The cutest little hotel in Petaluma

Recently, Mom and I had cause to travel up to Northern California. In a fit of whimsy, she eschewed our usual defaults (i.e. Motel 6 or Days Inn) and booked us into the very lovely, very french Metro Hotel.

       The hotel is a renovated Victorian house, decorated with french furniture and memorabilia.

I am an admirer of puppetry in all it's many forms, so I was delighted to see this lovely vintage puppet theater hanging on the wall with what appeared to be it's original puppets and a lovely mural painted on the front.

                  If you want, you can even stay in a vintage Airstream trailer!

Here's our room. The walls were a cool lavender, (although the photos I took made it look a little grey) and while it's very compact, it had nice high ceilings so it didn't feel cramped

I now want this pink claw foot bathtub

                                             Yes, that is in fact a lamp shaped like a goose.

The hotel also has a breakfast area with coffee, tea and pastries for the guests. 

My Mom took this picture, She said I looked "very french"

                                       All in all, a great place to visit if you're in Petaluma

The best things in life are free, or HSF challenge #13

It's amazing how a new gadget can inspire a new accessory. I now own a Samsung Galaxy S II, which means I don't have to lug my tablet around with me to every event anymore! Since the S II was so small, I found myself in need of a smaller bag.

A friend gifted me with a piece of grey silk with just a hint of lavender. There wasn't much (under a yard) and so it sat in my fabric pile until today. I used this Three Sided Reticule pattern from the American Girl's Book, with a little modification.

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The Challenge: Under $10

Fabric: Grey silk dupioni

Pattern: Three sided reticule pattern by American Girl's Book

Year: 1830's

Notions: Thread

How historically accurate is it? Machine sewn

Hours to complete: About 1 day

First worn: Not yet, maybe in December

Total cost: Free

HSF '14 challenge #12: Shape and Support

This entry, along with the last one, got scaled down so I could work on my mother's bustle dress, and just like the suffragette cockade, I'm not planning to wear it any time soon. I may eventually make something that requires it, but for now my regular bustle suits my needs quite well.

The bustle pad is made of striped cotton and poly batting and it didn't cost me a dime (hurrah for decreasing the fabric stash!). 

I apologize for the low quality of the photo (and that there's only one) but it turns out that it's pretty hard to take a photo of something on the floor with a front facing camera. 

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The Challenge: Shape and Support

Fabric: Cotton

Pattern: Um, No.

Year: 1878-ish

Notions: Thread and poly batting

How historically accurate is it? Poly batting, so probably not very

Hours to complete: 1

First worn: Not yet

Total cost: Free