My "Recycled" Skirts, LOL!

As promised, here are the skirts that I've made myself. We've been on a pretty tight budget and spending money on clothes for myself is not something I can justify very well, so I did the best I could with as little as possible. I "recycled" some things I already had :o) This is what I came up with:

This is one of my favorites :) It's made from a pair of jeans that were too long for me. Very simple to make and it didn't take very long (although, I did make it a little on the tight side as far as walking goes!) I've also made Munchkin one to match this one, only her's has a panel in the front too.

I made this one with a fabric panel on both the front and the back

This one was a lot of fun! I made the pattern for a six gore skirt adjusting it to fit on the bottom of a cut-off pair of jeans. The fabric was from the clearance section at Jo Ann's on one of their 50% off days, so it only cost a few dollars :o)

Unfortunately, I don't really like the way this one turned out :( I didn't do the gather very well, so I don't think it hangs right when I wear it. I'll probably rip the seam out and re-do it, but I haven't gotten to it yet. This one was made out of clearance fabric and a jean mini skirt!

These two are my favorite projects so far! These are my slips that I've made out of bedskirts! It's a lot of fun to wear them under a skirt that they can "peak" out from underneath. Each bedskirt cost about $4 at goodwill and the best part is, I have plenty left over to make a slip for each of my girls!

Some things I still have left to do:
I have a pile of jeans and jean shorts of both mine and my girls sitting by my sewing table waiting to be "recycled" into skirts.
I have a pair of overalls for myself that I want to turn into a jumper (like the first two skirts pictured).
I have some slacks that I was going to see how they turned out making a skirt with fabric panels (like the first two skirts).
I have slips to make for my girls.
And another project I want to try (but don't have the materials for) is to take a T-shirt of the girls and sew a skirt onto it to make a dress. I think this style dress would really appeal to Peanut.

So there you have it! If anyone has any other idea's about "recycling" clothing into something more modest/feminine, I'd love to hear it!

Why I'm Dresses/Skirts only.

As some of you may have noticed, in the last 9 months or so, I've gone to wearing dresses/skirts only. For those of you who may have wondered why, here is my answer :)

I have a very low self image. I always have and it's something I've always worked to try to overcome, especially now that I have daughters. About a year ago I was feeling exceptionally bad about myself, to the point of not wanting to even bother getting dressed in the mornings. As I addressed this issue with lots of prayer, I found myself stumbling across websites and blogs that addressed biblical modesty and feminism. I felt that the Lord was asking me to dress more modestly and feminine. I laughed, thinking there was no way I was going to wear a shapeless dress that made me look like a frumpy old woman! After all, the whole issue was I wanted to be pretty, not nondescript! Well, as you can imagine, the Lord continued to push me in the direction he wanted. I slowly started to realize that you could dress modestly and feminine, while still being pretty. So I finally decided to give it a try. I made myself a couple of skirts (I'll highlight my homemade skirts in another post) and started wearing them a few days a week. I slowly started to realize that I felt better about myself when I wore a skirt. I saw myself as pretty when I looked in the mirror. I also started to feel more and more uncomfortable in pants. So, with my birthday money in hand, I headed to Value Village to acquire a new wardrobe :) I came home with several skirts and a few tops (I was still nursing at the time, so dresses didn't really work) and have worn skirts/dresses ever since. I now feel incredibly uncomfortable when I wear pants. I've also noticed that people tend to be more polite to me. Men, even young men, almost always hold the door open for me, something that almost never happened before! And the best part is, my girls are now starting to choose a skirt or a dress, without my having to say anything!

I wanted to share my story because I think some people resist dresses/skirts only because they see it as a legalistic thing. That was a big part of my resistance in the beginning. I wanted to show others that sometimes dressing more femininely can help you to feel better about yourself.

Menu Plan for Feb 23rd

Monday: Fried Chicken with broccoli, rolls and Au Gratin potatoes

Tuesday: Pork roast with mashed potatoes and salad

Wednesday: BBQ pork pizza

Thursday: Black bean soup with bread and cheese

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Taco style lentils and rice

Sunday: Mac & cheese for fellowship

For more menu ideas, visit Organizing Junkie.

Chickens

We are thinking about getting chickens. (sigh)

I HATE chickens! No, seriously, I do. My mom Loved chickens, so we had chickens a few times growing up. And she believed that free-range was the only way to go, so the chickens were EVERYWHERE! And forget about trying to find the eggs! It was like having an Easter egg hunt every day and when you found one wondering just how long it had been sitting out in the elements. They really are dumb obnoxious creatures.

So why are we getting chickens, you may ask? Because, like many of my friends, I too, have been bitten by the homesteading/frugal living bug. (sigh) I even got some books from the library (and judging by the slim selection and the number of holds, I think most of the city has been bitten by the same bug!) so I could "study up". (sigh)

It will be nice to have a fresh supply of eggs, though.

Chicka, Chicka Boom, Boom Tot Book

Peanut didn't want to be left out of the lapbooking, but since her attention span is so short we decided to try a Tot book this time. We chose Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom because it's one of their favorite books. Here it is:

This was a lot of fun. It was quick and easy, which held her attention to the end. She has also had fun playing with the flash cards. I think it is helping to encourage her to learn her letters! WooHoo!!!

American Revolution

Last week we finished up our study of the American Revolution. It was a lot of fun. Munchkin really enjoyed it.

Here they are in their Tricorn hats.

We made Quill pens and practiced writing with them.

Peanut's was more like a painting, lol.


And here is the lapbook we made to tie everything together. This is the front.


These three are the inside of the first folder.

These two are the inside of the back folder


And this is the back of the lapbook.

This lapbook was a lot of fun once I got over being intimidated by it, lol. Munchkin didn't seem to be retaining the information from the daily lessons, so this is what I came up with to help her remember. I couldn't find a "ready made" one, so I had to come up with the design on my own. I was intimidated at first, but once I started looking around at some others had done, I just jumped in and made it. It was really easy once I quit worrying and just got started!

Menu Plan for Feb 16th

Here is my menu for this week. As you can see the Balsamic Chicken is being repeated once again! This is a new recipe that looked good, so I decided to try it. The problem is, it requires marinating for 24hrs and so far I have yet to remember that in enough time. I was ready to scratch the recipe, but Hubby asked me to give it one more try :o)

Monday: Chicken Tetrazini with green beans

Tuesday: Sweet and sour pork with rice and broccoli

Wednesday: Calzones with salad

Thursday: Corn Chowder with bread

Friday: Soy balsamic chicken with rice and cauliflower

Saturday: Leftovers

Sunday: Brownies for Fellowship

For more meal plans, visit Organized Junkie.

Menu plan for Feb 9th

This is what our week looks like:

Monday: Shepherds pie (using leftover roast) and homemade bread

Tuesday: Spaghetti with salad and garlic bread

Wednesday: Fried rice

Thursday: Split pea soup with homemade bread and cheese

Friday: Soy balsamic chicken with rice and cauliflower

Saturday: Kids are staying the night at Grammy Annie & Papa's and Hubby is taking me out to dinner! WooHoo!!!

Sunday: Brownies for fellowship

For hundreds more menu plans, check out Organizing Junkie!

Swedish Meat Pie Recipe

OK, a little background on this one: My husband has always loved going to the Scandinavian Festival and getting a few Swedish Meat Pies. After we got married I looked everywhere for a recipe for them. No luck. Then shortly after the Scandinavian Festival there was an article in the food section of the paper where the author had gone on a similar search. She had managed to get the lady who makes them at the festival give her enough info to create a recipe. Which she published and I, thankfully, found. My husband doesn't think they are perfect, but thinks that they are a pretty good representation, lol.

Swedish Meat Pie:

1/2 lb ground beef
1 sm onion, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1 medium partially cooked red potato, finely shredded
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
salt & pepper to taste
1 egg yolk
1 tsp cold water
1 batch Sour Cream Pastry Dough (recipe follows)

(Note: I use a very small onion or only use half. I've found that it is very easy for the onion to overpower the other flavors in this. Also, I tend to use a medium to large potato. Be careful not to cook the potato too long or it is hard to shred.)

Cook beef, onion and celery in a skillet until brown; drain. Stir in potato, seasonings and cheese. Divide pastry into 4-6 pieces (I usually do 6). Roll out each piece into a circle. Divide meat mixture evenly and place on center of each circle. Fold one side of pastry over filling making a half moon. Moisten edges with water and press with fork to seal. Mix egg yolk and water (I use the whole egg, what can I say, I'm lazy, lol!) brush pastries with mixture. Bake at 350 until golden brown, 20-25 minutes.

Sour Cream Pastry Dough:

2 cups flour
1/8 tsp salt
8 oz unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
1/2 cup sour cream

Place flour and salt in a large bowl. Add butter cubes and cut in evenly until mixture is the size of small peas. Stir in sour cream with fork. The pastry will appear dry. Divide as recipe indicates. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight or until cold and firm (I usually make the dough in the morning and refrigerate till I'm ready for it that evening). The dough can be frozen for up to one month (I have not tried this).

I have also made these in a mini tart pan with open tops as a appetizer/potluck dish. For more recipes check out Grocery Cart Challenge.

Menu plan for Feb 2nd

I know you all were waiting with baited breath for me to get my menu plan together, lol (jk), so here it is...........drum roll please...............

Monday: leftovers
Tuesday: Italian lentil & barley soup with bread (from last weeks menu)
Wednesday: Tater tot casserole
Thursday: Roast with potatoes and carrots
Friday: Swedish meat pies (I'll post the recipe later)
Saturday: (we have company) Crock-pot roast chicken with potato wedges, squash, salad and rolls
Sunday: Mac & cheese for fellowship

For more menu plans visit Organizing Junkie.