Sew 50s: Guest Post from Sue

Today we have a guest post from Sue at Chevron and Lace.  Her blog has awesome DIYs as well as personal posts and photos.  We're happy to have her here! - Elizabeth

Tell me if you were one of these kids:

In elementary school, Mom did all your shopping. You didn’t care what you wore, as long as it didn’t get in the way of your play time and Mom didn’t care if it got dirty. Then you hit sixth grade and all of a sudden, what you wore mattered. If sixth grade wasn’t bad enough, you entered Junior High (Middle school, whatever). Not only did your clothes matter, but where you got them! American Eagle and Hollister were the peak of Junior High fashion, but for those of us whose mothers were thrifty and still bought our clothes, it was a tragedy. “JC Penney’s again?” It’s like a mother’s worst nightmare. All of a sudden your child cared about what they wore!

Then came high school. Some maintained their American Eagle and Hollister ideal. Some broadened their horizons and went to the Buckle. Some went the Hot Topic route. Some had no idea what they liked. I was the “No idea what I like” type. Mom left me out to dry with my clothing choices and I was in the dark. The problem was that I liked so many of the styles! I would wake up in the morning and try on five or six different outfits before I decided on one!

Finally I went to college and figured out what I liked, and that was it. Maurices. Maurices, Maurices, Maurices. That was my one style.

Although I still loved Maurices, once I graduated from college, I graduated from the “one type of style” mindset, too. Now I’m a mother and as so many mothers before me can attest, once you have a child of your own, you somehow turn into the mother that raised you. I’ve become my own thrifty mother and decided that some clothes at the store are not worth the price. So what did I do?

Welcome to my blog! I graduated from college, Mom bought me a sewing machine and I’ve never looked back! I am in LOVE with DIY and am a recent convert to vintage! Here’s the latest and greatest of my vintage looks…

Sew 50s!

Headband: Bought ¾ yrd. from Joann’s for less than $2.00!

Shirt: Just a regular ‘ol three quarter sleeve from Downeast Basics

Clutch: Bought it from DEB years ago

Skirt: Homemade skirt!

Shoes: Journey’s (on sale!)

In fact, I had enough left-over from the headband to make a shirt!

In addition to clothes (tutorials included!), I make my own home décor, I write cutesy poems, make delicious food (treats are my favorite!), run, and have the cutest little girl around with a hunk of a husband to boot! Get to know me and my family on my blog, Chevron and Lace.

Favorite Magazines

Recently, I picked up the latest copy of Vogue, the 916 page September issue, from the drugstore and realized that so far this year even though I only buy the magazine a few times each year, I've definitely spent more paying the cover price than I would if I had a subscription.  This probably means that it's about time to go ahead and subscribe to Vogue.

I love looking through magazines, and Vogue isn't the only one that I buy often.  Although I can't justify getting all of these magazines, here's seven of the ones that that I would love to have being delivered to my house.

1.  The New Yorker - Although I don't usually buy The New Yorker, I like looking at the articles on the website.  Having it delivered weekly to the door would be a good way to find out about a lot of interesting topics.

2.  National Geographic - The magazine covers science-ish things, an area I find interesting but don't usually follow quite as much as I should.  Although there are probably better magazines for people who want a more in-depth coverage, National Geographic doesn't go too far above what I can understand.

3.  Southern Living - The recipes alone would be a good enough reason to get this magazine, but there's also gardening, features on famous Southerns, travel, and decorating.  Basically, any house in the magazine could be my dream house.

4.  Vogue - While the fashion in Vogue can be a little intense for some people including me, it's still useful for finding out new fashion trends.  And, the photography is always beautiful to look at.

5.  French Vogue - For some reason, I never bought this magazine while I was in France, but I probably should have.  Although the price to have it shipped to the US is much more than I would pay, it still would be interesting to get France's Vogue.

6.  Garden and Gun - Another magazine based in the South which was launched in 2007.  The sports portion isn't something I would normally look at, but the magazine definitely needs to be on my coffee table next to Southern Living and Vogue.

7.  Verily - A print version of Verily hasn't launched yet, but you can check out it's blog here.  A group of women came up with the idea for this magazine after they felt that most women's magazines don't really relate to most women. The mix of fashion and beauty with article about topics that really concern women has me excited to see how the magazine turns out.


What are your favorite magazines?  Do you want to subscribe to entirely too many too?

Simple Balsamic Vinaigrette

Today, I'd like to share a simple recipe for one of my favorite salad dressing, Balsamic Vinaigrette.  Although you could easily buy it from a store, it's so easy that there's no reason not to make it yourself.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
salt
pepper

Directions:
- Whisk the mustard and vinegar together in a small bowl first.
- Add a bit of salt and pepper to taste.
- Stir while slowly adding olive oil.



Try using a variety of lettuce other than iceberg.  There's really no way to make iceberg lettuce taste good other than to drown it in ranch, cheese, and bacon bits.  For my lunch salads, I like to have romaine lettuce with Balsamic Vinaigrette and grated Pecorino Romano cheese on top.

BTCG: General Guide to Writing an Essay

Today, we're offering some tips on how to write a good essay in college.  Since I worked at my university's writing center, I saw students every day to  help them improve their writing, and I quickly learned that there are several easy steps that everyone can take to improve writing quality.  While I've labeled these tips for college papers, most of them work for anything that you write in college or out of college.

- As you begin, make sure that you follow the prompt, answer the question, or do whatever the assignments asks for.

- Make it clear to the reader exactly what your thesis or purpose is.  You wrote the paper, and it makes sense to you.  Since your reader can't read your mind, you must give your readers a topic sentence (thesis), supporting evidence, and a conclusion.

- Ask yourself if everything you've written is important to your thesis.  If a sentence or even an entire paragraph is off topic, it needs to go (even if you need it to make your paper long enough.)

- After you've taken care of the content (the most important part of the paper), you can move to style.  There are two changes I usually suggest for style.  First, vary your sentence structure.  All of your sentences shouldn't be simple, but they shouldn't all be super complex either.  Second, check for overused words or repeated phrases and replace them.

- "I can't do grammar."  You can fix more than you think simply by reading your paper out loud.  You will probably be able to hear things that sound awkward and catch typos.  Both of these are the easiest problems to fix.

- Finally, if you don't know a grammar rule either look it up, ask someone who knows, or use another construction that you do know.

All of these tips are very basic, but following them will greatly improve your writing.  Since writing tips are an area that I know lots about if anyone has anything to add or any questions about other writing issues (whether you're in college or not) that I didn't cover, please leave a comment.  I'll definitely respond, and I would love to write more detailed posts on a similar topic if there's any interest.

If you missed the first two parts to our guide be sure to see Microwave Recipe Treats and DIY Recycled Decorating Projects.

 

Thoughts on Writing Letters

While I worked at camp this summer, one of the highlights of the day was going to check the mail.  Like most people, I love getting actual letters in the mail, and while working at camp, I discovered that I enjoy writing letters, too.  I found that even though it's not the fastest form of communication, letters have a personal quality that makes them different from texts, emails, or facebook.

I've been trying to figure out a good way to include more letter writing in my life even though camp has ended.  Because it isn't nearly as common as it used to be, I feel like people my age don't know how to write letters, and it's difficult to figure out how to use letters in a way that enhances the other forms of communication that we're already using.  We like the idea of letters, but we aren't too sure how to make them happen.  I thought about the idea of making a personal letter writing guide, but since I've only recently begun writing letter, I'm still figuring out what works for me.

So, here's what I've been doing so far in my new letter writing spree.

• Birthday Cards - These are probably the easiest way to begin sending mail.  Everyone has a birthday, and a card that arrives in the mail is much more exciting than a wall post on facebook.  It's also fairly simple if you buy a nice card because all you have to do is add a few lines at the end. 

• Pretty Note Cards - This includes thank you cards and other kinds that come in packs of multiples.  If you have a few different kinds, than you'll be covered for any occasion to send a card.  These are also fairly easy because depending on how large your hand writing is, the amount that you can write in these is still not too much.  It's perfect for a quick thinking of you and update note.

• Stationery - For people who like to write long letters, using stationery is the best option.  I enjoy writing, and while I am capable of writing concisely when necessary, I like to send long letters.  After all, you send short messages via text or email, so you want your letters to differ from those mediums.

Since I'm just beginning to make an effort to write letters, I'd like to hear from anyone else who likes to write letters.  Who do you send them to and why?  What role do you think letters play in communication today?

Fast Morning Makeup Inspired by Jennifer Garner

As a college student, you end up pulling a lot of all-nighters. If you're like me, these all-nighters mean the next morning you'll hit the snooze button on your alarm clock until you absolutely have to get up. For those mornings, you need a quick strategy for pulling yourself together so that it looks like you got plenty of beauty sleep. I think this look the always lovely Jennifer Garner sports is the perfect inspiration for fast, natural looking makeup.

Fresh Fast by jenniferleigh33 on polyvore.com

Makeup

1. To quickly get Mrs. Garner's dewy glow, start with Aveeno's Positively Radiant Tinted Moisturizer or your favorite light foundation. I choose the Aveeno Tinted Moisturizer because it eliminates the step of applying sunscreen and because it gives you a very natural non-matte finish.

2. Next, with a light hand, apply your favorite bronzer to the apples of your cheeks, nose, chin, temples, and neck. I would recommend using a large brush to make sure the color gets blended well. After you've applied the bronzer, smile and dust your blush onto the apples of your cheeks and towards your hairline. Jennifer Garner's blush is a bit more peachy and bronze than the blush above, so, if you like her look, choose a less pinky blush. I chose the blush/bronzer combo because it's really convenient to have them together in one place.

3. If you have time, swipe the lightest shade of eyeshadow from your lashes to your brow bone. Then, use the darkest shade and apply it from your lashes to the crease of your eye. Now, apply mascara to your top lashes. Even if you didn't have time for the shadow, I would definitely try to make time for mascara because it makes your eyes standout and you'll look much more awake.

4. As a last touch, apply Burts Bees tinted lip balm to add healthy color to your lips. I like the rose shade, but you may find that another shade compliments your coloring better.

Later this week, I'll follow up with a post about how to quickly achieve a look similar to the effortlessly pretty hairstyle that Mrs. Garner is wearing. In the meantime, let us know what some of your tips and tricks are for looking put together when you're in a hurry!

BTCG: Microwave Treat Recipes

Welcome to the second post in our Back to College Guide.

One of the strangest things for me about living in a dorm was not having a kitchen.  While some dorms do have kitchen access, most college students living on campus are usually stuck with just a fridge and a microwave.  There are endless types of microwave meals available, but these aren't the only options you have.  It's actually possible to cook some pretty tasty things using just a microwave.

Here's a few ideas for microwave cooking that we've gathered from different sources.  These all make a single serving, so even if you have a full kitchen available, you can use these recipes for when you want a treat, but don't want 23 extra cookies hanging around afterwards.

Recipe for Single Serve Brownies by Christi at Love from the Oven

Single Serving Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookies by Sophie at My Happy Place

One Minute Chocolate Cake in a Mug by Katie

Nutella Mug Cake by Angie McGowan on Babble

Mug of Mac and Cheese by the Naptime Chef on Babble

Quick note:  So far, I've only tried the first two of these, and they've turned out well.  In these recipes, I usually replace an egg with 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil and 1/2 tsp baking powder.  Then, you can undercook the cookies without having to worry about getting sick.

These turned out to be more microwave baking recipes rather than microwave cooking recipes.  I know that there's lots more out there that can be made in the microwave.  Does anyone have any other suggestions for easy microwave recipes?

If you didn't catch last week's BTCG post, why not see our suggestions for DIY Recycled Decorating Projects.  You can also see the third part - Guide to Writing an Essay.