my dottie angel frock

 



You know who dottie angel is, don't you? She lives over at mossy shed and has the most beautiful crafty life. Here's a little video to introduce you: Click HERE Please

THE Tif Fussell

 

I've admired Tif Fussell for an awfully long time. You can find her on Instagram @dottieangel. So when I found out that she had created a pattern of her famous dottie angel frock for Simplicity Patterns, I was first in line. In fact, this may be one of the few sewing patterns that I've bought lately for which I actually paid full price. That is how much I love this girl!

the frock

 



the pattern



a  classic dottie angel pose
dress ~ made by me
neck-hiding turtle neck ~ J Crew
leggings ~ Capezio
orthopedic clogs ~ Yes!!! Effing ORTHOPEDIC CLOGS! ~ Merrell

This project was lots of fun and very easy to make. I used some plaid that I found in the discount bin. I think it may have been school uniform fabric which makes me very happy.

And I recycled the plaid for the pockets and tie from THIS dress.

I raised the neckline both front and back and replaced dottie angel's adorable apron pockets with plain old square connie snow pockets.

That's what I like about this pattern, it is super simple to personalize.

my ever increasing backside all tied up with a bow!
ah..the joys of middle age

 

THANK YOU SO MUCH TIF. I LOOOOOVE MY FROCK!!!!

And speaking of things that I Love,

because I subscribe to the New York Times,

I received a Google Cardboard NYT/VR.

Virtual Reality. My Favorite Kind of Reality These Days. Click HERE for the details.

I am completely Bonkers over this thing. It is Exquisitely Trippy.

 In fact, sometimes I actually trip while looking at it.

 Wish I could let you in on it but you'll just have to either come over to my house or get your own.

Thank you New York Times and Google.



Well....I think that is Quite Enough of moi en plaid for one day.

Therefore.....

 

I'm heading over to Patti's Visible Monday to see what the kids are up to over there.

~~~~~~~~~~

And even though this has nothing to do with Anne's 52 Pick-me-up prompt of green acorn I'm going to visit her as well just cuz I like her so darn much.

Imaginary Ancestors

Evelyn Cameron ~ the Photographer

 

Every time I wear this dress I get the same comment - Little House on the Prairie.

I stitched up this schmatte with black and white gingham fabric and Kwik Sew pattern 3065 from the discount bin at FabricLand.

It's a dress just for knockin' around the house and going to the grocery store. Breezy. Cool. It covers a multitude of sins. I added pockets of course.

All this talk of Prairies reminds me of my Ancestors.

I used my 10 day free trial on Ancestry.com and found out that my great grandfather Henry James Snow left Cornwall, England in the late 1800's. His family had lived in the same region of Cornwall for centuries (if your name is Snow and you live in Cornwall, well, Hey Cousin!)  Henry James left. Who knows why. He made his way to Liverpool then on over to Canada and continued west to the Montana Territories where he married the Canadian born Frances who gave birth to my grandpa Ernest in 1887 and a few years later his brother Louis. I cannot even imagine doing something so brave.

 My idea of hardship is getting assigned a middle seat on the airplane. 

 

There are no photos of my great grandparents as far as I know.  So I like to thumb through Photographing Montana by Donna M. Lucey and pretend that these are my ancestors.

This book tells the honest story of settlers in the Old West. The author Donna Lucey found the photographs and diaries of settler Evelyn Cameron in a rattlesnake infested basement of an old house in eastern Montana in the 1970's. 

 

 

Sheep herder family 1905

 

 

Grandpa????

Class Photo 1907

 

 

Young girls at a July picnic in 1913. Oh those hats!

 

Cowboys have Always been Cute

 

Jetta Grey with tame wolf cubs

 

Taming a suburban cockapoo in 2015

 

Because I can't tell the front from the back of this dress I embroidered a little daisy on the back. Lakshme approved.

 

If you like true tales of strong and brave settlers I can also recommend:

 

Nothing Daunted by Dorothy Wickenden.

And two beautiful films made in the 1970's:

 Heartland, the absolutely heartbreaking story of a young widow in Wyoming

and the gorgeous Days of Heaven starring a very dishy young Richard Gere.

Both movies were filmed in Montana in the United States and Alberta in Canada. This was pretty darn easy for the filmmakers since so much of the landscape around there has not changed much since the early 1900's.

 

 

I believe that this post qualifies me to become one of Bag and a Beret's

 HOT HARRIDANS READING 

That Melanie is such an Advanced Reader that she needs TWO pairs of glasses!!

You should also check out the very Hot Val.

 

I'm also headed to the reunion at Patti's Visible Monday. See you there!

And I'm joyfully taking my embroidered daisy over to Anne's 52-pick-me-up Sunflower/Joy.

 

Carrots

Ahhh... October in Southern California. Warm during the day and cool at night. Most of the tourists have returned to their leaf strewn inland homes. The beach and the streets and the taco shops are ours once again.

While the rest of the world is enjoying pumpkin spice this and that and boots and sweaters, we're still wearing tee shirts and flip flops and eating guacamole.

bonus points if you can spot my canine taste tester

 

It was a perfect Fall day today. I discovered some frozen Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies in the back of the freezer, which is almost as good as finding a forgotten $20 bill in the pocket of your jeans. So I brewed up some Detox tea to hopefully counteract the sugar. Yeah..right...

 

I was reading through the blogs like you do and I noticed that Anne's prompt for this week's

 52 Pick-Me-Up is Carrot / Perseverance.

Heck. I can do that. In fact I am actually doing that right now. It was meant to be. That Anne is not only talented but she is psychic. 

 Check out these crazy carrots! So beautiful. 

 

And I'm wearing a carrot colored dress with my face on it! 

 

So. Perseverance.

As you know (because I blather on about it endlessly. blah blah blah) I have had my share of health issues. Even though I have had more than one Debbie Downer of a doctor tell me that I need to suck it up and just accept my current situation, je refuse d'accepter!

 Oh Hell No!!!

I am sticking with my recovery plan, which of course includes frozen Thin Mints. And one day very soon I will be jumping around doing Cartwheels.

YES I WILL. So There!!

Carrots and Perseverance. 

carrot colored Mexican or Guatemalan dress, I'm not sure which ~ rock street vintage via Etsy
colored glass bead necklace ~ I've had it for so long I don't remember where I got it
black flip flops ~ Reef

 

 

Join me as I make a psychic connection at Anne's 52-Pick-Me-Up.

And I'm bringing the carrots to Patti's Visible Monday.

See you There!

 

 

 

 

 

Sugar Fiends

 Out in the Wild West where I grew up, there were no Hummingbirds.

Perhaps they are scared away by the Grizzly Bears and the Rattlesnakes and the Extreme Temperatures.

Heck. Most Humans can hardly stand it

But where I live now there is actually a Road named after them.

Fuzzy Baby Hummingbird. Isn't it Cute? In My Backyard, Yo!

 

We are, as you may have heard, in the midst of an historic drought here in Southern California.

Not a lotta flowers this year.

And it is hard out here for a Hummingbird.

So I decided to put my Degree in Pastry Making to use and Cook up a little Hummingbird Food.

Here is my Recipe.

Just in case the Hummingbirds in your neighborhood need a little extra grub:

ONE PART SUGAR

I like to use Organic Sugar.

TO FOUR PARTS WATER.

I like to use Spring Water.

HEAT UP THE MIXTURE WHILE STIRRING UNTIL THE SUGAR IS DISSOLVED.

THEN LET IT COOL.

baggy linen pants ~ hand me up from my daughter
rayon kimono ~ purchased over 2 years ago at the Encinitas Seaside Bazaar
stripedy tee ~ Gap
sunglasses ~ Raen
flippety flops ~ Reef - toujours les Reefs
 

ET VOILA!!! 

Le Food for ze Hummingbirds.

I've always thought that Hummingbirds were sweet little polite fairy-like birds.

But, Man, they are so jacked up on sugar that they fight over this stuff like it's the Last Pair of Uggs at the Nordstrom Half  Yearly Sale!!!

Total Sugar Fiends!

 

Flying over to Patti's Party at Visible Monday.

See you there!



I feel bad about my neck

"Our faces are lies and our necks are truth. You have to cut open a redwood tree to see how old it is, but you wouldn't if it had a neck."   Nora Ephron

I have been practicing my selfies. Too close?
No, I don't think so.
 The more pictures I take of my Mug the more I realize that "I feel bad about my neck." I really do.
I actually really like my grey hair and I don't mind the wrinkles on my face.   

But dear Nora Ephron was so right. It's all about the neck. 

Did you ever read This Book?
Perhaps it is the dreaded "tech neck" or perhaps it's just plain old aging but I simply cannot stand the sight of my aging neck.
I am terrified of plastic surgery and I have already spent a small fortune on gooey neck creams. I'm not much of a choker necklace wearer and most scarves usually just end up in my bag.

So I have decided to take a cue from Diane Keaton and Jackie O and wear turtlenecks. Even in the summertime.

It's not doing much to eliminate my hot flashes but that's just a sacrifice I'll have to make.

turtleneck ~ Delia's
leggings ~ Athleta
x-stitch denim tunic ~ thrifted from Double Take in Solana Beach
ballet flats - Born

See? It works. Even when making a big ole double chin!

~*~*~*~*~* 

So if you are a youngish person with a lovely smooth swan-like neck take my advice. Do yourself a favor and take a LOT of beautiful close up wrinkle free photos NOW. Right this minute! GO DO IT!! Some day you will be happy to have a record of your silky smooth neck days.

Now I'm off to find a turtleneck bathing suit.


  

Nicely Done

When I was a kid and probably when you were a kid, at the end of every doctor or dentist appointment we were usually given a lollipop for our good behavior. 

Hmmm...I'm not sure how healthy it is to give sugar to a extremely active kid with cavities but I sure didn't complain much at the time.

In fact, I sometimes wonder how anyone born before the 1990's survived all the junk we were fed as children.

 But lo and behold. Here we are.

Now as a grown-up, after a doctor or dentist appointment, we are rewarded with a Nice Hefty Bill ~ especially if we live in these here Good Old United States. Sigh...

 These days I try to avoid sugar as much as possible because I am, after all, a real live Grown-up.

So since I have been a very brave girl throughout all of my scary doctor appointments. And since I am so amazing that I have actually started (finishing remains to be seen) making Holiday presents in the Summertime ~ one of the Upsides of Downtime~

 I have decided to reward myself with a little Etsy shopping.

I deserve it, God Dammit.

I treated myself to this beautiful 1990's era gauze dress from BeigeVintage. It Is Enormous. And very breezy and comfortable. I just love it. And I could quite possible eat a lot of sugary things while wearing it....if I wanted to...but I won't...well, maybe I will...but I probably shouldn't...but I could...do I smell cookies?? Anyhoo...

Nicely Done, Me.

Meanwhile, my sidekick and interior design partner Pancake has started a pine cone collection. Every time we come home from the park he brings another pine cone which we have turned into a lovely organic coney centerpiece. 

Nicely Done, Pancake.

 

How do you reward Yourself????

 

 

So happy to be back in the game.

Joining the Brave and Beautiful SpyGirl Anne's Red Party at 52-pick-me-up.