crafternoon playlist.

I didn't have the opportunity to take pictures for Vinyl Monday, because I was busy gettin' crafty with my bestie. Instead, all I have to offer is a playlist of the actual music that we listened to tonight.

I'm awfully tired, so I'm going to feed our little zoo and head to bed.

Enjoy!

valentines for the rest of us!

I am beside my self with happiness after finding these perfect Valentine prints at Little Bird Big City!!!!

It's honestly the first time that I've ever seen Valentine's that recognized alternative lifestyles.

Kudos, Brooke!

Get cards @ thelittlecanoe on Etsy and prints and other goodies at Brooke Weeber's Society6 shop!

dream studio @ boopsie daisy!

It's not secret that I've been researching studio spaces. I really am trying to pull mine together!

The sad reality is that a majority of the creative areas that I've found have been frighteningly sterile; think hospitals of institutional kitchens. People can't possibly be making anything exciting in an all white room with grey accents. These spaces just seem so droll.

The one above is one of very few that I actually liked. It's visually exciting, kitschy, and still organized.

While I know that I won't have something like Boopsie Daisy's studio, it's still a goal that I can work towards!

Get Healthy!: Week One Wrap-Up.

Tonight is the last night of week one in our 28 day cleanse!!!! I couldn't be more excited to finally eat some protein (besides nuts and seeds).

Week One had it's highs and lows. The first day was intolerable. I was cranky and I slept most of the day. Neither of us really did much of anything. As the week progressed daily activities became slightly easier in our new, light bodies. Eating clean and eating less actually provides you with an almost euphoric feeling (that may have just been hunger).

Last week's comment about the apples was well received, there was a day were they were completely necessary to "move things along".

It was pretty easy to avoid temptation because we got rid of almost all of the bad food in the house. At work I ate the food I brought with me, or I picked up some fruit or nuts from the coffee shop near our store.

The juices were my absolute favorite part. They were such a great start to the day. I don't really like eating in the morning; I just don't feel hungry before lunch. So the juices and smoothies provide a nutrient packed liquid breakfast that didn't leave me feeling forced to choke down oatmeal or eggs as soon as I wake up. Hopefully, I can keep the ball rolling as far as they are concerned.

Some of the recipes were just plain awful, which isn't anyone's fault but my own, but we still forced ourselves to eat them knowing that they were important to our health. The Kale Slaw and the Beet + Garlic Soup really didn't agree with our palettes at all. I ended up having to eat most of the kale all by myself. I took it to work for lunch twice and ate it at home for lunch twice! That's a lot of raw kale.

Tonight, we're having the butternut squash soup again because it was our favorite of all the dishes so far.

During the entire week, I only "cheated" twice. I had a handful of M&M's before I realized what I was doing on Tuesday night and today Dave and I had a lunch date where I opted for some white rice and a piece of grilled chicken. Not too bad, right?

I've noticed that my skin feels smoother, I finally have more energy, and I just feel "happier" in general. Pretty good for just eating a week's worth of fruit and vegetables, huh?

This week's meditation focus was to evaluate our relationship with food, and to separate nourishment from emotional eating. I think that this week we learned a lot about making the right choices both at home and in public, and I couldn't be happier about it.

Here's to an even more successful Week 2!!!

P.S. Don't forget to swing by "Say It Ain't So", to offer words of encouragement to Rae and Travis, my detox buddies!

Resolution #2: Get Organized!

There's a lot of discussion about the "authenticity" of blogger's lives lately; do they really dress like that everyday? are their houses perfect? do they ever fail at a crafty pursuit?

Of course, we only show our best sides; our hippest outfits, our cleanest rooms, and our flawless projects. I think that as bloggers we're held to a different standard and I don't really mind that. I love looking at pictures of Danielle Thompson's perfect home and Elsie Larson's too cool for school vintage outfits because they INSPIRE me. They inspire me to vacuum the rugs now and then and to possibly even iron my shirts.

Hopefully, I inspire people to live creatively and to enjoy the process as much as I do. This holiday season was a perfect example of just how much I enjoy making things (and giving them to other people). Unfortunately, in order to finish all of these projects in time to wrap them up by December 25th, I had to let something slide.

My studio is disgusting! There's tape on the walls, stacks of books and tissue paper taller than I am, and piles of unfinished crafts in every corner. It's truly in-navigable!!! There's about three feet of walking space from the door to the work table. I can't find anything. I'm stepping on pins every time I walk in the room. I can barely get to my hamster's cage to feed him. It really is that bad.

And so, now I will look to those A-list bloggers to inspire me once again; this time to finally get my studio organized. I have a very exciting long term project coming up, and I need things to be in order. I can't possibly function in this room in this state. It really is UNACCEPTABLE.

So, this is my honest portrayal of my studio. I didn't move anything or stage any of the pictures (OBVS). It's a mess.

How's that for authentic?

Where do I even begin to tackle this mess?

vinyl monday: joan of arc.

I've had the past two days off from work to wind down from all the tumult of the holidays and I've spent a majority of the time lounging around on the couch reading Deepak Chopra books and making smoothies for our 28-day challenge(Rae of Say It Ain't So joined in on the fun, too. Be sure to root us both on!!!). Eating only fruits and vegetables can be a shock to the system after years of chowing down on carbs and fat, so I haven't really had the energy to do much more than loaf.

I'll update you on our success on Thursday, so keep an eye out for that! It's not too late for you to take the challenge yourself! If you're interested you can read about it at Whole Living.

Won't you join us?

New Year's Eve + Pizza.

Dave is sick tonight, so we decided to ring in the new year at home. He's got some ugly sore throat thing; kinda sounds like Bea Arthur.

His mom usually makes homemade pizza on New Year's Eve, so even though we chose to stay at home we still held on to that tradition (even though it meant cheating on our 28-day cleanse) and made our own.

I finally got the opportunity to use the Kitchen-Aid mixer that I got from Santa. I definitely over-salted the dough, but it's still pretty good!

We used Tyler Florence's recipe and subbed half of the white flour for wheat, it still worked very nicely.

There's an hour and a half until the ball drops!!! Untill then, we're gonna hang out on the couch and watch the Big Bang Theory and eat pizza.

Resolution #1: Get Healthy!

This year was littered with discomfort and illness for me. I tried not to whine about it too much, but it sort of began to consume me.

In the summer, I went to the hospital, thinking that I was having a heart attack. (I'm not even 30 and I eat well, so that was probably a little irrational). However, from that I found out that I have both IBS and something called GERD. I didn't really want to share that, because it's sort of embarrassing. However, I've come to peace with my reality, and I think that other people need to know how debilitating something like that can be. It isn't just a stomach ache, or heartburn. Both of these diseases effect your entire body, making you uncomfortable all the time (which leads to extreme social and health anxiety).

I kept googling my symptoms, and it made things so much scarier. It's awful to self-diagnose. I kept finding different things that explained what was wrong me and they got a little worse each time.

I finally got those two problems under control, and I started having headaches and pain in my arms and back. I can't win this year!

I went to the doctor today, fearing the worst, and she pointed out a ton of knots in my back and arms. She explained that they were small deposits of toxins and that they would take a while to heal and that it wasn't anything to worry about. That goes against my nature. I always worry about everything.

So, I want to explore some things outside of western medicine to help things along. I'm not one to leave well-enough alone. I want everything to be PERFECT; including my health. I'm taking matters into my own hands.

In addition to being a New Year's Resolution, GET HEALTHY is going to become a regular feature in which I share the things I learn about living a healthy lifestyle.

For example, Dave and I have decided to do Whole Living Magazine's 28-day cleanse. Today we went to the produce store to pick up all the things we need for Week 1.

The cleanse is super simple! It's a one weeks worth of fruit and vegetables ONLY, and then you slowly integrate grains and small portions of meat (fish) into your diet. You read more about it on their website.

Tonight we made the Spiced Butternut Squash soup, and it was INCREDIBLE! Prep time took a little longer than it should have because I didn't warm up the squash before peeling and chopping it. Lesson learned.

I'm really excited to begin embracing a healthier lifestyle!

What are your New Year's resolutions?

handmade gift #10: surprise party wrap skirt.

Sorry about the super poor photo quality! I had to take this picture quickly, because I had to wrap it up for my friend's birthday party and rush out the door. I hand to hand sew a very small seam, and I really procrastinated until the very last second.

Project Particulars

Pattern: Surprise Party Wrap Skirt from Sew La Tea Do.

Fabric: Jay Mccarroll (from Project Runway) for Free Spirit
Notions: Medium-weight interfacing

Cost: a little over $25?

Time: about 8 hours, because (again) I insisted on french seams everywhere!

Notes: I really wasn't sure if I was going to be able to pull this off! It's been a long time since I've sewn something that someone will actually be wearing and I wanted it to be finished nicely. All-in-all, I'm thrilled with how it turned out. I hope she loves it!

Tomorrow is the first day in months that I officially have off! Absolutely NO OBLIGATIONS!!! I'll probably just melt into the couch and watch some reality show marathon. I can't wait!!!!

What do you do with your "ME-time"?

merry christmas!

Today was an incredibly long, but exciting day! I can't wait to toss on my PJ's and watch some TV.

How was YOUR holiday?

handmade gift #9: tiny pants.

Yep! I'm still at it!

Sewing on Christmas Eve, can you believe it?

I just flew through these tiny pajama pants from Pip's book.

I had intended to use this fabric for something selfish, but I'm glad I didn't. These are too perfect!

I actually squealed while I was sewing the hem.

Project Particulars

Pattern: Cute Kids Pants from Sew La Tea Do.
Fabric: Jay Mccarroll (from Project Runway) for Free Spirit
Notions: 1" wide elastic.

Cost: less than $10

Time: less than 2 hours

Notes: OMIGOD!!!!! These are the cutest thing ever! The pattern was easy and it moved quickly, even though I insisted on using french seams exclusively. I don't want my niece wearing pants with raw edges ;-)

I still have a few things to share, gah!

handmade giftwrap!

Remember my heinous hand painted gift wrap?

Somehow, I was able to turn it into something acceptable!

I used Instax photos as gift tags and I made lil' pompoms with some leftover Lamb's Pride yarn.

Not too shabby, eh?

handmade gifts #2-8: crackers!

I really wish I had taken the time to properly "research" the construction of these lil' guys! I had originally intended to share them as a DIY, but I missed an important part of tying them off.

I guess we can list these as a "crafty fail". However, their shoddy construction will not hold me back from giving them to co-workers tomorrow. I don't know if the paper was too thick, or if I missed a step? Maybe i should have cut slits into the paper?

I stamped the paper (using the eraser-stamp technique) and I spent about $15 on the things to fill them up. (little bells, candy, confetti, and flake stickers). I mean, they look cute enough, right?

I still have 3 gifts to finish up before Sunday! I'm working until the last minute.

Are YOU finished?

handmade gift #1: the fidget.

The fidget is my go-to project every year for Christmas! I'll be knitting these until everyone on my list has received one. I can guarantee it!

It's easy and fast but it still looks intricate, and I get to use one of my my favorite yarns: Misti Alpaca Chunky. I found a great deal on eBay and I stocked up a few months ago. I keep intending to keep this brown color for myself, but I keep giving it away :-(



Project Particulars

Pattern: The Fidget by Robin Dodge (FREE!)
Yarn: Misti Alpaca Chunky (The squishiest yarn EVER!)
Notions: 1" wooden buttons (vintage), embroidery floss (stash)

Cost: I had everything I needed on hand. I found the yarn for less than $10 a hank on eBay a few months ago. Such a honey pot!

Notes: While I adore this pattern, and have knitted about three of them, it is very easy to lose your place. A lot of us are visual knitter's, but this pattern isn't conducive to just picking up where you left off. It's funny, really, it's only a four row repeat, but you can really mess it up if you don't pay attention. I suggest counting your rows very carefully.

Are you knitting anything in the 12th hour? Do you think that you'll finish in time?

gifts!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you believe I spent almost the entire day sewing?

I woke up early and went to Lush to pick up a few back-up gifts. I like to have a few "extras" lying around in case I forgot someone; you never know.
I got a few little things for myself, too. (shhhhhh!)

When I got home I cut out all of the pieces for the Surprise Party Wrap Skirt from Pip's book Sew La Tea Do. I forgot to buy interfacing for the waistband, and I needed a handful of other notions from JoAnn's so I ran back out and took care of that.

Seeing no dinner in our future, Dave conned me into eating at the local super giant buffet. I overate and felt deathly ill. My digestive system is crap. So, we hurried home and by the time we got to the door, I was fine; such a fickle tummy!

I forced the cats into a hat and scarf thing we bought at Target and teased them with treat until I got a good picture. It really wasn't easy! In the end Adrienne obliged for exactly 7 treats and a new bowl of water.

And since then, I have been ironing and sewing.



I actually had some really fun knitted FO's to share, but I became so obsessed with working on the skirt that I never took any pictures. Sometimes, you just get in the zone; especially with sewing. Dave watched something like 3 scary movies on Netflix and I didn't say a word (I hate those things!).

I still have to clean up some details and find a way to take pictures of a skirt. Maybe I'll take it to work and make someone model it? Ha!

I can't believe it's midnight! I guess it's time for bed!

baking cookies!

I kind of love going into work super early! I leave by 3pm and I have the rest of the day to do whatever I want! It really is a beautiful thing.



I got home and sewed the button onto a scarf I'm giving as a gift, finished a second scarf, prewashed some fabric, and baked a bajillion spritz cookies (with Dave's help, of course!). I actually sort of burned a batch. Baking is on the same list as painting as far as I am concerned; two things I really have no business doing. However, it was really fun to use the cookie gun!!!



This is going to be quite a busy week, but I'm going to update you as much as I can.
I have a really fun DIY planned for this week, so stay tuned!!

What did YOU do today? How is your holiday planning going?