A Busy Day Off

**Warning: Lots of pictures.... it was a busy day.

*Watching "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" on Netflix. I LOVE this movie!!!! I remember seeing it in the theater when it came out.

So I decided to drive down to Lancaster to visit an antique mall I found online. It's called Old Shoe Factory Antique Mall (just off Rt 33). 60,000 sq ft of EVERYTHING! I would rate this #2 on my list of great antique malls right after Heart of Ohio out in Springfield (you need a whole day just to get through that place.

I knew it was going to be a fun place when I walk in and this i the first thing I see..

About 45 minutes later I found this...

BUT WAIT!!!!!!! There's 2!!! Now you can have a matching set of preserved earthworms!!

And they were like $2 so, very affordable.

This was part of the basement....

And then I turn around and find my favorite things!!!!!!

My hands were so dirty after I finished digging through this!!!

After leaving the antique mall I detoured through Pickerington on my to Reynoldsburg because I had seen an antique store (turned out to be a resale shop) while driving the delivery route for work.

Saw this beautiful necklace at the shop next door to the "antique" store.

The picture really can't do it justice.

**Next movie as we enter the next part of today's journey - continuing "There's No Business Like Showbusiness" where I left off from watching it last time. I should have been born in the 30s so that I could have been in the wonderful costume musicals of the 50s!**
I need this ^.

Then (after a grocery trip to Wal-Mart) it was time to hit Jo-Ann's for jewelry findings and fabric scouting. I've got 2 costumes in the very early planning stages. 1 definitely is not for this year (Marie Antoinette - I say this year is the year every January). Not sure if I will get around to doing the Steampunk one or not. I might recycle my Can-Can dress, it hasn't been seen in a few years.
So anyway, I took a skein of yarn that I got in Chicago at Loopy Yarns a couple of weeks ago (making into a steampunk looking shawlette) and a pair of shoes that I found at the thrift store last week that were practically perfect for the steampunk style (only way to be better would have been to be boots). The yarn and shoes aren't the same color but their in the same range of earthy jewel tone and I wanted to see what looked best with them. The hardest part for me is always finding a fabric that is in my budget that I actually like. If I had my way both costumes would be made of silk dupioni but I think I found a compramise.

After first looking at Crepe Back Satin.It was ok but the only color that kinda worked was the eggplant.

So then I found the compramise.... Silkessence Silky Solids. It's a little too light weight but the colors are so great that I think I will overlook that as there will be plenty of undergarments for warmth (esp with the Marie Antoinette).

The eggplant in this fabric was only so-so... I like this burgandy a lot better, it looks best with the shoes and the slight purple of yarn compliments it nicely I think.

What do you think?

Of course there's always the standard Steampunk colors of brown and brown. They do two-tone nicely together and the yarn still goes nicely .

Thoughts?

Then there's the option for Marie Antoinette. I finally found a pink that will work with a pink mardi gras mask I got a couple years ago and a pink bird I found in the Chirstmas decorations at Garden Ridge this year. I want to do the wig with a small bird cage it in.

The Marie Antoinette costume will probably be the subject of many posts in the future (maybe after the new year). I don't want to do it this year now because I only have 2 months to get it done and I don't feel that I can get the results I want in 2 months. I need to spread out the costs it will incur over a majority of the years so I don't feel it so bad.

I finally got home at 5:30 (about 2 hours after I really wanted to get home). This is what I ended up with for the day.

A couple of the pieces I can't wait to get started on, but first they need to be scrubbed!

Then ... dinner time! I made Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad from The Girls Who Ate Everything blog. My picture isn't as good as hers but that's doesn't effect the taste of the dish, very delish!!! I didn't buy celery to put it in and then I didn't put the carrot in cause I thought I would need all I bought for the Carrot Cake Cupcakes.


Now for the main attraction.... my mom's Carrot Cake made into Cupcakes!!! Traditional southern recipe. Used my Martha White flour (pick some up whenever I'm home). Fresh "yard" eggs bought from a friend - they were gorgeous, so large and the yolks were almost orange!

Carrot and pecan time!

Ready for the pan and oven!

They're cooling now. Icing picture will have to come later.

This is what I'm taking to Pippifest tomorrow (an annual roller derby party. It's kinda become an end - or almost end - of the season camp out and birthday party for Pippi). This year we're bringing back the grill off. Of course all the non-grillers were like "HEY! What about us?" So we're also having a bake off. I'm defending Champion (of course we haven't done the cooking competition since the first one about 4 years ago, so glad it's coming back). Last time I made my Black Forrest Brownies which are pretty awesome. But I knew I needed to step it up. Of course if Chainsaw enters something my chances take a significant nose dive (don't try and nay say me - she won the GRAND PRIZE at a local cupcake contest with her Bacon Cupcakes, which are about the best thing I've ever put in my mouth!). But I'm crossing my fingers that my rich cream cheese icing with pecans in it will make everyone swoon.... in a good way!

That's all folks! Got another batch in the oven and maybe one more to go in. Now to get some work done on some jewelry!