Month: February 2015

EOM Fitness for February 2015

February 28, 2015 kimberlee

This past month my fitness routine was a combination of P90X3 and yoga. I had completed the entire schedule of P90X3 last year and the whole thing takes about three months of working out six days a week. I did not want to do the entire thing so I started out my first two weeks of February doing just P90X3 and making up my own schedule with the workouts. Well, by the third week of February I decided to do P90X3 along with a yoga book I own, Slim Calm Sexy Yoga by Tara Stiles. So, I alternated P90X3 then the yoga book every other day for the last two weeks of this month.

The above photos are of the Total Synergistics workout from P90X3. I really like this workout and did it a couple of times this month.

Here is the cat – my faithful workout buddy sitting by the weights waiting to workout. He too seemed to like the Total Synergistics workout.

There are yoga and pilates workouts in the P90X3 series and I did some of those along with the cardio and weight training workouts. I decided to use my yoga book though because I was getting tired of doing a dvd workout every day. There are lots of great routines in the Slim Calm Sexy yoga book by Tara Stiles, too. I had not used it in a while and I am glad I decided to incorporate some of those yoga routines into my schedule for February. Check your library for the book – that is where I first learned about it a few years ago and I liked it so well that I bought it at Barnes and Noble.

I didn’t watch any health documentaries this past month like I did back in January but I did read an interesting book on health called Super Immunity by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. He is a doctor and I first learned about him and his books by watching the health documentaries last month on Netfilx. This book is filled with lots of great information for taking charge of your health and learning to eat better to feel and look better and not following some crazy fad diet that is the latest rage. His concept is focused on more of a plant based diet. The acronym for his eating plan is G-BOMBS which stands for greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries and seeds. These are the foods that you should be focused on consuming daily. I really learned a lot from this book and there are some interesting recipes at the end of the book that I will be trying out.

I also have another book checked out from the library by Dr. Fuhrman called Eat To Live. I will be reading that next.

For March I think I will go back to my Cathe Friedrich workouts. She has some of the best workouts on dvd in my opinion and I always look forward to using them. I have not decided yet which series or sets I will use but I will probably mix in yoga every other day since yoga makes my body happy and I love doing yoga at least a few times a week. I have also found that doing yoga the day after a hard cardio or weight workout really helps my body and my mental focus.

I hope everyone had a great month and you were able to find some time for fitness. Remember even 15 minutes a day of doing something is better than nothing at all.

-Kimberlee

Categories: Exercise Health

Tags: books on health, exercise, exercise routine, fitness, working out, workouts, yoga

Recovering Dining Room Chairs

February 21, 2015 kimberlee 1 Comment

We recently bought a new-used dining room table and china cabinet from a really great consignment store in Plano, Texas – B & B Furniture Consignment. The table and china cabinet were in good shape for their age but the chairs were another story. The wood on the chairs was fine but the seat covers not so good. They were pretty dirty and worn on the edges. The price on the whole set was less than $1200.00 so we decided to get it and I decided to learn to upholster chairs!

Below is a photo of one of the chairs before I recovered it and after I cleaned them twice. They were worse and I forgot to take a before photo of that.

The first thing I did was clean all six chairs twice – once by hand and second time with my Bissell using the furniture attachment and some Young Living Purification oil, blue dawn and vinegar in the machine. They were so bad I didn’t want them in the house without cleaning them – plus I knew I would have to work with them when I went to recover them.

The next thing I did was research pinerest to see how to recover dining room chairs. I found lots of great info on various blogs and websites and decided I could do this.

The next thing I did, the day after buying the set, was go to the fabric store and get some home dec fabric. I had to remove one of the seat covers and take it with me to find something to coordinate since two of the chairs have a fabric back and I did not want to try to tackle recovering that part – it looks kind of difficult.

Removing the old seat was really easy – you just find the four screws on the bottom that hold the seat on and remove them.

After finding the fabric I used the seat cover I had removed to make a template-pattern. I then measured the side gussets and calculated how to cut those. For my template I added 1/2 inch seam allowance and then cut the gusset strips 4 1/2 inches wide by the width of the fabric which was 54 inches. You need to sew two strips together to make the strip long enough to go around the seat part and cut some of the excess off. The existing gussets were less than 4 1/2 inches but I decided to make mine wider to wrap around to the bottom to have more of an edge to staple on. Also, I decided to line the top seat part with muslin so I cut muslin templates as well. The foam on the chairs was in good shape other than the discoloration so I didn’t have to replace that.

Sewing the covers was super easy and fast – probably took me about an hour. Removing all the old seat covers was another story – that took about an hour per chair. For that part I used a flat head screw driver, to pry the staples up, and some pliers, to pull the staples out. Basically I worked on one chair at a time so it took me about five days to do all six chairs – in between cooking, cleaning, laundry, carpool, band events in the evening and general life!

After removing all the old staples you can slide the old cover off. Then slip on the new sewn cover and get it fitted onto the the chair pad and then begin to staple with the staple gun. My one son even did a few staples on one chair – he thought it looked like fun for a few minutes. Actually stapling the new cover back on was a lot more fun and easier than getting that old one off. I did this on the floor with an old towel laid down – I also did a couple of them on my sewing table – basically you need a hard firm surface to be behind the chair pad as you drive the new staples in. As you can see on the corners you have to fold the fabric in to get it to be smooth on the sides and the top front piece.

Overall I am pleased with how they turned out and how our dining room now looks. The other table we had was over 20 years old. We bought it when we first got married and it was more of a kitchen type table not really for a formal dining room.

So, now that I have accomplished recovering dining room chairs I am contemplating reupholstering a chair and ottoman we have in our living room. If I decide to conquer it I will share it here on the blog so be sure to check back or follow me.

Have a great day!

-Kimberlee

Categories: Decorating Sewing

Tags: dining room chairs, diy chair covers, home dec sewing, home decor, recovering dining room chairs, sewing, upholstery

Sewing A Quilt As You Go Table Runner

February 14, 2015 kimberlee 4 Comments

Sewing a quilt as you go table runner is a very easy project that can be made in just a few hours. I recently made this little table runner to go on our new-used dining room table that we bought a couple of weeks ago at B & B Consignment Store in Plano, TX.

This project was made using fabrics from my stash that I have probably had for at least five years (or more). At least I was able to use up some fabric, create something I like and I didn’t have to buy anything to make it since I had everything. The piece of batting I used for the quilt was actually a scrap piece I had laying around.

My runner measures 32 inches long by 18 inches wide but you can really customize a project like this to be whatever size you want. Basically you cut your base-backing fabric and your batting a little larger than your actual finished size and then you cut it once you are through sewing on the strips and before doing your binding.

To make this particular size you need about a yard of one cotton fabric and half a yard of a coordinating print for the contrasting strips and the binding. Basically what I did was cut the heart fabric I had 4 1/2 inches wide because I wanted the print, which was kind of large, to show up and then I cut the contrasting fabric 2 1/2 inches wide for the strips as well as the binding.

You then begin by laying your fabric backing piece down with the wrong side facing up then lay the batting on top of that. Then find your center point and center one of the 4 1/2 inch strips there and lay a 2 1/2 inch strip on top of that and sew it with a 1/4 inch seam – I use a walking foot which I recommend so the pieces do not shift.

I just continued to alternate my 4 1/2 inch and 2 1/2 inch strips until I got to the one end then I did the same to the other end – ending with a 2 1/2 inch strip on each end. NOTE: After you sew each strip you will need to press them open so the right sides are facing up before sewing the next strip.

Then when both ends are done you will trim the excess batting and backing. It is best to do this with a rotary cutter and a quilt ruler.

After this step you are ready to bind the quilt. I used three 2 1/2 inch strips sewn together to make a very long strip – I then pressed it in half to be 1 1/4 inch with the wrong sides together. I like to sew my binding on to the wrong side and then wrap it around, press it and sew it to the right side but everyone has a different method for this it seems.

Mitering the corners when sewing on the binding is always a challenge for me. I have studied books on it and just try and do the best I can. I figure this is for me so I don’t have to have it totally perfect. Once the binding is sewn all the way around I then press it to the front side of the quilt, pin the corners and topstitch it down using my number 10 edge stitch foot and the needle in the far right position. You could also use a regular presser foot with possibly the inner toe of the foot as a guide.

I then press the quilt one more time and it is done.

This table runner is super easy to make and can be made with any type of fabric combination – not just Valentine’s Day like mine. It is also a great stash buster project if you have some fabrics laying around, like I did, that you want to use up.

I will be offering the pdf pattern with step by step instructions and photos on how to sew this in my etsy shop and on craftsy in the near future. I wanted to share it here first on my blog since I got it done a few days ago and today is Valentine’s Day.

Happy Valentines Day!

-Kimberlee

P.S. I will also be doing a post in the next month on the new table we bought at the consignment store and how I recovered the chair seats so follow my blog to receive updates.

Categories: Decorating Holiday Projects Sewing

Tags: easy sewing project, quilt project, sewing, table decor, table runner, valentines day, valentines day table decor

Hormone Help Using Essential Oils

February 12, 2015 kimberlee

I recently made up a couple of essential oil blends to help with my hormonal issues. Any woman in their 40’s knows what I mean when I mention hormone issues. So far these blends have proven effective for me and my needs and I wanted to share them on my blog.

Hormone Balance Blend from Kimberlees Korner — Hormone Balance Blend using Geranium – 20 drops, Clary Sage – 14 drops, Palmarosa – 8 drops – in a base of jojoba or grapeseed oil

The first blend is an oil that I have been using topically in the morning and at bedtime on my neck, lower abdominal area and on my spine and sometimes my feet – the inner side (like the arch area) which is the reflex point for the spine. I call the blend Hormone Balance – as you can see from my lovely handmade masking tape label in the above photo – it is getting kind of worn out after using it for the past month.

Here is the blend:

Geranium essential oil – 20 drops
Clary Sage essential oil – 14 drops
Palmarosa essential oil – 8 drops
Jojoba oil or grapeseed oil – 4 tsp

Blend all of the above listed oils in an empty 15 ml bottle – shake lightly before each use. Use 2 to 3 times a day on abdominal area, lower back, spine, neck, wrists and feet. Note: all oils used are Young Living essential oils – those are the kind I prefer to use due to their therapeutic qualities. Also – I do not use the reducer dropper on the bottle – I just pour the oil onto my palm from the bottle.

I actually think this blend has a better and stronger scent to it if you use the jojoba oil but I have also used the grapeseed. I like the fact that this blend works to help my hormones and it also smells nice – I had it on the other day and a friend of mine commented that I smelled good. Some blends I have made up do not always smell so great but I use them for therapeutic purposes – not always to smell great. It is nice that this one has a pleasant scent.

The other blend I made up about two weeks ago is a spray. The spray can be used on your body, clothes, in the air in a room or on your bed linens or a pillow. I am calling the spray Hormone Happy Spray. In a 4 oz. glass bottle combine:

Geranium essential oil – 8 drops
Clary Sage essential oil – 6 drops
Elemi essential oil – 3 drops
Fennel essential oil – 2 drops
Add 1 tsp witch hazel and top off with filtered water

Again, I have my really fancy hand written masking tape label. I am constantly changing blends or using the bottle for other things when one runs out so I hate to invest in printing labels – also those seem harder to get off the bottle and the masking tape comes right off. This is just for my personal use anyhow so it is fine for my needs. Again all the oils used in this blend are also Young Living.

These two blends seem to be providing me some relief from some hormonal imbalances I have been experiencing – the joys of getting older! Please note that I am not a doctor and I am just sharing with you what has helped me. Everyone is different and sometimes you have to try some different oils or blends to figure out what will work for you and your body.

Young Living also makes some of their own blends like Dragon Time, Lady Sclareol, and Sclar Essence that also help with female hormone issues. I have tried Sclar Essence and it also works well but I think my new blend is working better for my needs at the moment. Sclar Essence is a blend of clary sage, spanish sage, peppermint and fennel and it has a pleasant scent. It can be applied topically, diffused and also be ingested – I have drank it as a tea.

I have recently ordered Lady Sclareol and I will write more about that one after I have tried it out for a while. I like to use things for a little while before I decide if I like them or if they are working for me.

If you are interested in learning more about Young Living please contact me via email kkg@kimberleeskorner.com Also, if you are interested in signing up for a Young Living account you can click on the highlighted Young Living link or the button in the sidebar.

Have a great day!

-Kimberlee

Categories: Essential Oils Recipes Young Living

Tags: clary sage essential oil, elemi essential oil, essential oil blends, fennel essential oil, geranium essential oil, hormone balance blend, palmarosa essential oil, sclar essence essential oil