Oktoberfest 2011

It's that time of year again - October!  And that means that the Germans are already celebrating with another fest.  The Germans really know how to work hard and to play hard.  There are fests for everything: Spring, Fall, Christmas, wine, fish, you think of it, there's probably a fest for it.  Having lived in Germany for three years, my family and I were so happy to have found a real German Biergarten in the area.  And to make matters even more fun, the owners (from Germany) throw an anniversary/October Fest every year! YAY!!!

Our usual Sunday routine involves going to Mass at a really cool Gothic inspired church in the older part of our town.  Once Mass lets out, we slowly wander down the road to the local children's museum and spend about an hour running around and playing with everything.  Then, The Puff looks at me and tells me, "I'm hungry."  "What do you want to eat?"  "I want Spätzle and goulash, please.  And a pretzel."  So we then head back down the street to the Biergarten and see our usual waiter (my daughter's in love with him and has been since she was about 6 months old) and get our usual lunches.  It is so, so, so good.

Last year was the first time we went to the Octoberfest and we had a great time.  The Puff ran around with the other little kids and had a lot of fun.  We ate a real lunch at the restaurant before we went to the fest site, which worked out really well.  My parents were both there and the five of us were able to site at the tables and relax with our beers.  This year, my mom is on a trip to visit a long-time friend, and my dad is off in Djibouti doing who-knows-what.  And yes, it's a real country.  And yes, the capital of Djibouti is in fact, Djibouti.  It's really funny when The Puff talks about Grandpa being in Djibouti.  Ponder that one for a minute.

I will admit that I had actually forgotten that today was the Octoberfest celebration.  I had spent the entire day reorganizing our shed, doing the laundry, and potty training my little one.  It wasn't until my mom sent me a text asking if we had had a good time.  Thankfully, my husband was already on his way home, so it didn't take too long for us to get cleaned up and dressed.  We got to the party pretty late, so we didn't get charged for admission and then the owner gave my daughter a big plate of potato salad - YUM!  Of course my daughter had spotted the cheesecake and was asking for it the entire time my husband was off getting our beers.

After downing our beers, we loaded up in our car and drove to the actual restaurant to get a real meal.  I mentioned in the earlier paragraph how good their cooking is.  Let me just repeat myself on that note: AMAZING.  It was some of the best schnitzel I've had in a very long time.  Delicious.

And of course, what kind of mother would I be if I didn't dress my daughter in a tiny dirndl and pop a vintage hat on her head?  My parents travel a lot, and they often get to go back to Germany.  On my mom's last trip out there, she picked up a red dirndl (her favorite color) with wooden buttons, a white shirt with a red trim on the ruffles, and a matching red and white apron.  It's so stinking cute!  I put her in a pair of white tights since it's getting a bit chilly at night and glittery pink slip-on shoes.  Okay, okay.  So the pink glittery shoes aren't authentic German dirndl attire, but they were the best shoes I had available for her to wear.  Tennis shoes and sandals were not options.  While walking out of the house, I grabbed a vintage wool fedora with a leather trim and a little golden accent on the leather.  I think it's probably from the 1960's and it's in great condition.

I chose a vintage red cotton dress with a white floral pattern on it.  It was homemade, and is from the 1960's or so.  I found it at my local Goodwill and just fell in love with it.  I'm not usually one to wear red, but this dress was just too special to leave behind.  And the best part?  It was half off.  Danke schön!  It's not a dirndl, but it's close enough and it fits like a charm.  I paired it with my white leather and cream raffia belt with golden accents by Michael Kors.  I also wore my brown leather t-strap wedges by Highlights (half off at Salvation Army), and yes, I wore pantyhose.  Like I said, it's starting to get chilly at night here and I didn't want my legs to get cold.  I kept it simple with just my wedding and engagement rings, light makeup, and my hair pulled back into a half ponytail.

My husband initially bypassed my choice of shirt and went with a white t-shirt under an olive green sweater.  But I convinced him to wear his red and white checkered button down shirt with a cream colored sweater.  What can I say?  We didn't match, we coordinated.  Now it's off to bed, because a good German meal will make you sleepy in the best possible way.  Gute Nacht und auf wiedersehen!



On The Puff:
Dirndl - Present from grandparents - Turi Landhaus, Germany
White tights - Wal*Mart
Glittery Pink Shoes - Target
Hat - Wool with leather trim and golden accent - Vintage
On The Puff's Mommy:
Dress - Cotton with white floral design - Handmade vintage, Goodwill
T-Strap Wedges - Brown leather with a 1920's design - Highlights, Salvation Army
Belt - White leather and cream raffia with golden accents - Michael Kors, TJ Maxx
Pantyhose - George, Wal*Mart

 P.S. - Could I get this picture to look any more like it was taken in the 1960's?