Make it Snappy

First, the eww:

Last week, I was trying to throw together one of my healthy meals in minutes when I made a horrible discovery: bugs in the pantry. At first I thought that maybe it was limited to the tiny little strange bug on the box of chicken broth (which I was so happy and proud to be using, seeing as how it had been hanging out in said pantry for months and I actually was using it for something other than soup so as to prevent it from possibly passing its prime before soup season), but no. No no no. We’re talking dry good infestation.

Packing up the car and moving seemed like a reasonable solution in that moment. My (rational) husband disagreed.

Now for the ahh:

Well, time to make some lemonade. I stripped the pantry, washed it down with Dr. Bronner’s soap, sprayed it with bleach, and started over. Believe me, if I could’ve tented and fumigated the area without fear of one or more of us (born and unborn alike) sprouting a third ear, I’d have done it. For a woman so casual about housekeeping, I tend to go waaaay overboard in these situations. Anyway, new shelf liners, new food, and a whole new cabinet arrangement was definitely in order. All dry ingredients and such will now be kept in sealed containers going forward. I really wanted to do this all along - set up my cupboards with nice canisters instead of ziploc bags or the original cardboard boxes - but it seemed a little frivolous when we moved in. But now I have the perfect excuse! And a plan (which always beats trying to organize on the fly, not my strong suit anyway)! I didn’t want to have to clean out the pantry by throwing half of the contents away, but it is nice to have a fresh start.

Oh but it pained me to throw out perfectly good stuff. All of my Martha Stewart food packaging kits that I picked up on clearance? Gone. Food that had not yet expired, but was in a paper box? Yep, gone. Painful! It took me two days to do the clean out, because I kept holding back, saying, “I bet this is ok, though”. . . and then I’d open the top and find out it was not at all ok. That’s when I pulled out the big bags and got down to business.

Another eww (but much less so):

A couple of weeks ago, I pitched in on a project which required working with double-knit fabric. Not something I’d enjoy doing again in the near future. In case you haven’t had the pleasure, I’ll just let you know: it’s a bear to work with!

Turns out that I’m a bit of a fabric snob. Or maybe by a bit I mean totally. It’s hard to say.

I know this because having this little number next to my machine made me ridiculously happy:

Ahh....

I don’t know. This year’s adventure selection and I are not getting on very well. And I was pretty excited at the outset when I flipped through it, and really liked the first attempted project. Then came the apron, which I knew would look hideous on me in my current condition (and, let’s face it, most likely under normal circumstances), and then the wrap skirt, which…well, pretty much the same as the apron. (As for the pintucked table runner, that one I thought I’d try. Unfortunately, my creativity completely dried up, and I was too cheap to buy new fabric when I had all this surrounding me. See? Still not blaming the book, which cannot be all things to all people all of the time.)

This month, though, oho! A choose-your-own month? Surely I could get back into the swing of things! After scanning the project choices, I remembered that I had really been looking forward to trying out the fabric boxes. It also fit in nicely with the whole Christmas in July thing that’s been swimming around in my head, and I felt pretty confident that I could finish it up early, which was key since I’ve been such a sucky participant this year.

It’s done, yes, but I don’t love it half as much as I did the ones in the picture.

For starters? The ones in the book weren’t quite so round and puffy looking. So here’s the lowdown: I did make one modification, which was to use double-sided fusible interfacing instead of single-sided. It was all they had at the store, and please don’t think I’m going to more than one store in search of blasted interfacing. So, I also lined the inside of the box,which I like better looks-wise, but I’m not sure how it affects the shape of the box in the end. Also, please tell me how I’m supposed to cut eight 5 x 5 squares from a 5 x 35 strip of fabric. Anyone? Yeah, I puzzled over that for a while, doubting that I even had a grasp of basic math skills, before deciding that this was a printing error. And a frustrating one, because it meant that the yard of interfacing I’d purchased couldn’t be cut into lengthwise strips, but rather two on the width. Great. Moving right along to the lid: If you squash a lid onto a box which is the exact same size, it’s going to buckle the sides of the box. Which looks terrible. Since I was already totally invested in turning out the coolest fabric box ever, I went ahead and cut another one half an inch smaller and sewed it together. Great idea, except I actually ended up cutting it the exact same size as the first one. Seriously. I should’ve stopped there, but no-I went ahead and just adjusted the seam allowance another quarter inch. Huzzah! And the lid does now fit . . . but the box looks more like a flat mushroom. And so it goes, because I’m done.

Can you tell how bummed I am about this project? I totally had visions of packing up a pretty little glass ornament in each one for gifts this year, but it’s not looking good at this point. Anyone have any interfacing advice? The one I used was Pellon 72 (I’m pretty sure), which was the only stiff fusible I could find. Normally I use the sew in, but that didn’t seem like a good choice for this project.

This book is going back on the shelf until further notice. Judging by the number of successful adventurers out there, it’s probably safe to give the old “it’s not you, it’s me” speech, but I’m too annoyed to believe that today. It’s you, Book! It’s totally you!

Yes, we have been enjoying a Birthday Bonanza around here the past few days in honor of The Boy’s third year. In lieu of a traditional party, we decided to have some Family Fun Days this year. (I just was not feeling like hosting a party this year. My hope is to hold out from this point on until he starts campaigning for one, which will probably be, well, next year.) We had so much fun! Saturday, we took him to his first movie, and that was a success. Well, a semi-success: He thought it was “great!”, but doesn’t want to go again. Hey, that’s okay, too. Then, yesterday, Daddy took him to Chuck E. Cheese’s for some game-playing, but that’s not all. No, no indeed. He also swung by the HEB to pick up, to quote the kid, “special sweet drinks”; that’s all he talked about the rest of the afternoon. Poor Daddy. Had he but known that he could’ve saved two hours and ten dollars worth of tokens….

Today, we wrapped it all up with cupcakes and presents and more cake and more presents. A good time was had by all.

Here’s Joey enjoying his present:

I can’t believe what a big boy he’s become all of a sudden. Oh, and if you have any doubt about it, he will be quick to let you know that he’s big, not a baby. Got it, Chief. So far, almost-three has been filled with challenges, and I have a feeling those aren’t going to let up anytime soon, but it’s also been pretty great. He’s just so curious and says all kinds of crazy things; it’s a real treat to be his mama. 

Now if I could just get his big boy room ready, we could get the transition to a new bed underway. I’m looking forward to starting that, simply so that I can get it over with. I dread these kind of changes. I am, however, really excited to get another shot at decorating a room for him. The one he’s in right now is adequate at best, but not a lot of fun. Hopefully, I’ll do a better job this time around. Mama’s trying, Boy!

I’m not sure I’ve ever managed two posts in one day, but we had a winner of a dinner tonight and I wanted to share. Actually, it was Kevin that said tonight’s was a Snappy-worthy meal which deserved documentation. High praise, indeed!

So, I was having sort of a pantry challenge this morning, since I was desparately trying to put off a trip to the grocery store for one more day, at least. and decided we’d be grilling up some chicken on the barbecue tonight. I marinated it for about 10 minutes, while the grill was heating up, in some leftover balsamic vinaigrette (Paul Newman’s Own - quite delish) that’s been languishing in the fridge. The basil has been pretty productive, so I whipped up a quick pesto by grinding up a cup or two of the leaves with a clove of garlic, a few tablespoons of olive oil, some parmesan, salt and pepper, and a small handfull of pine nuts. Oh, how I love my mini-chopper! Anyway, that was later stirred into some couscous, which I’d cooked up in the leftover chicken stock that was about to expire in the fridge. Managed to pull the chicken off of the grill before it was completely charred, and then topped it with a sauce I threw together using the last scoop of plain Greek yogurt and some crumbled feta cheese. If I do say so myself, yum! And talk about quick. Quite possibly the best part, though? Using up the remainders or putting a considerable dent in groceries destined for the trash (because you know trashing food makes me feel like such a failure.) That, and not having to go to the store and still coming out with something didn’t completely reek of having been thrown together so I wouldn’t have to go to the store. This house is no stranger to that kind of meal, mind you, but this wasn’t one of them. Hooray!

OK, first of all, as I’ve mentioned here before, I’m all for conservation. The whole reduce-reuse-recycling motto? Wonderful! Of course we should be doing all of those things! Why wouldn’t we, really? Why in the world are we wasting stuff and filling up landfills just for the sake of it? But. I have to admit that my eyes are starting to glaze over whenever I hear about all the “green” this and “green” that. The term is so overused that it’s getting on my nerves. That having been said, I’m a sucker for any list of “go green!” tips, and that goes for the books filled with ‘em, too. And if they’re touted as being simple and painless? Oh, you are definitely speaking my language. Sun Chips had a pull-out insert in a magazine that I’d, well, pulled out and saved and now I can’t find it. All that I can remember is that some of them were so ridiculously simple that it made me feel silly for being able to check them off with a little pat to myself on the back. ”We’re not totally frivolous - good for us!” Not that I don’t appreciate the encouragement; it’s nice to feel like you don’t have to completely overhaul your life in order to be on the right path. Of course, the only one that comes to mind is the one that I chose to take completely out of context, just to make myself laugh: Plan a green wedding. Know what? I can do that! Sure, I’m already married and it would be completely irrelevant, but I’ll plan, plan away.

I also have read The Green Book and Gorgeously Green within the last couple of months. The first one started out with a lot of very applicable and simple suggestions, but I remember feeling a little freaked out by the end. I can’t even put my finger on why. I think it’s just too overwhelming. It’s almost as if everything we consider common and everyday is poisonous and must be banished immediately. And not like I think these suggestions are meant to be read as a blueprint (”You must put each one of these ideas into practice immediately or you personally will be responsible for destroying every bit of land and sea, not to mention killing your family. You, Megan! And no, it wasn’t the benzene and mercury common to the workplace of the 70s that poisoned your father. You served him food from a plastic container, didn’t you? And didn’t those sweet potatoes in your ’souffle’ come from a BPA-lined can?!”), but I start to hyperventilate a tiny bit anyway. The second book also had a lot of advice which was pretty light in tone and I can see working a good deal of it into practice. Still, there are always items on these lists which directly conflict with suggestions on others. For example: Never put plastic bags in curbside recycling bins. What?! Then why did our recycling company specifically tell us it was ok? Why?! This is the kind of stuff that messes me up. However, this book also includes possibly the best tip ever for something you and I can do to better our world, and I don’t mind telling you that I plan on putting it into practice right away and you should, too. Really, Friends—let’s pull together here:

Don’t support dancing bears.

(I kid you not.)

Know what? Done and done. Though it may pain us, no longer shall our vacations revolve around traveling from town to town seeking out dancing bear shows. This is my promise to you.

My other promise to you? I, unlike the local news, will not open every discussion with the breaking bulletin that the price of gas is high. I’m sorry if this will leave you wondering, but I can’t bear to hear about it at 5:30 in the morning…and again at 5:30 p.m. Yep, it’s unreal. Got it. Actually, it was unreal a month ago. Now it’s all too real, but it’s no longer something I can consider “news”. If the price falls below $3.50 again? That’s news. [Painful, painful news, because who would've thought that would be considered a bargain? Ugh.]

I mean, first I’m bouncing-off-the-walls-excited about a pajama bag, and now…a car trash bag?

Um, yeah!  Very excited, in fact, when I came across this tutorial, more than one could ever imagine. First of all, I am one of those people (sorry, Finny) that has been driving around in a vehicle completely lacking in any sort of waste management system. I’d like to point out that there aren’t any cigarette cartons or even food wrappers and that kind of thing floating around the car, but there are straw wrappers. And sometimes empty drink containers. Oh, and please let’s not forget the number one offender: junk mail. So I’ve been meaning to bring a box or something into the car to corral it all, but that idea wasn’t quite doing it for me. A bag that can be made from scrap fabric (or prized remnants, as I like to call them)? Which, on top of that, looks really easy to make, and only takes one notion? And includes an extra pocket for my favorite passenger’s small toys? Yes, please!

I’m not going to lie: this project almost shot its way to the top of the list, but I needed to go buy the clip. That’s how obsessed I became with cranking this baby out. And it is easy! The absolute most time-consuming part was threading the strap through the clip, and that’s probably due to the fact that the fabric I used is a funky stretchy bottomweight instead of regular cotton. Even with that, and the cutting and pressing and everything, it probably didn’t take an hour. Love it love it love it. Now to move it to the car.

I don’t even feel crazy talking to y’all about the thrill of sewing a trash bag for my car. That’s the beauty of the internet, isn’t it? It’s proof that there’s at least one person out there with similar “deep thoughts” floating around in their head. Need further proof, Mikey (and Bev, for that matter)? Take a gander at this. And please note that the topic is only a year old. 

I rest my case.

So June is rapidly coming to a close, much to my shock, and time was running out to finish my niece’s birthday gift. The one I originally had planned was not coming together in a timely enough fashion, which was totally frustrating. Then, lo and behold, the fabulous new Pimp Stitch posted this free pattern and another idea was born: a pajama bag to go with the pajamas I just happened to pick up last month in an attempt to get ahead (which is further proof that trying to get ahead still won’t prevent these last-minute sewing marathons). Eureka! This pattern was totally perfect for Christine, considering how many pictures there are of her, both asleep and awake, in festive headgear. I was ridiculously excited about this idea. Anyway, in typical fashion, I selected the colors for the embroidery and completed the whole thing before I even started looking for fabric. Because surely I’d be able to find something suitable in the overflowing stacks, right? Yeah, that only took the better part of two days. I must have gone through half a dozen combos before I put this one together. It was only after I pulled all of the fabrics and stacked them that I realized they were all part of the same Summer in the City collection. [The blue houndstooth print was used for the lining as well as the drawstring.] Funny how they all just “happened” to go together…. Oh, and as for the stripe? Well, that was still sitting in the envelope in which it was delivered two weeks ago, and I’d totally forgotten about it. But see? I did need it! Completely justifiable impulse buy. What? It was on clearance!

Here’s another shot of the bag, staged to demonstrate it’s fine functionability:

Because I’m so sure you needed to see how a drawstring pajama bag is supposed to be used and all. I told you I was excited about this project!

I feel like I mentioned this before, about the time that I was at a baby shower and my friend informed our other friend, the honoree, that she didn’t even look at her registry because she was going to just get her the stuff she really needed anyway. (I can’t find where I posted that, but I’m going to pick up that thread again here because it seems to fit.) And, since to my ears it sounded akin to saying, oh, something along the lines of “You’re an idiot and can’t be trusted to make a sensible choice” [except, from this particular friend, anyone who knows her wouldn't have taken offense. She is, after all the one that told me the straight truth about breastfeeding: "Nobody tells you how horrible it is for the first few weeks, but stick with it and it should get better", which turned out to be wise words indeed], it was a little bit of a shocking statement. But, once her gift was opened, I saw that we actually share the same sensibility; I guess I was just less in touch with the reasoning behind it. Her gift was almost identical to my standard package right after I had Joey: laundry detergent, a favorite baby wash, diapers, and a couple of other things. And it was extra lucky that I got that reminder, because I’d totally forgotten about my standard first baby gifts! The memory, she is not so good these days. Sorry, Brenda. Just be glad I didn’t stick you with the diaper bag I was making you, which ended up being nothing but a hot mess. Yeah, believe me, you’re welcome.

When it comes to wedding gifts, I usually try to pick up something from the registry and build the rest of the gift around it, but I’ve noticed that I’ve been trending more and more toward the utilitarian. This may be directly linked to the fact that I’ve been weeding out so many of our own things, including items we carefully selected in our own registry, and can’t stand to pile a bunch of this-will-probably-be-useless stuff on some other unsuspecting young dreamer. And that leads us to what we have here:

Possibly the most utilitarian grouping to date. Oh, come on, agree with me: What it lacks in excitement, it makes up for in usefulness, right? And the scrub brush and replacement heads there, which happens to be one of my most favorite kitchen tools, were on the registry. And the couple likes fiestaware, so I tried to coordinate the embellishment on the towels with that flavor, you know, to add the personal touch. And am I the only one that blazes through dishtowels? When we got married, we got two packages of four and I thought that was great, because I’d be able to keep one aside for when the others wore out. Instead, I’ve been wearing them all threadbare at a steady clip. You can’t have too many. Anyway, I also tucked some dish soap and microfiber cleaning cloths into the sturdy little bowl, which could be used on the table, sure, but I included it as a garbage bowl. Hey, that’s one tip that I picked up from Rachael Ray that is a definite keeper: Always have a garbage bowl nearby when you’re cooking. I wish I didn’t have to be told to do something as simple as that, but there you go – I did, and now I feel terribly efficient every time I use it.

I only hope that the recipients weren’t completely underwhelmed when they opened it, but I wouldn’t blame them if they were. Still, I bet they’ll use it! Or they can take most of it back; nothing wrong with that either.

OK, so moving on, I have more projects going than you can shake a stick at right now. Tomorrow I hope to share the gift I made for my niece, because I love it! (Not to make too much of it, Liss, because it’s a small gift. But I love it!) We are still on semi-lockdown due to the training exercises the boy is currently undergoing, which is still sapping my strength, but I’m doing my best to overcome it. Kev ended up being out on the road for most of the week, which made it seem like a very long week indeed. On the upside, it did allow me to leave the laundry piles in the entryway overnight without guilt, and spread my sewing all over the living room and bed without disturbing anyone at all. Not to give you the idea that our normal living arrangement is all that different. It’s not, but I have to look for the silver lining where I can. Oh, and the boy and I sure can stretch a dinner. We’d rather have Daddy at the table, but if he could not be in attendance, well, at least I didn’t have to cook every night! See? That’s a nice sliver of silver lining right there.

My goal (and you’ll note I didn’t say promise) is not to turn this into a all pregnancy-all the time journal. It’s taking up a fair amount of my mental space right now, but still. By the same token, I’m going to now do you the favor of also trying not to turn this into the Potty-Training Monologue (unless you’re one of the lucky few that were foolish enough to actually call over here and ask me about how it was going, in which case you got the director’s cut of the day’s events), because, well, there’s no reason for all of us to have to live the magic. I’ll give you a brief synopsis, though: A more boring yet exhausting day I cannot imagine.

Four continuous hours of undie checks and trooping off to the bathroom to actually watch to see if the poor boy can handle his own business “like a big boy!” is a long long…long time. And I have to tell you, as those in my sisterhood already know, I can’t stand the whole jargon you have to use with this training, including but not limited to the word “potty”. Oh, you can take your pick with the lingo: clinical, cutesy, whatever— I hate it all. I considered using the few Italian-Americanisms that I know*, but realized that this would be a completely ridiculous thing to hang on my poor unsuspecting little Texan and anyone else he might have to deal with outside of our little bubble. So, personally, I find it all a little humiliating. But whatever. Those are my hangups.

Oh, and did I mention that yesterday actually went really well? Yeah, you probably wouldn’t have picked up on that by my less than glowing description, but it did! Fingers crossed for today. [Edited to add: OK, I wrote that yesterday morning. The afternoon was not what I would term a success, but whatever. I'm still here, aren't I?]

I try to yank myself out of my stupor long enough to actually accomplish something during naptime. It hasn’t been working all that well, but I do have a couple of new crafty projects in the hopper that I hope to be able to share soon. As usual, I started on stuff that I don’t need to finish until the end of the summer, and then realized mid-week that I have a wedding reception to attend on Sunday, and that gift is merely in the vague idea stage. And, of course, there are other things that I would rather do RIGHT THIS MINUTE which don’t have a deadline at all. Such is life.

*Conveniently, most of the Italian I know consists of words only appropriate for use in a bathroom, or in an angry argument, or just generally the rudest possible way to say “nothing” or “pest” (such as a little flea). My people were angry elves.

I’ve only been keeping the “this is stuff I’m saving for our garage sale” containers out in the (yes) garage for about a year. Two weeks ago, we decided that we would, in fact, finally hold this fabled event. Mostly we wanted to clear out the garage, which was starting to shrink, and maybe make a buck or two. Of course, by last Thursday, just hauling it all off to the Goodwill storefront was sounding better and better, but we went ahead with it anyway.

Let’s face it: we’ve only been in this house for three years. There hasn’t been enough time to build up a bunch of collectibles and furniture that’s ready to be turned out for mere pennies. And mere pennies are all you’re getting at the ol’ g. sale, I’m just saying. I mean, we made a little over eighty bucks in a couple of hours, which is not bad for a morning’s work (which is to say: more than I’ve ever made at a garage sale, so I was thrilled!), but not the haul that some sellers boast. Here’s a few things to keep in mind when you’re out there peddling your wares, or maybe even when you’re picking over some other poor sap’s discarded treasures:

1. When someone tells you about the hundreds of dollars they raked in, really, get to the bottom of what they were selling. Odds are there were a number of substantial items involved. Or absolutely enormous mounds of smaller things (and good for them for emptying out that much of their treasured hoard!), or possibly a car was in the mix.
2. Try to forget how much you love some of the stuff you’re putting out there for $1.00. Your beautifully maintained books, for example. I had a huge trunk filled with them, about half hardbound cookbooks – and good ones, too! – and the rest a mix of paperbacks. My husband wisely talked me out of separating them and marking the hardbacks $2.00, which I considered to still be a steal, my theory being that this is about one-fourth of the price you’d pay at the used book store. Logical, right? Um, apparently not: one woman very gently informed me that most people sell paperbacks for a quarter and hardback books for fifty cents. I wanted to scream “Well, most people are idiots!” and drag my preciouses back into the house, until I remembered that this would make me the idiot, and then proceeded to cut her a deal. She was taking a stack of 33, after all. But this brings me to my next point:
3. If there are things you’d rather give away then let someone have for a dime, do so. Clearly, this doesn’t make sense to a rational person, but that’s something I’ve never claimed to be. You’ll save yourself the outrage and aggravation, at least.
4. That having been said, just price it to sell, already. Yes, a lot of shoppers are going to try to barter no matter what you’re asking, but still, I find it a waste of time to build too much wiggle room into the sticker prices. Besides, a good half of our customers paid sticker price with no questions asked (have I mentioned that most of it was marked at a dollar?), and I’m not sure they would have if the price had been jacked up. 
5. Oh yes, and it’s much easier to decide on a single price and group stuff together with a sign, like “Children’s Clothes: $1.00 per piece”, than trying to assign value to every.little.thing. For one thing, I think this at least cut some of the hagglers off at the pass (but not all of them, and hey, it’s all part of the fun, I guess) and saved tons of prep time. And that is key:
6. If you sink too much time and money into this thing, you’re cutting into your wee profit margin. No!! Personally, I find it very hard to banish the thoughts of “Jeepers, how much did I pay for this stuff in the first place? And did I just sell it for fifty cents?!” or “Did I just stand out here burning to a crisp in the stifling heat for the last half hour…for fifty cents?!” when I also know that I stayed up until midnight lovingly pricing and arranging said stuff, paid three bucks for special stickers, and another five on signage. Here’s what we did this time, and I highly recommend it: Do virtually nothing. Use the pre-printed garage sale stickers that have been hanging out in the junk drawer for, oh, two years to mark the pile o’ stuff that can’t be grouped together, print off price signs as described back in point #5 for the rest, and away you go. We picked up some change from the bank the previous day, and made a sign using an old piece of foam coreboard taped to a paint-stirring stick the morning of. This fabulous advertising method doesn’t sound very effective, but it will work if…wait for it…you’re fortunate enough to have a neighbor two doors down holding a yard sale on the same morning! A neighbor together enough to post signs all over the subdivision! Huzzah! [Not that this was part of our careful plan, but you can incorporate it into yours if you're savvy enough. We were just plain lucky.]
7. If you have kids, and someone off-campus is taking care of said kids during said sale, it’s almost like a date. Sounds a little pathetic, sure, but we had a pretty good time drinking our coffee and talking during the downtimes.
8. Finally, when you’ve had enough and are ready to pack it in, do pack up whatever’s left and immediately haul it off to the charity of your choice. Don’t save it for next time. Don’t bring it back in the house because it’s still perfectly good and you be you can find a use for it/might read it again/may want to bake up little flower-shaped cakes someday. Let it go. It’s over.

So, again, it was totally worth our while and I’m really glad we went ahead and did it. According to my husband, looking around at the packed state of some of the corners of our house, we should have one of these every few months. Naturally, I disagree. We shall see.