Yes that's right winners.
I'm giving a pumpkin to all you.
Meesh, Sara, and Courtney.
I will email you to get your addresses.
Congrats friends. :)
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
Last Halloween post featuring my Halloween cards
I sent out Halloween cards, because as I've said before, it is my favorite holiday, oh and they were hand made cards. I got creative, something I love doing but have problems doing because I have no drawing/painting ability so I am limited.
I used packing paper. My husband got a box of drinks from Hubert's Lemonade and this brown paper was what they were packed with. Perfect for what I was doing.
Not only did I make cards but I made envelopes as well. For the envelopes I used paper grocery bags. For a template I used a little card/envelope I had lying around.
I actually had to ask my brother for a few grocery bags and got lucky with the packing paper. Before the packing paper surprisingly appeared I was kinda in a panic of what I would use. I didn't want to go out and buy something, I really wanted to reuse something.
The hardest part in the process was keeping the paper from my cats. We use cloth grocery bags and when we do get paper bags or any kind in general it goes on the floor for the cats to play with. They did not get why they didn't get to play and chew and tear this paper apart.
Here are the cards and envelopes once they were finished.
I ran out of ribbon so I wasn't able to make as many cards as I wanted and I wasn't about to mar the nice look of the front of the cards with my icky hand writing, it just wouldn't have looked as good.
One last time. Don't forget to enter for a chance to win one of my hand made fabric pumpkins. They'd make a great addition to Thanksgiving decoration. I'm picking a winner tomorrow (November 8th) at 2pm PST (or sometime around then). GIVEAWAY (click it!!)
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Work bag contents and it's a video!!
Apparently I find this video blogging addictive. Which sounds all fun and harmless but who knows what I will vlog next, hehe. This could be bad for you, my poor readers.
I've wanted to do a contents of my purse before but pictures and descriptions of what in my bag just don't quite capture what is in my bag well enough. I often have some odd/random things in my bag. Once I came home with a frozen mouse in my jacket pocket, oh aren't you jealous of my job? Nothing like that this time, don't worry but there are some funny things. So here you go, take a look at what's in my work bag.
I've wanted to do a contents of my purse before but pictures and descriptions of what in my bag just don't quite capture what is in my bag well enough. I often have some odd/random things in my bag. Once I came home with a frozen mouse in my jacket pocket, oh aren't you jealous of my job? Nothing like that this time, don't worry but there are some funny things. So here you go, take a look at what's in my work bag.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
30 days of thankfulness and other things to do in November (aka rambling)
I love the idea of 30 days of thankfulness. I would love to do it BUT I know there is no way I would keep up with it. NO WAY. I also know I wouldn't be able to think of things I would feel like sharing. I would find most of the things I would come up with as lame and embarrassed isn't the right word but comfortable I guess. I might check in here, facebook, twitter, for random thing I am thankful for but I am not going to try and force myself to keep up with it.
That being said I do have things I want to accomplish in November. Save money. Eat better/get fit. First thing on both those lists is to break my Starbucks addiction. Caffeine is an issue with me. It really keeps me from sleeping well. I don't care to be completely caffeine free, I always start my morning with a green tea blend. Large amounts of caffeine do affect me in different ways, I can totally tell when I have been visiting Starbucks too much. It's not the coffee I am going to miss most, no it's the people. I like the people that work at the Starbucks down the street. They all know my name now, and get the soy out when they see me walk in. It's so nice. In the past I have switched from vanilla lattes to chai lattes. The caffeine is low enough to not bother my sleep patterns as much but they do nothing for my wallet. To help break the habit I am going to make a pumpkin spice syrup, Sara over at From Blah to Ta-Daa posted a recipe (click it) recently and I still have plenty of pumpkin puree left over from making other sweets and see if the syrup added to my hot chocolate mix is any good. I expect it to be delicious. Oh I don't think this is going to help me get fit....
So on that I really need to pull out those exercise dvd's I have and use them. I actually like them, all of them. I wish I could run/use a treadmill but I don't feel safe running alone and I can't afford a gym membership. Even if I could afford, or more like was willing to pay a gym membership it really would be a giant waste of money. I can't use a large quantity of the equipment because I am just too damn small and bruise way too easy. I use the equipment and end up with fully bruised thighs, arms, ass, back, you name it. Even working out at home I get bruises on my tailbone doing pilates/yoga type exercises. I bruise way too easy, WAY too easy.
What else for November, oh I need to research sewing machines. My husband wants to buy me a new one for Christmas. I don't actually own a sewing machine, I have my moms, the same one my mom used to make my Halloween costumes etc when I was a child. It works fine, it is great for most things I do, but I would really like to get one with a few more bells and whistles, perhaps expand what I do. Something new and fancy is always fun to play with right.
We need new dishes and I found some pretty simple yet stylish ones at Crate &Barrel. We have a Crate and Barrel outlet a few miles away. The dishes we have now are hand me downs, the plates my parents got when they married in 1978, half which have broken and the rest have cracks in them. We also have a set we don't use anymore because I am totally unsure of their safety. They were given to us when we married but are cheap, which is fine, but they used to be purple and they are now pink. Where is all that color going, why does my food sometimes change color, that CAN'T be good right. We also have some great hand me down salad bowls from Rich's grandmother but we need soup bowls and plates. They have some square glass plates and bowls that I really like and they won't go and bleed their color on my food. Hopefully they are still available or I can find something simple but with a bit of an edge, I really liked the squareness, made them less plain.
One more thing I know I want to do in November, Christmas cards. I said I wasn't going to do Christmas cards, I did Halloween cards and sent them to a few people, I ran out of one of supplies and couldn't make as many as I wanted, sorry if you didn't get one, I wanted to send more. I had originally planned on not sending out Christmas cards, it's not really my holiday, Halloween is totally my holiday. But I had a BRILLIANT and totally Nessa idea for Christmas cards so I will be sending them out and I should have plenty of supplies for these so yay friends and family Christmas cards. Or Season Greetings to be pc I guess. I hate seasons greetings because I do not like this season so why would I be all yay cold and rainy and icky weather I don't care about.
One last thing. Don't forget to enter my pumpkin giveaway, pumpkins I made. Who doesn't want a cute little fabric pumpkin? It's my first giveaway by the way, don't you want to be the winner of my first giveaway. Should I say it again GIVEAWAY! (click it)
That being said I do have things I want to accomplish in November. Save money. Eat better/get fit. First thing on both those lists is to break my Starbucks addiction. Caffeine is an issue with me. It really keeps me from sleeping well. I don't care to be completely caffeine free, I always start my morning with a green tea blend. Large amounts of caffeine do affect me in different ways, I can totally tell when I have been visiting Starbucks too much. It's not the coffee I am going to miss most, no it's the people. I like the people that work at the Starbucks down the street. They all know my name now, and get the soy out when they see me walk in. It's so nice. In the past I have switched from vanilla lattes to chai lattes. The caffeine is low enough to not bother my sleep patterns as much but they do nothing for my wallet. To help break the habit I am going to make a pumpkin spice syrup, Sara over at From Blah to Ta-Daa posted a recipe (click it) recently and I still have plenty of pumpkin puree left over from making other sweets and see if the syrup added to my hot chocolate mix is any good. I expect it to be delicious. Oh I don't think this is going to help me get fit....
So on that I really need to pull out those exercise dvd's I have and use them. I actually like them, all of them. I wish I could run/use a treadmill but I don't feel safe running alone and I can't afford a gym membership. Even if I could afford, or more like was willing to pay a gym membership it really would be a giant waste of money. I can't use a large quantity of the equipment because I am just too damn small and bruise way too easy. I use the equipment and end up with fully bruised thighs, arms, ass, back, you name it. Even working out at home I get bruises on my tailbone doing pilates/yoga type exercises. I bruise way too easy, WAY too easy.
What else for November, oh I need to research sewing machines. My husband wants to buy me a new one for Christmas. I don't actually own a sewing machine, I have my moms, the same one my mom used to make my Halloween costumes etc when I was a child. It works fine, it is great for most things I do, but I would really like to get one with a few more bells and whistles, perhaps expand what I do. Something new and fancy is always fun to play with right.
We need new dishes and I found some pretty simple yet stylish ones at Crate &Barrel. We have a Crate and Barrel outlet a few miles away. The dishes we have now are hand me downs, the plates my parents got when they married in 1978, half which have broken and the rest have cracks in them. We also have a set we don't use anymore because I am totally unsure of their safety. They were given to us when we married but are cheap, which is fine, but they used to be purple and they are now pink. Where is all that color going, why does my food sometimes change color, that CAN'T be good right. We also have some great hand me down salad bowls from Rich's grandmother but we need soup bowls and plates. They have some square glass plates and bowls that I really like and they won't go and bleed their color on my food. Hopefully they are still available or I can find something simple but with a bit of an edge, I really liked the squareness, made them less plain.
One more thing I know I want to do in November, Christmas cards. I said I wasn't going to do Christmas cards, I did Halloween cards and sent them to a few people, I ran out of one of supplies and couldn't make as many as I wanted, sorry if you didn't get one, I wanted to send more. I had originally planned on not sending out Christmas cards, it's not really my holiday, Halloween is totally my holiday. But I had a BRILLIANT and totally Nessa idea for Christmas cards so I will be sending them out and I should have plenty of supplies for these so yay friends and family Christmas cards. Or Season Greetings to be pc I guess. I hate seasons greetings because I do not like this season so why would I be all yay cold and rainy and icky weather I don't care about.
One last thing. Don't forget to enter my pumpkin giveaway, pumpkins I made. Who doesn't want a cute little fabric pumpkin? It's my first giveaway by the way, don't you want to be the winner of my first giveaway. Should I say it again GIVEAWAY! (click it)
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Halloween and a GIVEAWAY!!
Halloween has to be my favorite holiday, possibly day, or group of days since it's really more than just that one day. So here enjoy my Halloween with me and yes the title says giveaway, details at the end, don't be a dick and just hit end, take a look at everything. Hehe.
Costumes:
I'm a Peacock (you gotta let me fly) and The Beerded Knight, who has his own twitter by the way, click it!!
BAKING!!!! WITH PUMPKIN!!!!!!!
So this GIVEAWAY business. I am giving away a pumpkin. One of the three below, sorry not the more patterned ones.
To enter just leave a comment. Just say hi, or whatever you want. (Comment here, on the blog, not twitter/facebook/tumblr/wherever else you may see this post linked to.) Make sure you leave your email address in the comment form (I think it works that way, has a place to enter an address, hopefully). I will also post a follow up notifying the winner on my blog so if you don't put your address for whatever reason make sure you check back to see if you won. I will pick a winner using a random number generator on November 8th. That's one week. Good luck my pretties. (Said creepy like evil witches do. It's just the mood I am in. Oh and I have 2 cats so if you are allergic to cats know that. The pumpkins aren't covered in fur or anything but I wouldn't want them to make someone all itchy and sneezy by chance.)
Costumes:
I'm a Peacock (you gotta let me fly) and The Beerded Knight, who has his own twitter by the way, click it!!
At home on Halloween night waiting for kids to come trick or treating (we got none)
Yeah Batman let himself go a bit, you should have seen his raggedy cape, dude not looking like his old self.
Everyone wants to be a peacock!
BAKING!!!! WITH PUMPKIN!!!!!!!
I've heard smaller pumpkins have better flavor but I don't think it makes that much of a difference.
Decapitate your pumpkins.
Cut in half and take the guts out. (SAVE THE SEEDS TO BE ROASTED. I haven't done that yet but they will be roasted)
Quarter or whatever size you want your pumpkin and put on baking sheet(s) and bake until fork tender. I had them in at 350F for a bit over an hour but my temp is off and I forgot so it was actually less than 350F.
Bake until fork tender and starts to turn golden. Let cool, peel, the peel comes off REALLY easily after baking. Then throw in a food processor and process to make a puree. I didn't add any liquid but can add some if you want a more watery puree.
Then use your fresh pumpkin puree in your favorite pumpkin recipes.
The biggest hit was the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread.
On todays to do list is make a few more loafs of this. YUM!
(The crazy Beered Knight wants some with out chocolate chips!!)
More pumpkin fun (and the giveaway part)
Fabric pumpkins!!! How cool are they! I love them!
My favorite patterned one.
Oh but you have no idea what their size is. Here for size comparison, on my hand.
Psh! That doesn't help, how lame is that.
Oh wait I know the perfect place to put it.
ON MY HEAD!!! DUH!!
I made mini-pumpkins too. Haven't finished all the mini ones yet, ran out of stuffing.
So this GIVEAWAY business. I am giving away a pumpkin. One of the three below, sorry not the more patterned ones.
To enter just leave a comment. Just say hi, or whatever you want. (Comment here, on the blog, not twitter/facebook/tumblr/wherever else you may see this post linked to.) Make sure you leave your email address in the comment form (I think it works that way, has a place to enter an address, hopefully). I will also post a follow up notifying the winner on my blog so if you don't put your address for whatever reason make sure you check back to see if you won. I will pick a winner using a random number generator on November 8th. That's one week. Good luck my pretties. (Said creepy like evil witches do. It's just the mood I am in. Oh and I have 2 cats so if you are allergic to cats know that. The pumpkins aren't covered in fur or anything but I wouldn't want them to make someone all itchy and sneezy by chance.)
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Accent Video
Dorkyness alert.
Saw Ashley at Our Little Apartment do this (and seen the list elsewhere as well) and then my (twitter) friend Chel has been curious about how I say things and I am bored on a Friday night while my (drunk) husband snores it up in the bedroom, so here you go, a video of me saying random things and being a gigantical dork throughout.
Note: My paternal grandfather was grandpa not granddad. Don't you just love my leopard print PJ's!! :) The largest amount of pink I ever wear (the collar and cuffs, lol).
Saw Ashley at Our Little Apartment do this (and seen the list elsewhere as well) and then my (twitter) friend Chel has been curious about how I say things and I am bored on a Friday night while my (drunk) husband snores it up in the bedroom, so here you go, a video of me saying random things and being a gigantical dork throughout.
Note: My paternal grandfather was grandpa not granddad. Don't you just love my leopard print PJ's!! :) The largest amount of pink I ever wear (the collar and cuffs, lol).
Sunday, October 23, 2011
I fell back to no 'pooing
I don't really know how this started but I realized I am no 'pooing again (no 'poo as in shampoo, conventional shampoo). I liked it the first time I tried it but the buildup I was getting related to my hard water and I think the baking soda too was just NOT good. Click on the no 'poo tag below to read my previous posts regarding no 'poo.
I had been using Alaffia's shampoo and conditioner and while it was working for me it just wasn't right I guess. I don't have anything bad to say about the products and I still recommend them, shampoo just isn't for me.
I read about beer as a conditioner, hair rinse, to add shine to hair and I tried it. It works amazing and left my hair nice and soft and shiny too. Apparently the proteins and sugars in beer is good for hair. So I stopped using my bottle of conditioner. I don't even know how it happened but I have stopped using shampoo as well and just do an apple cider vinegar rinse/scrub to 'wash' my hair. I take 1/2 a cup to a cup of acv and pour it on my scalp rub my scalp with my fingertips. I sometimes water down the acv but not always. Whatever happens to run down my hair happens, I don't specifically rub or make sure it runs down the length of my hair, which is past my butt at this point. I let it sit for a minute at most and then rinse well. Then I move on to the beer.
Dark thick beers are what I use, usually a dark stout of some kind. Flat beer works best too so I open up the beer way before my shower. If I take a night shower I will open the beer and leave it in the bathroom all day or if I am planning a morning shower I will open it up and leave it over night. Sometimes it stays open for a day or two because I don't shower everyday. The flatter the better. I pour about half the beer on my head and leave the other half in a measuring cup and dunk the length of my hair in there leaving it in there for a few minutes, bent over looking like an idiot in the shower. Ha! I make sure I rinse my hair really well again and then I am done. I don't have much issues with smells left over. It may smell a bit vinegary or beery while it is still wet but once it dries there is no smell as long as I have rinsed it well.
The only other thing I use on my hair now is Weledas Rosemary Hair oil. LOVE that stuff. Couldn't live without it. Actually I could now that I use the beer rinse but I wouldn't want to.
Here have some pictures. Freshly out of the shower, brushed and oiled, and after a night of sleep and day of errands.
I had been using Alaffia's shampoo and conditioner and while it was working for me it just wasn't right I guess. I don't have anything bad to say about the products and I still recommend them, shampoo just isn't for me.
I read about beer as a conditioner, hair rinse, to add shine to hair and I tried it. It works amazing and left my hair nice and soft and shiny too. Apparently the proteins and sugars in beer is good for hair. So I stopped using my bottle of conditioner. I don't even know how it happened but I have stopped using shampoo as well and just do an apple cider vinegar rinse/scrub to 'wash' my hair. I take 1/2 a cup to a cup of acv and pour it on my scalp rub my scalp with my fingertips. I sometimes water down the acv but not always. Whatever happens to run down my hair happens, I don't specifically rub or make sure it runs down the length of my hair, which is past my butt at this point. I let it sit for a minute at most and then rinse well. Then I move on to the beer.
Dark thick beers are what I use, usually a dark stout of some kind. Flat beer works best too so I open up the beer way before my shower. If I take a night shower I will open the beer and leave it in the bathroom all day or if I am planning a morning shower I will open it up and leave it over night. Sometimes it stays open for a day or two because I don't shower everyday. The flatter the better. I pour about half the beer on my head and leave the other half in a measuring cup and dunk the length of my hair in there leaving it in there for a few minutes, bent over looking like an idiot in the shower. Ha! I make sure I rinse my hair really well again and then I am done. I don't have much issues with smells left over. It may smell a bit vinegary or beery while it is still wet but once it dries there is no smell as long as I have rinsed it well.
The only other thing I use on my hair now is Weledas Rosemary Hair oil. LOVE that stuff. Couldn't live without it. Actually I could now that I use the beer rinse but I wouldn't want to.
Here have some pictures. Freshly out of the shower, brushed and oiled, and after a night of sleep and day of errands.
EDIT:
ADDITIONAL INFO
I should note I only wash my hair once a week at most. Sometimes I go longer between washings and I don't even get it wet at all between washes. I have really coarse, thick, and dry hair, this is obviously what works best for my specific hair and I doubt this method exactly would work for someone with thin fine hair. Acv is a great clarifying rinse for those that can't/don't do no 'poo, sometimes you just need a good clarifying rinse to get rid of everything on your scalp and hair. I also skip the beer and just use the acv sometimes, don't want to waste too much beer now do I? ;)
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Baby gifts
I made a few things for my friend and her new baby. It took me just under 5 months to mail them....have I ever said how bad I am at mailing things. I was actually just finishing up the blocks when she had the kid, literally I was finishing them while she was in labor. Better late than never right. Photos of what I made and the process, I can share now since I did finally mail them!
Plush personalized baby blocks. I have made the blocks in the past for my cousins kids, this was my first time adding letters.
Cute little knot topped hats. Super simple, made from old t-shirts.
And finally some cat toys with cat nip of course. Sewing up the little bottom part after I had already put some catnip in the toys made the cats very interested in what I was doing. Of course they were just being impatient because I made some for them too and they did enjoy them very much.
I have 1 more thing but me and the sewing machine are on a break again. We go through spurts and it gets its feeling hurt that I use it so much so I stop and give it a break for a few months. It's been a while I will probably finish a few projects I have and then start some more as well.
A few hot/cold eye pillow type things with lavender too.
I have 1 more thing but me and the sewing machine are on a break again. We go through spurts and it gets its feeling hurt that I use it so much so I stop and give it a break for a few months. It's been a while I will probably finish a few projects I have and then start some more as well.
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