Mr. Bingley, how do you like my flowers for your Ball?

I liked this updo better than the previous  photo I had posted but I still wasn't satisfied with this style either.

I played around with my hair a few more times before the Patriot's Ball and finally decided on a few simple braids brought up and pinned to my head. I really liked the simplicity of the look AND I knew it would look even cuter with some flowers looped in at the back. I was very happy with the way the whole look came together :)

I did all of the work on the over-dress, the under-dress, the stomacher, the underthings, and the corset by myself with the exception of the hem on the overdress. I couldn't seem to get it to cut straight because of the silkiness of the fabric. I took it to the tailor who was altering my brothers suits/tuxedos and she zipped it out very nicely!

The dress held up well for dancing. I lost a few straight pins that were holding the stomacher in place so I was thankful I used multiple pins with each tab! The only real issue I faced was with the back of my underdress continuing to slip out of the top of my overdress. I had pretty much created the dress pattern on my own and had forgotten to take into account how high the back of the underdress was compared to the back of the overdress. If you view the video posted on my facebook page from a week ago you will see what I mean :)

Our family had a wonderful time in Bristol. We made many new friends and already have plans to visit with several of them over the summer. Plans are to make the Patriot's Conference and Ball and annual event and I am already excited to hear more about the plans for next year!

-- A Victorian Cowgirl

Fixing something old to fit...

I'd set to fixing up an old gown of mine before our trip to Va, and turned it into a gown for one of my daughters... one of these days, many years hence, they'll find it in a box in some quiet corner of our family's attic, I'm sure. Hopefully they will enjoy it more than I ever had time to...

Though I completely changed the bodice from what it was before, I do have a picture saved  to my compy of the fabric.

I somehow managed to save the lace from the neckline in front, and used it again on the new front bodice.. which was a blessing, so I wouldn't have to rip the lace from the back of the gown just to make it look right/even. One simple new gown for daytime that I hope they will enjoy :)

Do you ever think of taking your old gowns and altering them down for future (or present) children, or buy sweet little things you happen to see while passing a shop window and pack them away for sometime in the future? I find myself doing this often... oops! Then again, I always have felt I would be a wife and mom. Just waiting on God to bring around the almost perfect man... who wants perfect after all? Where is the fun in that?! 

Fun, laughter, heart, feeling, and soul is much to be preferred. 

-- A Victorian Cowgirl

Monkey/Gorilla Bread with a twist

Okay, so Gorilla Bread is BASICALLY the same as Monkey Bread ... but with an extra ingredient. I made it extra special simply by adding 3 extra's. Those ingredients would be ... Raisins, Philadelphia Creme-cheese, and chopped/crushed Walnuts.

Now, for regular monkey bread you quarter the Pillsbury flake-y bisctuits, and toss them in the Bundt pan. But, with Gorilla Bread, you 1/2 them and roll a little cream-cheese in the slices... THEN toss them into the Bundt pan. Same for the special kind I made, but with * lots * more layers :D 

I know my mom has the recipe for Monkey Bread on her blog already, so I'm gonna "steal" it and post here for you guys... then use a little ** sign and help you along with the extra's. LOL... I know, I know... But today I'm being lazy :P

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

6 cans biscuits

1 cup butter or margarine, melted

2 cups packed brown sugar

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

By the way, go ahead and preheat your oven to 375 BEFORE you get started with construction...

First, quarter all the biscuits and put to the side

next, get your butter, heavy whipping cream, and brown sugar melting together in a saucepan. 

** I just whip them all together in a bowl, and don't bother heating them in a sauce pan... they turn into a nice sauce well enough by just being put in the pan with all the trimmings and biscuits, and left to bake like everything else...

Then, mix your granulated white sugar and your cinnamon together and start tossing the biscuit quarters into the mix

** Here is where you will want to start with your layers. One layers of sugared biscuits (about 1/2 of what you're using) then toss the raisins and walnuts in, spreading evenly throughout the section. Add about 1/2 of your sauce, and repeat the layers with what you have left... 

Finally, layer the sugar and cinnamon coated biscuits with the sauce in your bundt pan... I like to do a few layers so that the oooey, gooey sauce gets into every little nook and cranny of the biscuits; [** see... ;) ] I dump whatever sugar-cinnamon mixture is left over on to the top of the pan -- waste not, want not ;-) 

Make SURE you let your monkey bread cool down really well before you dump it out of the bundt pan onto a plate!!! Our daughter (that'd be me :P) nearly scalded her legs several years ago because she was in a hurry to get it turned out and didn't wait for me to come help... It was the grace of God reminding me of every first aid lesson I'd ever learned regarding burns that kept her from getting even a single blister!

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and my oddly worded post ;)

Have anything you like to bake or make in particular? 

-- A Victorian Cowgirl

A trip (onto the patio), Muggish Days, and Opa's Cast

We've been having rather muggish, cold, and windy days here in the Springs. On Saturday, a nice bright day at the start, we decided to go out for breakfast since my cousin Austin was in town.

(Austin)

Walking out the door my Opa fell on the front porch by tripping over the itsy-bitsy door mat. We didn't know his foot was broken and we went about our day until he couldn't stand the pain :( It was rather muggish again in the end... When we came out of the commissary Pikes Peak was clouded by rain.

(Arrow points to the rain & clouds near Pikes Peak) 

We took Opa to the ER and got the X-rays in the afternoon. EARLY this morning he had surgery, the result being a screw in his foot, stitches, and a cast. But, he was feeling much better when he got home!

(Opa's cast with ILY in English and German.. plus plenty of other silly things)

(Opa in his chair downstairs)

(Cast Art)

(It's close to Halloween & Thanksgiving so I was in an artsy pumpkin-y mood and he only had 2 Sharpie pens... 

in 2 colors... Orange and Purple)

(Purple Cats are so much better than Black Ones :P )

-- A Victorian Cowgirl

Giveaway at my mom's blog :)

My momma is giving away an organization ebook over at her blog so I thought I would share with my friends over here. Hop on over and leave a comment at her post to enter to win :)

-- A Victorian Cowgirl

Hand Sewing & Weekend Plans

Folkwear Sewing Patterns, Edwardian Underthings

I have been wanting to practice my hand sewing for a while. I found this pattern in a box in my closet along with a huge stash of patterns that a friend from church had given me. I had completely forgotten that I had them :) I thought the Edwardian underthings pattern was the perfect thing to practice with because the fabric is lightweight and the stitching is delicate.

My first day of sewing did not go so well, even though I sewed for about 9 hours straight. I am OK at keeping my stitches small, but I have a problem with keeping them straight. And, to top it all off, I discovered at the end of the evening that I had actually sewed the lace insets into two right sides instead of a left and a right. I have to very carefully detach the lace from the second piece because I do not have enough of it to make two sets! 

I am spending the next few days with my mom at a démodé fashion weekend sponsored by one of our favorite local historic sites, Tryon Palace. The weekend will be full of 18th century fashion!! I met the young lady, Laura Poppe, who is the seamstress for the Palace, this past weekend at another event. She is very sweet and knowledgeable, plus I learned she is a fellow homeschool graduate! I can't wait to take part in all the activities this weekend and learn more! I hope to take lots of pictures to share with you next week.

J'espère que vous avez un bon week-end!

-- A Victorian Cowgirl

Hurricane Earl is Coming

The calm before the storm...

Noah and Jesse being their normal happily silly selves, and playing in the sand.

Jesse and the dolphin statue at the park.

Mom and Dad

Random beach-goers. Apparently it was a good day to go surfing :P

...making waves...

There weren't a ton of clouds in the sky, and the ones that were there were more whispy than cloud-like.

More of those crashing waves

Caleb looking out at the waves

Daddy

Just walking' along, and enjoying our time.

-- A Victorian Cowgirl

Silly boy....

This... is Jesse. It looks like he was having fun over the July 4th holidays. Heck, We all were :D

-- A Victorian Cowgirl

Do YOU think He'd make it??

I think so :D

My brother's Noah (pictured above right) and Jesse (not shown) were goofing around in the kitchen last week when I grabbed the cam. and took the shot! Such a fantastic moment.

-- A Victorian Cowgirl

Beautiful Butterfly Biscuits..

Don't let their lovely looks fool you.... They're tasty and delicious too!! (My momma found the recipe on the back of our "Clabber Girl Double-Acting Baking Powder" can.) I ate my butterfly bisquits smothered inside with plenty of butter, and topped with a lazy drizzling of honey. My brother, Caleb, says he had his with just plain maple pancake syrup. And, momma says hers were delightful when spread with butter, and topped nicely with a bit of fig jam that we had made last picking season.

Old Fashioned Biscuits

Ingredients:
•2 cups all-purpose flour
•2 1/2 teaspoons Clabber Girl Baking Powder
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•1/3 cup shortening
•3/4 cup milk
•1 tablespoon soft margarine or butter

Instructions:
In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, Clabber Girl Baking Powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening till mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the milk all at once. Using a fork, stir just till moistened and dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl (dough will be sticky).

On a floured surface, lightly knead dough with floured hands for 30 seconds or till nearly smooth. Lightly roll dough to 3/4-inch thickness. Cut dough with a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, dipping cutter into flour between cuts.

Place biscuits close together on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush tops with soft margarine. Bake in a 475° oven for 11 to 15 minutes or till golden brown. Serve warm.

Makes about 8 - 10 biscuits. ENJOY!!

-- A Victorian Cowgirl

Goodbye & Rest in Peace

This blogpost is to inform you all that I will not be posting for a while. We just had a death in our family, and we are going back home to KY to take care of it.

Please keep my mom & our family in your prayers!!

In loving memory of:

Emma Belle Beard

Sept. 5, 1947 -Aug. 6, 2010

A good Christian woman, married to D.E. Beard for a good many years, and mother of 3.

Granny, Wife, Aunt, Mother, Daughter, Sister, Friend

You are loved Granny.

And many will miss you dearly but, we are rejoicing because we know you are in a far better place than here below!

-- A Victorian Cowgirl

Red Pennies, Truffles, and Rust..

Just like the title says.

(Can you guess which is which?!)

This dress is another find from my Thrift Store shopping spree.

I came home & looked it up...
This dress is David's Bridal sz. 4
Online it is on Sale for 80$ .. I bought it barely used, for 7$!!

I bought the Cameo at a Farmer's Market in Shepherdsville, KY many years ago. I realized after buying the pendant/pin cameo that it is in fact authentic, even if the gold & crystals surrounding it are not. The Pearl & Swarovski Ring is passed on from my momma!

I was given the Pearl, Gold, and Jet Bead chain one year for my Brithday, I think. And, the clutch (5$) is the result of a sale at TJ Maxx a few months ago.
The shoes.. you guessed it.. 50$ on sale for 15$!! I bought them to wear with a Peach colored dress for a friends wedding this Spring.

My mom and I had plenty of fun,

just getting out and snapping photo's of my new dresses!!

What a day!!

-- A Victorian Cowgirl

The Photo of a Lifetime..

I love this Photographic Panorama taken by one of my friends with his iPhone. Can you say WOW to fantastic technology?! (And this coming from the woman who is not in the slightest technologically inclined...)

-- A Victorian Cowgirl

Oh dear goodness!!

Oh wow it has been a whole month EXACTLY since I posted. In the words of Americas sweetheart, Miss Shirley Temple, "Oh my goodness!!". I have had guests to stay, and I am now on vacation in MD with some family friends. I thought I would share a few photos so here goes...

-- A Victorian Cowgirl

I like...

walking on the beach....

BUT

walking on the beach with a friend is so much better!!!

-- A Victorian Cowgirl

It's Sunday...

Happy Mothers Day Momma :-D

You are a wonderful woman,

and I am very blessed to have a mother such as you!!

Sallie Anderson

http://www.mikeandsallie.com/seasidetales

Spencers and Gostwicks... expanding the family tree

I recently posted a fan image of my family tree extended out 4 generations. I said in that post that one of our lines is Spencer, but that it was a different English line than Princess Diana. I thought I might post a bit more about this line today.

(photo courtesy of my family)

Virginia Spencer was my great-great-great-great grandmother. The Spencer's, and marriages within that line, are some of my favorite parts of our family tree. There is so much history tied up with them :-)


For instance, Moses Spencer, who was Virginia's great grandfather, was a soldier in the Virginia Continental Line during the Revolutionary War. He received 100 acres for his service to his country.


Farther into the line we find Col. Nicholas Spencer, who was married to Frances Mottram. Nicholas served as President of the Council of the Virginia Colony. His cousin was Thomas Colepeper/Culpeper. Nicholas played a major role in securing the land grant for what would become Mount Vernon. I have an opportunity next Saturday morning to perhaps see Mount Vernon and I am very excited about that!


Nicholas' mother was Mary Gostwick (my 12th great-grandmother). Mary's father was Sir Edward Gostwick/Gostwicke. He was the 2nd Baronet Gostwick of Willington. He was also the Sheriff of Bedfordshire! I have always found Edward very interesting and is probably the tomb I'd like to see the most of all my ancestors (how morbid is that?!). I have read in several places that his body is laid in a glass or marble tomb in a church in England. I don't know how true that is but it would be interesting to find out for sure!!

the crest of Gostwick of Willington

(image courtesy of http://www.british-history.ac.uk)

I will post other family lines in the future but I thought this one was a good place to start :-D

-- A Victorian Cowgirl

Family

My mom is a HUGE family tree person. Her mom took her to a dusty old library basement to look up family records when she was a little girl and she has been hooked ever since. This is only a portion of our tree but I thought it would be fun to share (and give me something to post...LOL). Other names in our tree are Spencer (a different English line than Princess Di's), Rutherford (which can be traced back to about the 1200's), Hatfield, McCoy (yep, both of them!!), Laird, Johnstone (my small bit of Scottish pedigree), Basham, Wyatt, Lamson, and SO MANY MORE!!! :-D

My mother was actually adopted by her step dad (granny and papaw got married when she was less than two years old) but she has completed some research on her biological fathers tree as well. Her grandmother is from the Kentucky Back family, who are descended from a German line of Bach. There are quite a few JS Bach's in that tree so I'm definitely interested in learning more of that blood line!

Feel free to click on the family tree fan to enlarge it and have a closer look :-)

Let me know if you see any names you recognize. Mom has a box of copies of records out in the garage so I might be able to help out if you are facing a brick wall in your own tree.

-- A Victorian Cowgirl

Trying New Things

I seem to be trying new things a lot lately! I have an older widowed friend at our church who makes cakes as part of her income. I was trying on hats at her house one evening and she and my mom where chatting while she prepared some decorations for a wedding cake she was working on. She encouraged me to try my hand at making a few small simple tiered cakes and that seemed like a pretty good idea :-)

My mom and I have a favorite lemon cake recipe from Betty Crocker called a Lemonade Party Cake. You can find the recipe for it here. It is AWESOME!! Very tart... and sweet... just like me... ROFL

I have recently seen several lemon cakes with a raspberry filling and knew I wanted to give this combination a try. My mom already owns several small specialty round and square cake pans so I was able to start experimenting with this new adventure without two much out of pocket expenses: a few cake mixes, frosting containers, and a jar of jam and I was set!

The trick to stacking the cakes (and trust me when I say I tried several different ways!!!!!) is to freeze your cooled cakes and then frost the bottom layer completely first. Next, add a layer of raspberry jam to the bottom of the top tier and GENTLY place it on top of the already frosted bottom layer. Then, frost your top layer to blend the two layers together. This keeps all the jam nicely hidden and the tiers remain in their proper place without sliding all over the place!!

I will warn you that this cake was very rich. I think perhaps the next time I make it, I will use a fluffy white frosting instead of lemon, and I probably will not use the lemonade concentrate... or at least not as much. It WAS very good. But not everyone may like lemons as much as I do ;-)

-- A Victorian Cowgirl

Welcome

Welcome to my blog :-) I am new to this area of the blogging world, but have another blog on my parents site. I guess I should say a little something about myself, huh?

So, for starters... I am 18 years old, a Christian, military brat, who is a graduated high school homeschooler, and a wife in training. My favorite place to get coffee is Starbucks :-) and you can bet that more likely than not I will order a Venti Latte, no foam, no sugar! I love fashion and designing my own clothes. I AM having problems making pencil skirts, I hope to remedy that little hick-up soon :-) LOL.

I plan to write about purity, faith, courtship, fashion, home decor, thoughts of the day, life in general, and family to name a few.

I hope you like what you see, and if you have any questions about something I post feel absolutely free to leave a comment and I will respond as soon as I am able.

-- A Victorian Cowgirl :-)

PS ~ I would like to thank Sallie (my mom) and my other friends for helping me get this thing up and running!!