Preparing my DVD Collection for Tiny Living

I finally finished transferring all of my DVD collection into plastic sleeves. I love it! I am saving so much space, which will make a big difference when I have my tiny house.

Here is what they looked like before:

I had them stacked on my bookshelves and on top of the TV.

And this is the after:

They all fit in a paper box, and there is still more room!

I bought these sleeves from Amazon. If you are patient you can get them for $11.99. Eventually I'll either buy storage containers or just build a shelf for them into my tiny house. I haven't decided.

Fun fact: my dvds are arranged by year.

Why I Will Build My Tiny House on Wheels

I've made a really big decision regarding my tiny house this week!

Originally I did not want my tiny house on wheels. My plan was to buy some land and build a tiny house on a foundation. My logic being that I would have my own space away from others and just live in peace. I was planning to commute up to an hour to the job I have currently so that I could live out in the country.

I made this plan last year sometime. Since then I have paid off my student loans and I'm a few months away from being completely debt free. And I've been reading and learning a lot about tiny house options.

A couple weeks ago I started feeling less confident in my decision to build my tiny house on a foundation. The more I thought about building on a trailer the better I felt. I asked my friends and family what they thought. I posted the question on Facebook. The response was overwhelming! Most people agreed that a trailer is the best idea for me. My friend Nate summed it up perfectly when he said, "With a house that small there's no reason not to. What you gain by putting it on a foundation isn't as much as what you lose by not making it mobile."

On Sunday I officially decided that my tiny house will be on wheels. I started looking at trailer sizes prices too! I'm still not sure what I'm doing there. I would like to tell you why I'm going to put my house on wheels. I'll list my main reasons below.

1. Freedom. Besides my job I have nothing tying me down to anywhere. It seems silly for me to choose to tie myself to some land and a house when I'm so young!

2. Cost. Since I'm no longer buying land I will be saving a significant amount of money. Hooray!

3. Dreams. I don't want to be an administrative assistant forever. Ultimately I'd like to work outdoors. If I build on a foundation I'm limiting my job options to one area. If my house is on wheels I can go where ever the jobs are!

Well that's it! I'm really excited. I feel so great about my choice. Plus how fun will it be to learn to tow my own house?

Sewing for My Best Kids!

It's the post you've all been waiting for, well at least my Facebook friends have been waiting.

My sisters and I took their kids fabric shopping so that I could make them some fun outfits. The only fabric that the kids didn't pick was bodice and pocket fabric and lining on the Sally Dresses for the girls and the pocket fabric and lining for the boys Sunny Day Shorts.



The first ones I made were the circle skirts, which was a good call because they were easy and got me really excited for sewing! You can find the tutorial I used here. Easiest skirt of my life! And the girls LOVED them.

Eleanor

Kayla

Mackenzie

Next I made their Sally Dresses. When I saw this pattern I knew I had to have it. I even paid $9.95 for it. I never pay for PDF patterns! This one is totally worth it. There is even two different sleeve options, but sleeves are a pain and I'm lazy. Eleanor originally didn't want to try this dress on, but once she didn't she didn't want to change out of it! You can buy the pattern here.

Eleanor

Kayla
 

Mackenzie

Finally I made the boys shorts. This post from Handmade Frenzy inspired me and then I used this Sunny Day Shorts pattern. I also added pockets and lengthened the shorts. Sadly I have no idea if they fit because my poor boys were sick, they didn't get to come to Easter dinner.

I think the shorts turned out pretty fun!

David

Thomas

I am so proud of the clothes I made for the kids! They turned out so cute! I was kind of sad to see them leave my possession, but it was worth it to see their faces and watch them enjoy my creations. I love that I was able to express my love for the kids by making them something.

This final picture is the best one of today and just needs to be shared:

Africa Dress

First off, I'm calling it the Africa dress because the fabric print actually says the word "Africa" all over it. Now, keeping in mind the taking good pictures of myself, by my self, is not my best skill, here are the pictures:

Above is how I wore the dress to church (my tights are gray). I received lots of compliments! Some from people who didn't even know I had made the dress (the best kind)! In all reality I thought maybe the dress wouldn't make it through church. While getting ready (putting on my coat, moving things around in my car, etc) I kept hearing seams popping! At least that's what it sounded like. Everything appears to be fine and fully in tact, so I don't know what was happening. 

Overall I'm really proud of the dress. I can't remember the last time I made something for myself and actually completed it!

Because I'm downsizing I decided that my fabric stash must fit in a small tub (27 quarts). That means if I don't use my fabric I don't get to buy more. I bought this fabric over a year ago, I'm glad I finally found it's purpose. On to the next project!

Oh and here is my favorite picture from the bunch:

Going Through My Vinyl

Today I was possessed with the desire to go through my vinyl. And it went really well! I always have a hard time getting rid of vinyl because some of it can't be found in any other format. This time I went through it with my tiny house goals in mind and it was really easy. I got rid of about a fourth of my collection. Huge deal for me!

These are the ones I'm getting rid of (same pile, different angle):

 And these are the ones I'm keeping:

Back to Blogging

I haven't blogged since January! But I've decided that I need to resurrect my blog. I'm working towards building my own tiny house and would like to blog about that.

I think one of the first things I posted when I started this blog was my hair cut. It seems appropriate to bring the blog back to life with a hair cut and a perm. Here you go: 

On My Nightstand

So right now I'm reading five books and I have one waiting to be read. Then I have two other books that I've finished, but haven't put back on the shelf. Plus my journal. It's getting a little crowded.

Above you see my current reads, plus my journal (which I write in every night). They are upside down because that's just the way they get placed right before a fall asleep. I'll list them for you in the order I started reading them.

Mountains of Memory: A Fire Lookout's Life in the River of No Return Wilderness by Don Scheese

John Steinbeck's short novels includes: Tortilla Flat, The Red Pony, Of Mice and Men, The Moon is Down, Cannery Row and The Pearl.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Speaking Ill of the Dead: Jerks in Montana History

Fire Lookouts of the Northwest by Ray Kresek

I've finished reading two of the above books and one of them is hopefully going to be read soon.

The finished ones are:

The Message by Lance Richardson

An Affair to Remember: The Remarkable Love Story of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy by Christopher Andersen

And next in line is:

Armour: Divine Protection in a Darkening World by Kim B. Clark
_______________________________

The Message was good, my grandma let me borrow it. It's about a guy who crosses over into the next life while in a coma. Very powerful.

I really enjoyed An Affair to Remember. We all know I love Katharine Hepburn. I also love Spencer Tracy. I think it's amazing to see how they influenced each other. Also they were both incredible actors.

via amyhollingsworth.com

Another great book I recently finished is The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers: Spiritual Insights from the World's Most Beloved Neighbor by Amy Hollingsworth. I LOVE Fred Rogers. I'm certain that he was one of the most Christ-like men to even grace this earth. He was so wise and I love reading about how lovely he was to people.

What have you been reading? Are you learning lots?

October 2013 Reads

Obviously I've been super bad at updating my blog, not for lack of material though. I read some great stuff this October! Here are the details:

via Amazon

Among the Shoshones by Elijah Nicholas Wilson

This book was very interesting. It's about a white boy who went to live with the Shoshone tribe when he was twelve. The only issue have with the book is that I didn't get a feeling that it was entirely truthful. A lot of it seemed like it could be exaggerated. Read it, you'll see what I mean. He talks himself up. A lot.

via Kaboodle

Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup

Likely you've seen the previews for the movie of the same title, I confess I read the book because of the movie. I won't be watching the movie, but I highly recommend the book.

It's the story of a successful, free, family man kidnapped and sold into slavery. This book is his autobiography. It is wonderfully written. I could really feel the truthfulness of his words. I think it's a great read for anyone who would like to read a first hand account of what slavery was like.

via Auxiliary Memory

Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne

My mom recommended this book to me, before she had even read it. She saw it on PBS. So I checked it out and I loved it!  This book is primarily about the Comanches and Quanah Parker. It's a very graphic book because this was a very violent time in history.

I think it's important to read things like this (and the two books above) because there are so many things in American history that we aren't taught in the classroom. It's our duty to read and learn so that we don't repeat history. I also believe these people deserve to be read about. They are a great piece of our history and heritage.

via buecher.de

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Rebecca is the story of a new bride trying to fit in at her new home where her husband's dead wife seems to have a hold on everyone. 

I snagged this book for a couple of bucks at the thrift store that I work at. I'd never read it before. I'd only seen Hitchcock's adaptation and I loved it. I thought reading the book would be fun and perfect for Halloween.

I was right. The novel is beautifully written, suspenseful and intriguing. I had forgotten the ending of the movie, so that made it even more fun. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes a good suspense!




Well that's what I've been reading. I just started An Affair to Remember: The Remarkable Love Story of Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy.

Peanut Butter Brownie Popcorn Recipe

 I had planned to take a picture of the popcorn right after is was made... but I forgot and by the time I got to it this was all that was left:

I'm surprised I had that much left after five adults and two children got to it!

This was made because I really wanted chocolate popcorn with my peanut butter popcorn, but I couldn't find a recipe that I had the ingredients for. They all wanted me to have chocolate chips or corn syrup.

Then I remembered that I had a Ghirardelli's Triple Chocolate Brownie Mix. So I decided to dump that on top of the peanut butter popcorn. And it totally worked! The chocolate chips in the brownie mix melted on the warm popcorn and YUM!

Here is the recipe for you:

Peanut Butter Brownie Popcorn

Ingredients:
8 cups popped popcorn (about 8 TBSP kernels)
1 cube butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 brownie mix of your choice


Melt butter, peanut butter and sugar, stir until sugar is dissolved. Pour over popcorn. If you can, use a bowl with a lid so you can close the lid and shake the peanut butter mix all over the popcorn (preferably while listening to Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass).

Once the popcorn is sufficiently coated with the PB mix, dump in your dry brownie mix. Close the lid, turn another Tijuana Brass song on and shake away!

Once it's all coated, dig in!

Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Playlist

We all know I love these guys:

via last.fm

With that in mind I made my sister a playlist because she doesn't know many of my favorite Dirt Band songs. Plus I didn't want to be held responsible when her kids grow up and realize I've been hording all the good music.

You've probably asked yourself several times, "Why doesn't Pam share with us a playlist of her favorite Nitty Gritty Dirt Band songs?" Well, your dreams are about to come true! Here is that very playlist for your listening pleasure. Enjoy!

 

via last.fm

Did I miss any of your favorites?

Dom Deluise in Fatso (1980)

First let's just add Dom Deluise to my list of people I have a crush on that are dead.

via peerie

Dom Deluise is just awesome. He is hilarious, one of the greatest comedians. He is also just an incredible actor. I adore him!

Tonight I watched 1980's Fatso, written and directed by Anne Bancroft. 

via Tales of the Easily Distracted

This movie is the perfect heartwarming blend of comedy, romance, drama and reality. I'd be nearly in tears one moment and laughing the next! And it really showcases Dom's excellent acting skills, his character was so easy to identify with.

I highly recommend this movie. It's absolutely beautiful.

You can watch the whole thing on YouTube, just click here!

Has anyone else seen Fatso? What do you think?

Discovering My Love of Glen Campbell's Voice

Here is the youtube chain of events:

Dom Deluise in Fatso 
which led me to
Dom, Dean Martin and John Forsythe
which led me to
Dom, Dean and Jimmy Stewart
which led me to
Dom, Dean and Bing Crosby
which led me to
Dom, Dean and Glen Campbell
which finally led me to

 By the Time I Get to Phoenix

Anyway, apparently I like Glen Campbell. Who knew? I didn't until watching True Grit (pure awesome) and then listening to him sing By the Time I Get to Phoenix (and you all already know I love that song). I suppose when I see Glen Campbell albums at the thrift store I'll have to start buying them. My life is so hard! 

True Grit

 What do you think? And have you seen True Grit?

And did you watch any of the other videos? Hilarious!

Montana Camping Summer 2013 Reads

I just got back from a 5 day camping trip in Montana. As usual it was magic; no cell service, no electricity, lots of swimming, hiking, games, and great food!

I also got a fair amount of reading done, allow me to tell you all about what I read!

via goodreads

Legends and Lies by Dale L. Walker

This book was so interesting. It covers everything from the death of Meriwether Lewis to Crazy Horse to The Massacre at Mountain Meadows.

Walker doesn't tell you which story or conspiracy theory is the truth, but he gives you all the information so you can decide for yourself.

Very interesting stuff.

via goodreads

The Journey of Crazy Horse by Joseph M. Marshall III

This book was my favorite of all of the books I read this last week. I will have this book in my collection some day!

It is the Lakota oral history of Crazy Horse. As I read it I felt exactly as though I was sitting with Marshall as he related these stories to me.

Aside from being really interesting, this book also gave me a lot of perspective. I always knew that what went on regarding the the native peoples of the America was wrong, but hearing the stories they tell their children and grandchildren made it really hit home. I even found some of it very relevant to things regarding America today.

Read the book!

via Creative Loafing Charlotte

Black Cowboys of the Old West by Tricia Martineau Wagner

This book is full of great old photos and fabulous stories of great cowboys.

These stories are of people who shaped the west. And they really are sensational stories.

If you like cowboy stories this is the book for you!

via amazon

More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Montana Women by Gayle C. Shirley

This book was so fun! These women are just awesome. They are from all kinds of backgrounds and did various things to influence and shape Montana and the nation.

I just love learning about inspiring people.

Apparently they have these books for for other states. I'm going to try and find the Idaho one.




















I also started reading William Clark and the Shaping of the West by Landon Y. Jones. I am only 28 pages in and I already love it. I'm kind of a sucker for Lewis and Clark anything. I can't wait to learn more about William Clark.

Anybody have any other suggestions for books about the west? There is so much history out there, I'll never get to all of it!

Dean Martin: A Reflection FULL VIDEO

So, I spend at least an hour a week just bumming around the internet looking for Dean Martin stuff to purchase or watch. Surprised? I didn't think so. I stumbled across this gem yesterday and just finished it.

It is fantastic! It's an overview of Dean's life, loaded with fun facts and great video clips. They even have clips from an interview with Dean.

Check it out. Maybe you'll start to understand my being in love with a dead man 70 years my senior.

Sorry for the weird screenshot. It's from one of his Matt Helm movies. (hilarious by the way).

Dean Martin is marvelous at everything he does. The narrator guy agrees with me and he sounds really important.

Enjoy!

Dream a Little Dream of Me

Everyone knows the song Dream a Little Dream of Me right? Well if you don't, you ought to. It's a great song that has been covered by many great artists. Naturally I made you all a playlist with some of my favorite versions of the song.

My very favorite versions are The Mamas and The Papas, Dean Martin (you're not shocked are you?), and Doris Day.

And just in case you didn't want to deal with the playlist here are my very favorites, separate from the playlist.

via 991

via swingbossajazz

via solidether

Which one is your favorite? Did I miss version that should be on the favorites playlist?

Idaho Loners: Hermits, Solitaries, and Individualists by Cort Conley

via Good Reads

I've been wanting to read this book for a while. What more could a person want in a book? Loners (I'm kind of one myself) and Idaho! And naturally the mountains play a part.

Overall I enjoyed the book. There are stories of 12 people who chose Idaho to settle in and ended up living alone (either by choice or circumstance). Other than the last two stories being really long winded, the stories are interesting, just like the people in them.

I do feel a little guilty reading the book though, some of the "loners" mentioned in the book were still alive when the book was published. That mean they were given more publicity and probably more people bothering them. That makes me sad. Obviously these people are interesting, but they ought to be left alone. Maybe the book should have only been about those who had passed away or choosen to be in the book. Maybe that's just me thinking to hard about it!

Anyway it was interesting and I would very much like to be an Idaho Loner!

Happy 80th Birthday Carol Burnett!

via Masterworks Broadway

I really can't believe Carol is 80. She never looks 80 when I see her. Mind you, I've been watching reruns of the Carol Burnett Show for several months.

I cannot get enough of this lady. She is brilliant. I swear she can do anything.

PBS's American Masters did an episode called Carol Burnett: A Woman of Character. You can watch it on YouTube. And I think you should go watch it. Most of you probably have no idea how amazing she is.

Here are a couple Carol videos. Both addressing fan mail (unintentional I assure you, I just picked two that I really liked). Shirley MacLaine's birthday was earlier in the week, so I thought the second video was perfect. 

In writing this I realized I only have one post about the Carol Burnett show, I'll remedy that next week.

Carol Burnett just announced that she'll be doing more tours this year and releasing another book. I am delighted about both and hope that she'll bring her tour out this way!

Happy Birthday Ella Fitzgerald!

via TodOpera

It's Ella Fitzgerald's 96th birthday today!

If you don't know who Ella is you should go out of your way to find out. She has one of the most beautiful voices in history.
 

I am so grateful this woman shared her talent with the world!

A Short Bozeman, Montana Adventure

My sister and I took a two day trip to Bozeman, Montana last weekend. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip!

 I love a Lewis and Clark reference! For those unfamiliar: Charbonneau was Sacagawea's husband. Lewis and Clark hired him knowing that he'd bring his wife along. Sacagawea knew they area the were traveling into and was invaluable to to Corps of Discovery on several occasions.

 An awesome old hotel sign in downtown Bozeman.

http://www.mackenzieriverpizza.com/

Delicious pizza and soup! I was so excited to learn they are building on in my area!

More downtown Bozeman!

The public school house in Pony, a sort of ghost town. They have a small population. 

From what I gathered this is the entrance into a wildlife preserve or something. Very cool. 

Nevada City. It's a ghost town that has been restored. You can even stay in the hotel. 

 Nevada City

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mountain-High-Subs/393422000715182?ref=ts&fref=ts#

And the grand finale of the trip! A sandwhich from Mountain High Subs in Lima, Montana! And a chocolate malt. YUM!




I should also note that a ghost town guide book printed in 1971 can be a bit outdated. We found that most of the ghost towns he listed in that area were much more populated than they were in 1971. But the book had a lot of good information. My sisters favorite bit of information from the book was that 190 people were killed in a seven month period in Virginia City. The book is Ghost Towns of the Northwest by Norman D. Weis. There are pictures and maps.