aaaaaand D-O-N-E!

Yesterday I posted the photos of a cool beach bag I made as a Christmas gift for my friend Chivi. I promise myself I'd made one for me.... and I did!!!! I'm so proud! That was even quicker than I expected!

I have to say though, I do like hers a little better. I couldn't remember the exact dimensions, so I kinda did whatever seemed to look good, which turned out to look okay, but not awesome. Anyways... here it is!

Beach bags make great Christmas gifts!

Christmas is here - well, at this point, it was... And it's gone!

We're not big on Christmas gifts, not even between the two of us. In general, we either take a small trip or give each other silly things. I do have one friend, Chivi, that always gets me something. Nothing fancy or huge, but a little something. So she is the one person that receives a "little something" from me every Christmas/birthday/etc.

This year, couple of days short of the big day, I realized I had no gift for her! I sort of panicked, and run to the mall. Ho-ly-cow! Mall on December 23rd = madness! So many people running around, just buying crap. Not going to play the 'crazy Argentinian socialist' card here, but all that consumerism turned me completely off...

Luckily, the one store that was almost empty was the fabric store! Naturally, I jumped in (figuratively... I didn't really jump, that would have been weird) and got a couple of yards of a super cool canvas-like fabric. Something was going to come to my mind in between the store and my house, and I had exactly one day to make it and get it to her before Christmas eve.

Thinking about my friend, and her needs and likes, I remembered I gave her (she took) one of my beach bags. It was old when she took it, and several years and a lot of beach time later, it was in great need of a replacement.

So that's what I made. A beach bag. Thinking of her, for her. :)

And here's the final product:

Straps were made out of a piece of strap I saved from a West Elm package

It has an inner pocket and all!!

I'm not gonna lie... I really really liked it, and I am also in need of a new beach bag (mine lost one of the straps a couple of days ago, and it's still sitting there, waiting to be sewn). It will happen soon. I.promise.that.to.myself.

Yoga

Long time ago, when I was still living in Argentina, I started doing yoga.

It started as a social meeting; once a week, a bunch of friends and a yoga instructor, getting together in a house. We all enjoyed it very much, and did it for almost two years. Sergio, our instructor, was an awesome dude. He would bring a lot of different options for us to choose: straps, blocks, balls, sticks.... and then, he would ask: lazy yoga? power yoga? hangover yoga? He was cool with whatever we would wanted to do that particular day. It was super fun!

When I moved to Maui, I tried keeping my "yogi" momentum going so I started a real yoga class. It wasn't what I was used to... So professional and serious and boring. I quit after a few classes. I longed that home yoga class, the friends, the homy feeling, the "I do what I want without feeling judged".

A few years passed before I realized I could still have my own home yoga. This time, no friends, no hangovers (for the most part) and no Sergio. But I was ready to go back to the commitment of doing it every week. I bought a real yoga mat (never had one of my own until that moment), found some Youtube yoga videos, and soon enough I was, once again, all in.

To my own surprise, the weekly yoga class soon turned into a daily practice. My husband got really into it as well, so we wake up early, set up our "studio" (move furniture, set up mats, blocks, straps) and turn the video on. We found the way to do it without the hassle of going to a class full of sweaty people, heavy breathings and weird noises.

Matt prefers the super active stuff. Lots of strength, lots of planks, lots of holding posses. He follows Tim for the most part. Check him out; that guy is insane! I can't really stick to it, too much for me. I like Adriene better, even though she tends to talk to much, her classes are gentle and easier for me.

I highly recommend the morning yoga video she has. It's quite old, but oh so yummy! It's always nice going back to it when you feel kinda out of it. It's a great 'come-back-to-yoga' practice... It makes me smile, every time. And it reminds me why I stick to yoga: it makes you feel good.

Yoga with Adriene - Morning Yoga

Lazy Saturday = Little Zipper Pouch

It's been a long while since last time I wrote anything here... Life's been insane this last year. I went back to school - that should say it all. A big part of my life it's completely taken by reading, writing, preparing classes, grading papers and thinking (a lot of thinking). But I have to admit it: I absolutely love it. Even though there are good and bad times (more on that maybe in a different post), overall I'm having an amazing time. And on top of that, it just feels right...

Back to what this un-eventful Saturday has brought: sewing. I haven't sewn for almost a year now. I started a pair of pants that never finished and that's pretty much all the sewing I've done (with the exception of occasional birdies that I still make when somebody orders through my Etsy Shop). So, since today I had no motivation to actually work (i.e.: more reading, more writing, more grant seeking, etc), I decided to create something new. That's something that always cheers me up when I feel lazy ;)

I had no idea what to make, and because I wanted to actually finish whatever I started, I thought of a little zipper pouch. Small project, not a lot of time or thinking, a few materials... exactly what I was looking for! So I did it, and here it is:

It turned out okay, with minor hiccups, but cute overall. I'm happy with my new pouch. I'm happy with my Saturday.

See ya next post!

When life gives you lemons...

A week ago, I run into my landlord. As usual, she asks how everything in the apartment is going and if there's anything we need. She's naturally caring and is always looking after us. Such a nice swedish lady!

They - her, her husband and three kids - live not far from where we are and have a small vegetable garden. Maui weather allows it to keep producing all year long and although small, that garden gives enough produce for them, and to share with us. That's where we come to "save" them! Ha! Every now and then, we stop by and get a mix of the best organic produce: tomatoes, chard, beets, onions, carrots, all kinds of herbs...

In her front yard, they have this huge (I mean enormous!) lemon tree that doesn't stop producing fruit! I've never seen anything like it. Bringing two full bags of them was the least we could do for them.

So, what to do on a rainy Sunday afternoon with some time to spare and a whole bunch of lemons? Naturally! Lemon pound cake! I kinda follow a recipe I found here, but I sub the all-purpose flour for a rice-whole wheat-spelt flour blend (gotta use what you have!).

The three lemons that were sacrificed

The end result :)

It turned out pretty awesome, and my apartment ended up smelling amazing! :)

Happy Sunday!

S

Pillow Cases!

It's been a while since my last post! I haven't been doing much since then, but I always manage to do a little thing here and there... ;)

Holly (Matt's mom) sent me some fabric from Maine and the pieces were so ridiculously cute, I made these pillow cases for our living room. They're super colorful and give our wood-filled living room some life! They are the envelope type, super easy to make!! You all should definitely try to do it yourself.

(Disclaimer: We are currently living in an apartment where the light is not the best of the best for photos, and I don't love to spend too much time re-touching them. Anyways, it is what it is..)

(This one went back to Maine, as a gift for our niece Cora) :)

Quick and Easy

I had a minute before stepping outside to get some cool air (cool meaning not too hot - summer in Hawaii is not a joke) so I decided to do something quick... A few materials that I had from previous projects, a couple of photos that were never "qualified" to be up in the wall and some minutes to spare... Nothing special, just a quicky. ;)

Hope you liked it and DIY. Now, out to da beach!

Aloha!