Goody's Two Shoes

Sometimes I purchase accessories without a plan for wearing them. At first glance, yellow, orange, and green shoes seemed impractical, but I knew they'd get worn more than a sensible pair, Eventually. The trouble with buying out-of-season items is forgetting them when the appropriate time rolls around. Knowing I have a tendency to "lose" my items, this pair have been sitting beneath my piano bench since December. I didn't forget about them! There's a method to the madness.

 The garden is coming along. Our weather finally warmed, and the tomato plants are responding. The peas are finishing up, and the purple sprouting broccoli should be ready shortly. The tall green plants at the rear of the photo are Yukon Gold potatoes growing in our deep bag bed. I didn't think they would work-shows how much I know!

Here's how I wore the dress in August of 2015.

 I forgot to unpack this dress last year, so I kept it under the piano all winter...just kidding! I did unpack it well ahead of the season though, just to have it ready. 

 Outfit Particulars:

Vintage Tanner of North Carolina dress-defunct costume shop
Belt-came with a dress
Ferragamo shoes-Goodwill
Handbag-Jenerations (in the abandoned mall)
Fragrance-Courreges 2020 (meh)

There's something so endearing about a doll that signs, "I love you" with one hand whilst forming her other fingers into the shape of a gun. We've all felt that.  I brought her home because she sat in the 1/2 price room at Hand-Me-Ups for so long I felt sorry for her.

Retro food! I hadn't seen a tin of Veg-All since I was a child, so of course I had to see if it was as bad as I remembered. Turns out, it wasn't bad at all. Maybe it was a mood thing, but I rather enjoyed it. I wouldn't want a steady diet of tinned veg, but times being what they are, I'll consider buying some more when I stock the fallout shelter. I don't really have a fallout shelter. I live so close to Stratcom if WWIII breaks out, our city is going to get it first (sometimes it feels like we live with a giant bulls eye over Omaha on the map) so why bother? Still, if the end of civilisation is at hand, a few tins of Veg-All would make a convenient meal. You don't want to spend nuclear Armageddon peeling and chopping vegetables.

 Mmmm, tastes like apocalypse. And sodium. Lots and lots of sodium. Ignore the burnt burners on the hob-they're getting replaced.

Here's a peek at another dress headed to the Vintage Hospital. The last owner sewed the sleeves up under the shoulders, but appears to have left the fabric intact. It looks like a bunched-up mess now, but I think I can fix it. The skirt also has a wildly unevenly sewn hem with a good five inches of fabric in the hem. I don't think it was done too long ago and it likely won't leave a line. At least the fabric is all there, but I still can't understand what in the world happened here.

The fabric is nice enough to justify doing the restoration work. I'll feature more of the vintage, "Patients" as they recover (or less optimistically, die).

This dress is a frequent patient in the critical ward of the vintage hospital. It was originally sewn together with that awful clear, plastic thread. Bit by bit I've re-sewn it, but a seam I overlooked unraveled yesterday. I'll keep fixing it, and I think I'll restore the hem a few inches lower and see how it looks-there's plenty of the border print tucked up in the hem. 

This week's pie was blueberry. I tried out a new crust recipe that seems to be the best so far. All shortening, egg, and a tablespoon of vinegar are the features and yes, it makes a very flaky crust. Personally, I still prefer a butter crust, but flakiness is so prized in the fair judging, I think this will be the way to go. After a few days the bottom crust is still firm, so sogginess isn't an issue. I used tapioca as a thickener instead of flour or cornstarch, and that proved to be a good decision. 

 I'll leave you with Danny's handiwork arranging the stacks of magazines in the dentist's waiting room. I have no idea where he gets that sense of humour from.