I finished my Twelfth Night gown this afternoon. I’m quite happy with the results. I used my Frankensteined version of the Sense and Sensibility Drawstring pattern. Here are a few pics on my dress form. As usual, it looks better on me that the form. However, you will have to wait until Twelfth Night to see me wearing the gown. God Bless!
Love Lauren
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas Day. We had a quiet day at home, just us, birdie boy, and the pups. I decided, after reading your lovely comments, that I was going to dress up in costume for the day and enjoy myself. Aaron didn’t dress up for the entire day, but he did join me in costume for dinner. After dark, we went for a stroll with the pups. It was lovely. Here are the pictures. God Bless and thank you Jesus for sending your son to save us.
My feathery helper.
My furry helpers. They made sure that the floor stayed crumb free.
Cranberry Walnut Tart.
It was an interesting challenge learning how to cook again. Since I found out about my allergies. I think I finally have it pretty well figured out. This tart is dairy, gluten, wheat, and egg free and it was very tasty.
Pear Upside-Down Cake
Our Feast. We had roast lamb, maple carrots, caramelized butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, Yorkshire pudding, cornbread dressing, cranberry sauce, and mashed potatoes. It was yummy.
Here we are. We decided to dress more casually, no frock coat for Aaron and I’m wearing a day dress, since we had a quiet dinner at home.
A Christmas smooch…
An after dinner game of two-player Whist and a little brandy.
Merry Christmas… God Bless and Have a Wonderful New Year!
I hope you all had a wonderful week and are having a wonderful Christmas Season. This year the Lord and Lady of Portland house are going to be doing things differently. For the first time in our marriage we will be spending Christmas together without family. We have decided to stay at home this year and our celebration will be just the two of us. I am making preparations for our own little Christmas Feast and starting to collect recipes. We decided to do a lamb roast instead of Turkey and I am working on side dishes that will go with it. I’m really looking forward to a calm Christmas, but it is bitter sweet because I really miss my family.
Colonial Williamsburg Christmas Feast
We also had some troubling news this week. I won’t go into too much detail, but if you can please keep my Grandfather in your prayers it would be much appreciated. He is ill, and the doctors are not sure what is going on. So we are all worried, but we know that God is in control.
Now for the good news… Aaron officially graduates from Dental School on June 18th!!! It’s so nice to have a final and set date. Now we are praying that he will find a job and have it set before graduation. :-)
On the sewing front, I have been working on my ball gown for 12th Night. I have been sewing a little slower these days. I have quite a bit of fabric in my stash, and our wardrobes are pretty well rounded, so I can take my time. The gown I am working on is a 1795 draw string round gown. It’s made out of a gorgeous turquoise-blue silk and I plan to trim it with a small netted lace. I will post pics of the dress after I’m finished. For now, here are a few pics to give you the idea of the finished product, hopefully.
This is the shape of the gown.
The gown is almost the same color as the blue shawl in this painting :-)
I hope you all have a wonderful and Merry Christmas. God Bless!
Love Lauren
It never ceases to amaze me how God provides for our needs and even, sometimes, our wants.
Aaron and I had decided not to get a tree this year, we just couldn’t justify spending the money on it. I was a little bummed, but I decided I would make my own wreath and garland and just make the best of things. Well, Wednesday afternoon I left work a little early to feed the dogs and get ready for an event at our Tigard store. I had been home not ten minutes when I heard a knock at the door. I was waiting for own of my co-workers to swing by so we could carpool to the event. Well, to my surprise our good friend Ryan was standing in his military uniform on our doorstep. Then he told me he had a tree for us. Apparently, the military base nearby had extra Christmas trees and Ryan had been giving them to our friends. Let me tell you, I was so surprised and grateful. Not only do we have a tree, but it is huge. So huge, in fact, that it is residing in the kitchen. So, thank you Ryan and Jess for blessing us with our tree. God Bless you guys :-)
Love Lauren
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? We don’t do Santa Claus in our house. As a kid, my mom taught my brother and me that Santa Claus lived a long time ago and is now dead. So, we went around telling our friends that Santa Claus is dead. Yeah, we were popular J
3. Colored lights on the tree/house or white? I prefer white lights on my own tree. I like the colored lights, if they’re small. But, again, for my own tree I prefer white lights. I like how peaceful and calm the white lights look.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? I have never hung mistletoe. I grew up in the desert where mistletoes don’t exist J
5. When do you put your Christmas decorations up? As a kid, we put our tree up the weekend of Thanksgiving. I still like to decorate at that time.
6. Favorite holiday dish? Oooh, that’s such a hard question. I think I’ll have to say anything with pumpkin in it. I love pumpkin pie!
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? Every year the church I grew up in has a wonderful Christmas Eve service filled with candle light, music, and a telling of the Christmas Story. Pastor Dale invites the children up to the stage and together they tell the Christmas Story. It’s absolutely adorable and hilarious. Some of the things these kids say are so cute. My favorite is seeing how these little ones know who Jesus is. It’s awesome to hear a child say that Christmas is to celebrate Jesus’ birthday. What a blessing.
8. When did you learn the truth about Santa? From day one, we didn’t have Santa in our house. We knew who the historical Santa Claus was, but the Jolly Old Elf was not welcome in our home.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? As a kid we sometimes would open one gift. As we grew older we would go to our Grandparents’ home and open gifts Christmas Eve.
10. How do you decorate a tree? I like to capture as much of the 18th century in my decorations as I can. I do use bulbs, but I also use old ornaments. My tree last year had a kind of folk art feel. This year we have skipped the tree all together and I made garland and wreaths instead.
11. Snow! Love it or dread it? I love snow. I just don’t like driving in it, when there are people out and about who don’t know how to drive in it.
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? Pumpkin pie!
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Well, Aaron and I haven’t really established our own traditions yet. But as a kid, I think staying up late Christmas Eve with my brother watching “The Christmas Story” 24 hour marathon.
17. What tops your tree? Normally we have a star of some sort.
18. Which do you prefer-Giving or Receiving? I like them both. Although, the giving is more fulfilling. But, I like to give useful gifts. It's very hard for me to buy for someone who has everything.
19. Favorite Christmas song? Carol of the Bells
22. Saddest Christmas song? The Christmas Shoes, I hate that song.
I hope you all have a lovely Christmas Season and a wonderful New Year! God Bless!
P.S. If you would like to do this meme, leave me a comment so I can go and read it.
The title of this post says it all. We had a lovely time at the Ball. We danced, met some new people, ate delicious food, and had our silhouettes taken. Here are the pictures. Enjoy and have a wonderful Sunday.
Me and Charlotte
Aaron, Me and Steph, our lovely leader extraordinaire!
A Lovely Dinner
Mingling
Getting ready to dance
Our Silhouettes
Have a wonderful week everyone!
Love Lauren
One of my favorite things about Saturday mornings is how slowly they move. This Saturday has been particularly lovely. I awoke to frost on the ground and a beautiful mist in the air, I’m slowly preparing for the ball tonight while watching John Adams, I had a wonderful chat with my mom on the phone, and my house is cheerily decorated for Christmas. I can’t think of a better way to spend a lovely Saturday morning.
My poor little handmade lop-sided wreath.
Sweet Birdie Boy and me. Yes, those are rags in my hair, it’s the only way my hair will curl.
And just in case you have not already guessed, dear readers, you have chosen this lovely ensemble for the Ball tonight.
Have a lovely and blessed weekend. I should hopefully have pictures of the ball within a few day. God Bless!
Love Lauren
Next Saturday, Dec. 5th, we have our ORS Annual Winter Ball. I decided that I am not going to make a new gown for it. I know, shock and horror. So, I need your help to choose what I shall wear. I will give you the options and you vote. Just leave me a comment :-) Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and God Bless!
Option #1
Janet Arnold robe with Muslin Gown underneath
Option # 2
Green Zone Front Robe l’Anglaise with lavender accents.
Option # 3
Long sleeves Chemise a la Reine alone. (without the hat)
Option # 4
Long sleeved Chemise a la Reine (see option #3) with Blue Robe a la Turque on top.
Now for the hair. Choose a wig :-)
Lady D, the ever large hedgehog.
Lady D’s much smaller sister.
Now, feathers are a given and I will coordinate the ribbons, ect, in my hair with whichever outfit you decide I will wear.
You have until Friday Dec. 4th to decide :-)
I’ve been on a fan painting kick lately. It’s so relaxing and fun. Here is the latest one :-)
I decided along with my reticule I needed another fan. I was never completely happy with the first one. So, I started a new one today. It’s made of silk and painted with gauche. I plan to mount it on painted bamboo sticks, that are currently drying. Here’s a pic of the leaf :-)
My friend, Jessica, posted this video on her blog and I just have to share it. What a mighty and awesome Jesus we serve :-)
Hello All! I hope your week is going well. Mine started off horribly, with major stresses at work, and is ending well, with the visit of my parents.
This week I made a reticule. For some reason I always seem to outgrow my purses in modern life, so why would my historical life be any different. I have too many things to fit into my little reticule now, and it was time for a larger one.
Here are the pics! Have a blessed rest of the week. Love Lauren :-)
Aaron displaying his historical fashion prowess.
Hello Friends and Readers, I hope you all had a great week. I haven’t been doing much sewing of any kind lately. I was sick last week so there was just no sewing. Also, the Open Robe took a little bit out of me and I just need a little break. I have, as always, been planning for future projects.
I just purchased the Wingeo 1790-1820 Frock Coat pattern for Aaron. I found some very nice black cotton corduroy that can pass as wool for the coat and the breeches. I also have a very nice forest green cotton velvet for another frock coat. Although I haven’t decided on the cut yet.
As for me, I haven’t decided what I want to make next. I have quite a bit of fabric in my stash to work with. It’s just a matter of not having a clear idea of what’s next. I did decide to purchase this Calash pattern from Wingeo. We are planning some out door wintery things for December, and I think a Calash will be most needed and appreciated. Especially once the beautiful Oregon rains really kick in.
Well, that’s about all folks . Have a great week and Happy November!!!
God Bless!
Love Lauren
Saturday evening we attended a wonderful living history event in Oregon City. Every year the Oregon City Historical Society does a tour that consists of a visit to three historic homes and a walk through the cemetery at night. At each stop there are actors portraying early pioneers from Oregon’s history. It was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed on the tour. So I have just a few. Enjoy!
The Whole Gang at the Highland Stillhouse Pub (Brand, Angel, Tara, Tara’s parents, Aaron, Me and Christian)
Us :-)
Well, I hope you are having a good week. I’m currently at home sick and wide awake at 3:30 am. Yipeee! I hope to be back to work on Wednesday. Anywhoo, have a great week everyone! God Bless :-)
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