Upcycle and repurpose projects

From a women's dress

From a women's very comfy shirt and onesie that no longer lit well - made into a matching shirt 

From two of my old shirts one never fit well but was very comfy bamboo, the other had a paint stain, used it for the straps. 

Yes my daughter wears a lot of dresses... It makes for easy trips to the potty and diaper changes. And they are so cute! :)

Repurpose, Upcycle

I have been having many fun adventures lately using old worn out or grown out of clothes to make new cute things for little E. Here is what I did last night...

Before (sorry it's a bit blurry, I didn't realize until after cutting it up...)

After

I always loved that shirt on my older stepdaughter and she is quite rough on clothes so the top of this soon had holes and was ready to be thifted, I kept it because it was too cute to part with and knew I wanted to do something with it. 

The process:

First I cut the bottom off the repurposing shirt, about as long as I wanted the new dress to be, keeping the bottom hem. I then cut the top apart to get material for the bodice (top part of the dress). I thought the casing of the v neck of the shirt was so cute I cut it off and used it as ties for the dress, which also makes the dress adjustable. 

Using a dress that currently fits as a guide I cut out a rectangle for the bodice, I made it double sided for durability. Stitched the wrong sides together, with the ties on the inside going over them once, reversing back over, then again forward so they won't rip out. The shirt was wider than the bodice so I gathered it at the top (using a loose tension and long stitch then gently pulling to adjust the length) to the same length of the bodice. I thought it was so cute I made the seam on the outside, which made attaching the skirt to the bodice very simple. 

I finished the arm pits simply by turning the fabric over and stitching. Which is technically optional since knits don't ravel, but I thought it would look more finished turned and stitched. 

Put it on little E this morning and Tada! New dress! :)

I love sewing!

I know it would have been more clear if I had taken pictures along the way so if you are confused about a step let me know and I will try to better explain.  Mostly I just winged it and did what I thought would be cute, and used a dress that currently fits as a "pattern" of sorts. 

Happy sewing!

Four Months

Things I am loving...

I love watching Edynn explore the grass (ok, I pretty much adore everything she does...)

I love our spinach patch. Fresh spinach on every thing!

I love the rain.

I love my garden. I can't wait to see everything sprout.

I love working at home.

I love chocolate.

I love crickets! They just started chirping.

I love my bunny!

and my chickens!

I love going for walks, and love getting back into running.

I LOVE the fact I have a plane ticket to Utah bought. We are on our way!

Three Months

Two Months

Two months old!

Road trip to visit family in Michigan. 

Christmas!

Our New High Chair

So I have a nice wooden high chair and a plastic strap on booster seat, but they are technically for work. When I found this gem at our local consignment shop I couldn't stop thinking about it. It grows with your child, and this one even has a tray so you can start them really little in it. It was a little bit out of the range of impulse buying, so I checked on it several times until I felt like I decided rationally to buy it.  I love it! At first I felt it was too big for her, and the tray was too small but I can honestly say I love it. I love you can take the tray off and slide it up to the kitchen table, completely out of the way! and it also fits easily through the doorway so I can take it into the play room when I have daycare kids. She has enjoyed starting the adventure of solid foods.

Five Months

Five months old! On her five month birthday she got to visit the doctor... I try not to be paranoid and mostly have let her just work through the little colds she has gotten, but when she looked like she had caught pink eye we went right in. Turns out in most cases there is nothing they can do anyways... The things you learn! It never progressed more than a little bit pink, so more likely than not she had just poked herself in the eye. But now we know.

She is getting so much more interested in things, and less interested in holding still or looking at me for a picture... 

One month old!

Time flies! Baby E is now one month old!

Life with baby E

I loved having my parents visit! Both my mom and dad came to visit for a week, I was so glad they could come. It was so nice to have some support and help with everything. They definitely spoiled me. I have to admit it was nice. :) Now I am the adjusting to being home with E, just me and her. It took a bit of adjusting, the house seemed so empty once my parents left. We are getting settled into a routine and I adore her more every day!

Our little one

Our little girl was born Monday October 22nd 2012 7 lbs 10 oz, 20.5 inches, and with lots of hair. We are completely in love with her.

The countdown...

Well this week our baby E is at 37 weeks, and considered full term, so now its just a matter of waiting until she is ready to come, or else long enough after my due date that she will be nudged along :).

Waiting for something so big (well in this case someone) makes it very hard to be patient. I go back and forth between being delightfully happy, to terrified... :)

Chicken update

Our chickens are almost full grown!

They have lived in a small chicken tractor in our yard for quiet a while now, but have started to out grow it.  Joey has started building them a beautiful set up but when you are only home briefly on the weekends it makes it hard to get everything done.

Enjoying today

Today I have off from work. 

These days of complete freedom to choose whatever I want to do are very limited I know, so I try to enjoy them to the fullest of my ability. Balancing relaxation with the endless list of neglected cleaning and organizing of the house. 

I have many projects I would like to complete before the arrival of our little one. It gets very overwhelming trying to decide how best to spend my time that I end up wasting time trying to decide. 

Today I choose to enjoy today for what it is. Get done what I can, but to enjoy today and to be open to what the day brings, in every moment.

Pregnancy and Heartburn

I have been having such bad heart burn / acid reflux that it has started making me throw up. I have decided to do an experiment to see what works (at least for me...) from this list of  "9 Natural Remedies for Heart Burn in Pregnancy" from the Baby Center website http://blogs.babycenter.com/life_and_home/6192012-9-natural-remedies-for-heartburn-in-pregnancy/  Its funny because sometimes certain things work, and other times they make it worse...

Here is the first remedy I tried:

Fennel seed

2 tsp seeped in boiling water for 10 min, strain and sweeten, then drink

I lost track of long it seeped, and it ended up pretty strong, but with enough agave nectar it was tasty.

It seemed to help the two days I tried it. Then my chronic heart burn went away... so I haven't tried the others.  I am now prepared though :)

8 weeks to go...

Joey has been working like crazy, (he had his first day off in two weeks yesterday) so both last weekend and this weekend I drove to Charlotte to see him. This past weekend I took the kids. It was fun to get out of Asheville, and explore a new city. We found a nice Nature Preserve, called RibbonWalk which has a pond dammed up by beavers, which the kids were ecstatic about, especially Layke. There were lots of frogs, turtles, birds, dragonflies and lots of signs of beaver. Great climbing trees and open field to run around in, and lots of trails to explore. We mainly explored the wetland/pond area but I would love to go back and hike the entire trail.

At one point we found a very intriguing animal poo, and we were studying it trying to figure out what it ate, and what animal it could be. The kids were using sticks to see how far they would sink in the muck if they stepped in it.  Ocean said the funniest thing... Some families right now are spending time together watching football or going out to the movies, but our family is playing in the muck, catching frogs, and looking at poo...

As far as a pregnancy update my belly is starting to get uncomfortable and get in the way. I am happy that I still have felt good, other that the occasional heart burn. And if I get a nap and lots of snacks my energy level has stayed decent. I do enjoy mornings or afternoons of "working on projects" which consists of sewing or other projects that I can do in a reclined position while watching netflix... :D

I am trying to get our small house organized and decluttered to make room for baby's clothes, bed, and other "stuff".  Its been driving me crazy. Basically our 700 sq ft. house already feels at capacity. Eventually we would like to expand the house but for now space is fairly limited. So I have tried to acquire only the baby essentials. But there are still the "where does everything go" details...  I have been having to get creative. I have tried not to increase our furniture much, so I have only gotten a dresser and a pack and play.    I am still working out where to stash the baby bath (it was so cute! it looks like a whale and it will be very nice to have... But where to stash it???)

I am very glad for a nice big garage, with a little room off of it that we call the "craft room" where I have been putting all my things from my room that will no longer fit...  my desk, all my supplies and paper work for my business, my sewing, knitting, and drawing supplies, all family memorabilia.. Its been a real life version of playing Tetris. Its been a frustrating process, and it has made me re-examine and re-simplify, but simplicity by choice is much funner...

I have been appreciating work slowing down so I have some days off to get some of these details figured out. I"m trying to get the house in decent order by this weekend so that Joey's first weekend home in a month the house is at somewhat organized...  Any suggestions are very welcome! I should really post pictures of our cozy house so you get an idea...

Hope you have a great day!

Loving Life

Today I love being pregnant. I feel happy and content (rather than moody, tired, and huge...) and loving the connection I have with our little daughter growing in my belly. Pregnancy really is a miracle, a life growing and developing inside of you. Everyday I can feel her getting bigger, she wakes me up in the morning when she is ready for breakfast, and gets excited with a flurry of movement when I eat sugary foods. She gets upset when Joey gets up for work and isn't snuggling us anymore. I already adore her. :) I can't wait to get to know her better.

Summer Update

Getting close to a month of chicken ownership! The chicks have moved into the garage - way too dirty to stay in the house, plus with the warm temperatures it was no worry to keep them warm enough.  Joey built them a chicken tractor and they spend their days roaming for bugs and other goodies in it, but still return to the "nursery" at night . I am very much looking forward to them having a coop with a run so I don't have to try and herd them back and forth. They can be very stubborn. They are also still 'babies'. The other day it started pouring rain and they ran out of their shelter because the didn't like the sound of the loud rain on the roof, but then they were getting soaking wet. Instead of seeking shelter they stood in the rain trying to get through the chicken wire... silly babies! :)  They are growing like crazy, sometimes they look bigger just from morning to evening, and they are eating like crazy. Their favorite foods include apples, tofu, tomatoes, swiss chard and bugs. It has been so fun watching them develop personalities and personal preferences.

Speaking of growing like crazy Ocean, Raine and Layke are getting ready to head back to school. Ocean is going into 8th grade, Raine 6th, and Layke 4th. Ocean is only a smidge shorter than me, and still growing, with Raine not far behind... Layke's Birthday is coming up and she is turning 10! I can't even believe it!

My pregnancy has been going well, no complications. I have been slowly collecting baby gear, and the shopping list is slowly shrinking. I have been hit with a very strong nesting urge, I want to have everything bought and set up... but I still have 12 weeks to go so I'm trying to keep reminding myself that. :)  I have been sewing up a storm, figured I'd utilize the time since work has been slower. I have sewn bibs, burp clothes, diaper covers, booties, a hooded towel and matching wash mitt, a doll and a stuffed hen and chicks and I have lots of projects in the making. Today was too humid and hot to even sew... We have decided to invest in an air conditioning unit, after dragging my feet and doing fine last summer I am ready and excited!

Joey has been promoted at work, and being trained with Walgreens as a foreman. Yay for promotions, Boo! to being gone more... He has been working out of town not only Monday through Thursday, but many Fridays too.  and sometimes he has to leave Sunday night. I feel like I never see him.  Ok I don't! :) But I'm glad he is working steady and is being promoted. There is a big job coming up in Asheville and he is looking into the details of that to see if he can get on it.   What would it be like to have him here? I'm excited at the possibility!   

Well I think you are about fully updated now...  Thanks for reading!

Chickens: End of week one

Well we have officially concluded the first week of chicken ownership. It has been so fun watching them grow, and getting to know each chicken's personality. We have already had to move them from the original brooder we took them home in. They were already flying out. A couple of days ago I heard a very distressed little chick peeping and peeping, when I went in the chick was all alone on the floor out of the brooder, and very unhappy.   I could have just put a top on it but felt like they could use more room anyways. So we are using a plastic kiddie pool and the guinea pigs wire fencing (we use to let them roam in the grass) So far no one has flown out. We have also added sticks for perching which they seem to enjoy.

Their tastes are expanding. In addition to corn on the cob and swiss chard, they love cucumber, meal worms, and radish greens. I just give them small amounts at a time so they can try different things, with out upsetting their digestion.

There was a house fly cruising around their brooder and they chased it around and tried to catch it. I am so impressed with their instincts. :)

Already I have left them alone for a whole day. Some work friends of Joey's were camping near by and we went to meet them for the evening, we ended up staying that night and most of Saturday until some one mentioned something about my chicks... and I suddenly had visions of tipped waterers, loose chicks, and hungry chicks and we got home that evening. I rushed in to check on them, and they were all snuggled down for a group nap, excited to see me as I am the barer of all things tasty, but otherwise perfectly content.

The kids have been a bit disappointed the chicks no longer enjoy being held and snuggled like on that first day, and really get distressed by being separated from each other, peeping loudly until they are back with the others. I think we will need to get a snugly kitten next :)

Homesteading

I put away the four loads of laundry I washed and hung on the line yesterday,

Cut swiss chard and the the bolted spinach from our garden, laying the seeded sections of the spinach back on the ground to start a new cycle of spinach

Made a mental note to weed the carrot bed, grass is trying to take over

Fed  the chicks, rabbit, and guinea pigs some of the swiss chard and the spinach.

Took out the recycling and compost

Started working on sewing diaper covers, bibs, and a blanket for our coming baby

Our house is cozy and small, but plenty big enough for us to live comfortably.

We don't have a dishwasher, toaster, microwave oven, or television (we watch movies on the computer).  I thought we were pretty high tech with a coffee maker.

and this morning it hit me. I am homesteading.

According to author John Seymour, "urban homesteading" incorporates small-scale, sustainable agriculture and homemaking. I have always adored the idea of homesteading, and being self sufficient, and always thought it would be hard and complicated and a lot of work. But step by step we are getting more and more self sufficient. We have a huge garden which we often eat from, several fruit trees, blue berry bushes, I planted a butterfly garden as a natural barrier between our yard and the neighbors. We compost, just got chicks which will soon be giving us eggs.  A bunny that is mature enough to start producing babies for my husband to eat... she just needs a boyfriend. There is still a lot we want to do, and get planted but it all takes time and work. Small step by step we are homesteading. Very exciting realization!