PoMo Golightly

Project 333, Phase 2: the first month

January is already scampering away!  Earlier in the month, I posted about my Phase 2 choices for Project 333, and though I'm not doing weekly picture reviews for this round, I've still been thinking about the project a lot.

Most of what I discovered in Phase 1 still holds true, and the adjustments I made reflect that:

• In Week 9, I lamented my jewelry.  I now have three of my rings, a pair of earrings, my stack of bracelets, and six necklaces in rotation.  I have not worn the earrings more than once, and until my hair is long enough to wear up, I doubt I will wear them too often.  After the three-month ring fast, wearing anything on my right hand feels clumsy.  I'm not sure if I'm going to truly re-integrate my rings.  In contrast, wearing my bracelets makes me feel right with the world, and I've enjoyed having more choice in necklaces, especially this new one.  Funny, though.  Some mornings, getting dressed has become a more cluttered affair as I debate which necklace works best with my outfit.
• I decided to increase the number of handbags in my closet to three.  I use my Moop bag almost every day, but I am happy to switch to the small black bag when I go out for dinner or to see a play.  I now have definite opinions about what I want in my "perfect" bag!
• A particularly snowy January has made me glad that I lumped my handknits together.  I've been getting a lot of use out of my shawls and scarves, but poor Clapotis is still resting from her three-month solo engagement!
• I appreciate the ease of getting dressed every day.  Keeping my clothes washed and ironed is much easier, and everything in my closet mixes and matches with everything else.  Lots of permutations.
• My most worn item this round is my pair of Ugg boots.  Again, a testament to the snowy month.

I've had a lot of fun gifting many of the beautiful clothes that once crowded my closet; I sold some things, and I even bartered one fabulous purse for a massage.  It is freeing to know that these objects are finding new homes where they will be worn, and that I have more space.  

What is one thing taking up space in your life that you're ready to see move on?

Ten on Tuesday, Products Edition

I was pretty psyched when I saw this week's Ten on Tuesday theme: Top Ten Health and Beauty Products.  I have a few I love and want to tell you about, and I'm looking forward to learning about new goodies as I read the other lists.

First, less product than habit: 

1.  Water.  Our bodies are made up of a LOT of water (that is a scientific fact!), and keeping them hydrated helps skin to look better, as well as flushes out toxins.

2. Sleep.  Best health and beauty product ever, unless you cried yourself to sleep, in which case you might, like me, look terrible even after eight solid hours (swollen eyes do not = beauty!).  Sometimes I think the best benefit of a good night's sleep is simply the better attitude I have the next day.

3.  Good food.  It isn't always cheap, but eating good, in-season food, preferably cooking it at home (as opposed to going out too much, in to which trap I often fall) does wonders for my health.  The USDA pyramids, tailored for different dietary needs, are an excellent resource for making sure I get the right balance of foods.

4.  Exercise.  After a long day of teaching today, I came home and shoveled.  Not the entire, huge driveway, but enough that my blood got moving.  I am not a fan of working out in a gym (the only time I've ever really liked it was when I took boxing lessons with the Rev).  I ride our bike trainer only to prepare for some of the goals I've set for the summer. I would much rather move outside, and sometimes that comes in the form of shoveling, chasing the dogs, running with a scarf over my mouth and nose, ice skating, or skiing.  No matter what I do, I feel so much better after (except, you know, for the aches).  My skin glows, and I feel firmer and mentally healthier.

Okay, enough of the common-sense-yet-vital beauty products that aren't really products, and on to the fun stuff.  I raved about the Rosebud Salve in my last post, so I'll skip it.

5.  Vaseline.  Some ways I like to use it: put on my dry feet, pull on old white socks, go to bed, wake up with softer feet; put on lips over red, red lipstick for extra shine; smooth eyebrows with it (don't glop it on); put a tiny bit on eyelashes instead of mascara.  

6.  Aveeno Positively Radiant Cleanser.  I have sensitive skin.  I can't take heavy fragrances.  This cleanser does the trick for me.

7.  Goldwell Color Glow Deep.  I spray this on before I comb out my hair (with a wide-toothed comb, of course) after a shower.  I've been coloring my hair for ages, and this product truly has kept the color looking better more than any product I've used before.  The light fragrance is so pretty, too.

8.Kiehl's Tinted Moisturizer. When I've been drinking ample water, eating well, exercising, and getting plenty of sleep, I don't always want to wear foundation (though I love the one I use).  On those days, I use my Kiehl's tinted, pop on a little powder, some Rosebud Salve on my lips, and I am ready to get to work.

9.  Boots No. 7.  I've used several of the line's products, and I like the Protect and Perfect Serum, the Day Cream, which has an SPF of 15, and the eye cream, though I confess to liking Aveda's Tourmaline eye cream better (it looks like they're not making it any more?!).

10.  Good sex.  Okay, not a product, and I debated about adding this one, but as a woman who went a LONG time sans a lover, I am a firm, dare I say, hardcore, believer that good sex does wonders for mental health, for skin (aren't we usually using makeup to a. replicate youth; b. enhance our favorite features; and c. replicate afterglow?) and for all around happiness, which is the most beautiful thing a woman can add to her health and beauty arsenal?

Now that I'm blushing a little, I'd love to hear about your favorite beauty product.  Be sure to check out Carole's list as well as the list of everyone participating in Ten on Tuesday!

 

Some Stuff I Like

Cross-country skiing is something I like.  Until the icy junk hit on Tuesday, we had some of the best snow in recent memory.  I was starting to feel like I knew what I was doing out there in the woods, but the ice has changed that! 

Here are some other things I've been liking lately:

Moop Letter bag: I purchased this during Phase 1 of Project 333 when I realized that the leather tote I'd been burdening was not holding up under the strain.  While I prefer open outside pockets (the flap covers two front pockets), the bag feels great on my shoulder and holds a LOT! The quality of the bag is fantastic, and the customer service is amazing.

Delias Thompson Eternity Secret Message Necklace: The way the secret message circle slips gracefully along the necklace's chain is far more pleasing than I could have anticipated.  Delias is charming and delightful to work with, and I am thrilled with the elegant playfulness of my new necklace.  It's a great way to keep your own mantra for 2011 close to your heart. 

Rosebud Salve: this stuff is perfect for winter lips and cuticles.  

Brooklyn Tweed's Shelter Yarn: Have you knit or crocheted with this stuff yet?  As his prize for my recent contest, Drew asked me to knit a hat for his wife.  I'm making this pattern, and every stitch is pure, squishy goodness.

Roasted Chickpeas: I saw these on Pinterest (are you using Pinterest yet?  Why not?) and promptly made them.  They are delish on a salad.  Much healthier than croutons, they give that same crunch and pop of flavor.

What have you been liking lately?

Ten on Tuesday, Game Edition

This week, Carole asked us to think back to childhood and share a list of games we played.  

 
1.  Dolls.  There are no rules to this game, but I loved playing with my dolls.  Paper dolls, soft dolls, anything dolls, and I was in.

2.  TV shows.  The four or five youngest of us in my neighborhood liked to re-inact our favorite tv shows.  Land of the Lost was a big favorite, as was Charlie's Angels.

3.  Spit.  My oldest sister and I played this by the hour, and I still love a good game of spit.

4.  Reading catalogs.  Is that a game?  Well, even if not, I certainly spent many, many hours poring over the Enchanted Dollhouse catalog.

5.  Hide and Go Seek.  I loved that thrill of hiding out.  I was not so keen on being the seeker.

6.  Field.  Again, not really a game, but a big part of my childhood.  We had a huge field across the stream behind our house that developers had started to dig up, but then stopped.  We played endlessly on the huge mounds of dirt and explored the area for hours on end.  As a young teenager, I borrowed my older sister's skis and learned to cross-country ski there.

7.  Monopoly.  As the youngest of five kids, I often had to beg for siblings to play with me.  This was one of my faves.

  8.  Dress up.  I had a rich fantasy life, even as a child.  I liked to listen to my records and tapes of fairy tales and dress up and dream.  On the back of this picture, my mom wrote that my gram had made the hat, and I wouldn't take it off for anything~not even bath time!

9.  Tree climbing.  Well, there was only tree I really liked to climb, and I was pretty adept at doing so with a book in tow.  I felt so free and secure on my favorite branch.  

10.  Monkey bars.  We just called the contraption, which would probably never be sold today, "the bars".  It was red.  It folded in half.  It could easily tumble down or pinch a kid's fingers.  But, man, did my sisters and I spend hours flipping around that thing, playing at being gymnasts.

It seems like there were a hundred other games and things I loved to do to occupy my time as a kid.  How about you?  What was your favorite game as a child?

Ten on Tuesday, Organized Edition

Over the last few years, my life has changed a lot.  While some of my usual organizational methods have remained useful, others no longer suit, leaving me in the process of finding the Goldilocks system.  There are some things I think Help me to be More Organized, the subject of this week's Ten on Tuesday.

1.  Saving documents.  I am consistent in how I save my work.  Letters are always saved "x name date".  X=letter, name=recipient, date=when written.  I save writing by "title, draft, version, date" (commas not allowed, of course).  Classroom documents are saved by semester, class, doc title, date.  These little consistencies make it easy for me to track my work, returning to earlier versions with little hassle.

2.  Computer desktop folders.  I get a little chill of fear when I see a desktop absolutely littered with documents.  Creating a folder by project, activity, whatever makes sense, and placing all the documents in that folder help me to stay organized.  And to avoid feeling overwhelmed when I turn on my computer.

3.  Routines. The best routine I've ever started was to put my keys in the same place.  Always.  Every time.  I impose that on Neal, and he laughs at me, but if he drops the keys on the counter, as soon as I see them, I pop them into the key basket.  I never want to be that person searching for keys.  They go in the same place in my purse, too.

4. Real folders.  The trick is to make sure you use a system that makes sense to you.  I have big subjects (Dogs, Warranties, etc.), and I also have folders for each of my short stories/articles. I keep folders for inspiring magazine images, too, though I'm using Pinterest far more than I'm ripping magazines apart. 

5.  Separate things by use.  Spices that I use predominately for baking are on a different shelf than those I use for cooking.  

6.  Pretend to be a librarian.  If like me you have lots of books (or cds or any other physical media), don't lump them all together.  I have fiction and non-fiction on different bookshelves, and the non-fiction is further broken down.  Short story collections are separate from fiction.  Craft books have their own shelf, as do poetry and Classical literature.  Shakespeare also has his own shelf--I have collected works, many of the Arden editions of individual plays, and critical books.  Stop judging; I wrote my MA thesis about his work and can't let go of the texts I labored with for so long!

7.  Sort the mail immediately.  I don't linger with mail.  If I'm going to read a magazine or catalog, it goes on the coffee table.  Neal's mail is placed on his desk.  Anything to which I need to respond goes on my desk.  Recycling goes out the door to its new home, the blue bin.  Piles of mail give me anxiety, so I deal with it right away.

8.  Plan the week's menu.  I was amused to recently see that another blogger has posted a menu-planning worksheet.  It seems a bit overkill to me, but if you don't already have a system, I suppose it is useful.  I try to grocery shop on Sundays during the semester.  While I'm having my morning coffee, I go through recipes and write up dinner menus for the week bearing in mind late days (I won't want to cook much) or evenings out (Neal fends for himself, usually with something on the grill).  It makes grocery shopping easier and probably less expensive, and I don't have to think to hard about food for the rest of the week.

9.  Don't trust your memory.  Have a secure place for important documents.  My ex-husband's filing system before we got married involved his record collection.  I'm not even kidding.  I would never trust myself to remember that my birth certificate was filed in Abbey Road because the Beatles started working on it not long after I was born.

10.  Purge.  Project 333 has been amazing for many reasons, and topmost is the purging of ill-fitting, worn-out, or simply not my style clothes that I have done.  I am far more organized when I get dressed now, and I'm much more organized about what pieces I would like in order to make my wardrobe work even better. This weekend I purged a lot of fiber from my spinning stash, and the yarn stash is slated for the next big purge!

For all I have to say about organization, I'm still struggling with finding a way to merge my home calendar, work calendar, paper calendar, and electronic calendars in a way that will be most effective and efficient for me.  If I figure it out, you'll be the first to know!

Meanwhile, what helps you to be more organized?

 

A Recipe: Lentil Stew

As a vegetarian, I mistakenly thought that the crockpot's use for me was limited to yogurt and fruit butter making.  Oh, how wrong I have been!  

Wednesday morning I used the crockpot to make the lentil stew recipe I've been making for years on the stove.  I felt smug all day knowing that dinner was already made, and after simmering away for eight hours, the stew had that delicious second-day-flavor-melding goodness that makes soupy leftovers so wonderful.

Why the Cholula?  It's my topping of choice for this recipe.  I might just make the stew as an excuse to go crazy with the hot sauce.

Want to make some Cholula Vehicle Lentil Stew? Here's the recipe, from Woman's Day's February 16, 1999 issue:

1.5 cups dried lentils

3 cups water (I sub veggie broth when I have it in the house)

3 cups (ish) of 1" cubed butternut squash (I use frozen when I'm feeling lazy)

2 cups marinara sauce (your own if you have it on hand, or jarred if you don't mind it)

8 oz. green beans trimmed and cut in half 

1 medium red bell pepper cut in 1" chunks

1 large potato cut in 1" chunks

3/4 cup onion, chopped (I mince half an onion and don't measure)

1 tsp garlic, minced (I don't measure; I just add a few minced cloves)

1 Tbsp olive oil

1.  Mix lentils and water in crockpot.  In a large bowl, mix remaining ingredients except olive oil, and place on lentils.

2.  Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or until veggies and lentils are tender.  Stir in the oil.

My addition: slather with Cholula.

I debated posting the recipe and finally eased my mind by researching copyright protection for recipes.  

If it is snowy where you are, try this out.  It really sticks to your ribs!  I'd love to hear what you think if you make it!    

Project 333, Phase 2

On Project 333

Three months.  Thirty-three items. 

Project 333 was a fantastic experience for me.  I was able to pare down my wardrobe significantly.  I learned that I could style the heck out of 33 items, rarely feeling bored.  I committed to quality and fit. I began the journey to dressing authentically. 

Phase two has commenced, and after thinking hard about what I wanted to gain from this round, after chatting with Drew and Cheryl about the rules I was planning to break (Cheryl decided to break some of the very same rules! Great minds and all that.), I decided that the best approach for this round for me is to lump some categories together.  

Phase 2 List

1. Gray print jersey dress
2. Pink and black print jersey dress (new item from those I'd boxed)
3. U.P. LBD dress (we’ll see how it fits post letting-down-the-hem)
4. Orange pullover
5. Gray cardigan 
6. Mint green cardigan
7. Black fair isle cardigan (new! Christmas gift from Neal & so cozy)
8. White blouse
9. Gray turtleneck
10. Black cap-sleeved knit shirt
11. Black long-sleeved shirt (might replace as I really prefer a v-neck)
12. Jeans (replaced the "casual" pair with a darker wash I had boxed up)
13. Jeans (dark jeans from last round)
14. Khakis
15. Black slacks
16. Gray slacks (Need to be hemmed.  Great for work or dressy casual situations)
17. Gray a-line skirt (it's big now, but I love it so & next size down is not available currently)
18. Blue a-line skirt (Christmas gift from Neal)
19. Slim skirt (newly added from items I boxed up for Phase 1)
20. Chinoa boots
21. BBC boots
22. Pearl Harts
23. Malibrans
24. Danskos
25. Uggs (newly added from items boxed up for Phase 1)
26. Yellow shoes
27. Moop bag (testing out as replacement for black leather tote.  Phase 1 was rough on tote!)
28. Orange bag
29. Small black leather bag
30. Alpaca wrap
31. Belts
32. Outerwear
33. Jewelry

I'm not making many adjustments to the last round; I have added more accessories, perhaps over doing it with the shoes.  In Phase 1, I learned that I did not like being limited to one handbag, especially a large one.  There are times when a smaller bag is better.  

Now for my reasoning in deciding to break a few rules.

Jewelry: I got used to wearing very little, but I missed my jewelry.  I've culled out a huge pile of costume jewelry I know I don't want to hang on to, and I'm boxing up all but the most sentimental of pieces: my bracelets, which I like to stack; a few necklaces; a pair of thick silver hoops bought to celebrate my undergraduate graduation; my mother/daughter ring, my turquoise ring, and my 13 ring.

Belts: I'm also lumping together the two belts I like to wear.  Would one do the trick? Of course, but I am unwilling to part with either, again for sentimental and style reasons.  I have no plans to donate or sell either, and rather than having them (wastefully) languishing in a box in the basement, I'll use them to hold up the jeans that are a little loose.

Outerwear: Like many parts of the country, New England's weather is fickle.  I know from Phase 1 that I would get a lot of use out of a 3/4 season raincoat or trench, so I'm keeping an eye out for one with a removable lining.  I have two vests and two winter coats.  Depending on Mother Nature's mood, any one of these items might be the most appropriate.  I hope by the end of this phase to see which I get the most use from and donate the rest.

Handknits: I am not a prolific knitter, but I have a couple of sweaters on the needles. If I don't even have a chance at wearing them this season, they won't get finished.  I know myself.  I have a few lace shawls that I like to wear, and let's face it: Clapotis could use some company! 

I eliminated a t-shirt this round, as well as the ill-fitting jean skirt (I found another, better fitting skirt among the boxed up items, but I'll save it for spring), and the floral blouse.  I think I'll miss the option of a second blouse, but it didn't fit, and I don't have another I like enough to put into my closet.  Since at least two months of Phase 2 are bound to be chilly, I will depend more on sweaters.

On Minimalism

I would venture to say that everyone participating in Project 333 has his or her own reasons for embarking on dressing with less, and the project is wildly celebrated among minimalist bloggers.  In the last three months, I've learned that minimalism is a blog topic that is almost as popular as knitting.  

I am not a minimalist.

I applaud those striving for a minimalist lifestyle, for whatever reason, but I do not identify myself as a minimalist. Life's circumstances have at times required minimalism and simplicity from me.  I do not like clutter. I do not like waste.  I do not like owning too much.  Sometimes I get caught up in excitement of new projects, new possibilities, and I have clutter; I am wasteful; I own too much.

I want to have exactly what I need and no more.  If that makes me a minimalist in the eyes of some, so it goes.  More important to me, though, is that I reach an understanding about the things in my life: how they make my life better, how they nurture my creativity, how they fit, how they are part of the complete picture of me.  

That said, what is one thing you own that speaks to the "complete" you?

 

Ten on Tuesday, Don't Make Me Live Without These Edition

 *

Carole's directive for this week is "Ten Things I Wouldn't Want to Live Without".  I'm glad I re-read it. First time around, I had "couldn't do without" in my head, and that is a different thing entirely.  After spending most of Monday morning discussing what I couldn't do without with Neal, I realized shelter was the only thing.  Maybe running water, but I suppose I could make do if I had to, at least for a while.

Anyway, Wouldn't Want to Live Without is so much more fun.  So, here goes:

1.  My computer.  Rupert and I work and play a lot together.  I believe that a person should have her own computer, unshared by others who might eff up settings, put fingerprints on a screen, or any number of other unsavory insults.  I would not want to live without Rupert all to myself.

2.  Yarn.  What would keep my hands busy if I couldn't knit or crochet?  Oh, I know, I know.  There are plenty of other hobbies, but yarn is the supply I would not want to live without.

3.  Kindle.  Shannenabler as I like to call her convinced me two years ago that the Kindle was nothing short of necessary to an avid reader.  As she always is, she was right.  I don't use it to the exclusion of books, which some people seem to think is the future. Instead, I prefer it to carrying several books around in my bag when I'm traveling, and it is also much easier to schlep around in my handbag.  I would not want to live without my Kindle, or some sort of e-reader.

4.  Fluevog Chinoas.  These boots take a few minutes to lace and buckle, but if I need to feel like a badass, these are my shoes of choice.  I would not want to live without shoes that make me walk a little taller. 

5.  Compact OED. I may not consult it often, and I suppose I can access the OED online now, but I would not want to live without this dictionary on my bookshelf.

6.  A car.  Well, technically, I would like to live without a car, but that would mean relocating to a place I know N. would not like.  Since I live in the woods, sans a bus or train line that would put me near my campus, I would not want to live without a car.   

7.  Trixie Trek, my bike.  I love to ride my bike.  I would not want to live without the freedom and strength I feel when I ride her.

8.  Saag paneer.  A world without my favorite Indian dish would be a sadder world.  I would not want to live without food that makes me as happy as saag paneer does.

9. Addi Clicks.  #2 would do me little good sans needles, and the Clicks are my main choice. N. was super generous to me this Christmas and spoiled me with a second set, lace Clicks.  Oh, I do love a sharp point!  Don't get me wrong, I'm also a fan of the Signature needles, but since I own the Clicks I know I would not want to live without them. 

10. Paper.  I'm a paper junky.  I like handmade paper, handcrafted journals, stationery, composition books.  I wouldn't want to live without paper, no matter how much I prefer to write on Rupert.

So you don't think I'm a big meany who would be happy to live without her husband or friends, remember Carole's words:  people (and dogs!) are not things!

What things would you not want to live without?

*If I added an 11th, it would have to be my new washer/dryer set.  After months without a dryer, I know I prefer not to live without one!

Happy New Year and Project 333, Phase 1

Today I returned to an annual event that I have loved since the early 1990s and missed since 2004: the New Year's Day hike.  Early in my time in New York, my pal Cheryl invited me to join a group that did the hike for years and years.  I think it was well over 20 years by the time they stopped doing it.  When I moved away, I stopped going on the hike, and I never found a satisfactory replacement for New Year's Day.  There really is no better way to start off a freshly-baked year than to find a place with a view, gather some friends and some tasty treats and have at.  For the first time in far too long, the hike was back.  Do I look just a little excited about it?

Yesterday marked not only the end of 2010, a year that treated me well enough, but also the end of Phase 1 of Project 333.  I'm participating in Phase 2, but I don't think I'll snap the daily pictures again.  Tomorrow I'll share my new list and my final thoughts on Phase 1.  For now, though, you can take a look at 92 days of me and my clothes!

Happy 2011!!