Tenacity.

As I sit here in my sunny living room, the sound of chirping birds just outside the window reminds me that spring is technically here. Nevermind the incongruous detail that we had a snowstorm on the first day of spring and another small one two days later. It still looks like winter, but there are whispers of spring. Those tenacious birds confirm that winter will not last forever.

I probably should be working on one of the many projects I am in the middle of right now. I am getting ready to enter week four of a very busy four-week period. But I saw this article ("This is what 80 Looks Like") on Gloria Steinem and wanted to share it. So here I am.

Around here (in no particular order).

• On Saturday, I opened the fridge and found the cocoa powder in there. Oops.
• I have only been to the grocery store twice since June. I have been to the market at the Old Port twice or so for fresh veggies and to the corner convenience store a lot. Somehow this is working for me.
• I am working on a challenging and fun artistic freelance project.
• Did the title of this post make anyone else think of Counting Crows circa 1994?
• I only have about a month more with Booboo and that thought makes me so terribly sad I can't think about it too long.
• This summer I finally found coffee beans that make coffee I really enjoy. I used to like the beans from this one place near my apartment, but then the coffee started tasting like dirt. After I inquired about why their coffee now tasted like "la terre," as I put it in French, I found out that they had changed the blend's mix of beans. Unable to find anything better, we drank overpriced, dirt-flavoured coffee with a hint of "burnt" for months. Finally, I decided to experiment with beans from a different place in the neighborhood. My first try was an improvement but a little weak; the second try was perfect. I am now on my third bag of that coffee. No more dirt coffee for me.
• I finally ordered beautiful embossed stationery with both our names on it in mid-June. A lifetime supply probably. I went with stationery instead of an address stamp, because I figured our address was likely to change at some point. It was a little too risky. I had the beautiful cream correspondance cards shipped to my parents' home, and they arrived just before everything exploded. I never saw the stationery, which is probably for the best. I had been so unreasonably excited about that goregous stationary with our names embossed on it. I guess it will get recycled.
• Thankfully I had also ordered some for myself with my monogram. My dad mailed that to me, and I have been thoroughly enjoying using it.
• My car turned 20 years old in April. But I don't drive very much anymore. Maybe once a week, often less. But the car works well still, much to my surprise and happiness.
• I find I love having a life that is so local. I love walking to work and having most everything I need a short distance from where I live.
• I am not looking forward to winter coming. I keep telling myself if I can survive 'til spring life will look better. I just need to survive this death of our marriage and my life as I had expected it and make it to spring and wait on some sort of rebirth.
• Shoveling. Ugh. Do I need to say anything more?
• I have a bag of green tomatoes in the fridge. I bought them to do fried green tomatoes. I have been unable to motivate myself to do that though. My level of energy is more on the basic sandwich-level of Maslow's hierarchy of culinary needs.
• Last week I spent $11 and some change at the thrift store and got a pair of jeans, a skirt, and a top that all fit. This helps. Baggy jeans do not.
• I was undecided on the skirt but thought that for $3, it was worth a shot. Once I got it home, I realized it is kind of the perfect skirt. It is black with thin pinstripes, plus it's quick drying and ideal for travelling. A pretty great find.
• It's still raining. I don't mind.

Patching things up.

Over the last few years I have been focusing on being more eco-responsible and really incorporating the reduce-reuse-recycle thing into my daily life. When we moved to this apartment almost two years ago, we tried to look for things we needed at second hand shops first, and that preference has continued, though we don't really need much these days.

I've started re-purposing old things we have to meet new needs. It's been a fun challenge. Learning to sew has opened up so many more possibilities of modifying my clothes or making stuff out of repurposed t-shirts. When I patch up a hole in my favorite shirt or in my most comfy jeans, I get a thrill from the pioneer feeling of it all. I love feeling resourceful and making stuff last longer.

There are more green changes I'd like to make in the coming months. One goal is trying to find somewhere to buy eggs without packaging. I've heard the market in town sometimes has eggs, so I am going to give that a try in the coming weeks. I'm also working on improvising patterns to make some fun clothes I'll wear out of my large collection of unworn, old t-shirts. And I am really looking forward to growing some some herbs and veggies on our back porch again this year...only this year I'll elevate the containers of edible things so the local outdoor neighbors' cats can't get in them.

Anybody else have any eco-friendly goals to implement this summer?

Advent Bags

This was a Christmas gift I made for someone last year, as I was just beginning to learn to sew. I used old t-shirts from various events during my teenage and college years, and re-vamped them into little Advent bags, each one different. It ended up taking long than I expected to make 25 bags, so my plans of doing another set of these have been set aside for now. Instead, this year I have been busy sewing a couple of different gifts, and I'll post photos of those soon.

Learning.

As I mentioned before, I am learning to sew. What is particularly exciting for me about this is that I can now alter all those clothes I have that don't fit quite right, which is quite a fabulous thing since I buy most of my clothes at thrift stores, often without even trying them on. (Yes, I know that sounds crazy, but I have gotten quite accurate at choosing things that fit and are flattering.) The problem is...sometimes they just need minor adjustments....like that dress I have had a couple years that would have been perfect shorter, but I didn't know how to hem t-shirt material. But now I do because I learned to sew by modifying and re-purposing old t-shirts. And I have the courage now to just try sewing things. Here's what I have done so far:

• Hemmed the aforementioned too long black jersey dress to a cute length to go with leggings
• Re-hemmed two skirts whose hems I had ripped out this summer
• Put darts (for the first time ever) in a full skirt that was just a little to big in the waist
• Altered four tank tops to fit more narrowly (they were too wide and looked sloppy)
• Hemmed a pair of sweat pants that I had gotten at camp long ago and had always been tripping over (since I am short...)
• Made an elaborate Christmas-y project out of re-purposed t-shirts which I will later post on
• Shortened the dress in the above photo. I still need to narrow it though because the skirt is wide/poofy enough to look rather circus-appropriate
• Almost finished making a skirt out of re-purposed t-shirts
• Altered a pair of shorts to have the waistband in a permanently "turned down" position, since this is how I prefer to wear this pair of old college logo shorts
• Attempted to alter a pair of old scrub pants to fit better. This project has not yet been successful.

There are many more projects I am eager to attempt, but I have been ordering them so that I can build my skills up to the level to attack more complicated alterations. I feel I am ready to begin with slightly more challenging things, and it's pretty exciting to think about narrowing a blazer I bought, even though I knew it was a little too big, because I loved it so much. And of course, then there is always the Swiss sheep herder dress that is going to hopefully become a little edgier looking after I shorten it.

Sewing 101

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been learning how to sew on a sewing machine. Not the one in the photo, though that is one of ours. We have three actually, which we acquired all for free over a couple of months last winter. Our first one is a Singer. This is the one I am learning on, given to us by a friend. The Stitchmaster in the photo is our second sewing machine. One trash day last winter in Montréal, S found it on the curb with somebody's trash and carried it home. It came in its own sewing table (which it can collapse into when not in use) and we love its funky retro teal color. It got damaged in this summer's move though, so S is fixing it so it will be usable. The third one is another Montréal trash day find from last winter. It's a Brother and rather run-down, but S brought it home in hopes that it might be useful for spare parts for our little teal one. Amazingly, he has been able to use numerous parts which have happened to fit.

Anyhow, I have enjoyed learning on our little Singer. S taught me how to do the basics and I have learned a few things off YouTube sewing videos, so now I am just experimenting with several projects. I have been learning on some old t-shirts I have been wanting to upcycle, and it is great to be doing fun things with them and giving them a second life doing something useful. My first project was a double-sided scarf made from two t-shirts (one red, one grey). It turned out quite well and I have been wearing it around the house this fall when I get cold. The t-shirt material makes it really soft and cozy. My next projects will be some alterations of some of my thrift store clothes (shortening things that are too long, adding darts, etc.). I am excited to finally be able to modify these clothes so they will fit properly and I can wear them.  I am also thinking ahead to Christmas and wondering if I might be able to create anything fun for gifts this year. I have a few ideas in mind, but am still brainstorming and looking for new and simple projects. Any suggestions?

Ma nouvelle bibliothèque

I have always liked libraries, but there have been some years in my twenties where I went to them rather infrequently and somehow began to buy books I wanted to read instead of going to the library.* About two years ago, after the accumulation of too many books resulted in over-flowing bookshelves, I decided to check out the online website of the Chicago library and saw that you could order a specific book to be sent to your preferred library branch for pick-up.Genius.

Then it hit me: Libraries are like Netflix, but for books.

I mean, it's a revolutionary concept in our consumerism-driven society: You can borrow books you feel like reading and then give them back when you are done. FOR FREE. It's brilliant. So after my epiphany of the miracle of public libraries, I began checking out books again. I adjusted to the idea that you do not have to own a book to read it.** And even if you really like it, you don't necessarily have to buy it.***

However, since living in Québec, I hadn't explored the public library system until yesterday. Armed with proof of residence and a photo ID, I went to get my library card at my local branch. After a few painless minutes, I received my card and set off to expectantly wander among the stacks to acquaint my proud-library-card-owning-self to my new library home. After browsing through two floors, I think what stands out most is the realization that French books and English books are intermixed on the shelves. This surprised me, as I guess I had expected it to be like my local library in Norway, which had a somewhat lacking separate English section off in a corner.**** So I was surprised by the amazing opportunity to be able to chose from books in both languages, side-by-side within an arm's reach on any given subject! It says something about the frequency of bilingualism in Québec that the books are arranged this way.*****

Yay for eco-friendly and economic book reading!


*This might have come from living in Norway with a local library that had a very small English section. Or perhaps because my local library in Chicago didn't have the books I wanted to read and I didn't want to trek all the way down to the main branch.
**Though I am a fan of underlining and marking in books, so that obviously had to stop. 
***But every now and then, I will still buy a book because there are just some I'd like to keep.
****Which is completely understandable in a non-English-speaking country, of course. But sometimes you just want to read in your native language.
*****Unless, of course, this kind of stuff is regulated by the government, which, I guess, is possible.

Non-toxic toiletries.

Over the last almost year, my blogger (and now real-life) friend Marie-Ève of Marie-Ève in Montréal has been writing about learning about what is in beauty products (and also food) and making good choices. She writes about banishing stuff you can't pronounce, discovering toxic ingredients in make-up and bath products, an organic make-up line you can find at a supermarket, and safe nail polish and shampoo. I admit, when I first read about the idea of organic make-up and products, I thought...uh...yeah...I can't afford organic stuff, and dismissed the idea without too much consideration. I have always just bought from the mainline brands at the drug store, and it worked okay for me, especially since I just can't bring myself to spend tons of money on make-up.* But in the last few months, I have continued to learn and think about toxins in the products I use regularly, and now find the idea of coating myself with products chock full o'toxins and carcinogens every day rather disturbing. There is even this amazing website run by the Environmental Working Group that rates how safe or dangerous products are. I have looked up all my products and the findings were rather scary.** After I discovered the score of the product, I used a Sharpie to write the rating on the bottle, and did an immediate purge of the worst and will get rid of the medium bad ones as soon as I get replacements. My goal is to get most of my products into the low hazard range, preferably with eco-friendly packaging.***

But this has been a long journey and it was only a couple of months ago that I cared enough and was ready (err....desperate enough) to make my first step into green toiletries by trying environmentally friendly shampoo. Annoyed for a few years that NOTHING really felt like it worked for my hair, I was continually switching products to try to find The Miracle Product That "Worked" For Me. After no success and some continued research, I began to wonder if maybe some of the harsh chemicals that I had learned were in all these shampoos were causing my hair to be gross, resulting in it oddly feeling both dry and coated at the same time. I thought about switching to baking soda to boycott shampoo, and even tried that for about a week, but...that wasn't doing it for me either. So I talked with Marie-Ève, who suggested Live Clean, so I tried their moisturizing shampoo and conditioner and liked it. And I got excited about the fact that my new shampoo was not doing bad things to the environment and it was reasonably priced.**** Before I guess I had always assumed that if stores sold beauty products, they were safe for humans and for the environment. But I now know that there aren't really any standard regulations about what goes in there to keep us safe. (Umm....how messed up is that?) Check out this interesting 7 minute film called "The Story of Cosmetics" if you want to know more.

So needless to say, I am now ready to make changes in the products I use. Just this past weekend, I stumbled upon a $5 sale on Live Clean products and I found numerous products I haven't seen elsewhere, so I bought a few different things. I got moisturizing body wash, clarifying shampoo, baby lotion (I couldn't find any lotion for adults?), and leave-in conditioner. I also got Live Clean's invigorating shampoo the other day from somewhere else. So now I am totally stocked up for a good long while and have been pleased with everything I bought. And it is so nice to know that these products are made from plant ingredients and don't have parabens, SLS, and other not-good stuff.

I also have been learning more about make-up, and Marie-Ève mentioned mintandberry.com on her blog because they ship to Canada. I checked the website out and am excited about the company and their great approach. I just ordered some non-toxic nail polish and a slew of other things from them and can't wait until it arrives so I can try it out! And I got a new eyeliner and powder at a store the other day. It's Physician's Formula Organic Wear (eyeliner) and Bamboo Wear (powder and compact). You have to buy the Bamboo Wear compact and powder separately, but the cool thing is that the compact is re-usable and the disc that holds the powder refill is recyclable. They seem to work well so far, but I have not yet cried while wearing them, so they haven't really been put to the test.

And to switch things up even more....I also decided I want to try using make-up brushes to apply my make-up. Up until now, I have only used the lame applicators that come in the inexpensive, drug store make-up. You know, the little foam pads on those plastic wand applicators? The ones that eventually fall off into the wet sink while you are trying to put on your eye shadow, and that's just gross, so you resort to using your pinky finger instead? Yeah, I decided it was time I give actual make-up brushes a try, so I started educating myself about them and how to apply make-up with a brush. I learned that there are natural brushes (which are made out of animal hair) and synthetic (which are often made out of Taklon). I decided to buy some synthetic ones that use environmentally-friendly components like bamboo and recycled aluminum. After researching options, I decided to try ecoTools, which is available in Canada at drug stores and pretty inexpensive for quality make-up brushes. (Who knew that big-name make-up brand brushes could cost SO MUCH?) Anyhow, I got the 6 piece ecoTools bamboo set (blush brush, eye shading brush, eye liner brush, lash and brow groomer, concealer brush, and a hemp/cotton storage roll), a foundation brush, and an extra eye shading brush. They are soft and I am really enjoying them so far! They make me feel like I am pampering myself as I put on make-up. And I feel like my eyeshadow looks better when applied with a brush.

So I am going to give this all a try and see how it goes, but I can tell you that I am already super excited about the eco-friendliness of it all and the fact that these products are not harmful like the stuff I was previously using. And I am going to eventually look into homemade recipes for products too. And yes, I guess this post makes me sound rather girly-girly-with-a-touch-of-"hippie"-too, but I'll just happily embrace it.

*Though I did get some Clinique powder foundation for the wedding last fall. I liked it, but was not convinced it was actually worth the extra expense and decided I would go back to my normal stuff when I used it up.

**Scary, as in even the most famous baby lotion, which one would think would fall into the "0" to "2" low hazard range rates a "6." SIX! A product for babies is in the "3" to "6" moderate hazard range! I even had products in the "7" to "10" high hazard range. And these high hazard products....they are normal products by main stream brands. It's not like I am buying arsenic lotion or something. SCARY.
***The numbers are a pretty effective motivator. I mean, do I really want to slather this "7" all over my body or scrunch my hair with this "8"????

****Cause I am always looking for quality products at great prices.

'maters.

I inherited a tomato plant from S's dad's girlfriend shortly after we moved. She had about 6 or so plants and gave me one. I said I was worried I would kill it, but she said I would do fine and confidently handed it over to me. It worked out perfectly because I have been wanting to grow something this summer, but it is probably too late in the season to start growing something now. When I got it, there was already one little green tomato on a branch, and now there are about four new ones and I couldn't be more excited about it!

Moved In. Mostly.*

Well, we got moved in last Sunday and the builder/renovation guy finished the bathroom on Monday.** Though we have been unpacking this week (along with doing other random stuff like getting our recycling bin and the car window stickers that allow us to park in our neighborhood), we are still surrounded by boxes and living in chaos. Yesterday afternoon we hit up some retail stores and two thrift stores to try to find curtains, curtain rods, a bathroom mirror, armoire, medicine cabinet, etc.*** We had some great success on finding items on our list (and a few surprises not on our list!) but we still need to look at some other thrift stores for the remaining missing things.

One of the most satisfying deals from yesterday was our new bathroom mirror. We first looked at Canadian Tire and only saw a couple standard medicine cabinet options that were considerably more than we wanted to spend. Then we checked out Winners, which is like a Marshalls, and they had a good, large mirror with a black frame. However, we want a white frame since our new bathroom is very white and we are enjoying the breezy, airy feeling that white on white creates. So we were going to buy it and paint the frame white, but it was $39, which still seemed quite expensive to us, though I guess it is probably a decent price for a 33 1/2'' x 33 1/2'' mirror. But since we were not crazy about it, we decided to wait and check a couple more thrift stores before re-considering buying that one, and amazingly....our very next stop was a thrift store that had one mirror. A 31'' x 31'' mirror with a white frame.**** It had a couple stickers on it as it seemed to be previously owned by a teenage girl, but they came off with zero sticky residue. (I think they were perhaps static cling stickers?) So... a large, good condition mirror for only $5.99. Yay!

We ended our day with a sense of victory at finding good deals on quality items and the excitement of re-purposing discarded things to give them a second life.***** This makes me quite happy.

*Well....not our couch, chair, and dishwasher which are in the basement of S's dad's home.
**Well, I don't call it finished, but the guy said he is finished. There are some paint places he missed and one of our formerly yellow walls had a door ripped out and new wall added, so now the former door area is covered with white plaster stuff and not yellow paint, so we have some painting to do, I guess...? S also repaired the door which the guy did not hang very well.
***Yep, no mirror or medicine cabinet above the sink was put in during the bathroom renovation. Isn't that pretty standard?? Maybe it was forgotten? And I had to ask specifically about the shower curtain rod, because there was no rod. The guy brought a rod in on Monday.
****And oddly enough, this size is actually better than the other size would have been anyways, due to the size of the sink. I plan on eventually repainting it white to get the crisp white-white color we want, but repainting white on top of white will be much easier than on top of black.
*****We only bought a couple things at the retail stores. Like the plug thing for the dryer and the pull chains for the fan. We found almost everything at the thrift stores....including two nice wood curtain rods.

Over-run by old t-shirts?*

I LOVE this idea for three reasons:

1. S and I have lots of old t-shirts that have stains or whatnot, and I have been trying to figure out good ways to use them.
2. I have been wanting to learn how to sew for about 6 months now.
3. I am trying to be more eco-friendly.

*These are different than the t-shirt bags I have previously seen tutorials on; these have fun drawstrings!