haphazard musings and creations

the saga of the ginger and the skirt

2012-01-30T02:08:00.004-05:00

like a responsible unemployed bored-out-of-my-mind attempting-to-eat-healthy human, i made a grocery list and went to the store at 2pm. $80 later, i had the fixins for 3 dinners, some veggie sides, breakfast, kitty kibble, some snacks, and cookies. these cookies. ginger molasses crackly topped crunchy-on-the-outside-chewy-on-the-inside bliss. no seriously. everyone who tries these cookies

bean, sausage, and kale soup

2012-01-30T01:41:00.000-05:00

after pinning this: Source: curryandcomfort.blogspot.com via Liz on Pinterest i thought... waaait i think i have a recipe very similar to that. and lo and behold, i do. so i made it. and i successfully reduced the recipe from 6 servings to 2. no wonky amounts like 1.3 cans of beans or 5 sausages. white bean, sausage, and kale soup 3 spicy turkey sausages [precooked] 1 can white

2nd to last

2012-01-29T00:48:00.002-05:00

so i bought this lovely bundle of polyester for i think...$1.99[?] during my last thrift store excursion. this is the second to last piece.. and the last one is seriously hurting my brain. it may just become a scarf. anywho, the top was sheer 3/4 length sleeves with sheer pleats on top over a nasty stained white one-piece thing attached to a weird-length skirt. super close up pleats

the seamless pledge

2012-01-28T02:22:00.004-05:00

i, liz, being of sound mind and empty checking account, am taking the seamless pledge until i find a full-time engineering job. i will not buy new clothes [even at target/tjmaxx] except undies i will continue to thift-and-sew ...but not until have worked through my inventory stockpile a bit more i will probably not buy vintage as i cannot afford that ish i will continue to attempt sewing with

sewing catch up

2012-01-28T01:35:00.002-05:00

excessively tight-waisted big-hipped wool skirt from the last thrift-store trip. cropped, sides taken in, zipper removed and resewn, peplum added. it is green. i swear. not brown. danaah! i know my hair looks all kinds of wack. im ok with it. but after i took these pics i rehemmed the lining of the skirt. no longer sticking out just slightly. and of course the ubiquitous

what i want to buy

2012-01-27T12:54:00.000-05:00

pretty much everything desigual. ever. but theyre having a big sale on ideeli and i am still a penniless former student. so here is my future i-have-a-well-paying-job shopping list: desigual dasha coat $180 [from $359] poly/cotton/wool outer patchwork with topstitching and embroidery desigual electro macy coat $180 [from $364] poly/cotton/wool outer patchwork stripes with lurex thread

foods that look oddly similar in color

2012-01-26T23:03:00.001-05:00

brussels sprouts with bacon eggplant zucchini saute [with asian dressing] over israeli couscous. that was first meal yesterday. it shouldnt really be called breakfast as it was around 11. but it was the literal fast-breaking since i hadnt had anything to eat [besides coffee] since the night before.

5 cheese pasta bake

2012-01-26T22:54:00.000-05:00

and relatively healthy to boot! only relatively..cos there are still 5 varieties of cheese in this bitch. beginning/optional step: make raviolis but only use half of available filling. estimated ingredients: 1/2 C skim ricotta 1/2 egg yolk 5 oz frozen chopped spinach [thawed and well drained] 2 T parm pepper then boil noodles and stir everything together. then realize... theres about 1/6th

simple sewing with gaudy prints

2012-01-23T23:10:00.000-05:00

thrifted 90's dress. weird mid-calf length [people call it midi.. but i call it fixable] and size large. but really really big large. my fix: took in an inch on each side, increased two of the back darts, and pinned the straps for a semi-princess top. i may sew the straps eventually, but for the probable two wears that this dress will get, blingy pins are fine. [one is a spider, the

the ravioli experience

2012-01-21T17:44:00.001-05:00

aka: im not as smart as i look and that ole learning curve is steep so i asked for and received a ravioli rolling pin for christmas. probably tops our family's list of "weird shit requested for xmas". and thus the test of my patience and yen for ravioli began. round 1: schmear ricotta/egg filling on one half, press rolling pin down, and cut. result: massive fail. the filling kept the top

liz's laundry

2012-01-20T23:43:00.002-05:00

first two outfits were for an interview and a networking event. love business casual but it seems a bit odd to wear around my apartment and/or to the grocery/thrift store. cos those are pretty much the only places i go. except for the 3rd outfit when we went to an overly posh modern composition recital in boston that the sis played for. gotta dress like we belong in beacon hill...

thrift 'n' sew

2012-01-18T12:33:00.003-05:00

welp, the first three items i will be keeping as-is. no sewing. i thought about removing the shoulder pads from both blazers... and about 20 seconds later decided the linings were basically 100% intact and any attempt to deconstruct would surely result in disaster. the left one is most certainly purple. not burgundy/wine like the pic shows. and the right one is a nice forest green. or is

banana whoopie pies and chicken marsala

2012-01-17T17:41:00.002-05:00

banana chocolate chip to be exact all 32 halves lined up thanks to slight ocd mmm cream cheese filling turns out you need an ID to buy marsala. even though its cooking wine and no desperate teenager would even know what it is. but i digress. i had my NY ID. and they reluctantly accepted it. i always got questioned about my iowa ID...but thats understandable. panko breaded chicken with

dress to tunic

2012-01-16T22:28:00.000-05:00

remember this dress refashion? almost a year ago. aaaand im finally getting to the second one. most people would have trashed it long ago. but remember, im a horder-in-training. again, awkwardly too short for a maxi dress, inconvenient ruching so i chopped that shit off. and used the sleeves from a shirt bought this savers trip to make a belt then i decided...yea thats kind of crap.

advice for life

2012-01-16T14:20:00.002-05:00

...just in case you are a lazy launderer [moron] like me: DO NOT WASH A SWEATERDRESS WITH TOWELS an hour later, the sweater is pretty much salvaged. ill just wear it with a white scarf next time and blame the scarf. and maybe not wash it until after a couple wears... but in my defense, i wore it on moving day. comfiest thing ever to move in-sweater dress, leggings, flip flops [it snowed

downtown thrifting

2012-01-12T18:04:00.001-05:00

google maps says portland has 4 thrift stores on congress street. ...i found 3. the 4th i think may have been replaced by a ski shop. regardless... it was 30 degrees and blustery. last dry day before the snow that started at 5am and has just begun to let up. thus... i wore jeans, a leather jacket, and flipflops. even the homeless people were giving me weird looks. back off. i hate wearing

silk shirt crop

2012-01-11T23:54:00.000-05:00

according to the blog archive, i bought this shirt in october. and i didnt get a decent pic of it then cos i was already considering re-donating it. welp clearly i didnt and tonight finally got around to refashioning it into something wearable. [i bought it cos its green silk and im a sucker.] and yes two projects in one night cos im unemployed and going out of my effing mind. step one: lay

a finished project?!

2012-01-11T20:10:00.002-05:00

ye gods. i purchased a badly fitted dress at a thrift store in november. wore the top half as shirt in december. and now in january, i have completed the bottom half as a zip up skirt with a back tie! and really..it took me 20 minutes when it came down to it. so lazy a little bum tie [thought about sewing on more black fabric to make it a bow but... naw] and it obviously can be turned

liz's laundry

2012-01-10T14:51:00.000-05:00

jacket: thrifted scarf: h&m dress: dkny outlet jeggings: uniqlo sweatshirt: zara tank: ny&co skirt: target scarf: h&m leggings: charlotte russe the second pic is my everybody, everywear entry for black and white. yes i know it has lavender and burgundy. it turns out its rather difficult to dress in all b&w without going to an office. or really having somewhere to go besides the car

mmm mini moussakas

2012-01-09T14:35:00.000-05:00

mmm cheesy meaty cinnamony goodness. and relatively healthy to boot. saute half onion and lots o' garlic until soft. add ~1 pound 90/10 ground beef and brown. add 4 oz tomato sauce, 2 teas cinnamon, salt, pepper, and simmer the crap out of it until reduced. slice 2 graffiti eggplants [no need to salt or peel] and fry lightly until translucent. bechamel sauce: melt 4 tablespoons

liz's laundry

2012-01-08T15:33:00.001-05:00

sweater: pacsun dress/shirt: f21 navy skinny pants: h&m sweater: thrifted tank top: f21 skinny jeans: uniqlo sweater & heatech leggings: uniqlo scarves: thrifted tank: h&m skirt: kenneth cole scarf: small shop in portland jacket: kohls tank: h&m jeans: gap

the apartment!

2012-01-08T15:20:00.000-05:00

after some debate, this is what we came up with for my livingroom arrangement. based soley on the room plan from my apartment complex's website. i didnt think to measure when i saw the apartment and they are all just a tad different anyway. it turned out pretty damn close. now there were some slight difference in my bedroom ...like the placement of my closet. but i shifted things

thrifting in portland

2012-01-06T16:36:00.002-05:00

so a google maps search tells me there are 6 thrift store in downtown portland. yesterday i went to goodwill in north portland. it was...not savers. sigh. but i found some good stuff and the 50% color of the day was green. so for $35: 1 green margarita glass, 1 purple wine glass, and two peach wine glasses 2 tacky vintage water/juice glasses since im extra awesome, i bought 4

find frank

2012-01-05T13:17:00.000-05:00

like the fluffy evil version of where's waldo? the mums is driving out on friday to drop off some lamps for me and pick up my 16 empty tubs and 3 ginormous suitcases for storage. until then, its a maze in my very small living room. frank has adjusted very well to the new apartment sans roommates. since its about 78-82 all the time even with windows open, he is regular size instead of his

$18.54 for a shoe rack?

2012-01-05T13:02:00.002-05:00

after pinning this: Source: ariannabelle.blogspot.com via Liz on Pinterest i thought.. damnit thats what i need! so i bought 5 1' lengths of crown moulding for $1.44 a foot, some overpriced metallic paint and a brush [$11.34] that i ..surely will use at some other point, and got to it. let me tell you. paint + dinner curry + clean laundry = weird ass smells in the apartment. i also