Empress of India Ball

The Saturday night before we attended the Gatsby Summer Afternoon picnic, we attended a Victorian dance hosted by the group PEERS. 

All their events are themed and this one was "Empress of India".  So since we were already going to be up in the bay area for the weekend and we both have plenty of appropriate attire to chose from for Victorian English in India we decided to go for it.

Michael wore his mess kit for a British Indian regiment he collects. The uniform is a khaki wool with brown velvet facings and khaki Russia braid passementerie. This is a favorite of mine, aside from the beauty that is this surviving original uniform, it is also the outfit he was wearing when i first met him :)

I wore my Tissot dress as the white cotton lends its self to the idea of being in British India, the shape of the gown is the also correct for the time frame. But the dress was originally made with a day bodice so i made an evening bodice out of left over matching fabric and trim. (oh thank heavens i am pack rat and squirrel away all my little scraps for just such an occurrence as this, the dress having been originally made a few years ago).

we were joined by many of our friends from the bay area that we do the Dickens Fair with and we had a wonderful night of dancing! 

I had my usual girls in attendance so much giggling and shenanigans was had by all ;)

Point Fermin Lighthouse

The weekend after Costume College, Michael and I attended a picnic with our friends out at the Pt. Fermin Lighthouse in Long Beach. 

The event is a regular one for us and a favorite due to the beautiful setting of the historic light house with its well maintained grounds. 

We set up our picnic spread inside the fenced off side yard of the property surrounded by the brightly colored flowering garden. 

This year i felt inspired and made my favorite lemon blueberry cream pie for a dessert, everyone else seemed to decide it was their favorite too as it practically vanished in moments of bringing it out. 

The weather was bright and sunny and warm to start, then toward the end of the afternoon the breeze comes up off the water and it cools down beautifully. 

Michael wore his summer whites for the Probyns Horse Regiment and looked very dashing :) 

and i wore an old dress with a few adjustments and remodels to make it work at a moments notice. I like the draped effect on the skirt but will likely do a very different bodice if i ever chose to wear it again. 

We were joined by a good gathering of friends in their summer best, that even included the dogs :)