Peplumed Peony

My new peplumed peony!

What a relaxing day! I Slept in and then made johnny cakes, sausage, and coffee. We had an ice storm today in Iowa, so Josh and I were forced to stay in.

johnnies, yum!

It was the perfect day to photograph my new blouse that I finished yesterday. This blouse started out as a Colette Peony for my mother. When I gave her the dress last Christmas, the top was far too small! So I made her Peony a new top, and I decided to keep this one for me. I added a peplum to it, by cutting out a long rectangle and gathering the fabric. I would have liked a puffier peplum - but I didn't have enough fabric. Next time I will have the puffiest peplum ever, but for now I love me new peony top!

We decided to brave the cold and the ice.

Pretty soon the cold was too much for us.

Next we explored the creepy basement of our apartment building.

I found some kind of animal skeleton.

I can't wait for winter to be over, this cold weather is such a downer. On the bright side, the ice storm did give me time to make some fresh bread today. I found a recipe in The Joy of Cooking for milk bread, a yeast bread with  milk, butter, and an egg in it. Yum!

Long Time No Post!

Wow, it has really been awhile. What a crazy few months, I moved, started a new job, and then the Holidays hit. I started working for a company that makes vintage-inspired holiday decorations. It's a small company so I get to help with a lot of different things, like marketing, graphic design, product design, some photography, and anything that comes up!

For my birthday in December, I went to the National Czech and Slovak Museum in Cedar Rapids, IA to see an Alphonse Mucha exhibit. Mucha has been one of my favorite artists for many years. The exhibit had 230 pieces of his work. I love art nouveau and I am part Czech, so the exhibit was a perfect birthday treat. We also walked through Czech Village, ate Czech food, and went antiquing! I scored some pretty Czech glass buttons - Happy Birthday indeed!

My sister and I outside the museum.

A couple of Czechs hangin' out.

I bought a book of his work!

A cute shop with Czech glass!

Next on my sewing table:

After putting my sewing aside for a few months, I'm ready to get back in the game! I have a few sewing projects on my table that I really need to finish up. Sometimes when they get too stagnant, it is hard to start working on them again. I am finishing up a Colette Beignet skirt, a Violet top, and I just started buying fabric for my wedding dress! I will have to show pictures of the fabric when it comes in!