Friday, I'm in Love

...with this cake.  I want to make it stat; the recipe sounds wonderful.  

 

...with the fact that there has not been an earthquake or aftershock in over 24 hours here in Charlottesville!  I've talked to many people and read about different accounts of the quakes; they were similar to mine.  In short, I was scared out of my wits!  It was my first earthquake and hopefully the last one I experience for, well, forever, ha.  It's an eerie feeling when the ground is shaking beneath you, that's all I'm saying.

...with the fact that I'm having a bad hair day.  Not.

...with the fact that my house is hurricane ready.  A couple weeks ago, we had a severe thunderstorm and lost power at my house for about 25 hours (every single time there is a storm involving the slightest puff of wind, a tree blows down and onto a power line in my neck of the City).  When this happened, I had two candles in the entire house (should I be ashamed of that?), one was a tiny unscented pillar candle, and the other one was an awesome jar candle from Bath & Body Works, scented "Mango Cilantro."  I love the smell of this candle, but the cool thing about it is that you only have to burn it for 5-10 minutes for it to permeate the entire house.  I'm starting to think that this feature is not so cool.  You can imagine what happened after having it burn for a couple of hours.  I got the worst headache ever and had to blow out the candle (aka, it was night time and really dark) and sit in my room alone with a flashlight toward the ceiling for some semblance of an overhead light.  I don't really like sitting in the dark; plus, it was depressing.

We have four fireplaces in the house, and I had this vision for making a candle arrangement in the living room.  I am sure I ripped the idea from someone else, but I don't remember where...Anyway, I have a super quality image to "show off" the display after a trip to buy out World Market's supply of unscented ivory candles.  This picture was taken from my lovely phone, as I cannot find the battery charger that goes with my camera.  Awesome.  Anyway, besides those candles, I have some hurricane glasses (no pun intended) and many votive candles to brighten up the cottage if we do in fact lose power.  I should probably get some ice for my cooler...

In other news, my favorite sewing pattern company Colette Patterns is coming out with a book in November!!  The Colette Sewing Handbook.  I am chomping at the bit to get this book!  In fact, I may go ahead and pre-order it on Amazon.  If you have never tried their sewing patterns, I highly recommend them!  I can sing praises for Colette Patterns all day long, seriously.  Their patterns are darling, vintage-inspired pieces, and the instructions they provide for garment construction are well-thought, simple and just downright wonderful, not to mention that they have projects for all skill levels.  I have made the Sencha twice, and the Sorbetto twice as well with great results to show from both!  The Sorbetto is a free pattern download (click above), so if you want to give Colette a go before purchasing, it'd be a great project to dip your toes in the water!  I have Ginger on standby for an upcoming project for fall.  Check them out-they have great products and a great blog (and I know the book is going to be smashing!).  Here is the description of the five patterns in the book: "a scalloped-hem skirt, flutter-sleeve blouse, sweetheart neck sheath dress, asymmetrical flounce dress, and a lined dress with gathered sleeves"  They had me at Sarai Mitnick (owner/author/designer of Colette Patterns) and scalloped-hem skirt.  Happy Friday!