Church Picnic Cool

As you well know, the Steffes family attends The Wien Picnic every year in August. Somehow, despite the sweltering heat, it always rains! Attendees will look "Church Picnic Cool" in this ensemble I've put together for them!


Church Picnic Cool - by ashleyhasty on Polyvore.com

Girl's Night

Last Thursday, I planned a girl's night for my friends still living in the midwest area. Lesley, Andrea, Beth, Abby, Julie and I started out at Forge and Vine for drinks and appetizers and then headed to Rhynsburger Theater to see the musical "I love you, you're perfect, now change!"

After leaving Forge and Vine, we were running late to the theater. We ran from our car to the theater and still made it a few minutes after they shut the doors. The ticket lady was not happy.

A few pictures of us at Forge and Vine. Abby didn't make it to the restaurant because she was busy moving away from us! :(

Hahahahaha, I had forgotten about this picture! Lesley found a flower than matched her dress, so she picked it to wear in her hair. Except, after she picked it she realized she picked the dingiest flower. Oh well, it still looked beautiful!

I have a confession, I tried on several outfits before choosing this dress....and I'm still not satisfied with it! But thankfully Lesley complimented me so I felt better! hahahah We had a fantastic time and I'm already planning our next one! Get ready girls, I have a really good idea for August!

Be still my heart

I adore this dress! Now if only I had somewhere to wear it!

Beth moves back!

Beth moved back to Columbia! I'm sooooooo happy to have her back! Stephanie and I helped her move in last week. I'm hoping to make a workout buddy out of her :) (As well as a buddy for other things, of course!) I'm just so happy she isn't three hours away anymore! Now she's only 3 minutes away....if I drive really fast....but you get the point! Welcome back, Beth!

Hooked On...Theater

My mom, my mother-in-law, and I went to Rhynsburger Theater on Mizzou's campus to see Steel Magnolias, the play. My mother-in-law had never seen the movie but she loved the play! Both my mom and mother-in-law were in tears by the end.

If you've never seen or heard of Steel Magnolias, here is a snippet from the program:

After working his way through law school at Tulane University, Natchitoches, Louisiana native Robert Harling decided he would rather act than practice law, and headed for New York City. He joined the stage and film actors' unions, landing work in regional theatre and television commercials. Then, in 1985, his beloved sister, Susan Harling Robinson, died at the age of thirty-two. Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a teenager, Susan had risked her health to have a child, and her death was caused by complicatiions following her second kidney transplant. Grief so consumed Robert that friends suggested he write as a method of coping with his loss. He began to write a short story about "the most wonderful person he had ever known," but the form didn't seem right - the story became a play, and in ten days he completed Steel Magnolias, chronicaling the last three years of his sister's life.

The movie opened in 1989 starring Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Sally Field, and Julia Roberts. If you've never seen it, I highly reccommend it! Go see the play, too, if it is showing near you. The play is quite different than the movie so it is important to see both!

Packing

We're in the thick of packing...only one week to go! Boxes are like gold to us right now. Who knew cardboard would ever be so valuable??

State Games

On Saturday, Eric competed in the Show-Me State Games with our friend Brad playing doubles tennis. Although they didn't win, we all had a fantastic time! Their first game was at 9:30am Saturday morning, it was a bit chilly but perfect weather to be playing tennis! Jacquline and I watched from the bleachers with the other wives and mothers of the participants. Their first game was played against a father/son team. The son competed in highschool tennis tournaments, so I'm not sure why they were playing the B level. The second game was played around 2pm against a team more at the level of Brad and Eric. We reunited at another tennis court and this time Jacqueline brought Ruby. Ru got really excited when she saw all the tennis balls, she probably thought she was in Toy Heaven. Brad and Eric didn't do too bad considering they never practiced playing together. Next year, I'm sure they'll win!

Farmer's Market

On Saturday I went to the farmer's market with my Dad. I still can't believe I've lived in Columbia for four years and I'm just now discovering all the wonderful treasures this town has to offer. One such treasure is the farmer's market. My favorite parts of the farmer's market is that there are so many young people working the booths. I realize that farming is usually a family business, but there has been a trend for the younger generations to leave the family business and pursue their own endeavors. I love that there are so many young (high school through college age) boys and girls working at the Columbia one!

My other favorite part about the Columbia farmer's market are all of the handwritten signs identifying each food. My favorites are the chalk boards and the painted wooden signs. I didn't get any pictures because I didn't want to freak out the vendors. I might try to get a picture next week because they are just too cute!
Finally, I love the diversity of the people at the farmer's market. There are some real characters! Everyone from the hippies who purchase all of their groceries at the farmer's market because they wouldn't dream of putting anything chemically enhanced or mechanically processed inside of their body, to the affluent and wealthy women who come to see and be seen.

Smart Abby

On Friday, Andrea hosted a congratulatory celebration for Abby's acceptance into the WashU law program!

We all gathered at her lake house...

Andrea had this really cute idea that we make a bracelet for Abby to provide her hope through law school. I'm tying it on her wrist so it would never come off.

Sometime during the evening, Andrea fell into the lake :)
Andrea caught this fish! We all doubted her but she proved us wrong! Beth took the fish off the hook for her and threw it back in the lake.
Yay Andrea!
We had SO much fun! We went out on the canoe and the paddle boat. The lake is small, but quiet and serene.
Lesley and Beth getting their workout on the paddle boat and Andrea fishing in the back.
We coordinated. I hadn't seen Beth in so long and then I got to see her twice this month! She's engaged to be married in May...congrats, Beth!
Stephanie gets the summers off hence her beautiful tan!
Andrea showing off her recent garage sale find. I love it!
Stephanie brought some great cupcakes, is three in one night too many? ;)

Hooked On...Vintage Textiles

While working in the Historic Costume Collection, I've had the luxury of perusing through all of the vintage textiles and apparel at my leisure. I've pulled a few of my favorites to share with you today. I only took detail photos; I did not take picture of the whole garment, which is a post for another time. I hope you enjoy!

The photo shows the exquisite gold beading down the side of a beautiful pink gown. I love the feminine hem!
We just found the designer for this beauty by researching online. We stumbled across a blue version of this velvet coat with the exact same gold stitching as this beauty!
Of course, I had to include a wedding gown. I love the lace on this one!
The puckering and sequins on this dress is divine. I wish this picture had turned out a little better. It doesn't do the dress justice!
And finally...the earliest piece I'll post about today: this very ornate blouse with several types of lace and bobbles. I love early pieces for their creativity and outlandishness.

Black Book

Have you seen this movie? I watched it last night and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. I'm in awe. We've all heard about WWII, but this movie shines a new (darker) light on Hitler, the Resistance and war in its entirety. "When will it end?" the main character asks. I wonder the same thing as I think about what this country, and the world, is enduring today. I highly suggest you watch this movie, but be prepared for a sense of hopelessness, sadness, and devestation intermingled with an intense desire to do good.

One month Gig

For one month I'll be working in the Historic Costume Collection located on the University of Missouri campus. It isn't a very glamorous job, but I get to work surrounded by beautiful works of art! We even have bridal gowns from the 1800s! Since my job is pretty simple, I day dream about opening my own historic costume museum. I have a really good plan, I'll have to post about it when the plan is more developed. I've included a few pictures of my office...

As you walk in the front door, the first thing you see are these shelves of shoes. I wish I could say I have a unit like this in my closet. haha! To the right of this picture is my desk, so these shoes are located right behind me.
Shelves upon shelves of beautifully crafted hats line the back wall. I really wish hats were still in fashion.
A close up of one of my favorite hats in the bunch. Take a close look at the lining beneath the brim. It is exquisite!
This picture is taken from the back of my office, looking toward the front. You can see my desk in the back of this picture. This gives you an idea of how many historic garments we have in the collection. This isn't even the only room, there are two rooms upstairs as well!
More aisles of clothing, this time from the front of the office looking to the back where the hats are located. You can see boxes on top of the shelves, they are acid-free boxes storing even more garments!