Craftology

My favorite local craft store is putting on a competition where you compete to win a schmancy new sewing machine by actually making the things you've pinned on Pinterest. I signed up to do it, but first I had to clean up my mess of a craft room. I'm nowhere near that. but here are some before pictures...

I hadn't finished cleaning the floor OR pulling up the tackboard...so that was my first order of business.

Piles and piles and piles and piles. Ugh.

My manky shelf I'm not quite sure what to do with...I want to replace it but am not quite sure how or with what yet...or that I even want to replace it because I have a tendency to just pile up crap.

I was however given a painting from a dear friend, which wrapped up this wall! So that makes one half of one wall finished. Six more halves to go? The good news is that my sewing table/station is clear and good to go.

This is the pile of stuff I have to mend. So, I started tackling it one piece at a time.

I wear a lot of tights, and just started a new West African dance class, so I decided to patch 'em up...

...in a not-so-subtle manner.

And this is my favorite maxi dress. It ripped, like, two years ago.

So I fixed it!

That's all for now. I've got a ton of projects to wade through, and hopefully I can win this thing!

outings

The other day I hit my local thrift store in search of comfy threads. I do not want to be a sweatpants-and-tshirt kind of mama. Or even a jeans-all-the-time kind of mama. I want to be able to put something on that expresses my personality, who cares if I'm just going to Target. This means that the things I'm looking for must be durable, washable (hel-lo messy eater in my face all the time), appropriate to wear to playdates, and above all: comfortable enough to wear while rolling around on the floor.

Whilst checking out, the girl behind the counter asked if I am told frequently that I bear a strong resemblance to Maggie Gyllenhaal, to which I replied, "Yeah. All the time." It's the truth. Especially when my hair is cut into this asymmetrical bob and has any sort of curl in it whatsoever. I may or may have not used that mistaken identity to my advantage a night or two back in Austin.

Anyway, she went on to sigh, "Wow it must be such a burden to have such a strong resemblance to a celebrity." 

Someone has to bear it.

Oh and yes I found some sweet threads there. Post coming soon on that one.

I recently was diagnosed with a small tear in my right medial meniscus which according to the orthopedist means I need surgery (not going to happen buddy) either now or later when it gets worse and according to my chiropractor and massage therapist means that I have to reduce the frequency and intensity of my workouts to 50%, do some daily icing and heating, take glucosamine/chondritin supplements, lose weight (20 pounds 'til I'm at my goal), and not play team sports like soccer or basketball (um, check.)

I went about a week and a half before going completely crazy. First off, winter has shown up in spades here in the metroplex and second, I am a WUSS in the cold. I absolutely HATE being cold and not being able to warm up and because I live in Texas have a skewed view of how to dress appropriately (what do you MEAN I have to wear SOCKS?). I think A being born last year about this time and my demands request to keep the house around 75 totally screwed me up. I remember thinking, "Why is everyone wearing coats when they come to see me? It's warm in here," not remembering that it was icy out.

Also traumatizing was being the first leg of the White Rock Marathon Relay team last Sunday, where it was not only cold but rained on me for five miles. I called the hubs on the way home, teeth literally chattering, and asked him to p-p-p-lee-e-e-a-s-e m-m-m-ake m-me a f-f-f-f-f-fire and some t-t-t-t-tea.

Yesterday I had a straight up case of cabin fever. I was dejected. Useless. Depressed. Not only do I crave sunlight to function, I need that extra serotonin boost so my brain doesn't spiral out of control. I also desperately need to keep a regular schedule for myself or else I get exactly nothing done and have no motivation to do anything.

Today, I did me some modified stroller strides and WOW my brain is buzzing. It always amazes me how wonderful working out makes me feel and how lost I would be without it.

Speaking of feeling wonderful, have you started thinking about your New Year's Resolutions? I tend to be really theoretical on this thing and have realized that by the end of the year I have not in any way stuck to my goals. So this time, I'm reaching deep into my scientific(ish) brain and coming up with measurable goals.

1. Post once a week on my music therapy blog and on this blog
2. Sew through the One Yard Wonders book I just got for Christmas
3. Run a successful (read: profitable) Etsy shop
4. Cook my way through the Lee Brother's Simple Fresh Southern
5. Use raw veganism to get myself to my goal weight
6. Run a half-marathon
7. Publish my thesis in a music therapy journal
8. Beef up my thesis and publish it as a book
9. Go to yoga at least once a week
10. Only watch 1 hour of television a day. Weekends included.
11. Find a church and attend regularly
12. Buy no clothes new for myself or my family (notice that I didn't say "no new clothes.")

That sounds about right. 12 goals for 2012. What are your 12?

Anthro Inspired Cork Ball

Around May-ish I went to Anthropologie and saw some wonderful decorations. Pretty much everything they do is crazy inspiring and I love to go in that store to not only get inspired by what is in the store but also how it is decorated. 

Anyway, I saw these cork balls:

...and needed some for my own. So here you go, a magnificiently mellifluous tutorial!

you'll need:

Seriously - however much cork and glue you think you'll need, you'll need more. Enlist your closest winos friends and family to donate corks to you. You'll also need some Elmer's glue, burlap, and some Spanish moss - all these things are available at your nearest craft store.

I have a small hot glue gun and use 3-5 pumps of glue for each cork. 

I recommend adding the moss outside, as it can get drippy and messy. Just poke the moss down in between the cork with your fingers, or use a pencil/crochet hook/chop stick

.

 You can also paint or glitter the end of your corks for some added zing and then use them year-round for decorations that change with the seasons...add some sparkley stars, snowmen, or tiny reindeer for Christmas...the possibilities are endless! Let me know if you have any questions :)

style? part 2 - update

Kay so here's the shirt I was thinking about returning:

Who puts a seam down the front?! I may not know a lot about designers, but I know this is an aesthetic puke-fest. So, in the interest of saving myself a trip, I'll turn it around:

Oh and I also did something a little drastic.

style?

I wrote awhile back that I'm feeling a shift in style - I've always admired people who are so expressive with their wardrobe! I...never really have been. I feel like I've been repressed in some ways, trying to fit in to some kind of mold. I remember in school being obsessed with the "preppy" crowd, always feeling a step behind fashionably. True, there were the pink leather shoes in 3rd grade and the brown choker in high school science that got laughed at by the "in" crowd (and yes I absolutely remember the names of those girls). My Sundays were often spent drug to flea markets and resale shops. I really, really didn't like going at first and then as the years went by I realized I could find pretty dresses at Marshall's (back when it was awesome) that other girls weren't wearing, and that just the right mindset and couple hours of digging could  produce some awesome finds.

So, naturally, I'm kind of obsessed with Buffalo Exchange. Unfortunately, I have NO CLUE about brands or couture or whatever other than what I get from Project Runway. (example A: Someone said something about "DVF" on the show and I had to google it.) My theory in choosing clothes is that I don't care what brand it is, if it looks terrible on you, and you really don't love it, it's not worth it. So yesterday I took a little momma break and dug for about an hour and a half and came up with three things: a pair of jeans, a blouse, and a tee-shirt. 

Part of this style revival is due to the fact that with the raw veganism has come some weight-loss...enough that I'm having a hard time stretching my wardrobe into wearable stuff that still looks good without wearing the same thing every day. 

So the jeans. I've decided it's high time to get grownup jeans. I'm pretty curvy, and found early on that the only thing I look decent in is American Eagle jeans, which I've worn religiously pretty much since high school, with the occassional pair of dark wash Gap wide legs...which...had to be bequeathed to my mom because they no longer fit. It's an awesome problem to have. Anyhoo, I found a pair that I could live with for like $28.50 that I had to Google in the dressing room to figure out if they were worth it because everything else on the rack was like, $12. Come to find out new ones can go for like $180 AND come with a princess bonus because apparently it's the same brand Kate Middleton wears. SCORE! 

The tops are kinda funky, and one I can't really decide if I'm going to keep...I hate when I come home and something doesn't look as good as it did in the dressing room - it's usually the other way around. And then there was a $6 shirt that had some sweet toucans on it. I couldn't resist. Sidenote: there was totally a DVF shirt at the store that I tried on just for grins. It looked gross on me. Oh well.

The OTHER thing I'm incapable of resisting is tights. While I was pregnant I came to love tights, as my expanding belly meant shorter and shorter skirt lengths. I have become a little obsessed but have been able to restrain myself. Again, I have to LOVE it (or it has to be ridiculously on sale) if I'm going to think about buying it. Except for the one time I found a $10 sweater at Anthro that I wasn't sure about its place in my wardrobe. Best $10 I ever spent in that store. So anyway, Target is so far the easiest place to find tights - they have a pretty array of designs and colors and hey, you're going to Target anyway, may as well pick up some leg bling. You should go right now - they've got a great selection. I bought these swirly pretty ones that now I just have to find the right dress for. And the right shoes. Any tips on wearing tights with shoes other than boots? I can't seem to find the right combination that doesn't look goofy.

turn to the left.

I realized today whilst shopping for clothes that I don't have a specific style. I want to, even if it's one of those whatever-meets-whatever-meets-whatever, and I would like to cultivate it, but right now I think I'm in the whatever-fits-and-doesn't-look-like-I-just-rolled-outta-bed mode. If you're reading this and you're a fashionista or had to learn how to hone your style, share tips. And maybe this'll be a new little focus for the bloggy blog.