New Year Revamp!

January is great for getting the creative juices flowing - at this time of year I always find myself figuring out new ways to use old things, since the credit card bills are usually sky-high and retail therapy is out of the question!

I made a quilt for my brother's wedding waaaay back when and was so in love with the materials that I was hording a stash of leftovers. Bits and pieces have made it into a variety of presents over the years, but I finally got to make something for myself out of them! Behold, new cushion covers! The invisible zippers were a bit of a pain, but after about 4 YouTube videos, I had 'em figured out...



Years ago (like 2002?) an ex-boyfriend bought me this beautiful, and horrifically expensive, DKNY leather jacket. In the past 9 years, I think I've worn it a few dozen times. But each time, I couldn't get past the feeling that I was in 'The Matrix', concealing an automatic weapon! So, a revamp was in order.




Originally I was planning to cut it just below the pockets and have it mid-thigh, but my friend Michelle pointed out that it would be much cuter if I just removed the skirt portion altogether. She was right! This is totally wearable and cute, and although the reseaming I had to do nearly broke my poor Bernina, I'm pretty happy with the result!




And now I have this to play with... any ideas? I was in the Net Loft at Granville Island this afternoon and got some cute purse and belt ideas - maybe a foldover smallish purse (to minimize needed stitching) and a basic double-sided sash-style belt? Recommendations welcome!



Lastly, it was inevitable that some drywall dust would have to fly to make it a REAL new year! This entryway has been an eyesore since Day 1, both Jason and I have been griping about it forever. It's usually much, much messier than this, and you can barely open the front door with the wicked mess of puffy jackets on hooks...





Influenced by a recent SouleMama post and a surge of crazy-lady hormones, I somehow convinced my hubby that it had to be fixed NOW! And so a (loosely-budgeted) trip to Ikea and Rona, some drywall patching, some painting, some assembling, LOTS of vacuuming, et voila!




A drawer for keys, lots of room for shoes, and a row of hooks at kid-level to help distribute the puffy-jacket mess. Just need to add some baskets along the top shelf - I'm sure I can scrounge some up from around the house. The best part? Not only is the double rack wide enough to hold Jason's Blundstones, but the girls are actually enjoying putting away their shoes!

Economy Post

Five posts in one! Something for everyone!

Sorry - don't have enough for five separate posts, but still need some feedback...

1. Nighttime potty training, my nemesis. I thought that my crazy laundry days were over when I stopped cloth diapering for two, but I was wrong! For those of you that have kids that nighttime trained right away, I ENVY YOU!! Because this has not been the case for my twosome. We had a long streak (10 days?) of no wetting with my eldest, but now have had a complete reversal and I find myself stripping Carmen's bed EVERY MORNING. It's gotten to the point where I am getting her out of bed at the crack of dawn, putting her on the toilet while she is basically still asleep, and then popping her back in bed! Terrible. And it's only training ME, not her. Right now we have no drinks/food after 7, a pee before bed and then in bed by 8. They sleep right through 'til 8, and HEAVILY at that. We just bought a night-light, as she is in the top bunk, but she never wakes up. Suggestions? Anyone else with nearly-kindergarteners with the same problem?

2. Favorite non-homemade snack? My hubby needs snacks that he can stash in his school drawer for those looooong days. We make nearly everything from scratch, so please don't suggest that I make yet another thing! The snack needs to be nut-free, and somewhat non-perishable... I'm thinking granola-bar-like?

3. Very excited to make these Crash Hot Potatoes tonight, but with a twist. I think I'll boil the potatoes in a double boiler, and steam yams (in thick cross-sections) over top at the same time, then have a yam & a potato 'cookie' for each person at dinner. I think these will make great leftovers, and the girls will have a blast mashing, painting and sprinkling! I'll let you know how it goes...

4. I'm embarrassed to admit how much I spend on facial products (think Spa brands) and am looking for alternatives without building up a stash of unusable products! I hate that. So far I've replaced my cleanser with the London Drugs equivalent of Cetaphil. I also like Aveeno's Daily Scrub to exfoliate, but only every few days. I'm seeking a non-alcohol-based toner that is very gentle. Ideas? A moisturizer would be great too, but I'm a little hesitant to give up my wonderful moisturizer...

5. Epic fail on the weekend making these cotton shirts for the girls. I stole over a dozen from-the-70's patterns from my mom's stash over the holiday - score! I even remember having some of these clothes growing up...



I thought they would be so great with the skirt on the pattern (which I plan to make in the stripes & print with the double ruffle) as well as with the smocks I made them at Christmas. However, from the picture, you can see that they look like clowns in the picture with the smocks!



Poor clowns.

Oh well, at least they are clowns in love!



Hopefully they will look better with the skirts! And yes, I know I should stop dressing my children the same...

Meal Plan

One of my resolutions has been to break out of my normal meal plans. I love the consistency of food that I know everyone loves (or tolerates, in some cases) but am a bit bored - I do like me some variety! So I'm looking for a bit of inspiration from you, fellow FB'ers and bloggers... I'll show you mine, if you show me yours!

Here is my meal plan for this week:

S: Turkey Canelloni (from the Christmas freezer stash)
M: Roast Chicken a la Crock Pot with roasted Yams, Carrots, Potatoes & Mushrooms
T: Tortilla Soup - canned tomatoes/onion/garlic, last night's stock & leftover chicken, black beans, rice, avocado (splurge!), cheddar, cilantro, stale tortillas!
W: Prawn Pad Thai & spinach salad
T: Whole wheat Linguine with Buffalo Bolognese
F: Leftover PIZZA!
S: Wildcard - not sure yet!

What I look for? One crock pot meal, at least one meal of planned-overs, variety in my grains... I try for one seafood meal and one veggie meal a week. Always pizza on Friday to get rid of any deli meat left in the fridge!

What do your weekly meals look like?

No More Treats

Typically, our family is not a 'treat' family - the kids are expected to eat their dinner (or at least try everything) without reward of dessert for clearing their plate. However, with holiday events abound, the girls got into the habit of asking for treats for finishing their dinner, and with different people around to help facilitate the treat-giving... well, it's just gotten out of hand. It was cute the first few times, but now they are literally asking what they are going to get as a treat if they finish their meal, right as they are sitting down to dinner! Totally unacceptable.

So my family resolution is to introduce the concept of a 'chore board' - in fact, I'm sick of a bunch of other things too (like picking up My Little Ponies from every corner of the house 10x a day), and so I'm hoping to kill a few birds with this stone. I think the following 'tasks' are realistic for both girls, and have a range of things they both like and dislike:

Meals
Clean-ups
Baths
Making Beds
Special Helper - helping with cooking, cleaning, baking, walking the dog, etc.

Each time my girls accomplish one of these tasks, they get to put a marker on their board. At the end of the week, if they've got X markers (haven't decided how many yet), we're going to have a special outing... a Girl's Date at the new cafe around the corner? Going to the Aquarium? I dunno yet, but I just can't stomach bribing my kids with things or junkfood.

I actually constructed a glass wall calendar well over a year ago, and have received so many compliments on it that I decided to make a bunch for Christmas this year - I am posting these how-to's now that all of the recipients have them unwrapped! I decided to extend the idea to construct the chore board, since I find that most of the store-bought ones are kinda ugly, or paper, or make a mess, or are too rigid in the 'tasks', etc. Mostly, I'm picky! I wanted something customizable, so I can change the tasks to be more advanced as the kids get older. I also have a major hate-on for stickers, so having the kids use colourful washable inkpads and various cute stamps as markers is much more appealing to me!

The calendar I made is fully erasable on the front, and I use a non-toxic washable marker to write the dates, month, appts, etc. You could use one of those whiteboard markers, but they stink, are usually toxic, and I hate having that stuff on my fingers afterwards. I use indelible marker on the back of the glass to mark the calendar grid, the placeholders for the dates, and then placeholders for lists down the side - some examples, below - leaving room for a few clips for the Garbage/Recycling Schedule, coupons, etc:

Weekly Meal Plan
Shopping List (from the meal plan, and as things come up)
Highlights for the Next Month
Telephone Messages
Important Numbers (for the babysitter, etc)

The end result looks like this!





First, go to Ikea and buy one of these ($24.99):



I would recommend getting all the hardware installed on your wall before you start mucking around with the actual painting of the glass.

Then go and buy one of these indelible Oil fine-tip Sharpies ($3.99 at Opus). They are toxic and stinky, but I have yet to find an indelible marker that isn't! You only use it once, when you create the calendar template:



For the squares that you write the number on, some coloured inkpads with a 1" square stamp - pick to suit your wall colour and decor:



Set your glass up with the frosted side UP - putting it on an Olfa grid is a great way to keep your measurements consistent and your lines STRAIGHT! Before you start, figure out your plan - you could even trace your lines with pencil if you're feeling gunshy!



Use a straight edge. Work top to bottom and make sure your lines are dry before you move your straight edge over them! Remember if you want any writing, you have to do it backwards, so use a stencil or do some practice runs. I have a really hard time with backwards N's and S's! Try not to worry if your printing sucks, just get in touch with your inner typewriter. Have fun!

Our calendar is fundamental in the orchestration of our household. I'm hoping that the chore board will also help things run a bit more smoothly... anyone else have any advice or tips on how to make this work?