Confessions of a recycling hoarder

 

One little fact about me, is that I'm quite the recycler. I try to be as environmentally conscious as I possibly can by recycling, reusing and being responsible with energy. The sound of water running and being wasted is like nails on a chalkboard for me, the sight of someone brushing their teeth while the faucet is running is like watching a horror movie! It's been said that only half of Americans recycle daily. I definitely don't belong to that half of Americans. In fact my recyclables take up a good amount of floor space in our kitchen, which thoroughly annoys Matt. Somehow he always manages to kick over a pile of empty milk jugs at 2am, and that pirate ship we built for Mally's birthday has taken his car's space in the garage for the past 2 months now because, "I'm waiting to recycle it." This morning, we finally gathered all of it together and made a trip to the recycling plant. Although, my floor may not see the light of day for very long, at least we know our household is doing what we can to help preserve our planet. To learn more on recycling, head over to Earth911.com

 

DID YOU KNOW...

Recycling 1 aluminum can saves enough energy to keep a 100-watt light bulb lit for almost 4 hours

All those bags were stuffed into my cabinets,
and those are the infamous milk jugs that cause a ruckus at 2am

What we got rid of

 



Currently

Before bed cuddling and Bob Dylan 

Linking up with Embrace The Camera

Nifty Thrifty: Vintage toddler blazer

I'm so excited about my recent Goodwill score, a vintage blazer for Mally. I've been dying to find a blazer for her, I debated on buying a new one from a few places but I'm glad I didn't. I saw this little beauty Monday and fell in love! It has some fading around the shoulders but for 2 dollars and some styling, the fading seems hardly noticeable. We played around with a nautical look here, and I think my little model pulled it off well!

 

DIY: T-shirt Scarf

This project is super simple and can be done with a couple things you probably have around the house. I decided to make this for Mally, so I used one of my old holey extra small shirts.

 

 

*What you need*
T-shirt: the smaller the shirt the better fit for children
Sissors

Cut just under armpits

Cut several strips down the shirt



Stretch the strips

Gather strips, making sure seam are together
Cut 1 strip to make a long piece

Twist the strips once to make a figure 8

 

Fold together both ends to make a circle
All seams should be grouped together

Tie the end of the long strip right above the seams



Loop the strip around and through the hole, pull tight
Do this step until the strip is completely covering all the seams
Tie a couple knots at end and you can either cut the loose fabric or tuck it in




This is your end product

 

I've been nominated: Liebster Blog Award

I am extremely excited to have been nominated for the Liebster Award! My lovely blog friend Stefani was kind enough to have considered me for a nomination. Go check out Stefani, Eric and Josephine over at Miss Jo and Co. they are a sweet little family :)

 

The Liebster Blog Award is an award that is given by the blogging community to new up and coming bloggers with less than 200 followers.

 

**Here are the details on receiving this award**

1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
2. Answer the questions that the nominator set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you’ve nominated to answer.
3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post
4. Go to their page and tell them.

5. No tag backs!

 

**STEP ONE: 11 things about myself**

I'm kind of a Germaphobe
I prefer to heat my ice cream up in a microwave for 12 seconds before eating
I dance and sing constantly
I'm a light sleeper, I can hear a pin drop in my sleep swear!
Love to interpret dreams, Dreammoods.com is my go to online source
My favorite Disney movie is The Little Mermaid
I'm very indecisive
I'm a Gemini
I've never seen Twilight
Is the worst speller you'll ever meet
I use songmeanings.net quite often, I love to know the meanings behind lyrics

 

**STEP TWO: My answers to Stefani's questions**

1. What three qualities does your dream house just have to have?

   -Open spaces, lot's of color and secluded

2. What's your favorite season and why?
   -Ahhhh, probably spring! I love that feeling of the first warm spring day after being cooped up all winter. Flowers, budding trees, fresh green grass what's not to love?

3. If you could learn any language, what would it be (and why)?

  - Italian, because it sounds so romantic.

4. And if you could see anyone (alive or dead) in concert, who would it be (and…why)?

  - Led Zeppelin! No question about it, I have a thing for Robert Plant and because they are rock gods

5. What 3 books would you need to have on a desert island?

  - The 5 people you meet in heaven, The Shack and Eat, Love, Pray

6. Sum yourself up in…one word. Go.

  - Versatile

7. What is your favorite lesson you learned from your parents?

  -  I won't dig too deep into this subject in an attempted to keep my most treasured moments private, but I will say that my parents were always hard workers and provided for me and my 4 brothers growing up :)

8. If you had your own personal all-capable robot, what's the first task you would program it to do?

 - Learn how to give a deep tissue massage, Ahhh I wish!

9. In celebration of "The Walking Dead" tonight…what's your plan of action for the zombie apocalypse? :-)

 - Ha ha, I love The Walking Dead!! Underground living until the girls get older?

10. If you could keep any animal for a pet, what would it be?
 - A fox would be fun
11. If you could only wear one outfit for the rest of your life, what would it be?

- Blue jeans, white vneck cotton tshirt, mocs, jewelry and sunnies

 

**STEP THREE: Create 11 questions for the people I nominate**

1. What's your biggest pet peeve
2. Name 3 artists currently in your car CD player? Or last 3 music artists you purchased from.
3. If you could only eat 1 meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
4. What is your favorite line from a movie?
5. Congratulations, you just won a billion dollars. What's your first purchase?
6. What's your astrology sign?
7. Let's say hypothetically, you're an actor. What character role would you play in any movie?
8. What song would you pick to be the theme song of your life?
9. According to your closest family and friends what's your signature/ trade mark (something that you're known for)
10. what's your most treasured item? (nonliving)
11. What's the best way to embarrass you?

**STEP FOUR: Here are the people I nominate** (I'm off a few)
Jessica @ Jessica Photography + Art  (her photos are amazing)
Adin @ Thrift It. Flaunt It. The SAHM Way  (check out her latest thrift outfit, so cute!)
Kym @ Deaf in the Kitchen  (Can't wait to try her Crock pot Italian Turkey Meatballs)
Melissa @ Willamette Valley Wonder Woman  (She's hosting a Thursday link up today, go hop on!)
Sil @ Love n Lavish (Check out her Etsy shop)

Heidi @ Typative  (So talented at crocheting)

Look at those Maples!

This last weekend we visited Maplewood Cemetery, a local cemetery that's known for it's intense colored sugar maple trees every autumn. Around this time each year people flock to this spot to enjoy the peaceful scenery, amongst other things. Later that night we put together a small fire and we enjoyed hotdogs and smores. This was the girls first bonfire and everything went well, except for the fact it was windy and Chesa was a tad bit afraid of the fire... and when I say "tad bit" I mean A LOT. Then, as soon as she starts to get use to the idea... cue lightening. Even though Chesa didn't react as expected to the bonfire, we still had an awesome weekend :)

 

Mally's just like her dad, always making silly faces in pictures!



"It's a lady bug sissy!"



No skateboarding in Target



Someone fell asleep before finishing lunch

Every once in a while...

Every once in a while a moment like this happens and it feels as if I live in an alternate universe

Halloween Traditions: Movie Style

Every year around this time I like to start watching my seasonal movie favorites. I love that I can recall so many good memories just by watching a movie. Now that my girls are getting older and understanding more, I'm excited to be starting our families list of "family tradition movies".  Here are the top 5 on my list of Kid Friendly's and Adult's Only. I'd love for you to comment below and tell me some of your favorite movies that get you into the Halloween season!

 

 

*Kid friendly*

 

5. It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

Super excited to be adding this movie to our list of October traditions

4. Corpse Bride
Johnny Depp enough said
Johnny Depp + Helena Bonham Carter = absolutely necessary

3. Casper
I remember my 5th grade self
going bonkers over Devon Sawa

2. The Addams Family series
As a kid, there were a few years I went as Mortica for Halloween
I must have thought she was classy lol

1. Hocus Pocus
I watch this EVERY single year... and yes
Every year I will singalong with Sarah Jessica Parker in that scene

 

 

*Adult's Only*

 

5. Night of the Living Dead
What's Halloween without Zombies??

4. Jeepers Creepers
Okay, so I'll admit. I think this is a silly movie, but I have an obsession
with how creepy that scarecrow is when he's in the field
and now I'll be singing this song all night long...

3. Trick r Treat
This is a newer movie, a bit odd, with 4 separate stories
Matt and I have watched this every year together since it's been out

2. Halloween Series
It's a Halloween staple
It says it right there in the title

1. The Rocky Horror Picture Show
So, I have a thing for musicals, the 70's and the unusual
I watched this long before I knew exactly what the movie was about
I would literally leave this marathon on TV all day and go about my business
Just listening to it faintly in the background and singing along.
I probably know every line from this movie.
I would love to attend this in the movie theater
where they drench you with water and scream at the screen
Oh and it probably helps that Tim Curry reminds me of Freddie Mercury in this movie :)

 

DIY: Boho boot

Hey all!

Here's my take on the belted boho boot. I went out Saturday and found some vintage boots at the thrift, I originally wanted a pair of brown boots but saw these little red beauties and thought they would work perfectly. You can most definitely do this project on a newer pair of boots, but my own personal style leans toward the vintage distressed type. I found these boots, a couple of belts, lace and some fabric all out thrifting on Saturday! I ran home and started my project ASAP, it took me the whole day, but I was able to wear them out to the pumpkin patch on Sunday. I was excited to receive many compliments! If you would like to set yourself up with a pair, I posted a tutorial down below.

Happy creating my friends :)

 

WHAT YOU NEED:

BOOTS: Boots should be leather inner and outer

BELTS: vintage, new, big buckles or not... whatever you wish!

GLUE: any type of strong fabric glue make sure it dries clear and adheres to leather

SCISSORS

PLASTIC KNIFE: or any type of of flat tool for gluing

CLOTH & LACE: here's where you can get creative. I used some lace like material to place along the base of the boot, but you can use whatever your personal style prefers scarves, lace, fabric etc. And we'll using fabric to make strips for layering

First, take your boot and cut down the middle of the back
Stop right above the back of the heel
Be careful not to cut too low, you don't want to cut past where the scissors point






Fold down the shaft flaps







Start wrapping your belts
You may need to play around with them for a while to get them perfect
Switch them around, turn the buckles, pull them tighter, make new holes
Anything to get them to work together, think of it like a puzzle 





Once your belts are positioned the way you want
start gluing
Place small amounts of glue on the knife
Separate the belt and boot and spread the glue onto both parts
Trying not to get it towards the bottom of the belt (we'll need that area for gluing the lace)
Do this in small sections until all belts are glued to the boot

 

Next grab your lace
Lace will fill in the spots where the belts don't cover the boot leather
Start measuring out how much lace you'll need
Beginning at a buckle, take a clean plastic butter knife (or any disposable flat tool)
and push the lace under the bottom of the belt, do this until the lace wraps around and meets the end you started with
Cut lace, make sure you leave a bit of slack to overlap at the end

 

Next glue the bottom of the belt down but this time be extra cautious of the lace
Even if you have clear drying glue you will want to try your hardest to not get it on the lace
It may work easier if you use a glue gun with fabric sticks on this part
 



Now we'll be adding more textures and layers
Cut a strip of fabric
Depending on how wide around your boot ends up being and what type of material your fabric is
Your strip may be from up to 8 inches or longer
Tie both ends of the strip together to make a circle, stretch your fabric a bit and put around boot (shown above)







You're done!!
Since my boots were red and I'm a fan, I added a Razorback to my boot
I couldn't find anything at our local store that would work
So I ended up grabbing duct tape with a razorback on it, ha ha! As cheesy as it looked, it worked for a day.

Thanks so much for reading and I hope your boots end up fabulous! If you have any questions please comment below. Also, if you end making a pair for yourself, comment with your link so I can see your awesome boho boots :)

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