I was thinking of trying to resurecting posting everyday, but I'm not at all sure how well it will turn out!
I mentioned yesterday that we're having a Georgian evening party on Thursday, we have lots of friends coming and are planning a relaxed evening soiree! Everyone is coming in kit, and are instructed to come in 'undress' to facilitate relaxing and raucous fun :D We're going to have 'tea' after people arrive, at 5 or so, with tea and coffee, mulled wine and apple juice, and cakes and biscuits and things. Then we will drink and chat and play games and gamble, till about 9 or 10 when we will have 'supper' before people leave.
We're hoping to have a truly Georgian supper spread, using recipes from period receipt books, as we do when we make food for balls, but this food will all be done by us, and will be supper dishes, like the Victorian savoury course, and will be a bit like a modern fork buffet I think.
So far we have planned: soup (it's cold outside! and it'll fill people up if they're feeling hungry by then) 'a pretty dish of eggs' (hard boiled eggs, cut in slices and browned in butter, with slices of onion, also browned in butter, with a sauce poured over) 'a nice whet before dinner' (except ours will be with supper! slips of toast with anchovies and toasted cheese) a platter of cold meats; 'a boiled salad' (cold cooked winter veg in a mayonaisy salad dressing) 'mushrooms in loaves' (mushrooms cooked in a veloute sauce served in the cutest little tiny bread rolls we got in France!) and 'a delicate ragou of chicken' (which may end up as turkey, since, as you can imagine, we have rather a lot left!) and, not sure if it counts as sweet or savoury, and they didn't seem to mind, 'potatoe pie' (a pastry tart filled with a mix of mashed potatoes, butter, sugar, eggs and spices)
Then we will also have an apple tart (none of your unholesome preserves here!) macarrons (also from France) stewed plums and fresh exotic fruit from the hot house (AKA the local supermarket!) We shall also have dishes of bonbons and chocolates, and for a centre peice we have even gone to the expence of hiring a Pine-Apple!
While we were in France we saw the most beautiful little Buche de Noel, swiss rolls (jelly rolls I think you call them in the US) decorated with pastel coloured butter cream icing with piped flowers and leaves to decorate. We're thinking of having a go at making them for the 'tea', although it may be a disaster!
Clare will hopefully be wearing her new waistcoat, if I can get it finished in time (it still needs a back!) and I started making jumps when we went to France, from the same fabric as Clare's waistcoat fronts (I just have enough left from the yard I bought to make a reticule I think!) They're nearly done, I just need to finish binding one armhole and do the other, then ribbon ties and it's done. It's silk, lined with linen and interlined with fluffy (pink!) wool, for warmth and a bit of structure, because I want to be able to wear it without stays, and don't want to look too bulgy in the bust department!! I had hoped to get around to making banyans for Mummy and Clare because they will both be wearing boy's clothes, but there's no chance I'll manage now!

Well, as expected, no sewing today!
I baked some coconut cupcakes before I went to the pub to do lunch. Then we went to another local pub for lunch. While eating, Gemma's evening chef called to say his daughter was sick and he wasn't going to make the evening shift, so guess who got to take over?!
So I got home after lunch at about 3:30, fell into bed with a splitting headache, and woke up to go out again at 10 to six. I got home about half an hour ago :(
Tomorrow we're going to a friend's to help eat her last turkey (good riddance I say, he was a nasty thing!) at 3, for which we're taking vegies and pudding, and we'll stay for dancing, so who knows if I'll get round to sewing? I want to make some nuttela cupcakes tomorrow, so at least that will cheer me up!

While I was waiting for Clare to bring her bottom back to fit the waist of her breeches (she went to get buttons for her coat) I got on with my frilly neck thingy, so here, to tide you over till next week, are ( some photos )
Today has gone very well, I even managed to bake! I made 2 batches of cookies, peanut butter chocolate chip oatmeal, and dark chocolate cranberry. I baked half a tray of the cranberry and a tray of the oatmeal, the rest are in the freezer to take with us to bake fresh :) I've got some raisins soaking in tea to make a tea bread/fruit cake as well.
Well, I think I hear silence, Clare must have finished the button holes, means I can use the machine to make the eyelets for the back of the breeches waistband, then that's all the machine sewing done!

Last night's ball was so much fun, but boy am I tired today!!! I don't think I've been this stiff and sore after a ball in ages! But any way, there are some photos ( under here )
It's half term this week, so I should be able to get lots of sewing done, but tomorrow I'm going shopping with Gemma and we're going to the cinema to see Valentine's day as well, then home for supper and Gleeeeee!!!

I didn't get much done today, but then, I didn't think I would! The waist band is sewn on and pressed, I need to sew some cotton tape on to line it, then I can fit the skirt. I' planning to pin the skirt seams and pin it to the waistband to do a fitting before I sew anything, at the moment the skirt is just 2 trapezoids without curves for the hem or waistline, I want to see where they need to be, since I messed this step up with the petticoat!
I did do some baking today, I thought I might :p I made a batch of vanilla cake and split it in two, I added candied strawberries and chopped white chocolate to one half and fresh pairs and a streusel topping to the other.

The strawberry cake is on the left with melted chocolate and more strawberries on top, the pear cake has lemon icing drizzled over. The chocolate should have been a drizzle too, but the bag I was using as a piping bag burst and I got chocolate everywhere!!!

So since yeteday was Saturday, I was baking!! I decided I needed to try and find a moister chocolate cake recipe, so I used Ina Garten's chocolate cake (from the Barefoot Contessa) And because I don't like to do just one type of cake I made some snickerdoodle cupcakes from bakerella.com but first I spent all of Friday trying to decide what frostings to make! In the end I went for caramel frosting for the snickerdoodles and whipped mint chocolate ganache for the chocolate, with mint butter-cream filling. Anyway, now I've made you hungry by talking about cupcakes, I better go the whole hog and make you feel even worse by showing you the cupcakes!!! They're ( under here )
I love Saturday baking :D
I did get some photos of my new dress at the ball last night, just waiting for my other computer to start playing nicely so I can upload them!

It's my best friend's birthday today, and we're going out this evening, but as part of her present I decided I would bake her a cake, and boy does it look yummy!! It turned out so tall! I did 2 layers of chocolate cake with a white chocolate ganache in the middle, and covered the top and sides with chocolate fudge icing. We are going to be so FULL!!! I'll try to remember to take a photo to show you, most of my cakes end up a bit flat, but this one is massive :)