Memories...

I was on a friend's facebook page and stumbled across a very old photo from years ago.

When I was growing up I did alot of theatre, dancing, ect... This was a production of Annie Warbucks when I was 12 years old. I'm the one on the far left of the picture in dark blue. That was such a fun play.

Me, Lauren Blain, Sasha, Rachel, Amanda, and Grace Ann, our teacher. (From left ot right)

Spring Break...

Hello Dear Friends and Readers...

I hope you are all having a wonderful week thus far. Thank you all for your sweet comments on my previous post. I love blog land, you all are such dears.

This coming week is the beginning of the much anticipated OHSU (hubby's school) Spring Break. That means I have a husband again for a week, yeah! It also means that his poor brain gets a much needed rest. This particular Spring Break brings an even more exciting event. Aaron's folks are driving up from good ol' AZ to see us. It's been almost two years since they last visited us and just over a year since we saw them last. So, this is a long overdue visit with them. We are planning to go to Astoria next Tuesday and next Saturday we are taking them to our first big ball of the season in Eugene. I'm super excited to get dressed up again and step back in time for a few hours and share our experience with Aaron's parents. I will certainly be posting pictures throughout their stay.

Have a glorious weekend everyone! God Bless!

Sarah and Stuart (Stu)

Love Lauren

Dress Up..

Today was another day to play dress up and take some pictures of me in my jacket and petticoat. Yes, I'm a total geek, but that's okay, right :-D Enjoy!!!

Se Fini

Today I finished my 1790's jacket. I must say, I'm very pleased with the results. The fits is perfect and I love the fabric. And in case you were wondering, as always, it is entirely hand sewn. Yes, I'm crazy. Here are the pics on my dress form; you'll have to wait to see me in it. Enjoy!

1790s Zone Front Pierrot Jacket....

We have progress....

I need to add the buttons and sew the button holes, make the sleeves, and add the tail in the back and add some trim. I haven't completely decided if and or what trimming I will add. Here are the pics of my progress.... Enjoy and God Bless!

Have a great weekend everyone.

Love Lauren

The Kids...

Yes, Gico is convinced he's a large dog, just like his brother and sister. Here's the proof! :-)

So the above pic is a little blurry. It's hard to get a very large hyper dog and a very small hyper bird to sit still, while playing, so mommy can take their picture. The blurry green blob is Gico and the brown blurry blob is Leila Lu.

I love my babies!!!

A Steal!!!

Okay, so my favorite thing about birthdays is birthday money, and getting to spend it. This year I got a little money for my 25th; it's weird that I'm 25 now. Anyway, I decided to "stimulate the economy" and go buy some fabric. What else would I do with it? Today I went to Joann's knowing full well they are having a sale on silks, 40% off. I had hopes of buying a yard to make a sash or something small, just to dress up an outfit. Well, I went into the bargin bins and found this amazing find.....

Olive green silk for $6 a yard. I about fell over. Not only was it the perfect color I was in search of, but at $6 a yard, I can totally afford to make a ball gown out of that. I snatched my find up hurried to the cutting counter. Then I headed over to Mill End to buy some trims for said green silk :-D It was an exciting day. Here is a pic of my amazing finds...

This is what I plan to turn said fabric into... Tee Hee...

One of those days...

Do you ever have one of those days that is just filled with frustrations. Well, today was one of them. No major issues, just annoyances, but hey, if I can't talk about it on my blog, where can I talk about it :-)

I started off the morning with a nice walk with the pups and then it spiraled down from there. I was doing my hair and makeup with a bird that just wanted to kill my makeup brushes. Now keep in mind he has his own brushes that are old for his amusement. If I let him play with my good ones, he'll destroy them in 10 seconds flat, and have a great time doing it too. Well, this morning his makeup brushes were no good, he wanted to get into my good ones. So I spent the next 20 minutes repeatedly putting Birdy Boy back in his spot, only for him to jump down and go for my brushes, while trying to get ready.

I was already running a bit behind so I decided to pack breakfast and eat that at work as well. I went to the fridge to pack my lunchand my breakfast only to realize the food I thought I had in there for lunch was non-existent. I am usually a very good planner, and always have my lunch ready to go the night before. Last night, however, I was a bit distracted, see the baby post as to my reason. Anyway, I thought "no big deal, I'll go to break at 11:30ish and cook myself something at home. I finished getting ready and set off to work. I got to work just in time for our meeting, and realize my lunch plan b, go home and cook something during my break, fell through due to scheduling and people having days off. So, I bought lunch today, not something I like doing, especially when I almost always bring my lunch. I think this is the 2nd or 3rd time since I've worked here that I didn't pack a lunch.

Then the day continued with irritations. I had two wood towers that were due to be set up today. I had planned out exactly where they were to go and moved everything earlier this week to make room for them. Well, little did I know that these racks that we, the Tigard manager and me, understood to be small were GIANORMOUS!!! Let me tell ya, my showroom is filled to the brim as it is, so squeezing 4 large wood towers in was no easy feat. It took 2 1/2 hours of moving displays to get those puppies in, and brilliant me wore a skirt, grrr. I was so happy the very nice man, who will be known as The Rack Guy, came to set it up and took extra time to help me make room for it. I was very thankful that The Rack Guy was there to help; I could not have done all that on my own.

Following the near wood rack fiasco came the calls. Those calls that just irritate me.... I won't go into too much detail, but let's just say, the whole full moon thing this week certainly effects our people. I mean, why didn't some of these calls come in a month ago when I would be able to fix the problem. Manufacturers have rules and deadlines....Anyway, enough of that.

I'm so glad it's almost Saturday!!!

Okay, now that I've thouroughly complained I will say this... I am very thankful for my job and that I have been blessed with another day. These little frustrations make the pleasant days that much more pleasant, right? Well, I hope you all have a blessed weekend. I will leave you with a picture of Miss Marble. She has been sitting on my desk keeping me company this evening. God Bless and see you soon!!!

Love Lauren

Happy Friday!!!

You know, Fridays have always been one of my favorite days of the week. I think the main reason is the anticipation for two whole days ahead to myself. No work, no real schedule, time to take care of my house, hang out with my husband, do a little sewing, cook, and other homey pleasures. So here's to Friday! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend ahead. God Bless!!!!

Love Lauren

Everday Lauren in the 21st century. Weird, huh?

Sweet Titus

So, Callie and I went to visit the Epp's today at the hospital. What a wonderful, blessed time. I can't tell you how amazing it was to hold little Titus. I haven't held a baby that young since my brother was born. He is so sweet, and tiny, and just plain adoreable. It's mind blowing to see this little miracle outside of his mother. What an amazing blessing and gift from God. He is truly a beautiful creation and a wonderful blessing. I pray that Titus will know and love his Jesus and Savior. That he will be a "defender of the king", the meaning of his name. I pray that he will be a mighty man for God. We love you baby Titus and welcome to the world.

Hello Baby!

Our friends, Ryan and Jessica Epp, had their baby boy yesterday. Jess and Ryan are part of our small group and we love them to pieces. Here are some pics of Titus Ryan Epp.... God Bless and we can't wait to see you, Titus.

The Petticoat

This weekend I started on my new project. I made the petticoat/ skirt. I plan to start on the jacket this evening. Here are the pictures of the petticoat. Enjoy!

Love Lauren

Gotta love Leila Lu's red ball, so 18th century... LOL!

As Promised...

I finally had some time to play dress up today. Here is the result... Enjoy and God Bless!

Love Lauren

Just the Dress

A Day Ensemble perfect for the Petite Hameau

An Evening Ensemble. Care to Dance?

Have a great week everyone :-D

Robe l'Anglaise Options, or the Poor Girl's Guide to 18th Century Fashion

Here are some pics of my Robe l'Anglaise with various pelises and sashes. It shows how versitile this garment is, and therefore, light on the wallet... Enjoy!

Daywear

Evening Wear

Happy Friday to you all! Have a great weekend.

1790's Petticoat and Pierrot Jacket

Dear Friends and Readers,

I am working on the plan for my next project. I'm thinking a petticoat with a bodice or jacket. Some thing along these lines...

The Fabric (the silk is actually blue, not silver)

This is the overall shape. A zone front with the cotton as the main body and the silk for the stomacher.

The finished look.

I will be hopefully starting on this project on Sunday!!! I'm super excited.

God Bless and have a wonderful rest of the week!

Love Lauren

Maple Suryp

Hi All,

So, Mrs G, from Pastoral Symphony Farm, is having a maple syrup giveaway. Hop on over to her blog and check it out!

Why White?

Hello Dear Friends and Readers. I hope you are all having a wonderful start to your week.

My mom asked me an interesting question last night about my dress. She asked "Why do you make most of your dresses in white?" I'm sure many of you probably are wondering the same thing. So here is the answer du jour, why I make many of my gowns in white muslin.

First of all, muslin became fashionable in the 1780's when Marie Antoinette made the Chemise a la Reine fashionable. She defied the convention of the french court and donned a peasants garment. Shockwaves were sent throughout the civilized world when a painting by Elizabeth Vigee le Brun was displayed showing the Queen in this most shocking gown. However, this style soon took hold and what was once considered a imodest became the latest rage throughout Europe. Marie Antoinette even sent a copy of her gown to her dear friend, Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire. Georgiana then popularized the gown in England and the rest is, as the say, history.

During the Regency, the wearing of white muslin became a symbol of class as well as part of the Greco-Roman revival. White, as many people know, stains very easily and is hard to keep clean. If you were part of the working class, white would have been completely impractical. However, if you were of the wealthier class, you had servants to do your hard labor for you and get dirty for you. So, there was no fear of staining your beautiful Indian muslin gown.

Finally, I sew white garments because they give me many different ensembles. I can easily make an over dress, tie a sash around it, or add a splash of color to change the look. So my reasons are many... history, pracitcality, and funds :-) I hope you all have a great rest of you week and here are some paintings of white gowns. Enjoy.

The famous painting that started the fashion and shocked the world.