3.01.2012

life lately

sometimes i get surprised by how sewing-centric my blog is. when i started it my intention was to have it be far more well rounded, however perhaps thats just an example of how sewing obsessed my thoughts are! its true that much of my free time is spent behind my sewing machines - or else on the internet devouring everyone else's sewing creations. but like everyone else, i have a life (sorta). so this post is dedicated to all those other little things that have been meaning so much to me lately.


the daily bread:
while i enjoy cooking a good meal, my heart really belongs to baking. recently i've started baking our bread for the week. i use this recipe which, while more time consuming than some bread recipes, yields two large, lofty loaves that have a great yeasty flavor and a nice chewy consistency with a crunchy crust. we eat a lot of bread in our house (atkins be damned!) and we had gotten into the habit of buying our bread from a local bakery, which while utterly delicious, was sort of expensive for a loaf of bread. and as often happens with me i tend to get a bit rammy (i am an aries, afterall) about that sort of stuff and declare " i could make that!" then i jump in blindly, guns a blazin....
should you imagine me as some sort of baking goddess - i assure you, i am not. i spend most of my time in the kitchen with my hands covered in flour darting about like a mad woman and occasionally exclaiming "good god! the loooaaaavvveess!!!"


care for that skin:
for the past several months i've been experimenting with my skincare, trying to weed out chemicals and in the process heal my hormonal skin. i decided to give the oil cleansing method a try, and after much trial and error (and pimples) i think i've finally found a formula that works for me. i use this in the evenings as its perfect for removing makeup. i use rose geranium or just plain rosewater as a toner and concocted an oil serum specifically geared towards healing scars. my husband jokes that the bathroom is my favorite room in the house - and truthfully he's not too far off! I get some sort of witchy satisfaction from playing apothecary and blending my oils and essential oils and flower waters and clays and whatnot into my little concoctions, storing all in my lovely jars and vials. in the mornings i still use good ol' cetaphil, but after reading this blog post i'm very seriously considering trying to find a new, mostly chemical free alternative. if anyone out there knows of a nice, mild, non-sudsing cleanser of the more natural variety, i'm all ears.


in which we draw each other:
when my husband (then boyfriend) and i first moved to TX a few years ago we used to while away our evening hours drawing each other. we've recently picked up this past time again. its a lovely way to reconnect at the end of a day. one of us will assume a comfortable position and sit still while the other one sketches away. sometimes we chat - but most often we sit quietly this way, and then we switch.

*note* i'm only posting the pictures i've drawn of him since i don't know how my husband would feel about me posting his drawings. i suppose i could ask him but he's not home right now and i don't really feel like waiting...

contrary to what this drawing suggests, my husband is not a winking cyborg. but he did keep falling asleep while i was drawing him so one eye got drawn open, the other closed!

we have very different drawing styles, but i think we both enjoy seeing ourselves rendered by the other person - its sort of like reading and writing love letters for two un-eloquent people! ha! it has been such a long while since i've drawn anything i was a bit worried that i had "lost it". while i felt a bit rusty at first, i think its starting to come back to me. i love to draw, and i've always thought of it as my secret friend, always there for me whenever i should need it.


hunter/gatherer:
because i'm not sure i can write a post without mentioning sewing... this weekend we headed up to houston to buy some of those things we can't find on the island. for me this included a visit to the fabric stores (and whole foods to pick up my favorite hippie shampoo!). i'm in the process of gearing up for some spring sewing. as i know i mentioned before, its a bit hard for me to get sewing supplies without ordering it online which can be such a pain when you have to wait for it to ship. so i went to houston with a big fat list of fabrics and notions to carry me through my spring sewing. pictured here are some things i've received in the mail recently too, including my two purchases from tessuti - they're gorgeous!!!

and because no "life" update post is complete without it - here's a gratuitous cat picture for you...

mr. muscles was being a very curious kitty while i was wandering around the apartment snapping pictures, so i figured i'd snap one of him too, and he sat very demurely for me!

well i hope you enjoyed this little peek into the dusty corners of my life - you know, the parts that happen after i turn off the sewing machine!

xx

16 comments:

  1. I love this post :) Thank you so much for sharing. Your drawings are beautiful, cyborg or not! And, of course, the fabrics are beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I simply must say that I was reading this post saying 'omg I do that.... that too.... that too' lol!! I can even hear the voice you use with which to shout the glory of the loaves!! lol ^__^ I totally always say 'I could make that...' lol

    I'm also a big proponent of all things natural. Recently I
    tried a sample of Escents Aromatherapy's pure cleanser; it's plain, milky, non-foaming, gentle and unscented. Very nice :)

    Love the idea of drawing each other!! I'm an artist but my partner is not, though I just bet he'd be into this idea! Thanks for the lovely read, from a kindred spirit :) -Amanda xo

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you so much for sharing your sketches. How very romantic. We used to have drawing nights with friends where we used our non-dominant hand to draw each other and it ended up in so many barrels of laughs. Oh, I miss that. Oh, and I love rosewater in everything... I make oil soap with rosewater and lavender and a teensy drop of orange oil (but that stuff stings when you go too far) and it smells divine!

    I definitely know how you feel about sewing domination--how a blog starts to *become*--I started a blog several years ago that had all of my interests in books and films and cooking, too, then it slowly started getting dominated by sewing and fashion so I decided to give it a space of its own. But it's always fun to read about what else we do, hehe.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I was fascinated by this post. Because you are 2000 miles away and we don't have daily contact I get some of my mom mind pictures of you from what had been. I loved this new glimpse of your everyday life and the ever changing things you get "into". I'm charmed by the bread making ( very Taurus like, really!) and am again fascinated by the homemade approach to daily products. You mention your lack of funds on occasion but I think life is richer and more meaningful when the ability to live in excess isn't part of it. You were a unique and delightful child and we continue to fall in love with the beautiful woman you've become. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your drawings are fantastic. My husband and I are both artists but the drawing of each other is kind of one sided. There are a zillion pictures of me floating around our house-- makes me feel super self-absorbed when people come over! I love the idea of sitting and taking turns sketching.

    ReplyDelete
  6. PS. I'm so glad you're drawing again. I've always loved your drawing style. I agree with Amy that the duo drawing sessions are very romantic...

    ReplyDelete
  7. It's so fun to read more about you! And thanks for sharing your lovely drawings!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank-you so much for this post! I love DIY beauty and Crunchy Betty's blog is the jackpot! I have acne-prone hormonal skin and I've tried everything under the sun. BUT I'm absolutely going to try the oil-cleansing method. What ratio did you end up using?

    That bread looks delicious and I'm super impressed by your drawings. Ha ha, that's how I am when I cook OR bake - frantically running around, the kitchen a mess.

    Mr. Muscles is darling. I think every blog post should have a cat picture.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Stephanie, so glad you enjoyed the post (I always get a bit nervous when I post the more personal stuff!) Crunchy Betty's blog is awesome!!
      I actually ended up using a more "sensitive skin" ratio for my oil cleansing even though I have very acne prone skin. I was using half/half (castor and jojoba) but it was actually really drying! And the drying just caused more flaky skin to clog pores... so now I probably use a 2:1 ratio - 2 parts jojoba oil to 1 part castor, maybe even a little less castor oil than that. I also put in a few drop of lavender essential oil and rosemary. I'm not really willing to say its a miracle cure or anything, but my skin has definitely cleared up in the last month or so - I've also laid off the chocolate... :( I've been using the ocm since last october probably? and I just kept fiddling with the ratio until I liked it... definitely a work in progress sort of thing...

      Delete
  9. I just started OCM and I totally know what you mean about feeling delightfully witchy while mixing up a bunch of concoctions in the bathroom. I love putting essential oils in my mixture, because it smells good & I get to play with all those bottles :) Haha!

    I really love your drawings. I used to sketch when I was a teenager but nothing as beautiful as what you've posted. Now I'm curious to see your husband's drawings :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your drawing are wonderful as are your sewing creations! - I have also recently been trying to steer away from chemical laden skincare - over to crunchy bettys as well!

    Tessuti's is wonderful - I did some sewing classes in their store in sydney and I dare anyone not to walk away without some fabulous fabric. The owner Collette is the loveliest person you could hope to meet.

    ReplyDelete
  11. :) I like getting a peek into other sewing bloggers' lives, thanks for sharing. You're quite talented at drawing! I can't seem to concentrate on more than one hobby at a time, myself... Used to be drawing, then photography, now sewing. *g* That flower fabric is beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Just use Dr. Bronner's, or whatever hippie soap you use for the rest of your body. I have annoying "combination skin" so I usually wash with soap, then moisturize with oil (I just switched to coconut oil and it is SUPER FANTASTIC). I've tried some variations on oil cleansing but (1) I'm a cheap college student with like 2 washcloths and (2) I find that I have to moisturize anyways.

    ReplyDelete
  13. This post is all sorts of lovely. From bread to drawings (love!) to skin care to fabric to kitties. Ry is the bread maker in our house, and I am sending him that recipe stat. And what a fantastic way to reconnect! We write letters sometimes, but it would be so fun to draw, or even read to one another. Your mom's comment might just set me off crying. So sweet!

    I've sort of been doing an OCM, but didn't really research it, so thanks for the link! I exfoliate with baking soda, slather on raw honey for an hour, then rub in olive oil in the shower (which then gets rinsed off). That's an every other day thing. Other mornings, I just use water, followed by Aubrey Organics sea buckthorn moisturizer. Some days I use Everyday Shea unscented on my face (my body lotion). Eye make-up, if any, come off with olive oil at night. I love Suki cleanser (avail at WF), but now that I don't have a job, I feel I shouldn't splurge.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fascinating! I love hearing about other people's beauty routines. I was cleansing in the morning with raw honey for awhile but I wasn't sure if it was doing anything - I love it as a mask though! I like to infuse mine with lavender or calendula for extra goodness.

      Delete