Week In Feminine Dress, Day Five

Today was half spent in the shop, sanding and refining what remained of the hardwood doors.  We sped through, thinking only of what lay at the end of it, and by 10:45 we were finished.

We hurried to the house, shaking the dust from our clothes and slipping on fresh ones...

We went to get the mail just before dinner.

I wore my long skirt of the loveliest, softest flannel, made last winter, with my teal silk blouse from J.C.Penney. 

My sleeves are so elegant, they flutter around my arms in gorgeous, silken folds, pushing my imagination into the days when such things were an everyday appearance.

To add, and because they match so well, I slid my feet into my greeny, polka-dot, ballet flats.

Johanna wore a dark print, rayon skirt found at a thrift store, pairing it with our ever favorite cream wool tank, and a cozy black sweater.  

And, to cover her feet, she put on her beloved, black, ballet flats.

And to accessorize, round her neck went a lovely necklace of brown beads.

Grace too wore a rayon skirt, this one in a red with navy flowers, and wore with it her favorite white blouse from J.C.Penney.

Doesn't she look just like a princess?

Our Grace Kathleen....

I shall get into to bed now, wrapping myself in my flannel nightgown, embracing the chill in the air outside, glad that, once again, winter approaches.

May you all have dreams so sweet,

Emma and Johanna

Week In Feminine Dress, Day Four

Autumn stepped abruptly in today, darting in on a rushing wind like an unexpected guest, gushing with joy and filling the air with her colorful voice. She left us shivering, and happy smiles darting past our teeth as we frolicked in the cool air.

Today was another day spent in the cabinet shop, and tomorrow will be another, but it will be the last, and we are happy, happy and hopeful.

I wore my green, embroidered dress from Macy's over a very lovely cream, 1900's inspired, blouse from Chadwick's. To add to the photo, I stepped into Johanna's creamy, cut-out heels, my vintage shawl, and the latest addition to our vintage accessories, a lovely, ivory umbrella...



The air that swept through the finely woven layer of my shawl whispered of autumn, and of rain. I could feel the thickness of the coming storm in the air around and over the silky fabric of my umbrella...



Fall is upon us.

Johanna flitted downstairs in her vintage blue, pleated skirt, found at a thrift store, and a hand-me-down green, paisley top.  Beneath the top she wore our wool, beaded tank from Dress Barn.

And to top it all off and add just a hint of sparkle, she laid some glittering, blue-greeny, vintage beads around her neck, and clipped onto her ears the matching blue earrings.

Grace wore a burgundy dress from J.C.Penney, with sweet, little rosebuds around the color, and buttons across the bodice.  For warmth, she enveloped herself in her pink shawl.

Johanna and I discovered something tonight.  We were browsing Ebay, for various reasons, and came across a gorgeous navy pillbox hat, velvet, with two ribbon bands and little buttons, worn and owned by Myrna Loy.... Really and truly!! We nearly died with our exuberant gasps, watching the time from 23 min. to 10 min. to 35 seconds.  And the someone else got it, because we couldn't really, even though it was a steal at $99.99!  We are sad now.... but full of thoughts, whether they be happy or sad.

Shall we say good night?  Tomorrow we shall see you again!!!

Emma and Johanna

Week In Feminine Dress, Day Three

Today was long... and tiring. Johanna and I rose at a timely hour and hurried through breakfast in order to make the short walk to the cabinet shop and be there for work at eight'o'clock. The work, being very dusty and involving heavy wood and lots of glue, left us little opportunity for feminine dress. I think, though, that the experience of working beside our Dad, moving with him through the work he does every day, made every slight inconvenience more than worth it....

Need I mention that the income derived from building cabinet doors brings us closer and closer to earning enough to fill the empty hole of our savings and take us to Washington to see our dearest Kami and Keslie? Woohoo!

We did manage, as the day drew gently to a close, to dress our weary selves in clothes that refreshed us and made us feel quite feminine.

I wore my much loved, creamy pleated skirt, bought in Mexico, paired with a wool tank with a beaded neckline from Dress Barn, and green, crocheted, wrap sweater from the same.

To add to the color and to experiment, I added my newest handmade jewelry piece that will soon be added to our Etsy shop. It is a long necklace of green and brown and gold, with a wooden leaf pendant drifting gently at the end.

Johanna wore her lavendar skirt made from a vintage pattern for our film, "The Photographer, How the Rain Falls" and a gorgeous white blouse with a black ribbon belt from Macy's.

For jewelry, she slipped on her silver heart from Jolie, and her lovely earrings from Kami, not to mention a special bracelet from our cousin, Alyssa.

Grace put on her wonderfully autumnal dress found at a thrift store, it's lovely cotton folds of a rust colored and navy print accented perfectly by her vintage blue beads.

Sarah Anne decided she too would be "feminine" and slipped into a picture in her denim skirt salvaged from an old pair of capris. I love the multiple ruffles! It was so much fun to make this simple skirt, and Sarah Anne was thrilled. She paired it with her pink and blue striped top. Isn't she sweet?

Then, of course, Matthew wanted to join in, for his "Week in Manly Dress". Here he is in his little red polo and green denim shorts.

There never was such a darling boy....

I must sign off, dear friends.... tomorrow is upon us.

Farewell!

Emma and Johanna

Week In Feminine Dress, Day Two

The day woke us with a slight chill that crept beneath out covers like a laughing child, pushing cold fingers around us and making our own hands reach out to tighten the warmth of the blankets around us.

We rose, finally, in the chill, and slipped into our clothes...

I in my green linen dress from Macy's.... its pretty belt making me feel quite a lady, and cozy brown flats lined with fleece, from Target.

Johanna wore her fall-ish striped top, a beloved autumn piece that was unearthed in our boxes of winter clothes several years ago and still serves us well.  Beneath was a crisp, white, collared shirt, from which came, flowing softly, her paneled khaki skirt from Van Heusen.

Notice the lovely book between her hands?  It is a favorite, a lovely romance by Baroness Orczy titled, "Beau Brocade".

And then of course, our sweet sister, Grace, in her lovely brown, smocked blouse from Macy's, a denim skirt, and a stylish striped scarf.

Until tomorrow!  May you have the sweetest of dreams...

Emma and Johanna

Note:  All photographs of Johanna during WIFD were taken by Emma.  (thanks Em!)  All others are taken by Johanna.  (thanks to me! ;))

Week In Feminine Dress, Day One

Today we returned from a weekend spent with extended family.  The pleasures therein are many and much; evenings around the campfire, a cold swim in the lake, football on the grassy knoll, smiling over pictures of all of us, years and years ago.  

Truly, there is nothing like it.

We were not in skirts today, but felt, nevertheless, feminine, in our comfortable, but pretty, clothes.

Johanna wore her soft, yellow, dotted swiss blouse, with her jeans rolled up, some vintage blue beads, and, for a touch of autumn and the expectation of cooler weather, her red and blue scarf.  On her feet are her favorite, and rather worn, black ballet flats.

I wore my denim capris and my long, black top with the smocked yoke. Over it, for warmth against the slight coolness in the air, I wore my cozy red sweater.  To add femininity and elegance, I added my vintage, big, teal-ish beads, and my matching polka dot ballet flats.

Until tomorrow... Auf Wiedersehen!

Emma and Johanna

Erratic

It was in the thesaurus, under random....

It seems an apt definition for the Six Random Things meme, erratic, unplanned, haphazard.  Especially since we were tagged for it in triplets... :) We were tagged by Tiffany,, Carla, and Amanda. So, shall we begin?  And see what sort of things pop randomly onto this page...

Rules: Link to the person who tagged you.... list the rules, write six random things, tag six people, letting them know you tagged them, and let the person who tagged you know you've written the post.

#1.  Emma is a voracious and rather selfish reader, who grabs her book when she should be doing other things....

#2.  Johanna has slightly crooked sapphire eyes, which her brother pointed out to her one day, and now she has become very proud of them. (yes, this is Johanna writing...;-)

#3.  Emma loved studying the history of Ancient Egypt and has a peculiar enjoyment of Greek myths and legends.

#4.  Johanna has always dreamed of being famous...(I know, shocking!)

*Photo credit to Sarah Anne Ramsey, (our youngest photographer) thus, the "glamourous" pose! =)

#5.  Emma has worn glasses since she was 7 years old.

#6.  Johanna has had the job of feeding the chickens and gathering the eggs since the age of 9.

#7.  Emma is fast becoming a Dickens snob, or should I say, a Dickens aficionado.

#8.  Johanna's favorite evening activity is watching a B&W movie with her family whilst drinking a mug of tea of coffee.

#9.  Emma...  (are my random things all too closely related to books?  I shall try another course)  Emma wears sweaters, even in the summer, because she tends to be quite cold natured.  Warmth?  Ahhh... that is comfort.

#10.  Johanna likes to take walks under the moonlight at night, listening to nighttime sounds and feeling the warmth and beauty of our Creator, surrounding her.

#11.  Let's see... the last one.  Perhaps I can make it really good.:)  Emma spends half of her day in other worlds, whether she is buried in the imagination of her own stories, or delving into the tales written by another....

#12.  Johanna tries to keep up with Emma's constant book suggestions but is still only getting through the classic "must-reads"...ho, hum...

Did you notice that we went to #12.?  Yes, of course.  But we have an excuse, see?  2 times 6 is 12, after all.

Oh! Oh! One more!  #13.  Johanna and Emma both are crazy about spending time with their family.... they are such an amazing family!!!

We tag...

Kami at Country Reflections Photography

Abi at Being With Joy

Abby at Abigail Rose

Amber and Heather at Our Family - Behind the Scenes

Jolie at That Something Else

Sarah at Five People Somewhere

Time is drifting by... our thoughts are captured by things on opposite spheres, on the death of a friend of a friend, and on the joyous tidings of a new life to be birthed to two very dear friends.  It makes us rather sober, seeing life and death so close together.  How can our own small sorrows and joys matter anymore?

Only God knows.... And that is more than enough.

Emma and Johanna

P.S.  Johanna loves the Andrew Sisters!!!!  Bie Mir Bist Du Schoen, please let me explain.  Bie Mir Bist Du Schoen means you're grand!  Bie Mir Bist Du Schoen, it's such an old refrain but let me try to explain, Bie Mir Bist De Schoen means that you're grand!

For Everyone

I turned eighteen in June, but no one had ever told me how voter's registration works.  I thought, well, truth be told, I thought they'd just send me my card in the mail.

That was until the day before yesterday, at lunch, when I said, all of a sudden...

"Hey!  Am I registered to vote?"

It started a frenzied panic.... that day was the last day for registering.  We hurried to the nearest courthouse and I filled out the form.

I will vote, by a miracle.... Amazing!!

We had been taking a Sunday drive only the week before, the wheels of our blue Suburban rolling swiftly over the asphalt road beneath us, when a bump, bump under us made Dad look up.

"That was a McCain/Palin sign."  He said.

Our voices filled the car in a rush of excitement.  "What?  Go get it!"

So, we turned around and went back.  Dad pulled over and darted to the middle of the road where the small, blue and white sign lay waiting.  He picked it up and slipped it into the back of the Suburban, hardly marred.

Are you voting on voting day?  Please do.  I don't like saying unpleasant things about people, or spreading unpleasant gossip about them, but despite the ugliness of many things said about the democratic nominee, Barak Obama, many of them have a great possibility of being true.

Besides that, the evidence speaks for itself.  I know most of my readers are conservatives.  But are you all going to go and put down your mark to put John McCain into office as our president?

I have seen many conservatives voicing their dislike for Senator McCain's running mate, Sarah Palin, based on the belief that, as a woman, she is abandoning her children and her duties as wife and mother in running beside the Senator, in doing something that does take away from her ability to achieve motherhood and wifehood.  Perhaps it does change her ability to do that, but it does not make it impossible!  I believe, from what I see, that Sarah Palin is doing what God gave her to do, and doing it in the best way she knows how.  Please, please do not demerit her if you do not agree with her way of doing it.

I know how strongly people feel about this, so I shall not attempt to dissaude them.  But I will beg, please, please, vote.  Do not hold back a vote that will put someone in office who can aid our country, and who believes in God. Isn't that the greatest thing of all?  Withholding your vote will do more ill than good.

Please, vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin, if only so that Barak Obama does not gain the chance to control our country.

Emma

Note:  Carla and Tiffany, we are working on the Six Random Things.:)