Hey Porkchop!
I'm making room for new pads!!! I got some great new fabrics and I'm working on some cute new pads so I'm having a sale!
Check it out!
I've never had a sale before, but this is a great chance to get some awesome Japanese printed pads cheap cheap cheap!!!!
Have a fantastic day!
xoxo
This weekend ended up being a really really great one!
On Friday we both ignored our phones and emails and spent the entire day under mountains of blankets watching the Office. I'd never seen it before and of course, I'm in love. Seriously, how cute is Jim? I think the combo of him & Agent Booth...perfecttt!!!!! Jim & Pam are just adorable. We are already beginning season three! Awesome! We ended up getting chinese food and splitting some broccoli beef that was amazing! The combonation of bed, heating pad, blankets and cuddling was just what I needed!
Saturday was supposed to rain but of course, was bright and sunny! I made a huge calzone and we got into the car and went for an adventure! We went up to Redwood National Park and explored around, it was such a nice day. The terrain is really interesting, you drive up a ridge line and you can see the ocean and its just amazing. There are some beautiful fields and everything is just so green. We ended up finding a trail that we will hopefully hike on Valentines Day. We spent the drive talking about our dream house. I have dreams of a tiny bungalow, Mr. McPorkchop would love a log cabin, so we are going to have a...log bungalow?! We talked about what sort of things we will farm! One of my biggest dreams in life is to have a small table at a farmers market and sell fresh veggies and reusable cloth stuff. I want to grow lots of things and be able to make my own nut flours and butters.
This morning has been grumpy, lots of angry cleaning, an overflowing sink, taking down the Christmas tree. Grrrr!!!!
But! We are going to the co-op and getting some yummy Pacific Creamy Tomato soup because I'm lazy and don't feel like cooking and we are going to make english muffin cheddar and turkey grilled sandwiches. OM!NOM!NOM! I also got TEN new fabrics yesterday in the mail so I'm going to try and list a few new pads! Pirates! Birds! Flowers! OH MY!
Oh! I've been journaling daily and posted a few terrible photos to flickr. I need a scanner...STAT!
This is my favorite page so far!
I got a gift card to Victorias Secret and finally used it. I love cute undies! love love love them!!!!
AND! LOOK! I downloaded/purchased digital scrapbooking stuff! Kawaii Cute Fruits is the one I got. But honestly, I'm so confused about the whole thing. You just print out the little images right? I have photoshop but clearly, I'm not a computer person at all. The little kit is freaking adorable though. I printed the strawberry on cardstock, it looks ok! Then I sewed it onto a piece of fabric. Then I sewed all the little V.S. tags together. Then I downloaded and printed that little tag thing, then I wrote on it and glued everything down. Clearly, I'm veryyyy new to this. Any fun links/tips you'd like to share with me? It's not really a scrapbook, just sort of a daily inspiration book/journal.
OH! And this morning I saw this insanely cute website on googlereader, via Free People I'm currently using the little beige background with the brown and cream birds. Seriously, I need to learn graphic design so so so so badly. I spent the morning looking for a class, thats how badly I want to learn illustrator!
okok! off to put on pants and uggs, its cold!!!!
What are your plans today?
have an amazing sunday afternoon!!!
xoxox
I'm trying to get back in love with twitter again, so lets follow each other!
I'm msmcporkchop!
I hope your having an amazing weekend! Mine has been so so so fantastic and hopefully tomorrow I'm going to have some awesome new stuff to share with you!!!
(photo from zappos.com)
Well I got my wish/jinxed myself! Haha. I'm taking the day off. I'm not going to post any new pads, do any sewing, cook, bake, take photos, nothing. I recently started a new birth control and everything is fine and dandy but I have terrible cramps, so I'm going to curl up on the couch today and catch up on some reading, sleeping and movie watching with Mr. McPorkchop.
I'll be sure to announce again when I've updated the shop, I'm not sure when I will, we'll see how today goes. I have the hardest time taking days off, I feel so guilty! It totally doesn't help that out of the corner of my eye is my sewing machine, it's beckoning me, "come sewwww! comee onnnn!". But, I keep telling myself its ok because I had plans to take off last Sunday, but I ended up getting up at 5 am to sew. A day off is ok! Hahaha!!
Today my goal is to have a quiet day. A peaceful day. I'm not leaving the house or the couch.
The END.
I've been lusting after those acorn slippers all week, ever since I saw them in sunset magazine. I've been looking for a good house shoe for a while, something warm and cozy, but I can run outside in (not socks, although I've totally been known to do that), something not expensive and something ecofriendly.
I've never bought an ecofriendly shoe before. There are two things in life that I will spend large amounts of money on, shoes and handbags. I want both to last forever, be reliable, durable and cute. I don't buy a lot of trendy shoes or cheap bags, I feel like they are wastes of money. I'd rather save up and get something gorgeous that will last a lifetime. For some reason ecofriendly & reliable/durable/cute aren't going hand in hand in my mind. I think its because I live in hippie-ville and the "ecofriendly" shoes are held together with duct tape. Or people go shoeless completely, which is a different rant for a different day, lol!
So these little shoes are cute, I've been sleeping on the idea of them all week, but with a $50 price tag, I couldn't justify it, I'm on a budget, ya know?! Last night I ended up scoring them for $30, free shipping, no sales tax from shoebuy.com! I searched for some promo codes, plus I had a $10 reward on my credit card, so..they are mine. I really really hope they fit and are comfortable! I think the sole looks thin enough that I can sew with them on! yeahyeahyeah!!!!!! I"ll be sure to review them once they arrive.
Ok, bed and my heating pad are calling my name!!! Have a great day and an amazingly fantastic Friday!!!
I need this week to pause. Just pause. I gotta catch my breath! *Pause!* Haha.
I'm working on paintings, custom orders and a zillion other things. I just need more time!!! There simply are not enough hours in the day for me. I ended up thinking about taking a day off this week and I realized I haven't taken a full day off, no sewing, no emailing nothing, in 3 weeks.
Three weeks.
THATS INSANE.
I just can't help it! I start sewing and then I get more ideas and then I sketch and then I want to paint and so on and so forth.
I've been keeping etsy well stocked, which is *awesome*. I'm hoping tomorrow to list some liners, I have all the fabrics ironed and ready to go. I love sewing with Japanese fabrics so much, they just feel so nice in my hands and the quality is phenom. I love love love love sewing with nice fabrics because I know they are sturdy and will last a really really long time, which is perfect for ecofriendly products!
Mr. McPorkchop & I have been sitting on the floor all evening, listening to the rain and working on a bag pattern together. We have all the pieces cut out (he cut while I made dinner) and tomorrow morning I'm going to get up extra early to package orders and sew the demo bag and then we can go from there. I'm dying to show you guys photos of *something*!!!! I did make myself a sleep mask, lol, it's cute and functional but not really post worthy :)
I'm starting to gather ideas for Valentines Day! We've been talking about taking a hike during the day, I've been researching the best local hikes, I'm hoping we can do a very very very easy and simple one. I just started a new inhaler and its awesome, but having an attack on Valentines Day is *not* on my to-do list!!! Hahaha! I'm also thinking that it might rain, because it always rains here, but I'd like to do something all day out doors!
I'm planning on buying a bottle of prosecco because I adore it and there are some amazing drinks that Giada has made with it. I'm also dying to make Baked Fudge because I have a super cute set of creuset ramakins that I've never used and this seems like a perfect excuse to bring them out! I guess I should plan a real meal too, haha!!!
okok! I'm off to get back to work!!!
I hope your having a fantastic week!!!
xox
Did you have a fun super bowl Sunday?
I sure did! I had the house to myself and I had a little serging party. I got a ton of cores serged and I want to thank everyone who suggested:
30Rock.
Holy smokes. I have been laughing so hard for the past two days. That Tina Fey slays me. Lemon. I love that too.
Thanks for all the great suggestions!!! I don't think I'm going to be tv-less anytime soon!
My friend Lizzie came by last night, we played some wii...actually, she played while I finished up an order, then we had some delish chinese food. It was a nice, low key night. I got up wayyy to early that morning and was sewing by 6 am, so I was yawning quite a bit all evening, haha.
I got up early again today to work. Mr. McPorkchop doesn't have classes on Mondays and today was gorgeous out. I made him promise me early in the morning that at dusk we could go on the owl drive.
We call it the owl drive because for a few weeks in a row we'd go out there to watch owls! Mr. McPorkchop got a great photo of a short eared owl and we had great adventures with barn owls. I'm a big fan of bird watching, in fact, thats how Mr. McPokchop & I met, in a bird class!
The drive, if you are familiar with Northern California, is just down Highway 101 to the exit before Loleta, then we go out to the South Jetty. We take two little side roads and just cruise around this beautiful farm land. It's so unique because it's very hilly, very damp and very oceany. It's gorgeous. Lots of rolling hills, lots of foggy layers.
Tonight? It gave me spring fever. Porkchop knows my body and of course let me have the windows down while he had on the heater, haha. We saw a lot of young calves. The weather was warm-ish, the sun was setting, the air smelled like fresh grass, cows and salt. It was heavenly.
Look at that little face!!!
The neat thing about the beaches here is you can drive on them.
This always amuses me. So we drove around. See the sun setting in the cars paint? Neat!
I took some photos of Mr. McPorkchop.
There he is!!! He's my favorite driver. I frequently tell him that on the road to life, I am the passenger because I hate driving. So I sit next to him, contently spacing out the window and drawing or photographing. We have nice silences together.
In the end, no owls were to be found. But we did enjoy the evening. I'm going to have a very hot chocolate and keep reading...inkheart? inkspell? Lizzie and I talked about them last night and now I can't remember which I'm reading..it's the first one! Haha!!!
So thanks again for all your tv suggestions and letting me hear what you guys were doing for superbowl!
Have a fantastic evening!!!
xoxo
PS, thanks to everyone who's been finding the FAQ post helpful!!!! I'll add more to it here and there. I've also updated etsy with new pads! I'm loving the japanese fabrics this week :)
I've gotten a lot of questions in the past few weeks about cloth menstrual pads and I wanted to create a blog post where I explain them. This is a frank discussion, I'm not embarrassed or ashamed of my menstrual cycle, so this talk is going to be pretty blunt and hopefully will shed some light on cloth!
I own a cloth menstrual pad shop called modernacorn. The info that I'm going to share with you is just *my personal experience* and mainly about my own pads, simply because these are what I make and what I wear. This is by no means about anyone elses pads or my suggesting that I'm better than anyone else, a simple google search will bring up tons of great websites and sellers, I'm just one little seller who would like to share my personal knowledge with you!
I started wearing cloth for two reasons:
Frequently people assume cloth pads are bulky, uncomfortable, unhygienic, difficult to take care of and won't work for them, so I'm going to answer some FAQs about pads!
This is totally different for every woman. You *can* make cloth work with *any* schedule. You really can. How I take care of my pads differs from month to month depending on my schedule.
You can:
See? That is the core after being sewn to the top fabric. After this happens I sew a piece of antipill fleece to the right side (printed cute side) of the fabric and turn and top stitch. That just means that I flip the pad inside out, so both right sides (the smooth fleece side and the cute printed side) are showing. I do NOT stitch through the core and anti-pill fleece after the pad has been completely assembled, I had an extremely embarrassing incident during my first few months as a cloth pad user when my flow literally followed the sewn lines and seeped through onto my panties and...white linen pants. SO! I only sew around the edges of the pad and the wings.
Ok, I didn't include shipping or taxes, but you get the idea especially since...CLOTH PADS ARE REUSABLE. You invest for a year, slowly build up your stash until you phase out disposable pads and decide what pads work best for you and you never, ever have to invest again. I have pads that are three and four years old right now and still look as great as the day I bought them because I took good care of them and I made sure I bought from places using high quality fabrics to begin with. Yes, higher quality pads cost more, but they will also last a lot longer!
Well..I think that's about all for now! If you have any questions, please feel free to comment! I know this is a lot of info for one post! Again, this is all my personal experience and opinions! This post isn't meant to sell my own pads, but to get ladies thinking about cloth as an option and I'm using my own pads as an example because I know how they are made, prices, etc :)
Hope that helps!!! I'll add more to this post in the future as more questions get asked!!!
Thanks so much and have a fantastic day!!! xoxo
(Of course Mr. McPorkchop bought me the bigger deer, now I have a small starbucks deer herd in my house, it brings me endless pleasure)
Good Afternoon!!!!
First, thank you thank you thank you to everyone who's purchased pads this week!!! All orders have been shipped out and I've already been getting thank you's from people who have already received their orders! YAY POSTAL SERVICE!!!!
But seriously, thank you so much again. And again! AND AGAIN!
Lately I've had a thing for themes. I love themes.
All week long I worked on pink & red pads for the shop, it was a lot of fun.
This week?
Japanese fabrics.
I went through my fabric stash this morning and came up with this tower of fabric!
That's what my week is going to look like and I simply can't WAIT to dive in! I'm spending tomorrow serging cores and working on custom orders, then Monday...the fun shall begin!
This is only about half of my Japanese fabric collection. These are the ones that really really really inspire me and I'm *dying* to use! I didn't realize I had quite this many. The pile of fabric is around 2 feet tall! That's intense!!!!
Realistically, I won't be able to sew with every single one, but I'm sure going to try my darn-dest! I think I just made that word up.
Mr. McPorkchop is going to a super bowl party tomorrow, I'm veryyy content to stay home and work! I'm also going to shellac some wood panels if the weather cooperates for some paintings. I have a whole bunch of painting ideas that I'm just dying to get out of me!
Does anyone have any tv show suggestions for me? I've heard 30 Rock is good? I currently watch bones, fringe, csi, ncis, you know, all the crime shows!!! I need something not mopey or will make me cry and something available online!!!
I hope everyone is having an amazing Saturday!!!
xoxo
Who knew that it was FRIDAY already?!?
Seriously! FRIDAY! Where has this week even GONE?
All I know is:
I have 35 etsy convos right now. All brand new. All within the past 48 hours. I love love LOVE them, they range from HILARIOUS to SWEET to CURIOUS and EVERYTHING in between. I love love LOVE nice messages, all the messages are nice, of course, but some of them are sweet as pie. With whipped cream. Thank you thank you THANK YOU ALL. I'm giving you hugs. Big Hugs. YES YOU!
ESPECIALLY YOU AMANDA! Check out this super beautiful post!
I have a feeling that I'm getting up at 5 am to start replying to messages. I'm so behind on things, I'm pretty sure every.single.post. mentions how behind I am. It's a true story! It also makes me sound wayyyy cooler than I really am. Clearly, I'm not that cool, I'm falling asleep at 8:30 on a Friday night! That's like grandma status! Truth is, I'm just slow at the email.
ANYWAYS! I was up at 7 am this morning, packaging orders and...
you may have noticed this...
I'M PUBLISHING COMMENTS!!! YAYYYYYY!!!! Slowly but surely!!! And I learned that I can even BLOCK IP ADDRESSES!!! YAY!!!! So mean and spam messages don't just get ignored or deleted, they get...BANNEDDDDDD!!! YEEHAW! It's like being my own little axe weilding guard...comment YES! comment NO! Or even a soup nazi! NO COMMENT FOR YOU!!!!
Anyways, it's been pretty quiet around here. I've been going to bed pathetically early each night, curling up against Mr. McPorkchop, watching tv on hulu or netflix, just being WARM., but now I get up so so so early. Usually Mr. McPorkchop has turned on the heat and grabbed me some water, sometimes he scolds me "DONT FORGET TO TAKE YOUR INHALER". Then I say "DONT FORGET YOUR LUNCH". Then we laugh. He kisses my head. I pretend to read google reader. Then..I'M UP! AND READY FOR THE DAY!
I love getting up early lately, but its so weird, my neighborhood is very, very, very quiet.
Until I run across the lawn bare foot to put packages in the box.
And the frost hits my bare feet.
And I scream like a little girl.
goodbye silence....HELLO MS.MCPORKCHOP! LIVE AND READY FOR ACTION!
So!
What are you doing this weekend?
I'm planning on sewing all day tomorrow, Mr.McPorkchop & I have designed a little bag pattern together. He has an early morning ornithology lab, this morning HE TOOK BLOOD FROM A CANADA GOOSE! Boy oh BOY, I wish I was there to witness that.
Ok, I'm going to finish taking hilarious photos of myself on photobooth and emailing them to Porkchop.
Tell me all about your weekend k?
Have a fantastic Friday night!
xoxo
ps. duh. I forgot. I stocked etsy with brand new liners this evening! The fabrics are *amazing*
Is it really only Wednesday? How is that even possible? It should be Friday! Or even Sunday! Stick a fork in me folks because I'm *done*!!!
I added some very cute new pads to the shop today! I've been updating the shop with my all time favorite pink and red fabrics! It's making me feel all festive and cheery inside! Check them out because they are cute cute cute!!!
Can we talk about something? It's a secret that I think I'm willing to share right now.
I *love* food.
I'm chubby to prove it. I have a sink full of dishes 24/7 to prove it. I have a fancy ecofriendly nonstick pan even! I'm on a certain famous weight loss plan right now to make healthier choices, that's how much I love food!
I'm constantly reading food blogs, scribbling down recipes, being that one jerk who steals pages out of magazines in drs offices, that is me. I love food.
My mom is a chef, works in an amazing indie cooking supply store and teaches cooking classes. I never knew fast food as a kid. Pam would never, ever bake from a box. I'm pretty sure thats against the religion of Pam.
My grandparents were big on cooking. Papa & Noonie even had seperate kitchens. That's how I got my love of food! It's a genetic thing.
The weather in Eureka lately has been weird, it's usually mid-30s when I wake up, it stays that way, over cast and foggy until 2, when suddenly, the sun is in full force, then around 4 pm, cold again. And dark. Very, very dark!
I'm going some where with this, I promise.
I need something very, very warm in the morning. I'm not into heavy because it'll make me sleep, but I also don't want to spend my morning walking to the kitchen 8 times either. And forget about cooking a full breakfast for myself. That's just crazy talk! Quick! Easy! Filling! CHECK & CHECK!
Enter my two favorite things:
Baked egg & veggie dishes. I make them on Monday and they last until Saturday. Eggs, spinach, broccoli, mushrooms...whatever is in my fridge, goes in the dish. With cheese. Lots of cheese.
Grains. I love grains, but sometimes they make me feel all big and tired. Too many carbs or so they tell me.
UNTIL NOW. (see, I told you this was going somewhere!)
ENTER:
Grandma's Grain Recipe from 101cookbooks.com
Seriously, this recipe is made of win. I made a giant pot of it today and I can tell its going to be a staple. I ate one cup of it, added a splash of almond vanilla milk, a dash of Saigon cinnamon and a pinch of sugar in the raw. Oh! And a bit of kosher salt.
Five hours later I was finally reaching for a snack. That's pretty great considering I worked out for 45 minutes, ran around packaging orders, etc. Awesome!
I used: millet, groats, oats, barley, quinoa, flax seeds, red rice (Lundberg Christmas Blend! Awesome!), brown rice. The best thing about this recipe is you really can use whatever grains you have on hand and I think it would be awesome for cleaning out your odds and ends of grains!
I have enough left over for breakfast in the morning, for jazzing up dinner tomorrow night and maybe some other stuff too! I'd love to try it baked with parm cheese and veggies! OM! NOM! NOM!
Want to see something insanely cool? You guys know my BFF Sarah? Well, she's amazing and you should know her! She's my Maine friend, we both are New England transplants living in the Pacific Northwest, we jabber about that constantly.
ANYWAYS!
She's now introduced palcraft! How awesome is that! Downloadable pdfs that you can digital scrapbook with, print, all sorts of awesome stuff!!!! Have you seen her blog? It's also amazing! Check them out!!!
Now if only Christin would tell me her blog address...;)
I hope everyone has a very awesome and hopefully warm Wednesday night!!!
xoxox
Well Hello There!!!
This is the first time all day that I've actually sat down! Phew!!! It feels *great* to work and get things accomplished!
I've discovered that the best way to combat the sleepies is to be active. Very. Very. Active. I did a lot of wii fit today, but I also watched good stuff on hulu while I worked. It's weird but time flies and stuff seems to just get DONE while I'm sewing and watching tv! Go figure!
I have a very, very, very, full inbox. I still can't figure out why the comments aren't publishing, but dont worry, I'm getting and reading all of them. I'm going to try and reply back to everyone tomorrow morning, thank you thank you THANK YOU for all your comments, emails, etsy convos and just general NICENESS! It totally makes my day to know that I have such amazing friends out there, encouraging me and egging me on! Without your encouragment I'm pretty sure I'd be poking my eyes out or something by now! True Story!!!
I ended up going to bed at...8 pm last night. I curled up under at least 5 blankets with Inkheart I have to admit that I really, really am enjoying it! I'm a reader. A trashy reader. A kids book reader. A silly crime novel reader. If its a book thats part of a series, I'm also SO there! Mr. McPorkchop & I were walking through Target's book section yesterday so I could find *something* new to read and I realized, I love smut. True story. Nora Roberts? Love her. The Stephanie Plum series? LOVE IT! I like simple books with likeable characters. Don't get me wrong, I've read all the classics, I read the "heavy" hitters as well, but given a choice? I pick fun! If you'd like, you can add me on goodreads!
Anyways, I spent the day hard at work, I got a lot of sewing done, working on a trade, added a few new things to the shop! I started working on a valentine, I'm hoping to print them tomorrow! I just feel good today!
Maybe its because Mr. McPorkchop suprised me last night with...DAFFIDOLS! Seriously everyone, they are my all time favorite flower! Who doesn't love them with their cheery little trumpets and bright crowns?!
Last nights turkey burgers...oh gosh...EPIC FAIL! I'm one of those people who, if I could do it, I'd be a vegetarian, however, my body says "we need lots and lots of protein, we crave red meat! we love a good porkchop (couldn't resist)", plus I'm allergic to all raw fruits and veggies, but seriously, the smell of cooking turkey burgers...it was HORRID. HORRID. I imagine its similar to wet dog food. Yup. I just went there. The thing is, I love turkey burgers, I order an awesome one when Mr. McPorkchop & I go on Brewery Dates! However...cooking them at home was a really, reallllly bad experience!
Tonight we are trying something, Ranch Chicken! We bought some turkey bacon and tillamook reduced fat cheddar! I'm excited to try these. Everything she posts is so delish sounding!
Okok! Off to cook!!! I hope everyone has a fantastic night!!! Thanks again for all your amazing comments and emails!!!
xoxo
This weekend was filled with relaxing, traveling and sleeping.
I've started a new medicine that is so fantastic but it makes me very, very, very sleepy. I could sleep for 15 hours straight if left alone! It's hard for me because I'm a ball of crazy energy normally!!!! I start to drift off while sewing! I drifted off while cooking today and accidentally left the oven on...thankfully it was empty, but boy am I out of it!
This weekend I worked on some small projects, the kind that leave you satisfied but not drained. I started working on the wonkiest quilt ever, I made some Valentines Day garland out of paper and ric-rac! I worked on some embroideries. I bought a new book. I made a bookmark for the new book. I've journal-ed daily. I worked on some sketches for some paintings.
(You know I'm doing a starbucks cup next right?)
I've been working on little embroideries! I freaking love little tiny stitches. I got this small little clover embroidery hoop before Christmas, I'm going to start getting more of them, the 40% off coupon at JoAnns makes them really affordable and I love how nice and taunt they hold the fabric. I've started embroidering on kona cotton solids. I really, really, really like how it feels and its so crisp! I have my eye on a few japanese craft books that have some insanely cute patterns in them...but..I'm on a dumb budget >:(
This weekend we took a road trip with our BFF Aric. Grocery prices have gone through the roof here in Eureka, things are a lot more expensive here than most places (gas is about .30 more than the valley), but its gotten out of control lately. So we piled into Mr. McPorkchops fancy new vehicle and went to...OREGON! More specifically, Fred Meyer in Brookings! I spent the night before we left printing out coupons online and searching for the best deals, making grocery lists, planning dinners, etc. It ended up being a blast! We got *so* much stuff, their natural food section isn't bad at all, so I stocked up on some of our favorites. We are really lucky here to have natural food stores, co-ops, indie groceries, but it gets to the point where simple things turns into insanely expensive things and it all adds up! For example, I love Muir Glen stuff! I can use their jarred pasta sauces on lazy nights because they are allergen free for me, but the co-op will charge $6.99 a jar. That.is.insane. So Fred was $4.99, plus 25% off, plus I had a coupon for $1.00 off! Score! AND! No sales tax! Believe it or not, even WITH gas, we still saved money.
We went by the docks in Crescent City and watched the seals and sea lions. I love those guys! They totally crack me up. One neat thing was it seemed like people were very, very, very, laid back and nice in Brookings. Perfect example would be today, we needed eggs because most mondays I make a big egg frittatta for the week. So we are walking around Safeway and people were "in my bubble", bumping into me, being rude, etc, but we were in Fred Meyer, on a Saturday afternoon, the place was crowded but everyone was really, really, really polite. Maybe it's just a California thing!
OH! Before I forget, is anyone a Bones fan?! I freaking LOVE that show! As far as tv goes, we don't own one, but we watch online, right now I'm obsessed with:
Bones!
Fringe
Burn Notice
Life
ReGenesis
Psych
Ok! I'm off to make turkey burgers!
I'm leaving you with this photo of my favorite oatmeal/tea mug that Ashleigh MADE ME!!! For Christmas!!! LOOK! He's HOLDING STARBUCKS MUGS!!!
Have a great monday!
xoxo
To quote my dear friend Jody last night:
"Oh won't you take meeee to grumpyyy townnnn"!
(Sung to the tune of funky town)
I, my dear readers, am in a FUNK!
This happens. I get jazzed, I get inspired and I put unreal expectations on myself and then become let down. I pinkie swore to myself that I'd try to avoid that this year, but alas...no luck!
Last night should have been perfect. Mr. McPorkchop had a night class, so we ate an early dinner of split pea soup, he put my favorite radio station on for me and left me the house to myself, I had an amazing pine candle burning, my still alive Christmas tree was twinkling, it was lightly raining but the house was cozy. Wool socks were on my feet. New saucy yellow leopard print pants from J.Crew (purchased with my new BFF Christin!) were on my body, I had on my favorite long sleeved teeshirt...I was *ready* to get down to some serious sewing. Serious. Hardcore even!!!
I had pad fabric all laid out, cores serged and ready to go, new bobbins, new thread to try, everything was cozy, relaxing and perfect.
Proceed to an hour of me fuming, cussing, grumping around and generally me being a huge cranky pants.
My sewing machine is a jerk. Plain and simple. So I gave up on pad plans and tried working on a Valentines Day Project. 3 hours later I was almost in tears.
I ended up putting it away for the night with plans of getting up early this morning and working.
Enter me waking up at 7 and starting to work. My machine decided it would be a great idea to eat a gorgeous piece of Echino fabric, it literally took me 15 minutes to pry the fabric out of the feed dogs. The fabric is in pieces and thread is everywhere!
At this point I can't help but be amused. It's like the sewing gods knew I was jazzed and prepared and they were like "nahuh girl! you are *not* sewing today!" I get these ideas that I'm going to suddenly turn into a one girl sewing factory and sometimes its just not meant to be! I won't let myself rest, relax or move on until goals are ACHIEVED!!!!!!
But...this is BAD!!! In fact, google has given me quite the horoscope today!
LEO: You are ready to do something you might later regret, so give it another round of consideration before following an impulsive whim. Fortunately, there is room for pleasure without approaching the situation from an all-or-nothing perspective. Exercising a little caution might be enough to enable you to have your fair share of fun. You don't have to jump into the deep end without a life jacket.
See. Even google knows my body! I was ready to say SCREW IT! I'M GOING BACK TO BED OR MURDERING SOMEONE!!! But instead, I'm going to box on wii fit, shower, reply back to emails, then maybe try sewing again. Then update Etsy with what I have. It's going to be a small update, but it doesn't have to be all or nothing, lol!!!
The long and the short of this whole post is, sometimes things aren't meant to work out, but eventually they will, but there needs to come a time when you walk away and do something else that makes you happy, other wise you'll strangle someone. It's hard to do this when its your income at stake, but for personal sanity, I think its normal to give yourself the permission to walk away and give it a go another day!
Today I'm going to try some non-sewing projects, work on some paintings for the boutique that shows my art, journal more, maybe bake, just take it one day at a time.
......Without throwing my sewing machine out the window....
Have a fantastic day!!! xoxo
Each morning I start the day the same way. With lists. And writing. And more lists.
I think it would be *impossible* to work from home and stay focused without lists. Even if the lists are wacky like "hey grump! smile more!". Lists keep me grounded. Lists are made of magic! Lists let you use cute pens and paper, because, DUH, we are prone to do the things on lists if the lists are cute...or we can put off doing things on the list if the list is cute and takes time to make!!!! ;)
I did a little cleaning during vacation and I found a journal that I thought I'd lost. Brand new, from anthropologie a few years ago, I literally did two jumping jacks when I found it!!!!
See! It's a little nature observation notebook!!! I love it because there is blank space for gluing things, a little space for location and time and it comes with little "specimen" bags! Perfect for me! I'm also a huge bird lover, so its a win-win situation!!!
This morning I started using it for the first time. I made notes of my favorite things about the morning, my favorite things about last night (I had a spit pea and beer bread party), and my goals of the day, which are clearly going to Target and the Post Office! See the little bee stickers? Early Valentines Day gift from Mr. McPorkchop. He knows my body!! (Reference: My group of friends say this so much..for example "I burned you this cd! YAY!" "OMG! I've wanted that for so long! Clearly, you know my body!!!")
I also added clips of fabrics that I hope to sew with today. Having a ton of fabric is amazing, but sometimes it can get overwhelming and I find that picking out little pieces and actually looking hard at them makes me realize why I love them and what I want to create with them! The ribbon is so festive, bright and cheery, its a Martha Stewart, it screams "FUN! CUTE! STICK ME TO SOMETHING GREAT!". The red fabric is from Cosmo Cricket. You know, the scrapbooking company? Well they have fabrics too! SCORE! And the bottom one is Putidepome from purl soho!
The other great thing about journaling or sketching is sometimes you *need* to create something but sometimes *can't*. During Christmas when I was sewing machine-less I got all these beautiful brand new Echino fabrics, then I was completely inspired by the workroom and her simply fantastic little pouches. I had the fabric, the frames...but no machine...
So I painted what I couldn't sew!
(clearly I want and need a scanner!)
I love, love, love and adore watercolor moleskines. SO MUCH!!! And, I recently started becoming addicted to Daniel Smith House Brand Watercolors, I was previously a paint snob and was using a certain French brand buttt these new ones are *phenom*. Just doodling things that I couldn't make made me feel a lot better! I watercolor grocery lists sometimes. Crazy. Yes. Fun. Yes. Having the prettiest list in Safeway? CHECK!
Mr. McPorkchop & I even spent an afternoon making a book for the month of February! I'm in *love* with February. You don't even KNOW how much its my favorite month!!! It makes me GLEEFUL! All the hearts and bursts of color during a cold month. It's *perfect*. So this Feb. we are making a book!!! To make lists and keep track of the daily great stuff we do! It's 4x4 inches and has cute little rounded corners. I used a ton of different papers, I can't wait to start!!! The best thing about the little binder clip is I can move around pages, take things out to sew on them and build each page *huge* if I want! YAY!!!
Well, I'm off to actually work on those lists ;)
Do you make lists? Do you keep an inspiration book? Let's chat!
xoxox Have a *fantastic* day!!!
What an exciting week here at my little house!!!
After weeks and weeks of sketching, drafting, sewing, I finally can present my newest pad!
A daily, reversible, breathable panty liner!!! ::cheers!!!::
These are the perfect little pad for anyone who is interested in cloth pads, but isn't quite ready to tackle using them during their cycle. They are also fantastic for anyone who has made an eco-friendly New Years Resolution, instead of buying a package of disposable panty liners once a month, you can buy a few and either hand wash & soak or toss them in with your towels! Perfect! These also dry extremely fast (mine dry in my window sills ;)) so you can even skip the dryer! Within a year these pay them selves off, which is the same with most cloth products, but panty liners are a great way to dip your toes into the cloth world!!!!
The liners feature super cute combination's of great modern fabrics, because they are cotton on both sides (rather than a layer of anti-pill fleece which is typical on most cloth pads) they are so comfortable and breathable! They have a hidden layer of bamboo fleece, which is a great sustainable fiber, which encompasses the *entire* pad, so the wings even have bamboo hidden in them! This is so perfect for backup cup use, occasional mid-month spotting and providing a bit of extra security for you! Bamboo is also said to have anti-bacterial properties, which is so very awesome!
Size wise these pads are very petite, I wore one earlier in the week with a form fitting skirt and it was so comfortable and thin, I walked yesterday at the beach while wearing spandex (eek!) work out pants and not only did it stay put and not scoot around, but it was invisible with such body concious pants! Score!!!
They measure a tiny bit under 6 and a half inches long, they snap in the middle to 2 inches and at their widest back point they are 3 inches. They fit wonderfully in all sorts of panties, from boy shorts to hipster bikinis, I prefer to wear them with panties that fit snug in the leg, although it's really a personal preference!
Daily pads will go on sale on Etsy on Thursday, January 22nd at 6 PM PST! I'll also have some new cute pads in other sizes as well!
I *just* got my computer back, so I'm back in the email game! I'm trying to slowly catch up, don't worry, I haven't forgotten about anyone :)
Have a fantastic Tuesday everyone!!!! xoxox
(snow apple pin cushion! made with japanese fabrics, felt, Heather Bailey pattern and Martha Stewart glitter!!! eee!!! Getting back used to the old machine!!!)
Hello Again!
Happy 2009!!!!!
HOW ARE YOU? I've MISSED you!!!
Mr. McPorkchop & I are back in Eureka from our vacation!!!
What a wild ride 2009 has been so far!
Firstly: I'm somehow jinxing all mechanical things in my life! My macbook is currently being repaired, so I'm blogging via one of Mr. McPorkchops laptops. My sewing machine...the brand new Pfaff is being repaired and I won't have it until the first week of MARCH. Yup. MARCH.
Secondly: I've decided that 2009 is MY YEAR. My year to make changes, my year to follow dreams, my year to start good habits and my year to shine. I'm at a point in my life where the sky is the limit and I plan on living each day to the fullest. I'm making a plan to be healthier in 2009 and I've already lost over 6 lbs! YEAH!!!
Thirdly: Since I'm macbook-less, I have no photos from our vacation!!! I filled an entire memory card and I don't want to try and edit them on Porkchops computer, so bear with me.
Also, NEW ADDICTION!!!! Animal Crossing: City Folk!!! I got it as a Christmas gift and I can't stop playing!! If you play, let me know and we can swap friend codes! Our afternoons have been filled with sitting on the couch, smelling our STILL ALIVE!!! Christmas tree, relaxing, drinking hot cocoa and playing wii. The past 3 days have been *magical*.
Fourthly: I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT VALENTINES DAY!!!! I've completely cleaned my sewing nook, like huge cleaning, like 3 hours of cleaning and I've made a stack of amazing Valentine fabrics, plus bought more AND Martha Stewart Ribbon to put on pads! Thankfully my old machine makes the cutest little hearts and bow stitches, although its definately taking some getting used too! I'm hoping to update the shop this week!
Fifthly: I'm very, very, very slow at replying to emails. Like, I have emails from Dec. 12th that I haven't replied too...hopefully it'll happen!!!!
That's all for now!!!
Tell me all about your Christmas, New Years and 2009 goals!!!
Have a *fantastic* afternoon!!! xoxo
(image from pomadour24 on ebay/etsy)
I just bought myself a little Christmas gift! I purchased the Jan. 2009 issue of Cotton Time magazine! I bought mine from pomadour24 on ebay but its also on sale on etsy! I'm really really excited to get this. If I enjoy it, I might subscribe! Wouldn't that be fantastic once a month?! I love love love inspirational magazines and they are so much more wonderful when they are Japanese! Besides, after today, I deserve a little something-something!
Today I officially took a leave of absence from Humboldt State. I haven't been attending classes since before Halloween. I learned that I'm a "gut feeler", meaning any stress goes straight to my stomach. I have ulcerative colitis now, but since I've stopped attending school, I haven't had.a.single.flare. Which is amazing!! Partly it's because I have more time to cook and I've been cooking nightly, also it's because I can focus on relaxing at home, on my own schedule. I went to school today and filed the paperwork. I spoke with a super nice gentleman at the AIR center, who suggested I take a leave of absence rather than un-enroll completely because I have a great GPA and I was...one semester away from graduation. I know it's crazy to drop out of school with one semester left, but honestly? Enough was enough. I needed time off to work on my business and my own personal happiness. I'm about this-close to a double BA in art history/art studio. But there really is no time limit on education, I can go back next year or when I'm 65. Whatever works.
I honestly would much rather wait until Mr. McPorkchop is done with school and is settled into a job, then I can pick a school in whatever city is close to where he is working and go from there. Ideally I'd prefer to study some sort of craft or utilitarian area. I like the idea so much more of learning to create more useful things. Don't get me wrong, I love fine art and all that goes in it, but a long time ago I wanted to go to grad school and yada yada yada and now...not so much. At all. So! Time off to decide what I really want, without incurring student loan debt!
I needed a little time off from blogging, sewing and email this past week to gather my thoughts.
Last Christmas Day my amazing step father, Wes, passed away in his sleep of a massive heart attack. It absolutely broke my moms heart and my own. My way of grieving was to stay as busy as possible. Clearly, by the state of my stomach, that backfired. I'm just simply not ready to celebrate Christmas yet! I'm not ready to re-live one of the most awful times in my life. My grandfather had passed away 7 months exactly before Wes did, so in two years, my mom and I have lost our family. Her partner and both her parents. It's just too much. I tried to stay busy with school and helping her and instead, I just sort of shoved everything into the deepest, darkest spots of my stomach and it's just hanging out in there. Which isn't healthy. So this holiday my mom is going to spend some time with Wes's sister, I'm going to go up to the mountains and snow with Mr. McPorkchop and his dad ride quads, take photos and target shoot. Then we'll visit the rest of the Porkchop family and go up to my moms and have a New Years Eve get together with her!!!
I really want to do something fantastic in Wes's memory. I have a few ideas and once they come together, I'm going to post them. I already have a tattoo, but I want to do something bigger, better and to help others in his name...
One thing I'm proud of lately? Not allowing hurtful people into my life and not letting myself get bent out of shape by wacky people. Normally I'm *too nice*, I'm a bit of a people pleaser. But I've removed myself from some really passive aggressive people in the past month or so and I feel so.much.better! I learned the joys of the "filter to spam" on gmail and the the ability to walk away! Yay for putting New Year's Resolutions in affect early!
January's Real Simple Magazine had this awesome article called "What is on your not-to-do list in 2009", this one gal wrote in and said:
"I'm going to stop being a "people pleaser". My goal is to still be good to people, but only to the extent that it is healthy and comfortable for me, and to realize that I can never make everyone happy. They are responsible for their own happiness, just as I am responsible for mine."- Leisa Smyly, Barnwell, SC
That is seriously *so* perfectly said! So thats my goal of 2009! I want to surround myself in 2009 with more positive, crafty, like minded people! I want to do more trades! I want to draw more! Take more photos! Do something creative and satisfying everyday! I want to mentally give myself the space to say no! I want to realize that not everyone is going to like me and vice versa instead of pretending!
What is on your "not to do" in 2009 list?!
Phew! That's a lot! :)
SO!
We are leaving tomorrow! I can't believe how fast this week has flown. I'm still cough-y/sneezy, but the cold and dry Valley air I'm sure will help things move along! I think we are almost 100% packed! I cut out half a birdie sling for my BFF's christmas gift. I won't finish it in time, but I'll give it to her later or mail it. We have boxes and rubbermaids every where, its too chaotic to sew!!! I ended up going with Anna Maria Horner "Garden Party", two different prints, lined with organic cotton/linen. I'm hoping to embroider on it her nickname. I know she'll really love it, I just wish I could get it done in time, but I can't rush because when I rush...bad things happen!!!
I'm bringing my machine to a Pfaff dealer tomorrow, so thats very, very, very exciting! I'm hoping its something really simple. I know at Mr. McPorkchops dads we have packages waiting! I got a text saying "You got a package from a fabricworm today" which totally cracked me up. I did learn that because of snow some malabrigo that I ordered from eBay will be delayed, but thats ok, I'm sure Mr. McPorkchop won't mind if his birthday hat is late! His birthday is SUNDAY!!!!! AND!! Two of the sewing patterns I ordered shipped! So so so exciting! I even finished my hat! I'll take some photos of it later :)
SO!
4 weeks with limited internet! I'll be checking email here and there from Starbucks so if you don't hear from me as often, it's because of that!
Have a fantastic holiday week!!!!!!
See you soon!!!
I've been spending each day on the couch, under blankets, reading google reader, freaking out about the economy and day dreaming. With my little Christmas tree twinkling and my favorite pine candles burning. It's been 4 days of lazy relaxing with my Porkchop and I've loved every.single.second.of.it! We've started watching this show called "The Rockford Files" on netflicks, haha :)
I wish it didn't get so dark here! Last night I made 101cookbooks mushroom casserole and it was incredible, but photographed horrible! I used a wild rice blend from Lundberg! One thing I love about visiting Mr. McPorkchops dad in the valley is he lives right near all the rice farms and knows a lot of the growers, which usually means we come home with more free rice than we know what to do with! And sunsweet ones because he works for Sunsweet and runs one of the dryers of fruit! Neat! Anyways! The mushroom casserole was phenom and so warm and filling, but not too heavy. I added ham to ours and invited Aric over! It was delish and fun! The photos made it look terrible though! Stupid overhead lighting!!! But trust me, thats a fantastic receipe. I think I used all low/no fat daily products, simply because that was what I had and no one noticed!
Tonight I'm making sausage stuffed potatoes! They sound so rich and amazing! Perfect for an extra cold night on the couch! Mr. McPorkchop bought me a crime/suspense paperback, so after I eat, I'll be relaxing reading under a mountain of plaid, wool and winter printed blankets while he studies for finals.
Tomorrow I'm going to get up early and get cracking on packing. Mr. McPorkchop & I are going to Mr. McPorkchops dads house on Saturday for the next FOUR WEEKS!!! I'm bringing both machines, my iron, our snowshoes, stuff to go ride quads in, my sketchbook, yarn, christmas gifts! Going away for 4 weeks requires so much packing!!! And cleaning!! I can't handle the thought of coming home to a messy house!
I'm super excited because I've already received shipping notices for the new fabric I've purchased, so it'll most likely be waiting for me in Gridley! I can't wait to be able to watch tv while sewing in front of his dads fire place! HEAVEN!!!
I'm going to have very, very, very limited internet while I'm there, Mr. McPorkchops dad only has dialup, so gmail will be loaded in HTML and I won't be able to flickr, googlereader or facebook :(, although I just learned that AT&T offers free wireless for customers at Starbucks, so I'll most likely head there to update the blog and shop! Wait till you see what I have in mind for the shop! Besides, any excuse for a cozy night at starbucks with a peppermint mocha sounds perfect to me! So have patience with me regarding emails, etsy convos and catching up with your blogs!!!
Have a super fantastic rest of your week!!!!
This was one of those weekends that you just don't want to end. Ever. In fact, I'm blogging from bed still. At 11 am. Ssshhh. Don't tell anyone what a lazy bones I am.
Although I have good reason! Sinus infection! BOOO!!!!
On Friday the Porkchop & I went and saw Four Christmases, it was *totally* us, one of those movies where every few minutes one of us was squeezing each others hand because it was *an us moment*. Hilarious!
We slept in on Saturday and man, I was grumpy and sick all day. We went to the post office where they had no news of three of my missing packages, the line was insane and everyone was coughing on me. Sick!!!! Haha. Then we went on a little lunch date and came home and watch movies on demand on net flix. We thought movies on demand would be amazing, turns out, theres a less than stellar choice and some movies don't work well at all! Like, they've been uploading incorrectly. So we watched Beer for My Horses, I won't lie, I'm a big Toby Keith fan. Lets just say the idea of taking a 5 minute song and making it into a movie over an hour long...yeek!!! Then we went to Target for some snacks, then came home and watched more tv and wii.
And I started my most complicated knitting to date. foliage!!! I've never knit lace before. I'm knitting out of a skein of malabrigo in a solid color called "American Beauty". It has involved me pausing tv and talking out loud "YO! K1! SP2K! YO!". Porkchop just sits and watches me and eggs me on. It's hilarious. I know I've done *something* wrong, as my leaves no longer look quite like leaves, but each row I end up with the right amount of stitches, so I'm going to be rocking a very wonky hat. I'd rip it out and start over, but lets face it, NO WAY! COME ON! It's just going on my head to keep me warm! No one needs to know that they are leaves. Agreed? Agreed!
While we were at Target, we spent a wopping $9 on a waffle iron. I love waffles. Crave waffles. But I've never made them because when I look at waffle mixes, they are filled with things I'm allergic to. So I made them from scratch yesterday morning using allergen free ingredients! Like Enjoy Life Foods Chocolate Chips! Which are a mere $6.99 a bag. For chocolate chips. >:{ But it was worth it to eat a fantastic breakfast and know I wouldn't feel icky for the rest of the day!
After breakfast I ordered some new fabrics! Imagine my surprise when I wanted to order some fabrics from a shop on Etsy, only to be told that since my order was large, they'd be charging me extra per cut. Wait. WHAT?! That's so so so not even remotely ok! Of course I didn't order with them!
I did place an order with fabricworm! Have you seen Cynthia's shop? She gets all the new incredible fabrics so fast and ships them to you even faster and her customer service is phenom! I bought a bunch of the new Echino!!! I can't *wait* to make pads from it!!!
I got a lot of new fabrics! I'm getting them all shipped to Mr. McPorkchops dads house, as we will be staying there from Saturday until after the New Year! I can't wait to have a big huge table to sew on in front of his fire place! HEAVEN!!!! Plus new fabrics! EEK! Want to see another one I bought? More Lara Cameron! From Ink&Spindle!! I love love love her!
So after fabric was ordered, we bundled up and were determined to find some snow and test out the 4WD in my jeep.
I'll leave you with some snow photos! Have a fantastic Monday!!!!
{*Happy Friday!!!!!*}
I don't know why I still get excited about Fridays! Haha! I guess technically any day can be a Friday now, but still, its nice to have the winter shop fully stocked and doing business, its pouring outside right now, the Christmas tree is brightly lit, its just a good day to be a Friday! It was *so* much fun taking etsy photos today, I had Christmas music blaring, the tree glowing, it was warm, I'm definately in the spirit now! And!!!! I got an early morning Starbucks date with Mr. McPorkchop so I could get a larger size coffee cup, haha :)
I definitely am sinus infected! Goodie!!!! Thankfully I have a ton of cloth nose wipes, lots of orange juice and warm blankets to keep me cozy! Tonight Mr. McPorkchop & I are going on a movie date! We are seeing a Christmas movie, Four Christmases!
I got a bunch of the Sassafrass Life at The Pole paper and I think tomorrow I might make a broach out of it and some felt and fabric scraps! How fun would that be! I got two new hoodies in the mail this week, this one! and this blue one! I had $60 in gift cards, plus a coupon code, so I got some good stuff for not a lot! Budget shopping at its finest! So now each new hoodie needs a festive broach! I'm the type of person who if its something I can stick a pin in, I'll wear it as a broach! It's just my nature!
Tomorrow is the lighted truck parade! Hopefully the rain will stop!!! I'm going to come home tonight and wrap all the orders, then after the post office tomorrow I'm going to work on some Christmas gifts!
OH! And!!! Knitty has this sweater called Everybody Knows that I'm dying to knit! I can make it in Malabrigo, which is so exciting, but does anyone know of any good sources for 8-10 skeins of it? I checked the recommended shops on Ravelry, but they are in icky colors :( I'd really love navy, olive or a grey! Any advice?!
Have a fantastic Friday everyone!!!! See you tomorrow!!!!