And the birds will be nesting in the hazel thicket.
And they'll be sowing summer barley in the lower fields...
and eating the first of the strawberries with cream.
Do you remember the taste of strawberries?"
-The Return of the King by J R R Tolkien
"It'll be spring soon. And the orchards will be in blossom.
And the birds will be nesting in the hazel thicket. And they'll be sowing summer barley in the lower fields... and eating the first of the strawberries with cream. Do you remember the taste of strawberries?" -The Return of the King by J R R Tolkien
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As with most things around here, my pledge to first try to make my clothes this year reveals the intersection of many of my values. As I think about what I want to make, I'm considering not only my wardrobe needs + desires, but also budget, zero-waste, and minimizing. I've made a jacket from a loved dress, a project that wasn't going to see much wear + the leftover scraps from both. I've looked at the fabric I already had to make a little jacket + pants + shorts + pajamas. The "projects" that prove this intersection most, however, are probably the ones that involve Liberty of London fabrics.
This fabric is often seen as the pinnacle of treasures in the fabric world. There are only a few prints that truly speak to me, but when they do, it's loudly + with passion. :) This top has shown up in this space before. Its scraps became little drawstring bags...the perfect size for bulk cookies or brussels sprouts. This top though...it's gone from top...to pajamas...to a little bit more cropped top...to a little bit more roomy top. This weekend I spent hours unpicking seams and grafting in just a little bit more breathing room. It got me thinking about how valuable all fabric is...the resources that go into the materials, labor, and energy used to grow it, make it, dye it, and print it. What if I treated all fabric like Liberty? Love, Jane If I had known last week when I was making my grocery list...wearing a sweater + jeans...that I would be making this on a day when it was 85 degrees (!)...I might have decided not to put it on the list. It was hot outside (and inside), but we still enjoyed eating it very much! We just let it cool a bit longer. :)
Zero-waste Ginger Vegetable Soup brown rice* carrots* broccoli* cooked chickpeas* fresh chives* cayenne* salt* boullion (we use this + save the jars for bulk spices)* fresh ginger root, peeled + grated* lime, squeezed peas (frozen from the garden are great, but broccoli would also be nice + zero-waste) Set some water to boil and add *. Once pot is boiling, turn down heat to simmer + cover. When rice is cooked, add lime + peas. Yum! Love, Jane Art museums have excited my head and my heart for almost as long as I can remember. After having my girls, I tried to cultivate a love of art museums in them too. Today we live in a place with an amazing art museum...and it is free...what a gift! Each time we go, it's like visiting old friends. I always say that I never dreamed that I would live in a place with such an accessible art museum...and also that I am so glad that I have two girls who enjoy it too. One of the ways I've tried to encourage the enjoyment of art museums is to focus our visits a bit. We don't need to see everything at once. I love that our museum is free, because we can stop in for an hour to take in the new photography exhibit...or we can make a trip to study + sketch the Egyptian pieces, when we are studying ancient Egypt. When the girls were younger, we might use one of the scavenger hunt pamphlets to guide our tour...or study an artist whose work I know is in the collection before making a trip. We've had the privilege of visiting a few truly amazing art museums. Here are some of our personal favorites:
-Musee Marc Chagall in Nice, France :: one of our favorite parts of the trip :: pure beauty -Chapelle du Rosaire de Vence :: Vence, France :: a church, not a museum, but full of Matisse's work :: gorgeous -Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Sante Fe, New Mexico :: an exhibit showing Andy Warhol flowers beside O'Keefe's was spectacular -Tate Modern in London :: we went especially to visit Matisse's Snail and it did not disappoint -V & A in London :: one place I knew how to find on my own :: seeing the quilt exhibition with my sister was especially memorable -National Gallery in London :: a frequent part of our weekends while living there -Milwaukee Art Museum :: we saw an amazing Degas exhibit there when the girls were tiny ballerinas themselves -Chicago Art Institute :: Tuesdays were free day + I visited as often as I could -Denver Art Museum :: this was a real splurge during our poor grad school days I'd recommend any of these... ...and now I would love to see: -Museo Frida Kahlo -Musee de l'Orangerie + Musee d'Orsay in Paris, of course -the Georgia O'Keeffe :: Living Modern Exhibit Love, J + J + J I love when my stack of library books reflects my interests in a varied + representative way! Here's what I've been reading + loving lately:
-None Like Him by Jen Wilkin :: exploration of the ways God is not like us -Paris in Love by Eloisa James :: surprisingly funny + beautifully descriptive account of a year lived in Paris -Grace A Memoir by Grace Coddington :: finally reading this one + enjoying this behind the scenes look at fashion + magazine making through the years -Jack's Wife Freda by Maya + Dean Jankelowitz :: though I'm not a big cookbook reader...I've been really looking forward to this one...and it does not disappoint! oh. yum. -The Quilts of Gee's Bend :: saw this one on the shelf and checked it out again...inspiring ladies...inspiring + useful art A truly inspiring closet. "There is a connection between the amount of stuff we have and the amount of waste we produce." ~an interesting listen :: Timo Rissanen on Awear World The psychology of shopping fair :: Episode 69 A lovely, minimal apartment + wardrobe too. Using the worn to make new. Have a lovely weekend, friends!! Love, Jane Meal planning is not something I love to do...it just happens too often. I've tried different approaches over the years, but for the last few years I have used this method. I have a sort of outline of meals for the week. It takes into account which days I am cooking for just three of us...or need to make a quick meal...or have people eating at different times. I like that there is a sort of framework, so that I'm not starting my grocery list from scratch each week. It really helps in regards to keeping things zero-waste too, because I know that these meals work that way.
When I make the grocery list, I fill in more detail for each meal. For example, Tuesday's bowl might include cauliflower, radishes and feta along with chickpeas and rice...because I already have rice, there are chickpeas in the freezer, chives in the garden, and cauliflower and radishes are in season. I can get feta from the salad bar in my own container...and it will all be "zero"-waste. Next week the bowl might look a little more like this or this. The outline still allows lots of room for variety...and I can always deviate. Over the years, with different schedules + preferences, the meal choices have changed...but here is what I am working with right now. (We eat pescatarian at home.) Monday :: soup or salad Tuesday :: legume + veg + grain bowl Wednesday :: improvise or out Thursday :: breakfast Friday :: fish + veg + grain Saturday :: legume + veg + grain bowl Sunday :: root veg + protein We eat the same things for breakfast each morning: -Mr. Tribe + me :: homemade yogurt + bulk granola and coffee + milk from a glass jug -the girls :: toast + milk...fruit too, if we're lucky. :) Lunch is a sort of free-for-all... + fruit...sometimes it's a bulk bagel, leftovers, or Julia's favorite: the occasional organic mac + cheese. Snacks aren't an every day occurrence, but might be an apple + bulk peanut butter, a few bulk cashews + a shared grapefruit, homemade cookies, smoothies, or banana bread. I'm all for keeping it simple...but when considering taste, nutrition, budget, organics, variety, and zero-waste...it gets a little complicated...so I like all the shortcuts I can find. Love, Jane Thrifting is such a great way to find unique treasures and also to keep useful items out of the landfill. It may also be a way to help our own excess items find new homes while making a little money. Local thrift shops are the best way to keep stuff + profit local...and to avoid shipping costs + pollution. Sometimes, however, it can be nice to expand our searches...and online thrift can be a welcomed option.
There are a few ways that I like to use online thrift to assist my own fairdare pledge: -I can search for fair items that may be out of my price range when being sold new. -I can search for preowned items that may not have traceable origins. For example, I can look at all the preowned Madewell items (and there are a lot of them), without guilt. -I can look for items that I love, but missed out on the first time around. -I can look for today's trends in yesterday's iteration. For example, I love all of the flowy, linen shapes of today, so I search for vintage Flax pieces. There are a bunch of juicy thrift sites out there, including: -Fisher Found :: preowned Eileen Fisher :: another way that Eileen Fisher is trying to be innovative and ethical -Slowre :: preowned ethical brands -Poshmark -TheRealReal -Thredup -Tradesy -Ebay :: many countries have their own sites -Etsy -Craigslist (or comparable in different countries) Please add your favorites in the comments!! We'd love to hear! All photos from the sites linked. Love, Jane |
on a journey toward zero-waste, simplicity, + compassion :: daring to choose fair one choice at a time
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