· Literary Ball! ·

Back in February, our family decided to host a ball of our own!  We've been attending quite a lot over the past couple years, and it seemed like high time to host some festivities for everyone else!

Years ago, we hosted a few "Twelfth Night" parties and requested everyone to dress as a literary character.  It was always great fun, and worked well for large groups!  We don't know tons of people who have extensive historical wardrobes, so have a non-era-specific theme allows for everyone to have something already in their closet that's appropriate. :-)

We were able to rent a local historic building for the dance, and it was so charming inside and out!

We'll definitely have to host another event here! :-)

We asked everyone to bring a copy of the book they were representing- we had a group of 70, and had everything from Shakespeare to E.B. White to Charles Dickens to modern fantasy authors!  It was so fun to see the creativity and vast variety!

My sister came as Alice in Wonderland, 1930s style.  She already had a dress in the perfect shade of blue and the striped stockings- it was just too perfect to pass up!

We danced a variety of English and Scottish Country Dances through the evening that reference classic literature- "Alice", "Great Expectations", "Once Upon a Time", "Felicity", etc. 

After coming as various historical characters over the years, I felt like it was time to break out of the expected and embrace my more quirky side. ;-)

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type has been a family favorite for years, and somehow it just seemed like a great option!  Apparently, cow fabric is a Hobby Lobby standby, so it seemed like it was meant to be.  I took the opportunity to make a fauxlero (faux bolero) dress like I've been wanting for years, and it ended up being a very easy design to draft on my own!

The dress went together so well and it will end up being handy for "Dress Like a Cow Day" at Chick-fil-A and, you know... all those other reasons I'll want to (literally) look like a cow...

I happened upon a cow bell at Hobby Lobby the week before the ball, and it seemed like the perfect touch!  Well, it was.  Except for the fact that alllll through the bouncy Scottish Country Dancing, I was, ahem, clanging rather loudly.

I must say, for someone who doesn't like to be the center of attention, I have quite a propensity for picking rather loud (sometimes literally...) and attention-grabbing outfits.

Kathryn and I- the Farmyard Girls!

Which is hilarious, considering we aren't really the farm-y type....  Kathryn wore her gingham dress and came as Fern Arable from Charlotte's Web

OK, so I feel a bit bad about posting another picture of just me.... but is my blog, and I was having such a great hair day!! ;-)

My friend Susan (on the left) has been a dear friend for years, and I just have to point out her wonderful dress!  She came as Agnes Wakefield from David Copperfield and made a wonderful 1840s gown.  She inspires me with all she's able to accomplish, and her ambition to tackle big, crazy things I would be too scared by!

We had guests from 5 different states, and it was so wonderful to catch up with so many of them! :-)

· Photos by Brandon and Kathryn- thank you both for taking time out of the evening to capture it so well! ·