link to dana's pants pocket tutorial.

Dana at MADE posted this tutorial for these adorable pants (along with several other designs...take your pick, they're all amazing!). I have to make these! February has been "Celebrate the Boy" month on her blog, and has been totally inspiring for this mommy of three boys.

thrifting 101.

photo

I love thrift stores. I'd rather shop at a thrift store than just about anywhere, mostly because I'm such a tightwad. Mr. Gardner loves thrifting too, so it's a favorite pastime of ours. I started back in High School (before it was cool) at a store called Rags & Wags in my hometown. That was about 15 years ago. That's a lot of thrifting. I've learned a few valuable lessons in that time:

1. To get great finds, you need to go often. Probably once a week or so. Mr. Gardner is something of a bibliophile, so he finds out when the local thrift stores put out their new books, and tries to go weekly. He's found some amazing books using this method.

2. Don't buy things just because they're cheap. This is the hardest thing for me...I have bought way too many things at thrift stores for this reason, and not because I really like them, or will use them, only to re-donate them right back a few months later. Don't buy an item if you don't love it or have a specific use for it. Which leads me to...

3. Keep a list of things you need or want and take it with you when you go thrifting. This may seem counterintuitive, because if you've ever gone to a thrift store looking for something in particular, you know inevitably you will not find it! However, if you do go often, chances are you will eventually see what you are looking for. If you don't have said item on your list, you will walk into the store and be completely distracted by all the stuff, all the while having this nagging feeling that there was something you wanted to watch for...as you walk right past it.

4. Don't underestimate repurposing. This is probably one of my favorite things about thrifting. You can re-use and re-purpose almost everything in the store. We've picked up some great, well-made furniture at thrift stores. True, when we bought said furniture, it was spray painted purple and green, and needed to be refinished, but that's the fun part! Sheets can be made into almost anything, old baskets or luggage are great for storage, clothing can be resized, throw pillows can be recovered. There are a lot of amazing ideas out there for repurposing the items that are sitting, waiting for a new life!

5. For every item you buy while thrifting, donate an item back. This is a great way to de-clutter your home. I always have a donation box going at my house for items that are no longer used, or needed. I especially try to do this with my children's things, because toys and books and outgrown clothes seem to accumulate unusually fast at our house!

That's all I have, but would love to hear more tips from other thrifters...

what i did today...

Last night, as I was going to bed, I looked over at the lone dresser in our bedroom, which was buried under piles of magazines, diapers, and articles of clothing, and resolved that today, if I did nothing else, I would clean it off. Oh, and I would finish the load of laundry that has been "soaking" in the washer....

So after the boys ate breakfast, and I did the dishes, and tidied the kitchen, and took out the trash, and changed a couple poopy diapers, and fed the dog, and got everyone dressed, I stood in front of the dresser and began the daunting task of removing and sorting the accumulated junk.

AsI did, I found a pair of my favorite earrings...which reminded me that I've really been wanting to make an earring frame for all my earrings (I got the idea from a dear friend, who got it from apartment therapy, I think...) I bought a frame at the thrift store about a month ago and just needed some screen to hang in it. So, I left the mess, and proceeded to go outside to cut a ruined screen out of one of our windows. Fifteen minutes later, I had this little project finished...

But still had a mess on my dresser.

Which I took care of.

But the clothes are still in washer...tomorrow, perhaps?

reversible baby booties.

Ok, these are the most darling little booties...EVER.

I have wanted to make them for a long, long time, and I finally made them for a friend with a brand new little boy. I am so excited about them that I'm posting the pictures of them before I give them to her (I don't think she knows I blog...yet). I must say that the tutorial I followed from crafting blog maked out of Canada was really, REALLY good. So good, in fact, that I was actually able to figure out how to make them...that's saying something! And I figured out how to make them in an evening, with "help" from my three children. The house is an absolute disaster as a result...but these darling little booties sitting on my kitchen table make everything worth it.

A couple of notes:

I used a light quilting cotton pattern for one side, and a rich brown flannel for the other. While I was looking around for fabric ideas, I saw some made out of old embroidered tea towels that were, well...amazing (I'll have to keep an eye out for old tea towels when thrifting). I also saw some with corduroy for the bottoms, which would be great if you were making them for an older child who actually used their feet...

Which brings me to the next thing; these are incredibly tiny. Way smaller than I thought. They are definitely newborn size. I took some pictures of them in my hand, to show just how small they are. So tiny...so darling!

Here they are with the brown flannel side out...

treasures...

Wedding_0043
Originally uploaded by jengardner

We just got a new printer and I discovered, much to my delight that it is also a scanner. So, inspired by all the love this Valentine's Day, I got out our wedding photos and scanned them all! I've been wanting to do this forever...

Here's my favorite.

happy valentine's day.

So, since everyone knows that chocolate and Valentine's Day go together perfectly...I wanted to share the BEST chocolate cookie recipe in the whole world. I got it from the blog of one of my dearest friends who is also something of a gourmet cook in my book. But be forewarned, if you don't care for chocolate, you will not like these cookies. They are made with dark chocolate chips and are amazingly rich. I make them at least once a month, much to the chagrin of my four year old who despises chocolate (I know, I know, something went horribly amiss in the gene pool there...)

restoration hardware kitchen.

Restoration Hardware - Shop By Room

I just LOVE this kitchen...especially the reclaimed wood island.