Reading lately...

I've been reading ... and already have another book post forming in my mind, so I'd better get this one off.

Have you heard of or read In the Presence of My Enemies? It was free on Kindle so I got it awhile ago and just read through it lately. It literally made my heart stop. (When it got going again, all I could do was cry! And not many books make me cry.)

After my experience in Haiti, the story of Gracia and Martin's kidnapping was a very vivid picture in my mind. (Kidnappings/unrest have been a fairly regular thing in Haiti.) The very powerful story of their struggles during the year in captivity were all presented in such a real way - these were just people who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Both struggled very deeply with bad feelings toward their captors (of course, who wouldn't!?) and it was such an amazing story of faith.

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*On the flip side of Haiti, reading  this beautiful post and "room for one more", here.

I've heard tons about The Happiness Project and decided to see what the buzz was all about for myself. I love Gretchen Rubin's easy-to-read, humorous writing style and she made some really great points in this book. Overall a quick, yet thought-provoking, read.

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Finally, another free Kindle book, The Rose Hotel. I'm not very familiar with Iranian culture, but the writing of this "true life novel" helped normalize Middle Eastern culture for me. It is a story of a girl and a tragedy in her family. It is a powerful story, yet no earth shattering endings. Another real life story from a different voice than I'm used to reading.

That's all for now! Share anything you've read lately and recommend in the comments - I'll see if I can pick it up!

estate sale finds

The day after the last snowstorm (last week - we've had another since!) I asked Jeremy to help dig out the car so I could go to an estate sale in town. I'm on an email list for a certain company and usually they are in the surrounding towns ... but this was was only a couple of miles away. Score!

I arrived about 10 minutes after it opened and what I wanted to find (skeleton keys) were gone in the first few minutes. Two lessons learned: 1) if you want something, get there when they open and 2) ask right away where something is located. I hunted around for about 20 minutes and then asked, but they were gone.

Oh well. In the meantime, I found ...

...this beautiful vintage suitcase!

It's not perfect (it's used, duh!) on the outside but inside is still in wonderful shape. One of the best I've seen! The elastic is still in tip-top shape, no rips, tears or fading. And (amazingly enough!) it has no musty smell - awesome!

A couple of vintage pieces for the shop:

They had a bunch more clothes but most were very, very stained. Something I have to watch out for when buying! Otherwise I might've gone crazy...

And some amazing metal letters with great chippy patinas... also for the shop!

Estate sale hunting is now the new thrifting! At least in my book. Last time they featured a 70% off and I got 30 baby clothing pieces for $9. Amazing. This was full price, but still worth it. Still less than thrift store pricing.

Find anything vintagely amazing lately!? Do share!

February's Loaf -- (Orange Cinnamon Swirl Bread)

For February's loaf it seemed appropriate to go sweet.

I had no problem with this.

How does Orange Cinnamon Swirl Bread sound? I'll take some thank-you-very-much!

The process was a lot like cinnamon rolls, except no cutting - and the result was not gooey rolls but a moist, delicious hot slice of orangey heaven! There was 3/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice and plenty of orange peel involved.

Taste perfection! I still am having odd issues with my oven - the bread is splitting on one side. I may just have to live with that, but I'd love to know why. Maybe one side of my oven is hotter than the other? Have any ideas bakers?

See past loaves here:

January's Loaf

** I'm not going to detail the recipes for sake of time (and my sanity with a 2year old!), but if you'd like a recipe just email me at lisamarie (dot) de (at) gmail (dot) com and I'll be happy to send you a copy.

Ash Wed - Lent begins!

You may've noticed less of me around these parts for the last 2 weeks and that will probably continue. I've been planning our church's Ash Wednesday service for a couple of weeks and between screaming two year old and no extra time, blogging has taken a back seat quickly.

I actually am giving up a majority of my time online for Lent so you also may not see me for another 6 weeks except here and there. I will have to be online some because of my business and some communication that has to take place online (I'm not going to be that strict about it) - but definitely the majority of my time. I'm going to miss my DIY and beautifully inspiring blogs!

I will, however, blog about the Ash Wednesday service and may even let you into a few of my thoughts as I fill the newly empty space in my life with more of Him.

How will you observe Lent this year?

Need some ideas on how to celebrate Lent as a family? Go here.

Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Heart Cookies

I love making heart-shaped cookies for Valentine's Day. Call me corny, but I do. Usually it's the magic, traditional heart shaped sugar cookie recipe, but this year I decided to make shortbread cookies for the first time.

I used this recipe here without the frosting. (It had 1/4 cup more sugar than the other and used a tiny spot of baking powder.) Then I just melted some semi-sweet chocolate chips and dipped half of the cookie in them. When the chocolate was too low to dip, I grabbed a spoon and made pretty drizzles on the rest.

For my first shortbread making try, I was pleased. If you let it warm just a little after refrigerating, it rolls out very well (because of the butter). But it also sticks to the rolling pin quite badly if you don't flour enough. So 1) let them warm for 5-10 min and 2) flour up! Finally, the cookies will hold their shape better in the oven if they are refrigerated after cut.

What rich, yummy goodness!

a few Valentine hearts

Ladybug and I made valentines today. I kept forgetting to put up pictures of the heart strings I made and hung in our kitchen for a little bit of festive (and inexpensive!) fun. 

We made a stack of simple, stamped valentines. All her idea, you know. :-)

And enjoyed gazing up at the hearts. Especially when the heat blows on and they start dancing. 

What fun. 

Simple and sweet. What are your Valentine's Day plans? 

My first Pinterest project - done!

After Christmas decorations come down, the house always seems a little empty. I was thinking about this before I even took things down (we celebrated the 12 days of Christmas this year and I was SO ready to get our house back to its previously less cluttered state, not to mention my sweet 2-year old had ransacked our tree and, alone, it was looking pretty sad). Then I read this post and immediately agreed.

How about something winter that isn't so holiday? Winter wreaths! I was drawn to this one and loved (and pinned!) the idea.

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I've been going room to room MAJORLY decluttering/simplifying and came across my really soft, really long skinny knit scarf. I debated back and forth and decided that I really did like it, but I didn't really wear it. But, it was one of the few things I put back to decide on later. And boy am I glad I did!

I finally was able to fulfill my *goal* of doing a Pinterest project. Ha! (Good job, Lisa!)

It's not nearly as elegant and chunky and cushy as the white scarf used for the wreath above, but it totally worked for my purposes. It also isn't white (obviously) which would've been more wintry and versatile, but I'm reusing what a can, yes?! It will last through Valentine's day as a pink something and maybe beyond 'til spring - I like color.

I already had a wreath form and had to cover some pokey ends with tape so they didn't snag but while Ladybug was splashing around in the tub, I put this baby together in 5 minutes (yes, seriously, just like the tutorial says). I made a few adjustments, and tied the ends with a clear hair tie.

(Can you see it here?)

And there you have it. 

I asked Jeremy what he thought and he was less impressed than I was. I guess he's not a fan of yarn decorations, so I'll give him that.
Don't worry, love, it won't last forever. :-)

our recycling system

Last June I did a series on Simplicity and talked a little bit about re-purposing, re-using and recycling. Someone asked what our recycling system looked like and I'm just now getting around to tell you! Oops.

Our "system" - if you can even call it that - is extremely simple. And ugly, which is why we keep it in the basement, so I don't have to stare at it piling up. (If I had a walk-in garage, I'd probably store it there, but since we don't this works.)

In Kansas, you can recycle plastic/tin/aluminum, paper, chipboard (cereal boxes), and cardboard and clear/colored glass. Go here for more details as well as drop-off locations.)

So, I keep a crate for paper/cardboard, an old garbage can from college for the plastic and tin and a little sturdy box for our glass - not too much is made from glass these days. And it's incredible how quickly these fill up. I set aside the junk mail as it comes in and plastic containers as we empty them and scan the kitchen counter as I go downstairs - I take it with me and throw it in!

When it gets too full, I drag it upstairs to the car and dump it at the recycling place on my way to somewhere else. If everything is sorted like this, it really doesn't take a lot of extra time to dump and go. Plus we have so much less trash - it's amazing. And, once we're potty trained, we'll have even less trash! (I still wish she could wear her cloth dipes.)

I am thankful for the recycling options available in the States, I really am. But in Germany/Switzerland and Korea, you can recycle almost EVERYTHING - even food scraps! Almost every bit of food packaging is made to be recycled unlike so much of ours. You end up with so little trash. For some Americans the Euro recycling units and habit took awhile to get used to, but it becomes second nature really quickly. I wish the US could come up with a system like this - seems possible if other 1st world countries can do it!

I really hate to NOT recycle - to think of all the trash in the landfills that could be recycled instead of building up problems in landfills...

Last summer I also read The Story of Stuff (see a short version here on youtube: The Story of Stuff) and Seven by Jen Hatmaker...

... and it made me really re-evaluate my practice of recycling. That maybe just recycling isn't enough. Maybe finding ways to reduce is better. You know the adage, "reduce, reuse, recycle" - well, it's not just for thrift, it's in that order for a reason! If you reduce you won't have as much to recycle. (Duh.)

Now, the hard part is the way our goods in the US (mostly food in my case) are packaged. Almost everything has some kind of packaging, etc. And it's not like I can just stop buying food! So I still throw more away than I'd like, but...

How have I found ways to reduce economically? I haven't found too many ways yet, but I'm still looking.

1) Stop buying stuff
2) Find things to buy in bulk
3) Buy produce without the produce baggies and wash it later (you do anyway, right?) or shop at a CSA or Farmer's Market with your own basket.
4) Compost (another whole bag of worms - literally!- but something I'd like to do.)


I'll end it here. What do you think?

It can get really complicated, but instead of getting overwhelmed, I do try to do what I can with what I have. Unfortunately, I don't have the time or patience (with myself or a 2 yr old!) to make our bread/tortillas myself or a garden large enough to sustain us with produce or a budget big enough to buy all organic, fresh, whole foods. Maybe someday, but for now, buying a few things in bulk, trying to use less packaged materials and recycling are the ways I contribute.

doodad

Like my new purse for spring?! I'm a little scared of the white with a 2-year old, but I went ahead and splurged anyway.

It was for a great cause - supporting my friend, Sharla, and her Etsy shop, doodad, based in Switzerland!

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I actually ordered the purse (below) first for a friend and, since it was shipping internationally, I knew I wanted to get something for myself too while I was at it.

Isn't her Jenny bag cute?

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Here we are, "modeling" our bags.

She has some amazing scarves and bags - really, go check her shop out!

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**(Yes, I stole those directly from Sharla's shop and don't claim either of those pictures as my own. But why do the work twice? Both photos show off the quality of the bags just beautifully.)

a "new" craft table

Before the Market in October, I spotted these white legs in the dumpster outside our townhome. Wa-what?

When I pulled it up, I realized why. But it was just a bit of water damage, couldn't it be redone? Donate it, people! Let someone else put a tablecloth on it. Why does it need to go to the landfill?Ehh ... pet peeve.

So I sanded and sanded some more and got down to where I thought it was good enough to stain and coat. Unfortunately, after I stained it, the large ring (see above pic) still stands out. Otherwise, I think it looks great! I wiped a couple of coats of Minwax Dark Walnut on it and wished I had a garage (for ventilation but no Kansas wind) when I sprayed the Minwax Polyurethane - clear gloss - to top it.  But it turned out fine.

I used it to sit behind at the Market then traded my chunky craft table (got it from CL, resold it there) in for this slightly smaller one.

Here she is!

As Ladybug would say, "Pitty!" I'm pleased.

commissioned: backpack hanger

I had a commission request from a good friend's husband and decided to share it with you! It's one of my favorite pieces from the fall - the patina is LOVELY and completely authentic. Not one ounce of fake distressing - although I do love myself some good faux distressing.

Remember the old chippy barn door from this pic?

My FIL helped saw off the top (the above is going to be made into a queen size headboard. Next year's Market maybe?) so I had this piece laying around.

As soon as he proposed the project I thought this would be the perfect piece for her backpack hanger.

The three faux antiqued "door knobs" came from the hobby store purchased for me ... so all I had to do was attach, right?

Not so fast.

First, the door piece fell apart at the joints. It wasn't glued just jointed together, so when we cut it apart ... yikes! So I glued it together with wood glue and hoped it would stay. It sturdied it right up. 

The knobs only had one screw hanger on the back, so hanging backpacks on it day in and day out wasn't feasible unless they were better fastened to the board.

I whipped out my trusty internet search engine and found that only a 2-part epoxy would work. I got some JB Weld original epoxy and mixed that baby up. It worked like a charm and is still holding (as far as I know).

However, I'd use gloves next time. What was I thinking anyway? I got the tiniest smear on my hand and my mouth tasted like metal for a few hours. Yikes! Not the healthiest stuff to be touching. Or using for that matter.

Finally, I attached a cleat to the back because it was HEAVY - and backpacks would make it even heavier! - and I wanted it to hold up.

Maybe I can snag a picture of it hung up. I'll update if I do.

I love it. What do you think? 

January's Loaf -- (The First Loaf)

I made January's loaf last week. It sure was yummy!

I'm using this old version of Bernard Clayton's Complete Book of Breads - a gift from a good friend several years back. I've baked several loaves from this book, but never was super intentional about trying different kinds.

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For the first month, I decided to do the very first recipe called "The First Loaf" - a white, yeast loaf that is supposed to be very easy and executed flawlessly.

Well, it made our home smell WONDERFUL but I've definitely made prettier loaves.

Do you see the weird spot on the right side of the loaf? It looks like it raised too quickly in the oven and the top raised right off. (It's not supposed to do that.)

I have to admit that our oven is kinda junky - it's been hot, but lately about 50 degrees hot. Not cool. So I'm pretty sure it was still too hot when I baked these - thus the weird pulling apart on top. A junky oven is hard to fulfill my one new loaf a month challenge, but I'm going to keep trying.

It still was tasty! Especially hot out of the oven with buttah. Mmm.

** I'm not going to detail the recipes for sake of time, however if you see a loaf you like one month and want the recipe, I am more than willing to send you a copy! Just email me at lisamarie (dot) de (at) gmail (dot) com.

I Won! (Thanks KCMamas!)

I follow a few money saving blogs (like this and this) and get their deal emails. Most of the deals I don't pay attention to because there are just too many, but sometimes there is a great deal in the bunch! It's really nice to get these delivered right to my inbox with no effort on my part except to grab the deals I want - nice.

Anyway, every once in awhile there is a giveaway which I normally hop over to enter quickly because... why not?! I've won a $25 gift card to Chili's (while not my favorite restaurant, still free!) and just received a P&G prize package in the mail this week! I figured it to be about $50 value. For free, I'll take it! :-)

gain laundry boosters, pantene aqua shampoo/cond, olay body wash, secret deo, (2) covergirl flipsticks, always liners, pads and tampons

(I did win a dud giveaway a couple months ago - fifty or more $1 off coupons to Gain laundry detergent that expired in a few weeks - boo. Oh well. The P&G pkg was worth the previous effort.)

Thanks KCMamas!

{250 sales giveaway} winner!

hey friends! Thanks to all 9 of you who participated in my special giveaway to celebrate a fun milestone in my shop after 15 months of being in this small online shop business.

a few other stats include:

~ I've sold to 16 different countries (US included)

~ 70% of my orders sold to the US, 30% sold internationally
(and I was even so nerdy to put it in a pie chart!) 

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~ Australia was biggest international supporter followed by UK. Other countries included Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Singapore, S. Korea, Switzerland, Turkey.

~ I made over 100 trips to the post office. (No wonder they know us!) 


And finally, the winner is...

Jess Stock! :-) (Email me at schatzli1105 (at) gmail (dot) com and we can talk about getting you your giveaway booty.)

Thanks to everyone who entered! Your support is amazing even for my little shop.