Lilacs, Flappers, and my Grandma's old Gunne Sax

Today was lovely... for the most part:) My mom and I went to the mall to try to find a swimsuit top with underwire (because I fall out of literally EVERYTHING else)... and failed miserably. Sad.
Thankfully, the day was uphill from there! Literally. Up. Hill. We drove up the hill to my grandparents' property and I stole a ton of lilacs from my uncle's abandoned home (my g-parents bought their property from their best friend [who we called our uncle], he passed away, and now his house is just sitting there because houses are not selling. It makes me very sad to see his beautiful garden fall apart). So, anyway, I gathered blooming lilacs and they are now gracing our house (sitting in a blender of water because we couldn't find a vase!) with their beauty.
On to Flappers... I was at Goodwill today and found a flapper dress for $6! When I was little I was obsessed with flapper dresses and was always trying to find one for a Halloween costume. Yay! Now I can be a flapper next Halloween! It's black and swingy.
While we were visiting my g-parents, I told my grandma (we call her Muncas) that I had been unsuccessfully looking for a Gunne Sax prairie dress ( that would actually fit me) and that I had decided to just make my own. I asked if she would help me with the sewing (she's a wonder with a needle and thread) and she told me that she actually had a pattern for a prairie dress... and she had a prairie dress that would fit me. I was like "I should have asked you sooner!" I have been searching for over a year, through thrift stores and on Etsy, for a dress that would fit me and I could afford! She even knows where in her storage building it is. I'm bloody excited!!! I'm so excited that I used a British slang term... that's how excited I am! Geez, I'm weird.
Tomorrow, Sadicus and I are going to bake disgusting cookies. At the high school, juniors are supposed to bake cookies for the seniors... and we're juniors... so we're going to make these nasty-ass barf cookies for the seniors, but we're going to make them look freaking delicious. I feel so insidious (thesaurus.com) for commiting this mischievous act.
Love,
Belle

I can explain my prolonged absence

My big brother just moved in and when he did the internet crapped out. So I've been internet-less. Thanks to that same big brother and his cute friends... the internet is back!!!! So, lately I've been very active. Well, except the last few days- but before that!

Q'emiln Park is a wondrous place in Post Falls at which I like to free-hand rock climb, swim (when the dam is safe), hike, and forage for wild things:)
This weekend I went with my best bud Shenanigan to this treasure-trove (she'd never been there before! I used to ride my bike there everyday when I lived close-by) and we sat on a lifeguard tower having a lovely organic picnic, then went spelunking! But not really, as there aren't any real caves in the mountains behind the river. But we did free-hand through this crazy-steep tunnel (same one I braved with Sadicus [other best bud] for the first time in the fall) and hiked for hours. Random human climbing one of the climbing spots.This Arrowleaf Balsamroot (if you've got it growing in your area... hooray for you!), it grows all over North Idaho. The Coeur d'Alene tribe calls it simply "sunflower", and they eat the stems like celery! You can also dry and grind up the root and use it as flour. There are all sorts of purposes for this beautiful wildflower!This is Shooting Star, you can find it everywhere up here, too. It is a little more difficult to spot, but I've found it on hills in Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene in early Spring.Camas Lily is beloved in North Idaho. The local tribes have been using the root to cook with forever... and they're beautiful.
I was positively gleeful when I got to the park and found all these amazing wild-growing beauties waiting for me:) I'm going to go back (hopefully) this weekend to harvest some of these darlings. There were also quite a few dandelions (I've been struggling to find good dandies that weren't too close to a road or sprayed with poison in the last 7 years, so I was excited to find them in the mountains), so I need to harvest loads of them to make dandelion jelly and dandelion wine.
I've also been spending Way Too Much Time in the flea market next to my house, walking around my house (there's an abandoned storage-section part of an 18 wheeler in the field between my house and walmart that I'm positive a hobo lives in), cooking up dandelion greens, and playing guitar.
I think my friend and I are naming our band Dirty Hippie.
That's the thought that I leave you with as I should probably go eat something. I really have missed the blogosphere more than I would've expected.
Love,
Belle

In Which I Lack Inspiration

I dearly love gunne sax/prairie dresses. I really wish could find just one in my size.

Someday I will live here:)

Delphi:) I love Delphi, how I'd love to go there...

I have been feeling so uninspired lately. Well, not just lately. I haven't had any good artistic inspiration in over a year! I struggle to find things to post on- I would do daily outfits... but I have no one to take my pictures until my mom is done working and by then we have to take them inside and the lighting is all wrong! Ugh! We live in a very ugly place. I don't want any one to see the sad little spit of land I live on. The energy here is VERY bad. I really haven't felt "quite right" in a long time. The last few places I've lived have been crappy. Though, my last house was really only crappy because of the asshole who lived in it. This Summer maybe I'll feel better! :) :) :) (I'm trying to seem less complain-y by putting alot of smiley faces all in a row). Hopefully I will have moved by the end of June! We're moving into my grandparents' old place in Post Falls once they move into their new house. Even though it's in a neighborhood, it's alot nicer than where I currently am. It's really close to my dad's house, so maybe I can try to have a garden again (and this time I'll be there so it won't die. Man, I cried so much. I killed an entire greenhouse. Of course, my sister was supposed to water when I wasn't there, but she has children so I can't really blame her.) and I'll be able to see my baby more. My baby is named Lady Katy and she lives at my dad's house- she's a St. Bernard... and I adore her.This is Katy! I took this picture when she was still pretty new to us, so she's alot bigger now! But just as adorable and beautiful!

I think I'll feel better if I can go commune with nature. This Summer I'm going to convince my friends that we need to go camping... and dance around a fire (that's something we all want to do). So... I stuck some inspirational pics on this post:) Enjoy!
Love,
Belle

Brother, brother... Sister, sister...

I look fat in this picture, my mom looks gorgeous as always, my TALL brother, and my skinny sister, Courtney. (This is last year, but Cade still looks pretty much the same)

Today is my big brother's birthday... and my big sister's. My sister, Stef, is actually 31 today and my brother is 20 (that is so weird!), they just have the same birthday. I got my sister something (I haven't given it to her yet so it seems wrong to tell anyone) and I got my brother a whittled whistle that looks like a wolf (and I think it was whittled by a local Native American, which seemed fitting because my brother looks like an Indian Outlaw [he actually is Cherokee and Choctaw {and so is my sister, Courtney (but I'm not because we have different fathers [but I am Mashpee, Aqquinnah, and Blackfoot])}] and now he can play it). Of course the first thing he did was make some bong joke. Which was just a joke because he isn't a druggie. It does look like a pipe, though! Haha! So, anyway, it was a lovely afternoon and we ate fajitas and drank iced tea. Thankfully the weather was sunny! Hopefully that keeps up.
Love,
Belle

Dandelion- Dandy Lion

Do you remember when you were little and you picked a bouquet of dandelions for your mother? Back then they weren't "weeds", they were pretty little flowers! Did you ever blow the little fluffs off and make a wish? Most people seem to have an obsessive hatred toward dandelions but I never jumped on board the hate-train on that one. I guess I just still have a lingering affection for them, I still think of them as wildflowers.

Of course, if they are trying to grow in my garden and take the soil and water and nourishment away from my lovely little herbs and flowers I will not hesitate to go Mr. Miagi on their happy yellow little asses. "Wax on. Wax off." But I love them in nearly any other situation. Unless they're harboring a known terrorist- the wasp. Then I'll bomb them faster than that naval officer in my speech class wanted to bomb Pakistan! (Not necessarily an opinion of mine). I just hate wasps, they're like the demonic asshole version of the bumble bee. I love bumble bees. But not wasps.

Dandelions.
I have issues keeping focused.
One last digression: I'm listening to Shakira and bellydancing while I write. I love Shakira.

I was inspired by my Pacas (grandfather) today. I have to dig up the dandelions at my dad's house so I can try to have a garden again, and why don't I use those dandelions? That's how I was inspired by my Pacas! I told him that I would need to dig up some dandelions and he said

something about dandelion wine. So, mumsy and I are going to make some! And I can use the root and leaves for cooking and medicinal things. Dandelion Jelly is supposed to taste a bit like honey, made right.

Get this salad recipe here.

I could also use the petals to make a yellow dye. There are all sorts of uses for these wonderful little "weeds".
And now some pictures of "dandy lions":

Love,
Belle

Cinco de Mayo! and pageviews

I have finally breached 4,000 pageviews!!!!!! Last I checked (just now) I was at 4,012! Yay! Most of them come from the Hermione post, of course, because her clothing was lovely in the last movie (I'm so excited for the next one!).
Happy Cinco de Mayo! If it was on the weekend I'd have a fiesta! But sadly, instead of partying it up, I took finals today. And guess what I'm doing next week? Finals. Finals. Finals. Ick. But that's just the downside to getting a fabulous college education! Fabulous? At a community college? Well...
I have nothing more to say for now, though believe you me, I will soon. Be expecting some posts on my favorite Summer-time fashion obsessions really soon. Just not this weekend because this weekend is prom. Not that I'm going, because NO ONE WOULD ASK ME, sadly. And none of my friends wanted to go. But, we're having an unprom. So that's bound to be way more fun anyway. Right, right?! I don't need boys to make me happy!!!!!!!! AAAAHHHHH!!!! Uh, I was only pretending to freak out. *sigh* I'm just really tired and should definitely not be writing this right now, for anyone in the world to see. It's bad for me to have this means of expression when I'm falling asleep... I'll get some pics of me and my buds all dolled up in ridiculous dresses posted probably by Monday, but don't hold me to that.
Love and GOODNIGHT!,
Belle

Tie Dye and warm weather

Tie Dye is my favorite thing to wear in warm weather! I have 3 tie dye tank tops, 1 tie dye skirt, and 1 tie dye dress. I think that's it. I love wearing the skirt- it's light blue and white and floor-length. It's nice comfy light cotton and never feels too hot. My dress is about calf length and dark blue and strapless- I like to wear it hiking which seems weird but it makes me feel wild and pretty! I love Summer but I hate summer fashion for the most part. Fall is easy to dress for but Summer is tough. It's all shorts and tank tops and for someone who wants to be unique all the time it feels rather like a scanty-clothes uniform. So tie dye at least adds visual interest to my outfits in the warm weather. So basically all Summer I'm wearing shorts, a tie dye tank top, cute sandals, and doing something fun with my hair- every day. Every day. At least I won't be cold. And I can go hiking! And swimming! Okay, I'm feeling pretty happy, pretty excited for Summer now!
Love,
Belle
P.S.: I was going to do a May Day post- with history and pretty dresses, but alas! my plans fell through and I was depressed. This weekend I'm going to try to have a belated May Day. We had everything planned out! We were going to have a May pole, a bonfire, flowing dresses, flower crowns... I was so excited. Beltane is one of my favorite holidays.
Okay, I'm actually done now.