Shedding

I don’t know about you but autumn makes me feel unsettled.

(a beautiful tree in my neighborhood)

I want to do more, make more, but I feel like first I have to shed the STUFF in my life that is no longer working for me.

A week or two ago I went into  my closet and got rid of LOTS of things!

Actually, when I started I was just going to put away my summer things and get out my fall clothes.

Somewhere along the way I had stumbled onto the idea of a “capsule wardrobe”…..having 37 things that you wear for a season (3 months).

It doesn’t have to be a hard and fast rule of 37 things, but it’s basically paring back your wardrobe to pieces that you love….pieces that you can mix and match with each other.

This doesn’t include pj’s, work out clothing, etc.

I have about 5-6 pairs of scrubs that I wear to work during the week, so that was easy (and I don’t count those).

I have several pieces that I wear to work out in….shorts, tights, tee’s, etc. (those don’t count either)

What I did come down to in my capsule was:

9 pants (5 pairs of jeans and 2 pairs of dress pants).

These are my favorite jeans! Pilcro Flare Stet from Anthropologie bought

last year.

14 tops (bought one new top at Loft outlet for $12….very similar to pic below)

 

1 sweater

1 cropped sweater that has hounds on it…..LOVE!

7 jacket/cardigans

2 skirts (1 long bought on sale at Anthropologie 2 years ago pictured below, 1 short….the short skirt is bronze and totally sequined….probably won’t wear it much, but I just love it and couldn’t pack it away just yet!)

9 pairs of boots/shoes  the ones pictured below are my most recent purchase. Bought at Marshalls for $29.99!!

(this does not include my work shoes/ workout shoes)

My total ended up being 46…..not 37, but I think that is good for a start!

(Confession: I ironed all the tops before hanging them up…..and enjoyed it)

I put my out of season clothes in a suitcase, gave pieces that I no longer wore or loved away and I still have one bag of clothes that I will donate.

Shedding feels good!!!

Working with what you have feels good and I feel that it makes me get more creative with how I put my clothes together for an outfit, plus I just don’t stress

as much over what I’m going to wear.  I know that whatever I have in my closet is something that I love!

 

(man riding unicycle down the street in my neighborhood)

Current Project & Finding Inspiration

This is a sneak peek of my current project.

I’ve been working on it for several months……

not because it’s big….

just because I haven’t been making time to hook.

However, when I do sit down to hook on this piece,

it gives me great joy.

 

This piece has many inspirations.

One inspiration is, of course, my dogs.

My other inspiration is my class with Heather Ritchie…..I’m now addicted to hooking

with alternative fabrics……they make me smile!!

This is one of Heather’s rugs that she brought with her to the class I took with her.

My other inspiration are these pillows from Deanne Fitzpatrick’s blog.

#hooked rugs #owls #colourful

A photo posted by Deanne Fitzpatrick (@studiodeannefitz) on Jan 23, 2015 at 4:27pm PST

 

Inspiration is all around us, it’s just taking the time to sit down and make it our own.

Making things my own is what is giving me joy these days, I don’t care if they are

perfect, as long as they come from my heart.

Will I Ever?

Will I ever get back into the regular habit of blogging again?

I keep trying, but I feel like a car that keeps sputtering,

goes off with a great start and then dies in the middle of the road.

 

Oh well.

I’ve been spending a bit less time on the computer and I guess

in some ways that is a good thing.

 

This past weekend I drove up to Kansas City with my aunt and

we visited the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.

I think we spent 5 hours walking through the museum and having lunch.

Even with that time spent we weren’t able to see everything.

It was a beautiful day and there was even a wedding that was about to take place.

My favorite pieces of art that I saw were the Native American pieces. There were pieces that were

old, such as these hand-beaded moccasins from the 1890’s

to newer pieces such as these hand-beaded heels designed by Hawaiian-born artist Jamie Okuma

who beaded them with glass and 24k gold-plated beads in the tradition of American Indian moccasins.

I think that anytime you make something by hand you have a much greater appreciation for the time

and commitment that these items take to create.  I’m fascinated that so many years ago when people

were hunting for food and preparing food and tending to their children that they had time at the end

of the day to sit down and create these wonderful works of art that were part of their daily lives

or used in ceremonies.

Another work of art that was astounding was this piece created by El Anatsui.

It’s hard from the picture above to appreciate how large this piece is…..

In this photo, I tried to capture people standing below it to give you a better idea of the scope of this piece.

Other pieces that spoke to me:

This is a painting of Natural Bridge, Virginia…..I visited this when I went to school in Virginia.

Yes, it’s really that beautiful and awe inspiring.

To me this symbolizes how lonely it must have been for women settling in the prairie.  I find it quite

peaceful to look at.

This is just beautiful and girly and wonderful! I love everything about it!

This is a painting by Thomas Hart Benton, one of Missouri’s masters.  This is a painting of his sister

that he painted while he was in school. Completely different from other Thomas Hart Benton paintings

that I have seen growing up.

Just google his name and you’ll see why this one stood out to me.  Here, I’ve done it for you.

Thomas Hart Benton

"Hanging by a Thread"

You are invited to an art show at Maschino’s in Springfield, Missouri!

 

"Hanging by a Thread"

Artists Reception

Thursday, September 17

5:00 - 6:00 pm

Free and Open to the Public

Exhibition thru October 26

Monday - Saturday 9:30 - 6:00 pm

Hanging by a Thread is a juried

exhibition of the work of regional

fiber artists. The exhibit features

only fabric art work, something

not often seen outside one-person

shows in the Springfield area.

Fiber artists exhibiting work at Maschino's

include: Cindy Kopenhafer, Judy Ferguson,

Tammy Burks, Dulcy Stewart, Darla Johnson,

Larry Dowell, Leisa Rowley, Meike Aton,

Carol Bormann and Jeanene Turney.

What a great weekend!

Started off the weekend early (Thursday) by stopping by Leola’s Vintage Home and Garden’s Fall Open House!

They always have such delightful things!!!

 

Saturday, headed up to Warsaw, MO with friends to the Truman Lake Hook-In…….

Shame on me……no pictures except this one here…… (yes, I’m out of blogging practice, I promise I’ll

try to be better)

No, this is not a picture……this is a rug!!!!! (in progress)

Being hooked by Kathy Donaldson…….this is done in 1-3 cuts…..outstanding!!!! The stone stacked wall is just

as amazing as the horse and rider!!!! Totally blown away by this one!!!

 

Feeling recharged by the little get-aways and ready to share some of my own projects with you in my next post.

Nature’s Inspiration

I’ve got a FitBit, so I’ve been walking more.  Generally I walk in my neighborhood,

but occasionally I venture out on the Galloway Trail.

 

I always have my iPod, listening to podcasts (I love to listen to Jillian Michael….

she is funny as heck!…check her out HERE)

 

This is nice, because I always have the camera available to me as well.  These are

a few pictures that I took on my Sunday morning walk.  The autumn clematis is blooming

like crazy right now. So beautiful!

I also love this picture of the stacked stones in the middle of the creek.

Goldenrod is also in full bloom. You can’t tell from the picture, but the goldenrod

is about as tall as I am!!!

Hoping some of this translates into some artwork.  We’ll see!

Homemade Granola Bars

We’re always trying to eat healthier.  Rather than buying store bought

granola bars, I made some from scratch this weekend.

I love to cook from recipes, Kenny likes to just whip things up on his

own!

The recipe is from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa.  Her recipes never disappoint

and this recipe was no exception. Click HERE to see the recipe.

I love dried fruit, so I loved these granola bars…..these have quite a bit of sugar from

the dried fruits, honey and brown sugar, so treat them more like a treat, not like a health

food!!!

 

Also, if you make them, take her tip and use your butter wrapper to coat the inside

of your measuring cup, before you put the honey in…..it comes out easier that way!

Everyone needs a kitchen helper!!!