Anywho, today I’m here with a garden update!

After my intro to garden 2.0, things got… interesting.  Turns out, there were some party crashers in our indoor garden.  These little mushrooms just sprouted out one day and after some Googling, I figured out that 1) they were harmless, 2) there were probably spores in the soil I purchased, and 3) I had been over watering.  I sort of wish I had snapped some photos with our real camera but I quickly removed them with tweezers (they’re all very tiny) as soon as I spotted them in an attempt to prevent future mushrooms.

I think the big difference between this garden and last year’s is that I haven’t found a particularly sunny place for these herbs.  Whenever I’m home I let them sit in the window, which is sunny, but the rest of the time they’re in a not-so-sunny place.  I’m hoping to pick up a planter stand so these little fellows can soak up the sun and grow big and strong.

On a happier note, after I let the planters dry out a bit, the garden is really starting to take off!

The basil is still knocking it out of the park.  They are easily the most tolerant of my herbs – which is a nice treat since I plan on using basil as much as possible this Summer.  There are a lot tall seedlings – some of which are getting ready to sprout leaves.

The oregano is working hard to catch up with the basil.  It’s clearly got a ways to go but it’s nice to see that the seedlings have all popped up.  I saw an oregano plant at the farmers’ market and it had crazy large leaves, so I’m hoping that these guys grow like that, too.

Last but not least is our rosemary plant.  This one was the one I was most excited about, and I’m happy to say that one of the seedlings has finally sprouted!  I’ll admit to you all that I popped a few more seeds into the soil (I can’t help myself!) so I’m hoping those appear shortly.

So, that’s the news on the home front.

Have you started your gardens yet?  How are they doing?  Did you get any unexpected visitors?

Since you’re using a jersey or knit material for your skirt. I would highly recommend practicing with some of the scraps.  When you feel comfortable with the fabric, keep practicing a little bit more.  When I was sewing my skirt, the fabric got stuck under the throat plate – multiple times.  Let’s just say that I am now a pro when it comes to removing jammed fabric… as well as taking apart/putting my machine back together again.

I’m not saying that last bit to scare you, but to be completely honest with you.  At the same time, it’s not something to be nervous about or get discouraged by.  If anything, I actually know more about my sewing machine now and feel more comfortable using it for different projects.  I’m already trying to figure out which fabrics to order for my next skirts!  These maxi skirts are a great starter project for clothing because they are very forgiving.  Even though I botched up the sides a little bit, you’d never know once I’ve put on the skirt and I’m walking about.

Step 1:  You’ll first need to cut the fabric to your size.  I bought 2 yards so I had enough, plus some extra for another skirt, but you should be okay with that amount as well (you can buy more or less depending on your height as I’m only 5’2″).  The easiest way to get the size for the skirt portion is to use another maxi skirt as a template.  If you don’t already own one, you can easily figure out what size these pieces need to be.

You will need two pieces for the skirt and two pieces for the band.  For the length of the skirt, measure from about an inch below your belly button (or where you’d like your skirt to sit) down to the floor, and then add an inch or two – This will be the length of your skirt.  If you’re nervous about the skirt being long enough, make the skirt as long as you want – you can always cut off the excess when you get to step 6.  For the top of the skirt, this should your hips (where you want the skirt to sit), divide that number by two, and add one.  For the bottom of your skirt, you can go two directions.  The first is a less flowy skirt by adding 5 inches to the top of the skirt measurement while the second is adding 10+ inches to the top of the skirt measurement for an option with more flare.  I went with the more flare option.  For the band width, take your waist measurement, divide by two, and then subtract two inches (otherwise it’ll be too loose).  I made my band 10″ long because you end up folding the fabric in half.

Step 2: Sew along the two sides of the skirt.  If you have a serger, you can use that. I used the stretch overlock stitch (#16 on my machine), but I also think that a straight stitch would work fine, too.  If you’re nervous, you can always go back and do a second stitch next to the first.

Step 3:  You’re going to start on the band now.  Fold each of the pieces in half (if you’ve used the same measurements as me, the bands should now be 5″ x 10.5″).  Once they’re folded, stack them on top of each other and sew along both sides.  You’ll now have a wonderful band ready to go!  It’s going to look a bit small, so feel free to try it on

Step 4:  Attach the band to the top of the skirt.  I would highly suggest you pin the band to the stop of the skirt to keep the side seams aligned.  The seams for the band should be on the inside of the skirt where the side seams are.

Step 5:  If you’ve used a serger for this, then go to step 6.  If you haven’t, then you may want to use fold over the extra material to make the band look a little bit neater.  I used a single stitch for this so it wouldn’t be so obvious (you can see what I did at the top of the folded band below).

Step 6: Hem the bottom of the skirt and enjoy :)

Some Tips to Remember:

• Pre-wash the fabric before you start using it to avoid shrinking.
• Cut your fabric so that it stretches horizontally.  When you pull on the fabric, you’ll know what I’m talking about.
• If the fabric jams in the machine, stay calm and remove the needle, foot, and throat plate.  Attempting to pull the fabric out could result in tearing.

Hopefully my tutorial is straight forward enough.  I think once you make your first maxi skirt, you’ll be able to pop out a few others fairly quickly.  If you have any questions, please feel free to email or comment!

Go check it out!

While I’ve been busy sewing curtains and quilts ( 1 | 2 | 3 ), I haven’t actually gotten around to successfully sewing any clothing for myself.  This was the perfect chance to remedy that.

Ultimately, I decided to tackle a maxi skirt because I love them and they are amazing to wear.  Seriously, I cannot recommend them enough.  If you’ve never tried one on before, it’s like having a blanket around you at all times but you never get too hot.

My inspiration was this pin, originally from Elle Apparel.  When I originally found the site, it included the tutorial but that has since been removed (although you can buy it in her etsy store).  Since there was no step-by-step tutorial for me to use, I sort of winged it.  I’m going to share a detailed how-to next Monday, but this is really the perfect project to start with when it comes to designing your own clothing. It’s a very forgiving skirt.

For today, you’ll have to enjoy my awkward photos.  Clearly I was not meant to be a fashion blogger.  Or was I…?

No.  I definitely was not meant for that.

Seeing as I had never actually made anything wearable before, I was intimidated but determined.  I bought two yards of a navy jersey/knit fabric from Joanns when it was on sale and kind of hid it away.  After all, jersey fabric is supposed to be intimidating to work with, right?

To be honest: it is and it isn’t (Sewaholic has a bunch of great tips).  Ultimately, I think that jersey and knit fabrics get a bad wrap.  It’s definitely different from any other fabric I’ve worked with (ie. it’s very important that the fabric pulls in the right direction), so it took me some time to get comfortable, but I would definitely use it again.  It’s a great fabric for clothing.

What I created isn’t perfect by any means (note the photo below) but my goodness, it is comfortable.  I even felt confident enough to even wear the skirt out in public after finishing it!

The bottom of the skirt was simple enough, but the band was somewhat tricky.  At least I thought it was tricky (in actuality, it wasn’t).  I created the band and the just stared at it for a few days because I thought it was too small.  Turns out, it stretched and was perfect.  After attaching the band to the bottom part of the skirt, I did a final seam around to keep it looking nicer.  My stitching isn’t perfect, but I think it looks nicer than what I originally had.

My favorite part of this skirt is that if I eat too much spaghetti – which I definitely did on Sunday – I can just unfold the band.  No one has to know that I went back and had a second bowl of spaghetti…

…and then 75% of the fresh strawberries…

… followed by some chocolate when I got home.

Something great about making your own clothes is that you can tailor them to you.  This skirt isn’t too long or too tight.  In fact, I’m so in love with it that I want to go back and get a few other color options – maybe even a pattern! – and make a few more skirts.  Ideally, I’d like one for every day of the week so I can wear these all the time.

What did you end up tackling for the Pinterest Challenge?  Was it something outside of your comfort zone?  Were you happy with the final product?  Any ladies out there who are pro-maxi skirt?  Would you support me if I argued that maxi skirts are work appropriate?

Linking up: Young House Love | Bower Power | Sparkle Meets Pop | Red Bird Blue

Previous Challenges:  Fabric Flowers | Beaded Necklace | Spray Painting Lamps | Paper Rosette Escort Cards.

Actually, it was 100% his idea… so I sort of married a genius.

On Friday afternoon, we brainstormed what we would like to have at our picnic.  We decided out menu should include sandwiches (mine was hummus, lettuce, tomato, and avocado while Joe had a Cuban sandwich), triscuits, black bean hummus, and strawberries.  For beverages, we brought along lemonade and water.

Everything was picked up on Friday night while Saturday morning was spent preparing everything.  Nothing was a major time commitment so it was all easy peasy.  In fact, all of the food – and the blanket! – fit in two reusable shopping bags.  I am now on the hunt for a picnic basket because I’d like to picnic every weekend.

Aside from it being sunny and wonderful on Saturday – seriously, not a cloud in the sky! – it was still cool enough that there were no bugs anywhere.  Basically, it was my favorite type of weather.  Is there a place where it’s in the upper 60′s – mid 70′s, sunny, and no bugs?  If there is, I want to live there.

After scouting out the perfect place, Joe and I settled in.  We wore sneakers for the walk to the park but took our shoes and socks off as soon as we put the blanket down.  This was not shoe weather.  It’s the kind of weather where you let your toes feel the grass…

…Or the weather where you paint your nails outside (that’s how I roll).

In years past, because of my allergies, I sometimes forget how awesome Spring can be.  This year, thanks to what felt like an endless Winter, I’m completely on board with Spring – even if I have to take a Zyrtec and use an inhaler every day.

Totally worth it.

If I could have, I would have frozen time in that moment because it was so relaxing.  With Joe taking classes and my crazy commute, we haven’t had a lot of time together.  The picnic was the perfect remedy for that and we spent a good three hours outside soaking up the sun.  Joe even got a little red!

I also like to think that the park was sad to see us go as we clearly left our mark…

What did you do this weekend?  Was it nice by you?  If it was, did you take advantage of the nice weather?  Any fellow picnic-lovers out there?

[I finally picked up my blue mason jars]

I don’t know about you, but I am loving this warm weather.  It’s still a little chilly when I leave the apartment and on my trip home but it is so lovely during the afternoon.  My daily lunch hour has been spent eating outside and then walking around.  Ideally, I’d like to soak up as much sun as possible because soon, cicadas will be upon us (they’re completely harmless, but they freak me out!) and then I’ll prefer being inside.  The good news is that they’re not here yet which means Joe and I will be enjoying a picnic in the park this weekend.

What’s on your agenda?

[the latest bunch of flowers I picked up from the grocery store]

 [I've been celebrating the warm weather by snacking on soy mint fudge swirl ice cream]

Rather than stuffing each pot into their own Tupperware or container of some sort, I used a rectangle bamboo box we have and lined it with tinfoil to keep it from getting any water damage.  It doesn’t look pretty, but it’s been working well.  I’ve been maintaining that ‘water from the bottom’ approach my aunt recommended to me and the tinfoil keeps the water from escaping.

As you can see, there’s some greenery starting.  The basil was the first plant to make an appearance, followed by the oregano.  Sadly, the rosemary hasn’t shown up to the party yet.  I’m trying really hard not to plant a million more seeds (seeing as that was one of the things I learned last year) but it’s not easy.  I figure I’ll give it another week before going back in and planting a second round.

Next to the seedlings, I have our shamrocks and a basil plant I picked up from the grocery store this weekend.  Why on Earthy would I buy a basil plant when I’m beginning to grow to myself?  The grocery store had no packaged fresh basil anywhere so I had to grab a potted plant version – which was the same price as the dried basil.

Regardless, the seedlings have to healthy, full-grown plants to look up to.  I like to think that plants talk to each other (don’t knock it – it’s legit) so hopefully these to will motivate those seeds to grow their hearts out.

Have you started gardening yet?  Anyone else keen on indoor herb gardens like me?  Are you lucky enough to have space outside to garden?  What would be your dream team of herbs & fruits/veggies?

It has been interesting, to say the least.

To give the blinds credit, they are very good at blocking out the light (which I have taken advantage of when sleeping in on the weekends), but they are horrible in every other way.  When the sun shines through the blinds, there is a red glow throughout the room.  It honestly feels like I’m in a horror movie.  The room has also felt very dark and dirty because of these blinds.

The blinds aren’t even a deep red.  They’re blood-red.

That’s not even the worst part…  they were custom ordered.

Now, I’m not against getting blinds that are in fun colors, but this is an aggressive color.  I’m not sure if the bedroom walls were always green or our landlords repainted them before we moved in.  I like to imagine that the walls were black or red with these curtains because that’s the only way it can make sense to me.  Even with those colors, I’m pushing it.

Life has been hectic lately so it took me a while before I could high-tail my butt over to Home Depot and pick up some replacements.  I originally grabbed some white aluminum blinds but a sweet older lady recommended that I get the plastic version (I grabbed these 30″ blinds for $4.70 each).  The plastic blinds were the cheaper option – by over $17.00 each! – and they wouldn’t show any dents.  If that’s not a win-win, I’m not sure what is.

I’ve never changed blinds before so I was very intimated by this project.  In my mind, I thought I could pass this project off to Joe but it didn’t happen that weekend because Joe’s at the end of his semester and has a full plate on his hands.  Ultimately, I put on my big girl pants and tackled this project.  There’s only so many times you can wake up in a red haze before you have to do something about it.

Side note: all of these photos are going to be from below because I am incredibly short, even with a step stool.

I followed the instructions that came with the new blinds.  The first thing I did was pull the blinds all the way up.  This makes it very easy when you’re ready to remove them.

Where the blinds are clipped into the wall, there are these little covers that you can slide right out.  Once you’ve done that, you can just pull out the blinds.  Be warned that there will probably be a lot of dust when this happens.

I tossed these suckers immediately into a trash bag.

While the bracket on the left was okay, the bracket on the right wasn’t installed all the way to the edge of the trim so it had gotten a little warped and stretched over time.  This was a simple fix: I unscrewed the bracket and grabbed one of the new brackets and installed that closer to the edge.

Once the brackets where in the right place, I just grabbed the new blinds, slide them into the bracket, and cover the brackets with those little pieces that slide in.  I also added the valance piece at this point.

Can we just take a minute and talk about how much better the room looks now without those crazy red blinds?  The room feels about 1000% cleaner and it’s much more relaxing at this point.  I’m actually a fan of the green on the walls (the red blinds altered the green constantly, and not in a good way).

And, rather than having you scroll back up top to check out what we originally had, here’s a side-by-side comparison.  I’m not sure how it comes across on everyone else’s monitors, but you can see that the walls on the left are sort of a muddy-green color, where as the photo on the right is a more accurate version of the green on the walls.

Yesterday morning was the first morning waking up with the new blinds.  While they definitely don’t block anywhere near as much light as those red blinds, they get the job done.  Besides, I’m looking to invest in some curtains for this room to help tie everything together.  I spent a decent amount of my Sunday just walking into the bedroom and admiring how bright and clean it looked.

Did you spend the weekend tackling any projects that had been on your to-do list for far too long?  Anyone else been intimidated by swapping or installing blinds?  What’s the worst color you’ve seen (growing up, our basement had teal blinds)?

Mainly, this:

It’s not so obvious in this photo, but the curtains are about two inches too short for these windows.  Let’s just say that this is not the look I’m going for, especially since we have such wonderful natural wood trim around the windows.  Sure, I could lower the curtain bar but I’m really not into putting more holes in the wood trim.  Ultimately, these curtains have got to go – either to another room or a place where I convert them into pillows.  Both are viable options.

Our windows came dressed with honeycomb shades (similar to these) so it hasn’t been a big deal to leave them bare as long as we have, but I’m really looking to add some curtains in here.  It’s one of those details that can really finish a room and make it cozy and easy on the eyes.

I thought about DIYing some new curtains but when it comes down to it, I haven’t found a fabric that I like.  For three windows, I’d need about 10 yards of fabric since I’d like the curtains to go down to the floor – so it could get expensive very quickly.  I’ll be on the look out for some potential fabrics, but for now, I’m mostly considering purchasing curtains from the store.

Here are some potential options:

one | two | three | four | five | six

1) These Vivan Curtains from IKEA (in grey) are a great option.  Two panels for $9.99 is sort of a steal and I think they could end up looking great in here.  We’d have to actually get on painting the walls since the grey wouldn’t match the color on the walls but that’s not too bad.

2) I’m a big fan of the Threshold collection from Target, so it wasn’t a surprise that I was drawn to the Ombre Stripe Window Panels in tan.  In all honesty, I’m actually leaning more towards getting these in grey for the bedroom but who knows – perhaps they’ll land in the living room instead.

3)  I’m really into navy and green right now so Anthropologie’s Ink Garden Curtains in blue are adorable and pretty much perfect for what I’d like, except for their price tag.  I would be looking into 96″ curtains and each panel would cost be $178.00 (!!).  Unless I win the lottery next week, these are not happening.

4)  Jonathan Adler has a line at JCP (called Happy Chic) and I am a fan.  You can’t go wrong with bright colors – like these green Charlotte Canvas Curtain Panels.  Each panel is $50, so this isn’t a financially responsible option either, but it’s totally worth stalking them online and hoping they go on sale.

5)  I am a fan of buttons – case in point my button drawer in one of our card catalogs.  When I spotted the Murano curtains in Sage from Linens and Things, I was immediately interested.  Sage can be one of those tricky colors so I think this is something I’d need to see in person before making a commitment.

6)  Another option from Target’s Threshold collection is the Jacquard Ikat Window Panels in tan.  I love the pattern because it’s not so bold that it’s over powering but interesting enough to please the eye.  Based on the online image, it looks like the tan could actually end up our brown couch so that would be a nice bonus.  They’re under $30 but in my opinion, they look more expensive than that.

Do you have a go-to place to buy curtains?  Is this an item you splurge on or tend to look for the best deal?  Anyone prefer short curtains to long?  Who thinks we should keep the windows bare for now?

I think Patton Oswalt said it best when he said “The good outnumber you, and we always will” (If you haven’t already, you can read his whole response to Boston here).  This is something I whole-heartedly believe: that good will always win.

In the hopes of keeping things light today while I get back into the swing of things, I thought I would share something delicious with you all.  This isn’t so much a recipe as something you should try.  I only tried this a few weeks ago at my in-laws’ house but since then, I’ve been hooked.  I come home with strawberries whenever I find a good batch at the grocery store.

So… about once a week.

Now that it’s sort of strawberry season, I think this would be the perfect time to share this ‘recipe’.

Directions:

1)  Cut up strawberries into quarters (or smaller if they are large strawberries).
2)  Sprinkle a tablespoon or two of sugar on top of the strawberries and then drizzle a little bit of water over them.
3)  Place the strawberries in a sealed container.
4)  Wait two days before eating.

You can eat them the next day, but it’s definitely worth waiting until the second day.  By that second day, there will be some wonderful strawberry juices at the bottom of the container.  If you can make it to the third day then you’re pretty much golden (and you’ve totally impressed me because we cannot make it that long, although I bet it’s worth it).

The great thing about this is that it makes a great snack or dessert – and it’s something everyone can enjoy.  It’s also a wonderful treat to bring when you’re going over someone’s house.  We usually eat it right out of the container or drizzled over chocolate cake.  I believe this would also be delicious with some homemade whipped cream.  One day, I intend to have it as an ice cream (so, probably this weekend seeing as it’s finally sort of warm out).

So, let’s hear it: how do you prefer to eat your strawberries?  With chocolate?  Ice cream?  Do you hate strawberries but love strawberry flavored treats?  Anyone contemplating giving this ‘recipe’ ago with other fruits?