Hello, September.

As I sit here with cold toes, (even though it’s near 80 outside, i’m cold blooded, what can I say) I am reminded of fall. Yes, we all love and gush about fall and it’s colored leaves, chunky sweaters, pumpkin lattes, and layers, so i’ll do what I do every year. Write about it.

Get cozy, it’s about to get colder. Image credit

 Yes please! Image link

Find a good book to read.

I imagine this to be Nutella hot chocolate. Image link

Go ahead, throw a dinner party. The farmer’s market has the best stuff this time of year.

My FAVE fall outfit that looks good on anyone. Leggings, boots, cozy dress, chunky scarf, and your favorite fall jacket.

Tomato basil bisque. Three delightful little words.

When I think fall, I think Chai Tea. This recipe is about home made chai concentrate, but in a pinch brew a packet of Tazo Chai and mix with a little skim or half and half for a smooth latte.

I don’t know about you, but I’m excited for fall already! True, i’m not ready for summer to diminish quite yet. I still have a lot of beach going, outdoor festing, farmer’s markets to attend, and bike riding to do. Happy Autumn!

Happy Earth Day! What’s in Your Closet?

With earth day approaching, I decided to start by doing something motivational, that actually doesn’t really help the earth… But it gets me in the spirits of earth day! I created a fake outfit on a shopping website. More on that in a bit. I actually treat every day like Earth day, trying to recycle, buy organic food item, pick up garbage on the street to throw away, don’t buy things that I don’t need, and don’t throw too much garbage out. I like to make things I need instead of buying too many impulse items, and I look for used items before new things, if the case permits. I digress.

So, I got an email from Polyvore, a clothing and design website where you can easily create a board with clothing items, or home design items, to get your creative juices flowing with a simple drop and drag method, and you can also shop from the site with the items you see. It’s pretty fun. They are having a contest for earth day, with contestants creating an outfit for for the occassion. I chose all organic items for my outfit. Organic cottons, beeswax lip balms, organic tea, and stones. No leathers, weird unnatural plastics, or polyesters. I know it’s easy to just choose green colored items, but I wanted take it a step further to choose actual earth friendly items. Which has me thinking about my real clothes. How earth friendly am I?

I’m pretty earth friendly, actually, and here’s how I know:

• I buy from thrift stores at least 50% of the time. (Some things, you shouldn’t buy used…)
• I buy from places like TJ Max, where they buy overstock items and keep them from being wasted. (I got Teva’s for $40 instead of $135!)
• I don’t by what I don’t need. I don’t “go shopping” for the sake of doing so. If I’m bored, I watch TV, read a book, clean the apartment, or go for a walk.
• I buy things that are comfortable, usually made from cotton. I should take the time to check labels of clothing more often, but I’m such a picky shopper, if I actually find something I love, I will buy it. It’s a rare occasion.
• I’m not an impulse shopper. I’ve never had the urge to spend money for no reason. I’m too practical for that.
• I recycle my old clothes, unless they are in terrible shape. Then I try to make something out of the old fabric.
• I shop for what I need in person, instead of buying online, cutting back on shipping. I know, I know, clothes are “shipped” to a store in the first place. But let me have this one.

So here’ s my outfit I put together:

Organic Earth Day Outfit by roxanne-hembd featuring slim straight leg jeans

My fun outfit! It’s got layers for any weather. Of course the umbrella is nesessary. You never know when it’s going to rain in April, or in Wisconsin in general. There’s another fun site, www.practicallygreen.com where you can take a little test to see how “Green” you are, and find out what you can do in almost every situation to become a little more earth friendly. I recommend it to everyone. Especially home owners.

Happy Earth day!

Christmas Gift Ideas

It’s not too late to get Christmas Presents online, and it’s never too late to get a gift for someone that matters.

For the Home Body: 

1. West Elm Favorite Throw $29.00
2. Crate and Barrel Cocktail Glass $2.50 each
3. One Kings Lane Cordon Bleu Large Jug $10. It would be great for Tom and Jerry’s in the winter or Sangria in the summer.
4. One Kings Lane 3 Cup French Press $9.00
5. One Kings Lane Colander in Gray $12.00. Adorable and great for a guy or girl.
6. This cute little 3′ x ’3 rug from Ikea is only $39.00. Perfect for getting out of bed in the morning.
7. This little Crate & Barrel “Happy” Tumbler is only $3.95

For the Inner Child:

1. Restoration Hardware Pocket Guide to Magic $9.99
2. West Elm Alphabet Trays $8 each
3. This fun bright colored Pillow Cover from Ikea is only $6
4. Charity Mugs from West Elm for $10 each. Half of the purchase goes to Charity.
5. Mustache Gang T-Shirt from Fab.com only $18.00 (You may have to sign up to be part of this site but it is SO worth it.)
6. One King’s Lane 365 days of Star Wars book $20.00

Best of luck in your shopping! Happy Christmas!

Home Made Halloween Costume : Peacock

This year I (very last minute) decided to make my own costume. I decided to be a peacock, since I had some things at home I could use to make the costume. I had certian things laying around that most people usually don’t, so I had an adva ntage over some. I had this blue dress with a sparkly bottom, green velvet fabric, blue tights, and peacock feathers. All I had to buy was blue eyeshadow, feathery eye lashes, and a few tall peacock feathers from the craft store to complete the outfit! Oh, and I had to buy pipe cleaners, and blue pom poms to make a little head piece, because I did NOT have those things. But turns out I tied with a blue haired, cupcake boobed Katy Perry for 1st place in a costume contest, so hey, it was a good night! And I didn’t spend $50 at a “Halloween Express” for a cheap, short skirted outfit. Win!

Seeing as how I already had the blue dress, I made a little green velvet corset to go over the top half, something I could glue feathers to. I glued some smaller feathers to the front, and then made a pocket in the back so I could stick the tall feathers in and make them stand up tall behind my head. I made the corset so it wrapped around and just stuck with velcro, then pinned it to my dress with safety pins so it didn’t slide down. It worked out perfectly, and held up all night! Little time spent, and very little money.

Happy Halloween!

Re-Use Those Old T-Shirts

I was between Doctor appointments yesterday and with a lot on my mind, I decided I needed to clear my head. So, I made a trip to the local Goodwill (an odd comfort zone for me, but it always hits the spot.) I love to look at the little boys t-shirts (I have no nephew or little brother to shop for) But that’s where a lot of the cool T’s with sayings and graphics get placed. There are also a TON of crafts that you can make with old t-shirts. I have this cap sleeve T from Target, my super favorite. Robin’s egg blue. But I’ve worn it so much there are little holes in the front. So, I have a few options for making something else out of my favorites. Here are some ideas for you.

THIS is what I am going to make with my favorite blue T-shirt. I also have this amazing fuscia T-Shirt that is a little small for this, and I may have to turn into a pillow or something.

This pillow is adorable. It almost looks like a thicker T-shirt material. Here’s the tutorial ala “The Sweet Life”.

I LOVE and must try this idea a-la P.S. I Made This. So easy!

Ok, so this extremely plush looking Latch Hook Rug looks like it took FOR-EV-ER (to be said in Sandlot style voice) but most likely well worth the effort. Baby likes it.

This is a great idea for an old beat up T-Shirt that you can’t bear to part with. Perfect for Summer. Thanks to P.S. I Made This.

I am loving this Mosaic patchwork bag from Try Handmade. You can find cool images, and letters to create your own saying. Check out zJayne‘s Etsy shop for more cool creations.

 Check out CreativityisMessy’s page for this cute recycled T-Shirt necklace.

I am also loving anything that looks like a big ol’ flower that’s made from old fabrics. Speaking of which, I just got a whole new bag of discontinued fabric samples from the studio that I want to craft with. You could make fridge magnets, bouquets, pen toppers… I digress. Check out Cosa Verde‘s page for more ideas.

Other Ideas:

• Rags
• Yarn for knitting a chunky scarf
• Stretch and staple over a canvas for a cool picture. Be nostalgic and use a T-Shirt from your youth, like a sports team or sleepaway camp.
• Baby Spit Up Towels
• Dog Neck Tie. Just cut into a big triangle.
• Cat Bed warmer
• Seat Cushion for Dining Chairs
• Shopping Bags (Just cut off Sleeves and cut out neck.)

Possibilities are endless! Just have fun with it, and happy Up-Cycling!