Due to visiting friends, I haven’t been around much this week, but yesterday I dropped them off at the airport and now I’m back.
Of course having guests required that I show them around St. Thomas and take them to St. John. As they were buying souvenirs, I took the opportunity to do my own shopping. I’m making progress getting all the accessories together for my Regency gown. Amazingly enough I was able to find several items I need right here on St. Thomas for a very low price. Not something I would have expected.
As I was hunting for a shawl a The Linen Shop, this reticule caught my eye. The gold in the flowers will be perfect with my gown.
Reticule
Blue Cameos
I have a set of blue cameos from Sorrento that my husband bought me some years ago. I’ll wear the pendant on a gold chain and I found a jeweler to switch out the posts on the earrings for wire.
Finally, after searching St. John and St. Thomas, I found is beautiful gold shawl at Outriggers for a much lower price than I’ve seen online. I think it will go with the gown. Perhaps I’ll even add a bit of fringe on the ends.
Gold Shawl
Last, but not least, I tracked down these hair ornaments at Icing.
Hair Decorations
All this putting together reminded me of a passage in The Temptation of Lady Serena, book #3 in The Marriage Game, which goes on pre-order in August and releases in January.
Phoebe and Serena went off to her dressing room, and searched through her new gowns.
“Here. This one, I think.” Phoebe held out a pale yellow silk evening gown with a twisted cord of green and gold. “Now you tell me what you’d like to wear with it.”
Serena studied the gown and selected a spangled shawl and a reticule with seed pearls. “I think these will go well. What do you think?”
Giving Serena an enigmatic smile, Phoebe said, “Perfect. Serena, you’ll look lovely. We’ll see you this evening.”
The past week wasn’t all fun and games. One evening while I work, this little guy came to visit.
Gecko visiting my desk
In the middle of the week I took my friends to a fund raiser for the St. Thomas Historical Trust which hosted a coal kettle cook off. Coal kettles were used for cooking in the islands for many year, including during the time book #5 in The Marriage Game.
Coal pot with pumpkin soup
I hope you had a good week and are enjoying the holiday weekend.
ellaquinnauthor
Ella Quinn ~ Author 
I love how your normal life can remind you and inspire you about your writing life. Great passage!
I think it just goes to show that in many respects, life doesn’t change much. Thank you for coming my Lauren.
Wow, sounds like you outfit is really coming together. I can’t wait to see you in the final product!
Cute Gecko!
Coal cooking. *shakes head* I’m a good cook, but I have a feeling I would burn anything I tried to cook with coal. lol
It is. I was really surprised to find so much of what I needed. The Gecko was soooo tiny it was hard to get a picture.
Coal pot cooking is really just like grilling. Earlier in the week I had Dum bread backed the old fashion way. It was really good, but I didn’t have pictures.
Wow, sounds like you had some great fun Ms. Ella! I always love shopping when I have a project in mind. Congrats on finding some stuff you needed! You’ll have to post piccy’s when the outfit is complete don’t cha know!
I had a fun time, Margaret. I’ll post everything when I have it all together. Now I just need shoes and stockings.
Can’t wait to see you in all your finery at the ball! So lucky to find everything you needed close at hand. 🙂 Very fitting excerpt!
I can’t wait to see it all together as well. I’m glad you liked the excerpt. It had been a while since I looked at The Temptation of Lady Serena, but I remembered that part this morning.
Wow! There is some good shopping to be had on the island! Lovely accessories! And I am intrigued by coal kettle cooking. Sounds like fun!
There is. The reticule only cost me $9. Can you believe it?
When your outfit is complete, please post pictures, Ella!
I will, Gerri. The first post may just be of it all together and not on me. I’ll get pictures at Nationals.
Great little teeny tiny snippet. And I agree with everyone else – sounds like your gown is coming together and you had a great time shopping.
Thank you, Daryl.
pretty reticule!
Thank you, Angelyn. I couldn’t belive how inexpenive it was.
Quite an eventful week for you, Ella! How lucky to be able to find the accessories you need on your own doorstep. We get bats flying outside at night but nothing as exotic as a Gecko!
It was lucky, and the colors I wanted as well! I like bats. They’re neat.
Do people still walk really slowly when crossing the roads in St. Thomas. I recall the scuba guide would get so mad at them. He’d cheerfully lean out the window and yell. Take your time, we’ve got all a day. Then then woman would cross even slower.
He was also a fanatic about not wasting water and when water tanks would pass splashing water all over the place, it would break his heart.
Some people walk slowly. They tend to be teenagers, and it can get a bit annoying. The water trucks don’t splash any more.
Such gorgeous accessories! I can’t wait to see everything all together. Don’t forget to post another picture!
Thank you, Ally. Once I have everything togther I’ll post a picture of it all.
I had those little lizards all over the place in Miami–the trick was to get the dog to leave them alone 🙂
Your Regency costume is coming together nicely! I’m still working on hair ornaments (can’t figure out what I want to do with my hair, let alone what to put in it), but I found gloves the other day on e-bay. I didn’t even think to look there until I’d seen your post, so thanks!
I can’t wait to see yours, Cora. I’m glad I could help.
The dog pretty much leaves them alone. It’s that cats I have to yell at.