From 1970's cocktail party to 2010's winery wedding

**Update - scroll to the bottom for a picture of the dress in action!**

I've had this dress tucked away in the sewing room for about two years now. I picked it up at a secondhand clothing shop for somewhere between $2 and $5, having fallen in love with the fabric pattern. I've debated what to do with it, never quite sure if I really wanted to alter it, or leave it in its '70s glory.

love, love, love this pattern

Spring has Sprung

Winter - Sprinter - Summer - Spring. The last month has brought a variety of weather and it seemed like spring would never come, especially when we went from sprintery weather (when spring and winter can't stop fighting over whose turn it is) into way-too-warm-for-this-time-of-year temps in the 70s and 80s. Then Mother Nature (mostly) righted herself and the weather has been more spring-like - we even had a frost last week. And of course I neglected to cover the veggies that had started to come up. . . though I don't think I lost too many (and that, my friends, is why you always plant more seeds than plants you'll end up keeping!).

Everything needs a good weeding and probably could use some mulching, too. Not to mention the backyard and side yards need a bit of a haircut. And it's only mid-May - things should be filling out nicely over the summer.

Without further ado, a little tour of the grounds here at the Mint Manor at Eastman Terrace . . .

Critter Cuteness: Knit Bunny

I saw this cuteness come across my pinterest feed the other day and decided it would make a fun Easter treat for my niece.

Is it break yet?

Winter won't quit. . .

Strawberry Bed!

the fruits of the students
labor last summer. . .
get it. . . fruit. . .

Last school year my Bio students begged to grow things in the spring. They had lofty aspirations of growing watermelon and other somewhat-exotic fruits and veggies, but settled for marigolds and a couple packs of strawberries that I randomly found at the hardware & garden store. They all dutifully tended to the seedlings from our return from April break until the last few days of school when they promptly forgot about them. Not one of them wanted them. Not even for their moms, even with Mother's day in the mix! And they wonder why I say no to class pets. . .

Everything did surprisingly well, and I couldn't bear to toss anything. The marigolds ended up in some of the barrels around campus, as well as over to my mom, and the strawberries went to a friend and into a few random pots that I had laying around. I didn't have high expectations, although they managed to survive the hot summer, and even bore some fruit after we made the big move to the new house in September!

obligatory artsy fruit-in-the-hand photo
(last fall's crop!)

Another Yard and Garden Update

Spring has finally arrived. We've had some warm days and cool nights and everything had just about exploded. The Mad River Valley is a week or so behind the Champlain Valley, where my mom lives, and every time I was over there over the past month so so, I was jealous of how green and springy it looked. With all the warm weather I've been spending a bunch of time working on the yard - it's hard to stay inside with the sun shining! Of course, I've already had to mow - twice in the back!

Here's a yard and garden tour, starting out back:

start of the new backyard border bed

New Yard Toy!

Vermont has this great web-based community board called Front Porch Forum, organized by town or region (I'm part of the Mad River Valley FPF), based on your street address. It's a pretty sweet free service - a community bulletin board for the digital age. I've scored a few things as well as sent other items to new homes, found a roommate, read about lost-then-found dogs, heard about - then attended - some cool free events, and learned tonight that someone got a kayak stolen from their yard (definitely not cool!). If you're in VT, and not on FPF, you're missing out, and frankly around here, it's more exciting than my facebook feed most days.

Why the excitement? This:

NEW WHEELBARROW!! 

A nearly-new, less than two year old wheelbarrow! For $35! From a really sweet older woman who needed to get a two-wheeled rig. I'm so dang excited. I know, I need a life, but seriously - no more dragging the big blue tarp around, or filling the blue recycling bin. Given how much needs raking from the yard and garden, I'm super excited to have scored this. Now I just need to find the time to get the yard work done. . .