Tales From the Box

It occurred to me recently that we use several terms here on the blog that we may not have explained very clearly. Like the Widg, the Box. Allow me to clarify.

When we were pregnant with our little boy, before we knew he was going to be a boy, we wanted to be able to call him something. “Widget” came up pretty much straight away. It fit perfectly for a couple of reasons:

“An unnamed, unspecified, or hypothetical manufactured good or product (also a thingy or gizmo)”. In other words, the name you give to something that you don’t know the name of; and

“Any one of the components of a computer application’s graphical user interface, such as a Cancel button or text input box, that a user interacts with”. In other words, the little “buttons” on your computer screen that you click on to do stuff. With the hubby being a bit of a tech-geek, this totally fit (thanks Wiktionary).

My boys watching Top Gear.

And because we called him Widget (or the Widg) for so long, it just stuck. In fact, for the first few months after he was born, he was “the Widg” more than his actual name. Which brings me to his actual name: we’re still not sure how much of his life we are comfortable revealing here on the blog, what with ownership of online information being such a moving target, as well as him being not quite old enough yet to make his own decisions on the matter. So for now we will stick with “the Widg” for his online presence.

And while we are discussing names, I’m not entirely sure who reads our blog and thus how well you know us, so perhaps proper introductions are in order. I’m Jo (hi there) and he’s Dann. Delighted to make your acquaintance.

Now, the Box. When we first purchased our beautiful abode, it was slightly less beautiful. It was a small 2 bedroom/1 bathroom shack built up on stilts. From the street, it literally looked like someone had stuck some poles in the ground and plonked a box down on top of them. Hence, the Box.

The Box circa 2005.

Back view of the Box circa 2005.

It was originally a holiday house built fairly cheaply, and was then used as a rental property. So it had never really been owned by anyone with the motivation or means to give it a bit of love (not that we have a lot of means, but just enough to gradually upgrade over time). As we have renovated, it’s no longer a box balancing precariously on stilts; it has become a larger box resting safely on the ground (we basically filled in underneath to make it a 2 storey house).

The Box post-reno.

Back of the Box post-reno. Excuse the mess, we live here.

Anyway, I hope all this rambling goes some way to explaining our “language” here at Tales.

So the weather here at the Box has been getting milder. There is still the odd cooler day where I need a cardigan, but overall, we are heading into t-shirt weather.

I love the top of this kid’s head.

The Widg has quite the little collection of jeans and winter pants, thanks to some thrifty shopping (St Vinnies, markets, Big W, etc). But he is lacking in warmer-weather pants. Not quite shorts weather yet, but getting a bit warm for jeans.

You can see where this is going: I made some more pants.

He grew out of the last batch before winter hit. So it was time to draw up a new pattern for a slightly larger child. I think this pattern (and this batch of pants) will last longer than previously, as he isn’t growing as fast anymore. He is mainly growing in height, so I figure I can just roll up the pants as he grows and then they will become shorts (or I could actually take them up, depends how lazy I feel).

The green pears I have made before, but I love the stretch cotton fabric (and I had heaps left) so I made some more. The blue and white stars fabric I found at a St Vinnies store for maybe 50c, and the black and white check is some really cheap cotton from Spotlight (very cheap – a little tricky to sew with, but I managed).

I also found some great check fabrics in different colours – I love this green and brown. It actually has a very fine aqua stripe through it too, which is awesome. And I found some more of this orange and blue check that I have used previously.

I have also added little pockets to the back of some of the pants, just because it’s a little bit fancy.

It’s a shocking photo (husband is the wicked photographer, not so much me), but I hope you can see the little tags I have been putting into the back of the waistband (sometimes it’s hard to tell the front from the back of the pants when dressing the little man).

Here is my pants model wearing the black and white check:

I will have to take some pics of the little guy wearing the actual pants. If for no other reason than to prove that they actually function as pants. And any excuse to show my sweet little boy.

Apartment Therapy is always my first blog stop for looking at interiors, design, furniture and the like.

It’s written by a whole bunch of bloggers across the US and the world, so there are several new posts everyday.

 I think their “mission” states it quite well: “Helping people make their homes more beautiful, organized and healthy by connecting them to a wealth of resources, ideas and community online.” Their stated goal is “to connect people to the resources they need to improve their homes, while reducing their reliance on stuff.” I think that is a worthwhile goal.

 The site is broken down into home design (the main page), technology (Unplggd), children (Ohdeedoh), green (Re-Nest) and cooking (The Kitchn).

You can browse house tours and ideas for kids parties, or get tips on living in small spaces, using colour, de-cluttering, thrifting, gardening, the latest updates in home and personal technology, eco-living and cooking. And readers regularly chime in with their own ideas too (in the comments sections at the bottom of each post).

 For me, mostly, it’s just about looking at pretty pictures. But then I often find some great ideas, like:

• getting the pilling off clothing by using a disposable razor
• using vinegar to prevent waterspots on glassware
• using up leftover stale cereal
• a great idea for a family tree display on a wall
• a look back at the evolution of the internet
• 10 projects to do with an electric carving knife
• 5 egg nest recipes
• turning an old cot into a desk for the kids

I would like to introduce you to a blog that I love – Made.

Dana is a mother of 2, a blogger and a pretty awesome seamstress (especially in the eyes of a novice like myself).

Her blog is easy to navigate, her writing style is easy-going and natural, and her photo’s are fantastic.

She writes very easy-to-follow tutorials that have inspired many a sewing project for me. In fact, it was her several variations of kids pants that have taught me how to put together pants for the Widg (although I still have a way to go before I even get close to her standard). Her blog is my go-to source for ideas and for learning about sewing techniques.

She posts almost every day, so there is always something new to read. She also throws in the occasional recipe, thrift store find or family adventure.

I hope you find her blog as enjoyable as I do.

Just a quick one to say “Happy Fathers’ Day” to all the dads, grandfathers and dads-to-be out there.

Fathers’ Day is a great opportunity to reflect on the many ways these men have provided for us, supported us, sacrificed for us and loved us.

To the men who are our fathers and fathers-in-law, and to the men who are fathers to our children, thank you.