Little White Dress: the Regency era staple

  Last weekend I escaped the desert heat with some friends and rented a cabin for a ladies getaway, and it was WONDERFUL. We left our husbands and kiddos behind for a couple nights of junk food and bonding and being outside on purpose. This included a hike that was really more of a walking trail, and since my friends are very dear, tolerant ladies and one of them is a talented photographer who brought her camera at my request, our hike turned into a photo shoot!

  I actually made this gown several years ago, but never got around to doing pictures of it with my sister, so it was nice to finally model it for posterity. It was loads of fun wandering around and picking flowers for my basket, even if, it turns out, I have absolutely no idea how to wear a market bonnet. (I ordered mine from arachneattire on Etsy) When we got back to our cabin my incredibly talented friend Sarah (seriously she did such a great job, thanks again!) asked how my feet were doing, but since I was wearing the Manchester boots from American Duchess they felt great! I believe those boots are sadly sold out, but seriously all my shoes from their brand are so comfortable, I love wearing them. Additional thanks to my other friend Sarah who acted as my unofficial “fluffer!”

  I’ll post some photos of the gown’s guts in a later update; for now, please enjoy my cheesy excited smiles and my first attempt at the requisite Regency wedgie :)

Interesting Times

  Well.
  Well. Life doesn’t feel much like a fairytale recently, does it? Maybe more like the apocalyptic preface in a post-apocalyptic novel, one of the really dreary sci-do ones. Or perhaps it is like a fairytale, but we’re used to knowing the happy ending and focusing on the Happily Ever After, rather than the murky, scary, middle. The middle of any story is the tough part, when all the bad things happen, so that the climax and resolution have something to address and fix. There’s a reason the Chinese proverb “May you live in interesting times” is considered a curse.
  And yet, these past few weeks months I’ve grown closer to friends as we chat over videos on the Marco Polo app, I’ve spent more time back in prayer (I’ve been praying the psalms, thanks to my Dad for a great Christmas gift!), and I’m all set to do a lot of baking with my toddler while the baby watches from her bumbo seat. I want to foster community and focus on hygge even while we do our social distancing. I am so proud to be part of the healthcare community - I have some wonderful coworkers that make going to work feel less like a chore to dread, and help me stay positive.
  A lot has happened since my last post almost two years ago to derail my creative endeavors. I suffered another miscarriage, then carried my next pregnancy to term and had a beautiful daughter. Our whole little family dotes on her, and she is a joyful little love full of smiles and happy noises. So while our lives are always interesting and full of individual struggles, I’m hoping that these “interesting times” we are experiencing as a global community will point us back to Christ, to trusting him, to enjoying simple pleasures and time spent with family, and of course, that when we emerge on the other side of this story, that we all find a happy ending to this chapter of our lives.