I am really loving the Holo Taco pastel rainbow collection right now! For this week’s mani, I chose all the cool shades in the bundle: “Mint Mojito,” “Sparkling Water,” and “Lavender Syrup,” plus the silvery “Circuit Breaker” on my thumb and pinkie.
I’ve already shared a look at the Animals Aglow lantern festival at the St. Louis Zoo; now I’m sharing one of my favorite details of any lantern festival…seeing how the lanterns change with the changing light!
I learned from the lantern festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden almost ten years ago that there’s a beauty in seeing the structures while the sun is still up, and then looking at them again in the dark, and it’s still true. You notice different details as the light changes, and each is beautiful in its own way!
I don’t have a lot of blouses in my wardrobe (mainly because I primarily wear dresses, not skirts), and the few I do have are more suitable for autumn and winter. When I saw the new Cleona-Floria sheer floral blouse from Miss Candyfloss, I knew it would be the perfect spring addition to by closet. For its first outing, I paired it with last season’s Cressida-Lee skirt, and they really look like they were meant to go together!
Don’t let the word sheer frighten you…only the sleeves are truly sheer…the body of the blouse is more substantial than you’d think.
I accessorized with an Erstwilder Pysanka egg brooch, a stack of Splendette Duchess Bangles, and silver hoop earrings:
I love how light and lovely this look is, and the blouse is so breezy, it will be perfect for the warmer summer months!
I’m looking forward to wearing the blouse with a pair of palazzo pants perfect for spring next…stay tuned!
The big news this week was the solar eclipse! We didn’t get full totality this time around, but we were at 99%+ so we still had an impressive show, and I’m sad that it’s over!
Ladybug reviewed equations with radicals and absolute value in pre-calculus. She started the chapter on electric potential in physics. In US history she read about WWII. She started a chapter on the war against infection in health. In history she read about the end of the Avignon Papacy. She began her final literature study of the year, focusing on poetry & prose from the Elizabethan to Neo-Classical Age. In writing she worked on composing a (fictitious) complaint letter.
Chickadee used what she learned about calculating percents in math last week to find discounts and tax when shopping. In religion we began reading about the events of Holy Week, which are fresh in our minds. She finished the chapter on the immune system in science (just as Ladybug is starting it in health) by learning about antibiotics and vaccinations. We finished reading The Door in the Wall. In writing she learned how to add footnotes to a paper and how to determine if something is considered common knowledge. In history she read about Queen Elizabeth I and Shakespeare.
We also went to the History Exploration Day at the Missouri History Museum today…the theme was transportation, but the really exciting part of the day was seeing the newly renovated north entrance of the museum:
We’ve only got about four weeks to go before the end of the school year!
Chickadee finished this school year’s reading program at the library, and it’s also the last one she’ll complete, as she’s now aged (graded?) out of it! She’s pretty proud of herself for collecting every single “Reading Dragon” card they offered!
The big event of the week, though, was the solar eclipse. We weren’t at 100% totality, but we were over 99%, and Chickadee was really excited to view it since she really doesn’t remember The Great American Eclipse of 2017!
Last week, we visited the Missouri Botanical Garden, and even though it was super early in the month, and only about two weeks since my last photo, I took this month’s picture of the Chinese Garden. Out of the four photographs I’ve taken this year, three of them have featured cloudy days…maybe we’ll see blue sky and sun again in May, but at least it’s starting to get really green at the garden, regardless of the weather!
Today was a much-anticipated day…the 2024 Solar Eclipse finally arrived!
We’ve been looking forward to the eclipse for a long time, and we’ve been enjoying themed treats for a couple of weeks now, including the Solar Eclipse Sundae from Lic’s Deli and Ice Cream, the Blackout Slush Float from Sonic, and Solar Eclipse Doughnuts from Krispy Kreme:
I had a whole themed out for today, including this cute grouping of space-themed Erstwilder brooches:
Our area was over 99% eclipsed. I’m not going to lie…it wasn’t as cool as the Great American Eclipse of 2017 when we were in the full totality zone, but it was still really awesome. The darkness gradually fell, the street lights came on, the temperature dropped, and the crickets started chirping. Pictures don’t do it justice, because it really did get quite dark (we needed lights inside the house, too), and we watched the light waves move across the ground just like we did in 2017:
I repeated one of the meals we had for the last eclipse, too…eggs sunny side up, eclipsed by “moon muffins.”
And we also had Excel Brewing’s Darkest Hour black cherry soda and Moon Pies, of course!
We are so lucky to have witnessed two eclipses in less than 10 years…I know they’re experiences I won’t forget!
This week’s mani is inspired by the Cardinals home opener last Thursday. I used Holo Taco “Sacrificial Lacquer” (which is practically Cardinal red!) and “Circuit Breaker” as the main colors, with “Red Flake Taco” as a topper on two nails for a little extra glitter. And my Baublebar Fredbird bag charm is the perfect accessory to show them off!
“I didn’t hear you say that. Because it isn’t possible. It’s inhuman to serve the same food, day after day. The Geneva Convention prohibits the killing of our taste buds!” Alan Alda as Hawkeye Pierce on M*A*S*H
Happy M*A*S*H Day!
Ok, I made that up. But today is 4/07…and that’s as close as I could get to the 4077th date-wise, but that’s good enough for me! Really, I was just looking for an excuse to make a themed meal from Secrets of the M*A*S*H Mess by Private Igor, I mean, Jeff Maxwell. We started the day with “Klinger’s Section 8 Omelet,” which included spinach, mushrooms, and salami, and was crazy delicious!
For dinner, I made “Fractured Fusilli with Balsamic-Pepper Sauce” which was a nice departure from tomato-based pasta sauces. I think it will make an especially nice, light summer dinner!
For dessert, I made “Charles’ Blueblood Berry Cake with Lemon Frosting.” It’s a classic flavor combination, and it was so delicious!
Secrets of the M*A*S*H Mess is a really fun book. I was super excited when they released a new, updated 50th anniversary edition last year, because I hadn’t been able to find it anywhere. The recipes are fun (and occasionally frightening, like the “River of Liver” and “Creamed Weenies,” both dishes actually mentioned in the show), but the real draw of the book is the letters home from Igor, behind-the-scenes tales, and cast photographs. It’s perfect for a M*A*S*H fan like me!