The View from My Window

One of the things I'm most thankful for in our new house is that it has a walk-out basement. I can see our yard and my garden from my desk and from my sewing workspace. The "mushroom life" (as my dad called it!) in our previous house was just so...mushroom-y. I am loving seeing the leaves change outside my window! I also love the natural sunshine that streams in all morning and early afternoon.

October

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it?"

~Anne Shirley, Anne of Green Gables

New House Progress

We have been living in the Big Pink House for two months now. Six weeks ago, a demolition crew appeared at our door at barely 8AM to begin the process of remodeling our kitchen. We are finally, almost, nearly done. Care to see?


First, let's all remember the BEFORE (cue dramatic music):


Notice the worn, light oak floors, pickled wood cabinets, clashing, heavy dark granite (which we learned is called "Ubatuba"...heehee...), and little counter space considering the size of the kitchen. Also, the only oven was a microwave-sized wall oven barely large enough for a cookie sheet, much less one of my sister's giant cake pans or a Thanksgiving turkey. Most of the island was covered by a barely-functional and impossible-to-clean glass cooktop.


In progress, the entire kitchen was gutted to the bare walls



And now for the AFTER:


Cherry cabinets with a cranberry glaze, light-colored granite, and refinished floors. I'm also so happy about having a new refrigerator that DOESN'T make dying moose sounds (as my sister called them).



On the other side of the kitchen is the new gas range and full-size wall oven


Obviously, there is still some work to do. The light that used to be above the eat-in table will not always dangle from the ceiling like that. ;-) One day, I hope we will get rid of it entirely and put in pendant lights above the island. Also, the holes in the wall behind the sink? Those aren't staying, either. ;-) We haven't picked out tile for the backsplash yet, but hopefully that will happen soon.

A bit of history

For Mother's Day this year, our church did an historical wedding theme. They asked the ladies of the church to wear their own wedding gowns, or their mothers' and grandmothers' gowns for a "fashion show" of sorts. There are quite a few newlyweds in our church, and I think the ladies had fun getting their gowns out again to wear. Many of the...ahem...more mature brides aren't quite the same size they were 20 or 30 years ago, so many daughters wore their moms' gowns. (I was one of them. :-))

There were three truly antique gowns, all in incredible condition. The one you see above was purchased by a Denver bride at the Denver Dry goods store in 1914! It was modeled by a *very* petite lady from our church. This incredible gown is still in pristine condition, and complete with its box of tissue-wrapped underthings, handbag, and shoes, which actually fit the lady from our church!

The gown has the most lovely bead work down the sleeves and all the way around the underskirt. The sleeves also feature an intricate pleating pattern.



Made mostly of light, sheer cotton, it also has accents of fine cotton net, and the underskirt is in champagne colored silk. The back of the gown has two fabric rosettes at the waist.
The bodice is accented with lace and a beaded medallion at the neckline.

Pure loveliness!

The modern brides in their strapless, a-line gowns were, of course, all lovely and blushing in the remembrance of their special days not too long ago, but there is just something so alluring in a soft, elegant gown with timeless embellishment.

First roses of the summer

We've had several weeks of thunderstormy days, but today felt like summer! My "Peace" roses celebrated by opening in a panoply of buttery petals! Both bushes are obscured this year by several "Malva" plants I had in the bed last year. I didn't realize they were perennials, and this year they're taller than my second-year rosebushes. Oops...I keep telling my mom that eventually, the roses will be taller. Until then, I'll just cut all the roses and bring them inside so we can see and enjoy them! I am so pleased by how vigorous "Peace" and her sister are this year. I can't say the same for one of my third-year rosebushes. It has produced the loveliest blooms for the last two summers...six-inch blossoms with a damask fragrance that would fill the house, but all the canes died this winter. All I have left is the new growth. We'll see if it survives the summer.

Spring is here

The first cut flowers of the season...stolen from the pots on the front porch.

Sew, girlie, sew!

I few months ago, I was able to purchase an industrial sewing machine to help me in my job and home business. I'm using it tonight to make a couple of pillows for my job, and I thought I would take a break to introduce it to you!

I am so thankful to know how to sew! It is great to have a flexible job so that I can work and go to school at the same time!