Rejoicing with the Truth

Kohl's sent me a $10 coupon for my birthday, so I spent a couple hours wandering around the store this afternoon. I'm trying to be careful with my budget, so I only wanted to buy clothing if it was really great.  And I didn't buy anything! Go me! Of course, it helps a lot that February is really, really dead for retail.  Pretty much all that's there is the dregs of the fall/winter collections, and a tiny bit of early spring/summer stuff.  I found some things I was interested in, but not thrilled enough to justify.

But I didn't go home with the gift card. I got a nonstick ceramic frying pan: white inside, with a lavender outside. Seriously, lavender? It was really hard to resist! And it was on very good clearance, so I paid less than $2 in actuality.

It's a single 10" skillet, but there's also a full set.  I love sets so that's sort of tempting... but seriously, I have plenty of other pans.



I have worn out several medium-sized frying pans so this one was a need, but for other pieces I've actually been accumulating Anolon Bronze. Bed, Bath, and Beyond carries a number of single pieces, which occasionally go on sale, so it's not too much of a splurge. The 4.5 quart stockpot is a terrific size for my soups and stews, since it's smaller and easier to handle than the regular-size dutch oven I have. The 12" ultimate pan is also super for all kinds of frying and cooking; the surface is bigger than the stockpot, but it's not simply a huge, shallow frying pan. Plus it has a lid, which my big (hand-me-down) frying pans do not have.

I'm definitely a dabbler in cooking. I find it fun to dabble and expand my knowledge bit by bit, at my own pace. :)

Mostly thanks to madamekat and starlightmasque, I've discovered the world of Real Tiaras. I never realized how many genuine diamond-and-jewel genuine tiaras are out there, and in many cases, still being worn.  I'm also super fascinated that there are also actual reproductions of them being made. Witness the Cameo Tiara, for example.

There are others out there, too, just dumped on ebay and mixed in with all the generic pageant and quinceanera tiaras. A tiny handful of them identify a previous wearer (such as Princess Diana, Fergie, and Queen Sofia of Spain), but most of them have the usual keywords.

So I started a Pinterest board identifying actual reproductions. It is utterly fascinating how close some of them are to the originals, considering they cannot hope to match the delicacy and detail and yet keep them affordable.  My pins are of the reproduction, captioned with the title of the tiara and a link to information about the original tiara. 

Most recently I found the Teck Crescent Tiara, worn most recently by the Queen Mother.



This is the real one, from an excellent blog post on the Royal Order of Splendor. (Seriously, the best blog ever.)


Isn't that pretty and unusual? It's not perfect, by any means, but it's a quite good copy for the price.

I also have another Pinterest board of tiaras that look like they should be reproductions, but I haven't identified the original.  There really are so many tiaras out there in the world, and there's no one place to find all of them.  I would definitely appreciate any leads on those.

Otherwise, have fun! There are often more versions of the same tiara out there (I found multiples of the Cambridge Pearl Drop worn by Diana and now Catherine, as well as the Halo Scroll that Catherine wore in the wedding), and multiple sellers with probably the same version.  It's not an exhaustive list. Just pre-loading some research and sourcing for when I want to expand my collection. :D

padawansguide, I did get your comment! I need to go back and pull my sources out, but I haven't forgotten. :)

We had an unusually pleasant day today, getting above 70F and sunny most of the day. Except for that part with a line of small but intense thunderstorms moving through in late afternoon.

The camera on one of the tall buildings in downtown Fort Worth caught a nice shot of it coming from the west.



I got some pretty nice rain and a little bit of lightning. Apparently the storms strengthened slightly as they moved east. There was some small hail, but nothing severe.

It does make it a bit complicated on figuring out what to wear on winter days like this. The mornings are chilly and the house stays cool, but it can be quite warm in the sun, and especially in the greenhouse-like car.  I went grocery shopping this morning and was happy in my knit dress, with fleece-lined tights and leather jacket. The drive home was uncomfortably warm. So I ran my second set of errands in the afternoon with bare legs and ballet flats and the A/C on in the car. Turning it up or down depending on whether the sun was out or behind a cloud. I'm so picky! :p

When I push myself really hard to work on something, the reaction is that I lose motivation for a while after that. It's a temporary burnout.  My Christmas push has done that for sewing. On top of that, the release from not having 4+ rehearsals a week is fabulous. I love singing, but that was too much. It's good to have a break and I am reveling in it. Or I would be reveling, if I didn't feel guilty about all the work I'm making for myself later!

I've tried all my usual tricks. My first priorities are out on the coffee tables, all handsewing, all supplies right there. I have some good TV/DVDs/other stuff to watch. I have lots of tea and warm, comfortable lounging clothes. And yet all I want to do is read, work on puzzles, and play a few games on the computer.

Any ideas? Inspiration?