a handmade romper, in the flesh

Blue Spring Floral Romper - Handmade

Vintage Wood Wedge Heels - Crafty Crow Vintage

White Belt - Forever21

I'll be honest. I took these photos on Sunday, but I also wore the romper out on Saturday night. I didn't wear it today. Although I definitely thought about it. I'm kind of in love.

The elastic at the legs makes all the difference for me. From now on, if I make more rompers, there will be elastic encased at the legs. I talked to you before about variations on this same pattern, like adding a peter pan collar instead of the key cutout. I'm also thinking of adding puffy short sleeves, or maybe just lovely long sleeves with elastic at the cuffs. And I might make it with a stiffer fabric and widen the hips a bit to give more volume. Is there any way to cut darts out of a pattern and still manage to make it look nice? I really don't want to mark and sew ten darts again.

Neil and I have been facing some tough future questions lately. It's been one of those moments where you're settled and content and then all of a sudden, you're at a crossroads where you're forced to make major decisions that you don't feel quite so prepared for. Don't get me wrong - they're wonderful, exciting decisions. But we're still not really prepared to make them, so we've been doing a lot of thinking and talking and praying. Have you guys gone through a period like this recently? Sometimes, it feels as though time has frozen and ahead of you, you can clearly see two (or more) paths that your life can take, all depending on what you choose. Ahh pressure.

For all of you who have donated to Nashville flood relief, whether through buying from an Etsy shop that was donating or directly through Red Cross - thank you thank you thank you. The city has really benefited from generous people like you. There is another cause I wanted to share with you guys. My sister Ashley and her husband Danny work at Thornwell Home for Children, a community for kids whose parents have abandoned them or can no longer care for them. It's a wonderful, well-run place filled with passionate, loving, and selfless workers. Thornwell can always use help raising funds for the kids, and Ash and Danny specifically are looking to raise $1,000.00 by June 5th. So if you're interested and have the means to donate, whether it's a couple of dollars or more, it'd be appreciated! Head over here if you want to help out. I've visited them often and I've come to really respect what Thornwell does.

(Etsy shop update will happen tomorrow.. bad weather prevented me from taking shop photos today, so they'll be up in the morning!)