So I have been planning my Jane Austen 29th birthday party for a few years, and I did not let the Coronavirus get in the way. We had the party and it was a lot of fun. Even though the party has passed, I am still going to share all the things we did and how I put it together.
So I love piñatas! I mean who doesn’t like hitting paper mache with a bat and getting a reward?
Besides me loving piñatas, I had four little girls planning on coming and wanted to make sure I had some things for them as well. When I was doing my party planning I spotted a homemade teapot piñata on Almost Unschoolers. I thought to myself, I could totally do that-I have made piñatas before, I mean it was a donkey not a teapot, but I’m sure it wouldn’t be too difficult.
And I thought with today being Cinco de Mayo, I thought what better day than today to blend my culture with Jane Austen. So here we go:
Supplies:
1 Cup of Flour
2 Cups of Water
1/2 tbsp of Salt
Newspaper
Plastic Bag
Balloon
Gesso or paint
Paintbrush
Glue
Crepe Paper
Cardstock
Scissors
Cup or Bowl for Balloon to rest in
Candy or Teabags
Fake Flower (optional)
Hot Glue Gun
Directions:
Lie a plastic bag on the table.
Blow a balloon up and set on a cup or bowl in order to apply the paper mache.
In a large bowl combine flour, water, and salt-whisking to remove any lumps.
Cut newspaper into strips, about 2 inches wide and 4 inches long.
Dip paper into flour mixture and cover balloon. I recommend doing two layers, letting it dry, and repeating another two layers.
After all is dry, carefully pop the balloon and throw it away.
Paint paper mache with white paint or gesso.
After the paint or gesso has dried, begin covering the piñata in crepe paper strips (I found it easiest to paint the glue on and work bottom to top). Be sure to cut each strip so it has a fringe look.
Fill piñata with candy or teabags (or both).
Using cardstock, create handle, lid, and spout. When making the spout, take the cardstock and create a funnel, cutting the paper down until it is the right size.
Hot glue the pieces on and the fake flower to the lid.
Here we are after I gessoed it:
Then when I added the crepe paper and cardstock:
Candy and tea bags inside:
And of course the finished product:
At the party!
Now piñatas aren’t hard or expensive to make they just take time. I only spent $7 on this as I already had the water, flour, newspaper, and fake flower. The cardstock was $1, the assorted candy $4, and the Stash teabags $2.
I’ve been having so much fun sharing all these things with you, I can’t wait to continue with all the other party plans!
Well we have reached the end of another Valentine’s Day countdown. Hopefully you all have enjoyed it as much as I have.
I hope everyone had a great day whether you spend it with a spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, family, friend(s), a pet, or food.
And if you didn’t enjoy it, there is always tomorrow when everything will be marked down really low.
So let’s move on to our final pick:
Romantic Moment #14
“Episode Four” from Pride and Prejudice (1995)
So what can I say about this?
I LOVE this miniseries. It is one of the best versions of Pride & Prejudice; Colin Firth is tied with Pride & Prejudice (1940)’s Laurence Olivier in best Darcy.
So I thought and thought about what I which moment I think would be a good one to choose, and I think I picked one that everyone will love.
So the story of Pride & Prejudice should be something you are familiar with if you are a fan of my blog. Even so, I’ll give a quick synopsis.
So Elizabeth Bennet is the second of five daughters in the Bennet family. This wouldn’t be too bad if the estate was not entailed making it harder for them to find husbands and forcing them to lose everything if Mr. Bennet dies. No one is really concerned with it except their mother who desperately wants them to all to secure a relationship.
A Mr. Bingley rents a home in the area, thinking about purchasing, and brings his sisters and best friend Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy is more aloof, having many dislike him even though he is very wealthy. When Elizabeth overhears him saying she isn’t pretty enough for him, she becomes very upset and the one who dislikes him the most.
A very handsome soldier, Mr. Wickham, comes into the picture and charms everyone along with giving more ammo on why we should all jump on the “I dislike Darcy train.” Also, the Bennet’s cousin who is set to inherit comes, Mr. Collins, and is extremely disliked by all.
Bingley leaves suddenly and his sisters and Jane write to each other, with the sisters saying that Mr. Bingley is getting very close to asking Mr. Darcy’s sister for her hand in marriage. Mr. Collins also exits after he is rejected by Elizabeth, deferring his interests for her friend.
Elizabeth visits Charlotte after she is married and meets Mr. Darcy’s insufferable aunt, Lady Catherine.
She also finds out from Mr. Darcy’s cousin that Mr. Darcy was the one who convinced Bingley to leave and forget about her sister, being the one to blame for Jane’s broken heart.
After this Mr. Darcy ends up proposing to Elizabeth! It turns out while her dislike was growing he was falling for her!
She refuses him:
Elizabeth thinks that is the end of it, but then Darcy gives her a letter with an extensive explanation. Will it be enough to forgive him or will she just forget him?
Most Romantic Moment: Even Though I’m Not Presentable, I Don’t Care I Want to Spend Time With You
So the moment I have chosen occurs when Elizabeth travels to Pemberley. Here she looks upon Mr. Darcy’s home and hears how everyone talks about him. This coupled with what he revealed in his letter has her wondering if maybe she was wrong to refuse him.
Now the only reason Elizabeth agreed to look upon the house was because she thought that Mr. Darcy wouldn’t be there, but unbeknownst to everyone, Mr. Darcy has decided to come home early. As he heads home, he decides to take a dip in the pond.
I just love how shocked yet excited he is to see her that he just wants to talk to her, yet at the same time doesn’t know what to say. It is so cute how he doesn’t even realize his wet clothes or tries to get away to change them.
And then after he realizes his attire, he races to dress and runs downstairs, still wet, in a hurry to not let her slip through his fingers. Even though she rejected him, he still cares deeply for her and wants to spend time with her to change her impressions. So cute!
I don’t know about you all, but I have been eating a lot of Halloween candy, in fact too much.
But as I continued to eat, it made me think…what if the Jane Austen heroines lived in today’s world? What kind of candy would they eat?
So I thought on it, and this is what I came up with.
Elinor is the eldest of the Dashwood sisters and when her father dies, causing them to lose everything to entailment and have to live on less money, she rakes control in searching for a new home. After the move when it is clear that her mother is still sick with grief and her two younger sisters lack the age and temperament for such matters, Elinor takes over running the house and trying to work out a way for them to live on their budget. As Elinor is the champion of saving and surviving, I think that if she were to purchase a sweet she would try to make it something that is cheap and easy to share. Therefore a Kit Kat seemed the most likely choice for her. Kit Kats are easy on the wallet and designed to be evenly split between four, the exact number of Elinor’s family.
To me I see Marianne as a Chocolate Truffle. We know how romantic she is, so of course she is going to not only want chocolate, but something more than the average fare. Being raised rich, a truffle is something she would be used to eating, and then when their finances change, she would still be able to eat a few cheaper ones, every now and then.
I can just see her and Colonel Brandon and her reading poetry and eating truffles after they are married.
NOw contrary to the 2005 version of Pride & Prejudice, the Bennets are not poor. They are lower than Darcy as his Aunt is in line for the throne (a LOT of people have to die first but still), Emma Woodhouse, and Anne Elliot (prior to her father losing so much money). They are slightly under the Dashwoods, so they are pretty well off. Not super rich, but doing well. Therefore I think that Elizabeth would pick something in between. Not super rich, but a little more high class than something you can buy at the corner drugstore.
Therefore I think that she would pick the See’s Lollipops. See’s candy isn’t super expensive, but not something you can find just anywhere, sometimes you have to travel a bit to get it. Plus as she is a walker, I see her with a lollipop as she can eat it and go.
Now Fanny we all know was born into a large, less fortunate family. She is sent to live with her Aunt and Uncle, the Bertrams; and abused by her other Aunt Norris. Mr. Bertram isn’t really in her life as he is always having to go away on business or not interested in child rearing; Mrs. Bertram is also not really checked in. So the person who raises her is Aunt Norris who never wants her to forget she is poor; giving her extra work, never allowing her to do things with the other kids, playing the two eldest sisters off of her and encouraging their bullying. So if I had to pick a candy, the only one I think Aunt Norris would allow her to have would be mints or gum. Both are extremely cheap and what she would think as suitable for her poorer relation.
I think out of anything she would only buy Orbit as it doesn’t last long and falls apart the more you chew it. But just like Fanny’s personality and actions have her end with a better life than her cousins, chewing gum rather than eating other candy would give her a better smile and oral hygiene.
Emma is the richest out of all the Austen heroines. She doesn’t worry about money, she has one of the highest places in their local society; so what would be the perfect candy for her? Only one thing came to mind, Godiva. Godiva is one of the most expensive chocolatiers and just perfect for someone like Emma who is used to having the best. The only issue she would face would be whether or not her hypochondriac father would allow her to eat it, or his fear of illness taking her away would make him not want it in the house. Otherwise, Godiva would be Emma’s go to.
As a child Catherine was very active in sports, climbing trees, running, etc; a tomboy. In that stage I see her as a bubblegum chewer (like Bazooka), however as she grows older her taste change to reading, especially Gothic, Romantic fiction. With that new take, I don’t see her as a gum chewer, but having moved on to something that pairs better with her reading, chocolate covered strawberries. Not only are these romantic, but something that will fit within Catherine’s budget as they are not too expensive, as her family isn’t super wealthy, especially if you make them yourself. Yes the perfect pair to Catherine and all the harrowing tales she loves to read.
Like Elinor, when Anne realizes how her father and sister are just blowing through their money, she begins to economize. And that is why when I think of what candy she would buy and eat, I think of Ghiradelli. While Ghiradelli isn’t the most expensive chocolate out there, it is classier than Hershey’s or Snickers; yet at the same time is cheap enough that it is something Anne would be willing to spend her money to snack on. It is that perfect blend that fits this once rich girl. Anne also strikes me as a dark chocolate and sea salt type of girl, of which Ghiradelli can provide.
I don’t know about you but I hate this time of year.
Now for some it might be the weather, but I have no problem with that.
No I hate this time of the year for different reasons. The first for Daylight Savings Time
Why do we still continue to have it? We don’t really need it. We need to be like Hawaii and just get rid of it.
My whole schedule is off, and I’m tired all the time as I’m still readjusting.
And the abundance of sweets. We just had Valentine’s Day candy, Girl Scout Cookies, and now Easter candy and jelly beans are on sale. I feel so roly-poly.
The thought of “summer clothes” and “summer body”, well…
Then there is the weather. If it stuck to one thing that would be nice but instead it changes more than a woman on her period. It starts off cold, then is hot, then cold, then windy, then rainy, then super hot…
I never know what to wear, but somehow always manage to pick the wrong thing.
And then let’s talk about my skin…
It’s so dry because of all these changes; but now it is hot so guess what that means? Time to crack out the sunscreen.
From here until fall I’m going be lathered in the stuff.
So yes I am a Barbie girl. I grew up with Barbie loving the message I can do whatever I want to. I liked Barbie the way she used to be, she may not have been proportionate but she looked healthy, not like the thin stick dolls they make today.
So this webisode show is available online and on Netflix. It is done in the way of The Office or Modern Family. Events with a pause for interviews, etc.
I started watching this with my niece, and really enjoy. The characters and situations are hilarious, and hands down; Ken is the perfect boyfriend.
It is Valentine’s Day and Ken is out shopping for the perfect gift for Barbie. While at the flower shop, he is seen by Ryan; a guy who is out to steal Barbie away.
Ryan watches Ken pick out a small bouquet of roses, and then decides to purchase a giant horseshoe shaped wreath.
Ken then travels to the Candy store and buys a small heart box full of candy. Ryan buys a life size Chocolate Statue of himself.
Ken then goes to the card store, but can’t find one he likes. Ryan buys a custom card that is his size and has himself inside singing a love song. Who will Barbie choose?
Most Romantic Moment: It’s the Meaning That Counts
So the most romantic moment comes after Ryan has displayed his gifts and Ken shares why he picked out his. He choose the small bouquet of roses because they were Barbie’s absolute favorites.
He bought her the box of Chocolates, because they were the same one she loved as a girl.
And then he handmade her a card saying that she’ll always be his girl.
How romantic
What a guy right? The fact that he got her everything she loved and things that actually meant something is worth more than millions. They are perfect. HE is perfect.
Your favorite holiday? Oooh that is a hard one to answer. Choose one?
In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a big holiday person. I love all holidays, even those that aren’t “real” (November 5th or May 4th?). What can I say?
So if I had to pick my three favorite holidays? Here we go!
3) Thanksgiving
I love Thanksgiving as I love everything it stands for. I know a lot of people want to say how “the first Thanksgiving shouldn’t count” as “it opened a door to genocide” or whatever, but that’s not true. Not all relationships between the Native Americans and pilgrims (pilgrims not Puritans. Huge difference) was bad. In this case, the Native Americans helped those early settlers. If it weren’t for that goodwill, I wouldn’t be born as my family most likely never would have immigrated and met.
I also love how Abraham Lincoln recognized that in all the stress, bumble, and grind of everyday life; time should be given so that all can stop and be thankful for all they have.
“I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.”
I also love gathering with family and enjoying each other’s company. And of course, I love to eat until I explode.
I know you had to see this coming. What with my Horrorfest I do every year (going on my fourth year and it is going to be good. I promise!), you had to know that Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.
What can I say about this holiday? I love that it is fall and there are dry leaves and pumpkins everywhere. I love the chill in the air and that it is usually the start of rain. I love the candy. I love dressing up in a costume, I only wish I could do that more. And most of all I love the horror films that are showing everywhere and on sale to buy. I just love Halloween.
I LOVE Christmas! Words cannot describe how much I enjoy when it comes around. I love how almost everyone is trying to be nice and kind, goodwill abounding; people actually going out of their way for others.
Plus I love picking out the perfect gift and wrapping it up and placing it under the tree, just waiting to see their face when they open it!
Going to church, cookie baking, carols, Christmas movies! And the tree, we go every year to chop one down and then decorate with the same decorations we’ve had every year. Pulling out our nativity and retelling the Christmas story again!
For the past two years I have ended on a Jane Austen film, but this year I was having an extremely hard time choosing which moment to use. Since it was such a difficult decision, and I was going to be away from my computer on vacation this weekend forcing me to write this all ahead of time, that meant I had to make a choice immediately. So we will not be ending this year’s finale with Jane Austen, but with one of my favorite films:
Romantic Moment #14
Sabrina (1954)
Now this is my all time favorite Audrey Hepburn film. Out of all her pieces, this is the one I could watch over and over and over again without ever getting bored. In fact I have in the past.
This film is amazing, although full of all kinds of drama in filming, which you can read about here, if you wish. This film was Audrey Hepburn’s second film, and the start of her relationship with costume designer Edith Head and fashion designer, Hubert de Givenchy. This film was remade in the ’90s with Harrison Ford, but besides him the film sucked and you shouldn’t watch it.
So the film starts off talking about the very wealthy Larrabee family that live in Long Island, New York. They have gazillions of dollars and their fingers are in every pot of business. Their older son is Linus Larrabee (Humphrey Bogart) who graduated from Yale, runs the family business, and has added gazillions to the family pot. Their younger son David (William Holden) like Linus, went to many fine schools but got kicked out of those very fine schools. He works for the family but doesn’t really do anything, but get married. Yep, he has already gone through three divorces: actress, dancer, and opera singer. He’s the black sheep of the family.
Anyways, the family has lots of servants, one being a chauffeur who was brought over from England, Thomas Fairchild. His daughter is Sabrina. Sabrina’s mother died at a young age and Sabrina grew up in New York living in the apartment over the garage. She became close to the servants, but was not supposed to be close to the Larrabee family. Linus of course is much older then her, but David, she has had a huge crush on David ever since she was a small child.
This night Sabrina is being sent off to a cooking school in France, the same one her mother went to when she was her age. This is also the same night that the Larrabees throw their huge Gala. That night she sees David doing what he always does, getting some girl to run off with him to the indoor tennis courts, carrying champagne, and having the band play Isn’t It Romantic?.
Sabrina is heartbroken at seeing David with another girl and having to leave him.
She decides that she doesn’t want to live anymore and takes off to the garage, starting every car and hoping to kill herself.
Just as she is about to lose conciousness, Linus comes in looking for a car to take someone home and saves Sabrina. He takes her up to her room and the next day Sabrina heads off to Paris.
At Paris, she fails in her cooking as she can’t concentrate on anything with her heart broken. She meets a Baron who is taking the class, and he asks her why she is unhappy.
He takes her under his wing and helps her “grow up”. Cutting her hair, helping her get more adult clothes, and sharing his love of France and the culture with her. As Sabrina spends more time with him she starts to come into her own.
The Baron also encourages her to continue to dream about being with David.
Sabrina Fairchild: I might as well be reaching for the moon.
Baron St. Fontanel: The moon?
Baron St. Fontanel: [laughs] Oh, you young people! You are so old-fashioned. Have you not heard? We are building rockets to reach the moon!
And Sabrina decides that she will win David’s affections.
A year later, David is dating someone new, Elizabeth, and discovers that their engagement has been announced in the newspaper…even though he never proposed! This has been all arranged by Linus. Yes Linus has created a new type of plastic that is bulletproof, heatproof, freezeproof, can hold tons of weight, etc-essentially perfect. The major ingredient needed? Sugar. And who owns the most sugar plantations? Elizabeth’s father. Linus sees this marriage a key step to a merger of interests and a multitude of money. Success all around. David is still a bit miffed, but calmed down when Linus has him think about how much he likes Elizabeth and the high likelihood of him going to ask her to marry him on his own. David is relaxed and happy about marrying Elizabeth. Preparations begin.
Meanwhile, Sabrina has completed her cooking courses and is headed home. She is waiting for her father, who was detained for some reason. As she is waiting, David passes by, and comes back as he cannot resist a pretty woman. Sabrina is happy to see him, but David is confused as he can’t figure out who she is.
David Larrabee: I feel so stupid I could kill myself.
Sabrina Fairchild: You’ll be all right in a minute.
They get to the house and then he realizes that the gorgeous girl next to him is Sabrina, the one he has ignored forever! He asks her to go out with him, but realizes that night is the annual Larrabee Gala, and invites her to that instead. He keeps gushing over her, and has completely forgotten about Elizabeth.
That night Sabrina goes to the Gale, dressed in the most amazing gown.
David shows her off to everybody, much to the displeasure of the rest of the Larrabee clan. Mr. & Mrs. Larrabee disapprove because of her station. Linus disapproves because of the deal he wants to make with Elizabeth’s father. As David sends Sabrina off to the tennis court and gets the music and champagne ready, he gets cornered by his father and brother.
The two try to convince David to stop what he is doing and think, but nothing can get through to him. Linus realizes this and notices something else, that David put the champagne glasses in his back pockets. Linus has him sit and crash, David is out of commission. Linus then goes off to meet with Sabrina and hopefully convince her to dump David.
It doesn’t work as Sabrina doesn’t want money. She wants David. Then Linus comes up with a new plan. He decides that he will make her change her affections, get her to fall for him, dump her, and send her back to Paris. He admits that he is older and the likelihood of it working is slim, but they don’t have very many options.
They go boating, and Linus makes up a story about how his heart was broken by a woman and made him never want to love again. His story convinces Sabrina that this is much more to him. Linus continues taking her out and showing his softer side. He also tells her that he will be leaving for Paris. With all their time together she starts falling for him.
In reality Linus’ plan was to have an extra ticket and give it to Sabrina, telling her that they will be running away together. But after the boat has sailed to France, she would go to his cabin and find flowers and an apology note. However, the more time Linus spends with Sabrina the more upset he becomes over the whole deal. He ends up giving the Fairchilds a ton of stock, buys an apartment for Sabrina, a Parisan bank account, flowers, candy, the works. But he still is sick over the whole deal.
Sabrina realizes her feelings for Linus, and beomes extremely confused as to what to do. She tries to end it all, by avoiding him, but Linus convinces her to continue their plans to have dinner together. She starts to make him dinner, but as she is looking for things she discovers the ticket. She is so excited about the whole thing, telling Linus how she loves him. Linus feels horrible and tells her the complete truth. Sabrina understands and leaves the next day for Paris. Heartbroken again.
But at least Sabrina is over David. Now she just has to get over Linus.
After the reveal to Sabrina, Linus has a change of heart. He decides that he cares more about Sabrina’s happiness than his own. He calls of the wedding, and has David sent over to Paris with Sabrina. All well end’s well, right? Wrong.
**************Most Romantic Moment**************
As Linus is about to make the announcement that David and Sabrina has run off together, David walks in. David tells Linus that he realized that Sabrina no longer loves him. When Linus realizes that Sabrina is going to be all alone, he takes off. He loves her and has finally come to the conclusion that he can’t live without her.
He goes running off to be with her. Throwing away buisness, money, everything he has ever loved and cared about as he realizes that there is someone much more important.
And it ends, happily ever after.
Perfect!
So romantic! I just love this movie!
So that ends this year’s Romance is in the Air:Part III. I hope you all have a great Valentines Day, whether you are single or in a relationship. Watch romantic flicks, eat candy, and just enjoy your day. 🙂
