mary poppins wouldn't need garment bags: a mini tutorial

growing up, i was very fond of mary poppins. i owned the movie, watched it countless times, and also read the entire book series. i find myself thinking of her particularly often when i am packing for travel or a move-- and desperately wishing i was mary poppins. she is my version of a super hero. she can jump in and out of chalk drawings, and flies through the air with an umbrella (a dual purpose accessory, how practical). but most importantly, she has a carpet bag that fits just about everything, as is. something i desperately wished for during this big move. when mary poppins snaps her fingers, items jump neatly to their place. so instead of taking weeks to unpack and pack, all the while discovering things that have been broken or damaged in the process, everything is packed, moved, and unpacked in a few, fun-filled moments... in song.

and she certainly wouldn't have ever needed garment bags. while we were packing up our clothes into wardrobe boxes, i found myself in the sudden need of garment bags. altogether we had about six, when we needed a couple dozen. the husband went out to look for some at target, but came back with a bag of trash bags instead...and that's what we used.

i took each trash bag and folded it in half vertically and snipped off a piece at the fold at the base of the trash bag, and then pulled them over the batches of clothes. our bags had pull tie closures, which worked out very well. if we had bigger or longer clothing, i just added an extension to the bottom.

it's a good thing that we used them, since half the wardrobe boxes came crushed and the bags covered in dust and grime (and even some ripped clothing!).

so long, and howdy.

our lives are in boxes.   the next few months will be a series of busy changes, because we are moving.  not just across town to a new apartment, but across the country to (outside) boston. 

this decision did not come about lightly.  while i am incredibly excited about our next life stage (a little hard to tell at the moment), it's also really difficult to leave.   we are leaving a lot behind, and i am beginning to realize that i will miss a lot here.  i will no longer be able to meet my parents for dinner on the weekends. i will no longer be a mere ten minutes drive to my best girlfriend's house.   boston has zero central markets, and their chinatown certainly can not compare. we will no longer be able to bike to our favorite brunch cafe on sunday mornings, nor will we be smack in the center of town.  

we have spent the last month juggling packing, finding housing, and meeting friends and family for final farewells. we said goodbye at our jobs.  it confounds me that i will no longer be seeing and talking to my coworkers and bosses daily- if you think about it, most of us spend more waking hours with the people we work with than our own families.   

with these somewhat somber thoughts...
so long, texas.  howdy, massachusetts!

double-sided flannel scarf

it wasn't until i was in college and visited europe in the dead of winter that i realized that scarves are more than a fashion accessory. growing up in south-east texas will do that to you. since then, i have amassed quite the collection of hats, gloves, and scarves, and have found them to be functional and nice gifts for friends and family.

recently, i made double-lined / dual-patterned flannel scarves for my parent-in-laws. i had forgotten how nice and soft flannel is, and found it particularly pleasant feeling around the neck. most of my scarves are made of some kind of fleece, cotton, or wool blend- none as soft or cozy as this flannel scarf.

materials:
1 2/3 yard flannel pattern 1
1 2/3 yard flannel pattern 2
thread

cut a piece of each flannel to 10.5" (or however wide you'd like your scarf to be, plus .5" for seam allowance). line them up against each other, pin, and sew around the edges with .25" seam allowance.

make sure to leave a gap at one end. clip the corners.

turn the scarf inside out. ladder stitch it shut. iron. top stitch around the edges.

sweet bora bora

ah. sweet bora bora. initially i had doubts over the island- surely, the beauty must be much exaggerated? surely, the waters aren't really that blue?

wrong. and wrong again.

yes, bora bora really is that beautiful. and yes, the waters are that blue. my photos hardly do it justice. we stayed at the st. regis, which was luxury and beauty through and through. this is hardly our normal traveling style, but let me tell you, it certainly is something i could get used to...

snorkeling in moorea, french polynesia

 
aside from our honeymoon and a few short weekend trips around the texas coastline, we never go on 'beach vacations'. but after a year of travels full of activity, where i often found my physical limits stretched (allthough, don't get me wrong, i usually had a blast)  i thought perhaps it was time for one.  so, as i mentioned two posts ago, for the last holiday of 2010, we went the relaxing and luxurious route, and found ourselves in beautiful french polynesia.

we spent the first three days in moorea, and filled our time with relaxation and snorkeling. snorkeling may very well be one of my top favorite activities of all times. we snorkeled everyday, sometimes twice, and it was always difficult to tear ourselves out of the water. it never failed to amaze me that all i had to do is float and put my face into the water to see a whole different world, teeming with life- and when i lifted my head, it was just gone.

runaway elf!!

MISSING: small christmas elf

physical description: adorable smiling finnish elf in red, donning a traditional red pointed hat.  he is approximately 2.5 inches tall (to the tip of his hat). he enjoys the smell of spruce trees and sipping mexican hot chocolate. 

last seen: hanging out on the christmas tree with his other elf buddies.  he went missing while all the others were preparing for their 11 month hibernation. elf in question most likely ran away, grieved by the idea of once again leaving his happy christmas home, however, elf-napping is also highly plausible. 

please contact me, clearlytangled, should you run across an elf fitting this description.  it is likely he is enroute to the arctic circle in finland, where santa lives, and christmas trees are up year round.  he answers to the name, "tonttunen".  his safety is of utmost importance!!!

hello, 2011

we were one of the last people to welcome 2011, on the beach in the middle of the pacific in french polynesia.  it was the perfect way to end 2010 and begin 2011. i hope your year started off with a bang (a good one)!