12 Days of Modest Fashion - Day 9

I totally missed Day 8!  By the time I remembered to take pictures it was dark outside, almost everyone else was in bed and my clothes were filthy anyways.  Oh well.
Life is super busy at our house right now.  The Christmas pageant we are putting on at our church is this Sunday, so we're putting a lot of work into all the last-minute stuff that that entails.  Making different coloured gels for the stage lights, putting the last finishing touches on the last of the costumes, and fixing the ones the kids broke/ripped at dress rehearsal last week, baking goodies for afterwards, finishing off the candy bags, etc. etc.  The we're in the middle of decorating our house (our living room is a MESS!), making/buying/wrapping gifts and all the other random stuff that goes with the fact that it is only 15 days until Christmas.  My oldest brother (the Professor) is singing Handel's 'Messiah' with his choir next Friday and Saturday, so at the moment he and Kate are going through his part.   And, to top it all off, I'm leaving to spend the week at a ranch I worked at this past fall.  I'm getting picked up from the pageant Sunday night.  All of the above are good things, I'm glad we're doing all of them.  It's just that the combination of all of them leads to a little bit of hectic and a lot of mess in our lives! :)
Today I wanted to wear something simple and yet very feminine.  This is actually a dress, not a shirt and skirt, so it's quick and easy, but it's also girly.

I realized when I put it on this morning that it exactly matches my cadet cap.  I just need to find a big, brown, silk flower and put it on the side of the hat to tie it all together.  I had the brown fabric given to me, and it hung around for a long time and I couldn't decide what to do with it, but I really liked it.  One day I realized the flowers on it are the same pink as this bit of satin I had.  There was just enough of the brown to make a nice long, full skirt and just enough satin for a bodice.  I have a huge crinoline I can wear under this.  It's exceedingly impractical though!

 There are only two things I dislike about this dress.  #1: I can never reach the middle button and always have to get a sister to do it up for me.  #2: While I love that the skirt touches the ground and is super full, whenever I walk down stairs with a sibling behind me, they always step on it.  On purpose!  "But it looks so cool, like a red carpet that I'm supposed to step on!" 

 This is the locket that my Grandparents gave me on my baptism.  The picture turned out fuzzy, but it is a simple silver heart, except that it has little flowers and ivy running along the edges.

We're supposed to share our favorite Christmas recipe today.  We don't have a lot of recipes in our family that are specifically Christmas-y.  The only one I can think of is tourtiere.  Tourtiere is a French Canadian meat pie.  It is the traditional Christmas Eve supper.  So here is the recipe:
Tourtiere

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground pork
• 1/2 pound lean ground beef
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground sage
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. In a saucepan, combine pork, beef, onion, garlic, water, salt, thyme, sage, black pepper and cloves. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils; stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and simmer until meat is cooked, about 5 minutes.
3. Spoon the meat mixture into the pie crust. Place top crust on top of pie and pinch edges to seal. Cut slits in top crust so steam can escape. Cover edges of pie with strips of aluminum foil.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, remove foil and return to oven. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool 10 minutes before slicing.

Laurel