Little Rock Feis 2013

Some of you know we do Irish dance around here. Well, Reese has been exposed to the art since she came home and our awesome dance teacher, Mrs Judy, has been working with her since she was 3, before she was able to start proper classes at just short of age 5.

Reese made an excellent showing for the McCafferty School on Saturday at our feis. Reese got 4th in her light jig, 5th in her reel, 2nd in her slip jig, 2nd in her single jig, 1st in her treble jig, and the icing on the cake was the 3rd place she got in her treble reel. That came with a trophy, which she is so proud of.

Congrats, Reese. Hope the medals keep coming.

As for our adoption, we got our I-800 approval on 4/24, paper copy in the mail 4/27. Sent it off to be authenticated on 4/29. Next step, DTC!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Truck all rigged up for the parade

Reese in the parade

My friends, Robyn and Marisa (all of us in solo dresses)

Reese dancing after the parade

Helping blow up balloons to decorate the truck

It's a bit early, yes, but these are pictures from the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Little Rock. Our dance school, the McCafferty School of Irish Dance, was in the parade.

It was warm, about 70* or so, which is warm when it is sunny and you're running in spots to keep up with the parade, dancing, and wearing long-sleeves. And my solo dress is made of velvet. So yeah, warm.

It was better than rain, which we had in 2009 off and on, last year it was cold during the parade (several layers of clothing), and this year it was great temperature-wise, except that it was incredibly sunny, which led to me having a pretty decent sunburn (stupid me for not thinking of sunscreen).

Solo Dress For Sale

I'm not sure how many Irish dancers read this blog, but I figured I could post this anyway.

Front view

Back view

Sleeve

Underskirt

Without the jacket

This dress was designed by Kara Designed . I was the second owner, the first being the dress designer's daughter. It was worn 3 times by the first owner before retirement, and I've had it for a year, probably approximately 8-10 more wearings. It is a very convenient two-piece style dress.

"It is a 5-panel with sewn sequin pleats. The sleeves and upper bodice are made from a beautiful berry sequined tulle overlay. She received so many compliments the times she did wear it and I have added more bling to make it sparkle even more than it already does.

The measurements are:

Chest 37

Waist 32

Sleeve 24

Shoulder to waist 17.5


Waist to hem 16 in

Total body length from shoulder to hem 33.5 in"

That is the original sale post from when I bought it. Since then, we have let out the inside bodice/top out an inch or two, and the jacket out about 2-3 inches. I am 5'3" and it is just too short for me to wear, ending just below my bottom. It may suit someone better with less bottom, or slightly less hips, allowing it to hang slightly lower. Or just someone shorter.

It has a beautiful soft cape made to look like the sleeves. It has no bloomers to go with it, but the underskirt is a pretty black and white print, so plain black bloomers work fine with it. It also is a softer skirt in the back, which is wonderful for being able to sit down. I have 2 handmade, homemade tiaras/headbands I made that I will send with the dress.

Asking $700 OBO. Offers will be considered. For more information, please email at mldavidson2009 at gmail.com (removing the 'at' of course).

It's a very pretty dress, well received, and the colors are just gorgeous. I'd love to continue wearing it, but it is just too short for me.

These were all taken from the dress, not on a person.

Neck to hem (back side): 32"
bodice length (back side): 18.5"
skirt length (which starts under the bodice): 15.5"
sleeve length: 24.5"
Inside the jacket from side seam to side seam: 17"
zipper seam to side seam: 9"
shoulder seam to shoulder seam (back): 16"

If there are any other measurements you would like, please PM me or email me and I will see what I can do.

This is a really gorgeous dress, really shines on stage with all the sequins. It was worn by a 16+ age dancer, but could easily be worn by someone younger.

Oireachtas and Washington, D.C.

 My new solo dress, just for O's (Oireachtas). Which will be worn afterwards, but I needed a new one for O's.

Joseph and I in the Hall of Human Origins, in front of a display of casts of skulls of Homo sapiens, and our ancestors on back.

U.S. Capitol

Hall of Human Origins

The last common ancestor of all mammals...and this thing was about 4 inches long.

Leopard in the Hall of Mammals

The outside of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (yes, this is the place that the movie Night at the Museum was based on, despite the fact that movie is supposed to take place in New York)

Washington Monument

Mom, Joseph (my fiance), and I went to Washington D.C./Baltimore over the weekend for Oireachtas, which is a regional Irish dance competition. I competed for the first time in solos, 3rd time in Teams, and it was Joseph's first time at Oireachtas (he also competed in Teams). It was also the first Oireachtas I've been to that we haven't taken Dad and Reese. But we flew to D.C. and taking 5 people was going to be a bit expensive.

The area around D.C. (we stayed in National Harbor) is gorgeous. Inside D.C....not so much, but there is so much nifty stuff to do. I loved all the museums, but we only had time to go to one before flying out. I FINALLY got to go to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. Sadly, the Western Civilizations area, the area I REALLY wanted to go to, was closed for renovations. But it was still an awesome experience, and I can't wait to go back. We went through the Hall of Human Origins, which is really nifty as an anthropology major, and through an exhibit that is only there through February called Written In Bone, which had a forensic anthropology lab at the end which was really nifty. The exhibit showed how disease (syphilis, cerebral palsy, etc.) and accidents (like car crashes, bullets, etc) affect the way bone looks, as well as trying to discover why so much of the population of the original Jamestowne settlement died so very quickly. It was really nifty. We also ventured through the Hall of Mammals, and did a quick tour through an exhibit on the ocean (on the way to the Hall of Human Origins). Also went through the dinosaur fossils section pretty quick (I wanted to see if there was anyone working in the FossiLab. On a Sunday afternoon...no, there wasn't.)

It was cold. Very cold. LOL

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Watching the show.

Snuggled with Mommy

Shirt says "Kiss Me, I'm Irish".

Two young O'Donovan School Girls

I can't remember the first girl's name...eek..; Susan, Michael, and Whitney.

Our section of the parade, I'm the one at the far right waving.

Me waving.

Before our performance.

Dancing the light jig (I'm on the far right).

Doing our hornpipe, I'm the 3rd from the left.

These pictures are actually from Saturday. I participated with my Irish dance school, McCafferty School of Irish Dance, in the Little Rock/North Little Rock St. Patrick's Day Parade. We all marched in the parade and had a performance at an Irish pub afterwards. Reese and Dad walked in the parade with us, with Reese's stroller- which she has hardly been in since China- fully bedecked. It was fun. Reese had a good time, too. She loves Irish Dance, I think she can hardly wait until she's old enough to take it. At my school, you have to be 5, at least that's what Mrs. Judy is saying right now. Reese is getting pretty good at it, I think. And she loves my dance instructor, Mrs. Judy.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!