PURE HOME- FASHION: COZY ROSY DRESS

  There is a timeless attraction to floral printed dresses. A sight more rarely seen these modern days.

  One of my ultimate visions of the perfect summer day is a fancy, but relaxed, tea party in a  beautiful British garden. Ladies of all ages sipping from their tiny cups (some may have added in something stronger than tea...) and indulging in cakes and bisquits. Babbling along cheerfully, giggling, and playing card or chess, while checking out the men in their own flock. The sun is shining, but it is comfortably cool in the shade of big trees and roses.

  That is where I got my inspiration to make my cozy rosy dress for homewear. An outfit to be worn at home in the summer, for as long as the garden (or the weeds in it =) are in bloom.

This is probably the most feminine garment I have ever owned! But in the safety of my home I feel comfortable  stretching my limits...

This is definitely a non-makeup look. I never wear makeup when at home the whole day.

The material is light, soft, and fluid viscose. Comfortable enough even for a nightgown.

It fits well. The side profile always tells the truth about fitting. This pattern is super nice because it has a seam right down the center front and -back, which allows an easy adjustment to custom-fit me.

This is such a classic look, that I had to be careful keeping it suitable to our time. Had I added ruffles and lace, it would have ended up costume-like.

It is so cozy, that it feels almost criminal to wear this at daytime! Normally sleepwear is supposed to be like this - like you don´t have anything on at all.

There is a sewn-in petticoat in this dress also. Made from fabric I found cheap some time ago, and bought a bunch. I always go for sewn-in petticoats instead of a separate, they stay so much better in place.

  This dress belongs to my Pure Home- collection because it is at home in a garden. Not in a mall, office, or bank. Wearing it there would feel weird, and I misplaced. But now I´m so happy skipping around my home and garden, Nelland, with this beauty on!

EATING PLAN FOR LITHA

  Time to start welcoming Litha! What a better way to tune in than with food? 

  At summer it is easier to eat light. I´m taking advantage of that by ripping my diet off of excess fat. As Dr.John McDougall puts it "The fat you eat is the fat you wear". He just makes sense. And I feel more energetic eating less fat.

Caught having second servings!

Breakfast:
1/2 liter green tea + soymilk
whole grain bread with yogurt-weed-spread (grab a cupful of edible weeds from the garden, mince them and add enough plain soy yogurt to form a spread. Season with an herb, salt and pepper, and chili.) and sliced veggies on top

Lunch:
1/2 liter water
1. Kissel/flavoured water and cardamom bun/bread
2. Potatoe salad (including new small potatoes, finely chopped pickles, mustard, plain yogurt, lemon juice, salt & pepper, and chives) with cold-smoked tofu
3. Summer soup (new potatoes, chopped carrots and cauliflower, peas and corn, a veggie bouillon and soymilk included in the broth, topped with fresh parsley) with rice cakes
4. Green salad with dill dressing (plain soy yogurt, dill, garlic, salt & pepper, and lemon juice) and whole grain bread
5.  Non-grilled veggies (marinate your favorite chopped veggies, like mushrooms, broccoli, and summer squash in a store-bought marinade overnight) with corn and vegan weenies
6. Fresh cabbage soup (fresh new cabbage, onion, garlic, carrots, veggie bouillon, salt & pepper, bay leaf, and fresh parsley) with whole grain bread
7. Italian salad (cooked macaroni, finely chopped bell pepper, peas, corn kernels, tomatoe puré, plain soy yogurt, salt & pepper, pickles, topped with chives. This is good both warm and cold.)

Italian salad for lunch.

Afternoon:
1/2 liter green tea + soymilk
oat porridge + soymilk + salt + jam

Evening:
1/2 liter hot cocoa (2dl soymilk, 3 Tbsp prepared cocoa powder, 3dl hot water)
rice cakes
(if more hungry, include a big fresh vegetable salad with your favorite dressing in moderation)

When testing this plan, I accidentally lost weight. So what this does is gives me more room to eat desserts like chocolate pudding and candy. Sweet!

POLKA DOT PRESENTS

  Happy birthday to the greatest Mom in the world - mine!

 She wished I get her a t-shirt for present. A t-shirt that I thought would suit her and her style. She is in her fifties, but her weakness is everything girly and fairytale-like cuteness. Often I wish she would tone down and streamline her style a bit, to bring it to the 21st century. =) But that´s just my opinion, and more than anything I´m so happy that she does have a style overall (not a quality that can be taken for granted...).

  My mom also sews occasionally for herself. Her most recent creation is a navy blue skirt with two white stripes running across the hemline. I decided to make a t-shirt to suit her new skirt. Like this:

Polka dots and puff sleeves are perfect for her! Like me, my Mother is also a pear-shape, and I know this model fits her body well.

My daughter is lucky, she got yet another "leftover dress"! When I gave my Mom the present, my daughter was already wearing her dress. What a surprise it was to my Mom to find that they could now wear matching outfits. She became a little emotional even. I love her!

This dress is an awesome wear at our summer cabin.

Contrast stitching brightens the garments up and makes them look more finished up.

I had just enough of this zig zag string in my stash to make it run all the way around the hem.

The puffed sleeves add volume to the shoulders balancing out the lower half. A huge feminine bottom runs in our family on my Mom´s side like a curse. We do our best to cope with it...

  In the present I gave to my Mom, was also a sepia-colored photograph of her and my kids hugging each other. They all had perfectly happy smiles on their faces and pure love just oozed from them. (Great, now I´m getting emotional... I´ve become such a cry baby after having my kids!   =)

FREEDOM FASHION: DELICATE T-SHIRT

  Freedom Collection needed a second outfit for hot weather. I can´t go running errands two days in a row wearing the same outfit, can I?  =)
  Shorts and a basic t-shirt is the solution. Very American to me.

The t-shirt is made of cotton jersey with tiny little "delicate" figures printed on it. The pattern I used to make the shirt is my favorite kind: kimono-sleeved. It consists only of two pieces, front and back. No need to insert separate sleeves. Quick and easy The shorts I have not made myself. I only cut off the legs from the old, carrot-shaped jeans. I was already throwing them away, because I had not worn them in a long time, when I realized that they actually sit well on me at the top. It was worth the try to turn them into shorts. Glad I did!

At summer I feel the most carefree I ever do during the course of the year. It is warm and light, the nature is alive and bursting with energy. People come out from their homes and get into their gardens, stroll in parks eating ice cream, having pick-nicks, wear colorful clothing, and seem happier than ever. I´m so enjoying this time of year!

The pattern in a close-up. Funny thing is, this fabric actually reminds me of my aunt in the late 80´s. It has always been the same thing with this type of fabric pattern, small floral. I don´t even remember if it was something she wore back then, or if it was the curtains or pillow covers in her place. Hmm... Poor her, she is forever defined as the "petite flower print"- lady to me. And she has well moved on from those days, and is looking as good and young as ever!

  At first I hesitated to take this color, light beige, into my Freedom Collection. But then I decided it can be one of the basic colors among the rest: blue denim, black, white, and grey. Beige goes well on sunny days, where grey is better for cloudy/rainy weather.  And I look as good as I can, bare-faced, in light beige.

  The length of the shorts really push my limits. But then again, boundaries are made to be pushed, or even broken! And often we are the ones setting them for ourselves...

NELLAND GOES PAGAN PAGES

  Some weeks ago I was asked to start writing a monthly column for PaganPages.Org, an e-magazine for pagans. I was, and still am, totally excited!

  And now it is exciting to tell you that my first article is out! You can read the very first issue of Nelland Living, the introduction, here.

Happy days!

FREEDOM FASHION: MINI-DRESS (THE RAGSHION WAY)

  My Freedom-collection needed a summer dress for hot weather.
  Here is what I made, turning rags to fashion (ragshion) by using my husband´s old jeans:

Top and lower half are from two different pairs of jeans. I cut the inner leg seams of the jeans open, folded the fabric in half and placed my patterns over it. Easy. The original seams are not aligned and not centered here, to highlight the repurposed look.

A pocket is always useful. This is the original from the jeans. It is handy to throw in the car keys and shopping list.

The back is plain, with only a center seam running down it. This dress is so short, that my modern pantaloons are a definite must! Also, to add comfort, I placed a sewn-in petticoat. It shows from underneath to add length too. This was as long a hemline as I could make using just 1 1/2 pairs of jeans (which was all I had). And that´s actually pretty cool. Otherwise I would not have made a dress this short (shame on me and my conservativeness  =)!

  Now, when looking at the dress, it seems unbelievable that it was actually men´s jeans only a couple of days ago. I´m so glad I tried this project out!

HOT DAY´S COOL LUNCH

  This is the first year I have rhubarb in my garden, and I´m taking full advantage of it!

  Today was another hot day, and I literally had no appetite. But a girl has got to eat, so I made this for an easy-to-eat lunch:

Rhubarb kissel and summer squash scones. (As you can see, there is not much rhubarb left in the ground =)

Rhubarb is excellent for kissel. It dilutes in the juice and becomes mild, but still keeping it´s signiture tanginess.

Can I praise these scones more than I already have in this blog? My forever favorite bread. 100% healthy and tasty and quick and easy, and turns into so many different tastes and uses. This time accompanied by summer squash. No butter or spread needed, these babies are soft and slightly salty, and ready-to-eat from the oven.

The recipe for rhubarb kissel:

1/2 liter rhubarb, peeled and chopped
1 dl water
1 liter juice, your favorite kind (I used rhubarb & strawberry, low-calorie version)
5 Tbsp potato starch

+ Bring the rhubab and 1 dl water into a boil in a kettle. Let simmer for about 5-10 min, until the rhubarb has softened and is breaking into pieces.
  Add in the juice, but saving a little to mix the potato starch in for later, and bring to a boil again. As soon as the rhubarb mixture boils, pour in the potato starch and juice mixture slowly, stirring well while you pour. Mix and wait until the kyssel has bubbled a few times, then remove from heat and let cool. (You can sprinkle some sugar on top to prevent from crusting, but I never do. I try to omit "useless" sugar, and save it for a real need.)

The recipe for summer squash scones:

4 dl gluten-free flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 dl water (or as needed to make an easy-to-spread dough)
1 summer squash, shredded finely

+ Mix the dry, then add the wet ingredients. Place on a baking sheet layered oven tray, forming 9 flat scones. Bake at 225 Celsius for 15-20 min.
  Quick and easy, just the way I like it!


  If you are hoping to lose weight or keep from gaining any, I can recommend this. The foods contain relatively few calories to their quantity/size, so they will fill you up, but not make you fat.