Daylight Savings Time

Travel bug

I've been feeling the need to travel lately--and since it's not possible right now, I'm reliving my last trip.  We went to Sweden, Norway, and Iceland last October, and here are some of my favorite pictures.

Shelley Duvall

A great combination of quirk and charm, Shelley Duvall has been growing on me lately.  We just watched Thieves Like Us, and her wardrobe and character made the movie for me.

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Cocktails

I like a good cocktail, and I even have a pretty good bar set up at home (shaker, decanters, etc).  The only problem is that I never actually have any booze around with which to make said cocktails.  I'm going to try to remedy that, starting with the Savoy cocktail book and this recipe:

Dubonnet Cocktail (from here)

1 oz. Dubonnet Rouge

1 oz. Dry Gin

1 dash orange bitters

Combine in ice shaker; shake. Strain into martini glass and garnish with twist of lemon.

Batik

I've been obsessed with batik fabrics lately, and am plotting making a dress for myself (with this pattern) as soon as I find the perfect one.

So many different ways to get to the same place

I've got a work trip to Chicago this month, and it's gotten me thinking about travel.  While I love seeing new places, I don't like the hassle and stress of the airport--which has led me to romanticize other modes of travel.  I'm sure that traveling by horse drawn carriage, or train, or cart, was as much of a hassle as our modern way of doing it, but that doesn't mean I won't look at pictures of traveling in a slower time (all images from Shorpy).

More British love

I started watching Downton Abbey last night and quickly got obsessed.  It's a good combination of addicting story line and great costumes.

Wish list for simplicity

I've been feeling the urge lately to purge my closet of anything non-functional and then add in simple, practical, well-made items that I will wear always.  A few things on the "to-add" list (of course, it would be even simpler to not add anything, but oh well): simple spring dresses, a bag that I can use for years, plain, well-constructed black flats that will last longer than a few months, and a striped sweater for layering.

Book review

This is the second book I've read by Wilkie Collins, and I've thoroughly enjoyed both.  They're not amazing literature, but they provide good Victorian chills.  The Woman in White is a mystery involving two women who look mysteriously alike--the combination of the story line and the prose make it a quick, worthwhile read.

English Countryside

For some reason I woke up this morning craving the English countryside.  I can't plan a trip quite yet, but I'm going to be watching All Creatures Great and Small tonight to try to scratch my itch a bit.  It's one of my favorite things on instant Netflix--I could watch it over and over again.

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