Breather

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This little break from writing or editing or worrying about my book has been wonderful! At first I didn't know what to do with myself. The day after I sent my completed content edits to my editor I started to reread my book from the start and my husband reminded me that I needed to take a break. I was stubborn at first, but eventually came 'round to his wisdom.

I've gotten in a lot of pleasure reading including some WWII fiction and 1940s magazines. I've had lots of fun pinning hoards of 1940s and other era clothing on my Pinterest boards. I even went antiquing and bought a working 1950s chrome toaster with bakelite handles (my kids like toast now!), a 1930s double waffle iron (still need to clean it so we can make some smashing waffles), and a working 1940s AM shortwave radio. SO thrilled about that sweet little find!

Then my best friend, Mairi, came for a visit and we visited oodles of fun places like Mt. Vernon (George Washington's home), Gettysburg and it's glorious fabric shop, Needle & Thread, Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Frederick, MD for a candlelight cemetery tour, the original Washington Monument & Appalachian Trail, and Historic St. Mary's City. Mairi is an archaeologist, so St. Mary's was a great place to go, and lucky us, they were carrying out an archaeological dig at Mt. Vernon when we went. We got to see into the deep pit they've dug so far. So cool!

Of course we visited an antique shop due to our mutual love of old stuff, and because of Mairi's sharp eye, I came home with a box of steel WWII "Vicky Victory" hairpins for a nice price. And at Needle & Thread, we raided the clearance bin and I found 3 yards of a navy blue cotton print perfect for a 1940s blouse or skirt or both! I've got my eye on the patterns at Wearing History for the 1940s Sailor Girl Play Suit and the 1930s Togs outfit. Through tons of pinning on Pinterest and browsing through my 1940s magazines, I've been learning a lot more about WWII fashion. I've got a fun, new project idea for the new year using my magazines  which I'll tell you about soon. (since the sewing project didn't work out the way I planned)

I feel much more refreshed and have a deeper knowledge and understanding of many aspects of WWII that I didn't have before I wrote my book. I feel much better going into the last edits on my book before I send it out into the world. I can't wait! :-D