Monthly Archives: August 2010

“I turned on the light”

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I made this tunic over a month ago, but I didn’t get around to incorporating it into an outfit until last week. It’s so hot and muggy right now, that long sleeves and leggings are usually too warm.  But my school has a new a/c system now, and it’s freezing, so I get to wear clothes that aren’t completely seasonally appropriate.

This re-con really turned out beautifully, but I wish that the empire waist was just about an inch lower.  It would be a lot more flattering.  Unfortunately, because of how it’s designed, it’s something I can’t really alter.  Eventually, I’d love to make something like this from scratch, so I could correct that.  That is, whenever I actually have some time for from-scratch sewing.

As I’ve said before, I absolutely love my job, but the summer made me forget just how little free time I have while working.  I didn’t do any blog reading all week last week, and my projects and to-do’s pilled up.  I know I’ll relearn to budget my time again, but right now it’s a bit stressful.  Once I get into a routine, I know it’ll be a lot better.

Tunic: Re-con made from Target tunics by me
Leggings: Target
Shoes: Easy Street
Cuff: Vintage via Sherry’s Yesterdaze
Necklace: Chocolate Cake Jewels

Quote: Don’t Bump the Glump!: And Other Fantasies, by Shel Silverstein

Link Love: August 29, 2010

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*Link Love covers a variety of topics: style, sustainability, adorable kitten pictures. Basically whatever strikes my fancy during the week.  Enjoy!*

A lot of these links are a week old, because I haven’t done a lot of blog reading this week.  They’re still all pretty awesome though.

Shopping Plan: Weeks 29 and 30

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*Weeks 29 and 30 of My Great Shopping Plan of 2010, where I attempt to stay on a budget and fill out my wardrobe*

Ann Taylor LOFT capris, $18 on eBay
So, life’s been busy since I started back at work, and I missed posting last week.  These capris were the only thing I bought that week, because I was still waiting for my first paycheck.  They’re cute and comfortable, but I’m going to be altering them a bit.  I don’t like capris to have wide legs, so I’m going to taper them.
Blue raincoat: $5
Grey Sheath: $5
After finally getting paid, I went to a fantastic vintage sale at one of my favorite local shops: Sherry’s Yesterdaze. I bought a $10 ticket to go to the early bird sale, and I’m glad I did.  It was less crowded, which made me feel more comfortable shopping, and it gave me first dibs.  I found these two gems above: the funky, pale blue raincoat looks awesome with my grey and purple wellies, and it’s got a really interesting construction.  The grey sheath is absolutely amazing – I feel like I’m in Mad Men when I wear it.  And it goes to show that sometimes, it’s okay to break your own rules.  I generally never buy polyester, but I decided to make an exception with this dress  It looks so amazing on, and it was only $5.  I would prefer to find something similar made of wool or another natural fabric, but I still love it.
They also had $5 jewelry grab bags at the sale, so I got all this jewelry:
Vintage jewelry: $5
I probably won’t keep all of it, but there’s a couple items in there that I really love.
Now that I’ve gone back to work, I’ve come to the realization that I really need to come back to my original focus of filling gaps in my wardrobe.  The past few months, I’ve ignored my gaps list, and basically just bought whatever I happened to find.  Now I’m back at work and realizing that I have no slacks that fit me, and only so many blouses and dresses that are work appropriate.  It’s about time for some back to school shopping for me!

Bento Box: August 19, 2010

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*Welcome to Bento Box Saturday!  Every week, I post a photo of one of my bento lunches.  I use a Laptop Lunches bento box and I love it because it helps me to reduce the amount waste I create, since I don’t produce a lot of extra garbage from throw away packaging.  I also love how it creates perfect portion sizes.  To learn more about how I pack and carry my bento, check out this post*

This week I packed my bento with:

  • Romaine salad with red bell peppers, feta and avocado
  • Balsamic Vinaigrette
  • Whole Wheat Crackers with Cheddar cheese
  • Watermelon
  • Ham and veggie soup
  • Dark chocolate

Etsy Love: For the Shutterbug

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*Every Wednesday, I take a look at some of the beautiful items found at one of the best places for buying and selling hand-made and vintage: Etsy.  Buying hand-made and vintage lets you own beautiful, unique objects with character.  It keeps things out of the landfills and supports artists and small businesses who are trying to make a living doing what they love.  If you have a particular theme you’d love to see, drop me a line and let me know. *

I’ve loved photography ever since I was a kid with a cheap film camera with no zoom or special features, trying to snap pictures of birds on telephone wires.  I’ve upgraded since then to a Canon Rebel DSLR, and my love of photography remains.  If you’re a shutterbug like me, then you’ll love these camera themed items that I found on Etsy:

Slide Tube Cuff, $45
(it’s made from the innards of a telephoto lens)

Revisionists Designs

Shutterbug Camera Ring, $8

Dillon Designs

3D Paparazzi Camera Ring, $25

Grigio

Vintage Brownie Camera Tote Bag, $16

Baostudio

Diana Vintage Camera Graphic Tee, $18

Happy Family

DSLR Camera Bag in Turquoise Plaid, $115

Stash

Craftiness: Clothespin Bag

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Sometimes when I’m sewing, I get in “the zone”.  My creative juices start flowing, I start making up things without a pattern, experimenting to see what works and what doesn’t.  When this happens, I really don’t like to stop and take pictures at every step of the way – I just like to keep sewing and sewing until I have my finished project.

That’s what happened with this clothespin bag.  I don’t have an explanation, pattern, or tutorial.  I simply let myself focus completely on the creative process until it was done.  So please forgive me for not having more details.  Sometimes you just have to let the creative juices do their magic.  (And don’t worry, this isn’t replacing my frilly apron;  I just use the clothespin bag to hold extra clothespins for extra large loads of laundry.)

“Some fun things are hard”

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Whew!  My first week back at work was exhausting.  My school had some construction projects going on over the summer and it isn’t quite finished yet, so it’s been very challenging getting ready for the beginning of the school year.  I love being back at work, but it will take a few weeks for me to get used to the schedule again.  I missed posting yesterday because I simply didn’t budget my weekend time well.  I might be missing a couple posts here and there as I’m re-adjusting, but hopefully I’ll get back in the rhythm of things before too long.

I discovered this tiny little park about three years ago.  I’ve been meaning to take photos down here ever since then, yet somehow, I’d never gotten around to it.  Since I really liked this outfit, and since it was my first day back at work, I decided to finally get down here and take some pictures.  The park has a little tiny bridge right on the Hillsborough River, and it’s just gorgeous.  I hope I can start getting down here more often.

This photo is my shout out to S. of Simply Bike, who recently wrote about panda shots, which are photos you take of yourself while riding your bike.  This was also my first time riding a bike in a dress and heels.

Dress: Soprano (via Li da la)
Belt: Vintage (via Sherry’s)
Cardigan: J Crew (via eBay)
Shoes: Fluevog Malibrans
Bracelet: Vintage (via garage sale)
Earrings: wear+thou

Quote: It’s Hard to Be Five: Learning How to Work My Control Panel, by Jamie Lee Curtis & Laura Cornell

Bento Box: August 16, 2010

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*Welcome to Bento Box Saturday!  Every week, I post a photo of one of my bento lunches.  I use a Laptop Lunches bento box and I love it because it helps me to reduce the amount waste I create, since I don’t produce a lot of extra garbage from throw away packaging.  To learn more about how I pack and carry my bento, check out this post*

This week I packed my bento with:

  • Romaine, radish and celery salad
  • Balsamic Vinaigrette
  • Home made bread
  • Cherries
  • Ham and Veggie Soup
  • Almonds
  • Dark Chocolate

Book Review: Made from Scratch

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Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life

This book is lovely memoir written by 20-something web designer Jenna Woginrich.  Working as a web designer, Jenna longed to have a homestead and become self-sufficent.  With the help of farming friend, Jenna chronicles her journey of trying to create an urban homestead.  Her honest accounts are humorous, entertaining and at times, poignant.  She contiues to work a full time job while bee-keeping, raising angora rabbits for fiber to spin and egg-laying chickens, planting a vegetable garden and sewing clothes from scratch.  Each chapter looks at a different aspect of homesteading, and offers Jenna’s personal account, as well as some advice on how to get started yourself.  There’s tons of fantastic resources listed in the back for those who get the urge to homestead themselves.

Jenna now has her own farm in New York state, and a blog about it: Cold Antler Farm.  Personally, I still love city life, but I can live out in the country vicariously through this book and her blog.  While I’ll probably never adapt all the aspects of homesteading she discusses in my life (sled dogs in Florida anyone?)  I found great inspiration through reading about Jenna’s journey, and I even got inspired to bake my first ever loaves of bread from scratch:

Even if you can only incorporate a few aspects of the handmade life into your own life, it really, truly is so deeply satisfying.

Note: I was not compensated in any way for this review.  I borrowed the book from my local library and loved it, thus I’m reviewing it here.

Busy, busy, busy

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So um, this is my first week back at work, and time is tight.  I didn’t get any outfit pictures uploaded yet, so here’s a picture of my cat Elvis.  Yes, I’m engaging in the old “I don’t have anything to post, so I’ll just post a picture of a cat” thing that so many bloggers do.  A cute picture of a kitty licking his lips makes up for no outfit, right? :)

Not cute enough for you?  Okay, here’s a picture of him from 2006:

Cuteness quotient now satisfied.

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