Investigating Coffee Presentations

I saw this amazing coffee drink on one of my favorite coffeehouse’s Instagram account. It was presented in a mason like jar, and it got me thinking, how could you use a jar like that? Does it have to be brand new, or can you recycle and reuse them? So, I got to make a special trip and got some of these questions answered.

The drinks in the mason jar are only available for staying inside. There’s a lot of prep that goes into getting them ready to serve. They’re bought in pristine condition, probably online, and they washed with specific cleaning solutions because of the pandemic.

In the end, I took the drink to go, rather than sitting down. It was a tasty treat, sweet but not overwhelming. I think this was a good experiment, and I enjoyed it a lot.

Through the Early 1810's: Starting with Bridgerton

On the streaming series, Bridgerton, starting in 1813, Great Britain was under the reign of Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and King George III (also known as Mad King George). In the series, Queen Charlotte was the face of the crown, she was the one who debutantes presented to, and Her Majesty was presented at various events for the royal family.

They King and Queen had 15 children in total, 13 of whom survived to adulthood, two of whom were future British monarchs, George IV, and William IV; as well as Charlotte, Princess Royal, who became Queen of Württemberg; Prince Edward, the father of Queen Victoria; and Prince Ernest Augustus, who became King of Hanover. Early in King George's reign, Great Britain defeated France in the Seven Years' War, becoming the dominant European power in North America and India. Further wars against revolutionary and Napoleonic France from 1793 concluded in the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

Fashions of the Period

The fashion style between 1813 and 1815 was inspired by the classical antiquity, modeled into the high-waisted neoclassical silhouette, increasingly broken by trim, colors, and a new angularity as the tubular skirts were gradually replaced by triangular versions. I focus on the women, because I am a woman, and their clothes always fascinate me.

First was the shifts, or chemises, that were meant to protect the rest of the undergarments from the body’s perspiration. Corsets were necessary, yet unbelievably uncomfortable, made with whale bone, and tightened to give women a more feminine figure. And then a petticoat, which was a layer between the women’s clothing and underwear.

Clothes worn inside the home was called the morning dress, and lacked a whole lot of decoration, and was modest, simple, and hopefully comfortable. While, evening gowns were meant to be seen at parties, and were styled with more colors, accessories, and embellishments.

The classical influence extended to hairstyles. Often masses of curls were worn over the forehead and ears, with the longer back hair drawn up into loose buns or Psyche knots influenced by Greek and Roman styles. Here are some videos of modern versions of the styles I’ve been inspired by. This is just a small sample of the period, and culture in the early 1810’s.

First Month of the New Year 2021

This January, there has been so much going on, I’m just now getting caught up, and posting. A lot of new seasons, and even some new series on streaming channels, have begun, and I’ve even got caught up in plenty of older series, so now I would like to share so much.

For starters, I’ve been discovering a lot of interesting period dramas, going back to Bridgerton, and finding other series connecting to that time frame. Belgravia takes place in 1815 which is two years after, right around the Battle of Waterloo. Queen Charlotte and King George’s reign was during the Napoleon wars, and their descendants including Queen Victoria, who along side Prince Alfred were mentioned in Belgravia, twenty years after the first scenes.

The CW, along with a few other channels, have released new seasons of their series. Starting with a brand new Batwoman. Kate Kane has been presumed dead after a plane crash, she was on. Now, Ryan Wilder has found the suit, and wants to take up the mantle to give justice to those in Gotham. On Netflix, the rebirth of interesting story, Fate: Winx Saga; Bloom and her friends reimagined in an interesting tale.

All of these and more, there is so much starting with this new year, I hope to keep writing and sharing, without fall behind.

"Bridgerton" in the Timeline

The new series on Netflix, based on a series of books by author Julia Quinn, is a period drama and is awesome. I have read the first four books of the series, and I loved the storyline. After watching the series, it is pretty different, but also pretty incredible too.

While several young women are making their debut into society, in order to find suitable matches for marriage, a society paper, kind of like a gossip column (a little like Gossip Girl), premiers as well, a tell-all about the Ton, a reference used during this time period, a term commonly used to refer to Britain's high society during the late Regency and the reign of George IV, and later. The first season focuses on Daphne Bridgerton, the eldest daughter, and fourth in an exceptional large, loving family, and her finding love with the Duke of Hastings, Simon Basset, portrayed by Phoebe Dynevor, and Regé-Jean Page.

Capturing Authentic Moments

Based loosely on the Regency period, in 1813 London, the show gives a glimpse at some fashion, and culture of this era. Starting with fashion, I recognized the empire dress, a silhouette also from Pride and Prejudice. This one of my favorites, because of the slim, elegant look, even on slightly small forms, was inspired apparently by the neoclassical look, meaning a simpler and elegant style of women’s fashion. Corsets were also in style, and while these were beautiful in design, they were probably not as comfortable, back then in history, or present for the actresses who had to wear half corsets for the show, while the bloomers were a little different.

While women were meant for extraordinarily little, we see in both the books, and the Netflix version, that they were a force to be reckoned with, and had ways to manage any situation they found themselves in. Particularly in the social seasons, the mothers were a driving force, for their sons and daughters.

How much of all this is historically accurate, the creators left some wiggle room, but did a lot of research to show a truly inspired period of time, and an incredible story. The first season was amazing and I’m excited to see what happens next.

Working on Sharing More of My Favorite Moments: T@gged 1x05

Been having trouble posting on YouTube, but so far Vimeo is working out well, and I'm also using MixDrop, and Userload now. I hope these don't these for anyone interested in my videos.

The night before, Jake and Rowan spend the night together. The next day, Rowan and Hailey figure out who knows where Elisia is. Ash helps the girls find, and rescue her, and they tell show him the video.

 

Loosely Based on the Books, Starting with Riverdale Mentioning

Several series have been returning to their networks, including Riverdale, and Nancy Drew. These are two of my favorites, but now, one of them maybe reading for its series finale, which always makes me sad.

Last season of Riverdale was somewhat epic, beginning with the actor Luke Perry, and his character, Fred Andrews, who had died, which was sad. It also kind of mentioned two series which we have heard of. Jughead starts attending a creepy prep school, where there is a competition to be the next ghost writer for the Baxter Brothers, a book series franchise. Moving forward, this sounds an awful like The Hardy Boys, especially when you add another character, Tracy True, into the mix. The season ended with Jughead, Betty, FP, and their half-brother, and Jughead’s grandfather, solving a horrific secret, and series of murders, surrounding this empire.

The Real Nancy Drew

Season two has finally released its first promo, and it looks even spookier, and mysterious. There’s a new sheriff in town, and Nancy and her friends are dealing with a scarier entity that wants payback, probably literally.

After re-watching the first season, I saw something near the end that caught by attention. Lucy Sable had her baby, and after giving her to the Drew’s, she went over the bluff to her death. While we all thought she just slipped off the cliff or jumped, what if she saw something that freaked her out, and she stepped back. At the end of the first season finale, Nancy had a vision of her being scared of something and falling backward on the bluffs, maybe just like Lucy.

The Hardy Boys Makes Their New Debut

On Hulu, we see a new version The Hardy Boys. It looked interesting, so I gave it a watch. It looks a little different than the actual books, or older series, but in the end, it was incredible series, and I hope there is another mystery for them, and their friends to solve.

Like Riverdale and Nancy Drew, the boys are hit by tragedy when their amazing mom, is killed in a car crash with suspicious circumstances. So, their dad packs the boys up to stay with his sister in their hometown, where their maternal grandmother nearby. A throwback to what their used to, the brothers deal their loss, figuring out their mom was murdered because she was looking into something going on in town, dealing with the old families and a mysterious antiquity. Frank and Joe Hardy have deal with thieves, assassins, and a bunch of other crazy people all after one thing. After all that, with the help of their family, and friends, they solve the case, and save their new home.

It was amazing, but there are still some unanswered questions. Hopefully, this means a new season will come forward in the future. I love when they keep those doors open.

Trivia Junkie: New WordPress Blog + Possible Podcast

I was working on my blogs theme when I just decided to try and work with WordPress and use this as another blog. It’s a little harder than on Google Blogger, but I’m hoping it will be worth it.

I though it would be cool to set it up as my site for my tidbits and trivia, maybe my podcast. I am still working on figuring out how many pictures I can use because there is a limit, unlike Blogger.

Original Reading Material: When Calls the Heart

I have been inspired to challenge myself to do some actual reading. I watched the pilot movie, When Calls the Heart, with Poppy Drayton, and Daniel Sherman, two of my favorite actors, and I wanted to see if the original story matched with the movie, and tv series.

I started reading the actual book, not just an epub file on my phone, but an actual paper bound book from the library. It was hard to get into the story, partly because the names get mixed up in my head. Elizabeth was the name of the protagonist in both the series, and the movie, as well as her aunt. In the show, Julie was her youngest sister, and she had an elder sister too. So, in the first book series, they are talking about the aunt, I think. So confusing.

The story starts out with Elizabeth talking about her family and giving kind of a run down about them all. It’s interesting the different types of writing styles. I’ve always wanted to work on my own stories and put them out there. Reading has always been both enjoyable, and a learning tool for me, in so many ways. This experience will hopefully help me again.