Design / Lifestyle / Less is More
I believe that the ‘less is more’ principle that I apply to my design sensibility is also relevant to lifestyle choices, so I’m trying my best to apply it accordingly. I really admire people who fully commit and make it a life choice, like the family at Zero Waste Home, but there are smaller steps to take that we can feel good about and not have to sacrifice too much of our lifestyle/time. I’ve compiled some of the few simple ones that I’ve adapted and use regularly in our home.
Make your own stuff
I’ve posted before about making my own cleaning supplies, and I can proudly say 9 months later that I’m still adding to my natural cleaning arsenal to this day. I started with just laundry detergent, and now make all my own hand soaps and cleaning sprays. I also invested in a drying rack (Inspired by this post by Ashley of Small Measure, a great resource), and now rarely use my dryer (except for towels I want to be warm and fluffy).
More cloth, less paper
In the kitchen I’ve slowly replaced paper with cloth. I bought a bunch of drying towels and use chopped up old clothes/fabric as rags for cleaning. Replacing paper napkins with cloth ones makes every meal feel special, they are easy to make, and you can always find cute affordable ones on etsy.
A tote for every occasion
For groceries I have a collection of tote bags I take to the store, and recently purchased some produce bags from Baggu, which have eliminated the need for those pesky plastic produce bags. Baggu also has a foldable reusable bag that is amazing, I carry one in my purse at all times and it always comes in handy for unplanned purchases.
Buy used before new
We spend a lot of time in thrift stores trying to find cute things for the house (proof here). I recently found a 12 in cast iron skillet at Goodwill for $7! Great stuff can also be found at yard sales and Craigslist. Not everything is appropriate to buy used, but next time you need something, consider finding a pre-loved object you can give new life to before buying a new one.
Rechargeable is the way to go, but dispose properly
As avid video game players, we go through a lot of batteries, so we recently switched to rechargeable batteries, and let me tell you- they’re a game changer (sorry). A new set of batteries is always ready to go, so no need to wait to play ‘cause you have to go to the store. More fun, less errands.
Trying to find a place to recycle or properly dispose of toxic stuff, like said rechargeable batteries, CFL light bulbs and electronics, can be a bit of a challenge. I did a bit of digging and it turns out there are some convenient (US-based) recycling options:
CFL light bulbs: Ikea / Home Depot / Lowes
CDs/DVDs, Gift Cards
: Best Buy
Inkjet cartridges: Best Buy / Staples / Office Depot / Goodwill
Rechargeable Batteries
: Best Buy / Staples / Lowes
Electronics and Accessories: (towers, monitors, printers, cables, mice etc.)
For electronics there is usually a small fee at the chain stores, but Goodwill has a great program that will take almost anything for free- you can also look into local charities that might recycle electronics and give find them a new home, similar to Free Geek here in Portland.
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There might be future additions to this post as I try new things and apply them, it’s all trial and error, not everything works for everyone, but small changes can make a big difference, so it’s always worth a try.
Additional Resources:
Cloth Napkins: Skinny Laminx / Linea Carta / Soraam
Natural Cleaning : The Naturally Clean Home, by Karyn Siegel-Maier
Reusable Bags: Baggu / Ecobags
More chatter / New Twitter
I started a twitter account that I share with Zoe- we will be discussing among other things- snacks, better ways to nap, walks, as well as a little design and other miscellaneous thrown in.
check us out @zoeandelsa
Project / Chalkboard Piggy Bank
This weekend I spent some time on a fun little project I had been wanting to get to for a while. I’ve seen many chalkboard piggy banks online and always wanted one of my own, but never really found the right piggy shape- so I decided to take a shot at it myself.
It took a good deal of digging online to find the right piggy bank. Most of the shapes were too rounded or cartoon-y, and some looked way to close to an actual pig. I finally found this shape and loved it, it’s a made from a mid century mold and based on Mexican piggy bank designs.
We had some leftover chalkboard paint from a chalkboard wall Tyler painted for us a few months ago, so I was ready to go. It only took one coat, since the chalkboard paint is very thick, and after drying overnight it was good to go.
Now we’re ready to start funding our Costa Rica trip- one penny at a time!
Materials:
Bisque piggy bank (I recommend ebay or etsy to find the shape you like best- I got mine from Lisa, she was kind enough to sell me an unpainted version)
Chalkboard paint (available at your local hardware store)
Small brush / warm soapy water
Friday Fun / FUD Meme Wallpapers
After a few very busy weeks I’m happy to share a little fun project this friday.
I made some wallpapers featuring my favorite meme, FUD. I can’t figure out what makes misspelling food so funny, but it just is. So here they are, with a couple iphone wallpapers to boot.
Happy friday!
1280 X 800 // 1440 X 900 // 1680 X 1050 // 1920 X 1200 // iPhone A /P // iPad
Stitchings / C3PO & R2D2
Two of my favorite Star Wars characters turned out to be my favorite stitching in the series so far. I found some gold thread and knew it had to be used for this, and I’m pretty stoked with the results.
See the others in the series here.
Wedding / Announcement Print
We posted some photos and a bit of background on our wedding print on our company blog:
For our recent wedding we were lucky enough to have the chance to commission our great friend Andy Kurtts to illustrate and print our wedding announcement.
We’ve been friends with Andy (and his wonderful soon-to-be wife Nicole) since college, and we’ve always been big fans of his woodcuts. Mr. Kurtts is a real craftsman, and it shows
in his work.
While planning the wedding a tree theme started to emerge, so we knew we wanted something that mapped back to where we had the ceremony, The Hoyt Arboretum. After Andy sketched up a few pine cone options, we fell for the coastal redwood and never looked back.
In addition to the print, we made a pair of stamps for the backing board that gave some info about the day- one in English and one in Spanish, which were stamped on each announcement accordingly.
We couldn’t be happier and more impressed with the results, our prints are a beautiful reminder of such a special day.
Andy has some process photos on his blog- where he posts projects including his series on Native Southern Flora, we definitely recommend keeping an eye on his updates./AWH
Stitchings / Star Wars Series
I’m a sucker for anything Star Wars related, so when I had an idea for a Darth Vader stitch and finished it, I just couldn’t leave it well alone- I just had to keep going. This is where the series is at the moment, I have R2-D2 and Yoda in the works, looking forward to get them going…
Flannel & Polka Dots: Tyler & Elsa Get Married!
This October 16th I was lucky enough to get married to my wonderful boyfriend Tyler in a small and beautiful ceremony with our family. We had always wanted a small celebration, so very early in our planning we decided to make it very intimate, with only our parents and siblings. Since it was a small event we did our best to keep everything simple and true to our personalities, celebrating a location (Portland, OR) and season (fall) that we both love so much.
The sometimes drizzly northwest weather was on hold for us and the sun was out all day, with bit of chill that made it feel like fall but wasn’t too cold (even for our Florida-based family). The ceremony was at the Hoyt Arboretum, which has the distinction of being a 10 minute drive from downtown Portland, but still gives the impression of hiking in the middle of a national forest.
The ceremony was short and sweet, and after we were treated to a beautiful song that my brother Bruno wrote for us.
Since we had such a small group, everyone was able to contribute in some way to the celebration- everything was homemade or locally sourced. The reception was in our backyard, where we prepared and cooked everything together.
As the sun set we toasted and ate under the bamboo stalks. The table, the food, the setting, the company- everything was beautiful and perfect, more than I could have hoped for but exactly how I envisioned it, and what more can a girl ask for?
View the full set of photos here.
A big thank you to everyone who helped make this happen- but mostly to our family for coming all the way out here
and making our day so special.
xoxo
Credits:
Photography by Kim & Chris of K. Miller Photography
Flowers from Lucky Farms, arranged by my mother Flor
Pumpkins and Gourds from The Pumpkin Patch in Sauvie Island, OR
Pie topper from Sian Keegan
Table runner and pennant decorations by my BFF Ayelen Carrasco
Flower garland decorations by Bonnie and Sarah (Tyler’s mom and sister),
from a tutorial at Once Wed
Pie and cupcakes by Bonnie and Sara respectively
Music by my brother Bruno and Tyler’s dad Chuck
Our adorable flower girl is our niece, Evie
The backyard was shared and lovingly landscaped by our landlords/neighbors,
Ron and Suzi
Elsa
Hair and makeup by my sister Gabriela
Dress from Anthropologie
Cardigan from J. Crew
Shoes from Seychelles
Veil by Tessa Kim
Tyler
Shirt from Epaulet
Boots from Eastland
Belt from Tanner Goods
Tie from John Helmer
Recipe / Tacos de Carnitas
Do you love carnitas tacos? do you?
Then you should make this carnitas recipe from Serious Eats. They figured out the best way to make them (you can check their work here) and produced a simple but flawless recipe.
We made it this weekend and were very excited with the results. The only suggestion I would add would be to substitute their salsa verde with my mom’s own salsa (recipe here) which can be made after you put the pork to roast in the oven- it will be perfectly cooled in the fridge and ready to go by the time the carnitas are done.
Go forth and make delicious tacos.
Recipe / Summer Jugo
It’s summer, it’s hot, fruits are in season- no better time than now to make some fresh juice!
Growing up my Abuela would make fresh jugo (juice) everyday at lunch from whatever was in season at Abuelo’s farm, be it mangos, papayas, or my favorite- passion fruit. As an adult I discovered aguas frescas- a mexican version of juice that’s less concentrated and low in sugar-which was perfect for me since I would always have to cut store-bought juice with water because of how sweet it was.
This season I’ve been playing with my own mashup of Abuela’s jugo and Mexican aguas. It’s actually surprisingly simple to make your own juice (no fancy juicer needed!), and to customize it exactly the way you like it.
