From the monthly archives: July 2012
Lately … Timothy and I have really gotten into Scrabble. He had been asking me to play with him for ages, and I was all “that could never be fun.” Well, I was wrong. Our favorite spot to play is this certain picnic table high high up on a hill. You have to drive up scary roads to get there, but once there it is like a quiet little secluded heaven. And it doesn’t hurt that I always beat him. Boom.
Lately … my brother has been too legit. Too legit to quit in his oversized aviators.
Lately … we’ve been on quite a few road trips. Including this one, where we drove ten hours through the night. He took the first shift while I slept, and I took the second one. We made it home thirty minutes before he had to leave for work. I’m pretty sure I never want to do that again.
Lately … I’ve been drinking coffee from home, so the occasional Starbucks treat is pretty exciting. Especially when combined with a handmade quilt and some knitting.
Lately … I’ve been obsessed with ruffles.
Lately … I conquered the continental purl! For all you non-knitters, bare with me. This was a big deal. I’ve tried for a long time and I finally got it! I don’t like it, but I’ve got it. Ha!
Lately … my whole family has been obsessed with Orange Leaf. Last week was the first time any of us had been there and now our lives are forever changed. Orange Leaf, I love you and your cute little spoons.
Lately … my man and I have just had too much fun.
Lately … I rode a bicycle for the first time since I was six. It’s as scary now as it was then. (And yes, that would be my brother’s friend videoing the experience. Rude kid. Ha!)
What have you been up to lately?
~Whitney
Last week was a week of failing. Failing in the kitchen, to be exact. One night I tried to make peanut butter no bake cookies for the first time. I read through all the comments in the recipe and everyone was saying not to cook them too long or they would be a hard chalky mess. So I put my apron on and smirked with all the self-confidence in the world as I proceeded to cook the mixture for the minimum time. And the cookies turned into a lumpy, gooey, mistake of a mess. You live and learn.
Then the very next day I decided to try out a recipe I found on Pinterest for this special meatloaf to beat all meatloaves. *Side note: I love meatloaf. Always have. I’m not ashamed.*
I told Timothy I was trying a new recipe that night and he got excited like any naive husband would do. But when I told him it was meatloaf he got that weird fake smile on his face. The same kind of smile he usually puts on his face when I come home from Goodwill with something that just needs “a little love.”
I’ve never really liked meatloaf, he says.
A-ha! Challenge time.
So I told him to be prepared for the best meatloaf of his life and that I was going to convert him. And if he didn’t like tonight’s meatloaf, I would make him meatloaf every night for the rest of his life until he liked it. (I’m going to be a great mom, I can already tell.)
Dinner time comes and I slap my cooking gloves on and make the meatloaf. The recipe writer put a warning in the directions that if you packed the meat too tightly it would be really tough and gross. So I put my apron on and smirked with all the self-confidence in the world as I proceeded to barely pack everything together.
I mean, I should have just looked at my soggy cookie mess from the night before and heeded the warning signs, because the meat loaf turned into a meat pile. Yeah, it was as disgusting as it sounds. But I was still convinced that I was about to change Timothy’s life, so I gave him a scoop of meat pile and just waited for his mind to be blown.
But his mind wasn’t blown. Mine was. Mine was blown by how nasty it was.
I definitely was suffering from a surplus of confidence and a lack of skills. I just knew I was going to change the world one cookie and one meatloaf at a time, but it didn’t happen. And Timothy is more convinced than ever that meatloaf is gross. Which is great, just great.
What about you all? Have any of you suffered from some kitchen fails recently? Do you have a fool-proof meatloaf recipe that I can use to redeem myself? Does anyone else even like meatloaf?
~Whitney
Recently Timothy and I visited Lambert’s – a restaurant famous for thrown rolls. And huge mounds of food.
We clearly enjoyed ourselves.
It was the first time Timothy had ever tried fried okra. I was popping them in like M&Ms while Timothy hesitantly tried a couple. ”I’m pretty sure these are missing the cheese inside.” Ha!
I spent most of the time being half excited and half scared to death that they would throw a roll at me. The server must have seen my fear because he just handed me mine. I guess I look too delicate to catch. Yeah, that’s it.
They seated us at the Superman booth. Coincidence? I think not. They could see his muscles from a mile away.
We had a lovely time considering eating is our favorite hobby. I also got to wear a new skirt I made recently! I had a couple yards of a soft red knit that I planned to make a dress out of but decided to go for a casual skirt instead.
I followed Elle Apparel’s tutorial for her Socialite Skirt. I love everything that she sews, but I had a difficult time with this tutorial. This was my first attempt at sewing with a tutorial instead of a pattern, and I wasn’t a fan of doing all the math. Or the elastic thread.
Oy vey, the elastic thread. It was the death of me. I couldn’t get it to bunch up like it was supposed to. I tried numerous times with no luck. Yet the skirt somehow worked out.
I took the waist in quite a bit but it still stretches out as the day progresses. As a result, it is the most comfortable thing I own.
I’ve actually been surprised by how often I’ve worn this thing. Red is the new jean skirt!
What about you all? Have you been sewing anything recently? Have you been to Lambert’s? Do you have the same irrational fear of the thrown rolls?
~Whitney
(blurry phone pics are the best when driving with the windows down)
The other day Timothy and I were talking about how our arguments have evolved over the past few years. We’re learning what’s worth discussing and what’s worth just accepting and getting over. We were about to get all gushy when this happened:
“You sure are a lot less picky than you were when we first got married.”
“Well you’re not nearly as dumb as you used to be.”
Nearly three years of marriage and we’re already pros at complimenting each other. Ha! I’ll let you take your guess on who said what.
Marriage sure brings out the best in people.
~Whitney
Fatty to skinny tie that is.
My husband is a tie connoisseur. He likes to remind me of this fact. Often. He’s pretty picky about his ties, and I still haven’t grasped what constitutes a good tie and what is a bad tie. Except diagonal stripes. He pretty much always likes those. But his favorite ties? They’re all skinny.
And boy oh boy, does he look handsome in a skinny tie. The only problem is that they are sometimes hard to find. Want to learn how I made this skinny tie from an old, fat one? Well, read on!
I found the tutorial on Pinterest, of all places. As soon as I saw the pin, I clicked through to check it out and then heard angels sing. Go on over to Design Mom for her tutorial – she’s amazing.
I basically did Timothy’s tie the same way, just tweaked a few of the steps. If you’d like to convert some fatty ties, here’s what you need:
A skinny tie to use as the template, a needle and thread, pins, scissors, and a seam ripper. The rotary cutter is optional but really speeds things up.
First, take the tag and the little tie flap catcher off the back of the tie. (Yes, tie flap catcher is the technical name. Ha!) Then start seam ripping away. I was amazed by how fast this went. These ties are barely tacked together! Rip the seam until you get to the skinniest part of the tie.
Oh, and see how the material on the right side of the tie is being overlapped by the material on the left? If your tie is the opposite, just take note of that.
Pull the tie form out.
Then, using the skinny tie as your template, cut the tie form on both sides. If your man likes the ties to be super skinny, be sure and trim the form a little bit slimmer than your template.
Now you can trim the material on the right side of the tie (or whichever side was being overlapped when you ripped the seam). I trimmed mine about an inch and a half from the form and then tapered it to about an inch and a quarter as I got to the skinny part.
That was the easy part. Ha!
The next few steps are all about ironing and folding. Take your time on these steps, because they make or break the tie!
On the side that you trimmed, iron out the crease that was made from the old tie form.
Then fold and iron the material over the form. It’s crucial to make sure the form is centered at the point, or else the point of your tie will be crooked. No one likes a crooked tie point.
Now fold the other side of the material over the tie form. And take a moment to be super jealous of our lovely ironing board cover. It’s just a mauve ruffle short of early 90s status.
Unfold the side you just ironed and fold the material in on itself like so. And? Yup, iron some more.
It should look something like this when you’re done! In the original tutorial, Design Mom talks about getting that seam line centered. But I’m all about the off-centered look. Ha!
Next, line up your new skinny tie with your template tie to get the proper placement of the tie flap catcher. I threw away the tag, but next time I’m going to have to sew it on, too. My dear husband told me he needed that tag for extra tie flap catching. Or something like that.
Then slip stitch the mess out of your new skinny tie. I’m not sure if this is the correct way to slip stitch, but it worked for me. If your husband is anything like mine, he won’t notice your neat stitches. So this is a no pressure stitching situation.
And voila! You’re done. Give the tie to your handsome husband, and then ask him if you can spend the money you saved by refashioning his old tie on some new shoes. And chocolate.
And like I said, be sure to check out Design Mom’s original post. All kudos to this awesome idea go to her! I was inspired to do this project by the Pinterest Challenge. It was time to stop pinning and start doing!
I’m linking up with the sponsors of this challenge, Young House Love, Bower Power, Centsational Girl, and Ten June. I can’t wait to see how everyone else completes the challenge!
And if any of you have any experience with converting fat ties to skinny ties, I’d love to hear about it! My mom actually told me that she did that for my dad when they were dating. It’s crazy how trends come and go!
~Whitney
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I'm honored that you took time to stop by my blog! My name is Whitney, and I'm a diy loving, piano playing, sewing obsessed, thrifty, non-house cleaning, crafty newlywed. I love God, my husband, and life as a wife. If you'd like to know more, just check out my About Me page. Much love!
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