Fireworks and Blueberries

 

A few snapshots from our 4th of July.  We visited some friends, ate delicious food and picked pounds and pounds of giant blueberries.

Hope you had a good 4th, even though I'm a week late!

Niki

Introducing Chasing Rainbows!

Hello friends!  I am so excited to show you what I've been up to lately.  I've been moving towards getting my new Etsy store up and running.  So now, I proudly present (would it be too much to ask for a drumroll?):

 

Chasing Rainbows!

 

 

 

Currently, I have hobo bags, lunch bags and baby bibs for sale in my shop, but I have lots of other ideas floating around in my head that may show up soon.  All items have been handmade by yours truly.  I'd be so honored if you would go take a peek and tell me what you think!

Niki

Europe Adventures: Part 1

First of all, a huge, huge thank you to Helen for doing a blog makeover for me!  Doesn't it look fantastic?  I love it!  Be sure to check out her blog and tell her how talented she is.  ;)  Thank you ever so much, Helen!

I promised you I would share picture of my trip to Europe, so here is the first batch.  Most of these are from our first destination, the beautiful, but tiny, country of Slovenia.  We have a friend who lives there as a missionary, and we got to stay with her for 2 nights.  I have been to Slovenia before, so it was exciting to reconnect with a few friends and experience some of the same places again with my mom.


Boats on Lake Bled, Slovenia

 A Slovene bookstore

This picture is actually from Vittorio Veneto, Italy, but I wanted to share it because I already had it edited.

 The Dragon Bridge, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Drawbridge of Postojna Castle, Slovenia

Flags of the European Union, Slovenia and the city of Ljubljana

The church on the island in the middle of Lake Bled, Slovenia

 Ljubljana, Slovenia

This is the "Lock Bridge" in Ljubljana.

 Couples attach a lock to the bridge, then throw the key into the river to symbolize their love.

I love the color of that big lock.

Postojna Castle, Slovenia.  It's built into a cave!

 

A shrine in Venice, Italy.  I took several pictures of different shrines on our trip.  I don't know why, but they fascinate me.  You find them all sorts of places, built into walls.  Who puts them there?

 

Swan swimming in Lake Bled

I should be putting up more pictures as I get them edited.   I took over 2000 photos, so picking my favorites and editing them is no small task.  But it's fun to relive memories each time I open a photo.  This trip was such a wonderful experience and I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to go. 

See you around!  And I really am just so excited about my new blog design!!!

Niki

I'm Going on an Adventure!

On Tuesday morning I will be on a plane.  So...you won't see me around this blog for a couple weeks.  However, when I get back, I'm sure you'll be seeing pictures.  Lots of pictures.  Of Europe!  I'm so excited!!!  Aaaaahhhhh!!!! 

Bye for now.  I'll see you when I return.  And now, I must go finish packing!

Niki

Please Pass the Mustard!

 

Not my best selfies in today's post, but I wanted to show you a skirt I recently acquired from the sale rack at Fred Meyer.  It's a basic black skirt, with a pink waistband.  Black skirts are always classic choices, and this one is really light weight and I think it will be great for traveling.  It doesn't seem like it will wrinkle too bad.  I'll get to test it really soon, because my mom and I have a wonderful opportunity to take a business/pleasure trip to Europe!  Sooooooooo excited!  I'll bring back many, many pictures, I promise!

 

Anyway, for this outfit I paired the skirt with a striped shirt, mustard scarf, tights, boots and my denim jacket.  I made the scarf all by myself, but I think I need to get another skein of yarn and add a few more rows.  Chunky scarves are always fun.  And it's mustard yellow!  Believe it or not, it's the only mustard color item in my wardrobe.  :)

 

Niki

 

Skirt: Fred Meyer.  Shirt: Kohl's.  Tights: Marshall's.  Jacket and boots: thrifted.  Scarf: self-made.

Green and Clean

Let's talk about hair care.  More specifically, let's talk about shampoo or the lack thereof.  I have a confession to make.  I haven't used shampoo in a few weeks.  And no, that's not why I was wearing a hat in my last outfit post.  ;)  My hair is just as clean as any normal person's and here's why.  Baking soda and vinegar.  That's right folks, just like that volcano you made in your first science class.  Except without the exploding fizz. 

 

I first heard about this from the same place I come across most great ideas: Pinterest.  A link took me to a very interesting article about "No-Pooing" which just means washing your hair without shampoo.  I was intrigued.  More research lead me to the conclusion that it couldn't hurt to give it a try, especially since it boasted frizz-reducing qualities.  I decided to take pictures of the before and after of my hair for "scientific documentation."  Mostly because I thought you might be curious if this actually works. 

 

I'm showing off my greasy hair for the world to see.  This is what blogging does to you...

 

 

These are the before pictures.  Not as bad as it looked in real life.  This was the 3rd day after I had washed my hair with shampoo.  I usually wash it every other day.

 

Now let's talk about how you actually clean your hair with volcano ingredients.  The baking soda washes  your hair.  Mix 1 Tbsp with 1 cup of water and pour this over your head at the scalp.  Scrub with your fingers.  You won't get any lather, but it does feel kind of slippery.  Don't scrub down the length of your hair, just at the scalp where it gets greasy.  You can let it set for a minute, or rinse it out right away.

 

The vinegar acts as conditioner, smoothing the hair.  Again, mix 1 Tbsp in a cup of water.  Pour this over your hair from the base of your head down.  Don't pour this part over your scalp, unless you have really dry hair.  What I've been doing is dipping the tips of my hair in the vinegar solution for a little while, then letting that sit for a while.  Then I dump the rest of the vinegar water over my head, because my hair needs the extra conditioning.  I let it sit for a couple seconds, then rinse.

 

And yes, it does work.

 

Here's the after pictures.

 

 

All clean!  Puffy, but clean.  And surprisingly, your hair doesn't hold the vinegar smell.  You may be able to detect it while it's wet, but once it's dry, the smell is gone. 

 

So far, this process has worked just like regular shampoo and conditioner for me.  No noticeable difference in frizz or grease level.  I'm trying to go further in between washes and let my scalp get used to not having to produce as much oil.  I think it's working.  I'll keep you posted.

 

Are you intrigued by this method?  I was!  I couldn't believe I actually wanted to try it.  It seems so crunchy and green.  But hey, baking soda and vinegar are cheap, they don't contain artificial ingredients, and they work, so why not?  Let me know if you decide to give it a try!

 

Niki

The Long and Short of It...

Recognize this maxi skirt?  I've worn it for a few other outfit posts.  But this time, I did something different.  I made it shorter because I wanted to be able to wear my purple boots.  How, you ask?  I pulled it up under my arms as if I was going to wear it as a dress, and then wore a tighter-fitting tank top over the top of the whole thing.  Ta-dah!  A shorter skirt.  I was proud of myself, and shocked that it didn't even look bunchy and bulgy.  Of course, scarves cover a multitude of issues.  :)

Have you found any new and exciting outfit possibilities lately?

Niki

Skirt: refashion.  Tank: H&M.  Jacket: thrifted.  Boots: thrifted.  Scarf: my mom's.  Hat: craft bazaar.

I'm a Softie for Softies!

Is there an age where you become to old to love plush toys?  If there is, I haven't hit it yet.  I still adore all things soft and huggable.  Cute animals, sweet dolls...They just can be so darn cute!  Especially the handmade ones.  If it's handmade, that totally takes it to the next level of cool!  Fortunately for softie lovers like me, plush toys can be very easy to make!  Here's a few patterns and tutorials that I've been drooling over.

First up is this cute, and super simple bunny.  Wouldn't this be perfect to stick in a kid's Easter basket?  Find the pattern and instructions here.

For those of you wanting a more unique project, may I present Plattie the Platypus? Here's the pattern and tutorial.

How cute are these foxes and raccoons from Ruffles and Stuff?  Her adorable pattern can be found here.

I'm slightly obsessed with Russian matryoshka dolls, so I cannot wait to make some of these babushka dolls.  They look super easy, so I'll probably end up making a whole set in different sizes, nesting doll style.  You can find the instructions here. (Note: there is a link to a paid pattern.)


Handmade softies make great gifts as they are very customizable, not to mention they can be a great way to use up fabric scraps!  Make some up for your favorite young people, or just make some for you.  You're never to old to enjoy a homemade softie.  (In my opinion!)

Niki

P.S.  Still want more?  Check out this great collection of soft animals and dolls at See Kate Sew.

The Cat Sweater, and Other Thrifted Things

I've been thrifting.  Big surprise there, huh?  You know it's bad when you visit the same thrift shop two days in a row because they had to close the first time before you were done looking around.  I had no idea they were closing or I would have left sooner...or not grabbed so many things to try on...heh heh heh... I wanted to wear a disguise when I went back the next day.  Fortunately, I don't think they recognized me as the crazy thrifting girl.

 

Anyway, here are a few of my finds from the last few weeks:

 

 

Awesome purple boots that were the tag color of the day at Goodwill.  Score!  I've worn them quite a bit already.  I'm sure they'll surface in an outfit post soon.

 

 

You can never have too many pieces of classic literature on your shelves.  I've already finished Lord of the Flies (it was weird...) and I'm working on Kidnapped.  These were 99 cents each at Goodwill.

 

Fabric remnants for 50 cents each.  I'm a fabric hoarder...

 

A big men's shirt, ready to be remade into something cute and girly.

 

A scarf.  I probably have too many already, but I don't have a blue and yellow one!

This is a cat sweater.  In all its jingle bell glory.  Yes, it has a real jingle bell sewn to one of the cat's necks.  It's a little noisy.  This was a weird purchase, because I don't know if I'd ever wear it out of the house, but it's so funny!  I took a picture of it on my first thrifting trip, showed it to my brother, and he said it was awesome and that I should have gotten it, so I did when I went back the next day.  Thus is the saga of the cat sweater.

What about you?  Have you had any successful shopping trips lately?

Niki

A Little Bit 90s

 

 (Please ignore the very puffy hair.  I desperately need a haircut!)

 

I knew I wanted to wear this skirt to church on Sunday, because it's been sitting in my closet for a while without being worn.  It's a super fun reversible wrap skirt, but sometimes I can't figure out what to wear with it.  I decided black was a safe choice for shirt color, but it still needed something.  On a whim, I tried my denim vest over the top with a belt.  The result was a little unusual, but I liked it!  The oversized denim seems a little 90s, but hey, I am a 90's kid after all!  ;)

Niki

P.S. Sorry for the overdue post, but we've been having computer problems.  One of them being that I can't seem to find a time when my brother isn't using the computer!  Ha ha.

Skirt: a little shop in a little town whose name I can't recall.  Vest: refashion.  Black shirt: Old Navy.  Tights: Marshalls.  Shoes: Payless Shoes.  Belt: stolen from my grandma. :)  Hair: Winter frizziness.