a little inspiration

I'm having a bit of creative dissonance right now.  I love to make things, but I have enough.  I love to make clothes, but I am not that great at it, nor do I have the time to get my skills caught up to my ideas. I've played with a minimalist wardrobe and I've always envied monks and nuns of all religions in the perfection if their uniform.  Lots of articles have been floating around recently about creating a uniform for yourself.  I'm so attracted to this idea.  And yet... I don't want to get rid of the things I have right now that I like but wouldn't fit into the uniform idea, both rtw items and handmade.  And I don't have the budget to go out and just get a new set up (even if my idea of a new set up is 5 t shirts and a couple button ups.)  Because I've always tried the uniform kind of thing with the items I already own I just go back to the confusion of most of the items I have. I have simplified my closet and removed the things that don't...

It strikes me as ironic that I finally made a perfectly serviceable nursing dress the week before I decided that I was done nursing.  I've been working on this dress in my head for the last 5 years.  (I know, it is awfully simple to have taken that long!!) I love nursing my babies but somewhere around 14-16 months I'm totally over it.  When the teeth come out and the baby becomes the distracted toddler I'm done.  And I miss dresses!  This time, all done.   Dress A is a blank slate tank dress.  My favorite shift style.  I lowered the neckline and notched it and added a button.  I added patch pockets.  On the next one I will omit the notch and put the pockets in the seam.  I am also thinking of adding a draw string waist.  Because of the pockets on this one you can't really belt it. But I don't mind.  No one is going to call me sexy in it (and some people might think I am hiding something.  No more babies here tho...

We are off on a little vacation this week and I am using it to practice a few things: 1. A capsule wardrobe.  I've been sewing up a small storm here and just finished a dress I've been trying to make for ages.  A shift dress you can nurse in!  I'll get action pictures this week with the beautiful beach backdrop and share more about it later.  But I will tell you now it is a hack of Dress A from the Stylish Dress Book . 2. Minimalist packing.  I am the queen of bringing an extra everything with the excuse that I have kids.  This time I am bringing a small amount of clothes and some detergent instead.  Only two things I am bringing are store bought and I'm feeling pretty proud of that. 3. Traveling while still on a fairly restrictive diet.  This week I added in eggs and dairy is back as well.  I'll be able to eat eggs for the first two days of the trip and then they'll be off limits for the rest of the week again. What I am not bringi...

Today I got rid of 4 trash bags of stuff.  Last night I spent my time from dinner to bed time clearing up our office space.  I got rid of so much, but there is a lot left to go.  For now I am basking in the ability to walk around and open all the closet doors (I kid you not.)  When my fabric table and area is cleared up I'll take a picture.  I feel so close to that happening (now that I can get there.) We moved from a 2160 square foot house to 1180 square foot apartment in November.  I've already mentioned we got rid of a lot of stuff , but it wasn't enough.  Many will see that as a huge down size (and they are right!  Half the space.) I wanted it though.  I knew the place we were in before was just too big.  In jettisoning the junk I've learned that I had attached all these silly rules to ownership of things that I had no idea of before I read Everything That Remains . I had no less than 4 sets of place mats and probably 6 table...

I am still sewing over here.  Does anyone come here to see those kinds of things anymore?  It has been a while since I was able to share anything about making things.  It is an interesting place to be, moving so much out of my life and loving a craft that creates more stuff.  The Cooper bag is still going strong after a couple months constant use.  I love it and my husband doesn't even mind carrying it. Most crafters have a "stash."  This is just a nicer word to use than hoard I think.  At least, in my case.  I'm struggling to figure out how to balance.  My goal for the rest of this year is to only use fabric I already have.  I can buy a pattern or the notions but no more fabric for a little while.  I have many ideas about what I'd like to create in the coming weeks and months, especially since I am trying to set up a capsule wardrobe. In trying to start this right away I noticed that there is a huge imbalance in my clos...

In my constant search for inspiration I've stumbled onto Zen Habits  and can't believe it has taken me so long to find it.  I have no idea why I chose to read Everything that Remains  in the first place but what a revelation it has been.  Leading me to so many new places.  Zen Habits is definitely up my alley.  He sounds a bit like the voice in my head already. And, of course, I like that.  Who wouldn't want to hear advice and ideas that sound like you only wiser and more concise? We should all read his book The One Skill : The Letting Go eBook and then go on from there and read all the rest of his words.  It is such a powerful little book, an idea that will serve you in every facet of your life.  Every. Single. One. Go check it out.  Tell me what you think.  Tell him too.

Each day more things go out the door.  I cleaned no less than the ten items off of the windowsill in front of the sink and that entire counter is free of any "extra" items.  Suddenly I find myself washing dishes in the middle of the day just to keep that area clear.  (This, my friends, is totally unheard of and my husband may be in shock about it.)  The sideboard is also nearly there.  Things don't get put away in my home simply because I can't think of anyplace better to put them.  It seems the only way to clean up is to clear out.  Some books left the house today.  The kitchen is on my list for tomorrow.  The excess is moving out. All this is leaving room for more thought (hence all the writing.)  A few weeks ago I looked at my husband and asked how I got to age 33 and still had no idea what I wanted to do with myself.  Anjali won't be so little much longer, I'd say I have two more years tops that I'll be home with her ful...

This weekend we went to the LEAF Festival and spent the day enjoying the weather and music and fun a huge festival like this can provide.  It was a good test for me in a couple ways: 1. Sticking to the diet with so many fun foods and drinks around.  2. See all the items for sale from vendors and not buying anything. In preparation for the diet challenge I packed a lot of food.  We planned to be there from lunch time till bed time and I wasn't expecting to be able to find anything to buy and eat for myself.  Emerson also can't have gluten so we always pack all his food (which is extensive as the boy is always hungry.)  Being the kind of festival it is and in such a food conscious place (seriously Asheville is about the best town to have a food allergy or sensitivity) I thought we might be able to find something but didn't want to take any risks. Somehow we all ate all day and only bought one plate of curry (the was eaten mostly by John.)  What a s...

Already it has been over a week since I started this elimination diet . I have felt well over all and not starving too much.  Although I haven't figured out easy things to take along yet (but really, what is simpler than grabbing a couple carrots?  It just seems so boring...) My mind, however, seems to be clearer, lighter.  I've been on cleanse type diets for this long before and had the feeling of lightness in the body but never so much clearness in my thoughts.  I'm eager to see what foods are responsible for the brain fog.  For years I've been blaming it on the children.  I almost feel like I should write an apology!  It's been amazing to see the brightness of the sky, the sparkle of the water this week.  Like I am coming up for air after too long under water.  I've been able to complete work and think through things with out getting bogged down, you see how much I've been writing! I miss tomatoes the most right now.  It mus...

I think my journey towards minimalism began long before I identified the term.  When we were moving down here I started to switch from loving and looking for color to fill our bedroom to searching for white and calm.  There could be details, but subtle, simple was what I looked for.  White sheets instead of patterned, a single white blanket.  A dark wood bed frame to give contrast but also to fall away visually. I love the feeling of that bed now.  The soft texture of the blanket, the cool feeling of the sheets.  One painting, painted by my love for my Christmas gift this year, sets the meditative tone.  A place of peace. But all around it, the clutter.  The noise of life I wouldn't give away, but the stuff I can never find a home for?  Ugg.  I see pictures of rooms without stacks of things everywhere and yearn for that but never knew how to make it happen.  There simply isn't room to put away everything we have in this sm...

It is funny to be doing a minimalistic diet in conjunction with a clear out of excess physical stuff in my home.  It has got me doing a whole lot of thinking, of seeing the cross pieces of my life as it currently is.  Looking at the change while it is happening in a very intentional and cathartic way. Yesterday I thought I was doing very well with the diet, I even attended my first food oriented outing in the morning with great success.  I attended a brunch where people have a very clean, holistic style of eating and living and so I wasn't too terribly tempted.  However, I could only eat from three dishes there and by the end I was hungry. When we got home I made kale chips and consumed them all (okay, I shared a few with everyone else, E in particular.)  John made grilled cheese for himself and Emerson and that was fine until I was sitting across from them and had a little cartoon like daydream of myself ferociously attacking them and eating their sand...

Next up? Minimalism.   This is an exciting topic to me, one with many, many branches and sprouts growing off of it. I hope you'll explore it with me. At the time that we moved from the first house we rented in Asheville to the apartment we are in now we threw out so much stuff I can't even begin to describe it all.  I wish there was a picture.  A 12 foot box truck would have been full.  And this was after a move just one year before!  Some of it was forced because of a moldy basement and some of it was baby things outgrown, but much of it was just too much stuff.  Too much!! I am the type of person who remembers where almost everything in my house came from.  I know which of Anjali's clothes came from which person, I think of them every time she wears them.  I know who gave us the shower curtain for our wedding (10! years ago) and think of them when I see it.  I remember who sent each toy, where I bought each shirt and piece ...