simply step back

Going Shampoo Free

2012-02-28T13:36:00.001-06:00

Some people call it going "poo-less," but that's not a term I can bring myself to use. Why would anyone want to give up shampoo? I'll give you the quick answer. Shampoo strips your hair of its natural oils, causing your body's production of those oils to go into overdrive. Your hair feels greasy (even though you washed it yesterday) so you wash it again, using more shampoo. If you let your hair go "natural," it will eventually stop the excess production, so you won't need to wash it nearly so often- if at all.

My hair is really thick and frizzy, but it gets greasy if I don't wash it every morning. Often, I get a buildup of shampoo and conditioner that makes it feel unclean, even when it's not. I've avoided going without shampoo though, because I'm afraid of the transition period- 2 weeks to 2 months of greasy hair while it gets used to being shampoo-free.

However, there's another option, and that's what I'm trying out. Wash your hair with baking soda, and rinse with apple cider vinegar. Many people say that doing this in lieu of shampoo helped them totally skip or drastically minimize the transition period.

Here's the plan:

I mixed two tablespoons of baking soda with two cups of water and keep it in a jar in my shower. Use a few tablespoons of this mixture in the shower, rubbing it in to the roots. Rinse.
Next, make a mixture of 1 part apple cider vinegar to 4 parts water. Pour about a quarter cup of this over your hair. Rinse.

Different people might need to adjust those ratios substantially. I'll let you know what I end up doing. I'm on day 3 of this plan, using the baking soda treatment every other day, and I'll probably add a bit more baking soda and a bit less vinegar. Here's a few blogs that got me started:

Simple Mom: How to Clean Your Hair Without Shampoo
Nature Moms: The No Shampoo Alternative
It's also worth checking this cosmetics database, just to see what's in your daily products.

Would you ever try this? I'll keep you posted about my "transition period," and we'll see if I can stand going shampoo-free!

Avoiding Single Use Plastics

2012-02-25T11:43:00.000-06:00

Last week I watched the film "Bag It: Is Your Life Too Plastic," and since then, I've been doing a lot of thinking about all the plastic in my own life.

I won't exhaust you with all of the issues discussed in the film- you can watch it on your own if you're so inclined. Sure, many of us have heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and maybe bought reusable grocery bags- remembering to use them is another story, though. Even so, I learned a lot this week about the effect of plastics on our economy, environment, oceans, and health. It's much worse than I had ever considered. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew that every piece of plastic ever created is still in existence today, but I hadn't really sat down and thought about it before.

Lent started on Wednesday, and for the next forty days, I'm going to try to give up single-use plastics as much as I can- starting with plastic bags (even those produce bags in the grocery store), and ziploc baggies and containers and seeing what other changes I can realistically make. It's hard to think of an item that DOESN'T come in some kind of plastic wrapper. The amount of plastic in the fridge, in the bathroom cupboard, and yes, in the garbage can, is daunting. But I'm going to do the best I can, and try to think of ways I can sustain this project beyond Lent. This includes some craft and sewing projects, so stay tuned.

Here's some of the resources I've been checking out.

No Impact Man: the story of a man who tries to eliminate his carbon footprint for a year. There's a book, which I read in a couple days, a blog, and a film, as well as an ongoing project.
Plastic Free Living Guide: an extensive list of all the ways one woman is almost totally eliminating all plastics from her life. And when I say extensive...I mean it. Whoa.
Life Without Plastic: Food storage containers made of stainless steel and other healthy and environmentally-conscious materials. More on this in a future post.

What do you think? Are you giving something up for Lent? Any tips about cutting back on plastics? Let me know!

What's Cool This Week

2012-01-18T18:43:00.000-06:00

Project posts are forthcoming (still) but I'm basking in the delight of winter break and haven't gotten them up yet. Here's what's cool (to me) this week.

Speaking out against SOPA

Read about it here and here if you haven't yet- especially if you're a blogger or use the Internet at all.

Image via End Privacy, Not Liberty

Cardigans and Scarves

And sweater tights under my jeans. It's finally winter in Wisconsin!

TV Shows

Who else is infatuated with Downton Abbey right now? I'm all caught up and anxious for the next episode. I'm also almost done with season two of Madmen, which I'm pretty into despite all its unsettling chauvinism.

Images via PBS, AMCTV

Online Workout Videos

Sometimes I'm too lazy to go to that yoga class, even though I bought a Living Social voucher for it. Sometimes I'm too lazy to go to the (free) workout center (across the street) from my apartment. Online workout videos save me from being totally sedentary. Hulu has a few for free (including this beginner's kickboxing video) and Netflix has a pretty decent variety, too.

Eating Healthy

Salads with feta cheese and hummus on pita bread is where it's at this week.

Eating Unhealthy

Liverwurst and cheddar sandwiches are also where it's at, unfortunately. Mmmmm.

Image via Hatfield

What's on your list?

Everybody Everywear: Black and White

2012-01-10T11:35:00.001-06:00

I haven't done an Everybody Everywear in ages! I'm excited to be linking up today. This month's theme is "Black and White." Originally, I was going to stick strictly to the black-and-white theme, but this outfit needed a pop of color to help dress it down for work. And then it needed a cardigan, because even though we're having a bizarrely warm winter...it's still January, and I still live in Wisconsin.

The dress is just a simple jersey that I made on the weekend. Expect another post about that in the near future!

I'm wearing...

Black dress: Made by me

Grey cardigan: Kohls, 6 years ago

Green belt: Pitaya, $3

White scarf: H&M, 4 years ago

Black shoes: My beloved Born flats

New Year

2012-01-03T18:32:00.000-06:00

It's a new year! I'm back in Madison today after traveling around Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois, seeing some of my favorite people for the holidays. Geoff and I celebrated New Years Eve in Chicago at Navy Pier. It wasn't too cold or too crowded, and we saw some of the best fireworks I've seen in a while. This might have to be a new tradition.

While I have several plans for the new year, one of my resolutions for 2012 is to work out at least once a week for 30 minutes. I used to walk a lot, but since I moved to an apartment further from campus, I've been taking the bus instead and not getting much activity. On the blog front, I am hoping to complete more projects- although I'm graduating in May, so completing the last semester of my student career is top priority!

Do you make resolutions for the new year? What are they?

Proof of projects!

2011-12-06T12:34:00.000-06:00

Being a grad student with three (yes, three) part time jobs is taking its toll. But I assure you, there are a few proofs of in-progress projects scattered about my apartment.

Pieces of a wool dress (and leftover fabric, which I also have plans for)

Bodice of a brown dress (which I seem to have misplaced the directions to...drat)

And there's a secret Christmas project or two going on, too.

What projects are you working on?

Super Easy Biscuits

2011-11-28T11:59:00.000-06:00

I made these quick biscuits from my favorite bread cookbook.

I prefer to bake yeast breads, but I wanted something fast and easy! These guys do the trick.

Easy Baking Powder Biscuits Recipe

2 cups sifted all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shortening
1 cup milk (the original recipe called for 2/3 cup, but that wasn't quite enough)

Cut shortening into dry mixture till coarse crumbs form. Add milk and stir quickly. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Knead slightly and roll out till 1/2 inch thick. I used the rim of a cup to cut out the circles for the biscuits; you can use a biscuit cutter if you've got one. Place on baking sheet and bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Makes 12-16 biscuits.

Wall Decals

2011-11-22T14:27:00.000-06:00

Just showing off my new wall decals!

My walls are looking bare, and I picked these wall stickers up from Target. You just peel and stick them onto the walls! I'm a little concerned that they won't stay sticking because our walls are the bumpy kind, but so far so good.

I'm totally digging these bird wall decals too. Maybe I'll pick them up next...

Bacon-Asparagus-Potato-Cream of Celery Soup (or, Soup from Scraps)

2011-11-19T18:30:00.000-06:00

You know those days when there's nothing really to eat? You're running low on groceries and you don't have the ingredients to make any of your favorite recipes?

These are the days when I make a meal from "scraps." Sometimes stirfry, but usually soup or some sort of fried-rice concoction. It helps if you have a small store of canned veggies, soup or beans to supplement. Today's soup from scraps is Bacon-Asparagus-Potato-Cream of Celery Soup.

Recipe:

1 medium onion

2 cloves garlic

A few cups of water

1 package bacon, cooked and chopped up small

4-5 potatoes, cubed

1 stalk of celery, chopped

Additional veggie if you've got it- I used some asparagus I had frozen in the fridge, but broccoli might be good too.

2 cans celery soup mix

2 bay leaves

Saute the onions and garlic. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Let simmer until potatoes are cooked.

Enjoy!

A Mary Poppins Halloween

2011-10-31T22:35:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween! Using this post by Keiko Lynn as my inspiration, I was Mary Poppins and Geoff, my boyfriend, was Bert. I fell in love with Keiko's cute pictures and couldn't get Mary Poppins out of my head! Such an easy, fun costume was hard to resist.

And how could I not do a signature Mary Poppins pose or two?

My costume was partially homemade, or at least adjusted. I bought the shirt at St. Vincent de Paul for $1 and refit it to my size and made the bowtie and belt out of red scrap fabric. Everything else I had already. The hat isn't exactly Mary Poppins-authentic, but I think it worked out well enough!

I wish I had a better picture of my handsome Bert and I, but these are pretty cute.

The coat in this picture was also a thrift store find- $3 at Goodwill and it kept me fairly warm while tying in with the costume.

What were you for Halloween?

Wearing Homemade Clothes: Sorbetto

2011-10-17T10:57:00.001-05:00

I haven't had a lot of time to sew recently, so you haven't seen a lot of new projects from me. I thought this lull would be a great time to challenge myself to actually wear some of the clothes I've sewn, since I often...don't. I'm not sure why. Sometimes they fit funny or they feel too seasonal or I'm just sick and tired of them by the time I'm done sewing! Any of you have the same problem?

So now and then, I'm going to make a point to challenge myself to wear at least one item I've sewn myself. Today is the Collette Patterns Sorbetto top, which I sewed earlier this summer.

I always like to see people incorporate garments into outfits anyway- the boxiness of the Sorbetto top made me wonder what people are pairing theirs with. Any input? How do you wear your Sorbetto?

EBEW DIY: Missed it!

2011-10-11T12:24:00.001-05:00

Naturally, I missed the Everybody Everywear that I'm most interested in! This month is the DIY challenge, and I totally forgot about it. Today I'm wearing something similar to this, which is quite storebought.

Had I remembered about EBEW, I might have worn one of these DIY creations:

Sweater Dress made from a men's sweater

Summer dress made from a pillowcase

Summer dress made from a thriftstore find

Don't forget to check out Everybody Everwear: DIY for some inspiration!

Fall colors and updates

2011-10-07T11:00:00.000-05:00

It's been a crazy fall! This is my second to last semester at UW Madison, and I feel like I'm cramming everything possible into it. I have an hourly job, a practicum, and a project assistanceship...plus class...and very occasionally, a social life. I love everything I'm doing, but sometimes there's just too much to fit into a day.

Luckily, my weekends are free so I can have a little break now and then. Last weekend, I went canoeing with my dad and some friends up in northern Wisconsin.

How are you guys enjoying the fall weather?

What I Wore Wednesday: 80 Degrees and White After Labor Day

2011-10-05T22:02:00.000-05:00

I'm getting this post up a bit late because until quite recently, I was convinced that today is Tuesday. Whoops.

It's been in the high 70s the past few days, and I think that's as good an excuse as any to wear white after Labor Day.

Linking up to The Pleated Poppy for What I Wore Wednesday

I'm wearing:

White Strapless Eyelet Dress: Plato's Closet, $11

Blue Button-Down: New York and Company, $12

Belt: Goodwill, $1

Purse: Urban Outfitters, $10

Born shoes: DSW, $38

Pinterest vs Delicious

2011-10-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

I finally got a Pinterest account a couple weeks ago. I put it off for a while; I was afraid it would be too addictive, and I also didn't feel a need for it since I've been using my Delicious account for some time. Before I used Delicious, I was constantly emailing myself interesting links, which got a bit out of hand and I could never find what I wanted. Social bookmarking is a great alternative.

The problem with Delicious is that it's solely text-based- essentially, it's a list of well organized links with descriptions. This is great for my more "professional" bookmarks- articles and reference tools, for example, but it works less well for blogging, DIY, and fashion bookmarks. In Delicious, if I have twelve links tagged with "skirt tutorial," I often have to click through them all to find the one I want, since there's no image.

Delicious

(Click on images to make larger)

Pinterest definitely solves this, since it's all about images, and is quite eye-appealing to use. While I never used Delicious in a social way, Pinterest seems all about the community aspects, since the images on the main page are so eye-catching and easy to repin. My only dislike is that it's easy to fall into the habit of just repinning other people's images- which is probably why there's so many repeat images on the main page.

Pinterest

Am I addicted to Pinterest? Not yet. The librarian-in-training in me dislikes how haphazard everything appears at first glance, but it's just as easy to organize as Delicious, especially if one avoids the main page. Which I just can't do, since everything looks so pretty!

Conclusion? I'll keep using Delicious for links that are related to school and my career, but as of now, I think my other, more visual interests are better served on Pinterest.

What do you think? Do you use either of these tools? Both? Neither? Leave a comment and let me know!

Map Message Board

2011-09-30T08:00:00.001-05:00

This is a cute gift idea for someone who lives far away- or for yourself! Instead of framing fabric to make a dry erase board, I framed a Madison map to make a message board for my boyfriend, who lives in Chicago.

Or maybe I'll keep it for myself. ;)

What I Wore Wednesday

2011-09-28T06:30:00.000-05:00

I finally replaced my trusty pair of plain black flats this last weekend. I bought my old black flats over a year ago for a dollar at a rummage sale, and they started to fall apart pretty significantly in the past few weeks. I wear them often, and I walk a lot, so it's amazing they lasted as long as they did.

This time I actually followed my boyfriend's shoe-buying advice and bought a new pair of shoes (on sale) in his favorite brand- Born. They are more sensible than cute, which is an obvious sign of a middle-aged librarian (along with cardigans and pencil skirts, probably), but he assured me they still look good. And they're extremely comfortable.

While my new shoes cost more than the rest of my outfit combined (which usually doesn't happen, unless we're talking running shoes), the rest of this outfit was very thrifty. Linked up to The Pleated Poppy for What I Wore Wednesday.

I'm wearing:

Black Cardigan: Kohls, $5

White scoopneck shirt: Kohls, $4

Red Skirt: Goodwill, $3

Black belt: Borrowed from another dress in my closet

Shoes: DSW, $38

Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Smoothie

2011-09-26T08:00:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I was at an ice cream place that sold oatmeal smoothies, and I was floored! Why hadn't I thought of this before? I love having a smoothie for breakfast, but I need more than that or I'm hungry in a half hour. My mom always said that a person needs food that will "stick to your ribs," and oatmeal is great for that. I'm pleased to report that an oatmeal smoothie gets me straight through till lunch!

Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Smoothie "Recipe"

(Measurements are vague approximations, at best)

Blend:

1-2 cups oatmeal (I used quick cooking and prepared it in the microwave beforehand)

1-2 bananas, to taste

3/4 cup milk

5-6 ice cubes

Large dollop of peanut butter, to taste

This makes quite a lot, enough for two large smoothies. I expect that chocolate would also be delicious. The last time I made this I also added a cup of coffee. I couldn't even taste it, but it did add a little caffeine kick, making this less healthy, but even more convenient for a quick morning breakfast.

Awesome Thrift Finds

2011-09-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

I normally don't consider shopping for white pants. But Everybody Everywear: Colored Pants was this September, and while I didn't partake, this post inspired me to thrift a pair of white jeans and try my hand at dying them.

That didn't happen (although I'd still love to try). I checked out my local Goodwill and didn't find any white jeans in my size. I DID find a pair of white dress trousers from Express- brand new and with the tags still on. Originally, these were $60. I picked them up for $4.

They fit me absolutely perfectly. I won't be dying these any time soon, but can I still wear them? We're nearing October, after all...

What good thrifting finds have you had lately?

Infinity/Circle Scarf

2011-09-21T08:00:00.001-05:00

Depending on where you do your shopping, scarves can get expensive! My boyfriend always teases me because I often get frustrated and say, "But I could just make this!" when we're out shopping.

And this time it's definitely true- this is one of those projects that anyone can do. I was inspired by this tutorial to make an infinity scarf from a skirt hem- since I had several inches of fabric that I cut off the bottom of a too-long dress. Any long rectangular piece of fabric will do though; just sew up the long sides, right sides together, turn right side out, and sew the ends together to create either an infinity or circle-style scarf.

That's all it is! I like to wear mine double looped, but the choice is yours.

Blanket Forts

2011-09-19T21:45:00.001-05:00

via Lissy Elle

When I lived in a college dorm, my roommates and I would occasionally make blanket forts between our lofts for game nights or movie nights- just for kicks. Tonight I came across a few super cute ones on Pinterest (yes, I joined- today- and yes, it has the potential to be addictive) and now I want to make forts and sit in them and watch movies and read books all day long.

When was the last time you made a blanket fort? I hope it was more recently than your seventh birthday!

Butterick 5353

2011-09-17T15:03:00.000-05:00

I'm trying my hand at another dress pattern- this time one that's just a bit more structured. Last night my aunt and I went to Joann's and I picked up some brown cotton sateen to make Butterick B5353. I'll be cutting it out just as soon as it comes out of the dryer!

Top Blogs

2011-09-14T17:53:00.000-05:00

If you follow blogs with Google Reader, you can find out some interesting stats about which blogs you follow the most (just click on "Trends" in the sidebar). I'm subscribed to WAY more blogs than I should be, and I admit it- I don't read them all, especially as my crafting/sewing/fashion/eating/DIY/etc interests have changed since I started blogging.

Here's a few of the blogs I read the most in the last month:

Sewing

Fashion

Design/DIY/Other

What am I missing? Which blogs do you recommend?

Chicago & the Renegade Craft Fair

2011-09-12T08:00:00.004-05:00

My boyfriend and I are lucky enough to each live in a super-fun city- I'm in Madison, which is a large town pretending to be a big city, and he lives in Chicago which is, well, Chicago. We're both grad students, so usually we take it easy, avoiding pricey tourist traps and saving our money for occasional sushi dinners and bus tickets to see each other.

Last weekend was a spontaneous adventure in Chicago for us- I unexpectedly got tickets to see Allison Krauss at the Chicago Theater, and it just happened to be the weekend of the Renegade Craft Fair in Wicker Park! I didn't buy anything, but I did grab a ton of business cards, and tried to take as many pictures as I could despite the huge crowd.

Adorable plushes by The Wind & The Sail

Steffbomb's awesome life-size plush banjo seemed all too appropriate after seeing Allison Krauss & Union Station the night before.

I love cute paper crafts and stationary and Circle Street had a super adorable tent. Plus, creator Lindy Adams is from Appleton, Wisconsin, just a couple miles from my own hometown.

These Sweater Toys are a perfect upcycled project

Geoff was a terribly good sport for taking me to a craft fair, but there were some cool crafts for guys there, too. We found wooden watches by Mistura Timepieces, and wooden ties by Wood Thumb.

We had a whirlwind short weekend, also stumbling upon the Lakeview Art Fair (where we bought nothing except a big pretzel for me), eating ice cream at Just Indulge, and burgers and giant salads at J. Wellingtons, and taking advantage of this less-busy part of the semester- it will be harder to be spontaneous later.

Have you been to the Renegade Craft Fair? Favorite seller? If not, favorite Etsy shop?

Spray Paint Transformations

2011-09-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

I always forget that one of the easiest ways to transform something is just to paint it.

Well, and add some little brass feet- making a cheese grater into a clever earring holder.

via Curbly

I might need to do this to my plain old boring fan and turn it red. Or maybe that teal up above? I'll let you know.

via Starr Family Blog

What spray paint transformations or simple projects have you done?