Resolved: Eat More Salad

I meant to post this back in June, but I got too busy to have goals, apparently. So, I'll just count this goal for my entire summer, since I pretty much practiced it on a weekly basis.

My goal for the summer was to eat more salad. Not just the expected green salad (though I do love a classic green salad) but the kind full of grains/legumes and fresh things so delicious that they trick your mouth into thinking it is munching on something less healthy than it is.

The recipe that turned into my go-to salad (aka I craved it fortnightly) and that I probably made if I was invited to a potluck was this Massaged Kale Salad with Mango & Avocado from Healthy Food for Living:

Ingredients (4 servings)

1 bunch lacinato (dinosaur) kale, leaves torn from the stalks and thinly sliced
1/4 cup Lime Olive Oil, such as Boston Olive Oil Company Whole Fruit Persian Lime (alternately, you can use 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil + 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice)
Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tsp agave nectar or honey
2 ripe champagne mangos, peeled, pitted, and diced
1 ripe but firm avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced
1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds
1/4 cup toasted unsweetened flaked coconut

Instructions

In a large bowl, toss the sliced kale leaves with a small drizzle of the olive oil and a bit of Kosher salt; massage with your hands until the kale softens and wilts, about 2-3 minutes.

In a small bowl or jar combine the remaining olive oil, honey, and salt & pepper to taste. Whisk or shake until well-combined.

Toss the massaged kale with the dressing and add in the diced mango and avocado.

Serve at room temperature topped with the toasted sliced almonds and flaked coconut.

Can be made a few hours in advance.

Kale all freshened up with limes and mango? So simple, and so so good.

Any favorite salad recipes of your own to share?

***

Instead of taking on a whole list of resolutions at once, I'm focusing on one life improvement a month in 2012.

See January's resolution - Do My Hair
See February's resolution - Taking Care of Business
See March's resolution - Clear the Clutter
See April's resolution - Tackle the Craft Suitcase
See May's resolution - Take a Class

Resolved: Take a Class

I decided that it had been too long since I'd taken a class, and I've missed the energy and inspiration I get from learning a new craft of some sort, so I started attending a seminar on how to get apparel manufactured locally.

I love the idea of supporting local manufacturing and small artisan businesses, and here in San Francisco groups like PeopleWearSF and SFMade have popped up and turned this into an organized movement.

As it turns out, San Francisco actually has several local sewing factories and a highly skilled workforce. I've gotten to tour several garment factories right here in the city - large rooms full of beautiful old sewing machines and other large metallic things that look like they could take your finger off. Its been inspiring to see how the kinds of things that can be made here locally and learn about the companies that are doing just that, as well as an interesting reminder that everything we wear is technically "handmade" - someone, somewhere had to cut out and sew that thing you are wearing together.

I'm still thinking about what to actually do with this kind of know-how. I've always liked clothing more than I should (which is why our second bedroom is looking more and more like a walk-in closet these days) and the idea of designing and making my own on a larger scale is exciting and overwhelming at the same time. So, we'll see what I decide to do - for now I'm reveling in the empowering experience of seeing something new and finding out how it works.

***

Instead of taking on a whole list of resolutions at once, I'm focusing on one life improvement a month in 2012.

See January's resolution - Do My Hair
See February's resolution - Taking Care of Business
See March's resolution - Clear the Clutter
See April's resolution - Tackle the Craft Suitcase

DIY: Scalloped Peter Pan Collar on a Button-Up

My first project from the famed craft suitcase was a cute vintage button-up that I wanted to dress up a little. I am always finding great vintage shirts in the classic button-up style, but there are only so many of those that you can own. So, I decided to keep the pretty checkered pattern and the buttons and add a new collar:


Materials & Supplies
* collar pattern (download yours here - formatted to print on a regular 8.5x11 paper)
* 1/4 yard of your fabric of choice (I picked a sturdy white cotton twill with some weight to it - you want it to be heavy enough to lay flat)
* one package of folded bias tape. I bought the 1/4 inch kind in matching white, but it could be fun to add some color contrast here.
* button up shirt (that already fits you well)
* thread


* scissors
* pencil & paper
* a sewing machine
* iron


1) Fold your collar fabric in half and line the edge of the collar pattern up with the folded side - trace it onto the fabric (please note that the photo shows the unfolded version of the collar pattern, but yours will look like half of that on the edge of the fabric). You'll need four of these collar pieces.

2) Cut the pieces out.You should have four scalloped collar cut-outs.

3) Sew along the scalloped side of the pattern, giving yourself a 1/4" seam. Don't sew up the straight edge of the collar. It should look like a little scalloped pita bread with an open top when you finish.

4) Trim the excess around the edges down to 1/8 inch or less. You'll want to trim the curves quite close to the stitching to get your scallops nice and smooth (I like a close trim rather than clipping and notching around the rounded edges to bend a little easier, but that is another option if you are worried about fraying).

5) Flip the collar inside out and press the seams down until you get a nice, smooth scalloped edge. Iron it good and flat.


6) Lay both collar pieces onto your shirt so that they sit nicely on the shoulders and barely touch in the front and the back (when the shirt is buttoned), then pin in place.


7) Cut the shirt along the collar line, You'll cut the existing collar clean off.


8) While it is pinned, sew the collar to the shirt in a simple stitch all around the neckline. Above the buttons you will have some raw edge that the collar doesn't cover - I bent that raw edge over to make a little triangle and sewed it down.

9) Cover the raw seam with the folded bias tape, leaving an unattached foot or two of length on each side of the collar that will become your collar stays.

10) Sew the bias tape, covering that raw edge up for good. Sew little square edges of contrasting shirt fabric onto the ends of your stays for a cutesy finale.



Tadah! You've attached a new collar to your button-up.

Resolved: Tackle the Craft Suitcase

I don't know about you guys, but I find myself with way more "inspiration" to do crafts than with "actual time" to do crafts, which means that my crafting motivation lasts just long enough to get to the fabric store, buy everything I need, and then throw it into my "to-do" pile (which I keep in a vintage suitcase) by my craft table to be neglected.

This month I made a list of the projects that I've got the makins for, and never bothered to complete. My goal for April is to just complete one a weekend this month, (though with the length of my list, I could probably do a project a week for the rest of the year). You'd better believe I'll be posting pics.

Tell me I'm not the only one with a hopeless craft stash, right?

***

Instead of taking on a whole list of resolutions at once, I'm focusing on one life improvement a month in 2012.

See January's resolution - Do My Hair
See February's resolution - Taking Care of Business
See March's resolution - Clear the Clutter

re: Resolved - Clear the Clutter

I've always been a person that likes "stuff" - and all too often that stuff tends to find its way into unruly piles on any (and every) flat surface in the apartment until things like desks become glorified stuff holders and are completely useless for the function that they were actually intended.

In March I made a goal to clear off a few of my worst flat surface clutter collectors.

Yeah. Doesn't that just feel better?


The kitchen counter:


The sewing/craft/AHV room:






The bedroom:





The truth is, I have TOO MUCH STUFF, and the clutter comes from not knowing where to put things, either because their assigned space is full or hard to get to, or because I just don't have a place for it. The hoarder in me is coming to terms with the idea that sometimes you don't have room for all the things you've picked up, no matter how cool they are, and you are better off getting rid of them instead of letting them clutter your space. (There is a reason I am just showing you the newly clean surface spaces in my home right now, and not the insides of the drawers they sit on top of. I still have a long way to go. Ahem.)

I like the concept (seen on this website) of a de-clutter calendar, where every day you tackle a small project and after a few weeks start noticing a cleaner more clutter-free space.

Do you guys have any tips of how you keep clutter under control?

***
Instead of taking on a whole list of resolutions at once, I'm focusing on one life improvement a month in 2012.

See January's resolution - Do My Hair
See February's resolution - Taking Care of Business

Resolved - Taking Care of Business

You might know that I run a little online vintage shop called Animal Head Vintage in my spare time. I really enjoy it, but lately, the problem has been the "in my spare time" part of that sentence, since I don't find myself just sitting around with nothing to do very often.

February's resolution has been to spend a little more time on the shop, figuring out what is working, what needs to change and what I honestly have time/space for in my life. I think some of the goals I made this month while "taking care of business" can be applied to any personal project that you're working on, so I'm listing a few here.


1) Focus

I'm a list-maker by nature, but am not always great at prioritizing my list. I check off the easy ones first because they don't take as much brain power to complete and steer clear of the big stuff that I know needs to get done but that I dread. Or, I allow myself to get distracted by other things (like checking my RSS feeder 17 times a day). And then, at the end of my days, I feel like I've never stopped working but somehow don't have as much to show for it as I'd like.

GOAL THIS MONTH: Choose two essential things every day to finish, and don't do anything else until they are complete.

That means not checking emails first thing in the morning, or keeping Facebook open in the background and keeping one eye on your friend's feeds. This means not just "taking a quick 5 minute break to look at Pinterest" that will probably turn into at least 20. I know. It can be extreme, but its a good exercise in focusing on just doing one thing at a time. I didn't realize how quickly I could become derailed, and how long it takes to mentally get back on track.

Its amazing how much less scattered it can help you feel when you eliminate as many distractions as possible and just focus on being really productive for at least two important tasks a day.


2) Do What You Love

At Alt this year, Sarah of Sarah Jane Studios said "Do what you love. Delegate the rest." I've never had a problem spending time on the shopping portion of keeping up AHV ... but the photographing, listing, shipping, etc can get a little tedious...and honestly I don't have time to do it all by myself. I want to spend more time doing what I actually like to do and am good at, and less time with the tasks that are necessary but time consuming.

GOAL THIS MONTH: Figure out how to delegate at least one time-consuming task (and not just delegate it to a husband who is too nice to say no)

I've started experimenting with outsourcing my photo editing, and I'm already hooked on this idea.


3) Try New Things (and then don't be afraid to get rid of what doesn't work)

It goes without saying that if you keep doing what you've been doing, you can't be surprised when nothing changes. It makes sense to try something new, find out what's actually working, then focus your energy there and cut out the rest.

This meant spending some time doing boring things like tracking visits and page views and sales (which is funny, since any "business" ought to be doing those things all the time anyway, but my hobby didn't ever get the same scrutiny). In truth, this idea ought to apply to everything we spend our time on - we should always be evaluating whether the things we are spending our time on deserve the time we are giving them.

GOAL THIS MONTH: Try 3 new things. Evaluate. Adjust as needed.

I figure that there are a lot of things that I could be doing to take my shop more seriously, but this month I'm looking at:

1) Listing Frequency
I'm experimenting with how often to post new items, and when to list (as well as evaluating search terms, etc)

2) Advertising
I'm giving Etsy advertising a try to see what kind of new eyeballs it might bring, and researching other types of advertising as well.

3) AHV Blog
I keep a AHV blog dealing with shop updates and vintage finds here, so I've been experimenting with more frequent posting, and hopefully producing more content out for the world to find on Pinterest and other internet searchings.


It feels good to spend a little time figuring out how to use my time better.

Now let us all go forth and be more productive.

***
Instead of taking on a whole list of resolutions at once, I'm focusing on one life improvement a month in 2012.

See January's resolution - DO MY HAIR