Little Red Riding Hood

I have been so busy making my daughter her Halloween costume. I think, perhaps, I have gone a little overboard because she isn't old enough to go trick or treating or eat candy. Of course if I didn't have to rip out everything I do two or three times it wouldn't have taken me so long either. On Wednesday night I think I spent a good hour and a half completely ripping out the bodice of her red riding hood dress.

The one thing about making her costumes by hand is an a true feeling of satisfaction when I am through. The last thing I have to do is sew in the zipper it's pinned and ready to go, but I think I will be a little disappointment when it is all done. It has been so rewarding to figure out the pattern, though I don't think I followed it very well. I just made it work. Kind of the same way that Robert Altman uses a script when he makes movie; very loosely, if at all. I used red corduroy to make the hood and it looks so structured and professional.

I have to rolls of film to scan into the computer so hopefully will have new pictures soon. Happy Halloween to everyone! Don't eat too much chocolate...

Little Ray of Sunshine

It rained last night and this morning making the gardens have a really pretty mist around them that was accentuated by the fall colors. Of course I didn't have my camera so it lives only in my memory. The gardens were also very empty no joggers or dog walkers.

Midway into our walk we met another frequent visitor to the gardens. She is a grandmother who is originally from Russia who walks her full grown poodle. We have walked with her before my daughter likes to hold her hand and pretend she is walking the dog as well. She smiles holding both our hands and looks up at us while walking. I am not sure what our walking companions name is and she doesn't speak the greatest English, but that only makes our walks that much more charming.

Today she said to me, "You don't need a son when you have her (motioning to my daughter)." I wasn't sure what to think about the comment. I was trying to remember if Russia had a predominant preference for sons similar to China. It was a little perplexing, but soon I realized she meant, " You don't need THE SUN when you have her." Very sweet. I have been calling my daughter a little ray of sunshine all day!

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

 I feel as though I spend all of my days just waiting; waiting for job application deadlines to pass, waiting to hear from film festivals. Some notification dates are even in March. Can you imagine, March? It seems too far away. In March I might be ready for Spring. For short sleeves. Now, all I want to do is drink hot chocolate under warm blankets and watch documentaries and ballet movies. All to bide my time while I wait. And sing Tom Petty. Over and over again.

I'm not sure what the pictures have to do with waiting other than the spider on the berries has to patiently wait for its prey to walk into the web. Then they're rewarded. I hope that works for me as well.

Wordless Wednesday (Last Flower)

Finally!

The leaves are changing and falling at a speedy pace. Nights are routinely cooler. I have finally switched out all of my summer clothes for fall clothes. Sweaters, at last, my favorite wardrobe staple. I got my hair cut last week and while waiting for my husband to pick me up afterward I window shopped. Nearly every window display featured sweaters. I love cardigans, pullovers, just about anything. My daughter wore her first sweater of the season this weekend to rave reviews. I am ready to start spending my evenings curled up under a blanket with a cup of tea and a book.

Flip'n Friday: Reel 2.0

Reel 2010 from Chelsea Wayant on Vimeo.

This week I have been working on updating my reel to incorporate my most recent work and thought it would make a good edition of Flip'n Friday. I know that I haven't been very good about posting videos lately, but hopefully I will get back into the routine in a few months.

Today we are off to Asheville and I have been baking all morning. I'm running late as is, but thought I would post this as quick as I could. Have a great weekend!

Chocolate Peanut Butter, Oh My!

I don't know if there is a more perfect combination than chocolate and peanut butter. It's easy, simple and oh so good. I made these for my mom when she visited awhile back. It was fun surprise to have the peanut butter cream in the middle and waiting for them to bite in and discover it was exciting for me as well.

I know that I haven't been doing so well with posting this week. Sorry about that, but I have been super busy. I am working out plans for my next documentary about ballet and putting together more job applications. It's never ending, but I think that is good.

This weekend we are going to Asheville, NC, to visit with family and see my brother-in-law who has been living in Honduras. We haven't seen him since Christmas and we are very excited. Tomorrow I will be baking him some special welcome back treats. So today I am off to the grocery store to buy supplies!

Filmmaking

This weekend we attended the Ava Gardner Independent Film Festival where Monday Night Pottery screened. It played in an old lodge house that has been re-purposed into a theater. My daughter loved running all around the seats. Luckily, nearby there was a festival of a new trail opening that weekend that my husband took her to play while I watched the movies.

The big thing in video production right now is using a DSLR to shoot HD video.The most popular being the Canon 5D Mark II. One benefit of this camera that most video cameras do not have (without a special lens set-up attached to them) is shallow depth of field (where only a small area of the frame is in focus and the rest is dramatically blurry). I noticed that almost all the filmmakers were playing with depth of field and by the end of the screening I was kind of over it, mostly because none of it was motivated. Instead, it was - look at this cool thing I can do. Lucky, for me because I was considering renting one (mostly to play with depth of field) to shoot some dance sequences for my current documentary, but now I think I'll save that money and use it elsewhere.

Summer's Last Stand

Inevitably, it always happens that summer tries to hold on longer than expected. The beginning of the week began cool and I was pulling down sweaters, shirts, and PJ's from storage. My daughter wore a flannel jumper and a knitted cap. We drank hot chocolate. And then...

It got warm again. On Thursday we went to the gardens in the afternoon and spotted tank tops and shorts. We were overheated in our long sleeves even in the shady bog gardens. The days are so beautiful and warm and I can bask in them knowing they are about to end. I don't think they can hold on much longer. Those leaves in the trees are changing. I'm not dreaming anymore. I can see them in the pictures. Some pictures at least.

Wordless Wednesday (Sparkly Pink)

Chocolate Covered Cherries and my Grandmother

My grandmother loves chocolate covered cherries. We are always on the look out for new, fancy cherries for her. For her birthday I decided to make chocolate covered cherry cupcakes. These are very good, if I do say so myself. I carved out the middles and put syrup-y cherries in them and added buttercream frosting and then more cherries and even a maraschino cherry. Yum. I highly recommend making them. You'll find the recipe in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.

And if you know anyone with a healthy love of chocolate and cherries then they will love these cupcakes. My grandmother did.

Rain, Rain

Though I spent a lot of this week trying to persuade my daughter from the door. She constantly points at it and hands me my shoes so we can go outside. A couple times I thought if she realized it was raining outside she would want to stay inside. But, it turns out she likes to play in the rain just as much as the sunshine.

I love rainy days inside and when I could distract my daughter from the door with a book or crayons and we sat and listened to the sound of the rain on the roof; it was blissful. Soon, I'm sure I will be dreaming about letting her run around the yard again. For now I am so excited about the change of weather and am thinking I will even be able to change my summer clothes out for autumn/winter. The excitement.

In a couple weeks we are visiting Asheville, NC, which is in the mountains. I hope that the leaves will be changing there so I can get some good pictures. We have just a few select trees that are no longer green, but the piles on the ground seem to be getting larger everyday.