Book Review: How to Sew a Button

The truth is I'm an old timer when it comes to domestic stuff.
My parents divorced when I was 9 and I chose to live with my dad. Thus I became the lady of the house.
At 9 years old I knew how to do laundry, cook easy things like eggs and yes the joke about me chopping wood is true. I was a little lumberjack. I still prefer chopping wood over jogging. I never turned back, I was always the cook, toilet fixer & more.

I realize that many didn't get to experience that until college. So I thought I'd toss out a few recommended readings for those who are just beginning their journey.
The first one is How to Sew a Button: And Other Nifty Things Your Grandmother Knew By Erin Bried.

This book introduces you to some domestic basics as you can guess from the title. Its truly a helpful book if you are a beginner.

Tips and tricks accumulated from a few grandmothers, this book gives you ideas on just about everything.

How to plan a week's menu, how to make gravy, how to start a windowsill garden, how to clean stuff naturally - that one has been a big surprise to me that it was sorta an unknown that you can use water & white vinegar to clean a ton of stuff.  There's tons more. Like how to make dandelion wine! That one was actually new to me. 

I think this book would be a perfect gift for a newlywed who isn't confident yet of domestic skills or a college student. Its great to take pride in your home and what you can do for yourself, even if everything isn't "perfect". 

Most importantly its good to try stuff out. You never know you might have a knack for gravy making.

:)

Thea

Homemade Marmalade

Orange Vanilla Marmalade

I took advantage of being snowed in this week by getting a couple tasks checked off my to do list.

Last year when we were snowed in and I made marmalade then.  I did leave the rind on last year which is great for certain recipes, cakes, glazes etc..  But this year I did the traditional orange marmalade recipe. 

It is super easy to make. This is my favorite recipe to share.

Basically its 10 oranges ( I used organic ones.)

4 cups of sugar

3-4 cups of water

I didn't use lemons. I did however add a shot of real vanilla extract to half of my marmalade because it tastes awesome.

Peel and cut the fruit. Toss in the large pot, add water & boil. When the liquid starts to boil and the fruit has broken down a bit (it takes a little bit) add the sugar.

Get it to a rolling boil then kill the heat & add to your prepared canning jars. Then process in your canner for 15-20 minutes.

So good and much cheaper AND better than store bought. 

Give it a shot!

-Thea

Snowed In

January 16, 2012

Yes, friends that's what we have been.

January 17, 2012

I have to admit we got a big chuckle when our weather made the national news. 

It made us sound like a bunch of snow wimps. 

My kids have been loving every minute of it. We've been baking cookies, birthday cakes (my family has 3 birthdays this week), playing games and of course enjoying the snow.

But no one loves the snow more than my dog.

January 15, 2012

Stay warm homies!

Thea

Crafty Tutorial - Simple Placemats

With pending birthdays this month I decided to spiff stuff up a bit for the festivities.
In my house no matter what room I try to herd people into they always come and hang out in the kitchen. Fortunately for us we have a space for a kitchen table in our kitchen so I can sit folks down when they hang out.

Simple Placemat Tutorial - The Grey Area Mom

Frankly, I just feel fancy having placemats that aren't covered with Hello Kitty. Also it being post holidays cash is tight so I dug around my fabric scrap pile to see what I could sew up to add to the party flair.
*Tip* - If you don't currently have any fabrics to use for this project check out your local fabric store's clearance bin or local thrift store. Most fabric stores will discount off cuts or smaller cuts left on the bolt. 

What you'll need:
Iron & ironing board
A sewing machine
Scissors
Sewing pins
Scrap fabric - I used a decorator fabric, which is a heavier fabric - great for this project! The amount of fabric will depend on how many placemats you plan to make. The fabric doesn't even need to match!

Prep your fabric by ironing it to make it easier to cut.

You'll want to cut each placemat's fabric into 14" x 18" pieces.

I actually had some pre cut pieces that were a little shorter than this but having two pieces cut into this dimensions worked the best.

With your iron along the longest sides you'll want create a 1/2 inch fold over edge.  All you do is have the wrong side of the fabric facing up and create that 1/2 inch fold with your hands then run your iron over it. Do this step to both of the long sides of the fabric.

Next at the corner create a triangle (see second picture above) press it with you iron. Then at the top piece of the triangle you'll want to fold it over creating a sharp corner.

The piece I was working with was a pre cut size that was a bit shorter than my recommended measurement .

Go ahead and secure the corners down with sewing pins.

Do this for all of your placemats.

After all of your placemats are ready have a seat at your sewing machine.
All you need to do is do a basic straight stitch down each side.

At the corners you'll want to pivot your placemat at a 90 degree angle to create a sharp corner stitch to match your sharp corner.

You do this by keeping your needle down (still in the fabric) lift your presser foot up and rotating the fabric. Continue to sew a straight line down and pivot at each corner. At the final corner I recommend doing a back stitch (hit reverse for a couple stitches) to secure your work.

Trim off any excess fabric and loose threads. (I used pinking shears.) You could also add fray stop liquid if you like. But I didn't because with many kids and kid friends I don't plan on entertaining the queen so I don't mind a few loose threads hanging loose after washing. I'll just snip them off.

Admire your work and then put them to use.

As we like to say at my favorite craft store - Craft On!

xo-Thea

How to Save Money?

You've already been bombarded with tax services emails and commercials this month. Yep, add that tax return on your to do list. Along with losing weight most folks start getting aggressive with saving money after the holidays.

In a different time of my life I used to dread January, it meant that I'd be working 60+ hours a week on tax returns until April 15th. They always say that you shouldn't talk about religion & politics, but I'd like to toss money in there too. That is one subject that makes most really uncomfortable.
Some have it and some don't. It causes the age old rift between people - the rich vs. the poor and it runs our society.

Lately I've been noticing more and more articles about living with less or spending less.
A California family lived a year without groceries,  (Not really so don't worry, but they did very well!)

A German Grandmother has lived the past 16 years without money. Seriously.

Living Without Money - trailer from Without Money on Vimeo.

And I'll even mention that horrible Extreme Couponing show. I do admit I watch it and I do "coupon", but I like to think of myself as a normal person and I don't have 40 things of mustard on hand at any given time.
I know these things are a direct result to the down economy and many are just trying to get by.
So let me correct my comment about thinking its a bad idea to talk about money, it is good to talk about saving it. Maybe not in an extreme manner but in a sensible manner.  I just sent off a little how to save care package to my sister in law so I thought I'd add some of those type of tidbits here too in the near future.

Happy Monday~
Thea

Meet - Jessi

Contributor Jessi is a wonderful bank of knowledge when it comes to world of trees and plants.
She's a fellow native Washingtonian who happens to be a dear friend of mine.
I cornered her with a few questions so have a read & get to know Jessi!

1.) Who are you & where do you reside?

I'm Jessi Bloom, a garden obsessed mama living in rural-ish Snohomish County, just north of the Seattle area.

2.) Family Stats?

I'm married to my high school honey, we have 2 boys (10 and 7) and a plethora of farm animals.

Jessi & her high school sweetheart heart husband. 

3.) 3 words that describe your parenting style.

Patience-- Loving--Teacher

4.) One thing you've learned since becoming a mom?

 Just one thing!?  I think the biggest thing that I've learned is that life is so much more than it was before.  More love, more fun, more stress, but overall, more meaningful.  

5.) One thing you'd like to apologize to your parents for now, if anything?

My teenage years... sorry Mom for making you worry!   

6.) Favorite family night movie?

Its hard for all four of us to agree on stuff like this, but I'd have to say "How to Train Your Dragon " is up there at the top of the list.  I've found that these days most kid movies are much better than movies for grown ups.

7.) What is the number one thing on your bucket list?

Travel more -- I need to go to Spain and Ireland... or Brazil, or Costa Rica... anywhere really that is outside of the US.

8.) Absolute favorite thing to eat?

Another tough question Thea - geez! What first comes to mind is anything that reminds me of summer cookouts. But because I have a weakness for comfort food I'd have to say that my homemade apple pie kicks ass and is one of the best things ever...especially with my favorite coconut ice cream.

9.) One thing unique about you?

Dude.. I have no idea... help? 

- Thea here on behalf of Jessi: One of the unique qualities that I know Jessi to have - she is a plant saver. In the past 7-8 years of our friendship I have witnessed many occasions of her saving plants that are on the brink of death. To me, a regular gal - I would dismiss a plant that looked like it was on its deathbed but her - her heart is so big that she will nurture it to the best of her ability to give it life. She's great like that, a kind heart to go with her beautiful face.

Thea & Jessi adorned with moss while out on a walk in the Cascades.

I hope you enjoyed getting to know Jessi and be sure to check back with us often to catch Jessi's posts (but not limited to) garden stuff.

xo-Thea

Fun Fact: Re-grow Green Onions

Did you know you can re-grow green onions?

Green Onions on the 3rd re-growth.

Its true! Don't toss out those white stringy parts of your green onions. Leave about an inch and a half of the ends bundle them up with a rubber band and set them in a clear glass filled with water. Make sure it is in a sunny spot (mine isn't in a super sunny spot) and watch the magic happen over the next few days.

Keep the water clean and you'll have green onions on hand for a couple months!
A neat trick I learned from my dad who was a huge onion fan.

Enjoy-Thea

Changes-

First Happy New Year!
It has been a little while. I hope you all weathered the holiday well!

Among the craziness of the holidays with family & work I had a revelation of sorts.
A few of my friends were circulating this article back in November online.
The second regret mentioned really resonated with me. "I wish I didn't work so hard." Not that I don't like  hard work and there is a tale to tell  about my personal background on that matter - but my time to let my kids go off on their own is coming closer.
I realize it is the ultimate goal - raise the kids, send them off & hope for  the best.  But when it happens it truly changes how you look upon things.  My eldest daughter has one more year at home before she moves away to start her own life adventure. My eldest son isn't too much far behind her.
As a parent time does seem to fly by at a rapid rate. One moment they are toddlers driving you crazy the next they are teenagers driving away.

My family in 2006

Time with them is precious. Being self employed sometimes you can become your work. My personal big change is to lighten my workload just a smidgen. I'll probably post more often about my journey with my teenagers, but don't worry recipes & other tutorials will still be the norm here.

Hug your babies & hug yourself while you're at it.
-Thea