Adventures in housewifery: Cooking, crafting, and not a lot of cleaning
It’s important to stop and smell this tree.
And this blade of grass.
And this bush.
Maintain proper stretching techniques.
Hug your friends (although try not to chew his head off.)
Behave at parties so you get invited back.
Be aware of your surroundings.
Listen to others.
Never stop learning!
Be goofy.
But above all… Take good naps!
“I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness – it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.” – Brene Brown
“Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increase the burden: It is easier to say “My tooth is aching” than to say “My heart is broken”.” -C.S. Lewis
“One of the things that baffles me (and there are quite a few) is how there can be so much lingering stigma with regards to mental illness, specifically bipolar disorder. In my opinion, living with manic depression takes a tremendous amount of balls. Not unlike a tour of Afghanistan (though the bombs and bullets, in this case, come from the inside). At times, being bipolar can be an all-consuming challenge, requiring a lot of stamina and even more courage, so if you’re living with this illness and functioning at all, it’s something to be proud of, not ashamed of. They should issue medals along with the steady stream of medication.”
― Carrie Fisher, Wishful Drinking
“A failure is not always a mistake, it may simply be the best one can do under the circumstances. The real mistake is to stop trying.”- B. F. Skinner
“We have to go into the despair and go beyond it, by working and doing for somebody else, by using it for something else.” – Elie Wiesel
I hope you’re ready for some swoon worthy pictures! I was lucky enough to attend Sparkle Motion, a bellydance event put on by Boheme Tribal Bellydance last weekend and it was held at the Ladies’ Library Association of Kalamazoo. This lovely space is breathtaking! The featured picture is the ceiling above the staircase.
Their website is here:
http://ladieslibrarykzoo.org/our-history/
I’ll give a brief history, but I encourage you to go poke around, as it has a fascinating history. The Ladies’ Library Association was formed in 1852. It was the first women’s’ club in Michigan and the third club in the nation. It was known as a “college for women” and guided partially by Lucinda Hinsdale Stone. Before buying the building in 1878, the Association met in private homes and (ladies after my own heart) acquired a large collection of books that could be borrowed. This collection became the first public library in Kalamazoo.
The Association also had the distinction of being the first women’s organization in the nation to be able to finance and own property.
It is housed in a glorious red brick house, built in the Venetian Gothic style. We were lucky enough to be able to use the auditorium, which is in the second story. The woodwork and stained glass had me in awe and I felt very privileged to be able to take the workshops and attend a performance here.
Photography was not permitted during the performance and I was too busy dancing my butt off to take pictures during the workshop, but I was able to roam around the building and take pictures before the event. The workshop was with Kami Liddle, by the way, who is a fabulous dancer and one of the first dancers I started watching. She’s extremely graceful and I admire her control and artistry.
Here is a Youtube link for you, if you want to see her style. I highly recommend watching it. https://youtu.be/1uGOmXGdRrw
The first workshop was focused on arms and we learned lots of new arm patterns and ways to think about incorporating them choreography, as well as some good stretches for wrists and arms. We also had a two hour workshop on Shimmies and oh my gosh… My brain may have been a little fried in the good kind of way at the end. It was a fantastic workshop though and I’m glad I went. Less glad that I fell and twisted my knee, luckily after the workshops, while attempting to get out of the hotel shower. It does feel better now, but I’ve been out of commission for a bit.
Anyway, the building was spectacular. I was spoiled growing up in a house with stained glass, but my jaw dropped when I walked up the staircase.
Glorious!
The upper transoms of most of the regular windows had stained glass depicting different books and authors. I’m too short to do them justice unfortunately.
There were also mural windows downstairs, one in memory of one of the members, and this one, which is a piece commissioned by a local artist.
Until one of the volunteers told me, I wouldn’t have guessed that this was newer. It blends so well! The top transoms are the older glass, for comparison.
This one is the memory windows. Are you swooning yet?!
Not to be outdone, the woodwork made my heart go pitter patter too. The newel post!
These are the window pulls! With original hardware!!
This beauty goes all the way down the staircase.
Speaking of staircase… The other side of this is where the stained glass windows are. I swooned!
Inside shutters! For when the sun is too magnificent coming through the very tall windows.
Carved arches!
The venue also had very elegant plush chairs and delicious antiques set up in little nooks for reading.
Of course, I found the commemorative quilt, but it was too big to get a very good picture of. The hallway was very narrow.
There were some gorgeous chandeliers too.
I was so excited to be a part of the history of this space and could definitely feel the granduer and the pride that the volunteers had in it. I really want to go prowl around all the antique buildings now and see what other treasures are there. For now though, I will be dreaming about it and leave you with this elegant way of saying “tornado area.”
There’s also the fact that between the two of us, the Husband and I walked away with 40 books/media from the first of three book sales we are attending. It was not my fault entirely… If you bought 10 books, you got 10 free! What were we supposed to do? Needless to say, I’ve got some reading to do!
Have a lovely, book filled, cozy night!
“The desire to reach for the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise.”
― Maya Angelou
“Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
― Pablo Picasso
“Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, imaginatively; unless you can choose a challenge instead of competence.”
― Eleanor Roosevelt, The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt
“The secret to so many artists living so long is that every painting is a new adventure. So, you see, they’re always looking ahead to something new and exciting. The secret is not to look back.” – Norman Rockwell― Norman Rockwell
“Don’t keep forever on the public road, going only where others have gone.” – Alexander Graham Bell
“I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness – it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.” – Brene Brown
“Adventure is worthwhile in itself.” – Amelia Earhart
“New Year’s Day. A fresh start. A new chapter in life waiting to be written. New questions to be asked, embraced, and loved. Answers to be discovered and then lived in this transformative year of delight and self-discovery. Today carve out a quiet interlude for yourself in which to dream, pen in hand. Only dreams give birth to change.”- Sarah Ban Breathnach
“If you don’t turn your life into a story, you just become part of someone else’s story.” – Terry Pratchett
“Creativity is an act of defiance.” ― Twyla Tharp
“You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” ― Maya Angelou
“Creativity is a way of living life, no matter what our vocation, or how we earn our living. Creativity is not limited to the arts…”
― Madeleine L’Engle, Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art
I had a completely different set of pictures picked out for today, but then got the news that I have officially been approved for my full counseling license and I can’t think about anything else.
I just need to write it out. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor, or LPC!! This has been a crazy ride. It’s not something I talk a lot about, because this blog is supposed to be my fun side of life, but I’ve talked about it enough that I think I can indulge this once. 🙂
Honestly, I’m way more emotional than I thought I would be. I want to cry, jump around, run a mile, and tell everyone! I thought it would be just another thing to cross off. I guess I didn’t realize how badly I wanted this day to come.
Being a counselor is where I am supposed to be. It’s a feeling I know throughout my soul. My office is kind of like my second home, tiny as it may be. It lets me help people experience their worst times, it also find their best through it. Plus, it has fun toys!
So rather than get super mushy and ridiculous, here are some snippets of my office and my favorite things in it. The Professional Octopus is obviously my very favorite, but I don’t know that I ever really dared to dream it would be with me in a career I love so much!
Slamwich has been with me since grad school. The Husband laughed at me when I bought it “for the kids,” but it’s seen a lot of use.
I just bought this, but am planning on using it in my teen group! It’s super cute.
I love that I can legitimately buy all the coloring books “for work.” 🙂
Now I’m off to actually do my work! Hope your day is going well!
“If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” -Charles R. Swindoll
“Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground.” -Theodore Roosevelt
It has been a crazy year! I switched jobs twice, lost my serger pedal, but found it yesterday (!!), made a dress in 5 hours, found a favorite dress pattern, and used up an entire notebook.
I’ve watched multiple seasons of weird British shows (Death in Paradise, Doctor Blake, Great British Baking Show) and some Project Runway. Also, some action shows like The Flash, and Wynona Erp, much to the Husband’s dismay. 🙂
My space is getting organized, slowly but surely.
All my larger scraps are now housed in two containers. I have a shoebox style container full of tiny scraps as well, but they get lost if they are in with the bigger pieces.
Umm.. there’s a slight chance I need to stop saving scraps, or work exclusively in scraps for a bit…
I made about a million tea wallets, which does help with the scrap piles. They’ve also been selling a lot on Etsy all of a sudden. My tea wallets are in a brick and mortar store as well, Hawthorne and Vine, which makes me more confident when trying other avenues in the future.
My Etsy and vending events went decently well. I’ve been better about posting to Twinflower Fancies and am investigating other options for advertising.
One of my favorite clothing makes for the year was my Dita Dress, otherwise known as the “5 hour dress.” I did make some modifications to the pattern, but got a ton of compliments on it from complete strangers. It’s very exciting to say “Thanks, I made it!”
We discovered that Fancy is not a fan of my dress form unless it is dressed. Silly dog.
I also made two other versions of my strawberry dress, after finally remembering which pattern it was. I like them all, but was so pleased at how the lace worked out on my rose dress. I think it’s my favorite. I wore it in my professional head shot for work too. 🙂
Quilt-wise, my absolute favorite quilt was this rainbow one for a friend’s baby.
I love this quilt. Maybe that’s what I can use my scraps for! I’ll make a version to keep. It does use tiny pieces if I make the 5 inch squares first. Plus, I’m fairly certain I have some extra black squares somewhere. The Husband is shaking his head at me and suggesting that I should maybe finish the projects I have started for other people first… Silly Husband, deadlines are for other people… (He’s probably right though.)
I also took a huge leap and made the pictures for my office. I was nervous about putting my almost non-existent drawing skills out for display, but was inspired by someone who repeatedly makes me draw things to “help build my confidence in drawing skills.” In the end, I’m glad I ended up choosing the songs and images I did. I’ve had positive responses from people and take pride in embracing my space as my own.
I found a source for my quilts, since they don’t meet Project Linus requirements. My friend has an OT room for kids with emotional disturbances and they will be getting some of them. I have one completed and two tops waiting to be finished.
I used 7 craft books. I added a few more in the process, but have tried to pull patterns or books that I am not using to be donated. I actually was able to connect through the bellydance world with a high school sewing club and they will be getting these items. The box of fabric I had for them is getting bigger and bigger. I’m excited for it to go to kids who are just getting into sewing.
Overall, I completed 67 total projects. This did not include actual numbers of tea wallets. I lost track somewhere in one of the rushes. If you know any tea drinkers, send them my way. I’m sure I can find one for just about anyone.
And what did you learn?
Things I’ve learned from this year is that I don’t really like working with paper very much, despite having a bunch of scrapbooking stuff. There is not one paper project on this entire year of blogging. I’ve brought a bunch of it to my office and most of it will probably make its way there.
I need to have a firm hand with the supplies that I keep. I have random craft supplies, Christmas ornament supplies, and beading supplies that I rarely use. Is it really worth having it take up the space, when it could go to someone who would use it?
Organization is my least favorite part, well, along with ironing, of the whole process. Losing my serger pedal is the perfect example of the reasons why I need to get this under control.
Do you know where it was?
It was staring me in the eye from behind a box of elastic and hidden by my thread boxes. The thread boxes that I go to every time I need new thread… that sit next to my sewing area in the basement. That I swear I searched. I’m a bit annoyed with myself to say the least. My dad is going to say “if it was a snake, it would have bit you” when he reads that.
I may make this picture my background screen on my Ipad if I’m having trouble getting to the organization bit later. Maybe it’ll shame me into actually doing it.
Speaking of actually doing things, here’s my yearly goals.
Yearly goals:
* Continue blogging both successes and failures.
* Be more involved in the online sewing community for support and growth.
* Continue to develop my Etsy store.
* Learn to take better pictures.
* Learn to use (and not be scared of) the serger. It dishonors my friend’s memory to have it just sit there and not use it.
* Get halfway through my UFO boxes.
* Donate items I am not using/that don’t work for me.
* Be fearless with new projects and techniques.
Whew. That’s a lot of words. Here’s a new cute sleeping dog picture, if you’ve made it this far.
I hope you’ve enjoyed coming along on my journey with me! I know I’ve learned a lot, maybe I have inspired you too!
Here’s to another year of creativity and adventures!
