The First Snow Day of the Year

The first snow has already made its appearance this year and it was truly lovely.  I didn't really pay much attention to the weather forecast on the local news as they tend to greatly exaggerate every little cold front so that people make a run on the supermarkets buying bread and milk and then camp out in front of their tvs waiting for the worst to happen but it rarely does.

Well this morning, it actually did snow about 4 inches and we woke up to a beautiful frosty wonderland.  Since my daughter's school was canceled and so was my work, I briefly contemplated going outside to take some photos in the winter scenery, but in the end, I decided to just pour a cup of cacao/coffee and enjoy a window view from the fireside.

Since we had an unexpected day off together, I wanted to do something special, so I made pizza for us all, though there is rarely such a thing as time together in my house right now.  Everyone is busy doing their own thing, so it was enough that everyone could come and go as they pleased and have a slice on their way.

Meanwhile, not wanting to just spend the day watching tv or online shopping, I set about a task that has been in the back of my mind for a while.  You see, as I go through my home and declutter, I really am finding places everywhere that need to be sorted and tidied and coming to terms with the reality that decluttering is never a one and done kind of thing.  It's a part of regular maintainence, and part that I have not done in so long because I thought we were on the verge of building a new home and didn't want to part with anything that might be useful until we knew exactly what we would need.

 

So, years passed and the clutter grew and the new house never materialized, and now it's time to organize this mess.  I've spent months my closet and the shed, my desk, and the dining room table which is a favorite dumping ground as family members walk in the door looking to lay down heavy bags, mail, etc.

It's all been rather tedious, but the feeling of stepping back from a previous mess and seeing a freshly decluttered and fully usable has been enough to keep me going all these months.  So, today, since I couldn't really get out and do anything else, I decided to tackly my fabric tubs.  They've been neatly stacked under my sewing table for years and I really haven't gone through them...ever.  I've added but never subtracted, so I knew it was time.

I took all the drawers out of the organizers, dragged them into the living room so I could still watch a movie while I worked, dumped everything onto the floor and set about sorting by color and putting everything away.  It took a few hours and I filled a bag with fabric that I bought for a specific project years ago, never really liked, and no longer need.  I made a little space and not only got everything organized, but also took an inventory of everything I have so I can start sewing this winter.

With something productive done, I felt pretty comfortable taking it easy, so for the rest of this lovely snow day, I kicked back, did some journaling, chatted with my girls, made sure the animals were snug and cozy, and just enjoyed the snow.

Outfit:  Pink Toile Dress from JessaKae

Toile Part 3: Violette

While Marie-Antoinette adored her private world of Petit Trianon, she was also quite the social butterfly.  And with nearly 300 dresses made each year to accommodate all her social engagements at the theater, at court, and at her own private parties, many from the brilliant dress maker, Rose Bertin, how could she stay at home for too long?  France was totally enamored with the young dauphine and later queen-consort for many years.  If the queen loved it, it was sure to instantly become high-fashion, and the queen loved toile.  I imagine she would have been just as gaga for this pink toile Violette princess dress from JessaKae as I am.  To be sure it has a heavy Antoinette influence.

The last and final installment in our Toile series will explore the high life surrounding Toile fabric as well as the plight of the worker.  As I mentioned in my previous post, Marie Antoinette, the queen of all things couture, whose style endures to this day, simple adored Toile prints, in particular those of Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf whose illustrated toile prints set the standard.  

But, toile didn't end in the French court.  The style was making its way across Europe and England and was picked up by visiting American dignitary, Benjamin Franklin who sent it home to his wife.  

Thomas Jefferson decorated Monticello in Toile, and if these elites were stylin' it, then virtually every fashionable home was following suit.  America's revolution was over and cotton was readily available for printing on what was then called "curious copperplate print," so it was only natural that toile abounded in the newly free America.  The winds of revolution however were just beginning to turn into a tempest in Europe.  

While Oberkampf's ethics in gaining his knowledge of toile production are highly questionable, he was wise to treat his workers rather well and use his illustrations to depict scenes of the workers' life in illustrations such as Les Travaux de la Manufacture" in 1783.  Oberkampf endeared himself to the common man by expressing his knowledge and admiration for the worker.  When revolution swept through France and his devoted patroness, Marie Antoinette, lost her head, Oberkampf's factory remained untouched and production continued as usual. 

Toile may have eventually experienced some decline as a new century emerged, and fresh new takes on home decor and fabric emerged from the likes of the pre-Raphaelites like William Morris and the eventually gave way to the geometric styles of Art Deco, toile has never fully disappeared from the decorative landscape.  It remains a charming timeless symbol of elegance and refinement.

Shopping Info:  Violette Dress-$250 From Jessa Kae. 

References: 

https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/great-characters/rose-bertin

https://12tomatoes.com/toile-fabric-history/

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/221839

https://fredericmagazine.com/2020/11/toile-jill-lasersohn-fabric-design/

Princess Shoes with NEWBELLA

Oh, for a princess dress!  You know how much I love my princess dresses, but I do admit that when they drag the ground, something has to give: either the dress has to get shorter or I have to get taller. Naturally, I'm done growing, so it only makes sense to get a little taller with a nice platform shoe.  Since this JessaKae dress is completely stunning, and it would be almost a crime for it to sit in the closet, I decided to don my highest shoes and wear it anyway.  I chose these Endless Holiday espadrille wedges from NEWBELLA.  These mirror pieces down the front make them a perfect pairing with a princess dress. 

For my collaboration with NEWBELLA you can save an extra 18% with my code BLEU and get some great summer sandals that also work perfectly with your princess dresses.  A little height, a little sparkle, and a lot of style.  Made of soft faux suede, these Endless Holiday Wedges, (I love that name, by the way!) are comfortable and surprisingly easy to wear despite the height thanks to the wide base of the wedge design.

Never let your best things sit in the closet.  Instead find the right pairings so that you get the most enjoyment from your clothes.  My collaboration with NEWBELLA continues with one more very classically stylish pair of flats, so join me right back here on Sunday for the final installment in this collab.

Shopping Info:  ENDLESS HOLIDAY Ankle Strap Espadrille Wedge Sandals from NEWBELLA. Use code BLEU to save 18% off your purchase. Violette Dress in Pink-$250 from JessaKae.

Fairest of Them All with JessaKae

Sometimes when you take a risk, you lose.  In fact, I think slightly more often than not when you take a risk, you lose, which is why so many people are afraid to take risks and try something new.  I'm not going to say that I'm an avid risk-taker, rather I am an avid battle-chooser.  I don't usually jump right in, I watch and wait and then make an informed decision about trying something new. 

I still get burned occasionally, but not so often that I am afraid to take a risk on a new brand.  I've been watching JessaKae for the past year or more and contemplating making a purchase.  Everything I have seen about them online has been positive, so when the time was right, meaning when they released three back-to-back collections with dresses I loved, I decided to take a risk.

If you can't tell just by looking at this dress, I am so glad that I did try this brand because the dresses I purchased are beyond stunning, more practical, and waaaaay cheaper than the brand I've been hung up on for over a year now.  This Fairest of Them All Dress is from the Royal Collection.  It features navy swiss dot tulle and red and green smocked bodice and apple embroidery, Snow White style.  

Since I'm new to the brand, I sized up, but I think I could have gone true to size and been just fine.  This dress is heavenly and I've already worn it out and gotten lots of compliments.  I wore it with these red storybook flats and my apple purse of course.  Ok, maybe it's silly, but outfits like this make me happy in a way that nothing else does.

My full YouTube review featuring all three dresses I purchased from JessaKae will be posted shortly, but in the meantime, you can just trust me that this brand is worth it!!

Shopping Info:  Fairest of Them All Dress-$195 from JessaKae

Honey Bee with JessaKae

It's funny how you can get stuck in a rut for so long without realizing it and then suddenly everything changes.  I've been so hung up on a single brand for so long, I didn't realize how monotonous my blog and my wardrobe had really become.  Then, one day, the owner of said brand said something really ugly and the spell was broken.

It's like those ugly words were a magic kiss that woke me up from a very long sleep.  I finally started looking around and realizing that the whole purpose of this blog was to experiment and share my results, not to follow around one shop like a lovesick puppy all the time.  So, now I am awake and trying a brand I've been looking at for a year or more:  JessaKae.

While I have admired their dresses for many months, the most recent three collections are what convinced me to it was time to take the plunge.  This Honey Bee dress is from the Garden Party Collection and as soon as I saw those bees on the front, I knew I was absolutely going to buy this dress.

Since I've never shopped with JessaKae before, I read the size chart and bought one size up from my usual as it looked like XXS would be an inch too small and XS would be an inch too big.  It is indeed one inch too big, but I don't mind a tiny bit of extra room at all, especially on these warm summer days when being comfortable is more important than ever.

I have a full YouTube review on the way, but for now, just trust me when I say this dress is beyond lovely and there are so many design elements that are like a breath of fresh air after the same old problems from the same old brand over the past year.  You can definitely expect to see more lovelies from JessaKae

Shopping Info:  Honey Bee Dress-$158 from JessaKae