1920s Bachelorette Party on Star Island

This will likely be my last post for a couple weeks. As some of you may know, Cori and I closed on our new house and are in the process of moving in. Also our wedding is coming up in two weeks and I need to get my act together and make sure everything is in order. Last minute things to coordinate and lots of stuff to pack for decorating the reception area. I'm looking forward to the day itself but I'll be glad to have all the planning, coordinating, stress, etc. behind me. I'm ready to move on to other things.

Today's post will be short on text but full of pictures! Back in August my friends surprised me with tickets for Gatsby on the Isles for my bachelorette party. We joined some fellow vintage fans from the GBVS, hopped on a ferry boat and headed out to Star Island for a 1920s themed adventure.

The history of the island, the second largest of nine rocky islands ten miles southeast of the mouth of the Piscataqua River, goes back hundreds of years. The Star Island Corporation has owned and operated Star Island since 1916. The Oceanic House is the largest structure on Star Island and has long served as a place of retreat.

Jill looks said because we told her we ate all the chocolate. Don't worry, we saved her some! :)

After a 2 hour ferry ride which included a narrated history of Portsmouth harbor, the Isles of Shoals and the New Hampshire Seacoast, we arrived and were ready for lunch. The girls and I set up our picnic blanket, listened to some live music, and relaxed. Then we explored the island.

Warning. Silly things happen when these girls and I get together!

I wore the dress I made for the 1920s Downton Abby event last year. It's the dress I got engaged in so it seemed fitting to wear again for the bachelorette party.

Erin borrowed the same dress my friend Jen wore for the Roaring 20s Lawn Party.

At the end of the day we boarded the ferry once more. A few people stayed behind at the hotel but they came to the dock to see us off.

The ferry ride back. It was much warmer then the ride to the island in the morning!

After arriving back in Portsmouth we changed and went out for dinner. My hair was an absolute mess by the end of the day. But look, I got new sunglasses! Our waiter said that even though it wasn't my birthday it was a special occasion so he put a candle in our brownie sundae!

It was a wonderful day!

Back to the 18th Century

Despite the craziness of down to the wire wedding plans and buying a house (we close today!) I managed to escape for a few hours for a little time travel to the 1770s. This past weekend was the Revolutionary War event at the Fort at No. 4. It's a wonderful site, and although it suffers many of the same woes of other historic sites, it has a lot of offer. I dusted off my interpreter skills and talked with some of the visitors inside one of the reconstructed homes. I spoke with a gentleman who was an antique dealer/collector and a lady who was just starting to make some 18th century clothing for herself. I brought a few items for display including my blue and white cross-barred gown. She was very excited to look at it and see how it was constructed and I was happy to share a few tips and resources with her.

Photo credit - Erin Jarrett

It was rather chilly in the morning and I was happy to be wearing my extra petticoat! I typically wear two unless it's supper hot but that day I wore three - my under petticoat of white linen with a printed cotton border, a quilted petticoat, and finally my blue and white striped linen petticoat. And of course my shift, stays, stockings, shoes, pocket, cap, mitts, gown and apron. Yes, that's a lot of layers!

I've posted about my purple and white cotton gown before but this is only the second time I've worn it. It's first outing was to Old Sturbridge Village last summer. I forgot my camera, along with a few other things that day, so my friend Erin took these photos with her phone. Everything I'm wearing in these photos, except for my cap, stockings and shoes, was all hand sewn by me.

I attempted something new with my hair but by the time we took the pictures it looked a little funky so please forgive me! These first couple of photos were taken in the bed chamber of the Parker House.

Photo credit - Erin Jarrett

I love the cotton bed hangings. Note the painted floor cloth too, these kinds of floor coverings were fairly common in the mid to late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Photo credit - Erin Jarrett

The robings on my gown came unpinned so it looks a little strange in this photo. Photo credit - Erin Jarrett

These next two my favorite photos of the whole group. :) I really like the play of sunlight and shadows from the window. Erin's husband is a professional photographer and I think his skills are rubbing off on her.

Photo credit - Erin Jarrett

Photo credit - Erin Jarrett

We took a few pictures in the keeping room (kitchen) and office/study area. I look so studious, ha! My linen mitts were started in a Hive workshop back in 2012 (yikes, has it really been that long?!) and patterned off the black and yellow pair seen here. The points are backed with silk and they are embroidered with matching yellow silk thread.

Look, I finished my mitts!! Photo credit - Erin Jarrett

Time for tea! Photo credit - Erin Jarrett

Photo credit - Erin Jarrett

Photo credit - Erin Jarrett

Second Annual Roaring 20s Lawn Party

Hello all! Sorry for the delay in posts lately, there is so much going on right now. We are a little more then one month from the wedding and neck deep in finalizing the purchase of our first home! Yikes! So yeah, life is just a little stressful right now. I have to say I'm overwhelmed with the number of people who viewed and commented on my post about the 1920s beach party! Thank you to everyone who commented and/or shared my post. My goodness, according to my blog stats it's now one of my highest viewed posts ever! This is thanks in large part to Lauren of American Duchess sharing it on her Facebook page. Thank you Lauren!!

As promised here are some pictures from the second annual Roaring 20s Lawn Party held at the Crane Estate. The weather was much cooler then last year and very comfortable. The event was postponed a week due to rain so there were not as many people this time. However, I think everyone had an enjoyable time.

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We walked to the end of the rolling lawn for a few pictures.

Cori and I both wore the same outfits from our polo match outing in July. Julia wore the cotton robe de style I helped her make with a sash borrowed from her sister Jen. Jen raided my vintage clothing and wore an original cotton 20s dress. I love the embroidery and smocking on this dress.

We played Bocce ball and badminton . However, I don't have any pictures of our badminton game.

The girls also posed for some silly pictures.

 More photos from the event here!

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