Between the hammock and the beach, Cahuita was a very wonderful vacation.
Our front porch….ahhh!
In search of Bruno the sloth
You should be able to view the video. I am still trying to figure out how to upload a video directly into my blog from my iPad.
Before and After: Bookshelf Organization
Call me a bit obsessive if you’d like…but before you utter those words, just look at how much nicer this bookshelf looks after some simple organizing and rearranging.
- BEFORE: years of messy, toss-it-on-the-shelf activity and dust
How-to achieve the look:
- I took each and every book off the shelf.
- I separated the books by color and by size.
- Then, I re-arranged them back on the shelf in an order that would fit the bookshelf and was pleasing to the eye.
- Tip: alter the vertical and horizontal arrangement, of your books, to give more room on the shelf and some visual interest.
- After: ahhhhh!
Rolling down the river
Over last weekend we did some canoeing in Rhode Island with friends. I was happy to have kept the canoe upright…during the hours long trip. It was a good workout and fun to meet new friends…let’s not mention the ticks, low hanging tree trunks, and mosquitoes.
Megan and Mary
Prom Dresscue-The “Twisty” Middle
The humidity was high as Emily, Bella and Xernay worked to get their hair and makeup just right.
Black clouds rolled in, the winds blew and it began to rain…..really rain. We were the lucky ones. Unknown to us, Springfield, Westfield, Brimfield and across Western Massachusetts tornadoes rumbled. Here, they don’t have the tornado sirens I remember from Wisconsin.
But these beauties kept on…
With dress shoes in hand and umbrellas we all headed out to Limo Central. It seemed outdoor pictures were going to be out of the question. The car ride to the Leeds Limo was hazardous at times, rains whipping across the windshield blinding our view. We muddled onward….and by the time we got to Dan’s house the rain’s had stopped and clouds were moving quickly east.
Flowers were exchanged as we waited for late comers and cameras were at ready.
And they were off…to official picture taking that was suppose to occur in Child’s Park. Due to the wet grass, this happened in front of the high school, were limo after limo pulled up and dropped off the relieved Prom goers.
By this point, the tornadoes had touched down in Springfield and were moving easterly. The damage heavy. The Prom goers shuttled on over to the Log Cabin, Holyoke which is up on top of Mt. Tom. I’m pretty sure they saw the spectacular sunset which cast an orange glow across the Valley.
Sadly, just after 8:30 pm or so, and post dinner-I received a text message telling me: Prom was canceled.
By 10:30 the fancy Prom dresses were exchanged for more casual attire and the party had moved to the Post Prom locale.
Oh, and of course Prom Dresscue bucks the going trend, noted in today’s New York Times article: The Prom Dress Moves Into the Designer Leagues.
Prom Dresscue-The Beginning
It started about a month ago now. From the local thrift store a lilac pair of size 18, elastic waist pants came home with Xernay. The cost? Under $2. The vision? Dresscue these pants and create Xernay's prom dress. Luckily, since Juniors wear short dresses to the Senior prom, I felt we had enough "fabric" to pull this off.
The fabric is a permanent crinkle. in a lightweight polyester fabric of some sort. The inspiration for the Dresscue came from Elie Saab's lavender couture dress that Mila Kunis wore to the 2011 Oscars.
Of course, given the origins of these pants, the inset lace wasn't possible. So, I navigated towards the drape, fabric, lace and some rhinestone trim. To get the shape, I cut off the pants just below the pockets and ripped the sides to create the arms and shoulders.
This is the front starting to take shape
Then, I worked the back of the dress
It worked best to remove fabric as we went along the process of many try-on's, pinnings and bastings. I made a couple of trips to several stores to find the chiffon and trims.
Stay tuned for the big reveal....tomorrow.
