Of Housedresses and Dusters

I really love a good housedress--I've been known to wear them as out-of-the-house dresses--if they're cute, who cares?. Check out this darling homemade one I just got--love the print, love the sweet button detail, love the bias tape and piping detail (also on the pockets and the hem...the seamstress did a very nice job). Cool and comfy for the hot weather ahead.

And speaking of housecoats or dusters: check out this darling version made by Sampson and Lorrie of the super-sweet blog Puddles and Price. They bought the pattern from my Etsy shop Sew Betty and Dot, and they sewed it right up into a cute cute CUTE duster. They are the very best kind of Etsy customers--communicative and sweet, they are what makes Etsy such a fun place to sell vintage. Cheers, Lorrie and Sampson--and thanks again! I'll be checking in frequently to see what other fun things they're up to on their lovely blog.

Birds of a Feather, Feathers of a Bird

I believe these to be two different kinds of hawk feathers: maybe red-tailed hawk on left (though I'm not sure) and Cooper's hawk on the right (could be sharp-shinned hawk, too). It always feels like such a gift to find them.

Gorgeousness

It's that time of year: PEONIES!!!!!! They are amongst my very favorite flowers--they never disappoint. Just...gorgeous.

Happy Memorial Day 2012

Remember.

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Tallulah Mae is practicing levitating...look at those back legs! Also? She is practicing her stink-eye. Well done, Miss Mae {said in Maggie Smith as Dowager Countess Lady Grantham voice}.

It's a Day for Cupcakes

Sometimes you just feel like a cupcake, right? (I mean that you feel like eating one [or two], not that you feel like being poured into a pleated paper cup and slathered with frosting. Or maybe you do? I'm not judging...)

These, which I have blogged about before, are yum--as B. puts it, they put the "cake" back in "cupcake," meaning that the cake itself is super tasty, not just a vehicle for frosting (this frosting is no slouch--it's ganache; in this case, I beat it one millisecond too long, like when you whip cream a bit too long. Still tastes mighty fine, if I do say so myself!). And every cupcake needs a washi tape flag, just because!

Mother Nature, the Best Colorist

 

 

Amazing, no?

Stealth Action

Who knew that the water meter reader was a tiny ninja?

Flower Impersonations

 

The flower at top is trying to pass as an alien life form, while the bottom one is trying to impersonate an underwater creature (or vice versa, perhaps?).

Both are the same plant: it's nigella, aka love-in-a-mist. It's one of my favorites--these are volunteers from last year's crop.

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

 

 

A little song:

"Tallulah got a ba-ath, Tallulah got a ba-ath...

Furminator came ne-ext, Furminator came ne-ext...

Dog hair everywhe-ere, Dog hair everywhe-ere..."

(Pls. note the wet stink-eye in the top photo...we tried to capture the unbelievably floofy post-bath tail, but we did not succeed. As soon as you get out the shampoo and towels, she slinks off, hoping that her cloak of invisibility will protect her. She doesn't actually seem to mind a bath once she's in the tub...)

Ah, Arizona

 Quirkiness: it's everywhere.

 Sweet: the pet cemetery...they rest under lots of shade.

 Fancy: a Rolls Royce golf cart.

Ironic: bridge over rocks. And it matches the house.

Humor: rusty lawnmower in rock yard.

Furr's, Y'all

 

My love for cafeterias is well known, so we had to make a visit to Furr's.

That is my very own tray above, all in lovely shades of yellow--and yes, there IS tapioca pudding and there ARE two pieces of pie there. Ahem. (Everything you see was good except for the fried okra--not very good. And I only ate a few bites of the coconut cream pie but ALL of the custard pie. YUM!). I thought about getting the blue and green Jello, just for effect, but that seemed wasteful (I actually do not like Jello much at all...).

Arizona Wildlife

(Stupid Blogger! I want to put this text at the bottom but I can't!!!)

I was in Arizona over the weekend to visit my mom for Mother's Day...and lots of sweet animals around, right in the middle of her urban neighborhood. A bird at top on a saguaro cactus (which were spectacularly in bloom but somehow I didn't get a shot); a little jackrabbit below, right outside my mom's apartment); and below, blurred in the middle of the shot, is a hummingbird. 

 

Hi, Hello, How Are You?

"

"Hello!"

That's all I've got for today, just "Hello!"

Happy Mother's Day 2012

Happy Mother's Day, Vivi Sue! You're the very best...I could never have asked for more in a mommy. I love you!

Whether you are lucky enough to still have your mom with you or are cherishing sweet memories of her, happiest of days to all of you. We've all been mothered by someone in our lives, and we've all mothered in turn (if you don't have children, you've undoubtedly mothered an animal, comforted someone else's little one, or extended some mother love in some other way--I think we're hard wired that way!).  

(That darling tiny bebe up there is not me...that is my sweet brother at 3 weeks old. Aren't they the cutest little family? I came along 5 years later...)

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

Dog head. Chair Arm. Side Eye.

The End.

Sewing Success (Sort of)

 

Sewing...so fun! I used the pattern above, but because I monkeyed around with the waist--I deliberately changed the waistband--somehow mine turned out less full. Darn. It's still kinda cute, though; the pocket detail is nice (it doesn't show up in the photo above, but it's there).

Don't you love descriptions like, "You can't really see it, but it's there--trust me, it's cute!" and "I didn't follow the directions, but it still turned out fine--really, though you can't tell in the photo..."). Le sigh. It was a lot of fun to make it, in any case!

Mr. Lemonhead

Mr. Lemonhead, at your service...

Lavender Swan Song

The front yard...we're trying to savor the lavender--which mostly looked terrible all year, in part because it is English lavender, not the Mediterranean variety that thrives here; it missed the grey days and misty rains of its native land--because it's going to come out once it stops blooming. For the moment, though...just lovely.

Classic Foziewisp

The classic foziewisp...when I was a child, I thought the dandelion seeds floating in the air were fairies.

Tallulah-Palooza Friday

 

 

The Gopher Hunter in action. Apparently it works better if you keep your right front paw up in the air. She turns her head repeatedly (she can hear them digging), and then she stalks over and pounces on their mounds. They are not even remotely scared and in fact may be giggling underground.

Interloper Comma Feline

Tallulah Mae quite frequently goes ballistic at activity in the front of the house: the mailman, other dogs, skateboarders, SKWERL several streets over, floating clouds, UPS truck, dust mote, imaginary dogs, etc. It's rare to hear her barking at the back of the house, but when she does, it's usually because of this: a bold feline intruder. This cat is all, "Whassup?!!!!"

Pie, Oh My

I made pie for dessert when we had company over a while ago--it's a sugar cream pie, my beloved Grandma Betty's recipe (and for which I won a red ribbon at the county fair a few years ago). The filling was delicious as always, but the deep dish piecrust (purchased--sorry, Vivi!) was too, um, deep. Still yummy, as always!

Wow

Perfection, yes? (It's not in my yard...mine are all pink or lavender; this is a lovely salmon hue.)

Oh, and Happy May Day!