Two For One

It's Monday, so Made by Me day.

IKEA had these laptop bags on sale for $5:

I quite liked them and ended up buying 2 of the same colour to use as a purse most days and a laptop bag on occasion.  Since they were the same, it looked like I only had one bag so to make them look a little different I just did a quick refashion and put a back pocket on one of them:

I also did the strip down the front - you can sort of see it in the first photo.  I must have shakey hands because the front photos turned out fuzzy. 

The pocket is great for easy access to loose papers and gum, and I'm even thinking of doing the side strips - it would be great for an umbrella pocket - but not sure if I have enough material.

Wreath Deal

Weekend, so a savings post.

On the savings front, we were able to keep our regular grocery bill to under $100 today by buying mostly sale items and using a few coupons.  But then we went to Costco ... BIG. Mistake. Why is it that you can never go to Costco without spending tons of money?  Perhaps because everything is so cheap, and usually of good quality it encourages you to spend?

Anyway, at the supermarket, I was on the lookout for another wreath, and got a twiggy one for 84 cents, marked down from $9.  I have this idea to make a Chinese New Year wreath out of it for January 23rd.  It has a cute penquin on it though which is about as un-Chinese New Year as you can get.

Cute Lil Penguin, you've gotta go!

Big J thinks it will look weird because no-one puts up wreaths for Chinese New Year.  It's true, we've always had a traditional scroll-poster thing in previous years, but change is good.

It'll be quite the challenge looking for suitable adornments in red and gold colours.  Might have to make 'em!

Losing It

Well it's weekend again, so a post about weight loss.  I just signed up for an on-line calorie tracking site.  You enter how much weight you want to lose and then track your daily calorie consumption.

It was a choice between 1 or 1/2 lb per week.  The others 2, 3 pounds per week were out of the question - too dangerous plus I like food too much.  I chose the 1 lb because the 1/2 pound took me past my end date of March 31, 2013 (see the Layoff Counter on the right side bar).

Then, every day you just enter what you eat and it tracks it for you and tells you how many calories you have left to eat.

Who used up all my calories?

As long as you stay under your calorie budget, you can lose weight.  It also lets you enter your exercise activities, and you can track your weight loss on a chart.

Going nowhere fast!

The only thing is that not all types of foods are in the system, so you might have to guestimate the sizes.  It really makes you think about what you are eating.

You can go back to previous days and see how your eating habits have changed over the months.


They say that logging food intake into these on-line counters is a great addition to the weight loss arsenal so I'm hoping that this will keep me on track.

Booting Up

Well, it's Fashion Friday again and since it is still cold and wet out, I thought a post about boots would be in order.

For me, boots are the almost ideal footwear.  Boots can be dressed up or down and you can wear them with pants, skirts or dresses.  They come in different styles and shaft heights.  They protect you from water on rainy days and the cold on freezy or breezy days.

Here are some coveted ones on my wish list:

This one is from the Valverde Boot company in Spain.

Spanish boots are extremely well made, usually by hand and the leather wears very well.  The riding and walking boots are super comfortable, and they look great with longer skirts. I've always had compliments on mine, and now that Kate Middleton has made them in vogue, I am definitely considering getting more.

The only problem with Spanish boots is that they are made for Spanish women who have no calf to speak of.  So quite often, the tall boots are not wide enough in the calf.

I'm also a Dr Martens fan and have several pairs of shoes and boots.  This one is the Sanrio boot, it's super-cute. 

Like many asian women, I'm a big Hello Kitty fan.  These are probably not that useful wardrobe wise though, so this might just be an admire-from-afar item.

The last pair which is my favourite are by Chie Mihara:

They look sort of Victorian, but modern.  I envision wearing them with a longish flippy-hemmed skirt and fitted jacket.

Lace Faux Cami

Today's is a Thrifty Thursday / mini-refashion post all in one.

I have a long maxi dress which is a staple on warm summer days. Unfortunately, the neckline is a touch low for me. It also buttons up the front and the buttons are just a tiny bit too far apart causing it to gape in front when sitting down.

Usually I safety pin the neck and also wear a turquoise tank under it, but that's not ideal because you get an extra layer - not so good for those super hot days. And turquoise doesn't really match the print on the dress.

Then one day my favourite notions store had small pieces of fancy lace on sale so I got one.  It was just a small piece so I cut it in two and used the scalloped edge for the neckline.  The remaining piece I turned on it's side and stitched it along both sides of the front et voila!

Now when I sit down, even if it gapes, you don't get that unsightly flash of flesh.  Sorry about the quality of this pic, try as I might, I could not get an unfuzzy shot. 

Tired Hands make for Fuzzy Fotos

The thrifty part is that you get the look of a luxe camisole for a couple of dollars.

Scarf Fever

Since yesterday was actually Tutorial-To-Try day, I'll do it today instead. I am a confirmed scarf person and will usually wear a scarf as part of my outfit. I've found some tutorials which I'd like to try one day when I have some time.

The first one is by Put Up Your Dukes.

She also has an interesting-funny side story which goes with her Braided Scarf Tutorial. This one looks hard-ish for those who don't do a lot of sewing, although she says it is not.

The other one I want to try is this one by Watch Me Daddy:

Her Felted Flower Scarf tutorial looks really easy.  It's a hand-sew project which I love and looks fabulous.  I wonder if the scarf is itchy?

I'm on the hunt now for supplies as I am still a bit squeamish about cutting up my own t-shirts.  Newbie Refashionista.

What Weightloss?

Well, it's Wednesday again (update: okay, all day I thought it was Wednesday, that's what happens when you take time off work) and not much to report.  I have been successful in doing more exercise.  I'm watching old X-Files episodes now while doing the elliptical trainer.  I'm hoping with the resolution thing that maybe it'll pull me along until Spring Break.

So today was another cold and extremely rainy day. I wore lots of layers:

I don't usually wear much mustard, but liked this jacket because it's very retro and 80s looking even though I just got it new last year.  I love the super-long sleeves which have those thumb-holes.  And the colours create a nice diamond-hourglass pattern at the waist which I hope is slimming.

Unfortunately the shoes are not the same.  I keep 3 or 4 pairs of shoes at work in various colours for days when I wear rain boots, and I wore Docs today.  I don't have a pic, but found the exact same shoes (in worse condition) on the web:

You can't really tell in the picture, but the jacket has a super-high collar which I never wear buttoned up.  Since I wear it open all the time, it looks weird:

So right when I got home, I did a mini refashion and re-sewed the buttons so that you can see them when the collar is undone. 

Flapping Tongues

I'm not sure if this is considered a refashion or not but I've definitely altered these:  I have a lovely pair of Doc Martens Airware boots which I got while on holidays in Idaho a few years ago.  They are the cracklin half boot:

Doc Martens are my absolutely favourite shoe. They are a must-take when travelling - they are so comfy.  I didn't notice at the time I bought this pair, but the right boot had an overly flapping tongue.  

A Wagging Tongue

The leather was a tiny bit softer and it wasn't as stiff as normal.  This caused the tongue to flop over when I wore the boots untied (which is how I usually wear them).  Not so bad under a pair of jeans, but I didn't like how it looked with a skirt or shorts.

So, my favourite notions store to the rescue.  They have piles of leather pieces which though not quite as cheap as a few years ago, are still reasonable.  I was looking for a pink piece, but all the pink ones were huge and cost big bucks ($8.99 or more).  I finally found this purple piece for $1.99:

First thing I did was "measure" the tongue by tracing its outline onto the leather:

Then I cut it out

Then, using the same glue as from the Swag Bag refashion, I glued both the leather flap and the tongue:

Then it was just a matter of slapping the two pieces together, and pressing it down a bit.

Check out those chocolates in the background!

I liked it so much, I did the other boot too:

Too bad I didn't do this sooner before the flowers rubbed off the floppy tongue!

New Year's Day Tradition

A double-post today: Just thought I'd put up a quick additional "what i wore" type of post in addition to today's real post below.

One of our family's New Year's Day traditions is to wear something new on the first day of the year. Mine was the skirt in this pic.  It's a stretchy pull-on skirt, but does not have one of those yucky elastic waists. It's an actual flat waist band which does not have to be hidden.  The whole skirt is a knit stretchy material. 

Brr! It's Cold!

And it has a nice neutral print on it.

Go with anything black-grey print

Notice the scarf?  That's the one from the Scarf Ace post. 

Wii ! Weekend

I've been doing the elliptical trainer for a bit now, but the other part of my exercise regime is meant to be Wii.

It's actually quite fun, you make yourself an avatar, and it keeps track of your exercise on a daily basis.

Like this:

Then, when you do the exercises, it shows you (via the avatar) doing the exercises.  My favourite is the running.  It takes no skill and you can do it without the wii board.

You might think that the running is similar to the elliptical trainer, but it isn't.  It is actually more of a workout.  The trainer is very smooth and doesn't feel like you are really working out whereas with the running (You run on the spot) you do feel a little out of breath.

You can choose to watch TV while running, but I like to watch the avatar.  I know real runners will laugh, but it's almost like you are running outside because the scenery changes and you see other avatars running too.  You just don't get cold or wet and there are no vicious dogs.

Huff Puff !

It actually tells you if you are going too fast, and if you go super-fast, the avatar falls down!  It's also supposed to be more of a calorie burner if you run at a steady pace.

The step class is also fun, but I'm stuck at the beginner stage.  The more advanced stages have too many complicated twists and turns and hinder the workout.

There are other workouts too for yoga, strength and balance.

My resolution for this year is to use the wii exercise programs more.  Okay: no it's not: I'm going to try to do at least 30 minutes of exercise 3 times a week.

Happy New Year!

A short post today as everyone is likely busy preparing for or already celebrating New Year's Eve.

One of the other parents brought over a Panettone, it's a sweet Italian loaf which is part of the Christmas / New Year's festivities there.  Big J says it's similar to Spain's Rosca de Reyes.  It came with a nice ribbon bow, so of course, I nabbed it for the wreath - there's an update pic at the end of the Wreath post.

Here is Abba with their Happy New Year song:

It's funny, this video is from the 80's? and if you look closely at Anni-Frid's  clothing, she is wearing a lace blouse.  So it's true what they say about fashion happening in cycles.

Happy New Year Everyone!  Feliz Año Nuevo!

Fashion Cape

Capes are finally accepted fashionable attire.  For a sci-fi/fantasy and historical fiction buff like myself, this is great news.  I don't know how many times I've day-dreamed about striding across the moors in a flowing cape.

A few years ago when shawls were all the rage, I got quite a few.  I still wear them regularly - and people just assume its because of Big J being Spanish.

Now, I'm glad that capes are in style!  I haven't seen any super-affordable ones in the stores yet, but found some quite cute ones surfing the web:

I really like this style, the length is good and it has those useful armholes.  I am not sure of the fabric - it looks like it would catch on things and run:

This next one has great fabric - it looks like a sherpa jacket and would be great for winter.  It looks a bit short though, and the sleeves are not very weather-proof being all open to the elements.  It's probably expensive too.

My favourite, is this one which is an authentic traditional cloak and cape with a deep hood.  I imagine it's similar to those in the books I read.  There are 2 kinds, with and without the overcape.  I like it with.  I guess it somes with arm-holes in the cloak underneath.  It looks over-dramatic for everyday use though:

I also found this poncho-y vintage cape: Check out the site

Lovely Cape, Skirt & Shoes!

This cape really reminds me of one that my mom has.  It's a Welsh Tapestry cape similar to this one, but the colours are closer to the vintage cape above.

I wonder if my mom still wears it?  Mom?

On another note, I've updated the look of the blog and have added a translator.  What d'ya think?

Wreath Refab

It's Thrifty Thursday again.  One of the thrifty money saving things I do every year is shop at the Boxing Day sales.  I used to get a new ornament for the tree every year, but now I wait until Boxing Day to get several ornaments.  Since the tree is still up, I hang them up and we enjoy them for a few days until next year.

A few years ago, I wanted to put a wreath on our front door.  All the ones I looked at pre-Christmas were super-expensive and I considered making my own, I checked out the "ingredients" at Lewiscraft and Michaels, but it seemed quite pricey.  Then, on Boxing Day, I found a rather bedraggled looking one for about $7.  Still not cheap, but to get the supplies and make one myself would've cost way more.

The first year, it was a sorry sight.  Many of the ornaments had fallen or been ripped off - you could see the headless stems.  I added a few gift ornaments to it and left it at that.  Now, I'm always on the lookout for things that can spruce it up, and add to it every year.

Here is this year's pre-Boxing Day wreath:

Still a sorry sight

Originally, only the 2 beige-y things, and the three (you can barely see them) thin gold ornaments with tartan ribbon (2 trumpets and a violin) came with the wreath.  The red apples and pine cones were from tops of Christmas gifts which I snagged over the years for the wreath.  The 2 little ball-like things on the bow are actually hair ornaments!

This year, I got 2 candle holders, some tinsel and some bells. I wanted to add some sparkle and thought the bells might jingle.  The candle holders were cheap (50 cents) and red, so I got them too.

I attached the candle-holders using the tinsel and used some green twist ties to attach the bells.

I started with just one bell per twist tie, but you could barely see the bell in all that green-ness so I ended up attaching two or even all three for greater impact.  The bells don't actually jingle at all but do add a bit of colour.  And I like the sparkly tinsel, so might add more next year.

Here it is post-Boxing Day, ready for next year:

See a difference?

It's actually starting to look like a Christmas wreath!

Update:  Here is the wreath with the new bow from the Panettone:

Lovely Bow from Panettone!

I think it balances out those 2 other beige-y things don't you?  Hmm, I'm noticing the wreath looks lopsided.  It looks fuller on the left.  Will have to do something about that next year.

What do you think of this refab?  I've just added a "Rate This" checkbox to all the posts, so you can use that without having to comment.

Wednesday Weigh-In

Well it's Wednesday which is weight loss day.  I'm not expecting much progress what with Christmas, food, chocolates, more food, cookies, still more food and so on.  Here is a mussel/prawn dish from a dinner.  

I'm not sure if I'll make this again. The poor little mussels are alive and get killed by the boiling liquid.  My pot is also not quite big enough, you really need a giant stock pot.  It was tasty though, and the family ate it all.

Anyway, back to Weight-Loss Wednesday:  today's weigh-in was 161, which is down two lbs from last time, but again I think it is due to time of day etc.  I did get in 2 sessions with the elliptical trainer (and 2 episodes of Stargate!).

I don't have a pic of the scale, it's solar, so is very difficult to capture in a photo.  You have to give it enough light to run, and then when you hunch over it to get a photo, it blocks the light, and the display goes.

So instead, since I was dressed already:

It's soggy out, but warm

As you can see by the pic, today is quite mild for winter here. But "Winter is Coming" (a Game of Thrones reference for the sci-fi/fantasy fans).  And here is my scrunchie for today:

This was made from one of those 25 cent pieces of fabric from my favourite notions store.  I made it years ago to pile up wet hair in my swimsuit-wearing days to go with a favourite swimsuit.  Those days are long gone, but the scrunchie is still useful.

Holiday Lights

It's Tuesday Tutorial! I know this is the wrong holiday, but last Hallowe'en, I was looking around for ways to decorate the front door area for the trick or treaters and stumbled on these:

When I clicked on the link, I discovered a tutorial for making these: fabulous pumpkin lights .  This would be a great way to avoid having to carve a pumpkin! If you checkout Amanda's Page, there are all sorts of wonderful craft tutorials, but I especially like what she does with glass bottles and jars.

I researched glass painting a little more and it doesn't look overly hard to do, so have added it to my list of want-to-try crafts.  I have a big 2 litre manzanilla olive jar saved:

Our family goes through a ton of olives, so by next Hallowe'en, I should have a big supply.

Merry Christmas!

As it's Christmas Eve here, we are super busy.  We normally celebrate tonight, but this year guests are coming tomorrow night. I probably won't be posting for a few days but there is time for a quick post today.  If you are also celebrating Christmas, I leave you with:

Happy Christmas Everyone!

Sweater Dress

It's Fashion Friday again.  Winter has arrived and it is quite cold now. So what do you do when you want warmth, but don't want to look like you're dressed for playing in the snow?  Sweater Dress!

There are cute sweater dresses on sale at Ralph Lauren - although for me, the price is still too high:

Sweater dresses are great for the cold.  You can wear them as is, or if it's freezing out, you can add vests, cardigans or jackets over top for extra warmth, and they still look work-appropriate.  I really like the extra long one, but I think after 8 hours sitting at a desk, they would get baggy knees, so the best buy is likely the shorter one.

I just happen to have 3 in my closet which I have been wanting to not refashion, but adjust.  They are a modified tunic style, slightly more casual as they have pockets, but which might look better with the waist taken in.  Unfortunately, every photo I took today has come out fuzzy, must be the late nights of  Christmas planning taking it's toll.  But here's a pic instead:

They are about 3 or 4 years old now, and it's time to refresh them.