Is this a problem?

I have seen so many blogs--seriously, my blog list keeps getting fatter. And so many of them stick to the same template and style and rarely if ever change it up.
I, on the other hand, have the most bizarre compulsion to change mine around every 6 months or so. I don't know why, I guess I like change. I move things around in my house too, when I can. It's the same thing with my blog-- one day I just look at it and say "It's still pretty, but let's change it up!".

Today I decided I need to try giving something new a change...I stumbled upon Shabby Blogs and was just smitten with some of the stuff on there...perhaps I'll do some spicing?

At least with the blog I don't have to haul furniture. :D

New! AKA--Why I love thrift stores and making stuff

I had a couple of very productive days late last week, and am still very excited over the results. If it wasn't for the fact that I am not really in need of any new groceries, I'd be at the grocery store this minute, flaunting my makings.

Last week, my boyfriend came home with the bunch of green onions we needed for supper in a plastic bag (oh, horror!) because the woman at the supermarket scolded him for not using one. Apparently the conversation went something like this:

"SIR! You need to put those in a plastic bag!"

"But they're already tied together...I'm only getting one bunch."

"SIR, that is not hygenic. People put all sorts of things in the baskets, and touch them."

At which point he just grabbed the bag and ran.

Maybe not ran, but you get the point.

I laughed so hard when I heard the story. What on Earth do people do at that grocery store with those poor baskets?! I mean...I put groceries in my basket. Then I take them home and wash them before cooking them. Not hygenic? I'm afraid I just don't understand.

At that point, I decided to take on the project I had been putting off in hopes of finding the perfect fabric: reusable produce bags. I already have my grocery shopping totes, which I use everywhere, but those flimsy little whisps of plastic in the produce section get me every time when I am trying to buy more apples than I can carry with only two hands. I made four of them, one specially long and skinny for things like, say, green onions. ;) They're rather flashy, since the only really light fabric I had was some atrociously, wonderously tacky stuff I fell in love with a while back and haven't found a good use for yet.

While I was working, I had a brilliant inspiration for a well loved t-shirt my friend got me for my 18th birthday. It was the most wonderful, comfortable cotton, and I adored the silly innuendo on it. In short, I wore that shirt until it almost fell off of me. So it's been sitting in my pajama drawer, not really being used, but I still love it too much to get rid of it.

So, with some help from some polka-dot cotton...my shirt is now a charming little tote bag with a dirty sense of humour!

On Saturday, we went on a little adventure in a town nearby.

We stopped off in the Value Village to explore and see if we could find some materials for making soap. We found an old cake pan that would work, as well as a fantastic flour canister...

and the prettiest cup in the world, with some cute sidekicks!

I also snagged two Vonnegut books (Cat's Cradle and Mother Night) and Plato's Republic, some super fine yarn and some cute lemon yellow gingham print fabric.

After, we parked at the mall and headed downtown with the intention of just exploring, when we saw a sign for a "garage/estate sale". So we wandered in. Oh wonders! The woman of the house, sadly deceased a few years back, was a skilled crafter, and had a room full of crafty things--yarn, crochet threads, tatting threads, buttons, beads, fabric, knitting needles, embroidery floss...you name it, she had it. Her husband recently passed also, and her daughters organized it all beautifully, because she had always wanted to do so. I found some beautiful supplies there...

lots of delightfully coloured crochet threads...

some tatting thread...

a couple of pattern books (is that edging book not AMAZING?!)

a gorgeous stack of vintage fabrics...

some wonderfully light, bright fabric I have hopes of making into more produce bags for friends and family...

some quaint old buttons...

two charming little saucers and a bright blue bottle (that's one of the saucers holding two of the heart-shaped whole-wheat tea biscuits I made yesterday! Complete with homemade local crab apple jelly, mmmm!).

I also brought home two unfinished potholders that I found while snooping through a box of granny squares. I thought they were adorable, so I am going to finish them and hang them in my kitchen. Her daughters, who were incredibly sweet and friendly, seemed happy that someone was going to finish them. I hope I can make some beautiful things from everything I adopted. I'm planning on teaching myself to crochet with thread, so I can start putting edges on pillowcases and handkerchiefs (which I am planning on making and replacing disposable tissues with). I just love crocheted edging on pillowcases, and have fallen completely over for some of the ones over at You Go Girl!

Look at them! Aren't they just the prettiest things you've ever laid eyes on?! I just adore them, and I definitely want to learn how to do that.

Well, this has been a positively gargantuan blog post...thanks for stopping in! X3

Current Book Obsession...

A while back, in my most favourite local bookstore, I noticed this odd-titled book while perusing the enviro section. "'Sleeping Naked Is Green'?" I thought, "What an odd title. What does nakedness have to do with anything?" I read the back, and it sounded sort of interesting, but definitely not interesting enough for me to coax my bank account into regurgitating the funds for it, being in the middle of text-book shopping time and all.

I kept bumping into this book though, and the more I read about it, the more intrigued I became. Recently I caved and bought it, and the feeling since then has been "OMG!!!! WHY DIDN'T I DO THIS AGES AGO?!"

I love it. It's one of those can't-put-it-down-laughing-like-a-loon-while-sitting-all-alone types of books. I may have worried some of my coworkers, or boyfriend, or just people around in general with my random snickers and giggles. Vanessa Farquharson has a brilliantly witty, dry style of writing that keeps you entertained, while dealing with very real concerns for the "green" lifestyle. For someone who has likewise struggled to keep the smug out of the hippie while greening their life, I feel relieved that some of the frustrations and confusion (and yes, sometimes obsession) aren't limited to me.

In addition to the general awesomeness of the book, there are tons of great ideas for simple (and sometimes not-so-simple) green changes one can make.

If you want to see what the hype is about, but don't have or want to spend the cash for the book right know, stop by at http://www.greenasathistle.com/, which is the original blog the book is based on. It's worth it. Pinky swear.