Ranunculus & Dark Chocolate

My dear sister surprised me this morning with these lovely flowers,

and delicious dark chocolate!

Both now have taken residence on my writing desk.

Have a delightful Monday!

A thought-provoking article on Modesty

"You should not judge a book by its cover. That is true. And if you have time in the library to browse and read the back flap or half a chapter, you will often come home with an amazing book even though the cover didn’t really promise much. But how often do you have time for all that? Between children, household, work, family, hobbies… quite often we run in and out of the library in fifteen minutes and we have to content ourselves with first impressions. After a while you even become very good at this. You know what styles of illustrations probably promise a great read, or what kind of font is often used just to draw attention to a cheap sensationalist piece of non fiction. Now and again we have pleasant or unpleasant surprises, but, in general, we know what we get. After all, a scientific work will not often have a full-colour shot of playing children against the background of a wheat field on it, a family novel will rarely have a shiny black dust jacket with blood drops over the title.

"In the same way, people who do not have the time to truly get to know us and be surprised by our personality must judge us by what they see–the woman we pass in the grocery store, the librarian, the people we meet on the street. While it is true that beauty starts on the inside, the way we present ourselves shows that we care about the feelings of others who meet us. We should not explicitly dress to get attention to ourselves, but it is a thoughtful gesture to present ourselves with the beauty with which the Lord has endowed us undimmed by sloppiness or carelessness... Click here to read the rest!

A Romantic Nightgown for Summer

If you know my sister Erin, she *loves* to sew nightgowns just as much as I love to sew aprons. Just to put it into perspective. =) I dread having to sew nightgowns, while she thinks they're the greatest thing on the block!

A couple of months ago she got a pattern from another nightgown-enthusiast that is based off of an out of print 80s pattern, Butterick 3778. It came from the eldest of 4 girls, all whom are married now, and each had a nightgown made using this pattern for a wedding nightgown. My sister and I were fortunate to have seen one of them shortly after it was sewn, and before use!

Just a couple of weeks ago, Erin pulled out the pattern, stashed cotton fabric, some lavender lace from my stash, and put together this lovely nightgown. As you can see, some alterations made by our friends were a higher neckline, sleeves, and a tiered skirt.

My favorite details though are the pintucks.

Is anyone else inspired to go make a romantic-looking (not to be confused with the Romantic Era) nightgown, like I am right now?

How I Spent My Afternoon

I do so love a good cup of English tea and a captivating book.

::sigh::

Pesto

I can't take the credit for making this recipe up, as I found it on a blog a couple years ago. It is delicious, but I'll warn you that the house and your breath with smell like garlic for several hours after eating. ;)
3 c. fresh basil leaves
3 large cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 t. salt
pepper to taste
1/2 c. olive oil
1/4 c. lightly toasted pinenuts
1/2 c. freshly grated cheese (Parmesan or Romano)

Put basil, garlic, salt, pepper, oil, and nuts in blender and chop. Add cheese and combine gently. This makes enough for about 1 lb pasta of your choice. Can also be served with pasta and sauteed chicken.

Morning Light

The sun was just peeking out over the clouds in the east this morning as I watched its rays clothe the Grape Hyacinths.

The Old-Fashioned Way

Yesterday I was lamenting to a friend of mine at church how I've gotten some pain and soreness in my wrists and forearms from all the sewing I've done lately (I know, because I took a day off, and as soon as I went back to it, the pain came back).

But stop sewing for awhile, and especially after being inspired by gowns worn by Elizabeth Bennett of Pride & Prejudice, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood of Sense & Sensibility, Emma Woodhouse of Emma, Anne Elliot of Persuasion, Catherine Moreland of Northanger Abbey, and Fanny Price of Mansfield Park?

And then this fabric?

I think it would look delicious made up into a Regency dress, don't you? I suppose I could go the old fashioned way and hand sew it up. T'would be more so authentic too, I think! Perhaps I'll give it a try.

If you don't hear from me for the rest of the week, it probably means that I'm lost in stitching, tea drinking, and watching Jane Austen films. =)