Restyle: Floppy straw hat

When we cleaned out our office building, I found this straw hat. In all likelihood it would have ended up on the dump if I hadn´t rescued it in the 12th hour... That sounds little dramatic perhaps, just like the drama of this huge floppy hat! I think it will be perfect for the summer, on the beach or in the park, providing some shade for my fair skin. The rose ribbon was the only problem. An easy fix, as all I had to do was to rip it off and attach a new one.

I used a glue gun to attach the new black ribbon, and secured it with a few stitches here and there around the hat, just like they had done with the old ribbon. Now the hat looks a lot more classy, and I am ready for some hot summer days.

And my hat box was almost used for its intended purpose, it is just slightly too small. 

Do you yoga?

I have never liked to exercise. In school, gym was my least favorite subjects of all, and I never joined any sports related activities as a child. When I was around 12, and all my girlfriends played handball (yes, handball), I tried it twice, but didn´t like it, and never came back.

The only time in my life I have exercised on my own initiative was when I was a student in Oslo for a year (back in 2003-04, so incredibly long ago). Students got a super cheap gym deal, and I would swim in the pool before classes.

I do enjoy hikes in the forest, but without my own car it is a lot harder to get out and actually do it. But then I met Erin Motz. A couple of months ago I decided I really needed to start some kind of work out. I knew my body and soul would benefit a lot, but I wasn´t sure what could motivate me. A gym membership here is too much for me to afford right now, so I bought a yoga mat. 

Then I somehow stumbled upon Do you yoga and their 30 day yoga challenge.  I have tried a little pilates but didn´t know if I would like yoga. Well, it´s been 23 days with yoga now, and I look forward to it every day! That is a small revolution in my life... I think I like it a lot because the instructor makes it so easy to follow, even for complete beginners, and with no pressure to do the crazy poses.

There are only 7 days left of the challenge, but I might just do it all over again when I am done :)

Would you try yoga?

Oh, and I broke my stopshop goal with buying a new yoga outfit. Partly because I needed it, and partly for the motivational aspect of fun colored stretchy fabric. You can judge me if you´d like. 

More gratitude in 2014

I finished my year of living simply/stop shop (shop stop? stopshop?). In October I wrote an evaluation, and two months later I don´t have much to add to that. It hasn´t been that hard really. My closet is still full of clothes: while packing for my Christmas break I filled a large suitcase with things I thought I would need for the next week. Not only did I bring way too much, you could hardly notice a difference in the closet after packing. That was the moment I decided to continue this project.

Over Christmas, my sister decided to join the project, so I have someone to support, and confide in. The main area for improvement is my gift giving. It might have been easier for me to buy gifts for others this past year, without considering any of the limitations I put on myself. I will start off well this year though, with a knitted scarf for my sister in law´s birthday in a few weeks.

2014: A new year to read books from my shelves, wear all my dresses and be crafty.

New rules for 2014:

- I will by no new clothes, shoes, accessories, books, things, etc from 1st of January 2014 till 1st of July 2014 unless it is directly related to the wedding.
- I can buy yarn/fabric to knit and sew/redesign clothes, and buy used clothes/things. I will try to borrow or buy used/vintage for some of the wedding stuff as well.
- Items that are worn out or broken can be replaced if truly necessary (kitchen appliances, umbrella and other needed things).
- When giving gifts I will consider the rules above, but I will receive any gift given me. (Like the three pairs of rain boots I got for Christmas. Don´t worry, I only kept one.)

Stop shop: A White Dress

When I started my Live Simply project I had a hunch I would be engaged before the year was over, and in my mind, there was allowance for a white dress on my exceptions list. (Obviously I didnt share that with the rest of the world.)

To keep in with my project, I looked at vintage dresses, but trying them on can be very tricky when they are on the other side of the country (or planet!). I do think it can be a great alternative, and there are several small shops on Etsy that specialize in vintage wedding dresses. If you live in a big city, this might be a lot easier.

One evening, after a few to many episodes of "Say yes to the dress", I found this video where a girl goes out to find why wedding dresses are so expensive:


I am not sure if I agree with her. Perhaps the dresses are worth their price, considering the fabric, labor, advertisement and so on. The questions is rather if the price of a wedding dress is worth it to me.

Another issue is that most wedding dresses, with layers of tulle and ball gown silhouettes, seems designed to make girls feel and look like a princess. And while I guess it is okay to be a princess for your wedding day, after trying on a lot of these dresses, I realized I didn´t like to wear them. They were heavy, stiff and not very much like me.

Personally I do not feel comfortable spending a huge amount on a dress that will definitely only be worn for one day. That might be the reason I ended up buying a white dress from a small non-bridal store in Tallinn, because it was comfortable, pretty and had a decent price. They didn´t have my size though, so now I am reading tutorials on "How to sew lace", and blogs by brides who made their own wedding dresses. At least there will be one major DIY project for this wedding!

Our Christmas Tree!

I thank the strong winds and friends for this Charlie Brown-looking tree. One windy evening it blew into my friend as she was walking, and she thought of us and saved it. How kind is that? There is also another branch that might become a wreath. Decorated with thrifted lights, hearts gifted from friends, and and some red ribbon tied into bows, we are very very happy in this household. It really smells like Christmas now.

If you are interested in more Christmas decor for small spaces, check out this post from Apartment Therapy.

A genius idea for stamping words.

And more Christmas posts from years past.

Living Simply in 2014

It is already December, and when I consider my project it seems silly to stop at the end of the month. Why not continue? I am however considering changing my rules a bit.

One obvious obstacle for no shopping is the wedding. I will try to use local, used or handmade, but that is not possible for everything. I have decided to not be so strict with everything that falls into the wedding category, but my budget automatically limits me in the spending department. This way I have to prioritize and source fun alternatives. Trust me, there are hundreds of wedding things you can buy, like soap bubble bottles shaped like cakes, flip flops that leave "just married" foot prints, and monogrammed anything!

For everything else shopping related, I am considering to only shop used/vintage, which means no new books or stuff at all! I can miss the shopping, and doing a lot of wedding research online can be a temptation for the things I don´t need. This needs a little more thought before I decide, but I will be back with details at the end of the month.

DIY Christmas gifts

After writing about alternative Christmas gift, I got a lot of response. By request, I am sharing some of the ideas with you :)

- Herb salt. This sounds super-easy!

- Knitted socks. A little more time consuming perhaps...

- Home made vanilla sugar. Recipe here.

- Candy/chocolate. Who wouldn´t be excited to receive delicious treats? 

- Personal cards. No generic greetings here! 

- Give to charity on behalf of someone. Give a water tank to Vietnam, or jet fuel to MAFs planes.

And here are some easy DIY projects I have done in the past: 

- Mittens from felted wool. Use a sweater you accidentally shrunk, or buy 2nd hand ones and felt them in the washing machine.

- Pillow case from an old sweater

- Luggage tags

Or perhaps you prefer something edible?

- Chocolate chili truffles

- Chocolate caramel cookies

I hope this got you thinking, and perhaps you can use some of these ideas yourself. What is your favorite? 

Stop shop: What about Christmas gifts?

Reading Irina Lee´s book "Shoppingfri" got me thinking about my plans for Christmas presents this year. Irina and four of her friends had a year of complete stop shop, which gave them very clear boundaries for gift shopping as well. My project is slightly different from theirs (read my rules here), and so far this year, I have given clothes and things to several people for birthdays and other occasions. But to stay true to the spirit of my project, perhaps I should consider other gifts for the upcoming season.

I am not a stranger to making gifts, this includes sewing, knitting, baking and more. I also prefer to give people something they would enjoy and like and are useful as well, and those things can't always be made, at least not by me. 

Do you have any good ideas? Or do you have any gift wishes that could serve as inspiration? At the moment I have no clue ...

PS. Gift wrap idea by Jeanne and the Moon.

A longing fulfilled is a tree of life

Many many moons ago I joined a book club, and when I convinced my friend to join as well, I got a cooking kit from said book club as a thank you gift. I still use the pots and pans, and they work fine. This must be at least 9 years ago, since I remember unpacking and using these things in my apartment in Oslo as a student from 2004-2005. There was also a hand blander in this kit (or perhaps it was from the baking kit from the same book club? I cant remember.)

While cleaning my cupboards earlier this year, I got rid of this mixer. The blades were dull and I never used the handheld whisk since I had another (better) one for that purpose. Since I had an ordinary blender I thought I would be fine. That was until the end of May, when my cheap 4,5 year old blender suddenly died in the middle of making a smoothie...

Fast forward 5 months, and imagine my excitement when unwrapping a brand new Braun hand blender at my birthday party! It is such a joy to have friends who know me well and give good gifts. It also a greater pleasure to receive something I have been wanting for a long time. If you haven´t made a wish list yet, I warmly recommend it.


Illustration of Proverbs 13:12 by artist Kyle Steed.

Live simply: How much does a girl really need?

Almost 10 months into my Live Simply project, it might be time to evaluate and look at my goals:

- Be more conscious of my spending and save money
I spend less money on clothes, but without having the full overview, I might be spending more on things like good food and fresh flowers. None the less, I have money saved in the bank. With a wedding coming up, there is an even bigger incentive to keep up with this goal in 2014 as well. PS. I have bought tea only once.

- Deep cleaning
To some extent I have cleaned and purged, and I think I have gotten better at parting with things. For example, the other day I successfully threw out a whole bag of sewing/mending projects that honestly wouldn´t be worth the time it would take to get a mediocre result, and scraps of fabric too small to use for anything at all. This stuff have been taking up room for years, so it was time to let it go.

- Free time
All the cleaning and organizing has taken a lot of time actually, but it is nice to walk through the mall and not even consider stopping in a store!

- Contentment and use what I have

October wishlist

October is my birthday month, and inspired by one of the Stop Shop bloggers I am making a wish list. Christmas is right around the corner as well, and if I am very lucky, I might be the owner of one of these pretty/useful things:

- Yarn to knit this pretty sweater from Pickles. If only I could decide on a color... 

- A pretty letter in the mail.

- Low rubber boots. 

- A new book on food and cooking, for example this one by Ann Mah.

- Earrings for my bunad (Norwegian folk custome).

- Good coffee.

- Coffee pot for my Moccamaster. The one I have has mysteriously cracked.

- A Kelim or other rug for the living room/dining room.

- A blender

The Stop Shop Crisis

Keds, worn once, MIA.

New Minetonka moccasins.

My luggage has been missing for 11 days now, and I have to confess - I have been shopping. On my way back from Denver to Atlanta, AirTran (Yeah, I had never heard of them either. Not a good sign I guess...) failed to bring me my luggage. Fortunately, I had a hunch that it might happen, so I packed some extra clothes and my make-up in my carry-on. I guess I could have managed, doing laundry every other day, but I just wasn´t up for that, and I gave in. At least now I am thoroughly sick of shopping.

What I bought:
1 pair of moccasins
1 pair of flip flops
2 t-shirts
1 tank top
1 long sleeved shirt
1 cardigan
1 pajama shorts
socks
underwear
a set of earrings
bobby pins
hair ties

I also got a few things second hand at Goodwill here in Augusta:
1 dress
1 shirt
1 skirt

Outlet malls in Gatlinburg gave me good deals at least, and my insurance company has been very helpful, but I still would really like to get my stuff back. If I only could a few tiny little things back, I wouldn´t care about the rest. I know that´s not how it works, and I have learned my lesson of never checking something I would hate to part with, including my cell phone charger. And my camera charger/chords, which is the reason for only instagram photos on here.

A great temptation ahead

  


In a couple of days I am off to America for the summer. And though I am very excited, I believe this will be the greatest test for my stop shop/live simply goals for the year.

I still haven´t bought any new clothes, shoes or accessories for myself in 2013, but it is hard to keep the "one item in, one out" rule for other things... I went to a thrift shop last week, and couldn´t resist some summery yellow glasses. I justified it by thinking I will need more glasses when my new roommate moves in this fall, and consequently didnt get rid of any of the ones I have. During the year I have got rid of various other items, books I have read and other things, so all in all, I am pretty sure I am in balance.

But being in a travel mode, surrounded by cheap shoes, pretty summer dresses and fun stores we dont have in Norway, I dont know how I will manage.

So, when evaluating my closet, I have given myself a couple of exceptions from my regime:
- A new bikini. 
The one I have is several years old, and since I will be in hot weather for 5 weeks, I dont even know if I can manage with just one swimsuit!
- New underwear
I stocked up on socks in December, but not on underwear. I should have.
- A pair of summer shoes (maybe)
I have two pair of canvas shoes, and both have holes in them. In addition, I have a couple of ballerina flats, but with paper thin soles, those are not good for walking. Can I get a new pair then? What do you think?

In addition, I can shop 2nd hand clothes, and other things like books, paper goods and more!

PS. The second picture is self-grown spinach! I am already enjoying the fruit of my gardening labor :)

Dark, brown soil. Bright, yellow flowers.

This spring I am trying again to make a garden. Last years attempts failed miserably, and I blame it on the scaffolding that stole all the sunlight. Not a bad excuse actually.

Now I have tiny little sprouts of basil and cilantro stretching for the light, I bought my first "verandakasse" (hanging flower box for the balcony) and enjoy the sight of my little outdoor room now that it is finally coming together. All in all, I am starting to like this whole plant and garden hobby, and I hope I can develop greener thumbs as I go.

On a stop shop note, the balcony is not included in that project, even though the rules say nothing about it. I had plans of decorating it this spring, and this is the first time I can really start using it since I moved in two years ago. I have plans to get pillows to sit on, and perhaps some lights as well.

Stop shop update

Two and a half months into my stop shop project, and it is time for a real update.

It is still easy to not buy new clothes, but I have acquired a few things in other ways: a pair of jeans handed down from my sister, some earrings my mom found in her jewelry box, and a second hand sweater. I ask myself the question: are these gifts or not? And in borderline cases I will still try to practice my "one item in, one out" rule.

The jeans from my sister was easy, I just replaced them with an old washed out out pair in the same color, even from the same store! The sweater is more of a head sore, and I have a hard time choosing which one to part with now. Perhaps this is the bigger struggle for me, actually parting with some of my things. I think I just like them too much sometimes.

There hasn´t been too much time for DIYs and projects yet, but perhaps now that spring is knocking on my door. One of the sewing projects I hope to finish this year is a top in the vintage pattern above. The half finished 70s tunic has been waiting for way too long, and I want to wear it soon. Maybe this spring?

PS. For updates from my Latvia outreach, check YWAM Skiens blog.