Project 333 First attempt

I'm beginning to get frustrated with all the clothes that I have that don't match or that are for an office that I no longer work in anymore.  So I have decided to attempt to minimize my wardrobe. Before you think "Whoa! She's going to throw all her clothes out." I'm not, I want to look put together, even though I'm only going out to the store, to church or maybe even on a date with my DH.  This will help me to obtain that goal. Also, I have closets and boxes FULL of clothes that I don't wear anymore and I have been faced with the laundry, upkeep and care of all those clothes (plus, my DH's clothes) and I would like to do something else now. My time is more valuable than that.

Ergo, I am getting my wardrobe in order.  I didn't realize how tiring clothing can be and has been! I've been trying to decide and pack up my clothing for  5 hours and I'm still not done. I've got 5 shopping bags full of clothing to go out of the closet for good! I've also got 6 medium boxes of stuff that I want to keep, but I am not going to wear it for awhile or it just didn't match into what I wanted to do. I am going to go through it all after this term is over. I know that I'm jumping into the summer in the middle. Since it ends in September and starts over in fall, I have decided to just do the abbreviated time that is left as a trial run. Then I will amend what I have with what I have learned about my wardrobe and myself.

So it may ended up being a Project 241 for awhile.  I had a lot of trouble weeding out some of my things and making matching coordinates. I don't like to wear only solids. I am a printy-texture kinda girl. Plus, my wardrobe was so mis-matched that not everything goes together well. Although I starting thinking up ideas in my head for outfits and some of these are going to be ways I have never worn my clothes before.

If you are curious about this project you can check it out at the website for project 333. I also got inspiration from this blog. Her style is not cookie cutter and I like how she mixed up her pieces. I need to throw in my nerdy life style stuff too. It's not like I have to go to an office right?

I'm thinking of buying ONE shirt to bring this together a bit more. (Joker Shirt, it's just so me! I am trying not to buy it, maybe I'll get it for my birthday?It's on my amazon wish list.) I'm getting rid of so many things. I'm selling some of my Fluevogs(shoes) and as I said a lot of my clothes are headed out. Some of my Fluevogs will be staying, but I do not wear them as much as I used to when I worked at the office, so they have to go. Although I will be keeping my favorites. :D I would like to get the green ones that match my purple purse.

I looked at what a lot of people do for their project and most people do a lot of suits. That's great, but again I'm not an office worker anymore. So, I based mine around fun things that I like and jeans. (Did I mention that I don't have to go to an office anymore? LOL)

I did not include workout wear (although I did weed through it), under clothes,sunglasses, socks and my winter coat (although I hope I don't need it until after October is over. :) As I plan on amending this later I may include some of these things at a later date.
Here is what I chose and under that is the photos of each one. I took my own because I didn't want to search for stock photos and some of these I made, so there was no other way to show those.
Speaking of things that I've made, I have more trouble letting go of those things that I've made for myself. If I bought it from a store or something it doesn't have much meaning to me, but if I spent my time and energy on it I want to hang on to that. So, I will be addressing that issue later.
*Note* The pictures are not in the same order as the list. Most are self explanatory though.

1. Dark color Jeans
2. Light color Jeans (not pictured, but we know what jeans look like.)
3. Khakis (ankle length) 
4. Khaki Shorts (lightweight)
5. Cut-off Jean Shorts
6. Double Button Jean Shorts 
7. Teal Lace Skirt (Part of a set)
8. Reversible Green Paisley Skirt (Olive on one side and Olive, purple and pink paisley on inside)
9. Black Linen Skirt
10. Dark Pink Dress
11. Denim Jumper
12. Purple Wrap Dress with Pink Trim
13. Teal Lace Sleeveless Blouse (Part of a set)
14. White Button up top 
15. White V-Neck T-Shirt 
16. 'Marie Curie' Graphic Tee
17. 'Joker' Graphic Tee (Thinking about ordering this)
18. Dark Pink Button up Blouse
19. Purple and Pink Flower Blouse
20. 'Zombie Love' Long Sleeve Tee
21. Black long sleeve shirt
22. Ariel Print Sleeveless Blouse 
23. Teal Peplum Top
24. Pink sleeves
25. Harlequin Pink, Gray and Black Cardigan 
26. Black w/ Pink Roses and Teal Leaves Cardigan
27. Peace Leather Belt
28. Purple Belt
29. Black and White Scarf 
30. 'Brightman' Fluevogs Olive and Tan
31. Black 'Malibrans' Fluevogs
32. Leather Flip Flops
33. White Keds
34. Brown Cowgirl Boots
35. Purple Fluevog Purse 
36. Leather Backpack
37. Purple lace tank top
38. Purple Cotton tank
39. Pink cotton tank 
40. White Lace tank
41. Black Hoodie

Here are all the items I have chosen so far. I'm thinking of not including the undershirts in my challenge this time. I don't want to feel like I have nothing to wear and no layers. It gets darn cold in Minnesota you know. This is for end of summer to September. I want to try it out for less than a month and then try to adjust it a little bit for the fall. I love colors and I don't like to wear much black. Or scarves, even though I included one here.  I included them in the numbers though. And I still only have 41.

Add caption

Has matching skirt. 

I love this retro blouse. 

I'm a Nerd. 

I may eventually get another white Tee that is better and doesn't have the logo on the bottom of the shirt. I stole this from my DH. 

This has a matching 'belt' that I had to mend. It's not in the picture, but it will be in the closet. 

Again, I'm a Nerd. 

Not sure if scarves are my thing. I'm going to try it. I own 3 and I never wear them. Should I just take it out before I start this?

I made this. It wraps around the body. Super comfy and I think it's super cute. 

This is hanging frumpy, but it's not when it's on me. 

This is reversible, so I took the picture with the skirt up to show both sides. 

All shorts will be phased out for fall and add something else, or maybe not.

Marie Curie-One of my namesakes. Love her.

These look better on my feet, but I think I'll replace them next year. 

I have another pair of jeans just like this that are light colored. I did not get a picture of them. 

I do have some winter scarves that I wear on occasion, but they are not fashion statements as much as they are to stay warm in the harsh weather.
I will be updating my fall wardrobe soon and adding pictures of me in what I choose to wear.

Thanks for reading! I can only hope this goes well!

practice rabbits

I got these Dutch rabbits from a girl up the street. They were a failed 4H project, and I got them free. Her mother just wanted them gone. They were not living in good conditions really. But, I digress.
I know it sounds harsh to say that these are practice rabbits, but they really are. I'm enjoying taking care of them and looking forward to the meals we will share together. If you are upset about eating animals or meat rabbits at all, please close this window. This is a farm, we eat animals that we raise here. Thank you for stopping by my page.

They have been here almost a month and are still adjusting to their new lives. I bred the only doe to the oldest buck. They had a litter 6 months ago and I have 2 bucks from that litter as well. I am hoping to get a doe from that and line breed them with the bucks. They are not REALLY meat rabbits, but they are meat and I got them for free. So, I'm practicing my handling and breeding techniques on them until I can get the silver foxes like I wanted. It's looking like the investment of getting the silver foxes is going to be pretty great anyways. So, I wanted to prove that this is something I really wanted to do before I spent that much money on it. It's looking like about $140 for 4 rabbits to get started.
But, for now my Dutch Doe is pregnant. (confirmed-she is carrying straw around the cage now. Shouldn't be too much longer.)
Let me introduce you to them.
The first two are the young bucks. The one on the left is black and pretty wild. He doesn't like to be picked up and is still skittish about even being petted. The one on the right is blue and likes to be pet, not particularly interested in being picked up, but will allow it occasionally. They have no names.
I may or may not keep the blue one a little longer to breed. It really depends on when I get my other rabbits.

This is Cassie. The little girl named her and the older buck was already named. So, I didn't pick out these names at all. I don't think I would every name my rabbits these names. 

This is Donald. He is still shedding his winter coat for the year a little bit near his rear. He is 3 yrs old and still a virile buck, since he did the job with Cassie. He likes to be pet. He hops away when he is nervous and doesn't care to be picked up and I don't pic him up too often. He will make a good roaster some day soon. 

For me and Frank right now, just a pound of meat or 2 can make a difference in our grocery budget. We are hoping to save money with this enterprise and have a little fun as well. 

I made 3 cages like this for them initially. The one on top is a nesting box that I made for the doe. She is not interested in using it and takes out all the straw that I put in it for her and sets it next to it. Oh, well. Maybe I put it in a little early. But when she has the kits I'll just move them into the box. Rabbits do not move their young like cats or dogs will. So, once I move them into there they will stay right there. I will get pictures of the new bunnies up here when she has them. 

Stay tuned. 

Introducing Bingley!

First, I would like to say that about a year after my Dad passed away I adopted a wonderful puppy from the pound. (Sprung him from jail!) He and I were best friends. Through boyfriends, marriages, divorces, moves, and new friends he was my constant.
His name was Bear. Because when he was little he looked like a Teddy Bear and stuck his arms out straight when I picked him up.

 He was my buddy through thick and thin. It's hard to think about him not being here with my anymore and it's the end of an era for me. I loved him like a child. In October we found out that he had cancer. They told us at the Vet's office that he would probably not make it to the next year. Well, he and I are so stubborn that he did. We celebrated one more year together. The cancer had spread to his organs. His lungs and pericardial sac filled with fluid so many times it was getting weak from the expanding pressure and subsequent draining.  But, the cancer was not to be bested and in March of 2014 it took him from me. He was with me for 13 years of my life. I will always miss him.

Still, life goes on doesn't it? I got married to a wonderful man(Whom Bear approved of, that was important to me.)  and moved again, to Minnesota this time. I could not even think of getting another dog/puppy for awhile. I just needed time to be alone, or at least dog-less. (DH had a dog that I love too, but it isn't the same and we all know that.)  I love animals. I always have, my Mom always thought that I would be a vet. And for awhile I did think about it, but this part-the letting go would kill me every time.  There is nothing that I can say here that will express how much I miss Bear. I probably always will.

Baron Bear E. Bear of Goose Creek

2002-2014

After 5 months went by I went to look at something that some people had for sale at their house. They had little Lab puppies and some of them were yellow like Bear was. I picked up one and really wanted to get one, but $500? That's a lot of money to me (and my husband.) for a dog. So, I decided that maybe it was time. (I'm really glad that I didn't buy one of their puppies, they turned out to be liars and I don't deal well with that type of behavior. That's another story though.) So, we went to a few shelters and pet stores and looked at lots of dogs and puppies. I won't adopt a dog that I haven't met because you really want to know if your personalities mesh well together. I looked online too at some rescue groups pictures, but they want you to fill out a long form (which I did) and then they want your vet information for all animals you've ever had and then they want to talk to you over the phone and email about why you want a dog and your plans and then they will bring the dog over for you to meet. Well, needless to say that I don't think that's kosher. These are dogs that nobody else wanted, not human babies that I'm trying to adopt!! The process doesn't make sense to me at all. Then they wanted to charge $300-$400 for mixed breed pups! Most of them were not even neutered or spayed yet either. So, I continued to look other places. I found a lady who had an unexpected litter of Siberian Retrievers for sale. They are Lab/Husky mix puppies. They are adorable. I chose one of the males. He is a chocolate colored Siberian Retriever. I named him Bingley. Yes, after Mr. Bingley from Pride and Prejudice. Why? Well, because I already have MY Mr. Darcy in my DH. So, I couldn't name him that!  Although I did toy with the idea of Wentworth for awhile. Persuasion is actually my favorite of her books, but P&P is a close second. (Even though I love them all, and terribly sad she couldn't write longer. Or even finish 'The Watsons.')

But, enough of that. You are here for the cuteness and pictures right??

Me and Bingley on our first day together. (Side note-look how skinny I'm looking! This homesteading is paying off in more ways than one!)

Look at his cute little face. And because he has Husky in him, those eyes are probably going to stay blue. His little white beard. Awww. 

This is Krunchee(DH's dog) and Bingley playing.

Did I mention that they were playing with Kruncheee's toys?? 

Then they got wore out. Krunchee is sitting here like 'I'm being good.'

 Bottle squirrel and Bunny were dragged all over the room. That poor bunny has been though the wringer. And he lost an ear in some playtime fun already.

I didn't mean for this to be a depressing post, but it is true to me and to my life. I know a lot of you have been there too. It's hard. Bingley is still new and adjusting to me and the farm. But maybe one day I can love him like I loved Bear. I know that Bear would want that for another and for me.

Starting out on our farm

Since after the wedding I have been working on the inside of the house. Ok, so I couldn't resist planting some things outside. It was hard to find things that will do well in our zone. We are in zone 4, yet we are really close to zone 3. That has to be taken into account when I'm looking at plants.
I know that there is a lot here, but I haven't had time to blog about all that I've been doing lately. So this is a catch you up to speed post.

I have painted the living room and the wall that is shared by the dining room, the hall way and as soon as I get an extended pole for my roller I will have finished the entryway.(DONE!) I love the color it's like a soft buttery yellow.  It's called 'Moon Dance' by Behr at Home Depot, in case you are interested.

This is our entry way. The door straight ahead is the front door, the one to the left is to the garage, then the stairs go down to the basement. I'm standing at the top of the living room stairs and the door to the right is a coat closet. 

And if you look up from there you will see this large space here. (below) It's a little blurry, but it's all I have for now. 

This is our dining room. I found that hutch at a garage sale for $40. With a little elbow grease, ingenuity, and some new hinges for the top it looks brand new. :D

Our living room. You can just see the stair railing in the far left behind the couch. These couches are super comfy, with springs and goose down pillows. I'm still working on that pillow/blanket thing there. 

I thought I had gotten rid of enough stuff when we were planning the move but, is that ever the case? I'm getting rid of some more things. Mostly things that were replaced by gifts from the wedding and some things that we have multiples of and do not have the space to contain. The only thing I don't like about this house is that there is no pantry. I NEED a pantry in a farm house.  So, what is a country girl to do? Get a hutch of course. (And I'm using some of my basement space for my canning.) Up here in Minnesota they call them 'Curios', which is curious and explains why I could not find many online when I was looking. I really loved the Amish made furniture store in town, but sadly it is out of our price range. Good thing I stop at garage sales.

DH and I are going into town later to look at a truck. If we buy it you know that I will blog about it. (Before I fill it up with manure, and maybe after too.) I'm looking to get my fruit trees in the ground really soon so that they can set their roots and start producing for us. I need something out there. It's just weeds and a bunch of poplar saplings right now.

I'm really excited. I've been stuck at the house for about 4 days now. Our car's timing belt broke when DH was on the way to work and it has been in the shop. Thankfully, a few of the guys from work have offered to let him borrow their cars. So, we borrowed one guy's car until Monday and then anthers. Hopefully we can get this truck so we can give it back too.

Canning in the new homestead-2 Pickle recipes for you! Pickle Soup and Mayo Rolls

So I canned some stuff at a friend's house from some peppers she had growing in her yard and didn't know what to do with. I ended up leaving them at her house for her when we moved from South Carolina to Minnesota.
I made Pickled Peppers. They are really good in Mexican foods and the juice is good when making soups. Once I even used the juices to marinate some meat for a roast. It made it more tender than it would have been, as it was a tough old cow. All in all, they were wonderful and I hope she enjoys the remaining jars. I used banana peppers, but you can use any type that you have. I will likely be doing jalapeños next year or even in the fall if my peppers all produce. ( I did plant about 15 plants.)

Pickled Peppers

(I didn't weigh the peppers so I do not know how many I had. I just chopped them all up into slices. But I did 2 batches of this. So we probably had 10-12lbs of peppers.)

Wash and prepare jars for canning. Boil all utensils and jars for sterilization purposes. 

• 4&1/2 pounds of sweet peppers and 1&1/2 hot peppers Or you can use all bananas like I did here 6 pounds total. 
• 6&1/2 C. White or ACV
• 1&1/3 C. Water
• 2/3C. sugar
• 4 Tsp. pickling salt
• 3 whole cloves garlic(I used 3 Tbsp. of minced garlic-previously prepared)

1. Cut all peppers into quarters or slices, if you are using long peppers it looks better. Remove stems, membranes and if desired seeds. (I leave them in because it is where the heat is stronger in peppers) 
2. (If using bells or you quartered the peppers, this does bring out the flavor in some peppers more.) Place cut side down, on a extra large baking sheet,lined with foil. Bake at 450F for 20 minutes. Place peppers in a brown paper bag to cool. Use paring knife to peel off skins. Slice. 
3. In a saucepan combine the vinegar, water, sugar, salt and garlic. Heat to boiling and reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. 
4. Place mixture of peppers into hot, clean pint canning jars, leaving 1/2 in head space. Pour liquid over peppers, leaving our 1/2 head space. Remove air bubbles. Wipe jar rims;adjust lids.
5. Process jars in boiling-water canner for 15 minutes. Remove and cool overnight.

A few weeks ago, in our new house, I also made some dill pickles. I used small pickles from the farmer's market(because I've only been here a month!) and fresh dill. 

I can give you the recipe for this one as well.  My step-sister gave it to me and her pickles are always so wonderful. Plus, there are no food dyes or preservatives in the jars! 

 I made 3-1/2 gallon whole dills, 5- 1&1/2 pint whole dills and 5-1 pint sliced dills. Some of the jars I added a halved Thai pepper for some kick. Those Thai peppers were sold to me at a farmer's market, by a Hmong lady. I didn't know exactly how hot they were, so I ate one. WHOLE! My mouth was on fire and my eyes were watering. Big mistake! Huge! I ate a pickle and it calmed down a little. After that I knew I had to get them for my pickles. But, be warned, they are hot!

  I know I did more whole than sliced on this, but not too many. I had to make 2 batches of the liquid mixture, but I'd say I only used about half of the second batch. I put it in a large jar to use for the next time I pickle. (Use it up, wear it out or do without is my motto here.)

Liquid Mixture for Pickles

3 quarts of water

1 quart of vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar as I feel it imparts a better taste)

salt

5-6 whole pepper corns

1 tsp. of chopped garlic

dill seeds or fresh dill heads and dill weed or leaves.(Anything to impart a dilly flavor!)

1. Measure the water, vinegar and salt and put them in a stock pot on the stove. I started on medium and turned it up until the salt is dissolved into the mixture. 
2. They must sit for 2 weeks before you can enjoy them. Use this time to look into what you want to do with all those lovely pickles.(Don't forget the juice!)

I made Pickle Soup from one of the sliced cans. Here is a link for that, it is outstanding. 

Although, I made it easier(I think) with the following changes. 

Pickle Soup. (Don’t knock it till you try it

I made it in one pot. Started with the onions, added the chopped carrot. Then the water (I added about 6 cups of water and 2 spoonfuls of broth replacer (I use better than bouillon, it really is better!)  I let it heat up the broth to a boil and then added the potatoes. Covered and washed dishes. Once the potatoes were soft I added the pickles and let it cook for 5 minutes or so. I mixed up 2 tbsp. flour and milk/cream mixture and added it to the soup. I stirred and waited for it to thicken up a little. It did not thicken much but a little. If you wanted thick soup, you could cut down the water and add more milk/flour mix. After everything had a chance to simmer together I added the pickle juice. I used more than the recipe called for, but I liked the ‘bite’ of it. (I used all the juice in a pint sized jar) I used my homemade pickles, but I think store bought might be good too, just make sure they are not too soft I think. DH liked it too.

I made whole wheat mayo rolls with it. It was really good. Here is that recipe. My mother gave it to me a while back ago and I make them all the time. I'm not sure if she made it up or found it somewhere. Either way, I've never seen another like it. Plus, you don't have to use up your eggs. It could very easily be made into a vegan recipe. Use rice or soy milk and vegannaise instead. :) Either way, these have become my favorite. I hope you like them too.

Mayo Rolls- Yield 6 rolls

1/4C white flour and 3/4C whole wheat OR 1C. White self-rising flour
(1&1/4 tsp. Baking Powder  Only for using the whole wheat addition or if you are using all purpose flour and need some lift.)
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 C. Mayo
1/2 C. Milk

1. Preheat over to 400F
2. Mix together all dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
3. Add Mayo and Milk.
4. Stir until it is a uniform mixture. 
5. Spray a 6 cup muffin tin or put butter in each tin. Measure out equal amounts into each tin and put in very hot oven for 20 minutes. 
6. Serve Hot with soup. 

I told DH we were having Pickle Soup and Mayo Rolls. He gave me a weird look, sat down and said, “ I don’t see any pickles or mayonnaise here.” and began to eat.
So, I guess you could just not tell anyone and they wouldn’t know.
It’s a great way to use up EVERYTHING available.
If I would have had any I could have chopped up some meat and threw it in the pot too, but I need it for the rest of the month.

I hope that you enjoy these recipes for pickles, soup and rolls. I'd love to hear about your recipes also.