Making tea

A little adventure to making awesome tea...

So for the last couple of days I've been craving chai tea (no I'm not pregnant :P) just the smell, of its warm cinnamony spices reminds me of cozy fires and warmth, the perfect stuff for a freezing winter.
 Unfortunately I'm a bit of a coffee drinker and I always seemed to reach for the coffee jar as it seems a much more practical drink (seeing as I'm in the habit of being a night owl, I've not caught that love of sleep that most adults have) I've also heard too many stories about drinking loads of caffeine, so I've kind of put my craving off.
Not that that works for long... so this morning I decided to forgo my usual ritual and make a cup of nice warm chai tea, so I put the tea bag in and left it, and left it. five minutes past, ten minutes past but the colour in the cup hadn't really changed. I was a bit disappointed as I really like a good strong brew, but decided to put the milk in anyway as it might taste alright after all. However it was not so, the colour became a horrid milky white and when I took a sip, I was disgusted. There was no flavour, no taste, and it wasn't even warm anymore. So much for nice hot chai.
However I was still determined to have some chai tea so I went on pinterest and looked up a few recipes, and then I came on this one. It didn't look impossible and we didn't have any cardamon but I was desperate... so in went the spices and water (I put a little more spice in, just in case).. and the whole recipe was easy, just boil and steep for ten minutes, so not much watching either. One batch gives you enough for four drinks and you can refrigerate the liquid which is really handy. But what topped that was the taste, it was nice and warm and spicy, and if you fluffed up the milk it tasted *amazing* -waaay better than the brought stuff!
So if you're feeling like a flippin' amazing tea, just pop over to Live Simply and treat yourself :)

Making old new...

Quite awhile ago I had this idea for getting round the 'I have no clothes to wear' problem and I thought it was pretty inspiring so I thought I'd share it with you. It's quite a lot of fun as well!

Ok so for starters you're going to want take all of the clothes out of your drawer and lie them neatly on a flat surface (like a bed) Put them into four-five categories; tops, pants, skirts, sweat shirts etc.  You can get real fancy with this and put them in colours groups, length, style groups whatever.

Then grab one item of clothing (say a top) and move it over your the pants group, and try and find something that goes with it.

You might be surprised with some of the combinations. And once you've got something write it down (or take a photo) then try again, see if the top will go with anything else -does it look better with these jeans? or is there too much solid colour?

This is also a good way of seeing any colours that you have too much of (read black) and opens you up to different ways of dressing. It also helps you cull some stuff, because if it doesn't go with anything you might as well chuck it!

The next step is to accessorize, scarves are especially good as you they add pattern -something all stylists recommend.

Don't be afraid to try something new! Clothing looks very different on the wearer, and now that you've written it down it's only going to take a second to try it on. And if you don't like it that's fine, you now have plenty more options!

one of my favourite combinations

building an outfit

from the other night

finished result

and here's my littlest sister with her creation

So as you can see it's really easy and fun to do... you can even do it in little bits at a time! 

My dress addiction

 Seww... I've hinted a few times on here, that I have a bit of a sewing craze. But it's only really be hinted and I've never said why I sew, probably because I didn't think I could explain it without confusing/boring you all. Well anyway here goes...

I love historical sewing. Why? I don't really know, I just want to create something fabulous, mending bores me and it's kinda hard to find the inspiration to make normal clothes -it just sounds too easy and plain. Victorian clothing is may favourite 'genre' of sewing and for some reason I just keep wanting to make a new dress.

How did this all start?
When I was younger and we had just started homeschooling I found out that a lot of Mum's friends had older daughters who would make amazing dresses. And these dresses were amazing, I was pretty sure one of them owned Cinderella's dress. Anyway these 'older daughters' would go down to Oamaru heritage week every year and go to balls and dress up in these beautiful gowns for a week. Me and my friend looked up to these girls and dreamed of having pretty gowns (we loved dress ups) and going around places in them. We couldn't wait till we were old enough to go Oamaru.
When we were about seven we started taking sewing lessons with one of the older daughters. My first project was a red tartan t-shirt and skirt, it was hardly princess material and I didn't wear it much but it was a start. After that I went on to make curtains, bags, skirt, a hoop skirt and other really basic stuff, but I just couldn't wait to start a 'real dress'. Naomi, my teacher was very patient and not hugely fussy which encouraged me to do better, and to take on bigger stuff, which eventually came.

My first Victorian dress, was a pale cream colour made out of old sheets and calico, and was made without a pattern. It was alright but not as good as I expected, the shoulders sat a bit funny but it was a start. I wore it to my first Oamaru back in 2010 (my friend and I had an amazing time) And I've worn it several times since, although I have adapted it a bit. It's not my favourite dress but I like it.

My second dress was a Regency dress (1800-1820) it was navy blue with a lace overlay, it was made for a friend's ball. Unfortunately I made the hem at the front too long (read tripping over half the time) and for some reason the dress didn't fit at the front. I've been meaning to fix it but it'll be a lot of work, maybe one day. But having said that I do like how it falls at the back.

The next year I made a blouse and skirt for Oamaru, the skirt being part of my third sewing expedition. This one was a lot more difficult than the last two, as I was undertaking it by myself without Naomi to guide me. It was two years in the making and I have posted a few pictures on here before, it is definitely my favourite, it still needs decorating, but I'm really happy with it (1870-1880)

And since then I've made lots of little sewing projects, and done a lot of research. Until these holidays when  I started on my next project, it is a late 1850s day dress in a dark burgundy colour, it might be a mourning dress, it might not. I'm hoping to get the bodice (top) done before the next semester.

And the most addicting thing about this is the piecing together, seeing the dress take shape not the sewing so much. Although I must admit I do geek-out a bit at the prettiness of the seams (yes, I know, I know my family doesn't understand me either) And the awkward thing is I just noticed that I make more often than I wear them, but I'm trying to change that.

In the meantime (lol) I also have a fifth dress in the making, it will be a mourning bustle dress (1870-1880) and it's inspired by this painting by Anders Zorn

pinterest

I know it's just a picture of a face, but that's just another start. It might be done in time for next years Oamaru -it might not. And for some reason I don't think this'll be my last dress cause yeah...dress addiction.

Classics

So right now seeing that I'm on holidays I have more of a chance to read, and I've kinda been taking it but I've been sewing mostly, yes I'm still a little overawed at how addicted I am to making dresses. Anyways the other day I borrowed a book from a friend called  Brave New World. Apparently it's a classic that was written in 1930 by Aldous Huxley. And being a classic it really makes you think, like really because it's about a corrupted society in which everyone is controlled by their leaders (like even to the point where some babies are given less oxygen so they are less smart than their peers.) But the creepiest thing is that some of the stuff he's written about is affecting our society today which wasn't happening nearly as much in 1930, like the addiction to pleasure and how anyone can sleep with anyone. I haven't finished it yet but I'd definitely recommend it.


I've also had the chance to listen to Pride and Prejudice, which is now on Spotify soo handy, as I can listen and sew at the same time. I'd forgotten how good it was! If you haven't read it you should, sure
it's in Regency English so it's a little hard to understand, but it's worth it.
 In fact part of the beauty of it is that every time you hear/read it it gets better, the insults get better and the personalities stronger. It just keeps revealing something new which I guess is what makes classic so special.
So this has inspired me to try reading some other classics even if they seem a little hard to read at first. I guess I learnt that history's best authors still have something to offer us, and a lot of wealth could be stored between those dry, dusty pages.


So what books make you think? what books do you like?

(After writing this I found a post on writer's alley that explains this way better)




photos from pinterest