(wrap-up. get it? p.s. these are the rolled up train games.)
so…. i didn’t quite make it to 28 posts in february (i wrote 24!), but considering that i had a big presentation and a little boy’s birthday party to plan during that last week, i think i did pretty well. i accomplished the goals i set out to achieve with the challenge and i think i managed not to just filibuster the blog with non-blog-worthy reflections (although a few of those posts would normally have been combined and not posted separately, but whatever).
what about the things i posted about? here’s a few updates:
1. happy little dude’s new dinnerware drawer is a smashing success. we all love that he can help himself to cups of water whenever he wants them and that he can set his own place at the table or get a different fork if he doesn’t like the one he has, etc. i’m also starting to add one or two thrifted ceramic pieces as i find them–inexpensive, imperfect things that i don’t really care if he breaks, but not ugly (because no one wants to eat off ugly plates). i think eating off ceramic feels nicer and it’s good practice for the future.
2. the no-shampoo thing. still going strong. still loving the fact that i can take a shower in less than 5 minutes (at least on “water-only” days, maybe not after 4 straight days of water only or nothing). although with the weather being so cold, i haven’t yet done a 5 minute shower because i tend to just stand under the warm water trying to warm my body up.
3. pantry challenge: um, well, i fell off the wagon for the birthday party (yeah, i’m not going to just serve stuff i dug out of the “i think this is probably still good??” stash for a birthday party*) and i sort of accidentally bought more freeze-dried mangoes when i saw that target now carries them and i also made exceptions for butter, cheddar, canned garlic (i still haven’t replaced my broken garlic press), soy sauce and sesame oil today and i’ll probably make an exception for chili powder the next time i’m at the co-op. there are certain key ingredients that i don’t buy often and for which there are no good substitutes. and i don’t think we can go for a month without cheddar. and the birthday used up all my butter. however, i did create a three-week menu plan today and although i needed to get some milk, eggs & produce, i did manage to 1) fit all my groceries into one bag and 2) plan meals that will use up some of the freezer stash and 3) purchase only groceries from the outside edges of the store (i.e. the refrigerated and fresh sections, not boxes or cans) other than the aforementioned soy and sesame stuff. i resisted buying salsa, chocolate chips, cereal or any convenience foods or snacks. i’m hoping to make homemade tortillas, granola and ricotta (my first time! should i blog it? are you curious?) sometime this week…. *edited to add: i actually composed this post about a week ago and in the meantime, i have made granola, tortillas, ricotta (it works! and it’s delicious! apparently, the secret to liking ricotta is, don’t try to eat it plain, let it melt into something hot and it’s amazing! also, use full-fat dairy products. yeah, it’s probably mostly that last thing.) as well as a batch of homemade graham crackers (a new recipe to me) which i will blog about later this week (sneak peek photo above).
4. jeggings: i did wear them one more time this month (after washing them, which since i’d bought them with original tags still on made me nervous) and while i think they look okaaaayyyy… i really hate having to hitch them up all day (just like badly fitting tights) and if i don’t hitch them up, muffin top happens, so…. hmmm… jury’s still out. it is nice to be able to just slip into boots and not have to worry about shoving a whole bunch of pantleg in the boot and trying to make it look sleek….
5. celebrate the boy: i made the train game for my boy’s birthday party and a pair of pants which i might eventually blog. also, i made this firehose scarf for my nephew’s birthday (he requested a “soft, warm scarf” and also apparently he’s currently into firefighters. hello, obvious design idea!). it’s made from a single sleeve of a cashmere sweater (cut in half lengthwise, then stitched together at the shoulder seam to make a long, single layer with cuffs at both ends) with other shrunken sweater parts pieced together to make the nozzle and the spray of water.
finally, a big thank you to all my readers who commented on my posts. your feedback (whether chatty, complimentary, asking questions or just saying hello) is what keeps me writing and motivates me to tweak my projects just enough to make them blog worthy (and in so doing, create an end-product that i can be really proud of). thank you for giving me that little nudge. even if you didn’t know that’s what you were doing. thank you for reading.
*oh, except for the frozen sugared strawberries my wonderful mr. happy stuff reminded me that we had in the freezer and which went perfectly with the vanilla train cake** and vanilla ice cream. we didn’t mention to the party attendees that the label said they were from 2008.
**i don’t normally purchase novelty cake pans, but when i saw this one at the thrift store, looking brand new, i checked the ratings online and saw lots of positive comments, so i decided to try it out. i haven’t quite perfected the technique yet, but it was fun to make little train-shaped cakes and nice to not have to frost anything!
