Twenty.

Today is my birthday. :)

I'm now 20 years old. It's funny how when I was younger, I thought that age twenty was so grown-up and mature. But now that I'm here, I don't exactly feel so grown-up and mature. I am glad to officially be out of the teenage years though. What am I now? A young adult? Hm.

Here are some of the lovely gifts I received today:

 {A stack of books: The Practical Guide to Patchwork, by Elizabeth Hartman, A Distant Melody, by Sarah Sundin, The Ordering of Love, by Madeline L'Engle, Cranford, by Elizabeth Gaskell, Home Economics, compiled by Jennifer McKnight Trontz, a sweet little copy of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, by Beatrix Potter. Some movies: For Me and My Gal, Cover Girl, and a four set of Hitchcock films. Gorgeous Bambi fabric (even though Bambi is not one of my favorite Disney movies, the fabric is too cute), and that awesome clock I wrote about here. I also got some money, I Love Lucy coasters, and a few other little things.}

These two books that I got for my birthday have got to be two of the most beautiful books I own. :) You know those clothbound hardcover Penguin classics that I've been in love with forever? I got the Cranford copy! It is so pretty. The cover also has a great texture. And it has a ribbon bookmark made into it. It's actually smaller than I imagined them to be- it's basically a hardcover that's the size of an average paperback. And when I opened it, I was glad to see that, like my paperback Penguin copy of Pride and Prejudice, it has all sorts of helpful things like a chronology about the author, notes, and appendices. I've never read Cranford before. I love the mini-series, and I know that it's a lot different, but I can't wait to read the book!

On the right is an adorable little book called Home Economics: Vintage Advice and Practical Science for the 21st-Century Household. It's full of all sorts of information about homemaking, and a lot of it is actually from vintage magazines and books. There are little retro illustrations everywhere. The book looks like it was printed in the 50s, and it is so cute.

I also got this vintage Donald Duck children's book. It was printed in 1948 and it's in perfect shape.

I didn't allow myself to work on anything for school today. I'll probably have to work on assignments all day tomorrow, but that's okay. The semester is so close to being over. I didn't write about this in my last post, what with all the critter talk, but yesterday was such a good day. We started our persuasive speeches in public speaking class, and I was so, so tempted to put it off until Monday's class. Two people gave their speeches and then we ran out of volunteers. The teacher was about to start randomly calling on people when I gathered up my nerve and got up there and gave my speech about homeschooling. And it's done. That was my last speech! Thank goodness. :)

Anyway, this morning I embroidered while watching For Me and My Gal. I loved it- Judy Garland and Gene Kelly are so lovely together. It makes me smile that Judy was so small that Gene looks taller when he dances with her. :) And he was so young and ridiculously handsome in this movie.

I'll probably watch a Hitchcock film this afternoon and embroidery some more. I am so close to finishing my "Princess and the Pea" piece. I should have pictures of it up tomorrow!

 Until next time,