No More New

I've got ideas, so many ideas.  And I'm sitting here in my sewing/guest room, thinking about all of the things I want still to design and make, and I spy with my little eye the foam balls that I bought to make a mobile for Baby M, before we knew her as Riley Girl.

I'm a little behind, you could say.

I intend to make these things.  Its just, you see, I have so very many ideas.  And the new ones, they always seem so much shinier than the old ones, and you know shiny always gets your attention (except for photographs - I totally prefer matte!).

This seems a little dramatic, but I think it might be time to put the kibosh on new ideas, until I get some of the current ones moved from "pinned" to "did".

One big plan I have includes these solid fabrics right here, along with a few others, some black Essex Yard Dyed Linen, and the fabulous Vintage Quilt Revival* book.  Big plans.  Queen-sized plans.  Because I've been sleeping with cowboys for far, far too long.

Oh, and if you squint, you can see some paper lanterns in the top left corner of that picture.  Those were decorations for RG's birthday party that I figured could do double duty as permanent decorations in her room.  So I bought two dowel rods, with yet another set of plans to make yet another mobile.  Here's hoping it's not a year from now and I'm still looking at those.

I've also got this quilt that I have made exactly zero progress on, but I am still excited about

And remember this super sweet ruffley quilt?  Well, I've gotten a number of questions about it, so I'm planning to make a tutorial, and a few quilts in the process.  But, uhm... yeah.  I've got the goods for it, just not the gumption, apparently.

And then I have a plan to make more of these guys, because they're adorable and RG's favorite lovey, and I just enjoy them so much.  And I want to figure out a way to make a toddler-sized backpack for a little love's birthday that is fast approaching.  Oh yeah, and bags, too.

As if these ideas weren't enough to be filling my head with, about once a week, Handsome & I talk about reno-ing the downstairs bath, putting in wood floors, and scrubbing the outside of the windows so that we can re-glaze and re-caulk.  And did you know today was 75?  And that it smelled like spring here?  Which immediately makes my mind go to planting...

I do exhaust myself, if that's any consolation.  But anyhow, no more new, that's my motto.  There is nothing so pressing that I have to buy it/obtain it before these projects get done.  Of course, now that I have set boundaries for myself, I want nothing more than to burst through them and do something contrary.  Because I'm hard-headed like that.  Oops!  I just linked to my storenvy shop, and it reminded me that I have another chenille baby blanket that only needs the binding sewn on and then it'll be done.  Add that to the list.

My hope is that next time I get the urge to make something, I can come back to this list and find something here that grabs my attention.  Some idea that's gotten better with age, a little "dust on the bottle" if you will (hashtag: david lee murphy & me 4 eva).  If nothing else, my now empty spending account & 28 yards of newly purchased fabric should help me remember (I kid you not. On either count!)

Are you making?  Share share!  Do you have the same treasure trove of 1/3 finished projects as I do?  Please tell me I'm not alone!

<3 M.

El Cheapo

In the process of considering buying a house (and yes, even the considering part is turning into a process) Handsome and I have been looking at our budget and trying to do some trimming. 

Now, in case you wonder what a budget is, I would like to direct you to Mint.com.  Mint.com is a free online budgeting tool that, once you link up your bank accounts & credit cards, will track your spending for you, catergorizing things as you wish.  You can set budgets and goals for savings.  Mint also has offers (I’m guessing they’re paid to put them on there, ergo making it free for you to use) for financial institutions and services that they recommend for you, based on your spending & banking habits. 

I find this website to be EXTREMELY helpful.  Also, I’m a nerd, and I like to go in and tweak the budgets and plan and dream and set goals and then delete them.  You don’t have to go that far, but in case you’re not sure where your paycheck is going, this is a way to find out with minimal effort on your part.  For all of you non-math types out there, it does all of the subtracting for you!  You don’t have to even pull up the calculator on your computer.  ChaChing!  That’s a jackpot, ladies and gentlemen.

So, we’ve used Mint.com to track the moola that H. & I bring in each month, and also to see where it goes.  We’re looking at all of this, trying to figure out where we can cut and how much, trying to see how much room we have in our budget for things like a mortgage and homeowners insurance and cans of paint.  Truth is, there’s not a whole lot of room.

Enter THE CHALLENGE (challenge… challenge… challenge…).

Handsome bet me that I can’t cut our grocery bill in half.  And at first I agreed with him.  Not because I’m convinced that I can’t, but because I don’t want to.  See, I like food (as you well know) and I like to try new recipes, and to bake a lot of unnecessary things.  And all of that would be greatly minimized if I wasn’t allowed to spend my $400 a month on groceries.  

ASIDE: I was debating on baring that number on here, but so many of you answered the quiz questions, that it gave me courage.