My fabric choices go through phases.

There was the "I love really bright orange and turquoise and pink and yellow" phase.

Then there was the "I only love grays and subtle polka dots" phase.

I'm not really sure what phase I'm in right now (other than loving mustard yellow), but I have piles of fabric just lying there in my craft room because I look at it and think, "What was I thinking when I ordered this?!" I must be really fickle.

Anyway, I decided to bleach some of it in hopes that I might like it a bit more. I combined two parts water with one part bleach and soaked the fabric for about 15 minutes before putting it through a normal wash/dry cycle. And I love the results. It's a subtle change, but instead of an overly bright fabric, it's now something that looks like I might have found it rifling through my grandmother's attic. A little softer. A little more beautiful. 

It may be hard to tell from the photos, but the top photos are the original fabric soaking in bleach, and the bottom right photo features the ruffle in the original fabric on top of the bleached fabric.

I'm confident in my bleaching skills now, and next time, I may let it soak a little longer to bleach out the color even more. I have a whooole pile of fabric just waiting for a change. It has no idea what's coming for it. :)

My favorite crock pot recipe.

This recipe just can't be beat.
It's nutritious, filling, so delicious - and takes about 10 minutes to prepare before simmering all day in the crock pot. There's nothing quite like walking in the door from a long day and smelling this waiting for you. Yum. I like to serve it with quinoa which only takes about 15 minutes to make.

I followed the original recipe almost exactly, except that I like using whole grain dijon mustard instead of the normal dijon mustard. But really either way, it tastes so good.

Find the recipe here.

Ten little Newby things.

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1. I am totally planning on making these gluten-free lime shortbread cookies (above) this weekend. They just look too good.

2. Speaking of gluten-free, a lot of you have emailed me over the past couple of years to say, "Help! I just found out I have a gluten intolerance and have no idea where to start." I'm always happy to write you back and hopefully offer some of my advice that will help along the next rough patch until gluten-free becomes a way of life. Because I've been there. And it's no fun.

But in the future, I will probably just send you to this article by Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef. Not because I don't want to answer your questions. But because this is the best advice of "How to Live Gluten Free" that I've read. It's full of practical advice and hope.

3. It's Friday. Which meant I observed my near-weekly "sit in my car, listen to NPR, and eat Chipotle" lunch date. I can't think of a better way to celebrate.

4. Conversation I heard on campus today...
Dude #1: "Hey y'all, are you coming to the prerelease party tonight?"
Dude #2: "No man, I've gotta record a demo."
Dude #3: "I wish. I've got a showcase on the Row."

Wow. That probably looks like a foreign language if you don't live in Nashville. Only in Music City.

5. I'm learning to love my crock pot and am using it at least a couple times a week lately. Yeah! I'll post one of my favorite new recipes next week.

6. I'm also learning to love my dehydrator (a Christmas present). My favorite is apple-cherry fruit leather. It's dangerous stuff... I could eat the entire tray in one sitting.

6. I'm going to try to convince Shawn to take me to this movie this weekend. I know the reviews aren't great, but it still looks so fun!

7. It always happens that I have my greatest creative ideas when I also have a million things to do on my to-do list. Does this happen to you, too?

8. I have 2 more weeks as a 25-year-old.

9. Seeing that I have an Etsy conversation in my email inbox is both exciting and frightening, all at once. Etsy sellers, do you feel that way?

10. Since I'm running out of things to say, I'll just let you know I'm linking to E Tells Tales (her "10 Little Ivie Things" is such a fun tradition).

Sewing Night #2: A really belated recap.

In anticipation of another sewing night next week, I thought I'd share photos of our last sewing night (because I've been meaning to for months). We had so much fun and, as always, I was so impressed with what these novice seamstresses created.

We had snacks.
We made pillows.
We had a special guest: my Grandma, who came from Ohio. She is the Grand Master of All Things Sewing and we learned from her.
We pricked our fingers with pins more than a few times.
We sewed later than planned because so many tedious rows of ruffles demanded it.
We had fun. And that made it a successful night, in my opinion.

Can't wait for next week's sewing night!
I love this every-other-month tradition we've got going.

I decided to live it.

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This quote struck me.
Especially the part that says, "... I decided to live it."
(It comes from a really intriguing love story, by the way.)

I quit Facebook a few days ago.

Have you ever deactivated Facebook before? It's kind of a hassle. Before you do, it shows you some photos of you with other people and says, "Austin is going to miss you... Sarah is going to miss you... Emily is going to miss you..." and pretty much begs you to stay. Little does Facebook know I haven't talked to those people in years (I changed the names, don't worry). And it made me think: Isn't it the weirdest thing how our culture has so rapidly become an online society? I'm not that old, and I can remember days that I didn't know what email or the internet was, and my life didn't feel lacking one bit. But today, if you're not on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, you name it... and you haven't updated it for a few days... well, you're really out of the loop.

I'm one of the worst offenders. Seriously. I love all these different outlets, and the opportunity to connect with people 24/7. I love that I can read the news on my iPhone before bed, see pictures people have taken all day long on Instagram, and can see pictures of people's weddings, babies, and everything in between whenever I want. But there's this unspoken pressure to keep up with it all. To be "in the know."

And that takes gobs of time.

Time spent staring at my phone or computer with so little to show for it (I mean, I've never really built a relationship on Facebook. Have you?). Time letting my heart become jealous by seeing what other people have and where they vacation and how they redecorated their living room. Time that I don't spend doing so many things I should be doing.

And for all of these reasons, it's enough for me to say "That's it" and pull the plug on Facebook. Because I know that the more I unplug and disconnect from online things, the more whole I feel. Kind of ironic, isn't it? (Especially coming from a girl who writes a blog, right?)

So really, this whole post isn't about Facebook at all. It definitely isn't a plea for you to quit along with me. It's about decisions toward wholeness, toward boundaries, toward having more time to focus on the people God has put in my life - and that can take on so many forms. For me, it's just starting with Facebook. Trust me, I loved Facebook. It's been a tough breakup so far. But what I think I'm going to love is the sheer time I get back, the having-to-actually-pick-up-the-phone-and-call someone to catch up, the face to face interaction.

Who knows - maybe in a different season, I'll be back.
But for now? It feels just right.