molly irwin

this week in Irwin life

 

These are the things I want to remember.

This week I ...

• smiled at the way Marty adds a little fun to everything with his adorable mis-pronunciations: fun-ected (connected), fun-ola bar (granola bar). He also wants Paul to build him a mini seh-boo-shay (trebuchet) for his cass-o (castle) and knights.
• feel badly about the fact that we aren't giving Joan a puppy right now. Her obsessive nature won't let her mind rest. Poor thing has gone to sleep despondent over the matter.
• am glad Helen seems to have caught on to some math concepts that have been alluding her. Homework time commences without turmoil now that we've moved the girls desks. 
• have had great conversations with Paul about future plans and next steps. Everything isn't clear yet (and I'm in my processing mode) but just talking with him makes me feel stronger, united, hopeful.
• decided my Dad's Irish tweed hat is perfectly charming on Marty's head. It shall be his.
• can't stop listening to The Cinematic Orchestra's 'To Build a Home'

   

• have been feeling super energetic and believe it's a result of all the white stuff I'm NOT eating.
• was so excited to recieve a package of gorgeous fibers from a generous and creative soul. Thank you Amy! 
• bought a copy of fresh flavor fast - (I'm sure it's probably comprised of features from back issues of the magazine, but I don't have those issues)
• served dinners and cleared away the mess an hour earlier, which is making the evening bedtime routines (and personal adult time) far more enjoyable.
• noticed a growing desire to get a navy coat; either like this, or this (or both)
• was happy to have a beer with a long lost friend
• made plans for St. Patrick's day :)

Tonight I'm making a loaves-and-fishes-themed dinner in honor of the Lenten season. 

Happy weekend friends.

He loves me yeah, yeah, yeah ...

 
I'm uploading Marty's little 1 megapixel fisher price camera today for the first time in many months. It's such a treat to see things from his perspective. Personally, I know I aim my lens toward things and people I love. Last night he wrapped himself around me on the couch proclaiming "you are so cuddooey. I could just stay here for aww time." I'm feeling it little man. I sure am.

art appreciation

 

requesting pennies for the fountains.

attention spans of a mite.

not so interested in paintings; like me.

get outside. eat your muffins. leave me with my friends

wyeth, sargent, hartley

and their breathtaking way of seeing

what i need.

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[ national gallery of art, Sunday 2/2010 ]

the make list

This picture represents all kinds of potential bubbling up in my mind. Photos to organize and write something about. Stories I want to tell. I need some albums. I need to chip away at it; box by sweet box, over time. I don't really want to scrapbook most of these. Rather, they simply need organization in a way that we can see and touch them. They need a caption or some brief narrative at the very least.

And there's so much more; things to sew and make for the home, myself my family. There are always ideas and techniques I'd love to try. 

I'm building more momentum in the spirit of putting into action my word of 2010: ORDER.

With inspiration from Karyn, of the Workroom, and her 'crafty list of things to do.' I've created a dynamic list of my own from which to work. 

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If you're interested you can check out my list right here:

THE BIG LIST of THINGS TO MAKE

 

 

thrift style

[ a new-to-me tea pot works with IKEA towels (soon-to-be napkins) ]

With my recent post on clearing out you would naturally wonder whether I've stopped bringing new things into our home. While I've always been particular, lately I'm more responsible about what I buy; most are thrift shop treasures. We're fortunate to live in an area where there are a number of good stores, including some I haven't explored yet. Thrifting is my way of having a little retail fun while exercising financial practicality AND limiting the lure of well-designed merchandising campaigns.

Here's a few guildlines and things I try to keep in mind on my outings:
 

SOME THOUGHTS ON THRIFTING

1. Buy only what you absolutely love. This is my most important rule. I won't just buy something because it's inexpensive; I apply the same standard that I do on any other purchase -- new or not. Admittedly I've made a few mistakes, like the fabric I got home and decided I don't love it after all. Oh well ... little spent; little lost.

2. Be super selective with items that need an update or overhaul. Re-upholstery, re-finishing, painting etc. has an associated cost, whether it be out-of-pocket for hire, or in your own sweat equity. Then there's the TIME factor, so be sure you believe that piece will (when finished) satisfy the love itrule.  Lately I've minimized big project purchases like furnishings, with the exception of the little boudoir chair I'm having covered for my closet. It was the perfect scale and proportion for the space.

3. Second-hand items add instant history. The Patina of an old mirror, or the classic graphics on your 1970s board games bring a familiar warmth of a well-loved, inhabited space. Details like this add character and charm, especially to new drywalled spaces like apartments. 

4. You will find truly unique things.I love Ikea, Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel etc. for certain foundational basics, but a few funky or special items can lend instant personal style and fresh life to an otherwise basic decor. 

5. The hunt + bargain high. The satisfaction of shopping on 25% off day, on top of what are already super cheap prices is nothing short of thrilling to me.

6. For those with crafty ingenuity thrift shops are a great source for materials. Consider alternative uses for things. This patchwork quilt made entirely of blue pinstriped dress shirts, at Inchmark Journal, is a great example of reconfiguring something in a fresh way.

7. It's very much hit or miss. Sometimes I come away thinking why would I ever buy new again? while other times I'm deflated and kind of grossed out by the whole thing. You just never know what you're going to find, which is what keeps me going back again and again.

 
   [ a framed contour line print, signed by the artist ]

 

THINGS I'VE BEEN SEEKING LATELY

:: Frames, books, prints, albums: You can find some real gems. I understand most donation drop-off locations are now trying to make sure that any real valuables aren't being undersold. They can't be experts in everything, however, and I've been fortunate to find some beautiful Christmas story and illustration treasuries. Remember these ring binders? Or my December daily album cover? Both re-purposed.

:: textiles: I've been scoping the menswear isle for sizable pieces of herringbone wool in suit coats to sew into tote bags and patchwork projects. I've also been looking for a couple of cool rep stripe neck ties to use as belts with linen pants and tees this summer. Recently I found a crisp, blue, striped Ralph Lauren sheet that I'm using to make window treatments and matching applique' monograms on white towels for the kid's bathroom.

:: Old technology. My daughter loves her cassette player, but doesn't want her brother to use it. The little guy loves his polaroid camera and now the girls want one. The film is expensive, yes, but I promised a lesson in framing through the lens sometime this summer when we head out to an open space. Bound with some book rings their photos will make a fun little collection. The cassette player gets used to record interviews with one another, and guitar practices, which are fun to hear her progression from the tapes from last year. 

:: Junior-sized serve ware. I like setting the table with cute little bowls for single servings of vegetables, dipping sauces, or pancake syrup for the kids. I found some tiny holly print Christmas glasses last year, and at that price it made sense to use them only seasonally.

 
[ boudior chair awaits new upholstery; pots also thrifted ]

 

OTHER THRIFT-SPIRATIONS

The clever way Blair (wise craft) has created entire seasonal themes [Halloween + Christmas] using finds from Value Village.

I'm inspired by Rachel's thrifted wardrobe set and posts on living a thrifty life.

The lovely way Meg (elsie marley) features her thrift items.

Show and tell in the nifty thrift and thrift Thursday flickr groups.

I love the idea of creating a little volume of up-cycled projects or second-hand finds, as Ali did with her 'New/Old' mini book, featured in Sharing Your Story. 

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Do you have a favorite second-hand buying tactic or approach to share?

more clearing space and mind

Happy Fat Tuesday!

The kids are finally back to school today after over a week off due to the weather. They missed their school valentines party, but are having a quick exchange of cards today so we were in a last minute rush last night to make up a batch of greetings.

I've spent a lot of time this past week clearing out corners; getting rid of piles and stacks of books, toys, and clothing that we've outgrown. I think I said this same thing took place in January -- and it did -- I just can't emphasize how strongly I feel about de-cluttering at this point in my life. I only want to surround myself with the essentials. All this shifting around has to do with the seasons I suppose, but it's critical for me to make physical room for my mind to focus on the important things. Making and creating aside, I just can't operate when there are too many piles collecting dust. The more I haul to the back of the car for donations the better. With each bunch I feel renewed sense of freedom! There's also furniture being moved around. The process, to me, is a natural part of my creative cycle. What I used to consider as constructive procrastination now seems paramount as any administrative task.

In the process I've found bits of things I'm putting in my December daily. Things like a paper coaster from a brew-pub where we had lunch, and the tags from my new Christmas jeans. It's good to have those things together. Since (quite candidly) the project has lost it's sparkle, it's now a matter of assembling the remaining elements. I think I can finalize the book this week.

wintery outside and in

 

If you've heard news of snow through the mid-atlantic US I'm here to report that it's all true. All the record-breaking accumulation, power outages (we were spared, fortunately) unplowed streets, neighborly kindnesses, broken snow shovels, school closings, sledding down streets, warm homemade foods, people behaving like children (who me?)... all true. But we haven't been cooped up. It's been equal time outdoors and in; using half of our indoor energy to bundle up and do it all over again. Oh the delightful novelty of winter, you've come to visit south of the Mason Dixon line. Thank you!

I also did some baking this weekend, trying vital wheat gluten for the first time. I'll have a new post at One Good Loaf this afternoon.

foods we live by

 

I happened to catch Ina Garten's show yesterday while making dinner. The episode featured a reenactment of foods she and Stephen (we're on a first name basis now) recall as courtship favorites: steak sandwiches, the first thing Ina made for him, brownies mailed in a college care package, and eggplant parmesan from backpacking through Italy.

As I prepared our meal from a stained and wrinkled card for Welsh Rarebit, my handwriting at the bottom was a pleasant reminder of an evening with a super cool couple in their rustic New Hampshire cabin the year we were married.

I've seen a number of prettily designed 'favorite foods' themed scrapbooks in magazines, and I have to say that for me personally nothing conjures familiar memories better than the tattered old originals. I'm not talking about pouring over my grandmother's recipe file, though there's a certain pleasure in that, of course. It's my own binder of food-related memories; people, events and experiences recalled through a collection amassed over the years.

Like most of us I tear tons of recipes from magazines. [A problem maybe as I recently picked up a bunch of back issues of Cooking Light at the thrift store for .50/each for this very purpose. Though with the state of publishing these days ... well, you know.]  I make notes in the margin as I try them: date served, any alterations, how it was received, etc. But along side those glossy tear sheets are my beloved hand-written, photocopied memory joggers: cheese brunch from Ann's mother-in-law on the occasion of Will's baptism, Drunken Chicken from Peggy (served with plenty of wine on the side) in their tiny studio apartment, Chicken Vermouth from New Year's Eve with Sandy and Barb at Sandy's sister's house, and a post-break-up/makeup beef stronganoff in a fourth floor Capitol Hill walk-up.

The binder I keep isn't pretty -- I slid a piece of grocery bag inside the cover sleeve because I liked the words and graphic -- but it's a memory book in the truest sense. A constant reminder of people and occasions I'll always think of more vividly each time I prepare that meal again. 

winter's red

I'm drawn to these hues lately. In the absence of foliage, and set against the grays of winter, its presence is both dramatic and dignified.

I'm reminded of a visit years ago to Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water, and the way the Architect used color -- 'Wright Red' as it's come to be known -- to distinguish materials. Metals, such as window surrounds and a large spherical cauldron which turned over the fireplace (if memory serves) were this color. It's the color of time's effect of water and oxidation. The tree trunk looks so much like a cross section of granite we have in our home. Funny how we use such precious materials for our day to day decor and take for granted the millions of years nature's forces spent forming those patterns.
 

Hi there

 

What's become of January?

It's amazing the sheer amount of time available in the day when you don't have a computer to turn to at any given moment. I certainly haven't done everything I wanted to accomplish, but during the time my hard drive was in for an overhaul (twice), some shifts were made around here that I hope to maintain.

I finally stashed mounds of accumulated recipe clippings in binders and cleared away those items I'll just never get around to cooking. When I packed away Christmas I updated my holiday inspiration binder, some of which I'll curate for you here next season. The kids rooms are freshly organized with new shelves. We visited family for a taste of snow. I cleaned and packed away the snow clothes only to find need of bringing them back out again. I've been reading Jane Austen and watching Emma on Masterpiece. We had some sort of winter flu cycling through the family over the course of two weeks. So you can see there's no completion of albums to share just now; the focus has been on home and family to the exclusion of all else.

I'm working through a creative ebb, re-directing my purpose which I hope will be reflected in a variety of ways here on the blog in the coming months. My current plan is for a couple of posts each week as I continue to make strides toward bringing more order and spark to this life of mine.

The photo above is the first in a series of weekly self portraits I'm taking this year, inspired by Jill and Jane,

Thank you for your eagerness to see my projects. It will be a bit longer I'm afraid, but I'm eager for closure on them as well. Very glad to be back indeed.