Supermom

I want to be SuperMom.

I really really do.

But I'm starting to realize that my idea of Supermom needs to be adjusted to fit into the realm of human possible.

This weekend has been very busy with sleepovers, housework, pool fun, and other such summer goodness. And homework. Always with the homework . . . at least for seven more weeks (!). I can't wait until I graduate!

So with all that going on, Supermom-ness was a little bit out of my reach. I didn't manage to do everything I had hoped to get done. Of course, Babe tells me my to-do list defies the laws of time and space, so that may be a part of my problem.

But I did find the time to get a few things done. Worked on flip flops. Made napkins. Played with spraypaint. Made a dessert tray. Cut lots and lots of tiny strips of fabric.

I would love to show you what I've been up to, but Blogger and I are currently having a disagreement in regards to pictures. As in: I want to post them, and Blogger won't let me. It's seriously testing our friendship.

With any luck, Blogger and I will find a way to make peace and I will be able to post loads of lovely pictures tomorrow.

Or, maybe Blogger and I will break up and I will spend the evening crying and watching sad movies and eating ice cream while I wait for Blogger to come by and pick up the box of stuff it left at my house . . . .

Ok, perhaps my imagination got away with me there. It happens.

I'm sure Blogger and I will be fine.

Really.

We'll work it out.

Tomorrow.

Going Natural

Lately, at our house, we've been giving Green Living a lot of thought. Without getting into an in-depth political treatise about climate change, etc, our family works on two fairly simply theories:

1. There are only so many natural resources on this planet. These resources are finite. Some replenish themselves quickly, others do not.

2. The earth and its ecosystems are delicately balanced. Too much of one thing or not enough of another DOES affect these ecosystems.

So, based on these theories, we believe that we should do what we can to use less resources and to not screw up the balance.

We have started small, with just a few little changes:

• We recycle. A lot. So much that we have TWO bins picked up weekly by our garbage service and still make a trip to the recycling center every couple of weeks.
• We recycle EVERYTHING that can be recycled. For info on what can be recycled and tips for hard-to-recycle products go here and here .
• We try to limit the amount of  "disposable" stuff we use.
• We work to cut down on driving.
• We also try to limit our electricity usage. With kids, that's tricky because they love to leave lights on, but we're working on it. I also hang a lot of our laundry to dry so I don't have to use the dryer as much.

Most of these are little efforts. Sure, we aren't saving the planet all by ourselves just because I use cloth napkins. But these little efforts add up. And because they are little changes, they are easy to do. None of these changes have overwhelmed or shocked my family.

Now we are trying to make some bigger changes. I'm venturing into the world of natural cleaning products and natural beauty products. For me this means a lot of research before I get in the kitchen and start mixing stuff up to make goop for my face.

I came across an article about natural, make-at-home beauty products that I can't wait to try. Check it out!

Not really sure what the candle and the seashell have to do with anything, but I'll try anything once.

I've also found some tips and recipes for natural cleaning. Find out how to clean everything from appliances to floor to silver and brass here and here .

You can even put them in a cute little basket.

And if you need extra incentive to live a little greener, remember that you'll be saving money too!

Because despite what this picture tells you, your mother was right. Money really DOESN'T grow on trees.

Love,

Online fabric sources

I remember that not so many years ago (because I'm not old, I'm not) there used to be lots and lots of fabric stores. Now not so much. Around me, the only place to buy fabric is Joann's. Even Wal-mart is phasing out the fabric section, and it's already gone in most of the Wal-marts by me.

So what's a girl to do?

Luckily, there are tons and tons of places to buy fabric online. It's not quite the same, because I'm a toucher and I miss not being able to play with the fabric before I buy it. It's also a little bit harder to get a good idea of colors and to match fabrics, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

What I do love about online fabric shopping is the variety. Now my problem is deciding what to buy.

Recently I was talking to a friend of mine about buying fabric online and she asked me to recommend some sites. It occured to me that others out there in internet-land could also benefit from a list of shops.

And so, without further ado . . .

The Fabric Finder
Hart's Fabric
Warehouse Fabrics
Spool
Fabric Rehab
Fat Quarter Shop
Heather Bailey
Contemporary Cloth
The Fabric Fairy
Parasol Co
ReproDepot
Adrianne's Attic
Above All Fabric
Belraf Fabrics
Premier Prints
Calico Corners
J&O Fabrics
Lola Pink Fabrics
Fashion Fabrics Club
Pink Chalk Fabrics
Mood
Quilt Home
Hawthorne Threads
The Fabric Bar 

Of course there are many many more, and if any of you have favorite sites to recommend please do! Etsy is also a great source for fabric and notions. Amazon and Ebay are good as well - if you already know what you are looking for.

Happy Shopping!

Love,

Curtain upgrade

I love my kitchen. Well, let me clarify. My kitchen is a glorified apartment galley kitchen with white laminate cabinets (about 4 of them) and no counter space. So I don't love that. BUT, I do love the colors in my kitchen. We have an olive-ish green accent wall, white cabinets, and black tables and chairs. Very pretty. I'm in the process of adding some decorative touches - mostly black, but also ORANGE! (I'm very excited about the orange)
When we got the new table a couple years ago - at Ikea  - we also got some black and white striped curtains. Which I loved.

At the time.

After a while, I started getting bored with them. They complemented the room nicely, but they were kind of . . . eh.

They also needed to be hemmed. But when I went to hem them I accidentally butchered the bottom edge and it was all crazy short on one side. (I swear, it really was an accident) In trying to figure out a fix for my butchery, I came up with an idea to make them a little more interesting.

Here they are before . . .

Excuse the horrible picture, I couldn't find my real camera.

Butchery. And wrinkles.

This is what the kids did while I had the curtains down for surgery.

Spelling practice is much more fun with window crayons.

I don't have pictures of the process, because I'm forgetful like that, but the whole thing was fairly simple - albeit time-consuming. All I did was attach a big piece of black fabric to the bottoms - about 18 inches or so. Then, because I thought it looked weird where it just transitioned from stripes to black, I topstiched a ribbon over the seam. Very simple, but I love the results.

Love.

The big picture - it was actually exceedingly difficult to get a picture that showed both the table, and the bottoms of the curtains.

I love love love my new curtains. It was a very inexpensive fix. The black fabric is upholstery weight (which is good, because the rest of the curtains are lightweight and this helps them lay better) and I got it for $9 a yard at Joann's. The ribbon was $3 a spool, and I had to buy two spools to get the right yardage without piecing it.

But it looks like I spent gobs of cash, and I love it. Love it love it love it. Did I mention I love it?


Love,

I heart ikea

I need to win the lottery. Because even at ikea prices I want waaaaaaay to much stuff. But everything there is so wonderful. I can spend hours in that store. Hours.

Babe just goes for the meatballs.

meatballs.

Today, whilst sitting in my incredibly boring computer science class, I spent some time surfing the ikea site took very good notes. But magically, all these images of new ikea stuff appeared on my screen. Who knows why?

If anyone is looking for a gift for me, here's where to go.

Lookie, lookie:

Happy Little Trees

I love green stripes.

I'm pretty sure if I had this in my office, I would totally be more productive.

Happy Little Tree fabric!

Cool rectangle vase.

Recycle bags!

I love this picture.

More stripes!

House fabric - so cute!

I love this gray rug. I have no where to put it, but I don't care.

Pretty ghosty flower fabric.

Polka dot fabrics make me smile.

Pretty blue.

More houses - this is my favorite.

Princess fabric!

Words! On fabric! I love words!

See, I really need a large influx of cash. HUGE. Because I need these things. Need them, you understand. As in, these items are necessary to my survival.



Love,

Thrift Store Happiness

Even thought I wasn't able to convince Babe that we should spend all our garage sale take on fabric, I did finds some fabric at the house down the street, AND I found lots o' goodies at the thrift store. See my goodies:

Shtuff.

These will go atop my kitchen cabinets.

2 yards of stripey knit for $1!

Fabric.

Quilting plaid. Some of it's cut, some of it's still in big pieces. I think I figured out that I ended up with about 25 yards - for FIFTY CENTS a bundle.

Pretty pillowcase and a whole bunch o' napkins. None of the napkins actually go in my kitchen, but I figure we can use them for everyday when nobody but the family can see them. I call purple!

Got this pack o' scraps. Some of these are hideously bright. But the reason I absolutely had to buy this scrap bundle . . .

Was because of this. How adorable! See how Mr. Turtle (denoted by his white bowtie) is smiling impishly at Miss Turtle (denoted by her white hairbow)? And see, see how Miss Turtle is gazing coquettishly at Mr. Turtle? Ahhh, young turtle love.

Not a bad haul, huh? I'm very excited. When I get home from class today I will start washing the fabric and deciding what to do with it. My mind is abuzz with possibilities!

My garage exploded.

We had a garage sale yesterday (which is why I didn't get to post). It went fairly well. We didn't end up selling everything we wanted to. but we made a fair amount of dough. Which I promptly wanted to spend on fabric. Babe did not agree. He thought we should pay bills instead.

Yeah, he's mean like that.

Anyway, now the garage is strewn with all the stuff we didn't sell, and random piles of crap that I now have room to organize. I can't wait!

Look - the explosion of crap.

So, I'm about to go back out to the garage to try to create some sense of order out of the chaos. We've been planning this garage sale for a few months and have been slowly adding to the pile. Over the months it has gotten bigger and bigger and bigger . . . which is great, garage sale-wise, but not so great for me and my organizational needs. The very very worst part was that the "to sell" pile somehow ended up in front of my boxes of books (stored in the garage because Babe doesn't think having books stacked on every available surface is attractive - I told you he's mean). So my precious books have been unreachable for a very long time.

It was horrible.

My books! They have missed me!

I hope I'll be able to finish the organization project today, if the rain holds off. If not, I will end up with piles of very wet stuff. It'll be awesome. As you can see, we are in desperate need of some organization.

I'm thinking we under-utilize our shelf space. Gonna fix that!

See, desperate.

And oh look, what's that?!

Looks like candlesticks to me.

This just might be the beginnings of another project, which I will share with you, because I'm generous like that.

More tomorrow!

Love,