The long-awaited Pirate Pants (Image-Heavy Post)

Dear lovely readers, I know I promised these pants back in... March?! Oh boy. My apologies. Well... Here they are! A tutorial to make your own pirate pants (or pajama pants!)

WARNING: Being the silly billy that I am, I didn't think about the fact that elastic waist pants are, in non-worn position, smaller than my waist. The result of this is that these pirate pants now belong to my much smaller sister! =/  So, if you want these to actually FIT you, then do the first step with a pair of non-stretchy pants like slacks or non-stretch jeans, rather than pajama pants, which is what I did.

Step one: Acquire pirate-y striped fabric. I found a striped curtain for $3 at the salvation army near my school. (That being said... who owns curtains like this?!)

Another beautiful shot of my dorm room floor... the only space big enough to lay out the fabric.

Step Two: Fold the fabric so that the "right side" (bolder side) is facing down on the floor. Take long ends and fold them to the middle of the fabric. This is so you can make the two parts of the pants.

Step Three: Lay your outline pants (Remember to use non-stretchy pants at this point that fit you very well!!!) on top of one side of the fabric, like so:

To make things easier, use the bottom hem (or selvage edge, if you bought some fabric from a fabric store) for the bottom of your pants... One less thing to sew!

Step Four: Trace an outline of the pants (remember, make sure they're business slacks or non-stretch jeans), and then add 3 inches to the height of the pants (both for higher-waisted pants and for hemming), and an extra inch to the curved part as a seam allowance.

I suggested using a colored chalk, rather than pencil, which is what I used.

Step Five: Cut out fabric along your trace lines.

This will be the front part of your pants.

Step Six: Flip your pants the other way, and repeat steps 1-5 on the other side of the fabric, so you end up with two halves of pants. (Hi Stitch!)

Step Seven: Unfold the two halves, and lay them out like so, right sides facing each other.

Step Eight: Sew the crotch parts together first on both sides , and then sew down the legs.

Step Nine: Dress as a pirate, and wear pants proudly

My sister, modelling the pirate pants. Yes, they're a tad loose on her, but she likes them the way the are, so I won't make the legs narrower. 

And there you have it! The long-awaited pirate pants!

An Update on the Fitness Thing!

I am exercising six days a week (today is actually my off day... mostly because I have to work on Saturdays during the summer, and could really use the extra energy there, rather than on a workout), and cutting out processed sugars from my diet still. Even though it's only been a week, I already feel a lot better about myself, and have higher energy levels (except for today, although that actually might be because of the lack of exercise today!) 

Drinking: Irish Breakfast Tea. I don't drink coffee any more (sugar is a no-no!), and I really need the caffeine boost today. Irish Breakfast Tea is the strongest non-coffee caffeinated beverage in my house, so I made a cup of that and sweetened it with honey! 

Listening to: The dog snoring. And the beautiful sounds of mother nature. But in terms of music, for the past few weeks I was in a classical mood. However, I'm once again in a rock-and-roll mood. AC/DC, Van Halen, Ozzy Osborne, Guns 'n' Roses, and Deff Leppard are my go-tos at the moment. 

Reading: Dune. When I finish it, I'll write a review! I finished Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen, and The Finishing School Series, by the wonderful Gail Carriger, and will try to write reviews for those over the next few days. (I'm working for almost a week without a day off, though, so I'm not sure when they will be up.)

I want YOU

to help keep me accountable, dear readers.

Yes, this is a rather silly picture of me, but I thought the pose was fitting.

A few days ago, I decided to make some changes in my life. I'm going to eat healthier, and exercise.

I can hear you say, "yeah, yeah, Nicolette. Everyone says that. What makes you any different?"

Because I'm counting on you, dear readers, to keep me accountable. I'm holding myself accountable to myself, by keeping track of my workouts and to eat healthier, but I'm also asking you to hold me accountable. If I don't post once a week giving an update on exercise, or how I'm eating healthier ask me! I might have just forgotten to post, or I need to own up and confess that I've been slacking. Either way, your help is necessary. Please help me become a more active, healthier person!

Also, this website, right here, is what motivated me to get off my butt and start doing something! If you're like me, a huge nerd, and not too keen on exercise, NerdFitness is possibly the best place on the planet that can motivate you. Seriously. Steve Kamb, the founder of Nerd Fitness, is also a huge nerd, and has written hundred upon hundreds of useful articles on getting healthy, whether it's by sharing stories of fellow nerds who "leveled up" and became rockstars of awesome, or by teaching about the Paleo diet, or by creating workouts after our nerdy loves, like the Legend of Zelda Workout. Seriously, if you want to change how you live your life... go to this site. Maybe you're happy with your health and fitness levels. Or maybe, like me, and like 200,000+ other nerds, you're ready to take control of your life and want to level up.

That being said... here's what I've done in the past three days:
- I've walked my dog every day
- On Monday and Tuesday I went for brisk walks in the woods, to get my heart pumping and to slowly build up to running
- Today, after walking my dog, I did five minutes of body-weight squats, jump rope, and high-knees. I'm about to go and do two sets of 30-rep crunches.

I'm cutting out junkfood of my diet this week. Good-bye candy, ice cream, chips/crisps (depending on your location in the world), cake, and other delicious but unhealthy foods (except for special occasions). I did eat an oatmeal and cranberry cookie today... but that's it.

Remember, I can't do this alone, lovely readers! Keep me accountable!

Back, alive, and with a project!

My dear lovely readers, I am so sorry for my extended absence. I fully intended to post far sooner than this. Unfortunately, school took precedence. However, I am now graduated, with every intent on going to law school this August. At that point, posts will most likely drop down again to an infrequent level. My sincere apologies in advance.

For now... I have a project! I decided to make a driftwood incense holder, inspired by the Free People Blog. See the original here.

I happened to have a piece of driftwood lying around my room, and decided to put it to good use!

Step one: 
Assemble necessary items.
- Driftwood
- Pencil (to trace lines on wood in pattern of your choosing)
- Paint (I chose a summery gold and turquoise)
- Paintbrush

At this point, I feel it necessary to add this warning: DO NOT PUT SPRAY PAINT IN A STYROFOAM CONTAINER. EVER. Just trust me on this one.

Step two:
Trace outline of pattern on wood with a pencil.

Step three:
Paint on outline

Step four:
Insert hole on opposite end of painted side of wood. No picture for this. You can do this either by drilling a hole at an angle, or by hammering a thin nail in at a 45 degree angle, and then removing said nail.

Step five:
Enjoy your new incense holder.

That's all I've got for now lovelies! Enjoy!