Crystal Madrilejos

It’s been an… interesting… year in the garden.

We’ve scaled back a bit and tried some new things this year with varying amounts of success. We only did 2.5 plots and we did them lasagna garden style. It started off well, though we were a bit late getting things in the ground considering the unseasonably warm spring we had. Actually, we planted on time for our growing season but we didn’t take advantage of that extra bit of time when it seemed that everyone and their mothers, due to the crazy warm weather, were getting things going in their gardens. Ah well, I’m pregnant. That’s my excuse.

In terms of successful growth, we were opposite from other years. Normally, our tomatoes are one of our lesser performers and we usually end up with more salad greens than any normal family would know what to do with. This year though, we didn’t get ANY salad greens! I believe rabbits were the culprits this time. They burrowed into the garden and ate themselves silly just like poor Peter Rabbit. I hope, just like Pater Rabbit, they tore their fancy jackets and lost their little shoes in the process too.

Same for our green beans and carrots. Eaten before they had a chance to produce anything.

Butternut squash…argh… I’m pretty sure chipmunks kept digging up the seeds and just eating those. I planted those suckers TWICE and every time I went out there, the seeds would be gone!

Basil – never recovered from one night of odd frost.

Strawberries, we had a couple. But at one point I found a freaking toad burrowing beneath one of the plants. Birds did their damn best to get through our netting that we draped over the row. One even died in the process, which is always pleasant trying to detangle a dead bird from netting. Thank goodness Andrew can stomach such things. The rest, I believe, fell victim to the chipmunks as well. They scoffed at our netting AND the bird tangled in it.

We bought our seed potatoes. Just never got around to planting them.

Don’t even ask about the blueberries. That is just straight depressing. There were so many! Birds ate them all before we could harvest even one.

Our tomatoes were the one promising and shining ray of light in the whole bunch. They were thriving and looking awesomely full (possibly due to the drier weather?) until some damn deer decided to just bust through our fence and take a siesta right in the middle of the tomato bed.

All in all, pretty dismal showings. The one thing that makes it somewhat bearable is the fact that we didn’t put too much effort into it. Yes, the lasagna beds took some time to build up. But we can still use them again next year. And there is always next year! This year isn’t over and I’m already scheming about next year’s garden, which may or may not involve a greenhouse and a front yard garden. One thing is for sure though, the one word that will describe our plans for 2013: Smarter!

-c.

Image via Flickr

I’m three days shy of being 36 weeks pregnant. Meaning four more weeks until my due date, which in turn means I have the luxury and right to complain (lovingly) about this last stretch. Being pregnant is, seriously, an amazing thing. Right now, as I type, I have a little naked person floating around in my body. I mean, that’s some crazy, other-wordly, type stuff we’re talking about here. But still, there are just some emotions, thoughts and situations that exist regardless of how awesome it is to be growing another human being. Just a couple things to note about my current state:

1. I basically, sorta, kinda (definitely) wore what constituted as pajamas to work one day this week. I just couldn’t handle regular clothes – if you can call maternity clothes “regular clothes”. And it felt great. I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I wore an unfortunate combo of maternity clothes that when paired together looked like pajamas. But this time, I literally wore something that I would wear as pajamas.

2. As if dribbling food or drink on yourself doesn’t make you look slovenly enough. Imagine dribbling food or drink on a huge pregnant belly. It makes me look like a total slug. And this happens daily. I might as well walk around with Cheetos dust on my fingers too.

3. I feel extremely motivated to get things done, but am frustratingly hindered by my physical state. I am not one of those women who will be running a marathon at this point. Granted, even if I weren’t pregnant I wouldn’t be attempting such feats. However, not being able to just tend the garden (a whole other post) without help from Andrew is really really maddening.

4. I am  constantly amazed at the resilience of the human body. The fact that my skin hasn’t, literally, split open and spilled out some guts is pretty remarkable.

5. The past couple weeks seem to have taken as long as the previous 30 or so weeks combined. Why, oh why is time slowing down right now when I am most uncomfortable and unsightly?

6. My body hurts. The arches of my feet feel like they are falling. My legs ache. My belly is sore. Sometimes, I just have to lift up my stomach and carry it because my torso just needs a break. I’ve thought about this a lot in the past, the sheer amount of weight a pregnant woman carries around daily. I didn’t even gain that much this time around. I’m about average at 25-30lbs of weight gain. But have you ever thought about how much that actually is? That’s like carrying around 5-6 bags of flour or roughly 3-4 gallons of milk. I gained, like, 50lbs with Q. Have you ever carried 50lbs around? That’s craaay. I’m surprised my knees didn’t buckle with every step.

7. I’m exhausted. Just straight exhausted. Out-of-breath-melting-into-a-puddle-of-slobishness exhausted.

Sometimes, I think pregnancy and its trials are just a big lesson in swallowing your pride and realizing that you are just going to end up in a room full of strangers looking at your private bits.

But in the end, it’s all worth it.

-c.

Stuff like this makes my blood boil. I just have to vent here for a second because sometimes something happens that just makes you think “what is wrong with people?”

A few days ago, Andrew’s Mom took Q on a ride out to their pond (which is one of Q’s absolute favorite things to do) only to find the scene pictured below. Beer/alcohol cans littered everywhere, AND beach/lawn chairs, AND a boat!!!! Whaaat?!!! Someone had themselves a party. And it wasn’t anyone we know. The pictures really don’t do it justice.

As the title of this post implies, I’m going to assume that this was the work of some hooligan teenagers. But it’s also quite possible that they were adults that were acting like children.

Not only was there just a complete disregard for the fact that they were trespassing on someones property, but complete disrespect for said property as well as the environment and natural habitat of a lot of wildlife including fish, frogs, ducks (there were cans and bottles thrown into the lake), blue heron, and deer. Even despite my loathing of the deer, they don’t need to deal with Four Loko cans. That’s just rude!

Joking aside though, come ON people! Andrew’s parents have plenty of land. And in the past, they’ve let neighborhood kids play paintball in the woods just as long as they didn’t leave trash strewn about. They are very laid back, nice people and are always welcoming to guests in their home or people who want to come see their alpacas, etc. So it’s just sad that there are people who do things like this.

Also, lakes and excessive drinking in the middle of the night are just a bad combo. (I’m assuming this took place during the night because they would have to have some serious balls to pull a stunt like this in the daytime, right?) Not smart. Not smart at all.

And until someone comes to fess up, we at least got a boat and some lawn chairs out of it.

-c.

Looking at my post from the other day, I was slightly depressed by not having any new photos to post (the one I posted was old and already posted to my Instagram account…boooring.) Since getting an iPhone I’ve been extra lazy about breaking out the real camera to take photos. Bad technology! Bad, bad! Ha!

Anyhoo, this post is an update on the baby blanket that I’ve been working on for the past 3 months or so. I found The Forever Baby Blanket pattern on one of my favorite crafting/fiber/blog sites, The Purl Bee.  I just wanted something super simple that I could zone out while doing or just sit and not have to be 100% focused on some elaborate pattern. I’m also relatively new to knitting so I didn’t want to be overwhelmed when I knew that the time I had to dedicate to crafting was going to be limited.

This blanket turned out to be just what I needed. The pattern itself is really simple, but not boring. It’s a rib knit so it’s thick and squishy with a lot of texture. My color inspiration came from these blocks (minus the gold + a lighter grey):

I’m still on the fence as to whether I’m going to use black. I bought some with the intention of using it, but when I put all the colors together it seemed too bold to me. Incorporating the lighter grey helps, but we’ll see. I’m winging it for the time being.

I didn’t use any fancy yarns (which I’m slightly regretting) but my reasoning was that 1.) I wanted to see if I was committed enough to finish an entire blanket and 2.) I was unsure if my skills justified using something a bit pricier. However, part of me is glad that I didn’t splurge on this particular project. I did mess up a bunch in the beginning when I was trying to catch my knitting stride so there are definitely some imperfections. I would have been super pissed if I bought nice yarn and wasn’t completely happy with how it turned out. But now that I feel a lot more confident in my skills, I think for my future projects I won’t’ feel intimidated spending a little more on better quality materials.

I’m hoping one day to have some of Andrew’s parents Alpaca wool processed and have someone spin it into yarn for me. Now THAT, my friends, would be super fancy.

-c.

This pregnancy has flown by. Only 6.5 weeks to go and I’m feeling the restlessness that comes with the last home stretch.

It’s a bit late in the pregnancy to be in the nesting phase, but having a 2-year-old, a new job, and a lingering illness to contend with has pushed us into month 8 with much still left to do. There is a reason they say you should get as much done as possible in the 2nd trimester because, dang, is it hard to do much with this huge belly.

When I was pregnant with Q, we had all the time in the world to just… do stuff. I was crafting up a storm. Andrew was building and baking awesome things. It’s taken me the entire pregnancy to knit one stinkin’ baby blanket (pictured above – back when I first started the darn thing months ago!) and the jury’s still out on whether it will be done by the time baby girl comes. I started a baby sweater, but I’ve given up any hope that particular project will get done.

Luckily, Andrew is super awesome and has been able to take the reins on many of the things on our to-do list. I just make lists at this point. Make lists and grow a baby. That’s my to-do list.

But still, however long our to-do list is, it feels good to have our little family getting it all done together. Hoping to have more photos of our progress in the near future!

-c.

So, just a couple things about me personally. I normally don’t wear a ton of makeup. I prefer a dewy look to my skin, rather than a matte look. I’m really into moisturizing for fear of getting a wrinkly neck. And I’m almost positive that chapped lips run in my family.

1. Waxelene – This has been my lip balm of choice for a little while now. But I’ve also been known to slather it on like lotion when in a bind. Andrew uses it on his entire body (good thing it comes in a huge jar) because he’s got really bad eczema and uses this when he needs to break out the heavy artillery. It’s a great, natural alternative to Vaseline. My only complaint is that it doesn’t smell super great. It doesn’t smell bad, but it has a distinct smell to it.

2.) RMS “Un” Cover Up & RMS Lip2Cheek – I love how creamy these two products are. They cover without making you look like you have a ton of makeup on.

3.) JASÖN Vitamin E Oil – I’ve used this on my face and body and never had any problems with breakouts. It has a nice scent and doesn’t make you look greasy, like you would imagine slathering oil on your face would do. I also use this to cleanse my face. I rub an excessive amount all over my face like you would with a normal cleanser, but instead of washing it off I wipe off the excess oil with a tissue/soft cloth and all the dirt and stuff comes off with it.

4.) Love & Toast Honey Nectar Body Butter – This is a new acquisition for me and it’s not heavy in rotation. I mainly got it because I needed a moisturizer that I could carry around in my purse because I hate driving to work with dry hands! I had been using the Waxelene in such situations, since I always have a little container of that in my bag, but again, the scent wasn’t ideal. This stuff smells great!

5.) Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil – We started using coconut oil when Andrew read somewhere that it was really good for eczema (which I’m sure works for some people, but didn’t really do much for Andrew’s extreme case) but I really like it as a light moisturizer. This is also what we used in our “Deo for Your B.O.” from our last post. Another thing that it’s great for is baby moisturizer. It’s not super greasy and you can rest assured it safe for their sensitive skin.

6.) Dr. Hauschka Liquid Eyeliner – Like I said, I don’t wear much makeup. But I HAVE to wear liquid eyeliner. It’s the only thing that stays put on my oily, Asian eyes. I swear. That being said, this eyeliner is okay. I find that I still have to do a lot of prepping to get it to stay put. But I’ll deal with that rather than use something that stays on longer, but has bad stuff in it.

7.) Zoya Natural Nail Polish in Avery – I wish wish wish I could have perfectly manicured nails all the time. However, it’s just not possible for me. Too much time and money that I don’t have to spare. Plus, the more I read about nail salons and the chemicals they use and the chemicals in non-clean nail polishes the more I think it’s best to just do it myself. This polish works great and doesn’t seem to last any longer (or shorter) than it’s non-clean counterparts. I’m considering this color and this color too because I’m really into just having neutrals on hand when I’m feeling the urge to get fancy.

8.) John Masters Pomegranate Facial Nourishing Oil – I’m really into using oils on my face. It seemed crazy and scary at first, but then the more I read and thought about it the more it started to make sense. I always thought that I had oily skin. Turns out that I have dry skin! My skin was just overproducing oils to compensate for the fact that it wasn’t properly being moisturized. Now that I use oil on my face, I never get greasy/shiny.

9.) Nubian Heritage Raw Shea Butter Soap – This is also a new acquisition for me. I’ve tried a few Nubian Heritage products and have been pleasantly surprised every time. When I first bought, I was worried that maybe it was too manly a scent, but I’ve found that it’s really subtle and I don’t smell like a man at all (or at least no one has said I do!)

10.) Nubian Heritage Olive & Green Tea Lotion – Okay, so I’ve been saying how much I love oils and such. But sometimes, I just want to put some fancy smelling lotion on my elbows. So, sue me! One thing about this lotion is that it is VERY VERY thick. And sort of hard to get out of the bottle. It’s more like a cream and probably should be packaged in a tub rather than a bottle. There is no way you are getting every last drop out. You’ll have to cut that sucker open. Which I plan to do.

11.) Alima Pure Satin Matte Mineral Foundation – I used Bare Minerals forever but then for some reason (maybe the pregnancy?) it started to dry out my skin. Plus, I could never find the perfect shade for my skin tone. Alima Pure has A MILLION shades and you can order samples to try before committing to one shade. I think I ordered like 10 of them or something crazy. I prefer to mix it with my face oil to make it more like a liquid/tinted moisturizer rather than apply it just straight as a powder. I like the coverage better and plus I can kill two birds with one stone.

12.)  John Masters Lavender Rosemary Shampoo for Normal Hair – Natural shampoos were one of my first forays into “clean” products. I remember my college roommate telling me how chemicals were absorbed through our scalps and that freaked me out. Scary facts aside, one of the best things about switching to all natural shampoos has been the fact that my hair hardly ever gets greasy. I used to have to wash my hair every single day or risk getting a bad case of the greasies. But now I can go 3 or 4 days without washing my hair! Yes, I go 3 to 4 days without washing my hair.

Only after I did that fancy photo collage above, did I realize that I forgot a few others so I’ll post about those another day. Plus, this post is way too long and I’m positive no one is reading at this point. Bonus points if you made it this far.

Without sounding too preachy, I know some of these things are pricey. Hell, all of them are pricey if you are used to buying drugstore cosmetics these days. But I think it’s worth the investment to live healthier even if it means just switching out one of your products for a clean one. Less chemicals is always better. Anyone else have products they recommend?

-c.

[Photo by Lauren Crew]

For the past year or so (maybe longer, who can remember that far back?), I’ve been slowly but surely transitioning to “clean” health and beauty products. We all know that there are bad chemicals/toxins/stuff in everything nowadays. So much so, that you can’t even trust when something says “All-Natural” or “Organic” these days. Andrew and I do our best to arm ourselves by staying informed and educated, but it can be frustrating and down-right depressing to find out things that you thought were good for you, are actually not as good as you thought (I’m looking at you SIGG).

Luckily, there are quite a number of resources online for checking out how “clean” a product is. No More Dirty Looks is by far my favorite site for beauty products. These lovely ladies live for clean and green beauty products. Run by Siobhan O’Connor and Alexandra Spunt, who co-authored the book No More Dirty Looks: The Truth About Your Beauty Products and the Ultimate Guide to Safe and Clean Cosmetics, this site is a goldmine of knowledge on all types of brands and products. I used to work with Siobhan back in my NYC days and I can attest that she is one smart cookie. Also, I have tried many products based on their reviews and recommendations and have not once been disappointed. Not only are these ladies super smart and charming, but they have a following of like-minded folks that comment on their site and offer even more advice and suggestions for cleaning up your beauty routine.

One of the surest ways to know what you’re putting on (and eventually into) your body is to make it from scratch. Obviously, this works better in some scenarios than others. Recently, I came across this recipe on the No More Dirty Looks site for DIY deodorant, cleverly called Deo for Your B.O.! Andrew and I tested it out on the 4th of July and it worked awesome!

Mix equal parts corn starch, baking soda and coconut oil (we use Nutiva Virgin Coconut Oil) and, Voila!, awesome, homemade deodorant cream that keeps you B.O. free even on the hottest day of the year. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a natural deodorant option.

-c.

Why, hello stranger?!

Almost forgot about this here blog. Not really, actually. It’s been in the back of my mind nagging at me for the past 9 months, chiding me on my neglectful ways! I just spent a little time the past couple days reading back on some old posts and it got me motivated to finally sit down and say “hello!”.

So many things can happen in 9 months, you know? Some highlights being:

1. We’re having a baby girl, due Aug. 27th (yeah, that’s a big one.) Yikes, that’s soon.
2. New job for me! Yay! I work at an amazing start-up in Cleveland with a bunch of equally amazing people. It truly is a joy to go to work everyday.
3. Andrew had a rough patch with some health issues but he’s finally on the mend. Thanks to our supportive family and friends who helped us along the way.
4. We took a wonderful trip to Denmark during the Christmas season. Which was mine and Andrew’s first plane ride together and Q’s first plane ride ever. More on that later.
5. I’m sure there are many many more things that I’ll (hopefully) post about in the near future.

In other news, I’m in serious consideration of moving this blog over to WordPress. Mainly because I really want to play around more with customization and honing my html/css skills. I’m sure you will notice when that happens.

So until next time, hope you all are enjoying your summer thus far and staying cool. It’s been a scorcher lately!

Photos from my Instagram account. Like everyone else in the world, I’m addicted to it! Isn’t Q getting so big?! Eek!

-c.

We’ve been busy! Andrew is pretty much done with his brick pizza oven. Just need to slap a coat of paint on the dome and we will be completely finished. Just in the nick of time. However this one detail hasn’t stopped us from enjoying some homemade pizza. More to come…

Hello! As you’ve probably noticed, I haven’t been posting that often as of late. Or maybe you haven’t noticed because you gave up on this here old blog. Ha! Either way. I don’t like to blog unless I actually have something good to post. I’m sure most of you aren’t coming here to read about the mundane details of my life. Like the fact that I WISH I had some dental floss on me right now.

But anyway, one thing that I really did want to post about was the fact that I finally jumped on the bandwagon and got a Pinterest account! Some of you may be familiar with it, some of you not. From their site:

“Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web.”

Basically.  It’s really great and fun and slightly addicting. Now I don’t have random folders on my computer desktop labeled “I want” or “fun stuff.” Enough of that! If you want to follow me and see the things that I find, please do by clicking that button below.

There are too many awesome things out there! And if you were wondering about the “why’s” and the “how’s” of Pinterest. The lovely ladies over at Braid Creative have made a fun little video about just those things.

How To Pinterest from Braid Creative on Vimeo.

Let me know if you have an account so I can check YOU out!

-c.