Bird.

You've seen this little lady before, but here she is, all properly scanned.
(click to enlarge, please)
Today I had a costume fitting again for the Boylan sister dress, and it is so pretty and swishy and pink! The designer said,"Isn't it fun to think that someone back in the 30's picked out this pattern and sewed it?" We have some cute little dance moves too, around the radio microphone. Tonight another rehearsal!

love, Cait

Afternoon

Heat, not quite stifling.
Drip, drip.
The air is heavy
Even the bird
Stops for lack of lifting
Undercurrent.
Dense hours -
Work is done and life
Laughs inside cool houses.
Suddenly it breaks
Flash
Down crashing pebbles, icy.
And twilight silence.

(photo - Amelie)

The Madness Begins

Yesterday was the first rehearsal, and the night before that we sang through the entire ensemble song set. It's fun, and the directors are wonderful! This afternoon is another long practice. As Warbucks' servants in the mansion scenes, we are like mechanical dolls, impeccable and precise. And since there is no set in the rehearsal room, there is a great deal of dusting imaginary staircases!

What are you doing this weekend?

love, Cait

a strangely shrunken version

This drawing is significantly larger and more detailed in reality, but what can you do?
It's another celebration of the amazing Rapidograph pens.
How have your weeks been? Things are nice here - fun, but not too busy - before the insanity that is Annie begins on Thursday night. We spent a lovely evening at another family's house for dinner. It's not yet too hot at twilight, so we sat outside under their tree with lights in it.

(click to enlarge)

with love,
Cait

Macaron Weekend

Since Friday was Macaron Day in France, on Saturday I made white macarons with a filling of lemon curd with vanilla buttercream. The flecks on the shells are yellow colouring as I had no lemon zest. I have yet to really get the hang of anything other than chocolate or pink - plain almond isn't working for me.

Our wonderful friend is visiting from Washington and spent a week in Paris - so he brought us some macarons! They are from 'La Maison Du Chocolat,' and look (and taste) perfectly lovely.

love,
Cait

the off-white and the colour-splash

Time for more home pictures! If we're going to work through this never-ending collection we must keep going. Aren't these lovely? I love the brightness of some, and the whiteness of the last - and the old Victorian feel of The Snail and the Cyclop's style.

(these two from The Snail and the Cyclop's home)

(above from Danielle Thompson - love it!)

Parisian Pillow

There was an adorable pencil skirt - found this summer at a thrift shop. It was too big, so I just cut it up and made it into a pillow. French streets and cafe awnings decorate the print. I love colourful fabric, and it matches my bed perfectly!

A New Pasttime

I have begun some scrapbooking as a way to use pictures creatively and make a beautiful as well as lasting memory. I by no means am a proficient, nor do I have good supplies (so expensive) but here are a couple pages, from Oman, Holland in the summer, and Sara's visit. My favourite page I cannot show you because it's of the children in Khasab! Oh well - they make anything adorable.
Mine are nothing like amazing 'real' scrapbookers and art-journallers like Kara, Mandi, or Dani, more just using pretty paper to do something more than pictures in clear sleeves. Still fun!

Do you scrapbook, or even print photos? I only print the ones chosen for my scrapbook. Otherwise everything would be stuck on the computer forever. We have boxes and boxes of old printed film photos, and even those aren't all in albums! I'm not sure which is harder to keep track of.

love, Cait

'Show Your Heart'

The adorable Sprinkle has tagged me.

With as much creativity as you can muster, show your heart in:

1 picture

1 poem

1 song or piece of music

1 phrase or quote

1 item of clothing

1 place

[And just for fun-] 1 Disney princess!

1.
2.

Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments.

Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds

Or bends with the remover to remove. Oh no!

It is an ever-fixed mark, which looks on tempests and is never shaken.

It is the star to every wandering bark, who's worth's unknown

Although his height be taken. Love's not Time's fool

Though rosy lips and cheeks within his bending sickle's compass come.

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, but bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me proved, I never writ

Nor no man ever loved.

- Shakespeare's Sonnet CXVI

3. I'm Old Fashioned - Sara Gazarec

4. Chan eil deathach an taigh na h-uiseig. - there is no smoke in a lark's house.

5. Antique Swiss blouse that was my mother's.

6. Seattle, Dubai.

7. I have to say two here, because Cinderella has been my favourite (of many favourites) since I was little, but my friends call me Snow White and I've been stopped by people I don't know to be told I look like her, so she must be included. Plus it would be awfully fun to work at Disneyland. (photo from Flickr.)

Participate if it sounds fun to you! Thanks Sprinkle =)

love, cait

Sewn Up

This is a card for a friend turning 21 tomorrow.

She's a relatively new friend, and loves sewing - one of her birthday presents was a dress form!
I'd love to find an antique one of those to hang necklaces and fabrics on - it would look amazing.

cait

Making a House a Home

I love looking at photos of beautifully done houses, and it always makes me think about how much I'll enjoy setting up my own home someday. I have a little collection of pictures (which is constantly growing!) of rooms that stuck with me; usually Victorian or eclectic and quirky. Here are a few of them, and many more to come!

What styles do you like? If you have your own house, what inspires you with it?
love, Cait

photos mostly from other blogs or The Selby; I am unable to keep track of the sources but none are mine.

The Wonderland Profiles

First I hadn't painted. Then I didn't have the camera. Then I was just a bad art-blogger. But here finally are some recent creations! They're terribly unclear photos (uploaded badly), so I apologize.

bare and dark, detailed and pastel

This is a little plaque with my favourite Tenniel Alice illustration decoupaged onto it. I love Alice! ...and have a sudden severe desire to go to Disney World again.

I'm somewhat sick, so today was filled with guests, interesting phone calls, the beginning of a The Importance of Being Earnest essay, tea, Godspell, and Vitamin C.

love; Cait

The Perfect Cat

This is Sunny. She is also known as The Perfect Cat.

This is somewhat a sardonic nickname.

She is also referred to as 'Sunny Bunny,' largely by my sister and I.


I almost always call her 'my Sunny' instead of just 'Sunny.' That is weird.

She has the most personality I have ever seen in a cat.

I sing You Are My Sunshine to her. (like this.)

She eats her food out of her paw, or picks up pieces, sets them on the floor, and then eats them. (after batting them into her water dish, letting them soak, and taking them out again) I kid you not!

She likes to drink my paint-water, and I try to tell her it's unhealthy but she doesn't listen.

It scares her when I wear long dresses, which is a lot.

She likes to lie across the keyboard. Like, right now.

love,
cait (and my Sunny)

Tarsem's Vision of The Fall

Having finally seen The Fall, I can tell you that it is an incredible, beautiful piece of visual art. The cinematography is unusual, exotic, colourful, and aesthetically phenomenal.
The movie itself I have not yet decided about! I love the bizarreness of the story, and will have to watch it again to catch more and understand it. However, I can't quite figure out yet if I like it! I will write more about the film itself after thinking about it.
Do you know of any movies like that?
Catinca Untaru, the little actress, is such a darling and so good.
And Justine Waddell (Princess Evelyn) is my favourite actress.

What films have you seen lately?
love, Cait

comings and goings

Well, my uncle is here in Dubai now, but Grandma flies back a day early due to the health of her sister-in-law, to be with her. She has had cancer for several months and things are declining fast. (I do not really know her.)

There is no where near enough time in life, in the week, in the day! I have one essay to write and then will be completely on track for school. Except that we skipped school today to go out to the Atlantis and Dubai Mall with our guests - a glimpse of the insanity that is Dubai! We hadn't been there before either and it was impressive (except for the aquariums. Yes they were huge and amazing but I'm terrified of them). I haven't had time to paint or draw for weeks (hence the lack of art on this here blog), and have started drinking coffee again, and getting less sleep again, and falling behind on long talks with well-beloved friends again.
But right now I'm going to shove all the work aside and have a nice long quiet time and watch my new movie, The Fall. Yay!

Rehearsal schedule and costume measurement form for Annie. came in today :)

love,
Cait

P.S. This weekend I went to a two-day conference (Promises Made, Promises Kept). The speaker was Thabiti Anyabwile and it was truly encouraging and wonderful! I got to know a lot of new people; the university students here. It was a Christ-centred, stimulating conference, as all should be.