The things one does to keep one’s mind occupied, so as not to think too much about things that are beyond one’s control…
I’m generally a wash and wear kind of person, as the things I wear are often covered in toddler goo of some sort or another, but I had some pretty fabric that I’ve had stashed in a closet for years, and decided it would make a nice apron. I wanted a specific style, and after a little googling, found that the style I like is often referred to as a 1940’s apron. I found a few cover shots of vintage patterns to get a general idea of construction, then made my own pattern. I love one of the vintage pattern descriptions. It said something like “crisp as celery, neat as a pin.” Of course the models have 18 inch waistlines. That would be one of my arms, maybe, or a calf, perhaps, but not a waist. Not since I was maybe 4 yrs old or so. The end result isn’t neat as a pin, or crisp as celery, but I guess I like how it turned out. It’s fully lined and I even hid some pockets among the front seams.
In other news, we shopped until we dropped this weekend, and it’s been a very long time since we’ve done anything like that. It all started with a quest for a coat. Not just any coat. I decided I wanted a black hooded peacoat. Either that or a duffle coat. It’s been several years since I’ve bought a coat. A little online browsing revealed that the average duffle coat costs way more than I’d ever be interested in spending, and most of the available hooded pea coats did as well, and of course, they generally aren’t available in extended sizes. After an exhausting and fruitless journey through the mall, and I loathe shopping malls, by the way, I happened into a Lane Bryant outlet store that actually had black wool peacoats (sans hood, though) for 50% off. Add to that some gimick they were running whereby you get to take 25% off of one item if you buy their magazine for $3.95, and then if you open a credit account, you get an extra 15% off. It would have been sweet if one could have added all those percentages together. That would have been 90% off. But instead it’s 50% off, then 25% off the remainder, then 15% off the next remainder. Even so, I walked out of that store with my black peacoat for $41. Now I have to cancel that credit card after I pay the bill. I’m very much against having a menagerie of credit cards.
In our shopping fervor, Mr. Gadget got the notion that he needed a suit. We found a couple possibilities while at the mall, but decided to check out another store today. He’s had his heart set on one of those swanky tuxedo vests. He’s probably secretly thinking 007 or something! We put together the full sh’bang — a suit, shirt, and vest/tie/hanky combo, for under $150. Suits generally cost a fortune, so we did well. No more new clothes for MG for quite some time, though. He’ll be very dapper in his own special and very color coordinated way if ever we have an occasion that calls for a suit. Either that, or perhaps one of these days we’ll dress up for dinner at home, just for fun. I would actually quite enjoy that.
Miscellania Says:
