Motherly Advice....Looking after yourself....Life Changing Bread and Korean Baths...

 

  I made Sarah Brittons Life Changing Bread recently. This photo is my version. Sarah's photo and fab recipe are here....   http://www.mynewroots.org/site/2013/02/the-life-changing-loaf-of-bread/   I love it. It's gluten free, super healthy and I adore it with Macadamia Paste, which is like Peanut Butter only a zillion times better.   Strangely, this bread has changed my life.   I love it and it's earthy flavours and texture so much, that I have felt motivated to extend the healthy living to many other areas of my life.   It's heading towards Summer here, so some lifestyle changes are necessary after several months of hiding beneath Winter woollies. Skin needs de-flaking, facial products need a review, and mind, body and soul are in need of restoration after a busy year of Dance with my Ballerina daughter.   Time for me, now!   So here was my morning:   Get up when the alarm goes off at 6am. Do not grumble..much. Struggle into bike pants and one of The Musician Husbands old shirts. Do not look in mirror. Try to touch toes with fingers or knee with nose for ten-ish minutes. That's the closest I'm getting to 'stretching' at this point.  Nearly give up the whole idea because I hate exercising before breakfast. Resolve to keep going now that I'm up. Drink a large glass of water...forget iced...I detest iced water. Eye off the teapot lasciviously. Get out gluten free Bircher muesli astutely prepared last night. Curse that I didn't use the million percent full fat but very yummy Coconut Yoghurt instead of the skim milk runny stuff. Eat it anyway. Squint at the sun as I exit the front door. Walk up the hill. Jog around the corner to the second house. Stop because I'm winded...crikey...who knew this would be so hard. Decide to walk briskly, swinging my arms instead. Stop that after ten minutes because it makes my dodgy shoulder hurt. Walk briskly, jogging for ten steps every 100. Feel proud until I stumble on a rock and hurt my ankle. Limp home. Promise self to do better tomorrow.   Sigh. Well, nobody said this was going to be easy!   Now the bit I liked. My DIY Korean bathing experience.   Put the plug in the bathtub but don't turn the shower on, or get wet just yet. Stand in tub and scrub all over, with DIY glycerine and raw sugar scrub scented with Sandalwood. Glycerine and sugar make the best ever spa style body scrub. You can find it in little bottles in the Medicinal aisle of your supermarket and it's under $5. I scent mine with different essential oils depending on how I feel. West Indian Lime and Sandalwood are favourites as is Jasmine Absolute or Frangipani Absolute. The 'abolutes' are a little more expensive, but totally worth it and still less expensive than a trip to a Day Spa! Turn on the shower now, and allow the tub to start filling (assuming you have one, if not, ignore this bit). Shave legs and underarms. Wash hair with moisturising shampoo. Condition hair with moisturising conditioner. Next shopping trip, I'm trying that Clairol Herbal Essences Coconut one just because I love the scent of it. Sit in the tub with the conditioner in hair. The tub should have a couple of inches worth of water in it by now, so soak feet and toes, and use the last of the body scrub to give self a mini pedicure. Rub the very last crumbs of the scrub into hands and nails, pushing cuticles back as I go. Cuticles are really soft and easy to groom due to all the lovely oil and warm water. Cleanse face with home made Goats Milk soap for more sublime moisturising. At this point, on alternate days I'm going to slather my face in a masque, whether it be a bought one or a pantry one of Oatmeal and yoghurt or White Clay and Vanilla Soy Milk, and just soak for a little while. After the masque has worked it's magic, rinse off and rinse the conditioner from nicely scented hair. Get out of shower/tub, towel off and get dressed in a pretty summery top and some light summer jeans. Smooth hair with smoothing balm, and allow it to dry naturally. I have curly hair (contrary to my profile pic...lol!) and the smoothing balm tames the frizzies. When hair is dry, pull to side in a ponytail and affix a large silk rose on a hair pin to glam self up. Do not apply makeup, just Queen of Hungary Water Toner, and DIY facial serum scented with Neroli and Jasmine Absolute, (I'll share those recipes tomorrow), followed by Aloe Vera Gel. Brush teeth to the count of 120 with Colgate Optic White toothpaste. This is one of the few commercial products I've bought that really lives up to it's reputation. Awesome stuff. Yes, I could add Hydrogen Peroxide to Baking Soda and brush with that, but come on. The penny pinching has to stop somewhere. For me, it's Colgate.   Look in mirror. Not all bad for an old duck,  if a bit flushed and shiny looking. Will do it all again tomorrow. With pleasure.   I wonder when I'll look different. I feel different already!   ...Mimi...   

Motherly Advice...The Importance of Routine and looking after yourself....

Let's start at the very beginning, as Maria sings in The Sound of Music, because, as she goes on to tell us, it's a very good place to start.

We Home Managers, have to look after ourselves. We cannot devote our best selves to our plans for guarding the Home and Budget, if we feel like a train wreck. Feeling like a train wreck comes easily to Mums, Dads, significant others, and Home Managers, I reckon. We're on call 24/7, no-one gives us a day off, if we become ill, no-one soothes our fevered brow, we have to do it ourselves.

Now, I'm not talking weight loss here, although many of us (me included!) could probably lose a bit of padding. I'm just saying we should strive to be at our optimum levels of health, fitness and general wellbeing, because that, ultimately, will assist us in achieving all of our other goals.

What do you do for your health each day? Can I tell you what I do?

The 6am routine

I rise at 6am. It's a special time of the day. It means I often get to see the sun rise, and whilst it's not always over the ocean, as seen above, over the back porch can be just as lovely.

 I spend the first half hour setting out breakfast things (if I haven't already done so the night before), and unloading the diswasher. I put the clothes and linen on to wash. I get the coffee pot ready with two cups ready to go next to it. I prepare and pack my daughters lunch box. I make the bed and feed the dog, giving him some love and attention while I'm at it. I look at what we're having for dinner and get the slow cooker going or remove components from the freezer. By then my daughter is usually stirring and my husband has returned from his walk. My daughter makes her own bed as soon as she rises. We all fling ourselves in to showering, eating and talking about the day ahead, breakfast routine running like a well oiled machine. We're out the door between 7am for husband, and 8 for my daughter and me. The house is tidy, the washing is done and on the line, beds are made, dinner is planned.

What's this got to do with my health? Well, it minimises stress. I only have a tiny galley-style kitchen, and it's painful having more than two people in there at a time. We trip over each other in our haste to be out the door in time, and tempers become frazzled. Not a good way to start the day.

 Patting the dog, well, that's good for him and for me :)

The rest is all about 'Knowing what comes next'. 'Knowing what comes next' is important. It prevents leakage of money to takeaway outlets, it fosters confidence and peace within the family, and generates a positive energy in the household as everyone understands their part in the puzzle. If for some reason, any of us now get caught up unexpectedly, or some crisis arises, I know that the house is tidy, beds are made, dinner is planned, the dog is fed and has water, and the washing is done.

 Whatever else happens today, our arrival home will be like walking in to the sanctuary I want 'home' to be.

It's well documented now, that stress is a major contributor to many illnesses and health issues, and also affects the way we look, feel, and interact with our families and the rest of the world. The outside world is stressful enough. The least I can do is send my family out the door with the best possible outlook for the day ahead. Simple things like my 6am routine, achieve this.

Now, don't give me the roll of the eyes and the lecture about being nobodys' slave. If I have chosen to be the Home Manager in my family, the home-based warrior, then I must accept the responsibilities that come with that role. I believe that sending my family out in to their day with a happy disposition, knowing they are loved, is one of the most important things I can do. If they are calm, relaxed, and confident about what lays ahead at work or school, then that benefits not just our family, but the community at large. No road rage, no overdose of caffeine without a decent breakfast, no addled brain from sugar laden cereal.

 

As for the eating, well, we strive to eat healthy without going overboard. We eat gluten-free as my daughter is gluten intolerant, and find we ALL feel better for it. Gluten free baked goods are a regular on our menu, as I adore cooking them. But I temper this with alternating between something luxurious like Gluten Free Butter Shortbread, and something healthier like GF Apple and Cinnamon muffins with no added sugar. These are the treats that replace all other prepackaged foods, so we allow ourselves a few yummy morsels. Our meals consist of a regular dose of wild caught salmon and other seafood (which are not usually preprepared, but bought and eaten fresh) twice a week, three red meat meals and two vegetarian meals.

We enjoy enormous amounts of salad and vegetables, and always have fruit available as a snack. My daughter and I particularly love melon and apples of any kind, whereas my husbnad like his bananas and grapes. So we're pretty easy to please, and those fruits, whilst they vary in price can usually be sourced year round. We try to eat seasonally though and if it means going without our favourite fruits at certain times of the year, then that's okay...there's plenty to choose from.

 

We all take a multivitamin daily, and two Garlic, C and Horseradish capsules from early Autumn (Fall) onwards. We haven't had a bad flu for years. We seem to get a touch of whatever is going around, but we recover quickly. I also take Vitamin E, Chlorophyll, Calcium and a Skin, Hair and Nails Tonic which I can honestly say makes a huge difference to the way I feel and look.

I'm not a health practitioner though, and we take these things in consultation with our family doctor, and alternative health practitioner, so I suggest you do the same.

Exercise is a part of our routine as well. We don't go overboard, and we don't spend huge sums joining gyms or having a personal trainer. Whilst I love the 'idea' of personal trainers and gyms, there's a part of me that says 'but isn't that just another form of abdicating responsibility for my health to another person?'. What happens when you can no longer afford the time or money for those things? The best discipline comes from within.

We just walk. We walk regularly, without fail, come rain, hail or shine. Okay, maybe not in the 'hail'. But walking here in the rain early in the day or evening is a unique joy. I love strolling along, posh umbrella in hand, listening to the rain drip, dripping all around me. A walk in an early Queensland morning downpour is something I wouldn't miss. No-one else is around, and the drumming of the rain on my huge umbrella is almost hypnotic.

Time for me is important too. I have recently revisited crocheting, sewing, and embroidery. One of my older sons is disabled, and for many long years, my days just bled into one another with the responsibility of his care. He is totally physically dependent so his needs were numerous. I had neither the time nor the inclination for crochet, sewing, or embroidery. After much effort and lobbying of politicians, he now lives independently with a team of wonderful, hand picked personal assistants. To read more of that story see The Cerebral Palsy Grapevine. I now truly relish sitting down for an hour in the afternoon, having planned the evening meal earlier in the day, and knowing that my pre-prep sessions have left me with a well stocked refrigerator, freezer and pantry, just zoning out. The great thing is, that this also generates a pile of handmade goodies to give as gifts. Monogrammed pillowcases in neutral colours, cushions and drawer sachets filled with lavender and embroidered with a scattering of french knots, and rugs, blankets, berets, gloves and embellished face washers are all welcomed enthusiastically by recipients. You only have to hop on to Etsy or MadeIt to see the explosion in interest in handcrafted goods. I have recently started making my own Olive Oil and Goats Milk Soap, as well, thanks to Rhonda and Janines' wonderful instructions. I can't describe the pleasure in creating little creamy slabs, delicately scented, that lather dreamily and wash us literally from head to toe, with no horrible ingredients. Truly luxurious.

Initially, I had Rhonda Hetzel, and her Down to Earth book for making me feel 'ok' about this. Her philosophies greatly mirror my own, and reading her book made me feel a lot less guilty about doing what I do, and talking and blogging about it. I don't follow Rhondas blog religiously, but found her book a bit like a 'hug from Mum'. A great read, and a great ringing endorsement of a simpler life.

Some other friends and bloggers that have influenced me greatly include Annabel at The Bluebirds are Nesting, Patsy at A Working Pantry, Jes at Strangers &Pilgrims on Earth, and a few more that you can see on your left. I highly recommend following these ladies and their gorgeous blogs for further inspiration.

So there's my thoughts. Well, really only the tip of the iceberg, and there'll be more to come on this topic, but I've kept you long enough today.

...Mimi...

Please look after YOU. If you were to fall ill or worse, who would guard your home and family in your absence? And really, would they do it anywhere near as well as you do?

A Homespun Year..DIY designer style Pompom trimmed silk scarf

 

A designer style scarf for under $10? Sure, why not!

 

I love a good scarf and they are so versatile, adding a bit of panache to the plainest of outfits, and offering a little warmth when a breeze springs up or the weather turns chilly. Such useful things.

 

Surprisingly for little wispy rectangles or squares of fabric, they are ridiculously expensive. And I'm not even talking Hermes or Gucci here. Just your regular department store stuff. It's nothing to see them with a price tag of anything from $60-$200, for something that doesn't look that special.

 

I haunt the remnant bin at my favourite haberdashery for the makings of scarves. This fabulous vividly printed silk was an absolute bargain at $3. There was about a quarter of a metre (yard) and it was quite wide, so a good size for my scarf project.

 

I bought the fun neon pink and green trim at the same place, for under $5, and I still have some left for another project.

 

Here's how...

 

Fold your fabric lengthwise in half, right side to right side. Pin, ensuring the selvedge edges meet squarely and neatly. Trim any excess fabric from the long edge. Quite often, these remnants are not as straight as you'd like, so you might find you lose a little bit of fabric, but for this it doesn't matter.

 

Now go back, and insert your trim inside the two halves of your fabric. Make sure the feature of the trim, is facing the inside folded edge, and the edge to be stitched is aligned with the open, cut edge of your fabric. As in poms poms, edges of lacy trim, fringe ends...whatever...facing the folded edge inside your fabric. This will ensure that once you've stitched it into place, and turned it right side out, the trim will be facing outward as in my picture above.

 

Pin into place along all edges....

 

 When you're done, it should look like this. You shouldn't be able to see your trim at all. If you can see your trim, you've done it the wrong way. I only say this because I've done it myself, and then wondered what I'd done wrong, when I turned my scarf right way out and couldn't see my trim....lol!

 

 

Stitch into place, making sure that you leave a small opening at the very end of your stitching, through which to turn your scarf out the right way.

 

See...like this. If your fabric is soft and silky, you really only need an opening of about 10cms (4 inches). You just push a bit of the right side of the fabric through the hole (a bit like turning socks inside out), and then gently pull the remainder of the scarf through to have it facing right way out.

 

Stitch the opening closed either by hand or with your sewing machine. I find that if I stitch along the header of the fabric trim, it's unnoticeable.

 

Press carefully with an iron set on Polyester blend or around medium heat, and wear or gift with pride. I love the colours of this Summer weight scarf...

 

....and it looks fab with my other recently completed project, my neon jewel embellished jacket...

 

Everyone has admired my scarf, and at under $10 and for 15 minutes of time, they're a great gift!

 

The key to making your scarf look 'high end', as I mentioned here, is to check out the department store and designer scarves, and seek out similar colours and quality look and feel type fabrics. Soft, drapey, silky, fabrics are best. Fine lawn and cotton are great too, and even muslin can make a lovely scarf, hand dyed and trimmed prettily. Stay away from anything stiff or thick, unless its for warmth. As an accessory, silky, soft, drapey is best.

 

Do you like scarves? Will you make one for yourself or someone you love?

 

...Mimi...

50 & Fab....Embellishing Clothing for that Designer look #2...Fringed Skirt...

 

I love looking good, but am not enamoured with paying thousands of dollars for the privilege. Alas, I love to travel, and I would rather spend the thousands on that!

 

However, I have found ways of getting the looks I love, for a fraction of the price, and it's not sewing my own. I do that occasionally, but honestly, I don't have the time right at this point in my life.

 

I'm a bit of an expert at embellishing though, and it's amazing what you can achieve with a bit of fringe, a few unique buttons or beads, and a dash of creativity.

 

I first mentioned this idea here, and here, when I shared how I often use Net-a-Porter or Polyvore to get ideas on how to look my best. Sometimes it's just a case of updating a shoe, or a scarf, or the colour of your handbag, to look current. These sites help you achieve that and more. You can learn what prints are 'hot', what accessories will help you look young and on-trend, and for me, what shoes to wear with what. I am a great believer in 'the shoe makes the outfit'. I know. It's a problem isn't it!

 

I also shared how, once I have my inspiration, I hit the sales and my favourite thrift stores, to source similar looks. I'm constantly surprised at how often 'just the right thing' jumps into my lap soon after.

 

The ladies in the photographs above were a recent inspiration. These shots were taken at Paris fashion week (perhaps not this year, but last year...for me it doesn't matter), and they appealed to me as the women concerned all look to be around my age. They look classy, neat, and a bit edgy and different. I like that. These looks also looked relatively easy to replicate.

 

I've chosen the lady in the middle as my first project. I particularly loved her fringed skirt, long lean shirt, tanned limbs and ankle booties. This looked like an outfit that I might wear for an outing to the ballet or theatre, so I've started there.

 

The immediate pressing task was to find the fringe. This is not an inexpensive option at Spotlight (the major haberdashery store here where I live), but a quick look on eBay, and I'd purchased 4 metres, for under $20. I did not need anywhere near this much, but thought at $3.99 a metre (yard), it was worth buying a little more than required. You can buy the fringe from here.

 

It arrived about a fortnight later, tied in a neat little bundle....

 

...it's heavy and is exactly what I wanted.

 

Now I already had this skirt. It's a knee length skirt in a heavy stretch type fabric, sourced at a department store sale for under $30. I liked it at the time, but had never actually worn it as I'm not a huge fan of dresses and skirts. I liked the abstract pattern on this one though, and it's straight, so didn't make me look fatter than I already am...lol!

 

Further research on 'asymmetrical fringed skirts' on Google yielded many different options and methods of using the trim, and eventually I decided to simply add the trim, leave the fabric underneath, and spare the unsuspecting public a view of my thighs. It was the only decent thing to do. There were certainly plenty of designer-ish skirts that employed this method, so all good.

 

 

I laid the fringe in place, as above, ensuring that the top of the trim was even with no ripples, and pinned it into place as seen below...

 

Now, something to be aware of, is that my skirt had a bit of 'give', as did the fringe. So I kept the entire length of fringe in one piece, and as I pinned, I made sure that I allowed for the stretch. I pinned in a downward slope from side seam to side seam at the front, then turned the skirt over, and pinned from side seam to side seam in an upward slope to make the fringe meet at the edges. I left a little overhang as seen below, which I trimmed once I'd stitched. It was just as well, as even though I'd allowed for that 'give' when pinning, I still needed a couple of centimetres (inches) more than I initially thought. 

 

I stitched using a normal needle and black thread. The actual sewing took about three minutes, maximum.

 

 

And here's the finished skirt....

 

 

It looks fabulous on, and who would imagine that the addition of $4 worth of black fringe could make something look so glamorous!

 

A trip to my aforementioned favourite thrift store yesterday, yielded a long lean white sleeveless top to wear with my skirt, but I need to take it in a little to slim it down. It's a bit voluminous at the moment, and whilst I love the flowing look, it's not right for this outfit.

 

The final addition is the shoes, and in the same thrift store visit, I sourced all of these shoes for just $7 a pair. Now I normally have an aversion to buying shoes from the thrift store, but as it happened, every single pair, bar the yellow ones which look brand new anyway, were unworn, still with tags! The yellow ones are Nine West and will go perfectly with my orange and yellow beads, another thrift store purchase...

 

 

 

 

And as for my jacket (seen above) embellishing project as seen in this post here, well that one was completed in one five and a half hour, hand stitching marathon of neon flat backed jewels, and pretty much looks just as I laid it out, seen here below. That one was a great success, and drew many compliments last weekend when I wore it to three different events. If I ever get the hang of the full length selfie, I'll share how it actually looks on!

 

The great thing, and a benefit I hadn't considered, is that the jewels weigh the hem down considerably, giving a very flattering and slimming line. Did you know that Chanel jackets all have chain stitched into the hems for exactly this reason? Or that many designer garments also have weights of one kind or another (even coins!) stitched into dress hems, and the hems of trousers? That's an idea worth copying as it gives such a lovely finish to your garments.

 

 

Those lolly pink ballet flats are going to look great with the jacket, and some white jeans this Summer I think!

 

 

The khaki ones with their fabulous flat black bow, will be a perennial favourite, and the black loafers look very similar to the ones the lady is wearing in the first photo at the top of my post, so I guess you see where I was going with that idea. The strappy, conical heeled, and very comfortable sandals, will be worn with the fringed skirt tomorrow night, when I attend my daughters Ballet Concert, and I hope to provide photos of that outfit then! Although, I must confess, that having secured so many bargains, I felt justified in spending a little on a pair of ankle booties as per my fashionista inspiration in picture number two. They'll arrive tomorrow and I'll make a decision then.

 

So first outfit, inspired by photograph two, successful.

 

Total spend $52, including the shoes, or a little more if I decide to keep the boots.

 

I call that a win.

 

Coming up is my Dolce & Gabbana inspired trimmed shirt....stay tuned....

 

 

 

 

...Mimi...