Fall Decorating, Fruit Cake and Homemaking Weekend Link-Up

The other day, I let our almost 10-year-old son, Michael, take some photos around the house.  As I was going through my pictures from the week, I found all the ones he'd taken.  There's shots of all the family, a few random things, and then a picture of each of our fall decorations!  I thought that was pretty sweet!  Here is a picture he took of all the kids' pictures. Michael is the second from the left on the top.

 

 So, since he took the time to take them, I'll feature them today for my Holiday Weekend Link-Up!  Here is an adorable Thanksgiving feast set that I bought for a really good price from a local artisan at our city's annual holiday bazaar.  Mom and I are getting excited about going to it this Saturday---I wonder what treasures we'll find this year?

 These scarecrow and fall picks replace the pink cherry blossoms I did have filling this pretty blue jar.

 I bought this cute turkey the first year that Jamie and I were married.  His plea of desperation, "Send Out for Pizza" has always cracked me up!

 This cute little scarecrow is resting on a shelf between my vintage cookbook collection and my vintage collection of O. Henry books.  That little brown recipe box belonged to my great-Grammy Annabelle.

 After looking through the pictures, I thought it would be fun to sit and go through some of Grammy's recipes.  Here are a few that I thought were neat:

 The one at the top left is a letter from her friend, "Your Loving Friend until the end, Doris"  It's a recipe for Mrs. Peabody's Prize Sponge Cake.  Doris asks Grammy, "So Dearest, who are you going to cook it for, the future?"  Ha!!  The second on the left is a recipe for Hood River Unbaked Cookies.  I'm sure my mom can tell me more about this one so I'll update if she's got anything to add.  The newspaper clipping is from November 10, 1982 and gives instructions and tips on making fruitcakes for the holidays.  The small index card on the left is a recipe for Date Marshmallow Log that is pretty much the same thing in a different form as the Top Secret Ancient Family Thanksgiving Recipe that I posted a couple weeks ago! 

Speaking of fruitcakes, here's a recipe for Mrs. Bradley's Dark Fruit Cake.  Mrs. Bradley was Grammy's mother-in-law---my great, great grandmother.  What a GREAT recipe to have! ;)  Is anyone interested in having the recipe?  If so, let me know in the comments and maybe I'll post it in a day or two!

Well, it's time for another Homemaking Weekend Link-Up!  I'm so excited by all the interest in the link-up and I'd love for anyone interested to link-up her homemaking posts today!  You can do more than one a week, if you'd like, and please make sure to take a button and link back to this page so others can visit as well!  The button is at the top of my sidebar!

One more thing, have you entered my GIVEAWAY?  Please do!  Have a great weekend!!

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Learning to Live a Surrendered Life and:

Holly Hobbie Pumpkins and a Giveaway!

I've got two more of these cute blue Holly Hobbie pumpkins left in my Etsy shop if anyone wants one for the holidays!  Do you like giveaways?  Well then visit this page to see how you can enter my newest giveaway for a box of fudge or carmels!

Happy Blue Monday!  Linking here today:

Modest Dressing: Modern Regency Look

It's that time of year for me---the in-between pregnancies time when I'm so so SO tired of the maternity clothes but the regular clothes aren't quite fitting yet!  (Yes, this really is a yearly thing for me!)  One of my favorite things to do during this time is to experiment with what I have in my closet and see if I can come up with some new outfits!

Here is an idea that readers of all generations might like to try out:

I often find so many cute dresses that I'd love to wear but they're too short!  Here is a gorgeous burgundy, high-waisted dress that I found last year at Motherhood.  It hits just above my knees, which is shorter than I'm comfortable wearing. 

I found this black, flower-print skirt at a yard sale a few years ago and fell in love with it (even though I don't normally wear a lot of black).  The only thing I didn't like about it was that it was semi-sheer and I didn't like how the outline of my legs could be seen when light shined through the fabric.  So, I stuck it in my mending pile and planned to *someday* make a lining for it.  

I sprayed the two pieces inside and out with Scotch Guard to keep them from forming static and layered the dress over the skirt.

Because the top of this dress is a little big on me, especially post-maternity, I layered a lace-topped camisole from Maurices underneath.

My jewelry included this vintage-style necklace that I found at Maurices last year.  I've gotten so many compliments on this necklace---I love it!

I finished the look with a light-weight sweater (also from Maurices).

 I like to call this my "Modern Regency Look".  Whenever I wear this dress over another skirt, it reminds me of this pattern that Mrs. Jennie Chancey created for Simplicity:

 

This dress is a popular style today and is reminiscent of the lovely empire-waists and puffed sleeves of Jane Austen's England.  

Here's an image from Ackerman's Repository of a Regency lady wearing a Spencer jacket.  I suppose my little black sweater could serve as a Spencer jacket for my modern-day walking dress!

Hmmm, now to find me a bonnet...

Have you entered my Giveaway?  Check it out here!

This article was published in The Christian Home Magazine, Issue 37.  Check out this great online magazine here!

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