Renaissance Faire

My life is complete.
*grins*
Well that might be a slight exaggeration. Be that as it may, the Fourth Annual Fisher's Renaissance Faire was better than I expected.

Although my adorable roomate Annaliese did not end up going with me I made a day of it with the ultra sexy Kate. :-) And we did have a ton of fun. I was uber nervous about driving to Fishers' but with the help of a cheerleader and an amazing playlist (Something Corporate, Relient K and Moulin Rouge) we made it just fine.
The faire was set up in a huge field on Connor Prairie's grounds and bright flags and tents were everywhere. Not to mention the amazing smell of food and horses.

After I changed into my costume Kate and I met up with my sister to wander the faire. The very first thing we saw was a jester-esque show called 'The Rouge Blades'. They were pretty funny and the crowd really got into their performance. Perfect introduction to the day.

And there was SO much to see and do! Not to mention all the interesting and eclectic people I got to talk to.

We visited several of the merchant tents and I'm happy to say that a couple people complimented me on my dress. It's a blue overdress with darker blue flowers that cinches in the front over a white blouse. The underskirt is rich blue. And not because I'm vain did I appreciate the comments but because that dress was a piece of work to make and I was proud of the way it turned out. I even spent a little time discussing sewing with one of the ladies there. And there were tons of people wearing costumes! I was a little surprised that so many people got into the spirit of things. And if you needed to complete a costume there was everything from cloaks and undergarments (!) to belts, bags and sheaths.
Most of the vendors sold clothes and weapons. There were a few with food (including home made potato chips; Kate and I bought a bag. Yum!) and Mercy and I bought a tankard each of fresh brewed root beer. It had a distinctly licorice taste that wasn't bad.

One of the highlights was the joust. It was so cool! The knights rode Percheron stallions and they competed in a couple games with spears and quintain before finally runing at each other full tilt. Pun intended. And if you didn't get the pun you should obviously look up jousting. ;-) Each side was assigned a knight to cheer for in the Ireland versus Scotland match. Kate and I, despite our affiliation and deep love for Ireland, were sad to be assigned that side because Sir Marcus of Scotland was gorgeous. Too bad for Scotland that Ireland kicked butt in all the competitions. Sir Shanton of Ireland actually unseated his opponent. His lance hit his opponent's breastplate just right and popped him right out of the saddle! It was awesome! And apparently it doesn't happen very often, so Mercy, Kate and I were pretty excited to witness it.
In Kate's words, "He's going to be SORE tonite!" That's about one hundred pounds of armor helping a two hundred and fifty pound man crash into the ground from a 17 hand high stallion. Ouch!

One of my favorite moments of the day, however, was talking to an absolutely adorable young man and his mother at a stall selling lovely flower crowns and jewelry. He did a little half bow and asked if my lady was interested in anything. How cute is that? Of course I bought something. ;-) It really is a pretty little piece... white roses on a green ribbon that goes nicely with my costume.
I also ended up buying a beautiful linen cloak. It's pale blue with a white lining that drapes on the sides. Aside from some sort of handbag (preferably faux-leather or suede) my costume is complete. Those of you at Taylor can look forward to seeing it on Halloween.

After the Ren Faire Kate and I went to Borders for some much needed book time. Bought 'The Pact' by Jodi Picoult. It's a reread but an absolutely delicious one. Then McAllister's for dinner and now I'm in bed yawning my head off!

All in all, I could totally get used to wearing a dress and being adressed as 'my lady' all the time.

Much love,

'Quel