2018 Nebraska State Fair and Giveaway

Danny Brought home two Best of Division rosettes in addition to the many ribbons for baking and canning. I just knew that mint jelly would be blue ribbon-it was incredible. We are so very proud of him just for entering each year, and doing all the very hard work. Congratulations, kid!

Not the greatest photo, but you get the idea.

I recycled last year's hat adding several butterfly brooches to the band. The skirt has a fair theme, but don't look *too* close as it says, "Atlantic City!"

 There were prize winning quilts...

My phone camera does not do this beauty justice.

The shooting gallery.  I didn't get any photos in the archery section. Let's just say Danny's skills aren't in aiming accurately at things. That's OK. He isn't keen to go hunting anyway. 

Funnel cake...

...tractors...

...robots on scooters? I feel like I ought to know who it is, but don't. 

All in all it was a great fair, and I'm already looking forward to next year. As always, I have a giveaway with a copy of the State Fair cookbook featuring all of last year's winning entries. That was the year Danny swept both divisions so basically, it is Danny's cookbook. I also purchased some silly Nebraska State Fair socks, and a fridge magnet. Contest is open world-wide, but if you have won before, I'm going to exclude you in a spirit of er..."fairness". Leave a comment by 10 September, and I'll draw a random winner from my fancy state fair hat. Good luck. I'll be back in my next post with a visit to a minor league ballpark, and the Nebraska Baseball Museum. See you later. 

Countdown to the State Fair

kolache pastry with dried and fresh cherries

Drop-off day for the Nebraska State Fair is 20 August, and that means the week ahead is going to be a flurry of activity at House of Eat The Blog. Biscuit dough comes first as it can stay in the fridge until we're ready to bake. I suspect the 19th will be a very late night. Danny does the baking, I do the dishes and paperwork-that seems only fair. I'm still resting after the oral surgery (and waiting for the next round) but I was able to get through it without much pain and only needed Tylenol the first day. I'm thankful for that as I don't like the idea of taking anything stronger. Thank you all for your kind thoughts and words of support. I'm trying to see this in a positive light. If my crown hadn't broken off, and my dentist wasn't out of town I wouldn't have ended up at the emergency dental place and I wouldn't know much of what I now know. I'm not happy about it, but I'm pretty good at dealing with the stuff life throws at me. As the kids say, "Adulting." I never had reliable parents so I've been doing the adult thing for a long time. Here's something not adult...

I almost bought this shirt at Goodwill today, but decided a photo was good enough. Now that I've cleared out so much of my wardrobe I'm loathe to fill it up again unless I absolutely love a piece. We'll see how long that lasts! I must admit, it has been easier getting dressed now that I can easily see what I have.

Of course, if the Goodwill presents you with a beautiful 60's Hawaiian maxi dress, you should certainly buy it. If it happens to be .99 cents you should also congratulate yourself for waiting for good stuff. This is the good stuff. 

Outfit Particulars:

1960's Hawaiian-Made maxi dress-Goodwill

Orange shoes-K Mart

Vintage Delil handbag-Thrift World

Shell earrings-World Market about 10 years ago

Bangles and rings-all over

Lippy-Revlon Siren

Fragrance-Bvlgari Omnia Coral (because sometimes I match my fragrance to my dress😀)

 Something about late summer in Nebraska makes me wish I were in Hawaii. If I use just enough imagination the fields of corn and soybeans could look like sugarcane. Okay, not really but by this point in the season it is so hot I have been reduced to wearing the most comfortable items I own, which generally speaking are Hawaiian items. Mr. ETB lived in Hawaii in the mid-60's and loved it. I'm sure he wouldn't recognise it now.

Outfit Particulars:
60's Hawaiian Maxi dress-Long gone costume/vintage shop
Vintage 60's handbag-Etsy
Sandals-K Mart
Rings-all over
Crystal cha-cha bracelet-Hand-Me-Ups
Can't remember which fragrance I was wearing.

 More Hawaiian clothing? Sure, why not?! How about some vintage menswear?

 Such a fun Tiki print. I'm not sure about the white, cropped trousers but for some reason I own the same pair in two different sizes. Must have liked them at some point...like a decade ago? Also not sure about men's shirts with belts but eh, it was the 60's (possibly the 70's). The shirt zip all the way down and can be worn as a jacket. It is made of very high quality barkcloth that resists softening up. It looks as crisp as when I bought it several years ago. I actually bought it for Danny, but by the time he was big enough to wear it, he didn't like it. Kids!

Outfit Particulars:

Vintage Hawaiian barkcloth shirt-Hand-Me-Ups

White trousers-K Mart

Shoes-K Mart

Straw Bag-World Market

Fragrance-Revlon Unforgettable (actually, it is kinda forgettable)

How about some psychedelia? I found this dress when I was having the clear out of my things. I think it was only worn once (literally, as I bought it online NWT).

Outfit Particulars:
Vintage dress-Etsy seller Cloistered Muse
Vintage Caro-Nan basket purse-Antique mall
Shoes-Goodwill
Belt-Goodwill
Lucite bangles-all over
Fragrance-Aquarius (I mean, what else could you possibly wear with a dress like this?!)

I need more fingers to accomodate the rings. I have very ugly hands and fingernails that split and break and look generally ragged. I can either hide my hands, or adorn them with something more interesting to look at. I choose the latter. My grandmother Alice always wore big costume rings and had the displayed on her dresser in a large tray like you'd see in a jewller's case. I imagine all those years of admiring her rings convinced me that's what I should do when I reached her age. There's something very nana-ish about a ring on every finger.

Finally, this 2000s does 1920's dress  had a first wear. I'm not a fan of drop-waist dresses but the crepe fabric and lovely teal heart print was impossible to resist. With vintage reproduction shoes from American Duchess and a 1930's handbag, I felt practically ready to dance the Charleston.

Outfit Particulars:
Dress-Goodwill
Shoes-American Duchess
Vintage handbag-Goodwill
Hair combs/barette-Sally Beauty Supply
Egyptian revival necklace-Goodwill
Murano glass earrings-Hand-Me-Ups
Bangles-various places
Fragrance-Jicky (vintage formulation)

That's about it from around here. I hope your summer is going well. After the fair and Labour Day, we're back to school for our final year of homeschool. Danny is starting grade 8-next year it is off to high school. He's expressed interest in a career  as an exterminator as he can be self-employed and can learn what he needs with a few courses rather than a degree. I'm not discouraging him. There's a market for people that aren't afraid of bugs and get a perverse delight out of eliminating hornet's nests. Most people don't have jobs they find satisfying, but if killing a bunch of stinging insects does it for him, who am I to dissuade? At this point it sounds better to go into debt starting a business than for a degree that at best is going to get him an unpaid internship. He might change his mind in the next 4 years, but if he doesn't, we'll support him. I know you're wondering, and no-I haven't given him a copy of Exterminator! Yet.

 I can just see it now, Deadly Dan's Exterminating Service-We'll get rid of the mice and wipe the smiles off their faces.

August

August already, eh? My hopes for a quiet, uneventful summer aren't quite going to plan, but thankfully I'm the sort of person that adjusts easily to everything being completely shot to hell a change of plans and as such, I'm dealing with it. I am scheduled for more oral surgery (again, this time with bone grafts for extra fun!) next week, and then it is ten days of chaos baking for the State Fair. The drop-off date is 20 August, but at least this year we don't need to plan around traffic going to view the eclipse. I can't believe that was just last year. I'm not entering anything this year, so it is completely Danny's project. To say I'm feeling a bit pressed for time (and money) at the moment would be an understatement, but there's not much to do but get on with it...and have a moan about it here. Thanks for indulging me-now to the outfits.

I bought this beautiful, delicate hat a few summers ago, but as I rarely wear black, didn't have occasion to wear it. somehow it survived the cull earlier this year and I figured it was time to try it. As a result, this outfit was built entirely around my desire to wear a hat. Somewhat a reversal from my typical approach, but I enjoyed the end result all the same. As I was already wearing black it seemed natural to pull out the various pieces of mourning jewellery. I mean, why do a look halfway? 

No, no one's died. I am however mourning the loss of my youth, teeth and bone mass. I have a very expensive and now useless crown I'm thinking of turning into a ring. It will likely be one of the pricier things I own. A sort of momento mori of my molar. I'm not bitter about this, I swear. It would be rude to be both bitter and angry so I'm going with anger-I'm better at it. 

Outfit Particulars:

Vintage dress (has a matching cropped jacket)-thrift store in rural Kansas

Beads, bracelets, earrings-all thrifted

Vintage handbag-Goodwill

Hat-Hand-Me-Ups

Red, white and black cameo ring-belonged to my grandfather

Bakelite ring-Hand-Me-Ups

Other cameo-can't remember

Fragrance-Vintage formulation Jicky 

What's this? I forgot I owned this dress and haven't worn it since 2016. How on earth could I do that?! I adore green. Green clothing, green accessories, green outdoors-I should probably colour my hair emerald. Maybe I was a frog in a previous life...

...or possibly the Creature From the Black Lagoon. But yeah, green is great. I even like green notes in perfume. Vent Vert, Norell, Chamade, Knowing, Ma Griffe, Coriandre...if it is green, I'm all over it. 

My late friend Evelyn hated anything green, and as a result would pass along any green gifts from her mother who despite knowing her feelings would still send her green linens, clothing, etc. I still have the tablecloth! Anyhoo, if you're a hater of things green, you know where to find me.

How about this beautiful mint and lemon jelly Danny made for the fair? 

Outfit Particulars:

Vintage dress-Goodwill (I think)

Judith Lieber belt-New Life Thrift

Mouse brooches-Hand Me Ups

Vintage Monet necklace-Goodwill

Sarah Coventry earrings-Yard sale

Jade bracelet-Goodwill

Vintage handbag-Goodwill

Vintage shoes-Yard sale

Fragrance-oddly enough...Courreges in Blue. I know, not green! Still, it is my confidence/power fragrance and I needed it that day. 

Danny wanted to pop into a new thrift store to look for baseball cards. I wasn't expecting to find much (it was small and kind of dingy) but hanging on a rack with horrible vinyl bags from the 00s was this superb straw bag. The handles were falling off, but five minutes of hand-stitching solved that problem, and now I have the perfect summer bag for practically no money. Danny found some baseball cards as well, so it was worth the trip into the "less nice" part of town. We still had all the hubcaps on the car when we left. Whew.

You know how much I love good accessories...but accessory to crime is quite another mater even if the pieces were a steal. God, ain't I clever tonight?! To be fair, the worst part of that neighbourhood are the many, many pubs meaning a simple walk down the street is accompanied by drunks stumbling about, and sometimes being harassing to women. I had Danny with me, who has now reached the height and weight where's he's kind of intimidating- so that might have helped. 

I rarely wear a caftan in public, but last weekend that's exactly what I did. Yes, it felt a bit like wearing my robe out to breakfast, but I enjoyed the freedom so much, the next day I wore a pair of silk pajama bottoms as trousers. I'm a little late to the fad, but better late than never.

Outfit Particulars:

Caftan-Thrift World (I think)

Enid Collins bag-antique mall

Vintage shoes-Goodwill

pajama bottoms-Goodwill

Vintage sleeveless shell-Hand-Me-Ups

Vintage bag-Goodwill

Bonus robe photo because...because it is a great robe!

I'm trying to take it easy this weekend because I know I will be out of it for a good week after surgery. I'm currently reading the very funny young adult book The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers, which I'm sure will be all the more entertaining in a post-op haze of medication. I have some photos saved up for outfit posts, but I'm planning to do more sleeping than typing. I'll be checking in at your blogs of course, and probably posting horrible swollen and bruised photos of myself on Instagram-as you do, so there's that to look forward to. Be good kids while I'm away, and don't put water in the bottle of gin-it doesn't disguise the theft.