A Pearl Party

Marilou and I hatched this idea last summer, but just couldn't get it on the calendar.  This summer, she and Ron are moving, leaving - I frantically got it on the calendar.

Easiest party ever. 

We reserved the space, announced the date and time, brought drinks and the ladies did the rest. They brought a pretty place setting, finger food, and decked themselves in pearls with stories.

Marilou served  proper tea with a Chinese strainer, Rebecca made cranberry-mango punch with a fancy ice ring, I brought water (I did drop in sliced limes and mint sprigs).

I brought all my tea partyish linens, borrowed a bouquet from Sunday service. That was it.

It was magical.  Lovely.

The ladies kept thanking Marilou, Rebecca and me which made us laugh because the party was so lightly planned and easy.  The lesson here is that we all love a party - we can dress up, eat charming food, and talk to people we care about.

Afterwards, at home, I got my husband to take some pictures so I could show you the fascinator I made.  For less than a dollar using feathers and flowers from A's creative reuse shop and rhinestone buttons from my stash.

And this yellow dress is one Rebecca's mother found in her basement, a vintage dress Rebecca wore in college and surprisingly perfect on me because I'm bigger than Rebecca and thought I looked terrible in yellow.

Sans fascinator, I think I'll add it to my Sunday rotation.

What I Made on Vacation

I cut out the flower parts ahead of time, then did the handsewing at the beach cottage while watching movies.  Oh.  I told you I was away from screens all week.  I didn't count movies.  Oops.

Finished the binding on these.  My favorite is the front pair with the vintage red, yellow, and blue patchwork.  I snapped those up at A's creative reuse shop for pennies.

Then I came home and made a fascinator - set up shop in the bathroom for the good light and mirrors.

I would glue on a part, hold it against my head and study the effect, and glue more on.

Fascinator reveal tomorrow!
And then, I made the final things for the craft show this weekend:

I didn't take a close up of this ruffle scarf - it's a custom order: soft white with black topstitching.  Very smart and surprisingly retro looking.

Locals, if you want to catch me at the craft show this weekend, email me for details.  Otherwise, look for my etsy shop to re-open August 8 (hmmm, or 9).

Sunday Dinner: Vichysoisse

I didn't look at a screen the entire week I was at the beach - how odd and how refreshing.  But now I'm back with lots to record!  I already enjoyed a nice visit on your blogs when I got home.

I'm beginning to think many things are easier in winter - it's so cozy to cook up big, heavy meals and welcome the stove heat.  Now in the summer, what should we eat?  I don't like the feeling of perpetual snacking.  I've been browsing through my vintage cookbooks for ideas - after all, these people did not have air conditioning either and most of them wore many more layers than us. 

I've been making extremely simple meals, always with a chilled element and some straight up summer bounty.

Sunday's meal was no different:

Vichysoisse
biscuits and butter
yellow grape tomatoes
fresh peach and blueberry pie

Saturday:make biscuits (bake them with the bread and granola - if I'm going to turn on the oven, I'm going to fill that baby up)
make Vichysoisse
make peach pie (using previously baked crust from the freezer)

Sunday noon:
snip some parsley for the Vichysoisse
wash the tomatoes
set the table
warm the biscuits in the toaster oven

The Vichysoisse (first time I've made it, had it) was good, but I wasn't wowed.  I did add some dill, and then the snipped parsley. 

Also, I really do keep my oven filled if I have to turn it on for something.  I'll roast some vegetables, even if I don't have an immediate plan for them - better to prep them now when the oven is on and have another meal option in the fridge. 

Or the tart crust - I have 4 pie pans, enough that I can bake a double batch and stick one in the freezer without missing the pan.  And it was easy as pie (ha!) to slice the peaches, make a quick sauce, and plop it all in the frozen crust to chill for Sunday.

I was baking bread for general eating, but also to make pretty sandwiches for a party - I'll get that post up this week.

Beyond Cream Cheese

My mind sort of stops with cream cheese for a bagel; I mean, there's lox and I love it, but it's a treat, and I just revert to a soft creamy cheese.

I saw a tidbit on SouleMama the other day that led me to mashing some mild local feta with a little fresh lemon juice, good olive oil, fresh pepper, and freshly snipped mint.  Spread on sesame bagel.  With a slice of the first ambrosial cantaloupe on the side and black coffee.  Breakfast heaven. 

It may interest you to know that my children did not eat much of this breakfast - probably due to the horrible heat sink we're having.  But I don't usually pay much attention to these whims - they have little food fads all the time, but I just cook what is good and figure they'll eat if they're hungry.  So yes, I will be serving this breakfast again.

And now, dear chickens, I am off for a bit to the beach.  I was dying of the heat anyway, so being forced to sleep and live in an air-conditioned beach house sounds like a delightful prospect.

Do Real Letters Still Exist?

I was sorting through old letters the other day when it occurred to me:  I don't receive or send real letters any more!  Mass mailings like Christmas letters are not what I'm referring to.  I mean a newsy little sheet sent to friends and family far away, maybe with big news or maybe with daily vignettes.  I don't even exchange emails like that anymore!  People tweet, text, blog, and email, but not with the composition of a letter.

What happened?  (Are you sending and receiving real letters?)

In case the pleasure of a letter is not enough, the act of starting a letter, getting into the news, switching topics, and drawing it all to a close are skills that frequent letter-writers are working at subconsciously.  Writing skills are thinking skills, training our brains in a way that talking and texting cannot.

Ok, it's July, and I'm making a resolution:  I'm going to write one real letter a month until Christmas (I had a hard time deciding what is realistic - first it was four, then two, then one - sighhhhh).  After Christmas, I might try to enlarge the habit.

Of course, you could rightly point out that stamps are getting expensive - email can be free - so thrifty!

Well, yes, but money is the wrong bottom line for some things. 

There are other factors to consider in this case: community, my brain, my pleasure in the paper and stamps, choosing to invest in a tradition I want to see endure. . . and I got my new Philatelic the other day, and promptly went online to buy all the cool new stamps: Mark Twain! modern industrial design! groovy Love! Gregory Peck! a cool car for the Indy 500!

Just think of the fun I will have, sitting down to a little cherry writing desk in my peignor with a cup of tea, dealing with the morning's correspondence and then ringing for Jasper to take the letters to the post. . .

(linking up with Leila's pretty happy funny real collection today)

Popsicles after SSR

 My husband, who is at home with the children while I'm at my job, has taught them Silent Sustained Reading (SSR).  No more naps for Ben, because he was having a hard time falling asleep at night.

 And after SSR, there are popsicles.  The yellow ones are leftover pouring custard.

The orange popsicles are apricot nectar.

 Check out that hair!  Genevieve loves to style hair and this time, her hanky was involved for some Bohemian chic.

The Cobbler's Family is Shod

So satisfying to apply my talents to my family's needs, not just my etsy shop, which has been humming recently.

Here my husband was fixing a drill and I was putting new velcro on Ben's shoe straps.

Then later I had a bit of sorely-needed sewing therapy.  Ahhhhh.  Much better!

I'm getting close to the end of the handquilting for the Klara Annabella thanks to dragging it to a reunion and swimming lessons, but for now, I have to turn my attention to sewing madly for a craft show stint coming up.  And packing for the beach! And planning a party and a dinner for a dear friend!  And then, my family gets hungry and dirty too!

I am a naturally highstrung person, so I have to keep calming myself down and reminding myself to enjoy what I'm doing and everything will be lovely.