Ste. Genevieve

A Ghost Sign Brought Back to Life

Here’s one more picture from our summer trip to Ste. Genevieve, MO. I don’t know anything about Selz Shoes, but I think it’s really cool that they brought what I assume is a ghost sign back to life!

Sartorial Saturday–The Perfect Birthday Dress

I have been waiting and waiting for my favorite dress from the Miss Candyfloss Viva Rita collection, the lovely checked Virtue-Violette, to be released, because I really wanted to wear it on my birthday. I was getting nervous, but as luck would have it, it was released this week, and somehow, even with international shipping, it arrived on Thursday, the day before my birthday, so I was able to wear it yesterday on our birthday trip to Ste. Genevieve, MO!

I love everything about this dress. It is my very favorite style of dress from Miss Candyfloss, with functional buttons all the way down the front, which makes it perfect for wearing unbuttoned from the waist with shorts underneath (I’m planning on wearing it that way very soon!). The colors in the checked pattern, which are blues and a gorgeous purple/pink, are my favorites. And between the lightweight fabric, the swing skirt, and the sleeveless bodice, it’s nice and cool for summer!

I accessorized with a stack of Splendette Duchess bangles, a Meteor Jewelry Company necklace, silver hoop earrings from Elizabeth Claire Taylor, and an Erstwilder brooch, plus a pair of blue hair flowers:

Here’s a closer look at my brooch. It’s not specifically a birthday cake, but as soon as I saw it earlier this year, I knew I wanted it to wear for birthdays, and it looks gorgeous with this dress!

I found a great vintage sign that made the perfect backdrop for my look, too!

This beautiful dress made me feel like a princess on my birthday!

I still have a few pieces to share from this collection, but this was my last purchase for the season, which is always a little bittersweet to me, because I hate when things are over…but it will be time to look forward to the autumn/winter collection before you know it!

45

Today is my 45th birthday! I have to admit, I’m not liking 45 too much, if only because it rounds up to 50, and that makes me feel a little old. But, old or not, I had a fantastic day with my family!

I decided that today I wanted to go to Ste. Genevieve, MO, a town I’ve been meaning to visit for years. It was founded as a village in 1735, and was the first organized European settlement in what is now Missouri. It was transferred to Spain following the French and Indian War, but eventually the Louisiana Purchase made it part of the new United States.

We saw several old buildings, such as the Louis Bolduc House, which was built in the French Creole-style in the 1780s:

Even thought it was hot, we had a nice time walking around this historic district and stopping in some of the shops. Sadly, the Christmas store wasn’t open, but the sweet shop was, and Ladybug bought me a pineapple rock candy stick! We also stopped in the tea and spice shop, which smelled absolutely amazing. While we were in town, we stopped for ice cream at Sara’s Ice Cream as well….I had a strawberry cone, and it was really delicious!

I did try to give myself a heart attack on my birthday, though, because we had to drive across the Mississippi River at Chester, IL, on a bridge I really hate!

While we were in Chester, we saw the Popeye statue:

On the way home, we stopped at Starbucks so I could get my free birthday coffee…I love that they wrote a little note on the cup!

I celebrated my birthday in Animal Crossing, too…I was very sad that Roald didn’t come to my party, though.

Bunny, Ladybug, and Chickadee teamed up to make me a chocolate malt cake, and it was outstanding (we were all a little worried the candles were going to burn the house down, though…even though there were only 39 of them)!

It was a lovely day celebrating with my family!