SOA Project: Let's spend a day or a week using only things we already have. My stash collection keeps growing, so I need to put a dent in it. Yarn, fabric, food----abundance is nice, but at some point, too much is too much. And, hey--it's too hot to leave the house. Let's save some money, free up some space, and crank out some creative goodness, shall we?
I have some food I need to use due to kitchen mistakes:
I accidentally opened a can of condensed milk when I meant to open evaporated milk. I don't know what the cans look like where you shop, but in my store, they're practically identical.
\(photo from Jan Norris)
Walmart----a word with you about your strawberries please. They sucketh. Seriously, the last 3 clam shells I've purchased have all looked fine at the store, then are covered with mold in the next two days. Two days? I have to devour all my produce within 2 days or it goes bad? And no, it's not my fridge. It's your yucky strawberries, Walmart!
So. A can of opened condensed milk and a clam shell of strawberries that will go bad if I take my eyes off of them. I will try this recipe for No-Cook Strawberry Ice Cream since I have everything else on hand. I'll let you know how it turns out. I'm already liking the 'no cook' part.
It has gotten so ridiculously hot that I've resorted to lying to myself about it. Adam and I sometimes have a little conversation like this over dinner: "It sure was chilly out today, wasn't it Laura?" "Yes, dear---I'm so glad you remembered your sweater this morning." "Goodness, yes. And I'm also relieved I got the rest of that wood chopped before this cold snap." Then we snicker and wipe the sweat from our brow. Brows? Collective brow?
Anyway, as part of the trickery of self, I've decided to knit something. Perhaps preparing for cooler weather will help encourage it to arrive. I have a bunch of yarn scraplins to deal with, so I'm going to make one of those slouchy berets. I want it to be a warm 'walking in the woods beret'. I have a few balls of this alpaca/acrylic mix called 'Galaxy' yarn by Bernat in the color 'moon'. Hmmm, my moon isn't that color, Bernat. Maybe it is in your world. What's Bernat been smoking, huh?
I will use a free pattern from the internet. Voila! Here's one. It's called Simple Slouchy Beret, by Wendy Harman. Thanks, Ravelry! (They have a mountain of free knitting/crochet patterns. It's too amazing to describe. If you're a yarn person, check it out.) Is that Wendy, I wonder?
Maybe it will look a little something like this, but in a non-moon color. And nubbier. And chunkier. Oh, who am I kidding? I just liked the photo. Blythe beret by SSmartRaggs on Etsy.
Dinner? I will go through my mountain of clipped recipes and find something I can make with ingredients I already have. I will then go deep condition my hair. If I'm out of conditioner, I'll use mayonnaise. Or olive oil if I have to.
Remember that mountain of Quarter Clothes? I think I'll tackle a few of those. You know what else is free? Inspiration at the library, in nature, in your head, or the internet. Let me go find some inspiration.
OK. I'm back from one of my usual go-to sites for inspiration, Anthropologie. Let's talk about this
outfit, shall we? Can you hear my sigh of irritation from here? Anthro, why are trying to sell me an outfit that looks like something my drunk aunt would have worn to Bingo in 1982? (To be fair, I don't have one single aunt who even drinks alcohol. I don't think. Hey aunties....are any of you closet alkies? I doubt it. If I had to guess, I'd say Aunt Judy drank a beer or two back in the day. Sorry to besmirch your auntlie names. My family is a bunch of well-behaved Baptists and recovering Baptists. ) Seriously. This ugliness has got to stop. And did I mention that this blouse costs $158??? Expensive ugliness.
This is better. Wearable, at least. I like the rufflettes. It would work with the red dotted fabric. Still----your clothes are getting a tad lackluster, Anthro. Let's not take this ugly-is-the-new-pretty thing too far. Are you guys sick of seeing flashbacks to 1980s office fashion, too?
This is so......blah. I'd pass it up even if it was a quarter. What are they thinking?
For the yellow vase print, I'd like to keep the upcycle pretty simple. I'm not crazy about this print from Forever 21, (yeah, 21 my foot, as Granny would say) but the line of the shirt is ok. Maybe a shoulder slit with added ties, and cut the neckline a little lower. We'll see. Is the bottom banded?
Wow. I'm feeling a little underwhelmed by the fashion inspiration available on the internet today. I think I'll turn to my own noggin.
I'm off to Use What I Have. Bye!
