The Anti-Fall Post and Why I'm Juice Fasting

Much as I love the season, fall has not been kind to my waist line. I’m 44 years old and I just can’t eat like I used to. I jumped on the scale yesterday and was shocked to find that I now weigh more than my “fat weight.” In other words, I haven’t weighed this much since six months after my daughter was born, when I finally started dropping the fifty (!!) pounds I had gained during my pregnancy.

At times like this there’s only one thing to do: Break out the Juice Master’s 7 Lbs in 7 Days’ Super Juice Diet. Fortunately I had a feeling this was coming (might have started during a recent croissant binge) so I’ve been psyching myself up. Steph thinks he’s going to join me like he did last February when he lost 25 lbs but if he gets any skinnier I’ll have to shoot him to put him out of MY misery. My husband is not supposed to be skinnier than me. It’s a rule, possibly even biblical. Punishable by stoning, obviously.

So I’m psychologically ready and I’ve already survived day one. I’m checking out the recipes in the Liquid Lounge at Raw Food Rehab and I’ve added some juicing and raw food blogs to the ever growing list I follow. And I know, this time, that I can’t just go back to stuffing my face when this fast is over. I’d like to achieve about a 75% raw lifestyle. That’s the aim.

Nesting in November

Fall makes me "nesty." I've been cleaning and reorganizing the past few weeks and sewing up a storm. I want to bake butter slathered acorn squash and cook hearty soups, sew duvet covers and wear cashmere. I want to make a wreath for the door and start my Christmas shopping. I love being at home this time of year!

I've been taking a five week "homewares" sewing class at the Lill Street Art Center. We're supposed to be working on napkins, placemats, curtains and pillows but the instructor is very laid back (no patterns!) and really wants us to work on whatever we want. It's kind of like getting together with a bunch of strangers for some dedicated sewing time, and having an instructor around to help if you get stuck. In a way, it's just what I need.

Last night I made fitted sheet for Coco's toddler bed. Nothing to show you because I just used a cream color muslin for the first time to see how it would come together. It was ridiculously easy using instructions from here. Do yourself a favor and watch the video on sewing with elastic if you've never done so. Even my instructor learned something.

I've also completed the napkins above. Well, I've made eight of them. Is that enough? I used Sew4Home's instructions instead of the teacher's. Then I made these coordinating cocktail napkins without any instructions.

Just sew right sides together but leave a hole to turn inside out. Top stitch around the edge (which also closes the hole.)

The fabric is Lotus Garden by Stonehill. I'm thinking about buying some coordinating yardage and making a table cloth like this one:

Does that look hard? It should be as simple as cutting and sewing straight lines, neither of which I'm particularly good at. Something to do with patience?!

The whole project has to be done before Thanksgiving because we're having a pretty good size get together - six adults and three three year olds if no one else gets invited between now and then. As it is, I'll have to borrow chairs. I don't care, though. I love a house full of friends, family and good food. These particular friends are like family and their daughters are some of Coco's best friends. Isn't that lucky? I'm not quite ready to cook but I have my November issues of Martha Stewart and Bon Appetit next to my bed and I've got cranberry sauce on the brain. This time I'm going to quadruple the recipe and MAYBE we'll have some left over. Maybe...

Glass Jack O'Lanterns

So during my kitchen deep clean I found six tall orange glasses we picked up at CB2 about three years ago for a decor idea that never gelled. They've been sitting on the counter for a week while I considered what to do with them.

It hit me last night:
[caption id="attachment_471" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Halloween Decor"][/caption]


Better late than never, I guess!

Halloween Costume: The Beautiful Bad Witch

The first costume I ever made!
[caption id="attachment_459" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="A little bit of everything, tulle, chiffon, satin, feathers, tinsel..."][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_460" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="And more feathers around the skirt"][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_461" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="No More Photos, Mama!"][/caption]

Halloween Eggs

What do you do with all those temporary tattoos?
[caption id="attachment_451" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Tattooed Eggs"][/caption]

I use them to mark hard boiled eggs. I'd love to hear your ideas!

Link Parties - Check out all these creative types. I could spend hours surfing their blogs.

Kitchen Cure, First Week: Showing off a little

Remember this?
Now it looks like this:
[caption id="attachment_441" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Junk Drawer 2.0"][/caption]

I didn't show you this one:
[caption id="attachment_442" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Very Mess Refridgerator"][/caption]
(so embarrassing, right?)

And now:
[caption id="attachment_443" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Fridge After the Cure"][/caption]
[caption id="attachment_444" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Fridge Door After the Cure"][/caption]

Okay, it's not perfect but if you know me, you gotta admit that's progress.

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