Pride is a powerful narcotic, but it doesn't do much for the auto-immune system

11th Hour Dresses: A Lesson in Sticking to What You Know:

Many of my friends are familiar with my 11th hour dresses. I usually make them at the last minute before a party or some other event for which I suddenly cannot possibly imagine wearing anything in my wardrobe. I become obsessed with having something new to wear, and I can’t shop, so I make quickie dresses. They generally take me about 4 hours.

Important things to know about my 11th Hour dresses:

1. Usually, I make these dresses out of cheap materials I have on hand, and use familiar patterns. I made this one a while back out of a 99 cent curtain panel from Goodwill with a pattern I'd used many times:

2. Usually, these dresses lack finishing details, such as overcast seam edges or slip-stitched linings. If I decide I really like the dress, I’ll go back later and finish up the details. If not, it goes back in the WIP pile to be transformed in the future. This red one was a one-time-only wear, but the purple one above has seen its share of nights out:

3. I put very low expectations on these dresses. They are exciting adventures, but I never delude myself into thinking I’m making a masterpiece…

What happens usually is certainly not what happened Saturday.

For a week, I’ve been daydreaming about a fluffy pink 50’s style party dress to wear to the Pussyfooters’10th Annual Blush Ball. The Pussyfooters are a sassy bunch of ladies who a) dress in pink wigs, corsets, and tutus, b) perform sassy dance routines in parades and at roller derby events, and c) raise money for important local causes. So, what’s not to like??? And, this year’s blush ball was our first New Orleans “function” as residents, so Bryan and I were stoked!

I had nothing suitable for this imaginary dress in my stash, so a few days ago, I walked down to Promenade Fabrics. This store is full of crazy beautiful fabrics and trims, but most of them are out of my price range. So, after sadly bypassing some beautiful pink silks, plaids, seersuckers, and florals, I settled on some good quality, baby pink Italian cotton shirting. I decided it needed some punch, so I also purchased some black lace to overlay sections of the dress. I had already chosen my pattern from my collection at home: Vintage Vogue 1172:

Remember, as of 7:30 Saturday morning, in my mind, this dress was going to be the most perfect party dress ever (already in violation of 11th Hour Dress rule 3 above). I had my doubts about the lace, but, hey, I could just leave it off if I liked the pink by itself!

8:00 – I cut out the pattern and fabric. There isn’t enough lace for the whole dress, but I’m ok with that! I decide to fully line the bodice instead of using facings. I start to sew.

9:30 – Bodice constructed. I’m starting to have creeping doubts about the lace, as well as the fit of the bodice….but they just look off because it’s not far enough along yet….it’s still very beautiful in my head…

12:00 – Skirt constructed. I’m frustrated at my time management, but I’ve never used this pattern before, and the Ball doesn’t start til 9, so I have plenty of time… I pin the skirt and bodice on Stella….du-du-duuuuuuhhhhhhhh:

I flipped and rearranged it every way I could. There was no hope for this dress.

Can I tell you how much I hate this lace! And the dowdiness is such that Michael Kors would blow an artery! Ugh! I store-bought the supplies! I had too high hopes and NO backup plan!......So, being in that obsessive state where there seems no other way….I started another dress at 1:30.

This one had more promise from the start. I used a super soft, buttery yellow, thrifted duvet cover ($4), and a simpler pattern I’ve used before. I cranked through it, relishing the adrenaline that comes from deadline pressure. I thought the bodice seemed a little roomy when I tried it on, but figured with a zipper and a little extra in on the darts, it would be fine…

6:00 - I finished all but the hem, added a raspberry velvet ribbon belt and an ostrich feather….not my dream dress, but it will do!...

…or not….The dress is SO too big in the bodice it’s ridiculous! I’ve used this pattern before, and (though I have lost a little weight) it should not have been this big. In my haste, I must have made a major (and completely amateur) error somewhere…Sorry, Pride, you’ll be ok…

Lesson Learned. The 3 rules of 11th hour dresses must be followed at all times. SOOOOO, after 2 dresses and almost 12 hours of near-constant creative activity, I had no fabulous creation, and wore the sailor dress I made last week to the ball…

BUT it was still the most fabulous of times!

AND, I did have one creative victory last week: My first ever man’s button-up shirt! Here’s Bryan sporting his new sailing shirt!

I wish I'd asked him to wear it out to the Marina last Friday, when we performed the renaming ceremony on his boat. I knew that sailors were superstitious, but this was my first hands on encounter with this old nautical tradition, which involves the invocation of water and wind gods, the sacrifice of (cheap) champagne, and the consumption of said (cheap) champagne while carefully following a detailed procedure!

Thankfully, my creative rut seems to be at an end. Yesterday, I put together a green buffalo plaid dress (same Butterick pattern that I used and loved a couple of posts ago). It's comfortable, and (though I wish I'd taken more time to match the pattern) I'm very happy with it. I'm wearing it at work today, but my camera died. I'll put a photo up soon!

I'm hoping to be more frequent with my blogging, as I'm embarking on several weeks of crazy adventures! Travels, houseguests, school projects, and, of course, the impending crescendo of Mardi Gras season! Here's to more successful crafting for me and for all of you! Tonight, I may have to invoke the gods of creativity and stamina with a little (cheap) champagne!

Cheers!

To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.

Ok, finally! I think I'm ready to post one more epic catch-up blog! This is the third installment, and should catch you up on everything I've been sewing for the last two months. I'll try to present these chronologically:

Warning! This is going to be epic! Feel free to just scroll through and look at the pictures!

Thanksgiving Break I decided to get a head start on Christmas crafting, so I whipped out this (still unfinished) 1950s apron for a friend! Turns out, I made it too small, so I'm going to have to start from scratch on another. It also turns out that vintage apron patterns are as complicated/time consuming as dresses, so I'm going to have to find something a little more efficient.




Next, I made the dreadful mistake of making my New Years dress much too early, not accounting for the holiday pounds I was going to put on. The result is a very cute rust velvet dress that wouldn't come close to zipping on the designated day. It's from McCalls 5094, and was loosely inspired by the red velvet dress Judy Garland wore in "Meet Me In St Louis." I'm calling it the "Esther" after Judy's character.




I knew I had several fun parties coming up, so I spent the early days of December working on Xmas themed party clothes. This wool-blend houndstooth circle skirt in need of pressing was a personal design, based on the skirt (which you can't see in this picture) Vera Ellen wore opposite Danny Kaye in my favorite holiday movie ever, White Christmas!



I imagined my fancier Christmas party dress for weeks before I actually made it. Inspired by Rosemary Clooney's party dress in White Christmas, I searched for the right green velvet, and found the perfect pattern (Vintage Vogue 1084). It was all going so well....until I tried to construct the bodice....Clearly, I had chosen a pattern a little outside of my skill set, and, after sewing and ripping out seams three times, it became clear that this dress simply wasn't going to happen. I was crushed! But I'd spent too much on the store-bought fabric to simply trash it. So, I dug through my supplies and found a pattern that I could puzzle together with my already-cut-out pieces (Vogue 8615). The final result was not at all what I initially envisioned, but it worked, sort of. I don't know if I'll ever be completely happy with it.
However, while looking for stock photos of my inspiration pieces, I happened upon a blogger who shared my inspirations this year! Yay! here's some pics of the original inspiration dress, the back view, and me wearing the "Not so Betty" dress by the "fire" at a dinner party.











After New Year (for which I had to wear a sad thrifted dress, due to the above-mentioned Esther dress tragedy, I had another event to plan for: a friend's wedding! I was feeling bloated and terribly un-sexy after all my holiday eating, so I knew I wanted something flowy and forgiving. I chose Vogue 1102, and I'm pretty happy with it, though by the looks of these pics, I desperately need to shorten the hem dramatically! I was in a hurry, as I made the dress the day of the occasion, so I'll alter it soon. I'm calling it the "Holly" dress, because, though it in no way resembles the Breakfast at Tiffany's dress, that's what I watched while making it.





After all of that event-dress making, I was still finding myself doing battle with my closet every morning. I needed some dresses that I could easily wear to work and/or out for a casual Tuesday happy hour. So, I bought some cotton prints, and dug out some easy, comfortable looking patterns (Vintage Vogue 1171 - blue and Butterick 5315 - black) and got started. Unlike most of my creations, these don't have names yet because they were inspired by necessity, not by a childhood pop culture reference or old movie. I think they feel left out, though, so suggestions for names?



I've already worn this one twice, including out for a night with the girls for a bachelorette party! Here's me, rockin' the "Shopping Cart" dance....only one of the other ladies recognized it, but, as we were in a bar playing Jersey Shore on TV, I wasn't too surprised.



Whew! I think that catches you up! Sorry this was so huge! I guess I've had too much coffee! Mardi Gras season is upon us, so watch for costume updates in the next weeks! I'll try to keep up and keep further posts shorter!

Have a great Monday!

People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, they should be worried about what they eat between New Year and Christma

So, here's the second installment of my trio of New Year 2011 blogs, and this one is all about food!

Within literally a few hours of submitting final grades in December, I was cooking up a storm in preparation for the Christmas party season! This year, I expanded my Christmas candy repertoire, making my usual Peanut Butter Divinity (I use an old family recipe, but this one is really similar),



and adding Peppermint Bark and Kentucky Bourbon Balls!



During my stay with family over the holiday, my mom gave me the greatest gift ever! A cookbook she found while cleaning out the attic! It's the 1939 edition of Household Magazine's "Household Searchlight" cookbooks. I'm in love!



In addition to many somewhat humorous finger food recipes, and pointers for the diligent hostess, this book is a compendium of clever and useful recipes! I decided to jump right in by planning my first New Year's Day Brunch!


So, after twisting the night away to the Soul Rebels at Les Bons Temps, I woke up early and got busy!

"Eggs on a Savory Bed": This is a baked egg casserole, and the recipe seemed a little bland, so I added some garlic, cajun spices, and (of course) cheese!


Sour Cream Tarts with Merengue: Really tasty treats! They are primarily flavored with nutmeg and cloves, so they taste very seasonal and happy!


Brown Sugar Bread: A quickbread that's TOO easy and very tasty. I froze half of it, and it held up fabulously!


I also made hashbrowns, black eyed peas with a lucky penny, cheese grits, Japanese soba noodles (a must for a lucky new year), and of course mimosas and bloody marys!

After I recovered from New Years celebratin', I took a bit of a break from fanciful cooking as I prepared for a new semester teaching at Loyola. But last weekend, a friend invited us to a fab dinner party and asked if I could contribute dessert! Could I?

First, I candied some orange peels. I used this recipe, and was very happy with the result though they did not turn out very pretty.


I also did a perfect chocolate mousse, which I, sadly, didn't get a picture of before it was completely devoured! But I was amused by this highly unnecessary bit of cheap marketing on the bag of chocolate chips I used:


Whew! I'm totally blogged out for now...and hungry! I'll be back soon with my Christmas adventures in sewing! What sort of things have you been cooking up lately?

For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice.

Happy New Year, everyone!...


Yes, yes. I know it's a bit late, but 2011 started fast and hasn't slowed down yet. SO much has happened since the end of fall semester! To make up for lost time (and yet not bore you to tears with the most epic blog ever), I'm going to post 3 catch up blogs: one about my New Years "resolutions", one about my recent cooking endeavors, and one about my recent sewing projects!

For many years, I essentially scoffed at the whole tradition of making New Years resolutions. It seemed so counter-intuitive to me to make myself an unrealistic promise to improve my life; a promise which by design begins on a day when I'm destined to be horrifically hungover. However, I grew tired of having no particular liminal tradition associated with the passing of the years, so I began re-thinking my anti-resolution resolve.

Now, I choose to make a New Years "To Do List" instead of prohibiting myself from tasty foods, guilting myself into approximately 10 days of exercise, or denying myself experiences that, quite frankly, make my little life more enjoyable. My To Do list doesn't include any items that are realistically unattainable, in fact, many of them are quite small. They are simply things that I would like to see myself do over the next 12 months.

So, here goes!

2011: The Year of Exploration...and General Fun...

1. Explore Flexibility:

Stretch, mentally and physically, every day.

2. Explore Possibilities:

Discover a new place or experience in New Orleans at least once a month.

3. Explore Potential:

Continue only thrifting, refashioning, or making clothes and gifts. (This was the first dress I made after taking the Wardrobe Refashion pledge last January).

4. Explore Heritage:


Cook from vintage recipes, utilize snail mail more, and finish Omi's quilt


5. Explore Exciting-ness:

Become more interesting (Thanks, Bill!): I'm not sure how to go about this, but I'll try!

6. Explore Opportunities:

Sell something I made/Educate self more on selling my creations


My actual To Do list could be quite a bit longer; there are about a zillion other little things I want to do this year, and I keep writing them down. These are just the major trends on my agenda. That, and I didn't think I'd bore you with such gems as: Set the TV sleep timer if you're going to fall asleep to Law & Order reruns before 11pm, or Don't forget that whole "liquor before beer" thing next time...

So far, this "do this" technique has worked better for me than the usual "don't do that" method. If it works for you, I want to know your big plans for 2011!

Exit, pursued by a bear.

I've only got a few minutes before my next class, but I've been swearing to myself that I would blog more often, so, here goes!

I've had a sinister, nagging feeling all week that's left me mildly cranky most of the time. I've felt at odds with the world, and am realizing today that I've wasted half of the week feeling sorry for myself. I still have whining I could do, but instead I'm going to remind myself that there is no bear (metaphorical or otherwise) nipping at my heels...

I've started a few new sewing projects (I'll post pics when I'm done), and I've been cooking up a storm! There is not much more comforting than preparing (and, of course, eating) delicious seasonal foods when the weather starts changing.


Three Bean Chili


Coconut Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins


Crab and Cream Cheese Stuffed Jalapenos


Lemon Cream Cheese Cake

Hmmmm, it does seem I was really into jalapenos and cream cheese this week, doesn't it!

Last weekend, B and I attended the annual Tulane Graduate Student Gala at Generations Hall in the Warehouse District. It was out of control, and besides the fact that they played some of the most atrocious music I've ever heard (lots of Miley Cyrus and horrific Journey and Bon Jovi remixes), there was a good time had by all!

Generations Hall


A few of the revelers

So, if you've had a cranky/sad/boring/aggravating week, just remember: Like I always say: At least you're not being mauled by a bear.

Enjoy your Wednesday, 17 November 2010, there won't ever be another one!

A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water.

Whatever my mother told you about a childhood Just Jess running around in the snow in nothing but panties, chanting "I-like-the-cold-I-like-the-cold-I-like-the-cold"....wait, she didn't tell you? Well, winter is NOT for me. Give me steamy, sweaty, breeze-less summer days!

Last night was the first time this year I had to crawl out of my blanket cocoon to turn on the furnace. This morning was the first time my poor little bare feet had to brave the chilly floor (*note to self: find slippers*). Today was the first time I had to don not only a jacket, but a long sleeve blouse, to go to work. It is the first day I've had to feel that miserable ear ache that comes from walking in a cold wind.

I don't mind all of this, but I'm not exactly thrilled about it either. Fortunately, I live in a city with a relatively merciful winter season. And another bout of warmer temperatures is predicted for next week. But tonight will be the first night I'll have to lug around a coat at happy hour, and spend half my time peeling off/putting on layers of clothing. Ugh. When I'm out on a Friday night, the only things I want in my hands are a)a cocktail b)my cute little e-cigarette or c)my camera.

On the bright side, last weekend, the weather was magnificent! Halloween the high was 82 and the low was 65! And I was super happy with how our costumes turned out! (all from scratch except for my t-shirt and Bryan's shoes!)





All weekend I hung out with some of the coolest people you could know, and met some new folks in the process!







Though my epic Halloween weekend ended kind of badly (cab driver pulled over and threatened by cops, me = hit in the face by random Halloween reveler - LONG story), overall a good time was had by all! The only thing that could have made it better (besides possibly not being sucker-punched)was if my old Halloween-loving Oxford peeps had been here. I miss you all, so much!

I hope your Halloween was creepy and full of sweet treats! Now, onto surviving this chilly weekend! Have a great one and be safe!