Apparently I hadn’t had enough dumpling making after the pelmeni/vareniki day, so I jumped straight into making some Georgian dumplings, called Khinkali. To accompany this, we made some Khachapuri, a Georgian bread dish full of cheese and topped with an egg and butter. This was a heavy meal, and the cooking process did not exactly go to plan. But I’m out here sharing my successes and my failures, so let’s get to it. I tried Khinkali for the first time at a Georgian restaurant in St. Petersburg . These are like a huge version of soup dumplings. They are intimidating the first time. They’re big and the process of eating…
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Pelmeni – Russian meat dumplings
As the shelter-in-place draws on and on, I am going through waves of excessive energy and the urge to stay busy and make things, followed by periods of near paralysis, glued to a video game for a few days or a week. I think I enjoy both, and each is kind of a re-charge from the other. The past 2 weeks have been a huge up-swing in energy and making things. While this week is much more sedate, which allows me time to actually sit and sift through a million photos and write about things. I’m not usually prone to such differences in mood, but I think the news and…
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Croquemouche – Birthday Baking
It is 2020 and we are still under shelter-in-place orders, so for my birthday, I celebrated #atHomeTogether. I wanted to plan a relaxing, luxurious day for myself, but also have some fun and not be bored. This resulted in what I called my “Birthday Obstacle Course”. I sectioned my back yard into activity stations, with a lounging area to play Animal Crossing, a refreshment area stocked with an array of charcuterie and accoutrements, a table with a hand-sewing project to work on, and through it all, I kept open a Zoom chat wherein pretty much anyone I know could drop in at any time and have a chat. It was…
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Blue Bustle Dress
It is finally complete! The bluest of bustle dresses, all of its final edges hemmed, and its glorious butt-bow tied, it is finally finished! Purpose I began working on this dress in January, which feels like approximately 10 years ago. I started with the underpinnings: petticoat, bustle, combinations. Those all worked out splendidly, and even though they have their own idiosyncratic details to them, they are perfectly serviceable as underwear. I still need to fix the button holes on the combinations. I still need to fix a spot on the waistband of the petticoat where the ribbon sticks through. But I could never do any of those things and it…
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Russian Honey Cake
I’ve been enjoying the quarantine baking, probably more than most. And this week I used it as an excuse to make one of my favorite treats from traveling, a dish I have tried in multiple cities and countries. So this post will be about me reminiscing about how much I enjoy it, my travels, and if you’re just here for the recipe, you can check that out here. Chef John is pretty to-the-point about it. I, however, write this blog as a journal, a hobby, a way to entertain myself. So if that’s your jam, you can keep reading. Research I love honey. It is one of my favorite things…
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Skirt-sandwich filling…
Ok, we’re getting there… With all of the delays lately, it’s been a bit challenging to be productive at writing. It’s particularly hard to write about things you’re doing when you aren’t able to finish any projects. And this is where I am. I have ordered fabric, and I have ordered trim. And I have ordered thread. And some of those things are here and some are not, and I’ve been kind of piecemeal working on different projects as supplies come in, but never finishing any of them. Fortunately, I think I’m reaching the end of this and will very soon have a lot of projects finished at the same…
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Biscuits with Chocolate Gravy
In the midst of all that is happening in the world, it seems like there are no rules anymore. This is the perfect time to share this completely ridiculous Southern recipe. This was one of my favorite breakfast treats growing up, and I still make it for myself once every month or so. However, for people who did not grow up eating it, the amount of sugar and carbs is a bit overwhelming. I have yet to make it for a person who is already an adult and have them want to eat it again. Fair warning. You must truly live this to appreciate it. What is it? This is…
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Makers gonna Make….
In my attempt to write something every week this year, I did not anticipate how much change the world would go through in that time. And right now seems like it is the time to take a break from grinding through all the fanciful costumes and have a bit of real talk and acknowledge that things in the world are changing drastically and quickly. The first week of March, my company gave the order to work from home for the rest of the month. That weekend was my husband’s birthday and also the weekend everyone was told to please stay home. We had no idea at the time what was…
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Victorian Overskirt (Late Bustle Era)
Part 2 of my infinity-part series on all the layers I need to make to wear one Victorian outfit. Now that I have finished my lobster tail bustle, I need some outerwear to go with it. This particular bustle is not equipped with ruffles or any other fabric that might help hide the boning, so it will require a petticoat to wear over it. I have ordered the petticoat pattern and am waiting for it (oh wait, it arrived just now today! yay!). Over the ruffly petticoat to hide the boning, is the skirt. This can be as plain or ornate as desired. I have ordered a lot of yards…
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Edwardian Walking Skirt
Most of the costumes I have been working on lately are for one of two events. We have monthly balls, which change theme every month, and vary in time period. The second event is Costume College, which takes place in August, and this year’s theme is 1919 and the Suffragist movement. So in between making or altering something almost every month for dancing, I am trying to put together outfits for the events of CoCo. There is a Thursday evening pool party, featuring “swimwear through the ages”, a Friday night showcase, themed on the Suffragist movement, a Saturday evening gala themed on the Titanic, and Sunday morning breakfast is “Gibson…
