Oct 29, 2010

Feature Me Friday

Today's Feature Me Friday is about food! I love food! Some people eat to live (I read all about them in my Shape magazine) and some people--like me!--live to eat! I am so thankful that I have such a great metabolism because let me tell you, if I didn't, I would probably be 200 lbs. And I'm only 5' people!

I make my own yogurt these days...when I remember. I made a batch the other day, or tried to, and for some reason it didn't turn out. It never got thick so I was basically left with sour milk. I hate to throw food away so I tried my hand at frozen yogurt! I looked up a recipe real quick and did it a really lazy way that didn't turn out so super fantastic but it sure tastes good! Here's what I did:

Mix together (approximate measurements) 2 cups plain yogurt (or yogurt soup like I did), 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp vanilla. Freeze and stir every half hour.

I don't have an ice cream machine so I just stirred it by hand. A hand mixer would have been better but I was really lazy. The more the ice crystals are broken up the creamier the frozen yogurt will be. Mine was super icy. Because I was lazy. Don't be lazy. But, it still tasted super delicious! This still seems like a ton of sugar to me when I've been trying to cut back. Next time I might try something different. Maybe some local honey. This girl says she's had some really great honey from her area and it's WAAAAAY better than the stuff you find in the store. I totally believe her but I have yet to try our local honey!

This 'recipe' would probably be creamier with actual yogurt, not soup. I might be wrong but I think if you start with something creamy, the outcome will probably be creamy(er)! Also, it's recommended that you strain the yogurt through a cheesecloth first. But really, who had time for that? Okay, I do. Laziness, I tell you!

Oct 22, 2010

Feature Me Friday

So, the yellowy-orange shirt I bought the other day? Yeah...I tried resizing it (which I've done before!) and I made it too small. Before I did it I thought, I should sew this first, and then cut. But guess what? I did it the other way around and I couldn't get the shirt to lay right because it wasn't completely symmetrical so it was all wrong...what a disappointment. Except not really because when I tried it on to see if it fit I realized it was that weird color that looks almost like skin (on me anyways) and I really hate that color. So I guess it's okay that it didn't work out.


Adrian's been stepping on his pants, and right out of them so I finally made him a belt. It needs a little work, but the first one is always practice!

Oct 21, 2010

Teh-deh?

The little man says that all the time and yet I cannot for the life of me figure out what it means. Maybe someday I will...


This is where you can find Adrian at any given time. He thinks it is the coolest thing that he can look out the window all by himself.


BTW, do you see how long his pants are? Poor shorty.

I ran out today and somehow found time to stop by Salvation Army despite the fact that I had to pack for this weekend with our families. It was basically a waste of time. Except not really because thrift shopping is never a waste of time. I found one yellow shirt for myself. Or I thought it was yellow. Then I washed it and when I was putting everything in the dryer I was like, whoa, where did this orange shirt come from? So I guess it's not really yellow. It's more like yellow-orangey. Anyways, I'll show you what I do with that very soon! I actually have time to sew tonight because guess what? I finished packing! I know, you probably think I'm saying that to sound cool but seriously, I finished packing! I can actually enjoy my evening instead of stressing about whether or not I packed the phone charger or socks or diapers...

Oct 19, 2010

My Little Punkin'



I scored this cute Pumpkin costume (that you can't even see because I didn't take any decent pictures...) at a garage sale last spring. I think it's actually a 2T which is why it's kind of big and he is basically blind. I wanted to see how he did wearing it in case we actually use it. Which we probably won't. I don't really have any reason to put it on except to wear around the house when he's only 14 months old! A little young for trick-or-treating if you ask me!

Oct 16, 2010

Hey Mom and Dad!

What are you doing next Saturday thru Tuesday?

Oct 15, 2010

Feature Me Friday


I didn't give myself very much time with my dress this week but I was able to get the top and bottom together and (sort of) fitted the bottom. My next step is to attach some straps and then do the zipper as well as any last fitting adjustments. I also want to add some kind of something (descriptive huh?) in the front where that center seam is. Again, this would be a million times easier with an adjustable dress form! The one in the picture is a size too large so the dress doesn't fit. But, it gives you a better idea of what it looks like rather than laying it on my bed again. Even if it is crooked.


I really didn't do much else this week. I've had my nose buried in the Clan of the Cave Bear.

In case you're wondering, we're having homemade pizza tonight. It's a staple in this house. Tonight it will be loaded with sausage (from the meat market in the next town, yum!) and mushrooms (kind of yuck).

Have a good weekend everyone!

Oct 13, 2010

Jeff needed to run a few hockey-related errands in town yesterday so I took the opportunity to hit up Goodwill. I have been wanting to get there for quite a while but had never set aside the time. He dropped me off (and took Adrian!) with the question of whether I would be fine for that long because it might take awhile. I assured him I would and there were plenty of other departments to browse if I was indeed left waiting. I barely made it through the women's department before he called and I was saying, "You're on your way already?!" There's never enough time for resale shopping!


I found this striped shirt for around $3 and was slightly disappointed when I looked at the tag after buying it. It is by Merona which is sold by Target. I probably could have found it cheaper than that on clearance. Oh well, I like the stripes and I have a lot to work with since it is many sizes too big. I haven't decided what to do with it yet, I have way too many ideas which leads me to believe that I need to upcycle more often! You'll be seeing this again on a future Friday!


I also got this blazer for $6.99. I plan to resize it to fit me, remove those shoulder pads(!), and use it as a dress coat this winter. It might be slightly warmer than the one I've been using for the past 6 years. (And that's not an exaggeration.)
I had been hoping to find a dress to refashion but I didn't have any luck. I know there are at least 3 other resale shops to search but I suppose I could work on the projects I have piled up for now!

Oct 12, 2010

Look what I can do!


And then he was done.


I remember climbing in here as a kid. Or, more realistically, I remember my younger siblings climbing in here. Because, truth be told, I probably can't remember so far back to where I was small enough to fit inside. I'm suprised it took Adrian this long to try it, monkey that he is!

Oct 8, 2010

Feature Me Friday

I didn't forget about Feature Me Friday! I just got too busy today (we have friends staying with us this weekend) so I didn't get a chance to sit down and post until now.
I didn't work on my dress at all this week. I'm not really sure why. Maybe the fact that I got all excited to borrow a dress form from a friend only to find out it was the wrong size. Darn. Anyways, I am excited to get moving (and hopefully finished!) with it next week.
This week I did two very simple and quick projects. I can hardly call them projects. On Sunday I wore a plain brown shirt to church and I wanted to add something to it so I made this flower:


I then safety-pinned it to my shirt which wasn't the best idea because it didn't sit just right. Oh well, it was simple and quick and I like it!

I've had a pillow laying around for way too long with a covering that I didn't like. I cut it open (to throw it away) and found, to my surprise, that there was an insert and not just a bunch of stuffing! This was pretty exciting because I love the look of colorful pillows but I haven't yet learned how to stuff properly. I tried once but it was a lumpy mess. Hm...that sounded funny. Anyways, I have also had some fabric for quite some time that I had wanted to use for a pillow. Here was my chance!


Excuse the awkward angle, the window was way too bright any other way.
I thought the case I made would be too small with my illogical thinking but as it turns out, it's almost too big. I added a zipper instead of sewing it shut for the sole purpose of sewing a zipper. I have done them before but it's been quite a few years. I want a zipper on my dress so I thought I'd give it a try here first.

I'm warming up to the idea of exposed zippers--not really sure if I got the look right here though--I might put one on my dress. Okay, so I would most likely do it on my dress because it would be easier than a hidden zipper! Besides, now I can take the cover off and wash it rather than throwing the entire pillow into the wash. Laundry is expensive when you pay with quarters! (Do like how unrelated that zipper pull is??)

Have a good weekend! Is your weather as warm and sunny as ours?

Oct 5, 2010

Yes, Deer


Jeff and I have had an argument over a certain 'decoration' he wants in our home some day. It's not in the immediate future and it could still be a very long way off but I'm sure it will happen some day. I'm sure many of you have had this argument, or lost this argument yourself: whether or not to hang a deer head in your home. Not usually hidden away in a closet or basement or garage either. Like, maybe in your living room. For everyone to see. For young children to be frightened.





I have been fighting my side of this argument for a few years now. I think it started before we were married. After reading decorating blogs in the past year or so, I've started to lessen my fight. Maybe it won't be so bad after all. I mean, I don't have to decorate a room to look like a hunting camp just because a deer head is on the wall (although I'm sure Jeff would love that). I actually like the look of a fake, or an all-one-color deer head but Jeff already said he won't let me spray paint it if he ever gets that monster buck. So, I googled a few pictures to get a better idea of some future possibilities. Do you think Jeff will go for it?


I did notice one thing, I was more drawn to the photos with dark and bold colored walls behind the deer. Or a very bright white.
I wish I could give you the sources of all these pictures but I exited out of the window before grabbing the links! Just know that none of the photos were taken by me!
One more picture:


Um, yeah, there is no deer head in this one. I just stumbled across it in my searching and loved it. The bright white ceiling, the big bookshelf, the open, airy staircase. And I see a few places where a deer head would fit. I could totally have this in my house someday!

Oct 4, 2010

Everybody's gettin' ready for the Wedding...

I cannot believe I didn't post this sooner. I guess I was thinking it was all over facebook already and sometimes I forget that facebook and blogger don't work together or something.

My brother-in-law Dave proposed to his girl last week! He and Jenna have a May 7th wedding planned. We are so excited to have another married couple in the family!
Plus, it gives me an excuse to make a dress for myself. Hey...I'm just saying!

BTW, Dave I stole this picture from your facebook!

Oct 1, 2010

Feature Me Friday


Until further notice, I will call this feature "Feature Me Friday." A special thanks to Amanda for being so clever! I'm not very good at coming up with titles...I'm sure you had no idea considering my blog is called "Heidi's World" and I didn't even come up with that myself. But that was years ago!

This week--or the last few weeks actually--I have been working on reconstruction. I bought this skirted suit at a bazaar this summer with the intention of resizing the skirt. I love the pinstripes! It was only $1 so if I messed up, no big deal. I didn't have any plans for the jacket. I'm not really a jacket wearing girl. It would probably have looked cute with jeans--if I wore that sort of thing. At the very least I might have resized it to fit me just to learn a few thing about resizing. And then passed it on to someone else so it wouldn't hang neglected in my closet.


A few weeks ago, I finally got to work on the skirt. It had a seam right down the center of it with a pleated slit which I thought was really weird so I decided to redo the entire front as well as resizing. I already figured the whole project would be an adventure because I would need to hem it up quite a bit since it was way too long on me. I should say now that I liked the pleated slit, just not in the center front. I thought it would look better in the back which meant I had to move the zipper and basically turn the skirt backwards. That still left me with a seam down the center.


After what felt like hours of seam ripping (oh, how I loathe seam ripping!) I started thinking about what shirt I would wear with the skirt. I jumped on the suit when I first saw it because I need dress clothes so badly. Having another skirt in my possession would be great but I still don't have very many tops to go with. I have even fewer that I actually like. I started thinking about the jacket again and had an 'aha!' moment. I could use the jacket to make the top to a dress! As soon as that thought came into my head I knew what I wanted it to look like. I would do a classic shape and maybe throw in a little something extra to make it more fun and playful. The pleated slit at the back would fit right in! I made some sketches, which honestly I rarely refer to, but sketching is definitely a weakness for me so I've been trying to do it often whenever I create something.


Right now, I have the basic outline of the top and bottom done. It has been such a slow process because everytime I come to the next step I have to stop and picture the completed project in my head and how it should look. I'm learning and making things up as I go. As helpful as a teacher or a video would be right now, I've been too stubborn to search for one. I know I can figure it all out and I think I'll have a better grasp on construction and sizing if I teach myself with trial and error. When I'm constructing this dress, I'm making it slightly bigger than it needs to be just to get it finished. Then I'll go back and resize it to fit me. If I had a custom mannequin I could be sizing as I go but as of now, I have been holding pieces up to myself to see how they fit. I can always go back and make it smaller but once everything is all trimmed up I can't make it any bigger! The tricky part that I see coming up is fitting the skirt to the top. It's way too wide right now. I know I'll have to do some pleating or gathering and I'm not really sure how to go about doing that just right. I may actually have to google a few things!



That's what I've been up to this week. I'll have to show you my progress next Friday!

Have a super fabulous weekend!