Gretel

Hello again, Blogfroggers! (these names are getting dumb)

Back so soon, you say? Well, the year is finally winding down in ballet-land which means more time for, well, everything! We had a great year at SCB. That's Saratoga City Ballet in case you're interested. Last weekend we presented our production of "Hansel and Gretel" to wild critical acclaim. Well, not exactly the critical acclaim part, but everyone seemed to love the show and the kids all did a great job.

In the months prior to said show I spent every waking moment it seemed trying to find the right costumes for the lead characters. Turns out you can't buy a german-type girl's costume without going the not-so-family-friendly slutty Halloween costume route. Fantastic! I finally found a wonderful woman named Linda who runs German Import Haus out in CA. She had traditional lederhosen and dirndls (that's German for dress) for very reasonable prices. So I ordered up and this was the "Gretel":

Donker-shane, Linda!

It also came with an adorable white eyelet apron:

For all it's cuteness, though, it still looked a little plain.  I removed the black trim from the bottom of the dress and went digging through our costume closet for something better.  I love hunting around for stuff back there.  You want lime green paillette trim?  You got it!  Pink tassle fringe?  Check.  Here's what I unearthed:

Good ole Wright's Trim

I found some sweet eyelet trim and the cutest tulip ribbon trim.

Gotta love the price.

I started by sewing on some antique lace trim from my own stash to replace the black I had taken off.

I then added the eyelet just above and decided the whole thing needed more color.  This is THEATER after all, people.  I found some ric-rac at the craft store along with some really cute daisy trim.

Then I decided to sew that tulip trim to the bodice of the dress to break up the black a little bit.

And there you have it!

She's all ready to wander around the forest and nearly get eaten by a witch!

Although I complain about not having a life outside of ballet, I do love my job.  When everything comes together on stage it makes all the headaches and hot glue gun burns worth it.  It's kind of magical.

 Hansel & Gretel with The Witch, played by William Otto, SCB faculty and former member of NYCB.

Byeeeee!

Around The Yard

I took some "glamor shots" of the things blooming in our front yard a couple weeks ago.  It was that magical time in upstate NY when spring finally arrives and everyone gets out of their winter funk and is nice to each other.  Well, for a week or two at least.

First specimen: Apple blossoms

Cherry blossoms

Forsythia (the plant that makes you sound like you have a lisp)

We had this pretty shrub that I don't know the name of.  Anyone? Anyone?  Bueller?

An actual honey bee (yes, they still exist) enjoying the last of the rhododendron.

The one plant that really thrives in our yard.  Anyway, I don't care what anyone says.  I like dandelions.

The first buds of my favorite yard plant: lilac.  Unfortunately, this year's crop was pretty thin.  Anyone else have the same problem?

What could this giant leafy thing be?  I'll give you three guesses...

WRONG. Just kidding.  It's RHUBARB!  My mother does not like rhubarb but I'm trying to turn her on to it.  I never even had rhubarb until I was an adult.  Now I'm obsessed!

I can smell the pie already...

Now what's this strange plant??

Uhoh, it's a big giant dogface!

Pip says, "Stop taking pictures of plants, do-do."

"I'm so much more interesting."

Oh dear.
Byeeeee!