Sorry for such an epic absence, I've been having a particularly stressful Summer dealing with school things and the sudden need to acquire an apartment. At any rate, thinks have smoothed out considerably and I shall soon be able to continue on a regular posting schedule!
In the meantime, let me tell you a bit about my love for pumpkins.
Autumn is the best part of the year, by far, if only for the wonderful food. Especially pumpkins. Seriously, if you tell me there's pumpkin in something, I will probably eat it. For example, we are only seven days into September, not even officially Fall yet, and I've had pumpkin pie, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin soup, and elk & pumpkin ravioli. I expect even greater pumpkin/gourd achievements as the month continues.
I've also spent much of my free time cultivating my hobbies, particularly writing letters and making art. I've been focusing on improving my handwriting. I've yet to send any of the letters but I expect to be able to form a small group of letter-sharers amongst myself and my friends!
I've also been working on a doll based on John Torrington, a member of the ill-fated Franklin expedition, which I think is quite appropriate for Halloween if only for its gruesomeness. I do have a bit of a morbid streak, haha. I'm actually going to be him for Halloween as well, since I am a fan of obscure as hell costumes. Indeed, I went out and got everything I need for the outfit today, so I'm already good there! Feels good to be on top of things for a change.
Anywho, without further ado, here's a single picture of the head so far, just to queasy up your stomach (and to provide this post with some much-needed visual accompaniment!)
Oh, also! If you'd like to add me on Deviantart I can be found at
http://forest-fawn.deviantart.com/
Part two of our big adventure! This one is a big one, haha.
After we left castle Kilbride, I wanted to show Linda the area near my house, where the Nith river flows through. You can usually see all sorts of things there, from fish to frogs to fresh crab apples to eat!
Going to places like these reminds me of why I love living in the country. The city is great for getting places, finding interesting shops, and always feeling busy (maybe it's just that I live in the city for school that I always feel busy, haha), but the country is where you can relax, go for a walk, and find amazing bits of nature right in your own back yard!
The green fields are so lovely during the rainy season! If it gets dry they can sometimes turn rather brown, but we got there at a great time~
We were going to go to see the river first, but we got distracted by the large pond instead. Luckily for us we could hear the croaks of the bullfrogs, which means frog catching is at hand!
Linda matched the scenery so well~
It was a little chilly, so we knew the frogs would be near the edges sunbathing, but still slow enough to catch.
My hair got crazier and crazier throughout the day so I put it into a nice side-ponytail, haha.
Finally! we spotted a huge, lazy-looking bullfrog sunbathing in the water.
Linda wasn't wearing tights, so she could take off her shoes to catch him, haha. We were quite glad for not wearing anything expensive that day, in case we fell in :X
He didn't look too impressed with being caught, haha.
I love frog's eyes! They've got so many neat colours, and they look like glass marbles!
After we let him go, we decided to check out the rhubarb grove near the river, which required us to go through a huge swathe of sawgrass and nettles~
It was as tall as I am!
Thank you for reading, and see you (very) soon!
On Sunday my friend Linda (swtgreentea) and I decided to go to Castle Kilbride in New Hamburg after seeing an invitation from the castle to see an exhibit of costumes used in the nearby Stratford fastival! Not only that, but they also had a garden party going on, showcasing a collection of bridal gowns from the last 90 years.
Castle Kilbride was built in Baden in 1877 by James Livingston, a local flax baron, and named after his birthplace in Scotland. It's an Italianate-style manor capped by a central belvedere. The most interesting part of the house, however, is the interior. The entirely of the inner manor is rendered in amazing trompe l'oeil painting, attributed to H. Schasstein, a German artist, wherein entire columns, statues, mouldings, and flower arrangements, which appear to be right in front of you, are actually painted on flat walls, giving the illusion of depth. Pretty amazing, if I do say so myself!
We decided to go in cheap natural kei, twinning the same dress and belt but with our own additions, which turned out really well. A lot of ladies stopped us for photos and thought that we were members of the fashion show, haha. We ended up getting in for free, because people just assumed we were meant to be there :X
I put my hair in a french braid the night before, hoping to get some nice waves. Unfortunately my hair wasn't quite dry when I brushed it out, so it remained a frizzy mess, haha.
Before my (very simple) makeup!
After!
I went to go pick up Linda at the place she's staying in for school, and the flowers were all in bloom, so we decided to take our outfit shots on the front porch!
My outfit:
Dress: H&M
Belt and hat: Ardene
Tights: Claire's
Shoes: Montreal
Cardigan & bag: Thrifted
Linda's outfit:
I'm not sure of everything that she was wearing, but the chiffon dress and belt are the same!
We weren't allowed to take too many photos of the interior, because they apparently think that everyone in the world should just come and visit them if they want to see it, but we got a couple. Next time I go I'll try to get some proper photos of the inside!
I changed my shoes!
Near the end we were allowed to go up into the belvedere on top of the house, unfortunately the windows facing anything interesting were all fogged up, so no good photos of the view, haha.
After we got some quick photos outside before we left (haha, we only managed to get pics of our outfits, as the staff was hanging around outside and we were some of the last people there)
Linda!
Me!
See you soon with our frog-catching adventure!!
