Tales From the Box

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.

I’ve written previously about the amazing gingerbread cookies that we had at the Widg’s birthday party. And I promised to give more details about them, so here it is.

PassionCookie is the wonderful creation of my good friend Bryer. She has always been an absolute genius baker, so when she started up her own business, it was a no-brainer that she could do great things.

PassionCookie creates delicious handmade gingerbread cookies for special occasions and events, as well as selling direct to the public through the Eltham Valley Pantry, Macadamia Castle and local markets. They can also create special occasion and novelty cakes, as well as the great photo cookies, by special order, through their website. And they can deliver Australia wide.

And because their cakes and cookies are made to order, they can cater to just about anything you could possibly want. They are especially good at catering to particular dietary needs (Bryer and her clan are the actual stereotype of an allergy-blessed family, so they know all about that).

Basically, they’re really yummy cakes and cookies, and you should check them out.

Note: We’re not being paid to write nice things about PassionCookie. Although Bryer is our dear friend, we genuinely love her stuff, and we wouldn’t say nice things about her if we didn’t truly believe them. Just ask her, she’ll tell you.

I am notorious for having stacks of magazines piled around the house.

I love to pull out a stack every now and then, and flip through them to get a regular dose of inspiration. It’s really just an excuse to look at pretty things.

So far the Widg has been pretty good with “no touching” the ones within his reach. Considering he quite enjoys tearing paper.

However, a lot of my inspiration these days is online. I follow a lot of blogs – everything from interiors and decorating, photography and typography, to sewing and crafts. But how do you “store” the images you find online, so that you can peruse them again and again when the mood strikes? I have gone through various phases of bookmarking, even saving the links onto a google doc. Now, finally, some interwebby genius has come up with the answer. Pinterest. And it’s not just for fancy-pants home decorating ideas. You can pin anything to your boards, whatever you are interested in. For example, if you were interested in collecting rare and unique spoons, well, you could pin pictures of them to your boards. You could have different boards for different types of spoons. A board for wooden spoons, one for ladles, one for teaspoons.

I’m finding it very useful. There’s more information about it here (and they explain it better than me).

There are so many things I love about this image.

(from Two Little Dicky Birds)

The casualness of hanging a picture on your wall with tape – so what if the tape leaves marks? They’re YOUR walls. Paint them.

Using gumboots as a vase for flowers. Why not?

That knitted blanket, so neatly folded, so cozy looking, such a pretty blue-grey. And the fabric on that pillow, lovely. I think my friend Jen has a dress in a very similar print.

And then finally, that bright, sunny, yellow chair. Makes me want to paint everything around me in bright, happy colours. So cheerful.

I would like to introduce to you, dear readers, our newest addition to the Box – Olga the Overlocker.

For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, an overlocker is a sewing machine that produces a special type of stitching to prevent fabric from fraying over time. If I’ve already lost you, don’t worry, that’s where I stop explaining.

I have a little bit of a crush on Olga (hence why I named her). She has literally already changed my sewing life – and I barely know how to use her properly yet. She just makes things so much easier, and she actually makes me look like a better sewer than I really am. She was purchased from Aldi, for the bargain price of $199. No, that’s not a typo.

This (below) is the trusty Brother machine that I am currently using. She doesn’t have a name because technically she isn’t mine. She is on loan from my mum, but I hope to save up and get my own one day. Maybe Santa will bring me one. But until then, the loaner is performing just fine.

Before I got the overlocker, I had never used one before, so I decided to practice on a few projects that were really simple (basically just straight lines). This first one is just a runner or cover for the coffee table. The fabric is from Ikea by the way. And yes, that is my morning coffee on the table.

Then I made some runners for our dressing tables in the bedroom (below). There is more to this story, but that’s another blog post. For now, just say “ah yes, I see.” Excellent. Moving on.

So here are my 2 workers (below), side by side on my sewing table. Oh, and the absolutely best thing about Olga so far? Not only did she arrive fully threaded, but to rethread her all I have to do is tie the end of the new spool to the end of the old one, and keep sewing – she rethreads herself! (For anyone out there that knows how difficult and annoying it is to rethread an overlocker, with 4 spools, you will understand my excitement. Everyone else is just thinking “so?”. Trust me, it’s a big deal). Not sure if you can do this special threading trick with all overlockers. I do feel blessed though.

I hope to log many more sewing miles with Olga.

We think this little guy is so sweet.

He has the most bite-able cheeks, and chubby little thighs, and tiny little toes. He gives really good cuddles – really leans into you and holds on tight. We’re teaching him to give eskimo kisses.

He thinks it’s hilarious when I bite his chin. And when his dadda walks in the room.

He snorts when he laughs. And talks in his sleep. He’s ticklish under the arms. He loves to bite balloons. And he gets sooooo excited over yoghurt.

He appears to be endlessly fascinated with everything, and can be very serious as he contemplates the world around him, taking it all in. And then he’ll go for days on end where life is just so good that he can’t stop smiling.

I know every parent is biased, but I seriously think he is the cutest baby ever. He is the Widg.

I received these lovely mugs for Christmas (thanks Harris’s) and I absolutely love them.

Essentially, they are just mugs, like any other. Granted, they are pretty, and when stacked they make a geisha doll. Adorable, no?

But there is something so satisfying about drinking my morning and evening cups of tea from them. They are so cheerful, I actually think they make the tea taste better. Well, they must be good- the husband has even taken to using them!

On another note, I am going to Ikea tomorrow, where I will scope out the fabrics – they are ridiculously cheap and very cool. Exhibit A:

(from Ikea)

Exhibit B:

(from Ikea)

And these ones:

(from Ikea)

(from Ikea)

I am very excited (so is the Widg) – I will be dreaming about new sewing projects all night!

So I promised that I would provide honest feedback on the Peapods, whether it was positive or negative. Well, I have both to offer.

Bad news first.

In my previous post I bragged that, although the Peapods were a little bulkier than disposables, the Widg’s clothes still fit him. Unfortunately, this is only partly true. His onesie’s still fit, as they are stretchy anyway. But most of his shorts are made of a rigid-type of cotton and don’t have a lot of give in them, so I have found that they are a little tight in the rise. Any pants that are made of stretchy cotton fit fine.

Although this is a negative factor, I’m not really too bummed about it. Babies grow out of things so quickly that you are constantly buying bigger sizes anyway, and I haven’t spent massive amounts of money on his pants. I will simply need to buy one or 2 sizes bigger in pants for the little guy. So what.

Now for the positive. And boy, is it a good one!

His nappy rash has completely gone. I mean, absolutely, 100% disappeared. No, you don’t understand. This poor kid has had some mild form of nappy rash his whole life so far. I had tried every type of cream, lotion and concoction known to man to try and get rid of that darn rash, both medicated and natural products (I know what you’re thinking – “what about xyz?”. Yes. We tried that too). We have quite the little pharmacy going. Sometimes they would prevent the rash from flaring up again, but none of them really got rid of it. So when I say the rash is gone, it’s a big deal.

Since using the Peapods, I have not put any type of cream on him, not even once. And NO RASH! I am so deliriously happy about this. Can you tell?

So overall, I am very impressed with my Peapods. And I haven’t used a disposable nappy in over 3 weeks.

Before the Widg came into our lives, I did some research on cloth nappies. And I mean research. I won’t bore you with the details, but let’s just say I read some stuff. Finally I decided on these ones:

Peapods. Several reasons for my choice: available in Australia (most other brands, at the time, wouldn’t ship to Oz); I could buy them in an actual real life store to try them out, then I could purchase them in bulk, online, from the manufacturer; great online reviews from many many MANY websites/blogs/etc; adjustable sizing; press stud buttons (I learned that velcro can wear out quicker and the bubs can learn to undo them easier); and I could go on.

Now, since I did my research and purchased my Peapods about a year ago (I have about 20) the market has increased and there are many more brands that are available, and more of them ship to Australia now. So if I had my time again, I may have gone with a different brand, such as Bumgenius (their website is down at the moment, otherwise I would link to it. If I remember later, I will do so). Mainly because they are more well known (at least in the US) and have been around for longer, so they have been truly tested by lots of mums. They also got the best reviews.

Having said that, I am, so far, very pleased with my Peapods.

They don’t leak, they are ridiculously easy to wash and use (just as easy as disposables) and they satisfy my main 2 reasons for wanting to use cloth: saving money in the long term and being eco-friendly. My only problem so far has been that the Widg is so little, and his bum even littler, that he is only just now, at 6 months old, fitting into them. It drove me bonkers for the last 6 months to be using disposables, knowing that I was throwing away both cash and non-biodegradable materials, and contributing a huge amount to landfill.

I know I am getting all serious and political here. And I know that there are people who say that the extra water, energy and detergent used washing cloth nappies negates any “good” done. But I disagree (my own humble opinion, not based on actual scientific calculations). I only wash in cold water, used the tiniest amount of detergent (the manufacturer recommends this anyway), only wash when I have a full load, and line dry them (and yes, this does actually clean them thoroughly. Yes, even the poo). And any parent would surely agree: you do so much extra washing with a child anyway, what’s a few extra loads a week? Plus we have a large water tank to collect rainwater, so in my head this balances out any extra water usage. Double plus: using extra water is surely better for the environment than contributing to landfill with a material that doesn’t really break down. At least water is replenishable.

Noah hasn’t noticed any difference in comfort (he told me) and I dare say his chronic nappy rash has not flared up since we have been using them (now that I have said that, Murphy’s Law dictates that the rash will reappear tomorrow. Watch this space). They are a little bulkier than disposables, but not so much that his clothes don’t fit- they still fit just fine. And since using them, I have discovered several other mama’s in my local community who use them too.

I do still have an emergency stash of disposables and I’m not afraid to use them. I just feel ethically better that I am able, in some way, to make a small difference to our footprint. I hope to be able to teach the Widg some lessons without being a total hypocrite.

On a side note, I’m not being paid to say any of these things, I genuinely believe them and they are my own experiences. And I will truthfully blog about any negative experiences I have also.