all things girls can tell

clutter, unclutter, declutter, anticlutter.

ive been somewhat obsessed with decluttering, cleaning out, organizing and ridding my little house of things i don't use, forgot i had, no longer want and find needless. and it feels good. the idea is that perhaps this purging of the things i've amassed but no longer want will cure me of my impulsive buying habits. (i consider my growing collections of amazingness to be an occupational hazard, as i do work for the best place in the world to buy amazing things...)

the sewing room and office are somewhat sufficently declutterized now, i've about half-way tackled my bedroom (eep! my closet! for a lady who really doesn't leave her house often, my oh my, do i have gobs of clothes. and shoes. and earrings. and handbags.), and my basement is the mount everest i'm hoping to tackle later this summer. cute erik and i saw these smart storage boxes in the gift shop at the art institute in chicago a few weekends ago, and i coveted them then (but figured bringing them on the plane would be just silly), but in going through my google reader, i discovered them featured on unclutterer.

so, the next step is to figure out what to do with the growing mounds of stuff that i don't want (most of which is perfectly good, i just don't want it in my house anymore). i'll probably end up giving most of it to goodwill, although it kills me just a little to know how much cash i've spent on things, only to decide a short while later it doesn't have any place being in my little house... anyone in the philadelphia area know of any good upcoming flea markets i might have a chance at reserving a table at? (and, yes, tables for the punk rock flea market are indeed sold out...) i've got jewelry, cd's, clothes, accessories, crafting supplies, kitchen goodies, some furniture... it's as if i need to have a moving sale, only i totally plan on staying put when it's over.

it's not even summer yet (technically).

 
things seem not as super busy as they have been lately anymore, which is awesome, because i still have about a zillion things on my list of things to do around the house and a dream list of things i'd like to do for girlscantell. i was getting discouraged because i'm so much further behind where i wanted to be in making my backyard lovely (aka, someplace i could reasonably sit with a glass of wine or grow a geranium), but then at lunch today it dawned on me: technically, it's not even summer yet. yay!

best things about this weekend:

• brunch at beau monde
• napping
• playing with janiedog in my parents' backyard
• realizing we accidentally watched season 3: episodes 3-7 of the wire out of order
• making the most amazing fruit salad with local berries

backyard thinking, ride of silence

tonight is ride of silence night - a ride in memory and honor of cyclists lost or injured on roadways. check out if the ride of silence is being observed in your city.

i've been trying to decide what sort of recycled or eco-friendly (and not cost-prohibitive) materials i should use to finish up my backyard. i need to replace my piece-meal fencing (this will likely just be concrete block, which is really typical in south philly backyards, and has a relatively low embodied energy. i can probably scout blocks from somewhere reasonably local, so i'm feeling okay about that).  however, i have these dwell magazine-esque notions that i could make something really beautiful (and maybe dual-functional?) from some discarded product if i really think about it. shipping palates come to mind, but without a woodshop accessible (or a source of wood pallets, really, since i don't actually import and export tons of... stuff... ever... although, they seem to be ubiquitous enough that i could probably track some down).  but how to fashion them in a way that doesn't look, well, more piece-meal than what's there?












then i need a solution for the yard 'floor' itself. i've always imagined recycled brick - reclaimed from some building that has been torn down to make way for something new. but lately, i'm swaying from that vision, but i'm not really sure what else it is i have in mind (if anything). the important thing to me is that it's water permeable (i don't want to contribute to urban runoff issues, even in my little 7'x14' closet of a backyard).  so, play little house home-owner for a moment... what would you do to make a nice, livable, green, enjoyable space for margarita drinking?

raincoats, take a guess and bike to work day.

the only good thing about it raining on bike to work day is that i really needed to water my tree today (yes, by tree i mean the little tree in my little island of trash...), and now i probably won't have to.

so, i'll give you all til sunday to guess how much change is in the jar by leaving a comment. i know you're reading, why not leave a guess? i'm picking two commenters at random to send a package of girlscantell funsies to, as well.

the other day, i decided i really needed a raincoat the other day. my criteria was that it needed to have a hood, and not look like a mom-raincoat (you know what i mean). of course, the first place i checked was etsy. there wasn't much in the way of handmade raincoats listed, except from hacker, which had this amazing reddish pink coat listed, but a little out of my raincoat price-range. so, tempted as i was, i checked my paypal account and decided to keep looking.  after a few frustrating searches that kept leading me to the inevitable lands-end-epitome-of-mom style coats, i checked the kenneth cole site, because kenneth cole can pretty much do no wrong, right? 

well. not so much on the trenches with hoods from kenneth cole.  (come on, desginers! hoods can be awesome!  make it work! where is tim gunn when you need him? outerwear shouldn't be such a chore!)  then i ended up at bluefly, which i'd heard a lot about, but never actually shopped on before. after much hemming and hawing, and a brief encounter with a well meaning but fairly useless 'personal shopper', i finally decided on this one. so, fingers crossed that it a) arrives before we leave for chicago and b) is everything i've ever wanted in a raincoat.  who knew a nice looking, hooded coat would be so hard to find?

bike to work week and awesomeness

so, apparently, it's bike to work week. i did bike to the train station today for work, and maybe i'll bike around the block and back to my house every other morning to celebrate. speaking of bikes, i'm listing all the goodies i made for squidfire that didn't get bought up all week. yay.

i have this habit of buying real simple magazine on days i commute up to brooklyn, and then i usually read it on the train on the way home and i get so amped about whatever lame thing they have on the cover - like "99 ways to organize your shoe closet" or "best herb gardens for your backyard" and i'm like YEAH! then i get home, file the magazine away on my shelf (see? i don't even need any help being organized), and don't ever think about doing all those silly things ever again. surely, i'm not the only one who does this, right? i mean, have you even seen my backyard? (hint: at a whopping 7'9" x 14'5", it's probably smaller than that shoe closet they've been working on...)

okay. i'm curious why there aren't more guesses are left via comments on the change jar post. i'll give you all about a week... how much do you think is in there? maybe you'll guess lucky and a set of beautiful girlscantell placemats will arrive at your doorstep... you never know. and you certainly won't get any goodies without guessing.

newsflash

okay, newsflash: the six feet under box set arrived via fed ex this morning.
so i will probably not be leaving my house for the next month or so.

(except to sell at squidfire. and go to chicago. probably i also need to go to brooklyn for work. and the junto tomorrow. and that wedding i need to go to on saturday... and i guess see my mom on mother's day, since i'm the only daughter she has on the east coast... all this leaving my house stuff is really interupting my plans to be a hermit and watch the best. show. ever. geez.)

wtf, creepy postman?

the most ridiculous adventure i have to report back to you all lately is an update on my creepy postman. i've complained about how he asks me oddly irrelevant and maybe slightly too personal questions for months to my coworkers, but friday he finally crossed the line of creepy.  maybe it's my fault for ordering way too much good stuff online lately (i've been on an etsy spree, and also treated myself to the six feet under box set, because it's the best show. ever. yay.) but friday i noticed the wedding present i ordered for my friends from the lovely tasha mckelvey hadn't arrived yet.  creepy postman handed me a final notice delivery slip, which made me really angry (because of the stupidity of the two different post office set up in my neighborhood, which i've explained here before). 

me: why didn't i get the first two notices for this package, or better yet, why didn't you just knock on my door to deliver this package? i've been home all week.

creepy postman: oh, i have two other packages for you in the truck. [see, i told you've i've been quite the online shopper as of late...] do you want me to bring them around in a bit? will you be home?

me: yes. i work here. i'm pretty much always home.

cp: okay,  i'll be back in a bit.  heh, it must have been the mailman standing in for me all week.

me: oh, really? because this is the kind of thing that happened around christmas, and i was pretty unhappy about having to go to 25th and snyder to pick up all the packages you guys didn't deliver then, as well.

so, an hour or so later, he comes back, two packages, but no wedding present, in hand.

me: you don't have the one that i just got this slip for? how does that even work?

cp: oh, yeah, i don't have it with me. i could bring it tomorrow. hey, do you ever go to the tap room down the block?

me: i go there sometimes. it's nice.

cp: oh, uh, yeah, if you want to meet me there for a beer tonight i can bring the other package then.

me:  [complete silence and creeped outedness] um. i don't think so.

cp: or i could just bring it tomorrow like i said.

me: uh, yeah.  that would really be better, i think.

um, hello? isn't that totally illegal?  wtf?  nevermind the total absurd notion of meeting up at the tap room with my creepy, old, creepy, not attractive, awkward, creepy, possibly married postman (my mom suggested i go meet him there, but bring cute erik with me), but isn't the very act of him giving me my mail in a bar (aka, holding it hostage in exchange for a date) totally unethical and illegal?

this is the first thing that's made me having a center city office - an address to get all my internet shopping shipped to.  on the bright side, the earrings above are one of the two packages he did hand over that day - i got two gorgeous pairs from tinarice. so pretty! 

exciting things, tea boxes and squidfire.

someone once described my blog as things i'm excited about, and apparently, i'm always excited.  i guess it's a funny way to think about my blog ramblings, but i like it.  and i honestly can't think of a better way to describe it. so, um, here's what i'm super excited about this week:

tea boxes! i've been searching for a nice box for storing tea for a little while, and i found two containers that i really like (and who knew i have so many gold-wrapped tea bags?)  the top container is from the container store, and the really pretty bamboo one is from crate & barrel.   i think i'm equally smitten with them.  it just got to a point where little boxes of tea bags were slowly taking over my whole pantry cabinet, so i was really happy to find some elegant solutions.  (i'm not entirely convinced elegant is the right word, but you get it).

and i finally found a proper frame and hanging spot for my lovely speciment print from the amazing amy wondercabinet.  amy and i are pretty super excited to be participating in the spring squidfire art mart, so if you're in the baltimore area may 10, come look for us!

ps. if you're not reading goobeetsa's blog, well, you should be! really amazing illustrations based on dreams. i love it.

seeds and social networking for plants.

i finally got around to planting my little recycled garden full of seeds this weekend, so i was pretty excited about that, although i'm a little concerned it was too late.  i know flowers suffer if you plant them too early, but what about planting them about a month late? harmless, right?

so, i started by hammering a couple holes into the bottom of each little egg-cubbie and container that i was using, for drainage. 

then i mixed together some vermiculite with some soil.  vermiculite adds fluffiness to the dirt (this stuff is lighter than air - seriously, the bag looks like it's going to weigh like 25 pounds, then it weighs like 8 oz. in reality when you pick it up).  this is to prevent the soil from getting too compacted, muddy and water-logged, which is important, since you need to water baby seeds a lot.

now you have soil and a container to put it in.  what kinds of seeds?  yay! all sorts of things!  i planted allysum, impatiens and bachelor buttons (flowers), parsley, mint, oregano and basil (herbs).  so, i'll have (hopefully) a good, solid little herb garden and some little flowers to plant around my little tree soon.

for those who haven't planted seeds before (did you skip third grade? everyone's planted seeds, right?) you want to make sure you don't cover them too deeply in soil - the little tiny seeds only need a very thin covering of dirt on them to protect them while they grow.  then, you can use a clean squirty bottle to spritz water on them frequently to make sure the soil is moist (without disturbing the seeds like a flood from a watering can might).

labelling the seeds is highly recommended, so you know what's what.  i used these reusable little plastic stake markers.  also, keep the packets the seeds come in, so when it's time to put them in the big dirt outside, you know the proper spacing, sunlight needs, etc.  it's tempting to want to stick the packets *in* the dirt with the seeds, but with how much water you're going to give the little seeds, don't do it - the paper packets get messy and illegible that way.

(sorry for the sideways image. i have no idea why it does that to portrait-photos).
anyway. i also transplanted my sweet apple-scented geranium into a real pot, along with my aloe plant.  i got both of them at the philadelphia flower show, and i hope they'll work in their respective pots (i've been a geranium killer lately, but i'm crossing my fingers on this one). 

a couple weeks ago, through flickr, i got a little note from some people who were starting what seemed like a social networking site for plants (although, that makes little to no sense - i guess i mean a socially networky site for people to talk about and post their plants. oh, i don't know...) called myfolia. needless to say, i do think this is a pretty fun idea, i'm just not sure i'd have time to update it often enough, with the ten bazillion things i have going on.  but you should try it!

teams + featured sellers.

may i geek out for just a moment (as if i haven't done that enough in the past couple days here) and say that it makes me almost unspeakably happy that so many of the recent featured sellers on etsy mention their etsy teams so enthusiastically. it's so nice to see successful, talented people talk about a program i think about and work on for the majority of my waking hours.  especially since etsy teams are essentially big, collaborative networking interactions between artists and makers.  amazing.
(this is all to say, i suppose, that i love my job, even when it seems like a really difficult job sometimes...)

also: i've finally hung my strawberryluna prints!