Sartorial Saturday–A Vibrant and Verdant Dress for Spring

Today I’m taking a look at a beautiful dress in the loveliest shade of green that I got for a steal from Miss Candyfloss!

I’ve had my eye on the Nerine-Sage dress since it was first released two years ago in the Viva Rita collection. I couldn’t quite commit to the bold color, but when it went on sale at the end of February, I couldn’t resist any longer!

I went bold with my accessories, too, including an equally bright green fascinator I got for Easter, a pair of necklaces from RockLove Jewelry, a stack of Splendette Duchess Bangles in green and pink, butterfly earrings in the same colors, and an Erstwilder Easter egg brooch:

The dress doesn’t just have a bold color…it also has a subtle leopard print pattern!

Here’s a closer look at my bangle stack, along with the pink gloves and belt I added to the outfit:

I added a green charm from the RockLove The Princess and the Frog “Tell Your Tale” enhancer set:

And here’s a look at the top of the fascinator, which is just gorgeous!

The lightweight, satin fabric has a great twirl!

This is such a pretty dress for spring, and there’s something about a piece of clothing that was a great bargain that makes it even more enjoyable to wear!

2025-26 School Year–Week Twenty-Nine

We started the week with a somewhat unexpected field trip to the St. Louis Zoo. We were supposed to go to the Missouri History Museum, until I remembered that they’re closed on Mondays. Since we always go on an end-of-the-year field trip to the zoo anyway, I just swapped them around. It gave us the opportunity to see the lanterns for Animals Aglow in the daylight, which is always a fun experience, and now we’re really excited about going to see them at night sometime soon!

Chickadee reviewed the Pythagorean Theorem in algebra, and then used what she knows about it to solve some geometry problems. In science she started a two-chapter unit on earth science, and we got to make “plastic rock” with cornstarch and water! She read about India and Pakistan after the partition and the Bhopal disaster in history. She finished one of her last big writing assignments. We wrapped our study of Lutheranism in religion. This week’s recipe from the American Girl Sweet & Savory Treats Cookbook was Strawberry Icebox Pie, a delicious no-bake dessert perfect for spring inspired by one of the dolls in my personal collection, Melody.

Next week we’re hoping to go on a field trip that’s a follow-up to one we had at the beginning of the school year!

Chickadee Thursday

Last week we had fun at the Missouri Botanical Garden checking out their new art installation, and at Eckert’s, where we enjoyed tulip-themed sundaes:

25 Years of Animal Crossing

On this date in 2001, Animal Crossing was first released in Japan. It didn’t come to the US until the following year, and I have been there since the beginning. I have played every game (I think New Leaf is probably my all-time favorite, but I love them all!), created communities with all my favorite neighbors (Roald, obviously), worked for Tom Nook for what seemed like an eternity, and supported the local businesses (especially the museum and Brewster’s coffee shop) in every neighborhood I have been a part of. I have fond memories of characters we haven’t seen in the current game (Gracie Grace, I’m looking at you!), of furniture series that no longer exist (maybe someday they’ll bring back the Jingle line), and of game mechanics that have fallen by the wayside (I loved the Nook store evolution from “Nook’s Cranny” to “Nook ‘n’ Go” to “Nookway” to the obviously upscale “Nookington’s,” and would love to have to work to make that happen again!). Animal Crossing has been a huge part of my entire adult life, and I love that I’ve had the opportunity to share it with my children through the years. I’m hopeful that there will be an announcement of new game sooner rather than later, but in the meantime, I love the way Nintendo acknowledged this anniversary with a special leaf statue, which I am proudly displaying outside my home:

Did I mention my bestie Roald? He kindly sat down on the swing between our houses with me today for a bit!

There are still a few Lego Animal Crossing sets I haven’t been able to add to my collection…today, I picked up the least expensive one, which is also special because Goldie is one of the original, friendly characters who I remember meeting very early in my Animal Crossing experience:

It’s kind of hard for me to believe that Animal Crossing has been around for a quarter of a century through five mainline games (and a few adjacent games as well)…I hope it continues to bring joy to people around the world, and I can’t wait to see where the next game will go, and when that will be!