The sheer-yoked Macaron and pineapple upside-down cake

Hard to believe we’re already in the middle of the week, readers! I meant to get this post up earlier, but the last few days have been a bit crazy for me, with both my museum internship and starting my last quarter as a college student (which has been scary, nerve-wrecking, and bittersweet all at the same time).

Anyways, Sunday was the much-anticipated Season 5 premiere of Mad Men, and I held a little cocktail party to celebrate! Of course, I had to have a new frock, and so I wore the one that I whipped up during spring break, using the Macaron pattern from Colette Patterns. I made several design changes, most notably omitting the sleeves (I did a bias facing along the armholes instead) and using a sheer lace fabric for the yoke. The rest of the body of the dress was made of a stretch black cotton sateen.

I really loved working with this pattern, it was really easy to sew up, and I love the pockets that are put incorporated into the pleats.

Back of the dress and view of the keyhole neckline, which closes with a snap and allows the dress to go on easier without tugging at the lace.

I definitely wanted to go with a more mid to late 60s feel with this dress, but also have a modern take on it as well, and so the Macaron was perfect for that. I also used this hair tutorial from the fabulous Casey of Elegant Musings to make a 60s-inspired chignon, and though it took a little fiddling at first, I was so pleased by the results at the end that I didn’t want to take my hair pins out when the party was over!

Speaking of the party, I mulled over the menu quite a bit, but in the end chose to make an Old-Fashioned Chicken Fricassee, which was delicious, albeit a little spicy.

Pineapple upside-down cake! Complete with my vintage 1950s white sheer apron.

I also made one of my favorite desserts, pineapple upside-down cake, using this recipe and substituting pecans for cherries in the center of the pineapple pieces. Readers, it was *so* delicious, and if you can get over the high sugar and fat content, I would highly recommend making one yourself (although butter does make everything better, doesn’t it?). In fact, it was so good that I made two (one for my party on Sunday, and another for the museum staff at my internship on Tuesday).

Anyways, I’ll be putting modern and vintage sewing on hold for a bit, as I have several 1850s projects I need to work on. Oh, and the Titanic tea is like in 2 weeks, and I’ve only made a petticoat. So, hopefully I can get a good start on the rest of my Edwardian stuff this weekend.