AW Bridal Collaboration: The Thetis Dress

The second dress in my collaboration with AW Bridal is the Thetis dress.  Although this dress comes in six different colors, I was smitten by the black version.  It reminds me of the painting Madame X by John Singer Sargent.  If you're not familiar with that beautiful painting and the scandal surrounding it, I encourage you to do a little research, it's an interesting read and truly one of his finest works.  In fact, forget the research, I'll do it for you in an upcoming post!

Back to the Thetis dress.  With layers of floral lace and sequins this dress is a dream.  It comes in US sizes 0-30 and can be custom sized for free.  The corset boning in the bodice provides great support and the fit is perfect.  I am so glad I got to collaborate with this brand.  They have so many great qualities and at amazing prices.  And don't forget you can save an extra 15% off your purchase with code Leandra.  For a full and detailed video review, I've linked my YouTube review below.

Outfit Info:  The Thetis Dress-$139.99 from AW Bridal.  Use promo code Leandra to save 15% off your purchase.

AW Bridal Collaboration: The Millie Dress

Life is filled with special moments and they are worth celebrating in style.  The holidays here and with them come so many opportunities to dress up, no wonder I love this time of year!  When the lovely people at AW Bridal reached out, of course I agreed to try a couple of their gorgeous dresses starting with this Millie dress in Dusty blue.  I love this color, the way the applique forms the heart around the bodice and the 3D flowers.  Such a lovely dress!  They offer sizes US 0-30 and you can custom size for free.  They also have lots of color options and you can even get different fabrics on certain styles.  I have a full review posted on my YouTube, but the best part of all is that my readers get an extra 15% off their purchase with code Leandra.  There is a lot to love about this dress and AW Bridal, and I'm excited to bring you another gorgeous dress in tomorrow's post, so check back with me or if you just can't wait another day to see what I got, I'll leave the link for my YouTube video below.  It airs today at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time.

Outfit Info:  AW Millie Dress-$119.99 from AWBridal.com  Save 15% off your purcahse with code Leandra.  Gloves from Unique-Vintage, Shoes by Chelsea Crew.

Christmas Caterina

      I spent a pleasant afternoon, putting away all my autumn things and hanging up all the beautiful reds, greens, and blues of my winter wardrobe.  If you'd like to spend that afternoon with me, I'll link the YouTube video below.  I must say that, while I don't necessarily enjoy this task, it is very refreshing to see all these warm colors just as the winter chill sets in.

      I purchased a few wishlist Collectif Caterina dresses from my favorite thrift sites once I found out the brand was closing its doors and I'm so glad that I did.  These pretty little checked button down dresses are my favorite for wearing around the house as do my cozy little chores.  Still no noticeable progress on the Collectif website being back up, so in the meantime, all I can do is thrift these pretty pieces.  This one probably wasn't any cheaper thrifted than I would have paid buying it new, but I loved the colors so much, I think it was worth it.  With Christmas on the way and as much as I love reds to get me through the winter, it's bound to get lots of wear.  

Outfit Info:  Collectif Caterina Dress

Sewing a Christmas Dress and Apron

     

 I wear aprons.  I wear an apron everytime I cook, even if it's just to scramble a few eggs on my way out the door in the morning.  It's a habit I picked up long ago when my daughter's array of food allergies meant that pre-made food of any kind was out of the question.  I spent so much time in the kitchen that within a short amount of time, all of my tops had some sort of food splotch or grease spatter.  But, really, it began before that when my mom and I started flea marketing together and collecting vintage aprons for ourselves.  At the time, I just loved how pretty they were and couldn't really see myself getting much use out of them, but that all changed with a single diagnosis.

      It was tough to have to make all the meals all the time, including needing to pack all the food for our trips, because there were rarely restaurants that could accommodate her needs, but in the end, I'm glad for that experience because it kept my family away from the processed food trap that it's so easy to fall into and forced us to eat wholesome homemade meals.  It also taught me a myriad of substitutions and gave me a reason so put all those pretty aprons to use.  Recently I saw some autumn toweling fabric and thought it would be fun to try to make myself a fall apron with it.  I loved it so much, I'm doing one for every season.  Christmas is mt second try at this pattern and I love the results.  The YouTube video link will be posted below if you'd like to see my process.  The dress and brooch are also handmade by me, but perhaps I'll save that for another post.

Sewing Project:  Dress pattern is , Dress fabric is  , Apron pattern is Simplicity S9496, Toweling fabric is Moda Retro Christmas Tree, Dot fabric is from Joann.com

Turn, Turn, Turn

    Today it rained for the first time in months.  And this is only the beginning.  The season's have changed at last, and it's time to admit that the warm sunny days are truly gone for another year.  This has been such a busy year, physically demanding in all the work we've been doing, that I hardly knew what to do with a rainy day, so I did nothing at all for the entire morning.  I sat in my chair, looking out the window with a bottomless cup of steaming tea in my hands.  Finally in the afternoon, I did some light chores around the house, just to tidy up before my work week begins again.  In a manner of speaking, we really do hibernate during winter here on the farm.  The weather has to be agreeable for certain jobs to be done and if it isn't then it's time to stay close to the fire and work on quiet cozy chores inside the house.  It's all beautiful really, the cycle of work and rest, of sun and rain, warmth and chill, it's a perfectly balanced system and I'm thankful for it, for both the time to work and the time to reflect.  While I am sad to see the summer gone already, I know it will come again and I am suddenly aware of just how much I have needed to have some quiet days again.

Outfit Info:  Emily and Fin Leaves Dress is old/thrifted.  YeMak cardigan in sage, Fenella Shoes from Lucca Vudor   Get 15% off with code GESAJZJWKE

Ode to The Ugly Sweaters

    Well, here we are again, the season of ugly sweaters.  I know that usually at this time of year that means they must have some holiday theme front and center, but aren't ugly sweaters really a whole-winter thing?  I bought this particular ugly sweater several years ago.  We decided to do a family Christmas shopping trip as my girls were at an age where neither of their dear parents really knew what they would want as gifts and I don't even know if they knew.  So, we took them shopping to a mall and with a budget.  My oldest found this sweater in one of the shops(The Buckle?) and immediately fell in love, but they didn't have her size.  Since she didn't spend her whole budget that day, I went home, found it online and bought it for her.  She was both surprised and elated come Christmas morning when she saw the sweater and when school was back in session she immediately wanted to wear it to show her friends.  

    And that was the one and only time this ridiculously expensive ugly sweater ever got worn, along with a number of other very-chic-but-too-avant-garde-for-our-small-town items that she picked out.  Much like me when I was her age, my girl had an eye for fashion and a fear of standing out and getting made fun of. Which is why I didn't give her any grief about not wearing the sweater.  I remember at least one or two Christmas shopping trips with my family when I bought so many cute things that were all the latest trend, but didn't have the confidence to wear them because the trend hadn't reached small town USA yet.  Of course it didn't help that one particular family member made fun of me in front of everyone for the things I'd chose, and yes, they all laughed at me, and yes, it happened after I had already paid for everything otherwise I would have probably put it all back and walked out empty handed.  (Gosh, I wonder why I struggled with my confindence?)

    I'm happy to report that my daughters outgrew that feeling a whole lot sooner than I did, but not before I found this sweater in a give-away bag.  So, I grabbed it and asked if it was OK if I kept it and wore it a bit; it had really grown on me since that initial encounter in the shop and I thought it would probably go well with my Selkie skirt, which it totally does.  And afterall, this is the season of "ugly" sweaters, so no matter what, I should fit right in.

Outfit Info:  Sweater from The Buckle?, Shoes from Shoe Carnival, Skirt from Selkie