update

You guys. I've not made very many things tidy yet.

Tops and bottoms

Today, I took 2 bags to Goodwill and 3 bags to the consignment shop, after only going through tops and bottoms. This felt so amazing. Here is the state of my closet already. I wish I had taken a true before photo. This is a huge improvement!

More posts to come...Yesterday I went through my socks. Not so fun but managed to get rid of at least half of them.

List making for tidying up

I started making a list this morning for my tidying up categories. I'm sure it will evolve but this is a good start. I'm planning to declutter my digital mess after finishing with the material clutter. 

the life-changing magic of tidying up

I know this book is everywhere right now. There is a reason for that.

I read this book last week on vacation and I couldn't put it down. It makes so much sense. I decided I would like to document my own progress as I work through tidying our house. I think it will be a great record to look back upon and will hold me accountable to finish the process, as well.

My goal is to be done by the end of January 2016. That's roughly six months from now.

I will do my best to blog regularly about it and will also share photos on Instagram: follow me @elletrain

Today I tackled my first categories of clothing: tops & bottoms.

Things I've learned so far:
_I'm already convinced this is a life-changing process.
_I love blue and black&white clothing (seriously, all the things are b&w or blue!)
_I should wear more pencil skirts

See! What valuable things I've learned after just one morning of working at tidying.

I managed to get 2 full garbage bags of clothing to donate and 3 shopping bags of clothing to sell...what they don't take will be donated immediately. I have an appointment already scheduled at the consignment shop for Wednesday.

Y'all. I constantly go through my clothing and sell at the consignment shop, but there's something completely better and different about my process now and it's thanks to the brilliant simplicity of this book...asking yourself with each item does it bring you joy?

That little sentence makes the decision process so much clearer. I'm loving it. I have dreamed of having a beautiful house for so long. It's impossible to have a beautiful space when you don't know how to care for your belongings and when you don't make room to honor your stuff.

Tackling tidying by category really seems to make sense to me, too. First, I put ALL the tops I own on my bed (making sure to get any seasonal items that might have been left elsewhere, stuff in the laundry room, suitcase that just returned, etc.) It was incredible how having all of my shirts in one place made it much easier to decide what to keep and what to get rid of. I followed with all the bottoms-jeans, pants, skirts, shorts, overalls, etc. I'm kind of a denim-aholic. I do wear jeans almost every day and now I feel great about the pairs still in my closet.  I don't have any more that don't fit quite right or that aren't quite the right wash/color.

Now, I feel confident about going to my closet and knowing I will love what I put on. This is huge. I know it will continue to get better as I finish the process.

I hope you're interested in trying this book out for yourself. I have no connection whatsoever to it, but I'm just so excited about the end result of this process that I can't help but share what I'm learning. Please share photos and comments if you are tackling this venture, too. I would love to see what you're learning, as well!

New sofa = new room

Wow. Today we got rid of the monstrous green couch and replaced it with this lovely caramel leather sofa. Loving how this room is coming together. It makes me a happy mama!! Here's a before shot for comparison. (I so so miss that puppy face sitting there. Gah.)

And another from a different angle. 

Ahh. So much better!! TGIF and Happy Memorial Day weekend!

Mother's Day weekend recap

St. John's Bizarre

Avocado smoothie

Mother's Day donuts!

A mama's purse (purse from Madewell and it's THE best!)

Cutie outfit

Baking and knitting Saturday morning

Challah bread made from scratch. So delicious! Get that book, seriously.

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend. In addition to all of this fun, my dear hubby finished painting the kitchen (a project that had been lingering since JANUARY!) and he got me a Zappos gift certificate! He knows me so well. #shoes #shoes #shoes

On the needles

Omg. 3 posts in one day. I'm excited to get back to blogging a bit. It does seem I blog more when I have the knitting bug and after a bit of a knitting slump, I think I've got it again. Here's what's in my queue and on the needles now...oh, and just off of the needles!

I finally finished Sienna's 'baby' bonnet. Doh. I started this in 2013. Oh well, at least it fits my sweet little gal still.

Knitting Binic precious sweater patter for Sienna. I'm using Rowan Felted Tweed DK in a lovely lilac color. This yarn is the best in the world and I wonder why I don't always knit with it?

I have so many unfinished projects (a couple of sweaters included) but I REALLY want to start these two next. I have stash yarn to use, so it's cool, right?

Holly

Daelyn Pullover

They are both fabulous. I love the clever eyelet shaping on the first and the garter back of the second. I can't wait. I have some lovely heathered purple Cascade 220 that I think I'll use on the Daelyn and then some griege Madeline Tosh I'll use on the Holly.

I feel much better now that I have the itch to knit again ;) Hope you are knitting some fabulous projects right now, too! TGIF.

Sienna turns two!

Can't believe I sent out my daughter's 2nd birthday invitations today! I love designing for my little gal. She adores horses, so that's the theme. A few fun touches to the party like carrot treats from cellophane cones filled with goldfish crackers and hopefully 'pony' rides. Stay tuned for photos. 

fabulous summer capsule wardrobe

I need a plan for my summer wardrobe. I want to get some new wedges or espadrilles, so I needed some inspiration. This was the first image I found in my search and wow, incredible! I want all of this. It's from the blog Birds of a Thread. I will be following her lovely posts! Not only did she put together this incredible collection, but she sews and plans to make quite a few of these pieces. Maybe it will inspire me to find a more permanent spot for my sewing machine in the new house. Ah, I love this so much.

6 minute egg

afternoon craft...macrame plant hanger

I love that my dad used to make these when he was in college. Inspired, dear father.

Back to it

We just got back from a beautiful trip to San Diego, my first. Oh yeah, and we bought a house! We are close to getting settled in after moving in January. Wow. Here is a little recap of photos since I have been a bit absent from the blog as of late (read: life with a toddler).

can't live without... 12 - 15 months old

I sent a few of my previous "can't live without" posts to a soon-to-be mama friend today and thought I had better get a new list up here! Little S is now 15 months old. OMG. She's hilarious, precious and becomes the unofficial greeter ANYWHERE we go. This. Child. So social. It's amazing. The cutest thing ever.

Here she is in some snail pants I made this weekend.

She's my buddy now and so so much fun. I realize when I have a break from her, like right now, how much I enjoy her company! She's the best.

Ok, enough gushing over my kid. On to the list! Here and here are my two previous lists, for ages 0-6 months (and new mamas!) and 7-10 months. This list will cover 12-15 months and is very focused on eating. My little one is such an eater! We also like to eat out, so these things help make that possible.

First up, the Oxo bib. We use this almost everyday. That tells you how much we have been eating out this summer ;) I keep it in the diaper bag/backpack (more on that later) and use it mostly when we eat out or are away from home. The bottom trough catches so much food! We wind up wasting less and making quite a bit less of a mess at the restaurant. Highly recommend it. It comes in blue and pink, too.

Next up, while we are on the Oxo brand kick, the snack cup. This thing is brilliant. We put puffs or other cereal in here and Sienna can snack without making a huge mess. She carries it around herself now and it provides WHOLE MINUTES of peace in the car, at the dinner table while we are waiting for our food to come, at the grocery store. It's wonderful. I've realized the most important thing I can do as a parent right now is to always remember snacks. Seriously. It saves all of us. Get this. (It comes with a lid not pictured here, but that makes it even more spill proof when you throw it into your purse).

Speaking of your purse, this is mine now. I adore this. It's the Kanken Laptop backpack. This is our new diaper bag. I realized how annoying a shoulder bag became when my little one kept getting heavier and heavier. This thing is brilliant and not only frees up my arms to carry Sienna, but has a top snap-handle that can clip to the stroller AND has a back padded pocket where I can put my laptop. It is my new favorite way to travel through the airport. Laptop and all of little one's essentials all together. It's a heavy duty waxed canvas that will last forever, too. They make 3 different sizes to accomodate different laptops. They also make regular and mini-backpacks for kiddos. I will be getting Sienna one when she gets older. Leave it to the Swedes to make the perfect product.

Next up, the Boon Catch Plate. This plate is wonderful. It sticks really well to the highchair and the little spill catcher rolls quite a bit of food back onto the plate. It's pretty much Sienna's only dish right now. Wash and repeat. Every meal. Love this.

This is the Green Sprouts Aqua Bottle. This is a great bottle for water, fits very nicely in the side pocket of the Kanken backpack and is easy for little S to use. She was able to drink from this before any other cup, so we've loved it. The top flips over to enclose the straw, when not in use and we haven't had any spill problems with this one. 

My last item is not a product, but rather a class. We started Music Together classes in the spring semester and I wouldn't know what to do without them! They are weekly 45 min music classes you attend with your child(ren) and they couldn't be more fabulous. They invite ages 0-5 to participate with a parent or guardian attending as well. They are SO fun and educational. The focus is music for the whole 45 minutes. You get a CD of songs along with your class...you learn the songs and sing and dance along during the classes. The instructors lead class and encourage goofiness...parent participation in goofiness is a must! Sienna can sing and do hand motions to many of the songs already. It's amazing. BUT, the best part of this class is the magic of the songs. I can put these on any time that Sienna is fussy or unhappy and she immediately lights up. She claps and calms down. I can sing one of the songs she knows when she's trying to have a little fit and her focus switches. It's so wonderful. You can order some of the music on iTunes, but the classes are the real draw and are worth every penny. They offer them all around the country. It is priceless time with your little one.

Whew. I cannot believe I'm posting about my 15 month old. I know every parent is always amazed at how fast it goes, but wow. It does. I almost have a walker over here and I know life will change with that milestone quite a bit! Maybe our summer of eating out will be our last season of eating out for a while. Who knows, but I hope you find some of these things to be helpful for you and your kiddos or as gifts to a mama-to-be. (I just sent the bib, snack cup and plate to a preggo friend earlier this week!) If you have any items to share, please do! Happy end of summer friends. xo

Sienna Turns One

Yep. Can't believe it. Just like everyone else says. She is the light in my heart. I love her so.

spring update

Good morning! Over here in the Pac. NW we've had some lovely Spring days, but now we're back to typical Portland rain. Regardless, the sandals have been pulled out and I'll do my best to find 'just warm enough' days to wear them.

Little S is over 11 months old now! Wow. I'll share her 10 month and 11 month pictures with you. Yes, I know you need to see those baby knee rolls. Here ya go:

10 months old

11 months old on Easter

Here are a couple of new favorite moments that happened over the last 2 months:

S fell in love with swinging!

And she ordered her first kids' meal, at Hopworks. No beer yet though, don't worry.

We have had a pretty fun Spring so far. We head to Nashville soon to introduce S to our dear friends there. We're also planning her First Birthday! Woah. This mama is finding that absolutely crazy. I am having fun planning the little get-together though and have decided on a gold/star theme. I've ordered super fun party-themed tattoos from Wee Gallery and a seriously adorable star headband from Chamomile and Roses on Etsy. (She's on vacation for the moment, but I'm sure the item will be re-listed soon). The cuteness!!!

As far as knitting goes, I've actually been a busy bee lately! I've finished up a couple of projects (or almost have) that have been lingering on the needles (or hook) and am planning to write up a little eared hat I made for S (crochet fans, it's FINALLY a new crochet pattern from me!)

I've also started this lovely Axil tank by Norah Gaughan. Instead of doing it out of the yarn the pattern calls for though, I'm using the beautifully draping Firefly by Classic Elite in color Linum (linen color). The construction is really interesting on this one. You begin by knitting the center lace panel, then you pick up all around it to knit the rest of the front. The back of the tank is identical to the front, but I'm thinking I may do a solid center panel for the back. After knitting front and back, you then pickup for the ribbing at the neck to finish it off. Ah, Norah. She's so crazy creative.

I'm hoping to be back soon to post Sienna's little crocheted hat and most likely some photos from our Nashville trip. We're also getting family pictures at the end of the month by the insanely talented Posy Quarterman. Oh my. I'm beside myself excited.

Hope you're enjoying the Spring and are having fun finding some lighter weight projects. Please share what you're working on...I always love to see! xo