hey!  remember these?

yeah.  that’s right.  that picture from, like, a month ago…

i got on a huge kick about wanting to start my own herb garden.  and about that same time, i came across this tutorial for upcycled herb cans and got on a huge kick about saving all the cans we used that week.  i managed to get the black base coat and this first layer of color on them in a matter of a day and a half.  and then i got super-involved with working on little shop, and didn’t get a chance to look at them again for a few weeks. 

by the time i managed to get back around to them, i started to feel a little bad.  was starting my own herbs really even feasible?  after all, i’m pretty terrible at plants.  not being one to leave a project unfinished, though, i pressed on—and thankfully, by the time i got the second coat of colors on the cans, i was pumped about the concept again!  then i hit another snag…the weather.  i needed to be able to spray the cans with a waterproof lacquer to make them resilient.  as you can see a bit in the picture above, without a nice, thick coating, the acrylic paint was just flaking off of the aluminum.  but it was too cold and damp to spray the cans if i had any hopes of a good (and bubble-free) finish.  so i turned to another new project (which you’ll hopefully get to see soon!) and waited patiently for clearer skies and warmer temps.

thankfully, those came last weekend!  i headed outside as soon as i could and smothered those cans in as much glossy lacquer as i could.  that did the trick of sticking the paint perfectly.  and they looked pretty snazzy, too!

delightfully 80’s inspired, just like me!

they just needed one thing:  plants!  so lex and i headed up to lowes and he stood sweetly and patiently by as i circled the seed racks about 178 million times, trying to decide which five things i would like to grow.  i ended up getting basil, oregano, rosemary, and flowers, because i’m a nerd and couldn’t choose appropriately.

back at the house, i enlisted lex’s super-strength to help me put the holes in the bottoms of the cans (to my credit, i managed to get the holes in all but two.  whichever vegetables/beans came in those cans must be capable of destroying the world if they get loose, because those cans were reinforced better than an underground bunker during a zombie apocalypse!)

smart.  sweet.  strong.  silly.  he’s the best.
p.s. check out that jack black impression on the left there

here’s what the bottoms looked like:

no, i’m not being cheeky by showing you the can’s bottom. 
i’m proving that i’ve provided adequate drainage for excess h2o!

i put a layer of small rocks in the bottom of each can…because the tutorial said to.  i honestly don’t know enough about plants to understand why, although i sort of assume it has something to do with keeping the water from draining out entirely?  that sounds plausible, at least.  a bit of seed-starting soil mix, seeds planted according to package directions, and voila!

my soon-to-be herb garden!
the tiny terra cotta pot there is bell pepper seeds…just for fun

if my seeds sprout at all, i’ll be sure to post pictures.  i guess we’ll all have to keep our fingers crossed on that one!

bonus points to my mom this week, for presenting me with this gem:
warning:  contains words.  and paisley.

a quick glance through tells me that it will be a constant go-to.  it reads adorably, offers giant, color-coded pictures, and has that general “1969 threw up all over the pages” appeal.  i love it!

so, you guys know that i got a sewing machine for my birthday.  and since then?  well, i’ve been awkwardly playing at refashioning a few garments.  i have a whole drawer-full of things that i really want to work on…one day.  for now, i’m working on pieces that i manage to snag from local thrift stores, usually at around 50 cents a pop!  sorry for the lack of pictures on this project, i promise i’ll do better soon

the first thing i decided to go for was this shirt:

rorschach says, “mom.  change it.  seriously.”

i wanted to keep the little netting sort of detail at the neck, but the shirt itself was waaay too big for me, and seemed a little short.  i used one of my favorite tank tops as a pattern, and took the sides in a few inches.  once i got the new seams securely in place, i tried the top on and was pleased to find that the knit material was clingy enough to make the top fit longer than it seemed originally.  yay!  i left the sleeve seams raw, because i liked the look…also because i am apparently pretty insane with scissors.  it definitely doesn’t make the garment seem finished, but if i put myself in the mindset of being comfy and casual, i think i’ll still be able to wear it with pride.

i had also picked up this crazy blouse:

the jury’s still out on a potential use for the rest of that striped/splattery pastel magic.

i thought that the applique might be useful once deconstructed, so off it went, thanks to my trusty seam ripper.  (**sidenote:  my grandmother gave me this seam ripper probably more than a decade ago—far before i even thought about refashioning—and it was still in the original packaging.  it was labeled as a “surgical seam ripper” and has a large, sharp, scary-looking hooked blade.  is that normal?!)

then i took the leaf parts from the applique design:

’schach seems pleased with this new direction

i pinned the smaller leaves to the shoulders of the tank, making these fun, grecian sort of vertical epaulets.  then i took the larger leaf and placed it across the left hip.

it’s pretty much a silly, silly piece of clothing, but i’m so proud of it that i could just squeal, i swear.  as soon as the weather has made up its mind to be completely warm around here, i’m probably going to wear it constantly. 

finished product

      
closer looks at the hip and shoulder embellishments

thanks to my sweetie, lex, for taking the pictures!

since i’m starting below the beginner level of sewing (i’d rank myself somewhere between totally clueless and mildly capable) i’m really excited about all the new things i’ll be learning!  thankfully, i feel like the learning process is pretty safe territory to admit areas where i’m lacking in sweet skills.  examining my process and gaining new insight can only help me grow!

since part of my purpose in posting these ongoing romps through the world of refashioning is to record my pitfalls and triumphs, i think i’ll wrap up my posts with a pros & cons list.

pros:

it still looks like a piece of clothing! 
i really like the way the shoulder leaves turned out.
the tank top fits me a lot better than the shirt did.

cons:
i didn’t think the pin the front and back of the shirt together before cutting…and i’m kinda like a wild woman when it comes to scissors.
i over-estimated the sleeve size, and therefore couldn’t hem the new sleeve holes without showing too much side-boob o.O
i tried to sew the leaves in place around each leaf-tip, and quickly realized that it would make them pucker unpleasantly.  i’ll probably be stuck carefully protecting and ironing the leaves down after every wash.

but overall?  i’ll still wear it!  and that’s all that counts!

so, what’s next for me?

next time in the world of refashioning, watch me turn this too-short kimono top into a cool little capelet…i hope.

hi again everyone!  i know it’s a been a little while since i posted again…it’s been a busy week!  in fact, for the next few weeks, spare time will run fairly short.  we’re getting into the home stretch on little shop of horrors, which means a good bit of time spent at the theatre.  like this morning:  painting plant costumes from 10 to 2.  oh boy   i’m so excited to see it all come together!

as for the birthday excitement that i promised to share, let’s see…

friday night was an amazing dinner at delhi palace and a trip to art bar for the improv show.  i managed to win an official art bar players t-shirt…which ended up being a bizarrely small "everyone loves a brown-eyed girl" shirt.  (**note:  i think i’m going to try to make one of my monsters out of it and auction it off to make some $$ to donate back to the players, yay!)  the show was exceptionally good–skaggs was in quite a few of the games, and he completely rocked! 

saturday, lex and i hit the road for a quick trip to charleston for a craigslist dance…which didn’t end up working out.  it was really unfortunate.  apparently, the guy we were going to meet had a couple of people in line for the guitar and sold it to someone else–just as we parked in the garage across the street from the meeting point.  we had hardly gotten out of the car when lex got a call from the guy.  it was pretty much the most frustrating thing ever, and i was so angry at the guy for lex’s sake.  we did have a lovely walk through the market, though, and the weather was lovely, so it wasn’t a terrible day, over all.

sunday was lunch with my family.  we celebrated both my birthday and erica’s, since we’re a week apart.  it was really nice!  mom had gone to some serious effort on food for lex and me–she made these awesome veggies for spinach wraps, and she’d made me a vegan birthday cake!  it was chocolate with peanut butter frosting and was pretty much amazing!  besides the usual birthday money, i received some new jewelry from my folks and a sewing machine from my brother and erica. (**sidenote:  that was totally sneaky.  i thought i was getting the machine from lex, because he’d had me check it out to make sure it exactly what i wanted.)  lex had made a collage of pictures of us from our various adventures–vacations, camping, etc. and had gotten it printed onto a canvas for me to hang.  it is amazing and i love it!  in fact, i’ve already gotten good use out of everything i got!  i’m hoping to post some pictures soon of the first official refashion i made with my sewing machine.  and i used some of my birthday money to set myself up with a whole new set of workout gear–new pants, new tanks, even new scrunchies!  now i have enough pairs of pants to get me through the whole week–without having to wash them every three days!

so, it was an excellent birthday and with a hectic schedule, there should be plenty of fun to get into in the coming weeks!

have a great weekend!

my birthday weekend was amazing!  i’ll be around later to tell all, but in brief:  saw an excellent improv show, took a mini roadtrip, got a gift that made me cry (good tears!), and have already started a refashion with the new sewing machine.  woo!

for now, i’ve got a bunch of things to catch up on.  but i promise i’ll post some pictures and more detailed excitement later

hope everyone is having a great monday!

so, it’s my birthday.  27 years.  oh boy.  i still remember my 21st (yeah, that’s right.  i remember it.  i was with john and chris down at the millpond–and i got my nose pierced by a woman who, in retrospect, was probably 178 million percent Crazy (that’s right.  with a capital ‘c’).  those were pretty awesome times, lol.)

and this is a pretty awesome time.  i’ve done some incredible freakin’ things in my 27 years shuffling on this mortal coil–some seriously awesome and some seriously silly things.  i’ve lived and studied theatre in nyc.  i’ve taken a wicked awesome cruise to mexico.  i’ve picked out a fake prada purse from a woman in a giant north face jacket on one corner in china town while a raid was happening on the next corner up.  (and i’ve been with someone who purchased a fake rolex in a popeye’s chicken )  i’ve worked as a behavioral therapist for autistic children.  i’ve started and run my own company.  i’ve lived in a hippie commune.  i’ve frightened cops (okay, okay…and been frightened by) cops on a boardwalk during a full moon at daytona beach.  i’ve had to be more of an adult than i ever hoped i’d have to be, and i’ve gotten to have more fun than anyone should be allowed to.

all in all, i feel pretty ridiculously lucky to have experienced (and lived through) everything up to this point.

but now, there’s the question i come to every year of my life:  what will make this year great?

while sometimes the quickness with which i arrive at each new number makes me want to stop and catch my breath, i always love my birthday.  it’s so much better than january 1.  it’s not the start of a new year for the world.  it’s a start of a new year for my life.  what could be better than that?

i can’t wait to look back next year.  i have a feeling year #27 is going to be the best one yet!

so…i love chocolate.  thankfully, i’ve always prefered darker chocolates to milk chocolate, so giving up the idea of chocolate wasn’t a complete necessity when i went vegan.  even at that, i haven’t been so desperate for chocolatey goodness that it’s driven me crazy.  but every once in a while, i’ll come across a recipe that sounds too good to be true—and, being me, i have to test it out!

what’s that?  a chocolate pudding recipe that’s low fat, low calorie, super-quick and easy?  i can handle that! 

if you’d like to check out the recipe, you can find it here.  while you’re there, spend a while (or, in my case, a whole weekend, lol!) checking out some of the other awesome recipes.

i opted out of the peppermint recipe in favor of the plain chocolate option, with cinnamon and vanilla.  the chocolate base would be perfect for all sorts of mix-ins!

finding this recipe came at just the right time.  lex has been feeling crummy for the past two days, so this was a welcome treat tonight!  since i always use his interest in a recipe as the final test, i can give this one a definite two thumbs up!

on the topic of eating my greens lately…and of not being wild about salad dressings…i must admit that the thing i love most about salad is the blankness of canvas it offers.  spinach with celery, carrot, and chickpeas becomes a perfect plate to top with a bit of ginger dressing.  and i’ll put black olives on pretty much anything green. 

but one thing i’ve been trying to work towards lately is getting more protein.  during the winter, i tend to lean towards heavy foods like whole wheat breads and hearty soups.  the onset of spring always finds me wishing for lighter fare.  something about the combination of ginger and chickpeas in my salad the other evening reminded me of tuna salad.  i have no idea where that memory came from—i haven’t eaten real tuna salad in over 15 years!  but after that fleeting flavor, i decided to look up a vegan alternative to try out.  that led me on a spree of recipe research, during which i found a recipe for vegan mayo and three salads that sounded worth tweaking for personal use.

as always with my recipes, they’re concepts from various sources, adjusted by my own kitchen expertise.

from top left:  tuna salad, egg salad, chicken salad.  all vegan!

vegan mayo

12 oz. firm tofu
4 tbsp. water
4 tbsp. veggie oil (although i used the liquid from the chickpeas i used later)
2 tbsp. lemon juice
dash salt

1)  blend all ingredients until smooth.  if needed, add more water and veggie oil (up to two extra tablespoons)
2)  store in an airtight container in the fridge

vegan tuna salad

15 oz. can chickpeas
1/8-1/4 c. vegan mayo
1/2-1 full stalk celery
2-3 tbsp. sweet relish
1-2 tsp. soy sauce
dash garlic powder

1)  drain chickpeas.  mash with fork in a medium bowl
2)  mix in remaining ingredients
3)  store in an airtight container in the fridge

vegan egg salad

14 oz. firm tofu
1/3 c. vegan mayo
1/3 c. sweet relish
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2-1 full stalk celery
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. mustard

**  after eyeballing things up to this point, i taste-tested and decided the salad was still too tofu-y.  so, i stepped up to our spice shelf and pondered.  i decided to add:

several dashes yellow curry power
several dashes smoked paprika
1 1/2 tbsp tofutti vegan cream cheese

1)  drain and press tofu
2)  mash tofu with a fork in a medium bowl
3)  mix in remaining ingredients
4)  store in an airtight container in the fridge

**i am still working on this recipe…there’s just a little something missing.  however, when added to a bed of fresh spinach, it comes full circle.

vegan chicken salad

15 oz. can chickpeas
1/2-1 full stalk celery
3 tbsp. minced onion
1/3-1/2 c. vegan mayo
salt and pepper to taste

1)  drain chickpeas.  mash with a fork in a medium bowl
2)  mix in remaining ingredients
3)  store in an airtight container in the fridge

my favorite turned out to be the tuna.  i don’t feel like the chickpea texture would be super omni-friendly, but it worked just fine for me in both the tuna and chicken recipes.  the egg salad, as previously stated, still needs to be fine-tuned, but it was definitely good enough for me to work it out!

i made the vegan mayo, all three of these salads, and a super dessert (coming up next) in under an hour and a half in the kitchen.  while that may seem like a lot of time to spend slaving at the counter, i won’t have to prep anything else for days if i don’t want to.  yay, lazy weekend!

blame it on the faint breath of spring in the air, but i’ve been craving cool, fresh greens more than normal lately.  thanks to the greatest bargain shopper i know (hi mom!) i ended up with a huge, lovely tub of crisp spinach last week, and have been working my way through it one delicious bowl at a time.

one thing i’m not a huge fan of is salad dressing.  first of all, they’re generally kinda oily.  i am admittedly weird about oil.  besides, there aren’t a whole ton of readily accessible pre-mades available for vegans in this little town.  which means that if i want a dressing, i sometimes have to whip it up on my own. 

a really simple one that i love is tomato basil dressing.  i wish i had a picture to accompany the recipe, but i actually like this one enough to nosh it all basically right away.  this is mostly an eyeballer recipe (so take the measurements with a grain or two of salt, and taste as you go).

tomato basil salad dressing

1 large tomato
1-3 fresh basil leaves (start with 1, work up to taste)
1/3-1/2 cup red wine (again, depends on taste…and consistency)
salt and pepper (to taste)
optional additional herbs and spices:  parsley, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder

1)  dice your tomato
2)  chop or tear your basil as you please (i like to chiffonade mine)
3)  combine all ingredients in a container with a good seal
4)  shake it up, baby!

stores nicely in the fridge for a few days

seriously.  just…seriously.

“This is very good news. They continue to be in breach, like so many whales. It is a big day of gladness at the Sober Valley Lodge because now I can take all of the bazillions, never have to look at whatshisc–k [Chuck Lorre] again and I never have to put on those silly shirts for as long as this warlock exists in the terrestrial dimension.”

what is the man even saying?

i’m now completely certain that he was put in this terrestrial dimension just to make me lol.

i have:

-managed to make it back to the gym after recovering from an icky stomach over the weekend.

-set a date to go shopping with my mom for her dress for james & erica’s wedding (squee!!)

-made it to cola. and back with that excellent man of mine

-pinpointed the new running gear i’d like to pick up for my birthday

-eaten some potentially hazardous lettuce

-made a sweet white kitten particularly happy with my beaded necklaces

and

-fended off a wasp in the laundry room.  i was armed with nothing more than an umbrella and a broom.  and i totally managed to get him outside.  because i’m awesome like that