Falling Slowly

Hello, my dear and long-lost friends!

I am sorry to have been so absent and neglectful around these parts, but I was busy getting married. And then honeymooning. And then having lots of parties. It was rad.

I am back now, though, and feeling the blogging bug. And the nesting bug. I think getting our little house in order is going to take some time (our cupboard for baking dishes is already an overflowing mess and I just started putting things in there today), but I am determined to not let that stop me from taking advantage of all the decorating that comes with Fall and Winter.

To get my brain going, I ordered Autumn With Matthew Mead, a "book-azine" filled with pictures, inspiration and recipes for Fall celebrating. It is a lovely thing to thumb through though, to be perfectly frank, I was a little disappointed that there weren't more templates and how-to instructions. For those, you might consider just checking out Matthew Mead's Web site, instead.

That didn't stop me from going cover to cover three times yesterday, though, picking out little ideas and tricks. One shortcut I really like is using practical items you already have to make holiday decorations. Like filling a trifle bowl with artful fall foliage, acorns or ornaments. Or using a metal floral topiary frame to display your favorite symbols of the season. I think I might get out my brand new scalloped cake stand and see if I can't turn it into an Autumn table centerpiece somehow. I'll let you know how it goes.

And, in the meantime, tell us: what are your favorite Fall decorating tips and tricks?

50's and Dior

Hey guys, I’m Sarah Hansen (soon to be Sarah Tyler in 52 days) and I’m the Production Manager for Shabby Apple. What’s a Production Manager you say? Well, basically, I make all the samples and I order all the fabric and I get everything manufactured. So, if you love a dress from Shabby Apple, you’re welcome. If not, I’m sure it’s somehow not my fault.

So as you can tell, we recently launched our Academia Line for fall this year. Well, just incase you weren’t sure, it’s awesome. The fun part about this line is that we drew inspiration from actual 1950’s patterns for some of the dresses. I’m not sure if you knew this or not, but the 50’s are by FAR the best years for fashion. You might try and argue against this point, but you’d be wrong. Let me explain to you why the 50’s were and still are such an important time for fashion.

So I’m not sure if any of you have heard of Christian Dior… but he’s kind of a big deal. The years before had seen a slow change into less feminine clothing as women went to work during the war. Needless to say, he was not a fan. So he designed a dress that would completely change the feminine ideal. This style was called the “New Look”. I’m sure you’ve seen it, even if you’ve never heard of it. Basically, it was a dress with a tailor fit top and a huge, and I mean HUGE full skirt. He took this thing back to a very Victorian silhouette, which was the epitome of the hour glass figure. Make your waist look tiny, and your hips huge. In some of his more extravagant styles, he used around 100yds of fabric to give his skirt the correct fullness! Take a look at this beauty:

Courtesy of modaspot.com

Anywho, Dior was a visionary and completely changed the way people dressed during that time. The other silhouette that was important was the fitted sheath dress. It was the opposite of this very voluminous style, yet it did the same thing. It let women show off their womanly shapes and be feminine. So, since I think that the hourglass shape is the prefect feminine feature, I love a dress that will show it off or will exaggerate it. Wearing one of the “new look” style dresses feels just like being a fashion sketch. And you know you never feel sexier than when you’ve got on a well tailored little cocktail dress that doesn’t need to show a lot of skin, but simply hugs where it should. Oh and did I mention that the 1950’s are completely responsible for cocktail dresses? Let me just explain Courtesy of worthpoint.com this really quickly. So in the 1950’s women (housewives specifically) would actually change into a fancy dress come 5 o’clock in the evening and greet their husband’s at the door with a cocktail. Then they’d spend an hour being fancy and having some adult beverages. It was a big deal, and women dressed nice for it, as their husbands came home from work wearing suits. So, without the glamorous and extravagant efforts of the 50’s housewife to cater to her husband, we wouldn’t have cocktail dresses (which is also where they got their name from as well). Thanks for everything 1950’s. You’re the best.

Enjoy some fantastic 50’s pics:

Courtesy of artfire.com

Courtesy of kaboodle.com Courtesy of itsallaboutthecolor.blogspot.com

Courtesy of Pattern Mania on Etsy.com

Courtesy of cemetarian.com

Courtesy of stylehive.com Courtesy of Pattern Mania on Etsy.com

This is actually a children’s dress. Amazing. Thanks stylehive.com!

Courtesy of qayscloset.blogspot.com Courtesy of stylehive.com

Courtesy of stylehive.com

Courtesy of goldenhollywoodera.com

Courtesy of Stylehive.com

And the MOST amazing of all,

Christian Dior’s piece from his

fall/winter line ’56-‘57

Courtesy of metmuseum.org

You Hungry??

If you have a garden, chances are, you have about 30 pounds of home-grown zucchini sitting on

your kitchen table right now. My job today is to relieve you of at least 2 of those pounds. The rest will be committed to loaves of zucchini bread (with the majority being ditched on your neighbors’ doorsteps).

Before I lived in Italy, the only pasta I knew was spaghetti with meatballs. Life in the Mediterranean will change things for you because I am now well-versed in all sorts of pasta and sauce combos, with this one below being one of my VERY FAVORITES EVER!! (as an

absolute plus: the vegetables are also almost indistinguishable to your kids, so if you have trouble getting them to dig in to a plate of veggies, this dish is perfect and oh-so-tasty).

I agree that it sounds strange at first. But, if you are like my friend Sophia (and you probably wish you were), I guarantee you will make this meal more than once this week. So, buckle up and get a-cookin’!

Pasta with Zucchini and Carrots

In a medium frying pan, simmer:

2-3 small cloves of minced garlic

Shred/Grate: (you can also chop finely to give your dish more texture)1

Tb. extra virgin olive oil

2-3 small zucchini

1-2 medium carrots

Add shredded vegetables to pan with:

½ tsp salt

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp basil

1 vegetable/chicken bouillon cube crushed (or dissolved in water)

½ cup water

Let the sauce simmer until the water is almost gone. Add to your favorite pasta (sho

rt pasta, like fusilli, works best since it tends to catch the little bits of sauce in its ridges). Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on top and then squeal with delight as you eat to your heart’s content.

Makes about 1 ½ cups of sauce—good for 2-4 servings of pasta

Buon Appetito!

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall

Hello! Athelia here, owner and creator of Shabby Apple. Here in NYC, many are lamenting the end of summer and the beginning of fall. Yet, as a redhead with fair skin who LOVES to wear olive green, I find that this is my favorite time of year! I also find that because I live in an NYC apartment, I have to be strategic about what clothes I can buy (and actually fit into my closet!). Thus, I’ve been thinking a lot about how to make my clothes work for multiple seasons. Many of my things work for NOW and for LATER; they just have to be paired with the right accessories! One of my favorites is the Bethesda Fountain dress.


For NOW, I’m wearing it with a bright ring . . .


Pretty Bracelet . . .

And Oh-So-Dainty Shoes . . .


And, I have to admit, I’m a sucker for cute earrings, so I’m adding these to the mix!



BUT . . .

For LATER . . .

I’ll need a cozy sweater . . .


Colorful scarf . . .

And fun booties. Who can resist?

And the winner is..........

Well friends, it has been another banner year for the Dare to Design contest. It seems impossible, but you just keep getting better! And, as always, this years entries deserve a round of applause.

Are you applauding? Honestly if we could make all these submissions in to Shabby Apple dresses we would. But, alas, we can't so we will just announce this years winner instead! A big congratulations to Little Season!!

This winning creation will become a part of Shabby Apple's next Spring line, so keep your eyes peeled and make sure to pick one up for yourself

In the meantime, start planning your designs for next years go-round and we will see you back here soon!