Sometimes I wonder if I should be giving this blog a theme and sticking to it. But then I think about how I am rather eclectic and not sure that I could go with one thing.
Here are some of the things I could theme my blog around:
*DIYs (hmm... except I don't know if I do enough of these)
*Living Gluten Free (well, this may not be forever)
*Baking (not really doing much of this since I'm trying to lose weight)
*Weight-Loss Journey (also known as life in general)
*Book Reviews (I read non-stop, this could actually work)
*Librarian Life (I am in school to be a librarian, so no actual material yet)
*Photography (I love photography!)
So, you can see that I have a lot of ideas- none of which add up to much on their own.
How do blogs get to be popular anyway? Is it because they have one solid theme? I think it is because the voices behind them make a connection to a large audience. The thing I find crazy though is the wild popularity that some have been met with- being given book deals and speaking engagements.
I guess I will continue writing about whatever is on my mind on any given day. Until next time, I hope you all enjoy being eclectic too!
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Sunday, May 26, 2013
DIY- Jeans into Bell Bottoms
This weekend my friend had a 70s themed birthday party. I shopped extensively to find just the right outfit. Sadly, there wasn't a lot to be found. Of course, I managed to find clothes for my husband, but it seemed like the ladies options were fewer and further between.
So, I made the decision that I would just make my own! I went to Jo-Ann's and found some great fabric. I was determined to make jeans into bell bottoms and to make a matching shirt. I am not one to use a pattern- they make me crazy. Instead I looked at various DIYs online and came up with a hybrid mix of these to suit my needs.
I found some cheap jeans at a thrift store- this particular pair began their life as skinny jeans.
The first step was to rip out the outside seams up to the knee- about 20 inches, depending on the length of jeans you have. I also ripped out the hem as well- this was so I could hem the added bell fabric to match the pant hem exactly. In this case it also lengthened the jeans a bit. The seam ripping was only difficult in that there were three sets of stitches in this seam, so it took more time than anticipated to get through all of the stitches!
The next step was to cut the fabric to insert into my open seam. I measured the opening on my jeans- 20 inches. I decided to cut the fabric longer to make sure I had plenty of fabric. I cut a triangle 24 inches long with the top being about 2 inches wide and the bottom being 10 inches wide.
The fabric I chose was a little on the floppy side which gave me reason to question if the leg would just fold in on itself making the bell disappear. To avoid this, I used a fairly stiff interfacing on my fabric- cut to the same size as my triangle.
Once I had these two fabrics fused together I turned the jeans inside out and pinned the pants and fabric together. All that was left was to sew! I went up each side and then made small adjustments at the top of the triangle to try to make sure there wasn't a pucker at the top. This is just something you have to fiddle with. Some people hand stitch this part, but I was able to do a pretty good job with the machine.
Lastly, I put a hem back in the bottom of the jeans. I chose to leave them a little longer so that I could wear them with taller wedges.
I don't have a picture with them on- I forgot! But I will post one one I have a chance to put them on again.
I also made a shirt- actually 2 shirts. The first one I made from a pattern- it turned out super cute, but was snugger than what I prefer. Since I wanted to have a good time I decided to make a second shirt. This time I avoided pattern usage. I cut out a square of fabric and worked it into a halter top with the help of my mother! With a little elastic, a couple of darts, and some ingenuity, I had a shirt!
So, I made the decision that I would just make my own! I went to Jo-Ann's and found some great fabric. I was determined to make jeans into bell bottoms and to make a matching shirt. I am not one to use a pattern- they make me crazy. Instead I looked at various DIYs online and came up with a hybrid mix of these to suit my needs.
I found some cheap jeans at a thrift store- this particular pair began their life as skinny jeans.
The first step was to rip out the outside seams up to the knee- about 20 inches, depending on the length of jeans you have. I also ripped out the hem as well- this was so I could hem the added bell fabric to match the pant hem exactly. In this case it also lengthened the jeans a bit. The seam ripping was only difficult in that there were three sets of stitches in this seam, so it took more time than anticipated to get through all of the stitches!
The next step was to cut the fabric to insert into my open seam. I measured the opening on my jeans- 20 inches. I decided to cut the fabric longer to make sure I had plenty of fabric. I cut a triangle 24 inches long with the top being about 2 inches wide and the bottom being 10 inches wide.
The fabric I chose was a little on the floppy side which gave me reason to question if the leg would just fold in on itself making the bell disappear. To avoid this, I used a fairly stiff interfacing on my fabric- cut to the same size as my triangle.
Lastly, I put a hem back in the bottom of the jeans. I chose to leave them a little longer so that I could wear them with taller wedges.
I don't have a picture with them on- I forgot! But I will post one one I have a chance to put them on again.
I also made a shirt- actually 2 shirts. The first one I made from a pattern- it turned out super cute, but was snugger than what I prefer. Since I wanted to have a good time I decided to make a second shirt. This time I avoided pattern usage. I cut out a square of fabric and worked it into a halter top with the help of my mother! With a little elastic, a couple of darts, and some ingenuity, I had a shirt!
Saturday, May 11, 2013
It's Been One Week Since You Looked At Me...
I am claiming one week gluten-free even though it is really only six days. Can I just tell you that this has been the worst week to make this change!? Holy moly. It was Teacher Appreciation week, and how did we celebrate? Well, with food of course! Here is the rundown of how this week worked:
Monday: First day of my experiment. Potato bar at work. This actually was okay- I had the potato with cheese and tiny bits of sour cream and butter. Now, I know that sour cream and butter could be suspect, but I went really light and crossed my fingers.
Tuesday: Fazoli's was served for lunch. This girl went back to her classroom and at the salad she brought from home. The wafting smell of breadsticks was like torture.
Wednesday: Dilly bars from the cafeteria and sweet treats from STUCO. I ate the Dilly Bar since DQ's webpage proclaims them gluten free, and took water from STUCO- no soda, and no chips.
Thursday: Donuts and Fruit courtesy of the PTA. I got friendly with the fruit and bypassed the donut. You wouldn't know this- but this is a BIG deal. I LOVE donuts! Holy crud... but, it wasn't that hard.
Friday: Okay, so this one may sound silly- Texas Roadhouse dropped off about a million hot rolls at school. Um, these are like flippin' kryptonite. I faced my kryptonite and walked away from it.
So, I survived a tough five days!
Today, I went with my mom to get coffee- she wanted to get lunch while we were there- sadly, I didn't get anything. The place was local and while they said I could probably eat the chicken salad on lettuce... well, without knowing the ingredients for sure, I didn't want to take their best guess.
This hasn't been as hard as I thought it was going to be. I have found some amazing products that I really enjoy. Here are my recommendations from this week:
*Glutino Pretzel Sticks- super yummy, and went fabulously with banana.
*Pamela's Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies- oh man! 170 calories for 2 cookies- this is high, but all cookies are in my opinion. I was able to eat just one at a time. (Also an accomplishment!)
*Gluten Free Cafe Pizza Crust Mix- this was a weird consistency after being mixed. I used glass bakeware instead of a pizza pan. It turned out pretty decent, but was too dense or something- the crust overwhelmed the flavor of my toppings! I would still use it in a pinch though!
Monday: First day of my experiment. Potato bar at work. This actually was okay- I had the potato with cheese and tiny bits of sour cream and butter. Now, I know that sour cream and butter could be suspect, but I went really light and crossed my fingers.
Tuesday: Fazoli's was served for lunch. This girl went back to her classroom and at the salad she brought from home. The wafting smell of breadsticks was like torture.
Wednesday: Dilly bars from the cafeteria and sweet treats from STUCO. I ate the Dilly Bar since DQ's webpage proclaims them gluten free, and took water from STUCO- no soda, and no chips.
Thursday: Donuts and Fruit courtesy of the PTA. I got friendly with the fruit and bypassed the donut. You wouldn't know this- but this is a BIG deal. I LOVE donuts! Holy crud... but, it wasn't that hard.
Friday: Okay, so this one may sound silly- Texas Roadhouse dropped off about a million hot rolls at school. Um, these are like flippin' kryptonite. I faced my kryptonite and walked away from it.
So, I survived a tough five days!
Today, I went with my mom to get coffee- she wanted to get lunch while we were there- sadly, I didn't get anything. The place was local and while they said I could probably eat the chicken salad on lettuce... well, without knowing the ingredients for sure, I didn't want to take their best guess.
This hasn't been as hard as I thought it was going to be. I have found some amazing products that I really enjoy. Here are my recommendations from this week:
*Glutino Pretzel Sticks- super yummy, and went fabulously with banana.
*Pamela's Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies- oh man! 170 calories for 2 cookies- this is high, but all cookies are in my opinion. I was able to eat just one at a time. (Also an accomplishment!)
*Gluten Free Cafe Pizza Crust Mix- this was a weird consistency after being mixed. I used glass bakeware instead of a pizza pan. It turned out pretty decent, but was too dense or something- the crust overwhelmed the flavor of my toppings! I would still use it in a pinch though!
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Gluten Free Since...
So, tomorrow is the day that I try living gluten free for 30 days. Why on earth would I do that you may ask...
I haven't been diagnosed with celiac disease, and no, I am not using it as a diet.
A co-worker and I had a conversation where I mentioned in passing that my husband and I weren't having children as quickly as we had hoped. His response was that his wife was only able to get pregnant when she went gluten-free.
Now, there has been some indication that there may be a problem elsewhere in the clockwork that produces babies, but without a firm diagnosis, I am willing to give up bread for babies.
I haven't been diagnosed with celiac disease, and no, I am not using it as a diet.
A co-worker and I had a conversation where I mentioned in passing that my husband and I weren't having children as quickly as we had hoped. His response was that his wife was only able to get pregnant when she went gluten-free.
Now, there has been some indication that there may be a problem elsewhere in the clockwork that produces babies, but without a firm diagnosis, I am willing to give up bread for babies.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Lazy Weekend
I had big plans for my break from work. I wanted to clean out the kitchen cabinets, recover the office from its dump-like state, clean up the guest room, take down the holiday decorations... basically be a cleaning whirlwind! The office is 95% of the way there, other than that, I don't think we can claim to have accomplished a lot, especially this weekend.
Friday night we reveled in the nothing that we had planned. Saturday I went to the gym in the morning for a couple of hours and then we went to buy a new lawn tractor (excellent buys this time of year). After that, yep, you got it, we did nothing.
Last night the dogs basically lost their minds and were nutso all night long. This means that my sleep was interrupted at least once an hour by barking or jumping off the bed or whining to get back in bed or one of the many other odd behaviors that occurred throughout the night. I woke suddenly this morning to find that it was 11am! Holy crud! Since waking I have managed to make a grocery list, but haven't gotten out of the house to actually buy anything! My husband and puppy are currently napping together while my older dog lays against my legs, looking up at my husband and sighing when he starts to snore a little.
Nothing, a bunch of it, that is what we have done this weekend.
Tomorrow I head back to work, not knowing at all what to expect out of my day, hoping that somehow my house will be cleaned by magical elves while I am out.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
The Simple Things
My birthday was in December and upon returning home one day that week, I found a gift on my front porch from my aunt who lives down the road. When I opened it up, I found inside a snowman candle holder- one she had seen me admire at a craft show recently. I was so excited! I love this little guy so much! He isn't super expensive, he can only sit out for a few months a year, but he gives me so much joy. The light shining out of him casts great patterns on the table and walls, impacting all of the space around him with his glow.
Something so simple gives so much lasting joy!
Monday, December 31, 2012
Over the Weekend
This past weekend was spent mostly being lazy. My husband and I have only ever taken on putting together a puzzle only one other time- about this time last year. I bought a puzzle this week, thinking it would be super fun. It was fun for me, maybe less fun for the husband. It was definitely harder than I thought it was going to be! But here we are- 1000 pieces stronger than we were two days ago!
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