Shoe!

I had Coastal Baking to do by myself today, and thankfully it went quickly enough, since I didn't have Sarah to help me. :)

Daniel is about to embark up North to his first iGovern camp and had some shopping to do so I asked the girls and Mama if they could cover at home for me so I could go along and so they generously agreed. :) I guess one of the things Daniel needed most was a pair of shoes...that meant I  got to indulge in one of my favorite in-public-pastimes: Trying on outlandish shoes. Here are pictures of the cream of the crop. ;)

What's black and white and red all over? Maybe these shoes.

The Black-widow shoes. These were Daniel's and Benjamin's favorites. :D They insisted I take a picture, and so I did. :) (By the way, did anyone realize how handy for self-portraits those little floor-height shoe mirrors are?)

Really cute black shoes that I didn't have the money to buy, even if  I wanted them. :) 

And Mary Poppins shoes! Don't these look just like the purple ones she takes out of her magic carpet bag at the start of the film? I thought so, and I rather liked them! :) I had a fun time just hanging out with Daniel and Benjamin and looking at all the things I had no money to buy. I tried on a wig at a wig store and had the phone poised for taking a picture when a cross little Asian lady glared at me:

"No no! No wearing weegs unless you buy weeg-cap first!" and I was so startled to be reprimanded that I yanked the wig off and thus you have no picture.

Benjamin and I also went into Bath and Body Works and tried all the samples. I love samples. I love lotion and perfume and lipgloss samples as well as sweet & sour chicken samples. I got all of them today at the mall. :D

So what did you all do with your Wednesday?

In Which introduce you to The Writer

I haven't talked much about my writing on this blog, but I will say that I'm rather in love with the story of one of my characters: Miss Calida Harper--a journalist trying to make it big in the newspaper business during the 1940's. She's single, rather cynical, pretty, charming, and clever. But she's missing something and she knows it. So when she meets up with the famous, old-fashioned, kind Wade Barnett, there's a chance she might just learn more from him than how to get the scoop on the current events.

Here are a couple snippets from this story. :) (Anyone notice she's a girl after my own heart?)

I paid the cab-fee and shoved open the little glass door that separated the building I called home from the rest of New York City. It wasn’t the Ritz, but it was better than some of the digs I’d heard of young journalists living in. I slipped past the reception desk, hoping that Jerry would not be on duty—he always managed to address me in a way that it would be absolutely blatantly cruel of me to ignore. Plus, he had the sweetest little British accent which made it seem even crueler to ignore him. Blast manners—I wonder what Emily Post would think of me if I told her I plotted my schedule—my comings and goings—around who was on duty.

-Fly Away Home

Shores set me up with this Mr. Wade Barnett to see if I had what it took to be a true journalist—which he seriously doubted. And it was quite clear this would be my last chance.“So be it,” I said, jaw clenched. Nickleby mewed and blinked his green eyes at me. I tapped the end of his nose and shook my head. “Shores is a goober. He thinks I won’t last in that office with Mr. Wade Barnett. I’ll show him. I’ll be famous and glamorous and everyone will love me and then we’ll see what the elegant Mr. Shores thinks of me.” My heart pounded in my chest and I pushed the lid of my glass bon-bon bowl onto the coffee table and tried to decide if the moment required raspberry cream or caramel.I exchanged glances with Nickleby and sank with languid grace onto the sofa. “This calls for chocolate, Nicks. Chocolate and an appointment with Mr. Dickens. You suggest the caramel? I thought as much.” I popped a chocolate caramel into my mouth and grabbed Pickwick off the table, opening to the silk ribbon that marked my place.  “Observe, Nicks,” I said. And even around the lump of chocolate my voice had a determined edge to it. “I take notes from the best masters.” I nodded out the dim window in the directions of Shores’ office and sucked my chocolate. “Let that be a lesson to you, Mr. High-and-Mighty. I won’t be easily squashed.”

-Fly Away Home

 

"Let's see...who will be next?" (!!!!)

They're a couple! <3

When a best friend combines with a best older brother, you know life's good. :)

coconut-lime cheesecake

Well, that was one for the books! The Coconut-Lime Cheesecake was to die for. We put it on the website for people to order, and I can't wait to see if we have sold any! :)

For some reason Sarah's hands look huge and the cheesecake looks tiny!

Pardon the lurid glow of our kitchen lighting :P

And just because he's sweeter than any cheesecake:

Awkward & Awesome

-Awkward-

• Paying with dimes and nickels...for a sub...at Subway...
• Going to Food Lion and doing the same thing for a bag of ice.
• Being in the middle of too many books at once so that when someone asks you what you're reading you tell them for ten minutes.
• Wearing your "I'm with Ken" Cucinelli-campaign t-shirt and having everyone ask you (1) who Ken is, and (2) if it's a shirt referencing Barbie-dolls. :P
• Realizing you are in a stamp crisis so all those letters you thought you'd sent are really sitting there growing old and stale and out-dated on the kitchen counter.
• Singing "The best is yet to come" by Frank Sinatra and suddenly listening to the words you've been singing: "Wait till I'm locked in your embrace/wait till our lips have met/ wait till you see that sun-shine place/you ain't seen nothing yet!" :P
• Taking a picture of yourself on your phone and realizing you don't look as good as you thought you looked up to a minute ago.

-Awesome-

• Reading 3 books in a week
• Cameras (AT LAST!)
• Making a perfect coconut-lime cheesecake (pictures to come!)
• Tickling a baby till they nearly die laughing
• Chicken salad
• Absolutely joyful, amazing, beautiful news
• Letters to my husband-to-be (cue Michael Buble's "Haven't met you yet" ;)
• Tangled floating-lantern-scene
• Unexpected, unplanned Mad Hatter conversations with a cousin and sister
• Discussions about the future
• Plans to join the Gen-J Leadership Corps and counsel at a camp in Colorado with Daniel
• Recognizing multiple actors in a movie from all your other favorite movies

Bon-Voyage! --a travel-inspired fashion event

Sometimes we girls just get in a rut with our clothes and feel that what we really need is a whole new wardrobe. Thankfully for the strength of our ingenuity, most of us cannot afford that. Instead, we get the privilege of exercising a fabulous gift: making something out of nothing. :)

^ That's the publicity spiel about this event. ;) 

To help get all of us out of the rut, I'm starting a new series of Travel-Inspired "Bon-Voyage!" Fashion posts! I thought it'd be a fun way to get creative and inspire us all, especially as many of you might be Going Places this summer. :) I will provide linkies at the bottom of the fashion posts and you girls can put together your own outfits inspired by anywhere around the world! You can match my theme or make up one of your own.You can do an inspiration post with pictures from the web, or photos of your own outfit! Just don't forget to sign the linky! :)
And don't forget to take the "button" and link to this event on your on blogs so everyone else can join!

This week's theme will be "Gypsy"! :)

"I have an evening dress, pink mull over silk (I'm perfectly beautiful in that), and a blue church dress, and a dinner dress with red veiling with Oriental trimming (makes me look like a Gipsy)..."

-Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster

I imagine her dress looking something like this!

The gypsy-style is a beautiful, rather bohemian style that is easily recreated using things most of you will be able to find in your wardrobe. Here are some ideas! 

Belts, woven or leather--the thicker the better if you want to get that truly caravan/wandering look. :)

The peasant blouse--feminine, soft, and beautiful. Gentle gathering at the neck-line and the girlish sleeves are the classic features of this style. You could also gain a similar look by using a belt and a full, loose shirt...something like this:

Next is a long, full skirt Now is the time to bring that limp, tiered-skirt from the back of your drawer and give it a new life. :)

Flip-flops are so perfect for this style (or barefeet!) that I don't even need to address shoes. :) The last thing that will make your gypsy-style perfect is the hairstyle! Choose something loose and pretty and careless.

Wrap a ribbon once...

Or thrice:

Throw in a red rose for good measure...

And voila! You are ready for a trek across Bohemia. :) Now go ahead and link up with your posts!

The Improvement of my mind by extensive reading... :)

I haven't had a lot of time to read recently...too much going on. :) But this week I have indulged because we've had an abundance of thunderous days and not too many projects going on. *Yay* So what have I been indulging in?

Pieces of The Hobbit--all my favorite bits just for kicks and giggles and happy-sighs-in-anticipation-of-the-movie. :)

Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster--a new-found favorite and one of the sweetest, more cheerful (and satisfying) books you'll ever read. :) Plus it features a handsome, millionaire-benefactor. The sort I'm always on the look-out for. After all, doesn't someone want to adopt a Rachel? No? No takers? Sheesh. I'm not that bad. And I make a mean cheesecake. ;)

The combination of quaint little illustrations and confidential, pert letters makes for laughter every other sentence. I really do love this book. :)

Bud & Me--I was so intrigued by the true story of Bud and Temple Abernathy's cross-country rides (and they were only 9&5!) that I was sad to finish it. I mean, I've always been a sucker for frontier adventure: wolves, Indians, cattle rustlers, Teddy Roosevelt...can you get any better than that? I was sad to close the covers. Still, it made another title on my "Have Read in 2012" list that I was glad it only took an afternoon to read. :)

Oliver Twist--easily one of the simplest, easiest-to-understand Dickens books I've ever read. (And I've read at least ten) I am about half-way through now (not quite, actually) and loving it. Mr. Brownlow is simply adorable and I don't like Mr. Bumble. I love the Artful Dodger too! Fagin is just plain creepy, as is Sikes.

I'm hoping to finish this book by the end of the week so I can boast three books in one week! That'll be a record for the rate I've been going recently. :) Ahhhh....I love reading so very very much. :) So what have you been reading?