blogging, but lately I have been wondering: What would you like to see me post more of (or less of)? I know tutorials and freshly finished sewing projects are perpetually popular, but what else would you like to see? Am I in danger of posting too many tutorials of late? (Is that even possible? hehe!)
Here is a little list I compiled of post topics, and would love to hear your ideas as well as thoughts on what I already post that you’d like to see more of.
“Every day” outfit post (more often… I know I do this sporadically!)
Wardrobe remixing posts (one piece worn several ways. See this post.)
Sewing/craft tutorials (beginning level? More advanced? Perhaps some pattern drafting?)
Sew-along (have gotten several requests for this, and am tentatively planning on for the end of summer; look for an announcement next month.)
Vintage inspiration
What I have sewn/knit/crafted/in my sketchbook (generally creative stuff)
Decorating/cooking/homemaking
Thrifting finds and tips
How to refashion thrifted/older clothes
Video tutorials (usually of the hair or beauty sort)
Out of all these, which do you find most interesting? Anything not on the list you’d maybe like to see me cover? I feel in a bit of a rut lately; I’ve been blogging since 2004 and have started to get the impression that I’m just posting the same things over and over. So ideas and input would be appreciated! After all, this blog isn’t just for me: it’s for you too! I love the little community we’ve created here where we can chat through the comments, offer ideas, find some new links and generally have a good time. I just want to make it better and focus more on things that will resonate! Thanks bunches (in advance!) for your ideas and thoughts!
The recent discussion of cultural perceptions on beauty that we had has really got me thinking about beauty and how it relates both to women and history. I’ve been paging through my own small collection of vintage magazines, looking at beauty ads and contemplating how much (and little) things have changed over the generations. Realizing too that this push towards perfecting one’s “flaws” is something that, while not new (women have been in search of things to make them “beautiful” since ancient times), has been capitalized on by manufacturers and the mass media in more recent history. Certainly the spread of media has made this more easy to market to women, which is probably why the beauty business has in part become what it is today.
While I do own quite a few beauty products of my own and enjoy my “primping” time to play with makeup, it’s an interesting to observe how things have changed and yet not. Essentially women of the 21st century are the same as their great grandmothers in the 20s; we all want to look beautiful and are willing to hand over cash in order to become beautiful thanks to the latest miracle product. Which is why I think the visual and ephemera history of women’s beauty is so fascinating: it reveals deeper layers of cultural perceptions of women, both from a societal standpoint and of the women themselves. Over the weekend I ran across two videos that I found utterly fascinating. In them is an interview with a historian who has an amazing (dare I say I’m envious?!) collection of women’s beauty ephemera dating from the 19th century forward. She makes the excellent point about the correlation between body image and women’s history when discussing these beauty products. Definitely worth a viewing if you have the time (and now I’m somewhat eager to read her book!).
I also thought I’d add a few images from my own collection to the mix as well. Isn’t it interesting how in some ways things have become a bit more subtle in the modern age? Yet they still broadcast the same message, maybe just in more “sophisticated” (by 21st century standards) ways…
I’m keeping this post short just to let you know I’m taking a day off today. Some events in the wider world and my lack of Friday-post preparation have me a little distracted this morning, and I don’t feel I can fully put myself in the “job” of a post today. I’ll be back on Sunday both with the usual links roundup (always a favorite to put together!) as well as an update on my progress in the 30 for 30 challenge (and some wild pattern mixing in my outfits). Until then, I would so like to open this post up to you and ask you: what is one thing you’re intensely thankful for today? It doesn’t have to be profound, just something that you truly feel grateful for at this moment.
Me? It may sound cliché, but at this very moment I am intensely thankful for my husband, family and friends–and you. Wishing you all the best of days and a happy weekend!
dress: courtesy Trashy Diva | hat: old town San Diego | bow: The Loved One | belt: made by me last summer* | flats: Bakers | earrings: J. Paul Getty Museum | bracelet: thrifted
A big thank you to all the lovely gals who filled in for me last week while my mom was visiting! It was truly a treat to have such a group of talented ladies and seeing their spring-themed posts. I’m really ready for springtime now! My mom and I had a great week filled with lots of thrifting (and some truly amazing finds–more on that later), a fun afternoon tea at our favorite local tea room, and even some sewing! The highlight project was making some aprons from (thrifted) men’s dress shirts, using instructions from Vintage Notions. They turned out pretty cute! Now I just have to get back into the swing of things; if you’re waiting for an email from me, my apologies–I should hopefully get back to you soon!
Somehow, we managed to go an entire week without really taking any photos; I think these outfit pictures were the only ones that were taken during Mom’s visit. We were just so busy chatting and doing things that the cameras really never came out! But I’m glad I did get some shots of this dress; it’s a new favorite that Trashy Diva sent me recently. I already own one TD dress that I adore, and picked out this one to fill a gap I realized I had in my closet: a solid color, classic 1950s inspired shirtwaist dress! I’ve already worn it a handful of times because it’s one of those great pieces that can be dressed up or down–plus it’s practical with pockets in the skirt (and you know how I adore pockets!).
I am feeling somewhat quiet today; both because I’m missing my mom a bit, and also because it’s Monday. Mondays always catch me a bit off-guard, despite knowing they’re coming. lol. I’ll be back tomorrow with a fun little post, and hopefully later this week some sewing to show! Have a lovely day, friends!
[ the ducks were being unsociable and refused to stay put to catch them in a picture! all photos by my lovely Sailor Husband. ]
*Is anyone still interested in a tutorial for this belt? Just let me know–I think I actually have all the supplies on hand to whip one up!
the ill-fated dough, just hours before it was fiendishly ruined.
I had a post all cooked up (haha) in my head about making bagels. I had pulled out a new-to-me recipe and was eagerly working on them late yesterday afternoon, carefully documenting things as I went along. I was starting to get excited about this batch–my previous attempt last year was only so-so, and prior to letting them rest after shaping the dough into bagel shapes, things were looking promising. Alas, it was not to be: as I was boiling them in a large pot of water, prior to baking, and fly decided to commit bug-suicide and dove headfirst into my pot of boiling water full of delicious bagels.
Yeah, I know. How rude.
Needless to say I was more than a little annoyed. Besides the waste of ingredients, it was several hours down the drain (literally). Too late in the day for me to restart with a new batch of bagels (and hopefully be rid of any gnats that made their way through the window screening!), I decided it would be far better to do a post on kitchen disasters than skip a day.
Ah kitchen disasters… I’m sure we’ve all had them at one time or another! I know this isn’t the first gnat incident I’ve had. Last year I managed to go through three batches of pizza dough because every time I uncovered it, there was a gnat that had somehow wiggled under the cloth/plastic wrap. I finally got wise and started putting an overturned bowl over the rising dough. Then there are the “operator error” ones, like dumping way too much curry powder into the soup I was making. Needless to say the amount of water I drank during dinner taught me to always measure certain things! (I’m so bad about just judging by eye how much seasoning I add to something.) I also have a bad habit (particularly when the oven in on high or broil) of popping something in and then getting distracted with something else. Until the smoke detector goes off that is, and scares me half out of my whits (I do not do well with sudden, loud noises as my mother can attest). lol. But anyway, I’d love to hear about your kitchen disasters, if you’re not too shy! We’ve all burned something, over/under seasoned… maybe even made something literally go up in flames (I won’t name names…).
