September 18th

Sunday was the second day of the Illinois State Convention. Looking through my closet before the trip, I was surprised to realize I hadn't worn my blue and white flowered dress yet this month. I decided to pair it with a cream crocheted bolero sweater and a cameo necklace my grandmother gave me. (It belonged to her ages ago.)

The top picture was taken at a rest stop on the drive home. We thought "Pride of the Prairie" was a funny name for a rest stop. Here are some pictures of the singing. I'm in the mirror in each of them. I thought it looked cool.

I felt like this outfit was very summery for the cool, rainy weather we were having, but it is technically still summer, and I have more summer clothes than winter clothes, so I want to wear them for as long as possible.

I did my hair in a style I've been working on: make pigtail braids (either French or normal) and pin them to the back of my head in a pretty way. It's pretty difficult. I've done it three times so far. Yesterday, the friend who shared a hotel room with me helped. I didn't manage to take this picture until the end of the day, when I had sung for five hours and driven about four, so I think it's a little more lopsided than it was earlier in the day. I think this style has real potential, but it's very hard for me to do because I can't see the back of my head while I'm working.