Ari's Upcycled Shirt!

It's seriously so weird to be at home this week. I am so used to waking up and having a workday routine that all this free time* is foreign to me now.

*Side note: free time is not really free when you have children.


Lucky for me today, Ari was in an easygoing mood and quietly played (and 'did her toes') this morning while I sewed her that summer shirt in the photo above! Last night I felt inspired so I got out one of those vintage dresses and started cutting away.

I'm actually pretty thrilled at how it turned out :) It was my second sewing project, I learned how to make buttonholes too! I had buttons on the back of the shirt but unfortunately that wasn't really working out, so I improvised and got out some ribbon, made extra holes and used that instead. The shirt is ruffled on the front, and the fabric is a cotton/ polyester mix. The straps button for easy on and off - I was contemplating making holes so she could grow with it but it fits her really good now so it was deemed not necessary / extra work!









Mid-way through the afternoon I was daydreaming on what I could use the scrap fabric for, when I decided to make her a matching headband. She really liked that idea, and got upset when I took it off her to take a photo of it!




We had a good day today, lots of giggles :) had vegetables and diced mango for lunch. I'm hoping I start work on monday though, because no matter how much I love my baby, I just don't feel accomplished nor satisfied being at home. My depression is pretty much non-existant at this point, and I'm thankful for that. Took long enough! But I need to be around adults or I go crazy, lol. Kudos to all the baby sitters in the world/ parents of more than one, I could never do it!

Making an Old Thing New

Tuesday when we went thrifting, I picked up this old wall-mounted coat rack for $1.



I was very excited to bring it home and get to work on it :)

The first thing I did was take off the hooks, set them aside, and sand down the wood.


Next I painted the wood white, let the first coat dry, then painted a second coat on. I painted the hooks too, to give it a base to help the purple paint stick better.


After the white, I washed my brush and painted the hooks a dark purple (2 coats)



The final product:


I left the wall screws black, I think it gives it some character :) All in all, this project cost about $3! Our downstairs neighbor is a painter and gave us access to his storage room of paint, the brush was $2 from Ocean State Job Lot and the coat hanger $1. It was a fun project, too!

Do you have any good projects that came from thrifting?
Xo

Indian food + Thrifting

Late afternoon today, C, Ari and I walked to our downtown area for some Indian food and to do a little thrifting.







Delicious food, especially the chicken tikka. Indian food is amazing, and apparently my love of it has been passed down to Ari, seeing as she chowed down on everything! She enjoyed it all, and especially the spicy rice. The kid loves heat in her meals!

We went to the thrift store, purchased a couple things, and walked back home. Such an amazing workout, we felt/ feel really good. My town really is so small, it's a wonder people don't walk as much as they totally could.




Scored those awesome bowls for $1, for all three! They're Pampered Chef too!


My herbs are producing so much, I think it's time for an official mini harvest. Everything except my thyme, that is (first photo). I think i took out too much root when I repotted it. The next photo is tomatoes, about ready to get planted in the ground. The next is my lemon balm! I was having a seriously hard time with this plant, it was dying but ended up becoming rejuvenated from repotting. My chocolate mint is growing rapidly, sprouting new stalks and spreading daily. Sage died, but all of a sudden sprouted a new plant! So happy for that. And my parsley is just doing wonderful, growing too fast lol.


Munchkin ♥ Amazes me (and scares me to death) more each day! xo

Graduation and Inspiration

Yesterdays graduation went really good! I was a bit nervous but I felt at ease once we actually got to the auditorium. C, Ari and my dad came :) Everyone had such wonderful things to say about me! I was so happy about that! Overall it was nice, they also had yummy food (ham and cheese in a spinach wrap- yum!) and Ari behaved so well, I was so proud of her. She clapped when we all did, and wasn't disruptive. I also started a math class, which is given at Rhode Island Hospital but is part of CCRI. 2 people I graduated with are taking class as well, but I've already met new people! My math teacher is interesting, he's young and not too bad to look at either lol. It's a lecture, not a lab like I'm used to, but maybe I just need to face the fact that I need structure or nothing will ever get done.

Now on to some inspiration!


I'm dying to do this in our bedroom! Trying to figure out how it would work with a partial slanted ceiling


A plant necklace!


An upcycled chair made from a suitcase - genius!


Lately I've been so obsessed with teepees, I love this one so much


Perfect for a porch, kitchen or bathroom!


A recycled glass bottle light!


I love this banner!


Ari would go nuts for this teepee in her room, and so would I!


Amazing


This room is just perfect. I love the trees and the old bed


If this were my yard, we would never eat inside


Awesome jewelry hanger, looks easy to make too!


In love. Summer, get here fast!


Click here to give my blog a vote :) xo

Busy Little Bee...

Things have been so hectic and thrown together, I've felt so disorganized and just out of it. This week has just been one of those weeks. On the plus side, I've finished my internship and received a position with the company. Very happy about that :) I graduate the program tomorrow , and also start my college math class which will be 3hrs on monday nights. I needed to get it done in order to take other needed classes next semester, so it is what it is. Not my first year of summer school ;)

Here are some pictures from this week, I don't remember the specific days lol. They've all seemed the same during the stormy, gray week.







Ari received a tickle me elmo as a christmas present recently, and she absolutely adores it! Thanks to C's brother and sister-in-law :)


Walking in mommy's shoes.. She did extremely well too lol


Ari has an obsession with sitting on balls (Yes, I do know how that sounds haha) but I am serious; she would sit on her normal sized bouncy ball and watch tv and be perfectly content. But, we felt bad, so one day C came home with a huge ball for her! She's so happy, she'll look out those windows for soo long.




My photocopied math book.. $113.00 brand new and I got it for free :) sweeet!


She's super cute putting on my clothes, but notice something else in the picture? Yup, no diaper! We've began potty training, and so far it's taken off very slow which is perfectly fine. Ari has been showing interest, by saying pee and poop, sitting on her potty and we even had an extremely near miss. I'm optimistic, I think she's going to catch on right away. I'm definitely not pushing it on her, so it's fun to see her putting two and two together! So smart :)


How she enjoys her lemonade






Random little girl at the park who would not leave us alone, so we let her push Ari on the swing lol. Gotta love when people pawn off their annoying offspring


This old McDonald's card fell out of a book of mine when I was cleaning today. The 90's were totally embarrassing!


Minestrone soup with red beans on tortilla, yum!


Juniper and Jaxon. I'm pretty much about to switch his name to Jackson Brown, which is what I for some reason keep calling him. He purs every time he hears it lol. Juniper likes to lick my face at all hours and wake up me petrified, every single time. They're wierd as hell, but that's why they fit in!


Links you'll like tomorrow, among other things :)

P.s. If you have a spare second (literally), would you mind voting for me here? Thanks loveys, it is so appreciated! Xo

What's on my iPod v.1

So I decided to do a little music post since I've been more obsessed than normal. Maybe it's because I get to listen from 9am-2pm? Anywayy, I put it on shuffle and these were the first six songs. I youtube'd them so you can listen, too!



#1. One of the best songs I've probably ever heard in my life. Dallas Green is amazing, his band is City and Colour, previous frontman for Alexisonfire. I'm pretty much in love. Another awesome song by him is called Coming Home. I seriously can't even listen to that one anymore, or even think about it without crying. Aah memories.


#2. One of the newer songs added to the iPod, but what an interesting song! lol it will definitely get you dancing, Ari and I love it



#3. Lou Reed of the Velvet Underground, this song is perfect. From 2:14 in the video on, especially the instrumental part with the piano at 2:21, wow. If I ever get married, this will be that song. Simple, and perfect.



#4. Black Eyed Peas did a good job with this song, and every time I hear it I want to go dancing!



#5. There's been countless remakes of this one, but My Brightest Diamond does my favorite (aside from Muse)



This song reminds me of high school and not being there ever lol. Jakob Dylan is perfect, and so is this song


I'd love to have some music recommendations? I enjoy anything and everything! Xo

Day 3! and MyPlate, a Wonderful Health and Weight Loss Tool

In terms of working out and eating better, I'm pretty proud of myself!

Yesterday, I drank 4 8oz cups of water. That's a pretty big thing for me! I watched what I ate and stayed within my calorie intake guidelines.

For exercise, I was pretty motivated :) I did P90x yoga for 45 minutes, and then decided to get in some cardio. Wouldn't you know it, I went for a run. I ran to the park, and I ran around the baseball field 3 and a half times, walked 2 and a half times. Then I ran home. I pretty much felt like I was about die, but I feel good right now. Tired, but accomplished. When I was running, I just kept pushing myself- it was SO hard but an excellent challenge. Having asthma, it's pretty difficult for me to breathe when I'm doing something like running. Even though I felt like I was on fire (lol), and after I threw up (shouldn't have drank mucho agua before going), I guess I just have to get into a solid routine again. It is what it is, I really don't want to do it today. My legs still feel so dead! But I'm gonna make myself, and get a good pace going this time. I hear there's a certain rhythm to running- hopefully I find it soon. Today I plan to run one more lap than I did yesterday. Gotta build stamina!

On sunday though, a friend of mine introduced me to this AMAZING program. On Livestrong.com, you must check out MyPlate. I am seriously addicted! You can set calorie goals for yourself, and whatever you eat or drink you enter into your food log- which amazingly, all you have to do is enter in whatever you had, and it automatically counts the calories for you! There is also a fitness and equipment log, it's pretty much the same as the food log. You write in what you did/used, and it calculates how many calories you have burned (you won't believe the things they count- taking out the trash, playing with the kids, etc!)

Not only does it track pretty much everything, there are also great articles, advice, recipes, and a section called dares, where you can take on challenges. Pretty cool :) I'm looking for a few to do. That right there is another motivator!

You can also enter in your weight daily, but a tip I have to keep reminding myself: You'll lose inches before you lose pounds, and muscle weighs more than fat. I'm trying not to be so obsessive over the scale, and I'm somewhat succeeding.

I know I'm going to reach my goal much easier when I see my downfalls and my food logs.

This website is seriously keeping me in check, and I'm super thankful to know about it! If you're looking to be healthy but need to be kept in line, you have to try MyPlate. It's free with wonderful features, but you can also upgrade if you'd like.

Are you on a weight loss journey? Have any tips? Just remember- Don't give up! You can meet your goal!

Even when the sun don't shine...

Wonderful week, right? Clearly this is going to be one of those at home productive weeks. Which is all well because C's stepmom just gave me a bunch of vintage dresses that were her mothers, so I can't wait to start making more things for A!




Yesterday I spent the entire day and part of the night cleaning and organizing. So happy its done! I found time to do some yoga and Jaxon joined me:




I got around to fixing a plate that has been broken for about a month now. These little French plates came in a set of four, and I just love them so much. This one was being used under my mint plant, and C broke it one day (men..). It sat in pieces until saturday, when I cleaned them in the sink and sliced my thumb open length-wise! Glad it's done.



I also got around to sewing a pillow that's been waiting to get put back together



It cleared up a bit yesterday evening, fooled me into thinking it would be nice today, but hey at least the sky was pretty for a little while




You know it's Spring when the lilacs are in bloom. We have plenty around our house right now! We have a dried (well, currently drying) bunch hanging in our bedroom, and fresh ones in the kitchen, dining room, and living room. It smells like a garden in here haha




This is also my last week as intern! It seems so recent that I was blogging about getting accepted into the program and how I was feeling. It's been a very self-reflective time and I've definitely grown as a person, student, and employee. I finally have confidence in my abilities, totally a good feeling :)

Hopefully it's sunnier weather where you are? Xo