Happy Easter!

Today is the first warmish, "springy" day we've had all year - a perfect Easter Sunday. I went to my parent's ward this morning - I really enjoyed the talks in church today and it was fun to see both my parents in the choir (yes, my mom finally succeeded in getting Dad to join the choir!).

I have to say, though, the lack of Easter bonnets was a bit of a disappointment. In my day as a Primary girl, we got fancied up on Easter! Here is me and my sister, Easter 1988:

I was a terrible ham when I was a kid (and, okay, I still am).

I don't remember this outfit, but I'm loving my dress. Gingham with a strawberry half-pinafore? Yes, please!  I love my sister's dress, too, with it's ice cream colors and tiny embroidered ice cream cone.  And, of course, most importantly, we are wearing hats!  Here we are, two years later:

Here, Amy (3) and I (5) are demonstrating that we are sooooooo big.

This is the Easter outfit I remember most: frilly and pastel with a fancy purse. I loved my Easter purse - it was the one time in the whole year that I got to bring crayons to church! (Even though I loved my pretty yellow purse, I was secretly jealous that my sister got the pink one!)

Hope your Easter was wonderful and filled with family, happiness, and love!

TV Style: Lemonade Mouth

I am not above the Disney Channel.  I know I'm too old for it, but I will watch Wizards of Waverly Place like an obsessed 12-year-old.  Also, Disney Channel Original Movies.

Both places are were I found myself loving the way they dress Bridgit Mendler, a dimpled cutie-pie Disney Channel blonde.  I even bought a skirt similar to one she wore in Wizards of Waverly Place. I am 26 years old.

However, I did not buy the wings or vampire teeth.

In the newest Disney Channel Original Movie, Lemonade Mouth, I decided I covet her outfits.  They are so super-girly cute, in a dress-with-cowboy-boots kind of way.  Observe:

This was my favorite outfit from the movie.

 Seriously, super-cute, right? Is it wrong that I'm totally in love with the fashion on a Disney Channel Original Movie?

Book Report: The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets

I wouldn't be me if I wasn't drawn in by this cover: give me girls in colorful 50s gowns and gloves, telling secrets as the title suggests and I'm there!

And while the cover fits, there's a lot more to The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets than fashion and gossip.  Set in 1950s England, it's about being part of the generation that were only children when the war ended.  Our narrator, Penelope Wallace, is young, "six foot with my shoes on," and lives with her beautiful mother and teddy boy brother in a grand house that fell into disrepair during the war.  Penelope is level-headed and somewhat unadventurous, but like many teenage girls, she's obsessed with the singer Johnnie Ray.

After a chance invitation to tea at a bus stop, Penelope befriends the spunky Charlotte Ferris and Pen's quiet life changes for good.  Charlotte is outgoing, spirited, and totally loveable; the girls share a love of Johnnie Ray and quickly become best friends.  Charlotte introduces Penelope to her cousin Harry.  Soon after their meeting, Penelope finds herself agreeing to accompany Harry to a party to make his ex-girlfriend jealous.  But will their friendship remain just friendship?

The book focuses on Penelope's family, also, which I found lovely.  After a dreaded "duck supper," Penelope and her brother Inigo learn that the family is broke and that their ancient, grand house, Magna, won't be restored to it's former grandeur.  Their young mother, married at 17 and a widow at 23, hesitates to even speak to another man (even a charming and handsome American who's very interested and very rich!).  Inigo, her little brother, is getting in trouble at boarding school for listening to rock and roll on the radio; after receiving a record from his American uncle, Inigo cultivates a growing obsession with a new American singer, Elvis Presley, and hopes to make his living as a musician.

That's about the full cast (though I neglected to mention the fabulous Aunt Clare, Harry's mother).  There are so many things to like about the plot, which has a sweet romance, but also focuses on Penelope and Charlotte's best friendship and the Wallace family's struggles living in Magna.  Much of the book is about the changes in post-war England: Charlotte plans on designing and selling clothes in her own shop, Inigo wants to move to America to become a musician, Mrs. Wallace overcomes her resistance to Americans, and Penelope is allowed to fall for someone who isn't rich.

It's a simple book and a quick read, but there's a lot to think about and enjoy inside.  If you're looking for a sweet book with a little romance, The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets is a great choice!

That's what you get for making whoopie (pie)!

I'm an unashamed Top Chef lover - I even watch the Masters seasons.  More to the point, I watched the horror show that was Top Chef Just Desserts without diminishing my love for this series.  TC: Just Desserts was the kind of high emotional drama that TC: Original Recipe avoids.  Just Desserts left me with a greater appreciation for the original series and with a deep curiosity about "whoopie pies".

I had to google whoopie pie, which turns out to be what I know as "homemade Oreos," surely a Utah-phenism* - see post title for possible scandal.

*Other dessert-related Utah-phenism: Better Than [Robert Redford] Cake

I found a really straightforward recipe on the Omnomicon blog - it was perfect for this last Sunday, when we didn't have much in the house.  All you need are the basics: flour, cocoa, shortening (loads of shortening), milk, ect. 

I learned that it really helps if you have one of those neat-o cookie scooper things.  Otherwise, your cookies turn out like this:

HUGE!  They ended up being about 3-4" in diameter, instead of a dainty 1.5"!  To solve the size issue, I used a small glass as a guide and cut each cookie individually.

This is my scary "I have a knife!" face

The creme filling is crazy - half cup margarine, half cup shortening!  Some other things, too, but holy fattening delicious.

Yes, ladies, he's single!  My little brother, who helped with the cookie batter.

Finished product: turned out pretty yummy, but I only got through one - they are RICH!  I'll make them again, but only after I get a cookie scooper gadget thing.

Not gone for good

I've not disappeared, I've just been working more and haven't had as much time for the old blog.  However, I miss doing my cover judging and I've got a few sewing projects to discuss, so I'll be around. 

In the meantime, please enjoy the following pretty 60s pictures:

We were sewing along . . .

My sewing machine's first outing: the Swing Dress Sew-Along, hosted by Casey at Elegant Musings!

I've wanted to do a sew-along for a few months and this seemed like a perfect opportunity: the pattern is relatively straightforward, but versatile (hooray for multiple uses!) and Casey is one of my favorite vintage sewing bloggers!

I had a hard time deciding between a solid wool and a cotton floral, but my springtime wishful thinking won out: 

It's a more modern-looking floral, but I like the contrast with the vintage-style pattern.  Ordering fabric online is a bit stressful because you can't see how sheer a fabric is or how the print might look on a larger-scale item.  It's better than the alternative, though (Joann's poly-blend), so fingers crossed that it's the right fabric for the dress!

Anyway, I'm excited to get sewing and I'll probably post a few progress pictures in the next few weeks or so.

Dear Nerdy Swimmer

I think you're awesome - seriously. 

My co-worker found your note and it made us smile.  It reminded me of something I would've done (although, I wasn't as dedicated a student in high school and I certainly wasn't any kind of athlete). 

I love your attitude, especially the way you want to share the things that make you happy with other people.  You seem like a rad person - I really hope you make it to state this year!

Just wanted you to know that your thoughts didn't go unheard.

Your friend,
Maren


**I save a lot of the scraps of paper I find at the library because they're funny or interesting.  But this is probably the best discovery ever.  I love it so much.

Merry Happy!

photo found here

Hope your Christmas have been very merry!  It's been a great holiday - my dad and I made dinner last night, which the fam ate by candlelight (tradition!), and we read Luke 2 and sang Christmas songs.  Christmas Eve is always really lovely.

This morning, I found a sewing machine under the tree!  I'm so excited to have one for my very own (I've been borrowing my mom's for too long) and can't wait to get stitching!  :)

Merry Christmas!

Cover Judging: Lord Nightingale's Love Song

The first truly fantastic cover I've seen in these last months:

First Glance: Ah, the Regency romance - fancy estates with extensive gardens, men in jackets and cravats, ladies in empire-waist gowns, horse-drawn carriages, and of course, pet parrots.  All the classics of the genre on one cover.

Another fun aspect of this cover, as pointed out by my co-worker Kat: the proportion of the parrot to the horse.  The parrot is at least the size of the horse's head, if not larger.  That is one killer parrot.  Score: 4 out of 5

Title: Lord Nightingale's Love Song is pretty straightforward for a romance novel; we've none of us any doubt that the couple pictured will fall in love.  It's not terribly creative, but it'll do.  Score: 3 out of 5

Tagline: Hooray!  I haven't found one with a tagline in awhile!

Can a spinster strike the right note with an eligible bachelor?

Pretty great - is hits on the great pun-ery that is the stock-in-trade of taglines.  Will she strike the right note in a book about a love song?  I think she will.  Score: 4 out of 5

Back of the Book: 

A Grumpy Gentleman . . . No one can make the Marquess of Bradford smile - except his favorite horse.

Uh, okay.

He avoids dancing at London balls.  He scowls at the marriageable misses in drawing rooms.

He scoffs at any woman who speaks - he'd rather converse with his dear horse.  At least the horse had interesting things to say.

And his gruffness scares shy Miss Eugenia when she meets him on a dark balcony. . .

Run away, Miss Eugenia!  He hates women!  I've watched Law & Order - it's only a short step from that to serial killer!

. . . before an instant attraction between them lights up the night.

Right.  Maybe she reminds him of his horse?

But she is off to Kent for the summer to care for the irascible Lord Nightingale and her young cousin Delight, and she never expects to see him again.

What?  Is Lord Nightingale another young child?

In fact, Miss Eugenia's London season had been a disaster . . . so she has resigned herself to spinsterhood when the Marquess of Bradford appears on her Kent doorstep - covered in mud and quite enraged.

No seriously, girl.  Run.  No good can come of this dude and his woman-hating anger issues.

Of course she suspects Lord Nightingale is behind Bradford's complaint!

Of course!  The irascible Lord Nightingale that's possibly a small child!  I still have no idea.

But she also believes a secret sadness had made him a curmudgeon.

No, he's probably just a jerk with a long-held grudge and you can't fix him.

His horse knows the truth . . . 

Naturally.

 . . . and so may Lord Nightingale.

What?  How?  Who is Lord Nightingale and why does he know random things?  Can he talk to horses?  Is the horse a talking horse?  Is that why the Marquess of Bradford is so fond of the horse's company?

I was so baffled as to Lord Nightingale's identity that I actually cracked open the book - something I've never done in the course of all my Cover Judgings.  And I can reveal to you that Lord Nightingale is the parrot.  A match-making parrot, to be precise.  Apparently, the incorrectly-named Lord Nightingale brings together couples by eavesdropping on one person and repeating the information he uncovered to the other.  By this method, he becomes the catalyst for four separate love matches over the course of the Lord Nightingale trilogy (plus Christmas special!). Straight-up truth.

I'm simply at a loss.  I already dislike the dude, no matter what his "secret sadness" is, but a match-making parrot?  That's golden.  Score: 5 out of 5

Final Score: 16 out of 20, meaning Silver Deveraux, but I'm giving Lord Nightingale an honorary Golden Fabio for Conceptual Mastery.

A bit of mid-century for your mid-week blues

I'm a big fan of Casey's weekly Flickr favorites posts - she always finds pretty things to look at and be inspired by!  I thought it would be fun to show some of my own favorites that I've found recently:

Early 60s fashion illustrations: these come from a catalog called Rigas Modes and I'm totally in love with them.  I particularly love the lady with the fur-collared coat and awesome black hat!
Mademoiselle winter fashion 1957: of course the red coat is adorable, but check out the blue hooded cape!  Also, I want to hang out on a sleigh.
"The American Kitchen" ad, 1956: my mom is re-doing her kitchen - she's going to have similar creamy yellow cabinets, so I had to include this for her.
Pink record player: because I want one.
Aqua radio: because I love this awesomely mid-century color.