A Little Photoshop Entertainment

 We went on a castle adventure, so there had to be magic.

In high school I took photoshop (I'm not sure if this counted as an art class, or a technology class?), and loved learning effects that let me zhoosh photos into something a little more otherworldly. I don't play with it often, but I still really enjoy photography and the editing process.

Do I really need to hone my patronus-conjuring skills? No. But adding to or drastically altering photographs pushes me to consider the composition, light, and color balance because all of those come into play. So I think it helps keep my eye sharp for future photoshoots even if they don't require magic!

Since I'm still in a non-sewing, too-drained-to-finish-that-dance-research-post transition, I thought I would share a few of my attempts. 

In addition to the patronus above, I gave myself a wand...

...and an owl.

It's a different kind of creativity, but it's nice to mix it up every once in a while!

A Little Armchair Travel

While incredibly important, staying home is definitely difficult. I work part time at a museum as I've spoken about before, and I have appreciated the solidarity among the guides during our closure period. To feel a little less isolated, I've been virtually visiting places I'd love to see in person someday. This is actually a very 19th century approach! As photography became more prevalent in the mid-19th century, you could buy images (especially "stereo", or 3D, images) that showed faraway places unreachable without extensive travel. Of course, we've come a long way from squinting through a stereoscope...modern options for "armchair travel" include panoramas, videos, and interactive tours.

stereocard: "home of Louisa Alcott". Undated, but likely late 1870s? (via BPL)

I thought I would share a few of the virtual tours I've explored over the last few weeks. I tried to pick the ones that I thought had the best virtual experience, but there were so many more I found! Definitely check to see if a place you're interested in has a virtual tour up right now.

Most of these are free, but some are behind a paywall that goes to support the museum. (Since museums are being hit incredibly hard, this is a nice way to help support them right now if you can.)
I hope you enjoy this list! And if there are any great virtual tours you recommend, I would love to hear about them.

Orchard House (Concord, MA)



I'm partial to this home of the Alcott family, as I've worked there since 2005. The historic house museum was the home of Little Women author Louisa May Alcott, along with her family. Their history covers many themes that still resonate today: educational reform, women's suffrage, abolition, and class inequality were all an important part of the Alcotts' time in Concord. You can rent a virtual tour here, and check out free posts highlighting specific artifacts each week.



Villa Lewaro, the Madam C.J. Walker Estate (Irvington, NY)



This grand Italian renaissance-inspired villa was owned by Madam C.J. Walker, the first black female millionaire in the U.S. Walker and her daughter A'Lelia were both important figures in social movements of their time: during her lifetime Walker championed programs for black women's economic independence and was a vocal advocate for the anti-lynching movement. You can tour the estate for free here, with narration by Walker's great-great granddaughter. In 2018 the site was purchased by the New Voices Foundation, and you can read more about them (and donate) here.


Winchester Mystery House (San Jose, CA)



I will never let Mr. Plaid live down the fact that before we were dating, we were in San Jose and he would not tour this house with me! The Winchester Mystery House began life as an 8-room farmhouse purchased by Sarah Winchester, heir to a large part of the Winchester gun manufacturing fortune from her husband. Between 1886 and 1922 Sarah Winchester pretty much constantly added or re-did parts of the house--upon her death the structure had 160 rooms. No one knows why, but there are a lot of (very haunted) theories. The house itself is weird and beautiful, and Sarah Winchester was fascinating person. You can rent or buy a video tour here, or opt for the 360 tour (which I have not tried!).


The Frick Collection (New York, NY)



The Frick has a reputation for its incredible art collection (it is an art museum after all), but I was intrigued by the description of the museum as "the last Gilded Age mansion on Fifth Avenue." All that Wharton immediately made me perk up at that! It was very cool to get a peak inside this very fabulous space. You can see the virtual tour here, which is free and includes an audio guide.


Museo Frida Kahlo (Mexico City, Mexico)



After her death, husband Diego Rivera donated the home of artist Frida Kahlo to become a museum to her life and legacy. During her life, Kahlo was a revolutionary whose art drew from Mexican folk culture and her struggles with chronic pain. Her work focused on reclaiming identity--both her own femininity outside beauty standards and Mexican culture freed from colonialism. The museum has a free photo walk through here, but there's no guide--I recommend reading the information on the rest of the website and at the Frida Kahlo Foundation.

Royall House Museum and Slave Quarters (Medford, MA)



The 18th century home of the Royall family is an important look into enslaved peoples' experiences in the North. The site of the wealthy Royall family is currently the only surviving slave dwelling structure in New England, and the historic site's mission to share the experiences of everyone who lived there is so important for understanding U.S. history. The museum does not have a special guided tour during quarantine, but was previously feature on Stuff You Missed in History Class. You can watch the video here and see the museum's site (with information about how to support the organization) here.


Edgar Allen Poe House & Museum (Baltimore, MD)



I'm including this one specifically because the Poe museum is doing live guided tours of the site via Zoom, which is really cool! You can find out more about signing up for this pay-what-you-can experience here. The Poe museum has actually been on the forefront of incorporating technology into the historic museum experience for a while--I wrote a paper on them in grad school--and I love that they're finding ways to bring the site to life right now.


Lippet House Museum (Providence, RI)



I'm ending on a slightly different kind of tour: this guided tour is entirely in American Sign Language. I was able to spend an afternoon at the Lippett House last summer, and really enjoyed seeing the beautifully preserved rooms and learning about the cutting edge technology (for its time) used throughout the home. Henry Lippett designed the home and had it built for his family in 1865, 10 years before he became governor of Rhode Island; his interest in technology is reflected in the "modern" advances built into the house, like central heating. After their daughter Jeanie became deaf from scarlet fever at age 4, Mary Ann Lippet became an advocate for deaf children's education and founded the Rhode Island School for the Deaf with her daughter in 1876. You can read about the house and watch the ASL tour playlist for free here.

"Mystery Blogger" Award

In June of last year Quinn of The Quinntessential Clothes Pen nominated me for the Mystery Blogger award. It is always fun to see these kinds of awards go around, because it is a nice opportunity to get to now other people in the community a little bit. And so I was honored to be chosen! 

The Mystery Blogger Award is an award for amazing bloggers with ingenious posts. Their blog not only captivates; it inspires and motivates. They are one of the best out there, and they deserve every recognition they get. This award is also for bloggers who find fun and inspiration in blogging, and they do it with so much love and passion.”

Created by: Okoto Enigma

The reason blog awards are such a nice way to get to know each other is because they typically have rules that involve answering questions. The ‘Mystery Blogger’ award rules are:

• Thank whoever nominated you and include a link to their blog
• Tell your readers three things about yourself
• Answer the questions from the person who nominated you
• Nominate 10-20 bloggers you feel deserve the award
• Ask your nominees 5 questions of your choice, with one weird or funny one
• Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog

So now, in an effort to catch up a bit on posting, I am finally answering Quinn's questions! 

First some facts:

1. I find making crepes to be weirdly calming, and so I used to make them all the time as a way to cope with stress. I have probably flipped thousands of crepes at this point--while I no longer use them as a stress relief mechanism, I do still make them from time to time! They are my go-to Sunday breakfast food, 2am post-ball food, and I'm-out-of-groceries food.

2. I have a cat named Xena, who is the most unhelpful sewing helper in the world. If I can finish a project without getting claw punctures in it then I call that a success...it doesn't happen often. 

3. I like to have background noise when I sew, and that is usually television or movies I don't mind only half paying attention to. This means that (a) I watch a lot of TV when I'm in the middle of a sewing project, and (b) I tend to measure the length of time a project took me to complete in media consumed. It can end up being a weird seasonal measure--for example, I started my current project in early December, so to date I have watched 2.5 bad Netflix Christmas movies and 2 episodes of Worst Cooks in America while sewing. (And in case you are curious, those 3 movies were: The Christmas Candle (this was the half), The Christmas Prince 2, and A Holiday Engagement.)

And now for Quinn's questions:

If you had a time machine, where would you take it to first and why?

Concord MA, 1863! I have spent so much time researching the residents of that particular town throughout the 1840s-80s that I would really love to experience it. And 1863 happens to be a year from which there are a lot of remaining letters (which I have transcribed!). So it would be particularly interesting to visit then. 

What do you do to combat the blues on a rainy day?

Drink tea, wear a tiara, and do something fun. Sometimes that's reading a book, or sewing, or watching a movie, or baking. But the tea and tiara are important. Another thing I like to do is plan trips. Not trips I will necessarily take any time soon, but someday trips...sometimes it's nice to fantasize about taking adventures from the comfort of the couch in my pajamas.

Where would you like to travel next? Near or far…

Well, my next actually-scheduled trip is to Disney World. Disney is a particularly fun trip to "armchair plan" because there's just so much data on the internet to research! But no limits? Southeast Asia. There's a boat trip I would love to take that goes from Hong Kong to Singapore, Bali, Malaysia, Thailand, and Japan (not in that order). Someday...

What is your favorite sewing tool?

I thought about this a lot, actually, and I think I have surprised myself by this answer. I think I am going to go with a seam ripper? I hate using a seam ripper because it means I'm tearing something out. grr! But the fact that I have a nice seam ripper and I use it regularly is empowering too, because I think it represents how far I've come as a costumer. I actually bother to rip things out and fix them now! And also it doesn't destroy my confidence when I have to do it the way it used to.

But a less fraught answer would be my spring-loaded scissors. THEY ARE AMAAAAZZZIIIING.

What name would you give to a combination of a zucchini and an asparagus?

A zasparini of course!

Finally, here are the blogs I would like to nominate. Thank you for sharing your stories on the internet, and inspiring me!

Amanda's Costumes

Atelier Nostalgia

Ballgown in a Backpack

Dressed in Time

Emily's Vintage Visions

Fabric and Fiction

A Fractured Fairytale

Fresh Frippery

Kitty Calash

Polka Polish

Sewing with Kenna

My questions for you are:

• If you could travel in time OR space but not both, which would you choose and why?
• What is your favorite period of clothing to wear?
• Do you have a color you tend to gravitate towards? If so, what is it?
• What is your favorite sewing technique or task?
• If you could meet any magical creature in the real world, what would it be?

Happy sewing, all!

Liebster Blog Award!

I'm trying to have 2017 be a year of cleansing, and that means cleaning out my drafts folder too! Cassidy, fabulous author of A Most Beguiling Accomplishment, nominated me for a Liebster Award back in June. If you're unfamiliar with the rules, each nominee is asked to answer their nominator's interview questions, nominate 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers for the award, and offer interview questions for them to answer, should they choose to accept the mission. Cassidy has some great questions, and I've been working on answers!

let the interview begin!

What is the history mystery (including but not limited to historical fashion) that you would most like to solve?
What is the period or area of historical dress that you first began to concentrate on?
I don't do much of it anymore (so many periods! so little time!), but my first period was the 1860s (American Civil War). In middle and high school I was in a group of living history volunteers in the greater Boston area that researched, constructed, and performed local programs. One of our main periods was the 1860s, and the clothes really spoke to me. I started with day wear, and then evening dresses when a friend introduced me to vintage dance. 

Do you belong to a costuming or reenacting group?
I do! If you'd like to experience a social evening in your favorite period, get into the past for the weekend, or just learn some really fun dancing, you should check out the Commonwealth Vintage Dancers. Most of the outfits and outings I post about involve CVD or CVD friends. The group is a non-profit organization devoted to the study and reconstruction of period dances, including performances and participatory events where we teach. 
I am lucky enough to live in an area with many vintage-themed groups, so I have my pick of events from the Greater Boston Vintage Society and Tweed Outing Club. I have also attended World War II events as a member of the Big Red One Living History Organization, and hope to get involved with the 1st WAC Separate Battalion soon!

What is an area that you fancy studying or sewing that you do not currently do?
 I'd also love to try out a bustle ensemble sometime! But as I don't attend any events in that era, it's not been a high-priority project. There are also some 1950s dresses on my wish list, but somehow I never get to them. Maybe this year... :)

costume sketch by Edith Head for Rosemary Clooney in White Christmas: inspiration for a 50s project that's been on my list for years!

Is there a particular technique that you'd like to learn, but haven't had the time or a project to do it in?
I would love to learn more about tailoring! There are a couple of 1910s suits on my wish list, but I don't feel like I know enough about tailoring to hit that yet. I think if I were less intimidated I might move those projects up the list. One is a suit inspired by a photograph from the family archives, so I really want to do it justice.

What would you make if time and budget (and event) were of no concern?
Something heavily embroidered, probably Regency but maybe 1890s? I used to do 19th century embroidery to moderate my stress in college--mostly little samplers and things but I did do one Regency ball gown! Now I just never feel like I want to commit to the time and fore-planning a project like that would take, but I'd love to someday.

Is there a particular museum exhibition you'd like to go back in time or travel across the world to see?
I love museum exhibitions, and so this was a hard question! I was tied on two. First, I think I would pick the Paris Salon of 1877, in which May Alcott's still life was displayed. After years researching and playing May, I would love the chance to attend this moment, which was one of her most public successes. Second, how cool would it be to attend the Great Exhibition of 1851?! It would be an incredible opportunity to see a moment where science, industry, innovation, and fashion all collided during a turning point of the industrial revolution.

still life by May Alcott, courtesy of LMAMA

What's your favorite reference book or fashion history text?
I have two again: for actual support with construction, the first place I look is always Janet Arnold's Patterns of Fashion. Even just seeing the pattern pieces can help me determine if I'm aiming for the right shapes. For inspiration, I love 19th Century in Detail from the V&A. It's one of my favorite sources for trim, cool fabrics, and interior shots.
I'm also a huge fan of museum catalogs-either as a way to take home exhibits I really loved, or to get a glimpse of exhibits I couldn't see. Impressionism and Fashion from the Metropolitan Museum of Art is a great one.

If you could design your perfect historical reenactment event, what would it be like and where?
ooooh, great question! I would love to organize a series of events that focus on the diversity we usually don't see represented-a variety of people representing different classes, in different jobs, of different races...basically, what somewhere like Boston would have "actually" looked like. There are some people doing great work to this end already, so I hope to attend some of their events! 
I'd also love to flip the traditional timeline event (which typically includes military units) on its head and do a women's history timeline that invites living history groups and military units (like WWII WAVEs and WACs) that are primarily focused on (and lead by) women.

What motivates you in your historical recreation and/or public education?
I've always loved history, and the more I learn about where we've gone before (especially regarding technology and cultural trends), the more I recognize the cyclical nature of our experiences. I want to share that recognition with others, in hopes that we can all learn from the past. Also...it's fun! Getting to learn through experience while wearing great clothes is hard to beat :)

Do you like reading historical and/or classic fiction? (For the latter, I include any old books, whether or not they're critically esteemed.)
I don't read much historical fiction anymore, although I used to quite a bit. I do still read a lot of classic fiction. Although to be honest, as I'm currently in grad school I don't read much at all. In between semesters I marathon through books before I have to start homework again! This break I re-read Persuasion, and went on a women in STEM non-fiction kick with Rise of the Rocket Girls and Hidden Figures. 

a throwback-reading War and Peace in a tiara...as you do.

I am cheating slightly and posting fewer than 11 nominees, because it turns out that most of the blogs I read have more than 200 followers! So here they are:

Our Girl History-I love reading Eliza's posts on working at a historical sight, and her thoughts on the role of women as both historical voices we need to interpret and as interpreters dealing with the public. 

Ballgown In a Backpack-Emma just started blogging, but so far her posts have been entertaining and interesting! I look forward to seeing what else she pulls out of the bag. Puns!

Fishy Fashion and Maritime Modes-This is a topic I don't know anything about, and it's interesting to see how material culture is re-created and examined...as well as how modern people respond!

The Laced Angel-ok, this one is slightly out of the follower limit, but I get some much hair inspiration from here that I couldn't leave it off!

The Quintessential Clothes Pen- Quinn does such a good job documenting her sewing process and construction! Plus, her insides are as neat as her outsides :)

Here are my questions for you all, should you choose to participate:
1. How did you start making historical garments?
2. What is your favorite part of blogging?
3. Describe a time you struggled with a historical project. What did you learn from the experience?
4. If money and restoration were no object, what piece of historical technology would you love to try using? 
5. Do you watch or listen to anything while you sew? If so, what is your favorite background?

An Adventurous Aside

My term is over today!! Two more papers to turn in and I'm home free to catch up on blogging and sewing and planning for some truly epic upcoming events. Whoo!

In the meantime, I am feeling truly grateful to be surrounded by friends who are wonderfully nutty and creative and talented...check out this video of us being ridiculous (edited into something coherent) for the moment, and I'll be back to sharing research and sewing progress in the near future!

Just for Fun: How to Dance Like a Regency Zombie

It's Friday, and I have been working so much that I'm pretty sure I'm turning into an actual zombie (or at least the corporate kind).

For anyone else who's ready for a break, I wanted to share this video (made by my amazing friend, who filmed, directed, and edited) from after hours at last weekend's Regency ball.

In Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Mr. Darcy says that any zombie could probably shuffle through a dance. Just what does he mean?

a diagram of the "shoelaces" figure in Sir Roger De Coverly, a popular dance from the period (that appears in A Christmas Carol)

Regency dancing often involved dancing through patterns within a set of couples using energetic steps. Some fellow Regency dance enthusiasts and I decided the reconstruct a particular dance* that we felt would be most fitting to zombies...






(*as you may have noticed, this is not an exact reconstruction of a period dance. It was instead choreographed by our excellent ringleader wearing white.)

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: A Review

After the recent Pride and Prejudice and Zombies ball at Arisia (my favorite local SF/F convention), a hellish couple of weeks, and the upcoming Regency ball this evening, a friend and I took a break last night to go see the new Pride and Prejudice and Zombies movie. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and was disappointed to see it mostly getting panned in reviews...so I'm offering my alternative (spoiler-free!) opinion on the topic.

If you're unfamiliar with the movie, I recommend this first trailer to get a feel for the tone:

To use a favorite word: it's wackadoodle. And that was utterly perfect. (I should also perhaps offer the disclaimer that I greatly enjoyed Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, and my favorite book is Pride and Prejudice, so I am the exact target audience for this.)

the Bennett sisters in a promotional image for EW

The movie opens with a prologue scene explaining Netherfield's lack of tenant (until Bingley lets it) and introducing the zombie problem currently facing the British countryside, and offers a brief history of the current zombie apocalypse told through paper scenes reminiscent of 19th century toy paper theaters. It was these nods to the real Regency period that made me feel like the film team "got it," enabling the departures from period accuracy (such as the use of leather on a few zombie-fighting ensembles) to become deliberate bits of world-building and silliness.

a toy theater from the Bruce Museum

And there was quite a bit of silliness! I have to admit I haven't read Grahame-Smith's mashup novel the film was adapted from, so I can't speak to its faithfulness, but I felt the script did a solid job turning several iconic scenes from Austen's original work on their head without losing the heart of it. For example, Jane's illness at Netherfield is doubly tense because the flu is still potentially deadly (the technology of PPZ's Regency era is not upgraded from the real world--except perhaps in weaponry, but I can't speak to that), but also there's a chance it's not the flu, and Jane will emerge undead. PPZ's Elizabeth Bennet is still sharp-witted and exasperated by her family, but also much more physical, as she is a trained zombie warrior. Thus, several of Lizzy's most famous verbal battles (such as Darcy's first proposal and Lady Catherine's visit) are zombified by keeping the dialogue quite faithful but including physical sparring as well. As an Austen aficionado (to steal a phrase from Austenland) and an action comedy fan, I very much enjoyed this combination.

Lizzy tending to a weapon in her bedchamber, via Screenrelish

 I was also pleasantly surprised by the costumes. With the glaring exception of Lizzy's first ballgown, which looked like a rather tacky prom dress (and I'm convinced was only included so that they could use that scene for promotional stills and posters), the overall look was pretty good, with lovely printed cottons, fluffy chemisettes, bonnets and spencers or pelisses worn outdoors, and gloves at the ball. A particularly notable part was that all of the women were clearly wearing stays (in addition to several getting dressed scenes, where they were visible) as their silhouettes and the fit of their dresses looked believably Regency. Also, the girls fought dressed like that! There were several flashes that revealed the dresses were slit partially up a leg for easy access to thigh-holstered weapons and movement for kicking, but I liked that as a modification of their clothes to accommodate a zombified world without suddenly putting everyone in pants. I dance, climb fences, and run amok in Regency dresses frequently. It can be done! So that really pleased me. I'm assuming the designers also chose to replace the girls' petticoats with weird ruffled hotpants in the dressing scenes (you get some petticoat flashes during the fights) for the same thread--so the audience could see their fabulous thigh holsters--but they were my one really jarring complaint on the costume front. Because the underpinnings and cut of the clothes were so acceptable, it made the little zombified details (Darcy's long leather coat, Lizzy's leather-collared, paneled pelisse, some of the chemically-bright colors) feel like fun touches on a historical palette, rather than cringe-inducing weirdness. It helped that the designers also made sure such zombiefied touches appeared in scenes with actual zombie fighting, while more Austen-esque scenes, like balls, were more traditional.

Stays! (and weird hotpants, but oh well.)

Jane taking on a zombie in full Regency dress (via EW)

Lydia's pink pelisse is utterly cute, and the detail on Lizzy's sleeve (which is hard to see in this EW image) was really lovely

The plot also moved along at a quick pace, which served well to mask some of the really big plot issues, but resulted in the loss of some content from the original Austen (although in a 2-ish hour movie that's to be expected). Overall, I appreciated that the writers tried to have some sort of zombie-related plot (rather than just having there be zombies), but that plot was a little weak in the being well-plotted department. This didn't really bother me, as the film spent most of its time doing better, more Austen-y things, and the zombie plot bits were so short I didn't have time to care. The one other weak point was that some of the not-Austen language was jarringly modern. I can't even fault the screenwriters for this, as there's no reason to assume phrases like "zombie apocalypse" wouldn't have existed in an alternate zombie-infested Regency England, but for some reason hearing that sort of thing pop up stuck out to me. Is that reasonable for a movie that is literally setting Pride and Prejudice during the zombie apocalypse? Probably not.

zombies! (via Collider)

PPZ was silly fun, while managing to put together some truly awesome scenes that had me applauding and laughing along with the rest of the theater. It was really fun to see scenes I've read so many times given new "stage directions," so to speak, and I appreciated how much the film felt like it was made with genuine affection for the inspiration material--both the nods to the Regency period, and the nods to action movie tropes (slow motion fighting!). I will definitely be adding this to the list of movies I watch while I sew...it might even inspire me to finish that bonnet I started two years ago.

Whirlwind Season

Well, I blinked and it turned into mid-August! I'm not totally sure where the summer went, except to a whole lot of really fun adventures and just as many business trips. It's been insane, but pretty awesome!

I haven't had much time to sew with all the work, but I've been making time for some other things. We've had a few parties in the new apartment (all with a 1960s vibe), including a pretty fabulous tropical party based on America's obsession with the South Pacific in the 50s and 60s. I had some pretty fabulous inspiration for that, since my dad was born in Hawaii during that time and all of his baby photos are full of beaches and palm trees!

my grandparents, great grandmother, and father (the baby) in Hawaii

I found a watteau-back dress with bright printed flowers that has a "made in Hawaii" tag inside, which I wore with totally ridiculous beehive hair because my hair is really good at being huge. I will definitely be incorporating this dress into my summer formal wardobe--it is so much fun to wear!

(sorry for the fuzzy photos...this has not been a summer for the camera, and I've almost entirely been shooting on my phone)

giant hair, vibrant colors, and a Blue Hawaiian!

the watteau back

My partner in crime ran the bar, with some super delicious Blue Hawaiians and Mai Tais. I did food, and used two vintage recipes to which I made a couple of alterations.

The first was called "Bride to Be Coffee Cake," from Betty Crocker's Bisquick Cookbook.

my "Blue Hawaiian to Be" cake

 The Bride to Be coffee cake is a lesson in marriage preparedness. "Before your college coed gets married, teach her how to turn out a beautiful coffee cake in a hurry. Here's a scrumptious example that tastes something like pineapple upside-down cake. Perfect for a weekend brunch with her prospective in-law's." 
It calls for "Bisquick baking mix," and then the batter is topped with pineapple cooked in brown sugar and shredded coconut. We didn't have any Bisquick, and so I decided to use cake mix instead. Using a mix felt super period to me, because I always bake from scratch! I ended up using a blue mix, because it was on sale, and the combination of pineapple and coconut was just like the Blue Hawaiian cocktail. It was pretty delicious, but that pineapple topping is super sweet--I don't think I'd serve it for brunch... perfect for post-pool snacking, though!

The crowning glory of my 60s tropical food was a cheese pineapple. 

Yes, you read that right--a pineapple made. out. of. cheese.

cheese pineapple!

Possibly even weirder than the fact that this exists is that it's not alone--magazines have recommended shaping other foods into pineapples more than once. But I think cheese might be my limit--I'm not planning to make a liver sausage pineapple anytime soon. That said, the cheese pineapple was actually totally palatable.

I found the inspiration image (from McCall's Cooking School) on Pinterest, but then had to do some sleuthing to actually find the recipe. I ended up halving it and replacing the original pimento-stuffed olives with sliced almonds, which I thought worked out well. My recipe ended up as:

8oz cream cheese, softened
1 lb shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup French's mustard (this is where the yellow color comes from)

Whip the ingredients until the spread consistency is smooth and fluffy, then fold into a ball, cover in plastic, and refrigerate. When cooled, shape into a pineapple. Refrigerate again, decorate, and serve!

Live the original, I also used a real pineapple top on my cheesy imposter.

the original

I would definitely make both of these again!

the cheese pineapple being consumed

 It's been a busy summer, but also a lot of fun. I'm excited to share it with you now that I'm back and blogging!

Dances of Vice Presents the Grand Corset Ball

Last weekend some friends and I took an adventure to NYC to perform at the Dances of Vice Grand Corset Ball, which was quite a spectacle and quite a lot of fun!

We decided to wear 1860s fancy dress, so in true period fashion everyone scrounged to create something fabulous on top of dresses we already had. I ended up not getting my act together to do anything truly creative, so I popped a tiara on with my dark blue shot silk and called it "the night sky." Everyone else did an excellent job, though, and we were pretty fabulous as a unit!

fancy dress for the Queen of Clubs, 1860

a much better night sky, 1863

I did get myself organized enough to bring my camera, and I took the opportunity to play with my Petzval lens. It's still difficult to get crisp shots (no autofocus plus a super-heavy lens is a recipe for shaky arms), but I understand why this design was popular for so much of the 19th century--when it works, it's really awesome.

So here are some photos from the Grand Corset Ball!

Julia in fabulous duct tape deer antlers 

Reading--her headpiece is made of quill pens and an inkbottle!

 

an armored corset on display at the event

one of the rooms had a variety of old and new books, so we peaked through a few

these pictures are totally separate, but in this sequence I like to think this lady is witnessing the angel on the stairs!

a flower basket holding her own handels

her rhinestone skull and butterfly headdress was very cool!

I could not get a good shot of this dude from the front, so we must be satisfied with his fabulous hat

I also got a couple of good shots of one of the other performers, who did a medieval-themed burlesque number, but they are pretty NSFW--see them after the jump if you'd like!