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Made the Zuppa Toscana for dinner last night. It's been a while since I made it, and it was a nice change from the casseroles and noodle dishes we've been having lately. I oversalted it because I was apparently dehydrated and craving salt while I was cooking, so I'll dump in some more broth and potatoes tonight to absorb some of the excess.

Carolina has a routine while I'm cooking - whenever I start browning the meat, she comes in and flops around on the floor, and head bonks my legs, and the wall, and the fridge, then she flops again. I was cooking bacon for the soup last night, so I gave her a little piece, and OMG BACON, best thing ever. The rest of the time I was cooking she kept coming up and biting me on the foot asking for more, silly girl.

The soup took the entire evening to make, so I didn't get a chance to iron any clothes for work, so I'm in a very Christmas-y green/red plaid flannel dress today. I'm very glad I work indoors! Since we have enough soup for dinner tonight, that means it's ironing night. Blech. It's my least favorite chore, but I am seriously out of clothes.

Started really diving into the research on Victorian maternity corsets yesterday, and have found many interesting things! I'm on the hunt for an 1894 publication called "Mother and Babe" that supposedly includes 33 patterns for maternity wear, including an abdominal support and corset, and includes recommendations on what to wear during pregnancy and nursing. WorldCat says that the UTA library has a copy, but a search of their database says they don't. Hmm. Otherwise, it's hard to find much information before 1900 because pregnancy is never referred to outright, it's always "fashions for the newly married lady" or "the young matron" or "lady in delicate health." It's an interesting hunt, to be sure.

Finally decided to join the Costume Society so I can get access to Costume. Research attempts in the past have been foiled by not having a membership, and I'm running into that again in the hunt for maternity corsets, so I finally just joined. My membership is still processing, but once that's cleared I'll have access to all their back issues. Hooray!

Found some lovely cotton poplin on Denver Fabrics, but it's slightly over budget. Blah. I'm trying to keep this wrapper fabric under $5 since the pattern calls for 12 yards of fabric! Absolutely bonkers.