Caroline is 15!

Caroline had her 15th birthday (wow old lady) on Saturday and it was great. :) It's so funny being the oldest child and remember what it was like when you were the ages of all your siblings.  I made the cake out of regular cake and butter cream icing, per usual. It of course has no artificial colors or ingredients. The recipe for the chocolate cake can be found on the back of the Hershey's cocoa container. It's the best chocolate cake I've ever eaten.

One of the things I gave Caroline for her birthday was this shirt that says "I have nothing to wear". She's always saying this, and I figured it would be cute and funny and comfortable if she had a shirt to always wear whenever she was feeling like she didn't have any outfits. Mimi has a friend that has the little letter making machine and she put it on a tshirt for me. It's hard to see in the photos, but the font is black glitter. :D

my gorgeous sister :D

I want one now too :P Caroline you're the greatest and I love you very much :) Happy birthday babe! :)

A Dressing Gown

We all have those days when we don't want to get dressed. Some people may have them every now and then, or others (cough, cough, not me cough cough) may feel this way every day. And though pajamas can be cute, and can be modest (for wearing around like other people and stuff), they're still pajamas, ya know? And though I may not feel like getting dressed, I want to feel like I've made an effort. 

Thus the robe/dressing gown has been a great addition to my wardrobe. Because it's an in between piece that's not quite pajamas, but I can wear it over my pajamas and feel like I'm an elegant lady at her dressing table (or on the couch or on the floor or where ever else I am because I don't own a dressing table). I mean it's really not an effort because I'm wearing the robe OVER my pajamas, but it makes me feel better :P

Photos taken by me, except the last three. Photo creds to Elizabeth and Caroline for those :)

comfy house slippers I got at the beach

Kyla's mom gave me a crimping iron and I've been experimenting with finger waves. I haven't quite got the hang of them yet I'm still practicing :) 

I love the little details like the pleated organza trimming

And no, this is not a Kimono, and you don't need to to say things in Japanese/Chinese when you see me like some of my relatives do :P  Dressing Gown: VV, mom Slippers: Goodwill  Earrings: Care's

UP UP AND AWAY (my first experience in a helicoptor)

You know that feeling you have when like something completely nuts starts happening? I mean like I know life is full of surprises but sometimes the surprises really catch me by surprise. One of these surprising surprises happened recently at Myrtle Beach. I flew in a helicopter.  BAM. Does that surprise you? Probably not. But it surprised me! 

Let me just tell you I was (not anymore lol) terrified at the thought of airplanes, boats, helicopters, etc. And there was NO WAY I was ever going to get on a plane that went across the ocean. I mean there are SHARKS in the ocean, what if we crashed??????? Not my idea of a pleasant way to go. After being told many more people died from cows than from airplanes (still afraid to google it and find out if that's true or not) over and over and over again I think maybe I was hypnotized onto getting in a helicopter. If I wasn't in a trance then I must have done a pretty good job of hiding my fear, because I did get in without a struggle. 

But guys, in all honestly that was probably one of the funnest things I've done in my life. And I think I've overcome my fear of flying. :) My Grandpa will be so proud hahaha (he was in the air force, and was a helicopter pilot). 

Oh, and being up in a helicopter makes for great photos, so enjoy :)

Thank you so much Mom for surprising Caroline and I with a helicopter ride :D :D :D!!!!!!! 

our very funny shadow :P

This picture reminds me of royal icing brush embroidery cookies. If you don't know what those are you should totally watch a tutorial on YouTube, they're amazing.

we flew out over the ocean

ME

the helicopter we flew in :)

Have you ever been in some sort of aircraft? Do you enjoy it, or are you terrified? 

The Beauty of a Clouded Sunrise

I may have offhandedly mentioned that we went to Myrtle Beach last week. Since Caroline and I have birthdays, not even a month apart, over the years we've tended to do some joint celebrations, and we did one again this year. Totally out of the blue mom was like we are going to go to the beach for your birthdays! And Callan and Ann Marie and Grandma came along too!! :D It was *amazing* (use high squealy singing voice). And when I get time I'm going to share a few photos.  Thankfully the sun doesn't rise at 5, or 6, or even 7. It rises at 7:21, at least in Myrtle Beach. Which was also amazing :) The first morning Ann Marie and I got up and went and watched the sunrise together, and had coffee. And on day two Callan (who begged me to bop her on the head with a pillow until she got up) and Caroline joined us.  There was a cloud bank at the edge of the horizan which prevented us from seeing the sun as it peeked over the edge. But the cloud bank actually almost made it cooler, because we could watch as the sun carved lines and smudges in the clouds with it's laser light. And then it would burst out over the bank of clouds and blind us all. We saw stars (the sun is a star, right? :P) for a good while after we shut the curtains.  I took these pictures as the sun was coming up. 

My Old Fashioned Bathing Suit

Vintage Vursday is here. :P  Playing around with photoshop. And curls. And Coca Cola. :D Pictures were taken in Myrtle Beach, by Caroline and edited by me. Painting a photo takes a while believe it or not!

I'm very happy with how this one turned out :D

Bathing suit: VV, blogged here

Tuesday's Musings

So last week I was tagged by Kaitlyn Metzger of A Gentle and Quiet Spirit to do a random tags kind of post. I'm not sure if it has a name, she called it "Nominations" so I'll do something along those lines :) 
1) What is your dream job and why? My dream job would probably be doing African Hair Braiding. I enjoy doing it because it's creative and calming. And I think if I had the opportunity to spend 2 or 3 hours with someone, once or on a regular basis it would be an awesome time to share the gospel and give the love and hope of Jesus Christ into people I did hair for.  2) What are your 3 favorite hobbies?  Singing and music related activities, photography and swing dancing. 3) If you could go anywhere, where would it be?  I actually don't have any big dreams or aspirations for travel. I would love to see more of everything obviously, as I do have a little bit of an exploring/adventurous side to me, but there isn't a particular place I can pin-point.  4) What book has most impacted your life?  The Bible :D 5) Who are your favorite bloggers or blogs?
This is SO hard!!! I follow 100 blogs exactly on bloglovin-and quite frankly there is something about each blog that I like enough to follow it. Most of all the blogs I follow are historical costuming. Then there are some vintage bloggers, and then a few randoms (such as art, or life, or "faith" blogs)  Here are a few of my most inspirational, or my first loves :P Not in any particular order. 
Lily, from "Mode de Lis" WOW WOW WOW. 
My dear young lady who I'm still not sure if she wants her name on the Internet. She goes by the pen name Frieda, but I tend to just call her "Miss F". She blogs Ruffles not Rifles and I've been following her since the very beginning of my costuming journey :D
Sarah, from Talk Time is so fabulous- I enjoy every minute spent on her blog :D She's got a writing style that I absolutely love, and her posts are always a joy to read. 
Butterfly Loves Snapdragons is probably my most inspiration blog fashion wise. She wears a lot of vintage pieces, and has some pretty incredible hairstyles, but she still seems so down to earth and normal. Which can be hard to say for all fashion bloggers. That coat with the fur trim and those hair rolls she's sporting in her last post are pretty fantabulous!! 
And last but not least (because I will say Merja is my favorite) is Before the Automobile. She is my favorite costumer like EVER, and my biggest inspiration. (well Bascha would be my inspiration, but apart from Bascha :P) Words cannot describe how well she sews. *I can't even*.  (Due to the costumes, and period undergarments, there are corsets and things that may be deemed inappropriate for some of my readers. You know who you are :))
6) What is your current favorite song? 
Too hard. I skip this question :P I actually don't have a "current" favorite, I have some "old favorites" that I've loved for many years, but as of new songs I just like the songs I sing when I'm worshipping with JP.
7) Do you have a favorite quote? If so, what? 
“If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.”  ― Charles H. Spurgeon
8) If you could only have one social media site, what would you pick and why?
I would actually probably say Pinterest. Which is funny because I don't even have a Pinterest anymore. I'd pick Pinterest because it is so nice to be able to keep photos and links all in the same place, but in there own separate folders. And you can search for specific pins of your own in your own folders. Plus, there are so many good ideas and recipes on there that I think are very helpful. 
9) What book of the Bible are you reading? 
James, Psalms, and Proverbs.
10) What is your favorite Bible verse? 
I don't have a favorite :P

A Better Brush Out + Outfit

#VintageVunday oh dude that is so weird looking :P

This is my outfit from Friday when we went to Myrtle Beach. I had curled my hair totally with foam rollers and was very pleased with the results :) Mum helped me brush the back since I'm not very good at reaching. Plus she's just really sweet like that :) 

The weather was a little frigid if ya'll remember, and so this outfit was nice because it had some layers. Originally I was just going to wear the cardigan sweater, but the vintage blouse added so much subtle flair I just had to throw it on too :) 

This pin is special to me because my it belonged to my Mimi's Mama :)

I love this picture :) The beach in one photo :) 

This skirt is like one of my most favorite things EVER. It fits so well, but it's like wearing a painting. I kind of like to think my clothing as art, and this really makes me feel like I'm wearing art :P

I wore a red shirt with this skirt on my birthday

Callan is so artsy :P

Blouse: thrifted Cardigan: J Crew Skirt: Chicwish here Pin: Great grandmother Belt: Target Photo creds go to Ann Marie and Callan :)