Wednesday, July 30, 2014

home in pennsylvania

I've spent the last 5 days in my hometown in Pennsylvania and it has been wonderful. I forgot how beautiful this part of the country is and how much I absolutely love it. These past few days have been full of good food (so much pizza), a massage, shopping with my mom and sister, Indian food, playing with my adorable nephews, and relaxing. It really is going to be hard to leave and go back to Texas but I have so much to go back to there. I'm feeling really lucky these days.

+ outside wine time
+ fresh starts
+ pennsylvania

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

favorite books | july



I've been in the mood to make things lately.

ok, I'm always in the mood to make things. I'd really like to be able to make a few simple clothing items and I've looking through sewing books trying to get better at it. These are a few books I've been loving to look at for ideas on sewing, cooking and making homemade items for around the house.

Sew U 

The Kinfolk Table 

Handmade Living


+ farm dreams
+ watermelon
+ reading in bed


Sunday, July 27, 2014

keeping things simple


I had a wonderful birthday this year. I went out to lunch with my friend Deb and talked over Thai food. Spent the afternoon preparing for my trip to Pennsylvania and got a pizza with Philip in the evening. We had some beers and tried to go to the movies to see Boyhood but the theater was full, maybe next week. That movie trailer looks amazing.

Recently I've had a desire to simplify my life in every way. I spent a few weeks in July going through our apartment and donating items to lessen the clutter and it felt so good. I wrote some birthday goals for myself on the plane ride to Pennsylvania and they are pretty simple as well.

buy less stuff
be nice to myself
be calm
have more fun every day
be patient with others

They all sound so easy but I know it will be challenging. I'm working on breaking them down into activities to help me follow through and make progress on living my life with these goals in mind. I love the idea of spending less time buying stuff and more time doing things I love to do. I'd love to meet more people in Austin too. Why is so difficult to make friends when you're in your thirties?

+ strong coffee
+ family time
+ good pizza

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

How I get rid of stuff


I have been slowing going through all the rooms in the apartment and trying to get rid of things. We don't really have a lot that we don't use or love because we move so often. We've moved almost every year for the last 7 years that we've been together. Before that I was in college and moved every year to a new apartment for the school year. I've lived in 10 apartments in the last 12 years. That's a lot of moving and it makes me tired just thinking about it. When we moved from Seattle to Pittsburgh, we got rid of everything even our furniture. We were able to fit everything we owned including our pets into a 4 door sedan and a teeny tiny trailer.

I like to keep the amount of things we own to a minimum and my desire to own less seems to grow every year. I've also been working on buying things that last longer and using items until they're worn out. I donate a lot of the stuff we don't need because we didn't really use it that much and it still looks good.

My new plan of attack is to buy less stuff. I've started making list before I go to Target and not buying anything that isn't on the list. It's been challenging but I know I don't need any of that stuff and I'll probably be putting in the donate pile in a few months when we move again.

This is how I get rid of items:

Monday, July 21, 2014

DIY painted can planters


If you're like me and enjoy buying a new plant every time you leave the house then you are probably running out of pots to plant them all in. Well this idea is going to help and also save some money so you can buy more things you need, like plants.

This DIY is pretty darn simple.

1. Eat food out of a can. I suggest spicy black bean tacos.

2. Wash can to remove label and use scrub brush or goo be gone to get rid of any glue residue. Also sand any sharp edges around the top to avoid future injuries.

3. Use spray paint to paint can, I used two layers.

4. Use a small nail to poke drainage holes in the bottle of your can.

5. Put plants in beautiful new planter!

+ sleeping in too late
+ blueberry mini pies
+ watermelon mint cocktails

Friday, July 18, 2014

This week so far | july 13




eating / anything that doesn't require turning on the oven.
drinking / wine drinks with philip in the evening.
practicing / enjoying my time off from work.
mastering /sewing pillow covers. I've made 900 this summer.
learning / to take it easier on myself.
playing / podcasts all day long. I love this one.
finishing / my massive get rid of stuff plan.
reading / my giant stack of kinfolk magazines.
walking / annie dog everyday at 10am.
wearing / my mint shorts.
cooking / simple pasta with spinach.
working / on a black and white blanket for the couch.
traveling / to pennsylvania to see my family in a week.
wanting / to plan a trip with philip before the summer ends.

+ making stuff all day long
+ birthday hen
+ the most beautiful dutch oven ever!

Thursday, July 17, 2014

homemade basket



I made a basket the other day for Annie's dog toys. It only took about an hour to make and I love it. I got the idea here. I couldn't find cotton clothesline at the hardware store so I bought the polyester kind. I'd love to get cotton so I could dye it and make colorful baskets. I used a light mint thread for most of the basket because I have a hard time sewing straight, as you can see from bright pink thread on the inside. 

After I finished this basket, I just wanted to make more and more. I don't really need anymore baskets but I doubt that will stop me.


+ cloudy and cool days
+ slow and quiet mornings
+ baskets for everything!!

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

slow life | spending time outside


In the past few months, I've been thinking a lot about how much I enjoy it when my life slows down. I like to have time to sit outside and read on our balcony or just spend time fiddling around with my plants for a hour. I sometimes day dream about moving out of the city and living on a small farm. I would love to have a llama farm or a lavender farm. My fantasy probably isn't even close to what real farm life would be like but I imagine it would be still be pretty great even if I had to wake up at 4am.

Since I can't pack up and leave for the farm life right now, I've been trying to make small changes instead. I try and make time every day to just sit outside and read. I try to be less concerned with everything on my to do list and just slow down my day. Take the time to go for a long walk with Annie dog and enjoy how quiet and wonderful it is to have the house to myself to work on sewing projects.

I'm meeting my friend Deb this afternoon and we're going to spend the afternoon at Barton Springs. I haven't been swimming all summer and today is supposed to be hot so I'm excited. I'm off to pack some books and snacks for the day.

+ Jeopardy
+ sunny mornings
+ summer adventures

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

knitting a new blanket


I've been working on a new knitting blanket at night while we watch movies (mostly terrible nicholas cage movie masterpieces). I like super simple knitting projects and this one couldn't be easier, just knitting a giant rectangle in knit stitch. I've still had to start over because of mistakes that I couldn't figure out how to fix. I've been knitting for years and still struggle to pick up dropped stitches. I must have watched 10 youtube video on how to do it before I decided starting over might be the best option. I'm really enjoying knitting again and maybe someday the temperature will drop in Austin and we'll actually need to use a blanket again. maybe.

I was inspired to make a blanket after seeing so many beautiful knitted blankets on pinterest.
This blanket inspires mine and I also love this one and this one. This super soft merino wool looks amazing. I need to order some of that right now.

+ homemade bread
+ sleeping in late
+ sewing for hours

Friday, July 4, 2014

This week so far | June 30







 Happy 4th of July!! Philip and I took Annie for a long and very hot run this morning. Hopefully she'll be too tired to freak out tonight during the fireworks.

This week:

+ Philip and I checked out the farmer's market in our neighborhood and I got a free mini watermelon for spending over $10. win win.

+ I've been working on a small knitted blanket and these are the colors that I'm using for it. It is taking me forever because I keep messing up and taking it all out. I really need to get better at fixing knitting mistakes.

+ Philip hung a tomato and strawberry planter on the balcony. Fingers crossed that they live through the summer.

+ I got a little obsessed with sewing pillow covers this week.

+ I think I ate pizza for 8 out 10 meals this week due to the fact that I was reading this book. I love pizza.

+ Deb and I went for a walk behind her apartment. It was crazy hot but we saw a baby turtle so it was worth it. Also we tried Amy's ice cream for the first time. I had sweet cream with gingersnaps mixed in. We walked around Uncommon Objects together. I love how they organize the items by color.



Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Project Life Album | June 2014



This month:

I finally took the time to turn in my Pennsylvania license for a Texas license. I got a little sentimental while I was waiting and took a photo of my old license. I had to make two trips to the DMV that day because I forgot my car insurance forms, when I got back and was waiting to be called, I couldn't find my old license and thought I might have dropped it when I ran home to get the rest of my paperwork.  It was in my pocket. Oh, how I love the exciting adventures of moving to a new state, they never seem to end.