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2013′s To Do List

Wednesday, January 16, 2013 by:Alison Grieveson

No big woop. Just gonna accomplish a number of things this year and writing them down helps me keep on track. Here’s what I’ve come up with…in no particular order (I reserve the right to add to or adapt this list at any time):

Create a creative space. Our small 1940s colonial came with a “furnished” basement…creepy bar, faux wood sheet-rock and everything! This is what it normally looks like. The next photo is what it looked like last week when I finally organized and eked out a little space for myself. Stay tuned for it’s next transformation when we paint the walls and change the floor.

Learn to play the ukulele: Or at least attempt it. This idea started when I heard a recent local NPR show that was all about the ukulele. One line a guest said that hooked me was that it was a fairly simple instrument to learn but it was a gateway to other instruments. I like the thought of that. On Monday I received a copy of our town’s adult education classes booklet. Guess what? They are offering ukulele lessons! And guess who just signed up? How sweet is this hand-made ukulele?

Cook dinner…most nights. This one has been harder than I thought it would be. Most nights I don’t get home from work til 6 so unless I have planned ahead, dinner usually consists of quickie meals like pasta, baked chicken nuggets or some organic frozen pizza with a side of some sort of chopped veggies. Planning is the key word here. I need to sit down and come up with some easy, delicious meals the kids will like too. Cookbook recommendations welcome!

Get crafty: I have found the few times this year when I have had to actually make something for some reason that I have really enjoyed the process and think to myself, “Why don’t I do this more often?” Then I remember that I don’t have a space dedicated to being creative…a space I don’t have to set up and take down every time. See item number 1. Yay! So I haven’t decided what to start with. I happen to have a bunch of used plastic white spoons so I’m thinking I might start with this beautiful “laurel” wreath!

Make a headboard: Our simple modern bed frame is great but our bed is up against a large wall and is just dying for a statement headboard. I have a vision of creating one with recycled billboard. I have a friend who has an industrial sewing machine so this is could really happen! I’ve written about this before, but I’m feeling confident it can get done this year.

Work on my memory: This one cracks me up because I thought of it then I forgot about it for a while but I knew there was something else I wanted to add to my list. A recent story I heard on NPR got me thinking that I could improve my brain that seemingly turned to jello once I had kids.

Get Out: I am a home body at heart but I am always up for trying new things and going on an adventure so this year I want to take the family and explore more…to see all our lovely state of Connecticut has to offer.

I am proud of this list which is do-able!

New Year’s Revolution

Wednesday, January 9, 2013 by:Alison Grieveson

Going green is not hard. Yes, sometimes it can be a pain in the neck but making little changes, starting small, can make a difference that adds up to a healthier, greener planet. Here are a few suggestions to help you kick-start your new green year.

Do, rather than buy. If you think back on 2012, I bet some of your best memories are of things you did rather than objects you bought. The museum and lunch with friends, the park and a movie with your kids. Keep this in mind when you need to buy gifts for friends and family. Tickets to the aquarium, an art show or a play are all great gift ideas that will be remembered for a long time.

Clear the air. I am fortunate enough to live close to where I work so if I wasn’t transporting two kids with me and schlepping who-knows-what on a daily basis, I would so ride my bike to work! Cars in the U.S. release approximately 333 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually. If we all tried to go car-free one day a week, imagine the cumulative impact we could have on the planet! This bike from Bike Friday is made in the USA and foldable! www.bikefriday.com

Hold the packaging. This change is one of the easiest that could have a really big impact on our planet. When you shop, buy the product that has the least amount of packaging, or make sure the packacing is recyleable. Reducing the amount of plastic yet to be produced and other un-necessary garbage is one of the best things we can do for our planet. These blocks are made from recycled plastic. www.greentoys.com

Clean with non-toxic cleaners. Ed begley Jr. was one of the first celebrities to tout the importance of being green. He also practices what he preaches (watch episodes of his entertaining reality show at livingwithed.net) Ed is taking his green lifestyle one step further with a new line of household cleaning products. www.begleysbest.com

Paper or plastic? Neither. An oldie but a goodie. Stop the cashier from putting your one or two items in a bag and you’ll be amazed how many plastic bags you will be saving. Go ahead, count and see.

Correcting Santa’s Mistake

Wednesday, January 2, 2013 by:Alison Grieveson

Soooo…as it turns out, Santa did not get my daughter what she really wanted. Remember last week I mentioned that most of her gifts were from her birthday party? I had also gotten her a bunch of clothes so in order not to have too many gifts, I didn’t get my daughter extra gifts or, what as I found out, she really wanted. In my defense, when I asked her what was on her list, she never had a solid answer. As it turns out, what she really wanted was a Belle from Beauty and the Beast dress-up dress. I found this out when a friend asked her what her favorite thing she got from Santa was and she didn’t have anything to say. I felt like a terrible parent! She then said, ”I didn’t get what I really wanted,” which was the aforementioned dress. So I scrambled over to our local consignment store to see their selection of dress-up gear only to find they had put them away in storage. Next up…Ebay. I found the perfect dress. I had the option to buy something cheaper from Hong Kong that was new but chose one that was used (although frankly the style of the used one was a nicer too) from an owner in Pennsylvania. It arrived today. I wrapped it and decided to wedge it up in the chimney and pretend that we totally missed that box that must have gotten stuck. Clever, right? (Thankfully she can’t really read yet so she won’t notice that it is wrapped in old wedding paper that I kept from our wedding.)

Here’s how it went down:

Upon opening the box she exclaimed, “I did get what I wanted!” Yes!

My little lady tries on her new dress. Perfect.

Of course, little bro had to try it on too!

Phew.

Christmas 2012 In Pictures

Wednesday, December 26, 2012 by:Alison Grieveson

Well, I have to be honest, this wasn’t one of my greenest Christmases to date. Gifts consisted of leftover gifts from her birthday for my daughter (she was given so many gifts that I kept some for Christmas) and now that I think about it, any toys my son got from Santa were also saved from his birthday. I also bought each of them some clothes from a children’s outlet store…so I saved some duckets there. Gifts for my niece and nephews were purchased from a small, quality toy store so yay for me for buying local.

Here are some images that give you a flavor for my Christmas experience. (I keep capitalizing Christmas but I’m not quite sure if I should…hmm).

I wish I could say that there is something green about this metal reindeer…alas, I cannot. I found her on clearance at Marshalls.

This home-made snow globe I made with my daughter a few years ago. She still loves it.

My little man just had to wear his new hat and mittens…he couldn’t understand why he was having such a hard time picking up his truck. Silly man.

This god-awful holiday headband was made by a friend who insisted I wear it all day at work. My daughter actually likes it…but she can rock a hand band like no other!

This is a project my son made at school. Those are fresh cranberries so sadly it won’t make it to Christmas 2013.

I have a big ol’ tub of fabric in my basement of remnants from old projects or pieces I bought but never did anything with. In it I found some red burlap and decided to make a fabric chain with my daughter. What made it super easy was that we closed the loops with a stapler.

I left the edges rough – I love the way it looks.

I love the way it turned out!

Another shot of my advent calendar “trees.”

A vintage ornament I love.

Happy New Year All!

All the Trimmings

Wednesday, December 19, 2012 by:Alison Grieveson

’m not a bling kinda gal (duh) but I just realized that most of the ornaments on my christmas tree have a lot of glitter goin’ on…although they also have a vintage vibe happening so that balances it out a bit…right?

Anywho, while I love my mod white tree, I also LOVE hand-made ornaments and generally speaking, the two do not look so great together. The amazing preschool my daughter attends does wonderful, natural holiday ornament projects this time of year. Here are a few of her latest creations.

So simple but the results are amazing…I might try making these at home with her again. A piece of round cardboard with notches around the edges, yarn and voila! Here is the original DIY post.

Again, cardboard and yarn but this time cut a star shape out of the cardboard. Glue a piece of yarn or twine at the top of the star to hang it by and the go to town wrapping, wrapping, wrapping the yarn. You need about 12 yards to get good coverage. This is what it’s supposed to look like.

This weekend I was out doing some holiday shopping and saw this sweet ornament that I ended up buying. The cost for the ornament ($10) buys a sweater for a student in Guatemala City – sounds like a good idea to me. The amazing organization that made the ornament is Safe Passage or Camino Segura whose mission is to “bring hope, education, and opportunity to the children and families living in extreme poverty around the City’s garbage dump.”

On another note…remember last year when I made the family’s stockings last minute? Well, I pulled them out this year and decided that I like them not one iota! So guess who will be making new stockings this year? These, made from recycled sweaters are cute, no? Wish me luck!

The Advent Calendar is Done! (mostly)

Wednesday, December 12, 2012 by:Alison Grieveson

Last week I promised you that I would have the advent calendar project done and I am happy (and perhaps a wee bit surprised) to announce that I finished it…mostly. As you can see from the photo, some of the “trees” are missing their number necklaces. All in all, it was a fun project. Here’s what all 24 trees look like adorning my mantle…so, my husband grumbles every time he wants to watch tv and finds that the remote won’t work since a few trees are covering the tv’s remote signal thingy (that’s a technical term… and I know you know what I mean).

I had bought some decorative paper for the trees, but decided to stick with a simple monochromatic look; silver and white with just a pop of red in the ribbon. I left a few white, topped a few with white glitter (can you see a bit of sparkle on #2?), painted a few with silver stripes and solid silver.

So basically every morning my daughter lifts that day’s tree to find a little goody underneath. Here is this morning’s goody. I drew a picture for my daughter to color in. Other treasures include little stickers, a small funky paintbrush set and little notes like “We will make hot chocolate today with marshmallows” or “let’s go to the park.” It’s fun coming up with the little treasures.

I included my actual christmas tree in the first picture so you can see how it all goes together. I love my fake, white tree that is pre-strung with white lights. It looks so lovely when I plug ‘er in and the best part is that it was free (curbside score!) The only thing it needs is a skirt for the stand. I want to create something different..hello Pinterest!

The Advent of the Advent Calendar

Wednesday, December 5, 2012 by:Alison Grieveson

Growing up, one of my favorite traditions before Christmas was the advent calendar. We had a simple one that hung on the wall and each day my sisters and I would take turns opening up the little flap/door to see the picture underneath. The simple anticipation of counting down another day closer to Christmas was so exciting. I’ve introduced this tradition to my daughter and she’s excited for this year’s calendar which I am in the midst of creating.

I know what you’re saying…we’re already a few days into December! Luckily for me, the concept of time and months is not totally clear to my daughter yet.

The past few years I have used a little advent “calendar” that I made out of match boxes for my daughter but it was too small and frankly, not very cute. So I thought it was time for something different. I did a quick search on Pinterest and found so many fun, creative ideas that a thought flitted through my mind: perhaps each year I could make a new, different advent calendar. Right, like I have time to do that!

The ladies over at Eighteen 25 featured this calendar that I thought was very cute. I’m going to make my trees taller and my numbers smaller, but otherwise this is what I’m attempting this year. I’m going to line my mantle with them so they will double as holiday decor also. So under each tree I’ll place a little something or a note with a sweet sentiment or a little treat like “We’ll make hot chocolate with marshmallows this afternoon,” or “Let’s go to the park.” Won’t that be fun?

Here are my tools. Poster board, my home-made compass to draw half-circles, tape to keep the trees together, newsprint and decorative paper (made in the USA) to decorate my trees.

I am determined to finish these this week so next week I’ll show you how it turned out. Wish me luck!

The Meal That Keeps on Giving

Wednesday, November 28, 2012 by:Alison Grieveson

There’s no shame in admitting I like leftovers. Could I truly call myself a recycler if I didn’t? Thanksgiving is one of those days that produces all kinds of delicious meals for days to follow. I wrote about this last year but have decided to make this post an annual occurence because one can never have a enough recipes that call for leftover green beans, no? The night before Thanksgiving I made linguine and meatballs for a my chef sister (eeks, no pressure…actually, I was chided for topping the salad I made with un-toasted slivered almonds) and her girlfriend. As I always do with pasta, I made too much. No worries. I knew that with the leftover turkey I could make Turkey Tetrazzini. Actually this year I kinda made my own version with the pasta, diced turkey, sautéed onions, celery and carrots mixture, a can of peas (I know, fresh peas would have tasted way better) and leftover green beans. I mixed them all together in a casserole dish, topped it with a Bechamel sauce and a breadcrumb/grated cheese mixture, baked it til the breadcrumbs were browned, et voila! (I don’t actually have an “After” image as it was eaten before I could get a photo).