A Time Traveler's Dinner Party

It was never one of my more popular posts, but this is honestly one of my favourite posts on the blog. However, I never dreamed when I came up with the concept that I would one day host my own real life historical dinner party for some of my history-loving friends. Granted, Alexander Hamilton and Sarah Winchester did not show up - but I did invite friends who I met through my time giving tours at Mr. Hamilton's and Mrs. Winchester's homes. So I guess that kind of counts, doesn't it?

I called it the Time Travelers' Dinner Party, as my friends and I are all as close to time travelers as it gets in NYC, what with all our historically-inspired jobs, events, reenactments, and more. I curated a menu inspired by historic food and drinks from the ancient era all the way up to the Edwardian era, encouraged my guests to wear clothing inspired by historic eras and figures, played appropriate music, and dressed like a Viking to play hostess!

Thank you so much Lindsey for this elegant photo!

I think I pulled it off pretty well, if I do say so myself. Read on for the deets if you're curious about just how time travelers have a dinner party...

I'VE MOVED TO BROOKLYN!

So I have to make a confession, you guys.

I'm sure you all have noticed that I haven't exactly been the most active on this blog lately... (No, it's not just because I've been obsessively playing "Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp" since November.) The truth is, the last month or so has been one of turmoil and upheaval, for a bevy of personal reasons that I don't really feel comfortable sharing publicly. But this all ended up leading to one thing, a big piece of news that I have to share with all of you...

SARAH AND I HAVE MOVED TO BROOKLYN.

We're on the border of Flatbush and Prospect Lefferts Gardens

It hasn't exactly been the smoothest adjustment, as moving is never easy, especially in the middle of winter, but we did it and I am so proud of us.

And you know what? As my months-long depressive spell starts to lift, I'm coming to find that... I actually quite like Brooklyn.

A Modern Victorian Retreat Day

My teatime spread

 God bless the Wayback Machine, honestly.

One of my favourite websites that I discovered back in my early twenties was a website called "Eras of Elegance", one that appealed immensely to my history-loving sensibilities. It was divided into sections such as "movies" and "fashion" and "lifestyle", and gave not only brief overviews of historical eras and trends (i.e. the Ancient era, the Medieval era, the Regency, the Rococo, the Victorian period, etc.) but also gave lists of fiction that took place in these eras, historically inspired recipes, and ways one could translate historical fashions and hairstyles into a modern street look.

I loved that website so much. I was heartbroken when it disappeared from the internet. Thankfully, on the internet nothing is gone forever!

The Eras of Elegance homepage

One piece of the website that I had completely forgotten about, that I rediscovered again thanks to the Wayback Machine, was the ideas the site's author(s?) had for a "Victorian Retreat Weekend". That is, a weekend where one turns off all modern technology and does activities predetermined by the website (I assume the schedule is to be printed before the technology all goes off) to live in the spirit of the Victorians, if not quite historically accurately.

This idea intrigued me and would not let me go. I knew, now that I discovered it again, that I had no choice. This idea was gripping my mind. I couldn't stop thinking about it for weeks. I just had to do it. But there was no way for me to get an entire weekend off - so I consolidated it to just a day, combining the suggested schedules for two days into one:

7:00 am: Rise and shine, get ready for the day
8:00 am: Make breakfast from scratch.
9:00 am: After cleaning up from breakfast, morning devotional activity or reading.
10:00 am: Housework, crafting, or family time.
11:30 am: Prepare a picnic lunch.
12:00 noon: Picnic lunch at a local park.
1:30 pm: Afternoon excursion - possibly a local historical museum or antiquing.
4:00 pm: Afternoon tea. Once tea is cleaned up, reading, crafting, or writing in a journal.
6:30 pm: Prepare dinner.
7:30 pm: Dinner and clean-up.
8:00 pm: Family time.
9:00 pm: Back to the future.

I set rules for myself. I would make historically inspired recipes, I would dress historically-inspired (in a vintage Gunne Saxe dress - Victorian by way of the 1970s), and I wouldn't use any appliances that they did not have in the Victorian/Edwardian eras. My phone was only used as a camera (they did have cameras) and a phone for 8pm family time (my family lives in California and it's my sister's birthday, I couldn't not call just because I wanna escape modern life for awhile).

So then how did it go?

Tiny Update: Room Makeover

I don't have time for a major update, but I am happy to report that I have updated my bedroom, with Sarah's loving help. Most of the reasons for me doing so will be made public later, but I can say it was a long time coming. It's still a work in progress, but I'm so very proud of it, why not show it off? I don't have 'before' pictures, unfortunately, but enjoy the 'after's!

 Here you can see the main part of my room. My bed was previously in the centre of the room, and the bookshelf shoved into the corner. The Grandma Chair had been in another room entirely. We picked up my bed and moved it so that it's now up against the radiator. (Not pictured. Also not pictured, the dresser we moved next to the radiator.) The bookshelf got moved as well, and then we had a heck of a time getting the Grandma Chair, as I have affectionately named the thing, into the room to its ultimate spot.

 A closeup of the corner the chair is in, my cozy creative corner where I do most of my writing. (I'm writing from that corner right now.) The second chair is when Sarah comes over to help me with a certain writing project. In this photo there's a scarf draped over the back of the chair, but that'll likely be moved. Eventually.

Opposite my bed is my gallery wall. When I started it, it had the vague theme of "eccentric Victorian traveller", thus the old portraits and silhouette and the palmistry guide and global goods such as the tin heart and Polish flag. (Though I've had that flag for years.) The theme has... not quite been executed, as after a few months I decided to go with a more eclectic "I like it so it goes" theme for the entire room. However, there is at least one piece of art that hasn't made it onto the gallery wall...

This painting. THIS PAINTING. Sarah and I found it at a yard sale down the street from Hamilton Park when she visited me last weekend and I fell in love with it immediately. Isn't it the worst, kitschiest piece of fantasy schlock you've ever seen? I needed this in my life. It's handpainted on a piece of black velvet and I'm not sure what it's meant to portray but I'm a little obsessed with it and its special brand of kitsch. I'm thinking of hanging it between the bookshelf and the Grandma Chair.

As you can see, the room is still a work in progress. In addition to hanging the painting, I also would like to get a rug, and I've bought a clothing rack which still hasn't shipped to me yet. But I'm pleased with how it's going so far. It's nice to finally love my room so much.
-Nym

Happy Thanksgiving!

 
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

I haven't posted much lately. November has been... a Month, to say the least. I hope to have a more frequent posting schedule in December when I am done with my current writing project, but lately that's been consuming a lot of my time, between the writing itself and all the research I've been doing!

However, today (in America at least) is a holiday, and despite the fact that back home it was never one of my favourites, and despite the fact that the story of the first Thanksgiving is largely a myth, I was really excited and, well, thankful when my roommate asked if I wanted to have Thanksgiving with her this year.

New Year, New Home!

First off, L'shanah tovah! Rosh Hashanah ("Jewish New Year" for all my goy friends) starts tonight!

Second off, I am no longer crashing on my cousin's couch or Sarah's floor - I got a place of my own! How did I do it, you ask? Here are my steps to finding a home of your own on the East Coast:

1. Schedule an apartment viewing in Queens. Go to it. Have the guy promise to call you back.
2. The guy never calls back? That's fine. Schedule another in Brooklyn.
3. They want you to sign a lease you're not comfortable with? It's okay. Brooklyn is huge. Try another one.
4. Too expensive, huh? Let's give Harlem a shot.
5. They picked someone else? Try a few more places in Brooklyn.
6. Rejected, rejected. Get stood up once. Try Harlem some more.
7. Rejected, rejected, rejected.
8. Break down. Cry. Then get back on Craigslist.
9. Give up and move to New Jersey instead.

I'm being somewhat facetious. Truth is, the place I found is in New Jersey. In fact, it's in Weehawken, just a short walk from where Alexander Hamilton was shot. My story begins where his ended. Poetic, isn't it?

But I don't feel as if I failed in any way. Actually, for how much shit New Yorkers give Jersey? I love it here. I love the house I'm staying in - it's an old (supposedly haunted) Victorian boarding house that has been converted to apartments. Sarah saw it and agrees it's perfect for me.

And as my boss said, "new year, new home!" It's a fitting time to move into such a lovely place. And it's actually really close to Manhattan - check out the view from the front porch:

A ten minute bus ride through the Lincoln Tunnel, and then I'm in the middle of Times Square. (I hate Times Square but it's a convenient transportation hub...) And, you know, I've always dreamed of someday living in a Victorian house. I just never expected it would happen at this point in my life.

Now, obviously, for privacy reasons I can't show you what the outside of the building looks like. Rest assured it is very cute. However I can give you a small home tour...