Chain 344 - Ep 2 - Minnesota Yarn Shop Hop

Exciting news! Last week's episode finally got posted after about a jillion set backs. Watch it! Because we are doing a giveaway that you will want to be a part of. Amazing magical miracle yarn!! #unicorntears

Real fast: Some One of a Kind Project Bags

If you watched Chain 344's first episode last week you know that I had a crazy weekend this past weekend Minnesota Yarn Shop Hop'ing. It was insane, and sosososo fun. But I'm going to spare you the details until Ch344 Episode 2 goes live, because we'll pretty much break it all down on there for ya.

Today I'm spending the day recovering.

Doing laundry, dishes, and some odds and ends that seem to have gotten forgotten in the anticipation of the Shop Hop. One of those odds and ends: posting these lovely bags on Etsy!

I've been kind of addicted to making these project bags. No two are alike! They all feature weird, wild, funky, thrifted fabrics. Well, not all the fabric is thrifted, but both of these bags have thrifty stuffs making up their parts!

Just going to leave these here for you to oogle over while I dash away to switch the laundry and do my other "real life" stuff. Be prepared for more bags! They're a-coming!

You can purchase one of these at LastinLineShop on Etsy.

Happy Monday, home dogs!!

Chain 344: a New Weekly Podcast

Three days ago, my friend Kait messaged me on Facebook. We chat frequently, so this was not crazy. She mentioned that she had been watching a lot of knitting podcasts lately. She sent me a link to one she had been watching and I was kind of entranced. Watching some stranger talk about their projects for 45 minutes? I loved it. Why had I never watched a knitting podcast before???

"WE COULD MAKE ONE." I messaged Kait, enthralled in the moment.

Being the amazing go-getter she is, Kait was like, "DUDE YES."

So we did! After a bit of trial and error and some technical difficulty, here is the flagship episode of Chain 344, our knitting/crafting podcast.

What's the story with the name? Well. We had two names we decided we loved, and right before we started filming we did the super adult thing and flipped a coin and ended up with Chain 344. We live three hundred forty-four miles apart, so the distance between us is a chain of 344 miles. Of friendship and love. Cute and giggly.

So enjoy! Our first episode of Chain 344. Look for a fun update after our adventure at the Minnesota Yarn Shop Hop this weekend!!

Happy Monday!!

Frog it or Forget it?

We're asking the tough questions today.

A recent adventure in "Failure to Read the Pattern Closely" resulted in me being fifteen rows into Briquette by Two Little Plums and finding myself with a bunch more stitches than required. Not like, "Oh, I did one extra row of increases, oops!" No. This was more, "Oh. I increased eight more stitches than required each row for the last seven right-side rows." A major boo boo. One that there was no doubt that I had to frog and restart.

As I was pulling the work off my needles, I got to thinking about where I draw the line between frogging a mistake and just forgetting about it. (For those who don't know, frogging means ripping your work out. Because frogs go, "rip-it, rip-it." Yes I know. Puns. But still. That's what people call it.) For me, a project has to be pretty much nonredeemable to inspire me to frog. If I have up to four stitches too many/too few, I just adjust my work in the next round. Sometimes I can put up with a larger margin for error, depending on the project. I am not a Frogger, for the most part. I am a Forgetter.

I have two very crafty and meticulous Grandmothers who don't do things half way, an aunt whose sewing skills are magazine worthy, a sister who enjoys making photo-realistic paintings and doilies with sewing thread, and a mom whose recent major crafting achievement was making an evening gown out of 1" strips of silk from ties. Let's not even talk about my friends who craft. Suffice it to say, precision is all around me.

But for some reason, I ended up in the Forgetter camp. I ended up feeling alright with myself for pushing past imperfections in my work and just loving the finished object. I'm not saying it's wrong to want to "have it right." I'm just saying there are primarily two camps in the crafting world: People who Frog, and People who Forget.

When I look back at early work I've done, be it sewing, crocheting, painting, or knitting, the mistakes stare back at me blatantly. Sometimes, I see the mistakes nobody else sees. We are always our own worse critics. But, I kind of like the little errors.

Maybe it makes me weird, but I like to be reminded that I'm constantly learning. When I see the gap in the first lace I knit I think, "There's a mistake I now know how to avoid!" When I see the missed stitches on the first scarf I crochet I think, "Now I know how to make sure I'm at the end of the row!" Sometimes the mistakes irk me, but for the most part I like them.

I always think back to one statement someone made to me about twelve years ago. I took a beading class with my Girl Scout Troop and had messed up in the color pattern on my necklace. It was just a little goof up, and I was ready to rip the whole thing out. The instructor said, "I always leave my mistakes in. Nobody is perfect. If we were perfect, we'd be God."

Maybe I'm using it as an excuse to be a lazy crafter, but I think of that line every time my bias tape bundles up or I miss a ribbed stitch.

Unless of course, I have fifty six extra stitches. In that case, SO LONG YA NASTY MESSED UP SWEATER YOKE!!!


-----

Where do you draw the line between frogging and forgetting?

Classy Cook Aprons: A Happy Ending

Remember the warning about unfolding fabric I gave you guys? Well, this "Ooops" has a happy ending: look at the spiffy new apron made from the fabric I sold!

Bev at Classy Cook Aprons purchased my fabric and made it into this very classy apron. Still not a fan of skulls, but I must say, the apron looks nice. Her work is all very cute! Lots of funky aprons in her shop. Check them out!

Happy Monday!!
-Carolyn

Gluten Free Friday: Things I Stockpile #glutenfreefriday

Welcome back, Gluten Free Friday! I missed you. A lot. This week I'm going to chat a bit about the groceries that I stock up on to make cooking gluten free at home easy. Some of these things might be weird! Some might be predictable. And hardly any of them are specialty products. This isn't a foo foo list of fancy gluten free products: it's more of a survival-of-daily-life-list of naturally gluten free products. Once you can start including as many naturally GF things on your grocery list, you can start saving booku bucks.

Alright. Let's rock.

Rice

I buy my rice by the 25 lb bag at this cute little Asian market. Most grocery stores sell bulk rice, too. Some days I'll just pop a whole bunch of rice in the steamer and snack on it all day. I use it as a side, as a snack, as a main dish, as a boat for carrying other food. Don't want to boil gf pasta and regular pasta for stroganoff? Serve it on rice. It makes it easy to cook one meal for my whole fam. Less pans. Less crying. More eating. If you are going to start investing in that much rice (which, really, it's a lot cheaper in the long run) I'd suggest getting a rice steamer. Mine's awesome and I use it nearly daily.

Corn Tortillas

My cast iron skillet doesn't get put away. It just lives on my stovetop. Not only is it a handy, easy-access weapon against monsters, it's always ready to make me a quesadilla at a moment's notice. Corn tortillas have been another go-to snack for me. I make quesadillas like it's my job. They're a great, GF snack/meal you can make really fast. Here are my fave variations:

 Cheddar, paprika, onion powder, leftover chicken

Mozzerella, tomato paste, pepperoni, oregano

Peanut butter, banana, honey

Which brings me to my next item:

Peanut Butter

 I also am majorly in love with peanut butter. I just bought a mega tub of it last time I was at the store. I eat it by the spoonful when I start feeling wibbly wobbly. I make Peanut Butter Cookies when I want to pretend I'm eating a protein-packed snack. I put it in smooties. I dip apples in it. I put it on rice cakes. It's versatile and yummy.

Canned Beans

A problem some people with Celiac can run into is a lack of fiber. If you relied on bread products to make up most of your daily fiber count, you are going to have to adjust. I sure had to! One way I got more fiber back into my diet was with beans. I never used to like beans as a kid, but now I'm putting them in everything: soups and tacos especially. I try to always have a few cans in the house so I can quick add a bit of fiber into a meal if I see the potential for it. 

Apples

I pretty much always have apples in the house for packed lunches and snacking. I know you can't really stockpile apples unless you have a cold cellar, but I do try to keep them in the house.

Mushrooms

Same as apples, you can't really stockpile produce (unless you get the dried kind, which I don't). But I do buy a box every time I'm at the store. I'm serious. File this in the weird pregnancy category, but I hated mushrooms until after Ernest was born. Now I eat them like crazy. I even made (and scarfed up) stuffed mushrooms on Sunday. Who knew?? Mushrooms are a great source of Vitamin D, another vitamin Celiacs frequently are deficient of. Mushrooms can find a place in almost every meal, so they are a great little supplement.

Tortilla Chips

I love Snyder's of Hanover's GF pretzels, but they are pricey when you end up eating the whole bag in one sitting. Heh. So I try to only buy them once every two weeks, and instead go for tortilla chips. Almost all tortilla chips are gluten free, but my faves are Milagros or Mission. Personal preference, I'm not getting paid or anything. I wish. ANYWAYS. I eat these buggers with hummus like nobody's business. That makes them a healthy snack, right? Hummus is healthy. And they make a good snack that you can share/take to parties and not make everyone feel awkward about eating the stuff you brought because it's "gluten free so only you should eat it." Been there. Done that. Ended up eating a whole plate of cheese dip with my own sad rice crackers because nobody else would touch it. 

Corn Flour

I pretty much always have a big bag of this on hand in case the mood strikes me and I want to make corn bread. When this mood does strike me, it strikes hard and we have about forty pounds of corn bread on our hands. 

Corn Starch

Recipe calls for a sauce to be thickened? Send in the corn starch. If we run out of corn starch, it is guarunteed that I will need it within the next 24 hours. Better to stock up than have runny, sad sauce. Or worse, sauce that is nice because you gave in a thickened it with flour but now that means you have to watch sadly as everyone else enjoys the sauce. Except you. Been there, my friends, I have been there.

That wraps up GFF for this week. What do you stock up on in your house? What items make managing Celiac at home easier for you?

Have a lovely weekend!

-Carolyn

Drawstring Project Bag Pattern

For some odd reason, I got tired of shoving my project into the diaper bag I now carry in place of a purse. And though my amazing Aunt custom made the diaper bag for me, there were only so many pockets she could include. A project quadrant just wasn't going to happen.

So the big question became: Do I tangle the project by shoving it into the diaper bag, or do I take another large bag out with me? I, for some reason, own zero small, manageable bags.

Guess what? I decided to make some.

And this one is the first! I scored the blue floral fabric at an epic thrift store score back in Utah and have been planning on bag-ifying it since I saw it. I trolled and trolled Pinterest for the right bag pattern (and the right cookie recipe and the right homemade cleaning product and the right chalkboard...you know how it is) and came across this pattern from Sew Serendipity. It's a lunch bag pattern that was being offered for free by Sew Mama Sew and I knew it was right.

I did a few minor adjustments (namely to the handle) but for the most part kept the bag as it was. The pattern makes a very very nice, roomy project bag without being hugemonsterous.

I opted for a single sided handle in order to make the bag more clip-to-the-diaper-bag friendly, but you can do whatever you want. I don't care. I'm not the boss of you.

I feel kinda fancy with the wooden beads on the draw ties. I was thinking about NOT putting them on because for some reason I was feeling particularly anti-hardware at the time, but I'm so glad Other-Side-of-My-Brain convinced me otherwise. The look so nice! And professional. And stuff. Unlike those last few sentences.

Yeah, I don't actually use those knitting needles, they are more for show. Big long wooden needles look better in pictures than my tangley circulars I enlist for every project. More rustic.

Straight needles are rustic?

Hush. Agree with me. You know I'm right.

My thoughts on the pattern:
-Go with a med-light Peltex on the outer body of the bag if you are using thick fabric like me.
-The strap is very customizable. I could even see this as having two straps for a weirdy cute little backpack!
-Gathering the drawstring segment made that part a bit unmanageable to sew. In the end, I measured (read: completely guessed on) some pleats to ease the top into the bag.
-It's AMAZING that all the seams are enclosed. Nothing is more lovely in a pattern to me than a project that effortlessly encloses all the seams.
-Also, you don't have to turn the draw strings. Because, why should you be subject to that torture? I just ironed them out like bias tape and sewed them shut with some edge stitching.
-Oh, and I didn't include interfacing on the lining. Because I'm a rebel and believe that if you can leave out interfacing, do.

I'm going to be making quite a few more of these, I think. They are quite quick once you get all the pieces cut out! I've actually already finished one other one!

Happy Tuesday!!
-Carolyn

Unfold the Fabric: A Public Service Announcement from Last in Line

Once upon a time there was a girl named Carolyn and she went shopping. She went shopping in a big city while her husband was busy at a meeting. She felt proud of her ability to drive a large van around the big city and not hit anyone or anything. She was also proud of her ability to write out directions for herself to the places she wanted to shop.

Burning with all this pride, Carolyn set out to +CraftyPlanet to see what she could find. To her joy, she found a cute shop filled to the gills with cute fabric. She decided to buy a lot of it.

She mostly bought fat quarters: some plaid, some raccoons, some polkadots, some flowers. Then a section of bagged yards of fabrics caught her eye. There was some very pretty colors all folded up in those glossy little ziplocs. Maybe she should buy a yard! Make something bigger!

So, carefully, she selected a color pallet that suited her. Then Carolyn wondered, "Should I open the bag and unfold the fabric?" She could only see a small section of the pattern from the way it was folded, but she really liked what she saw. All paisley and filigree. Not wanting to be THAT customer who opens up packages and makes everyone angry, she decided to just buy the stuff.

And that's just what she did.

Fast forward a year (A YEAR??), Carolyn got pregnant, moved out West, had the baby, moved back, and finally settled in to a new, more permanent apartment with her little family. The bagged fabric came out West, but sat untouched. The bagged fabric came back to the Midwest, but sat untouched. Until two weeks ago when at long last, Carolyn decided to take stock of her fabric stash and plan projects for what she had amassed.

With joy, images of cute sleeping shorts and pillow cases danced in her mind as she at last unfolded the fabric to find:

 Skulls.

So many skulls staring back at her with their dead, flowery eyes. Carolyn is not a fan of skulls. Not at all. And her dislike of them is strengthened when she is expecting a lovely floral pattern to pervade the fabric she bought long ago.

Had the selvedge been showing, surely the name of the fabric alone would have put her off. But no. No such luck had she. Let this be a lesson to her and all crafters of her kind:

Always unfold the fabric.

My mistake is your gain, if you are into skull fabric. I listed the yard on my Etsy. You can find the listing here! I am hoping it finds a happy new home where it'll be used for a great project and I won't have to see it every time I open my fabric drawer. Heh.

The Specs:

1 yard "Indigo Skull" in Pool & Aqua by The Alexander Henry Fabric Collection

Happy Tuesday (and St. Paddy's Day!) y'all!!

-Carolyn

Grandpa's Socks

 Let me set the scene for you: It's the first day of autumn in the colorful Midwest. Trees are just faintly showing traces of the splendor to come. The wind is blowing the smell of dry grass and apples around. The cornstalks shimmy against each other in the breeze making that 'dry bones crackle' noise. It's warm still. The kind of sunset-glow-warm that summer gets as it fades to fall. Warm enough still to wear tennis shoes and no jacket. Warm enough to have ankle socks on.

Enter: Grandma's house. Your face is rosy cheeked from the wind, not the cold. You have no sniffle of the nose from the slight chill. You are the picture of comfort and contentment. You pop your shoes off in anticipation of some cold apple cider and a doughnut. Skating carelessly across the linoleum in your ankle socks, you hear a gasp.

"Why...CAROLYN!! You aren't wearing any socks!!!"

Grandpa stares wide-eyed at your "bare" feet as you pivot to face him.

"I've got socks on, Grandpa."

-insert indignant 'hrumph' here-

"They are socks, Grandpa!!"

"You are going to catch a cold."

"Grandpa-"

"It's nearly winter."

(It's August 1st.)

"I'm fine. I swear."

"I'm getting you some socks."

"Grandpa..."

Grandma gives you a knowing, 'let him go' eyeroll and gets you some cider. Grandpa returns with a pair of his plush, deep-woods, electric orange-topped hunting socks.

"THESE are socks. Put them on."

"Okay Grandpa."

"Isn't that better??"

"Yes, much better. Yes. Thank you."

He smiles, shakes his head, and retreats to His Chair to watch the news again.

How many times has that scene, or a variation of played out in my Grandma's kitchen? Countless. My cousins, my sister, my friends, even vague acquaintances have had "real socks" lovingly but forcefully applied to their 'bare' tootsies time after time. My Grandpa is very adamant about the virtue of socks. I do not disagree that socks are lovely, in fact, I probably wear socks more frequently than most of my relatives (sparing Grandpa, Sock Police Chief). But there is just something so touching about Grandpa forcing you into a pair of his socks in the dead of summer. Something that says, "I am incredibly stubborn about how much I care about the warmth of your feet." It's silly. It's sweet. I love it. I just do.

Since learning to knit I knew it was required that I make Grandpa a pair of real wool soldier's socks. Months ago I finally set to it: picking a pattern, researching Civil War era socks, learning magic loop, and, at last, knitting them.

I didn't finish them in time for Christmas, but I'm almost happy that I gave them to him late. They weren't lost in the shuffle of other gifts. We were able to have a special moment. Last weekend I stopped over to his house. I had just grafted the toes that morning. My heart always fills when I get to bring my son over to see his Greats, but that day it was about to burst with anticipation of giving the gift of warm socks.

How many pairs of his was I instructed to take home over the years? How many times was I chided for going bare footed? I contemplated those things with each stitch. Delighting in the simplicity of the pattern and awaiting the joy of handing them over to him. When I finally did, the reaction did not disappoint.

"You MADE these!!!"

"Yes. I did."

"And they are...are they? Real? Wool?"

"Absolutely!"

"Well I-" he stood to pull his slippers off, "I gotta put them on!!"

Later that night he called me to tell me he was still wearing them. "If you've got warm feet, your whole body is warm!!" He said they were the best socks he's ever worn. Allow my to have a moment to recollect myself. 

"You gotta make yourself some!! So your feet are warm. You need some of these. You do!!"

 This is why I knit and crochet. To be able to return a favor done to me over so many years. To show care, compassion, and just...that heart thudding stupid-smile-on-your-face feeling of giving someone something you made and having them feel so blessed by it. When it happens, it's so real. So perfect.

I am so happy that I got these done and didn't wait for next week, next month, next year. It would have been horrible to procrastinate on these socks and have Grandpa never be able to enjoy them. Share handmade love while you still have time: don't regret that unfinished object.

Gluten Free Fridays: National Pizza Week #GFF

This post is part of a series I am doing. Each Friday, I explore gluten free options at various types of establishments. I'll be reviewing local, regional, and national eateries as well as offering some tips on surviving various gluten-y situations. Welcome to Gluten Free Fridays!

Thanks to the internet, I was made aware that this week is officially National Pizza Week here in the US of A. Beautiful, right? Dedicating an entire week to the celebration of one food group. Because pizza IS a food group. Ask my dad. He is a bonafied Pizza Master. He has told me on a number of occasions that if he could only eat one food for the rest of his life, it would be pizza.

It is a family tradition that has gone on for two generations now that Sunday night is Homemade Pizza Night at my parent's house. Heck yes, it needs to be capitalized! It's pretty dang important!! I mean, it's not every Sunday, but it's pretty frequent. We even do homemade pizza for birthday parties with my mom's side of the family. So you can imagine my level of distress when I was diagnosed with Celiac.

"But. Homemade pizza...."

I may have actually said that after getting off the phone with my doctor. I'm sorry I'm not sorry. I love pizza.

If you are newly diagnosed with Celiac or are new to a gluten free life, I'm guessing you know that feeling. That pit of your stomach panic that you will never enjoy pizza in any form again. I tell you, I've been there. And I'm here to tell you, my friend, there is hope.

There are tons of at-home methods for making yourself some yum-o pizza crust that wont make your guts try and kill you. But today (as much as I enjoy homemade pizza) I want to talk about the possibility of being able to dine in or carry out some awesome GF pizza. Shall we explore some regional options?

Most people from the greater Rockford, IL area know about Lino's. It has been a Rockford for over 40 years. They have the most amazing "Special Salad" which is gluten free if you order it sans croutons. They do also have GF pizza crust (for an extra couple bucks) and most of their toppings are GF. I have never gotten and cross-contamination sickness from Lino's, but they do make their pizzas in a shared kitchen. This place is my dad's fave carry out pizza. In case you were wondering.

Here's a fun find from our time out in Salt Lake City: The Pie Pizzeria. This place has several locations throughout the Salt Lake valley and is absolutely amazing as far as their cross contamination prevention practices go. They have a whole separate kitchen for cooking their GF pies in!! Though there were a couple times their homemade crust got a little too crispy for my liking (it's very very thin) I was never disappointed with The Pie. My fave? The "Mini MEat". Bacon, pepperoni, and ham. YUM. You just really can't beat that peace of mind though, knowing all your food is prepped in a self-contained GF kitchen.

 And to round out the "local pizza places from regions of the country in which I have lived", I have to include this Minnesota place: Pizza Luce. I first went the Pizza Luce in Duluth years ago before I was diagnosed. More recently, I've been to a couple of their Twin Cities locations. I love that they not only have GF pizza, but also GF hot wings (another love of mine). Their food has always been quite safe for me too. Never had an episode from Luce.





So, there you have it friends! Three great gluten free pizza locations at which you can celebrate National Pizza week with joy and peace of mind!!


Do you have a fave local pizza place that caters to gluten free needs?
 

Disclaimer: Though I have Celiac disease and may have not had reactions at any of these restaurants, cross contamination practices may not be up to par at every single restaurant you visit. Please proceed with caution and use your best judgement. If you see blatant gluten dangers, don't just trust that because I was okay you will be too.

A Restful Week

We have been having an enjoyable, albeit snowy week here in the midwest. I've been blessed to be able to spend some time with a good friend. Even got to teach her to sew! Yes, that is a chemistry themed apron she is making. Yes, she is making it on a Hello Kitty sewing machine.

Simple pleasures.

One of the cuter moments today: Mr. E fell asleep to the sound of the sewing machine. My gosh, how cute!! It just made my heart melt. I remember doing the same thing when I was a kiddo. Listening to the methodical hum of the machine and drifting to dreamland. So lovely.

I am getting ever-closer to finishing these man-socks. I need to have them done this weekend. They are for my Grandpa and are already an incredibly late Christmas gift. I was so overjoyed when I turned the heels last week. It felt like a mega accomplishment!! Because it kind of was. I guess.

Stay warm friends!! It's cold and snowy all over, it seems!! Stay inside, drink hot cocoa, and craft up a storm.

New Year, New Planner 2015

Last year around this time, I made my first custom planner. After having used through all of 2014, I am ready to review my own work and reveal to you my 2015 planner.

But first I'd like to note that I have edited my 2014 blog post a wee bit.

When I first made some of these pages (as proud as I was of them) I was offering them as free downloads. You lovelies have now had one year (actually, one year and five days if ya wanna be sassy) to capitalize on the freebies. After re-working and adding to the planner, I've decided to offer it as an instant download via Etys for a couple of dollars per PDF. The great news is, they are still super, mega-way, one-billion-percent cheaper than the planners you buy in big stores. Trust me, I was just shopping for them like a week ago. As an added bonus, I'm throwing in free peace of mind with every download: you know you are shopping small and supporting a nerdy girl when you buy the pages! As opposed to shopping big and supporting, ya know, China. Good vibes! Start your New Year by shopping small!!

Let's get on with it. The 2015 Planner!!!

This year I opted for a pretty, girly cover. Not usually my style, I know, but the birdies on this paper glitter. I cannot say no to glitter. Plus, my friend +Pyper Jean gave it to me when we made our planners together.

  I also opted for a clear plastic cover this year. Last year I went white, but since I have the cute paper this year, I had to show it off. I am a little concerned about the clear cover holding up, but we shall see!!

 I used the same Blank Month Pages as I did in 2014. They worked well, so I felt no need to change them. As you can see, I have January all filled in. Look! There's even a birthday recorded at the top. What a good girl I am.

For my weekly schedule, I opted to keep using Joy Kanani's freebie pages. I did make my own Week At A Glance page as well. The Week at A Glance page shows the week spread across two pages and has room to plan 6am-6pm for each day. Personally, I didn't need that in-depth of a schedule for my week. But now, as I'm typing this up, I'm kind of wishing I had put it in my own planner. Ah well, next year.

You may notice, I didn't use tabs for the months this year. They ended up getting caught in stuff a lot, so I just left them off for 2015. I've been doing just fine with my binder clips. I did add in cardstock dividers between each planner section. In electric green, naturally.

I was re-reading my 2014 blog post about my first planner last night and found something quite funny. One of the things I ended up HATING the most about the planner was the thing I was looking forward to using the most back then. Oh poor naive child! I was giddy about having my shopping list and meal plan "right on the same page"!! How great, right? Nope. I do love having my meal plan and shopping list near each other, but the shopping list from last year's planner was not cutting it. Not at all.

You see, I'm OCD about my shopping lists, and for some reason I thought that little neat column on last year's meal planning page would be fine. But do you know what I did? Every. Dang. Time. I'd write out my meal plan. Fine, good, yes. Then I'd make my shopping list. Randomly, of course, as I was thinking of things or remembering we were out of something or being advised by my husband or changing the meal plan entirely. So my shopping list would be a mess and I was then faced with two choices: try and read through the chicken scratch or re-write the list (in grocery departmental order) on a new paper.

I usually opted for the latter, leaving my planner a mess and practically pointless. So this year I did some major editing.

There is my sweet precious: an organized shopping list that I don't have to rewrite. I just sort my list as I go, random as it may be. It's beautiful. And brilliant. And I already adore it.

The meal plan section is largely unchanged. Just a lil bit bigger. Like my plan for New Years Eve dinner? "Something Fancy." So clever. We ended up having a delicious roast beef, so I guess that worked out.

Another section I majorly revamped is my social media/blogging section. I was wayyyy too cramped in my old one by the end of the year. So BAM. A much more roomy week-by-week social media plan page. I left it pretty vague because as my media plans change through the year, I don't want to end up committing to a planning page that might not grow with me.

Another page I pretty much left alone: my Project Notes Page. I really adore this section of my planner. It served me so well last year. I love having the crafty record right there with me where ever I go! I also made a set of pages for Pyper's planner that I didn't include in my own: Gratitude Journaling Pages. I have my own separate journal for that, but I love the idea of being able to have a positive space within your planner to remember what is important. Planning can get hectic and overwhelming, so that little positive reminder to focus on the blessings is great.

And that's all! Da back cover. Yes, I managed to already get a crease in my back cover. Opps. It'll be fine though. I have faith in it. If not.....I'll cry maybe. That's logically the best reaction. Because I have so many feelings about this planner.

And yes, that is a stitch marker tagging along there. Never know when you'll need one!! Hehe.

Happy planning, friends!!