SUMMER SALE!!

SUMMER SALE IS GOING ON NOW!!

TAKE AN ADDITIONAL 20% OFF ENTIRE WEBSITE
USE CODE: 'summer20' ON ORDERS $150+

SHOP NOW!

make this dress... it's EASY!

Sometimes summertime brings on crafty ideas, we are fans of Project Runway and the other day we were watching a marathon show and decided we need to make something too! We have made these dresses before but this one turned out pretty cute, and then we made one for Franny's Jess Brown doll so the whole project was elevated to MUST BLOG ABOUT status!

So here is what you need:

-sewing machine
-pillowcase or approx. 1 - 2 yards of fabric (depending on the size you are making)
-contrasting thread or matching..??

we started with the jess brown doll size - just to practice and find out what you want to do... she is kind of the shape of the dress so it's easy! If you use a pillowcase it's fine to just use the rectangle but we used fabric so we cut out a kind of semi-rectangle/triangle. sew up the sides 3/4 of the way and then make your armholes. Foldover the top to make the tube for the drawstring.

I use an iron the whole way along to make sure everything looks nice and pressed, it always looks more professional when you press along the way. AND it's a good way to make even the worst mistakes look okay. I think it also makes the sewing easier.

just rip the strips about 1" wide and then press them and they look great! they will unravel with wear but just keep pulling them off... it will keep getting better and better as they come off!

pull on of the threads to make your ruffle

keep pulling until you have ruffled the whole strip

now you pretty much have your dress made and this is where it gets fun, rip off some strips of fabric, you will probably need 1- 2 strips the width of the fabric for the doll ruffle and then 3-4 for the kids dress ruffle. stitch on your machine with a wide stitch down the center of the strip. pull one of the threads to make your ruffle.

Now you are ready to stitch these onto the bottom of the dress (or wherever you want them!). I used contrasting thread just for fun on the doll dress and matching on the big girl dress.

Now you are ready to make the tie at the neckline. I thought the big girl dress looked kind of boring so we added a floral tie (which we just cut off the bottom of a hem on a dress that was too small and we were finished with it). You can either use one of your ripped strips or you can make a nice sash and use that... I suppose you could even use a scarf! that would be VERY cute!

I know these are very loose instructions... but I think you all know what I mean and you can do your own thing with this!

good luck!!

keeping your home cool - the LOW-TECH way

our living room at about noon in July

I have been meaning to write this blog for ages... mostly because I think I am the SUPREME COMMANDER of keeping my house cool, WITHOUT A/C! My family used to think I was nuts when I would go through the house and pull down the shades in certain rooms as the sun makes its way through our house throughout the day. I clip up curtains (very snazzy ones, they are cotton beach blankets really.. ) on windows that don't have anything and pull shades that do - then open them later in the day as the shade moves and the air is cooler coming in... I don't open windows where there is hot sun, only where there is shade. I swear... shade is SO UNDER-rated!

stripe beach blanket on the far window

The idea came to me when I used to live in Italy and my friends had this giant OLD stone house, Gunn had blankets and sheets hung in various places but that home was NEvER hot, and considering the hot Italian summers, that was pretty amazing!

Take a good look at your home and see where you can place a tree or plant to give you some good shade, you won't believe the difference. If you take note and place it in the right place, taking into account the movement of the sun in the summer and winter (you want sun in your home in the winter and shaded in the summer), you will be MUCh cooler and happier! (and save you tons of money on your A/C-heat bills). We only use our A/C once or twice a year... and we are NOT uncomfortable. My husband and I also work from home so we are home all day and we work in perfect comfort.

I love this photo.. notice all of the awnings that the Flatiron Bldg used to have - what happened to them!? a cheap and sensible way to keep cool!

I also have a fan system that moves the cool through the house pretty well, again, it means figuring out the rooms which are cool and moving the air in those rooms into the warm ones... every home is different but you can certainly figure it out. I use one fan and move it where it's necessary. Good luck and have fun with it... see what works for your home!

a great idea from Treehugger.com - outside kitchen!

Treehugger recently had a similar post on their website with some fantastic additional tips. I am particularly fond of the idea of an outside kitchen, I need to work on that one... But there are some other ideas that I had not even heard of, you can visit this link and find out more!


link to Treehugger post here

Rodriguez - Sugar Man

I don't know if anybody caught this story in the Sunday NYTimes about 'Rodriquez' but I did and I immediately downloaded his music on iTunes and it's terrific!

So here is the backstory... It's a story that could only have happened in the 1960's, not today in the time of hyper-information. Back then, Rodriguez makes a pair of albums that sell almost nothing and then drops out of sight. So why, 40 years later, would anyone feel compelled to make a movie about this obscure artist?  Because, as it turns out, on the other side of the globe, in South Africa, Rodriguez had become as popular as the Rolling Stones or Elvis Presley. But he never knew of that success. He never saw a penny in royalties from it, and he spent decades doing manual labor to make ends meet and raise his three daughters. It wasn’t until fans in South Africa, trying to verify rumors he was dead, tracked him down through the Internet and brought him there to perform to adoring multitudes, that his career was resuscitated.

I don't know about you... but that's a movie I want to see! It's called 'Sugar Man' after one of his songs. As the director Malik Bendjelloul says, it's a story that has everything going for it... “It’s a perfect story. It has the human element, the music aspect, a resurrection and a detective story.” The movie will be released in NY and California this Friday.
 
Read more in the NYTimes by clicking here

and then go buy the albums on iTunes - FANTASTIC!!!

his tour dates are listed - click here

NEW MarkDOWNS! - SALE!

I just posted NEW markdowns... so check the website!

There are some SUPER school clothes to be had, for GREAT deals! check out TUSS, Makie, ESP no. 1 (get yourself some great back to school jeans for a GREAT price!) and need a new school dress... Littl by Lilit has something perfect!

SHOP NOW!! (I'm telling EVERYBODY later on today... so get in there NOW!)

www.nonchalantmom.com

delicious pops!

these were in Bon Appétit magazine, I haven't made them yet but I feel like if I hold off on posting this any longer you might miss out on something GREAT! We love Popsicle's in this house, it's such a great way to stay cool on a hot summer day! We usually make our own with juice (clearly much easier than this recipe), our favorite is Odwalla Limeaide... delicious!

In case these look as good to you as they do to me... here is the recipe (or click here to find it on the Bon Appétit blog)

APRICOT RICE PUDDING POPS

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. canned unsweetened coconut milk
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 lemongrass stalk, tough outer layer removed, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon minced peeled ginger
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 3 tablespoons short-grain rice (such as arborio)
• 1/4 cup 1/4" pieces dried apricots
• 1/4 cup sugar

• Ingredient Info

  Unsweetened coconut milk is available at many supermarkets. Lemongrass can be found at Asian markets and some supermarkets.

• Special Equipment

  8 ice-pop molds; 8 ice-pop sticks

Preparation

• Combine milk, coconut milk, cream, lemongrass, ginger, and 1/2 cup water in a medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Bring to a boil; remove from heat, cover, and let steep for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place rice and 1/2 cup water in a small bowl; let stand for 10 minutes (to soften and release some starch). Drain.
• Strain coconut-milk mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium saucepan. Add rice; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer (do not stir or rice will become too starchy) until rice is very tender, 30-35 minutes. Let cool slightly.
• Stir in apricots and sugar. Divide mixture among ice-pop molds. Freeze until beginning to set, 30-45 minutes. Insert a stick into each pop. Freeze until firm, about 1 hour longer. DO AHEAD: Pops can be made 2 weeks ahead. Keep frozen.

Erica Tanov events

Oh if I could only be in San Francisco for these events! This weekend on Saturday, July 21st TWO will have a trunk show at the Berkeley Store and then NEXT week, Saturday and Sunday, July 28 + 29 is their big SALE event! (so fun!) Unfortunately, it's IN STORE only... crap... if you are in SF by all means get your butt over to BOTH!! For more info click here....

If you can't make it you can get your self into a Two caftan through Nonchalant Mom AND I will have the Erica Tanov collection again in my store in OCTOBER!! (YAY! I have missed it so much too!!)

Shop Erica Tanov online here
Shop Two online at nonchalantmom here

guest blogger: Clem

we have a guest blogger today, her name is Clem, she is 11 years old. She loves Nonchalant Mom (maybe she will take it over for me one day!) and I think she is an extremely talented and smart girl so I asked her to be a guest and write for my blog from time to time. This is her first piece, so you will see more of Clem as the summer goes on.

photo by Clem

photo by Clem

"Two years ago when my family moved to Matunuck, I realized

I had a passion for clothing. From that point on I have paid attention to the textures, prints and colors of pants, shoes and shirts. I really enjoy going on short little walks around my house so I can spot all the different prints. One of my favorite things to do is to sit down outside and observe things one at a time. Then later that day I might have an idea for a shirt with a lilac on it or a hummingbird print. I adore Nonchalant Mom because the clothes are very casual and laid back. I also think the prints are amazing and well made.  Once I’m on the wesite, it’s hard to get off."

all photos by Clem

I thought it would be nice if we got to know clem a bit better so I asked her a few questions:

Nonchalantmom: we talk a lot about food here at Nonchalant Mom so I have to ask you... what is your favorite food? 

Clem: "HOT RICE" 

NCM: (a girl after my own heart!!)

NCM:what is your favorite color? 

C: "silver"

NCM: are you into sports? do you like to watch or play sports? 

C: "I am not a big sports person although I do play softball and I practice gymnastics"

NCM: In the summertime when it's HOT, how do you keep cool? (we eat lots of Popsicles in this house!)

C: I keep cool in the sun by putting a fan in front of me complete with a cold glass of water and a book. 

Thank you clem and we hope to have you back here soon blogging about whatever your heart desires!

 

nonchalant kids - playclothes!

CHEAP!

We have updated the Nonchalant Kids page and made my collection into a play-clothes page! Everything is priced super cheap... from $10 - $30!! WHAT A DEAL... I just thought it's fun to have some easy pull on clothes for kids that they can use as play-clothes (how 1950's of me!) but I think it's a nice idea...

so.... ENJOY!!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP

Nonchalant Mom on Daily Candy!

YES! Nonchalantmom named one of Daily Candies favorite boutiques!

click here to shop - lot's on SALE going on NOW!!
click here to see the story on Daily Candy!! -yay!

greek island retreat

didn't I just write about another greek retreat!? this one seems more secluded though... I think I like this one better - unless you are single and want to meet new people...

click trough to Remodelista to see more photos and a full story!

totally chic I would want to visit this place if it was ANYWHERE... but a secluded island in Greece (the islands name is Tinos in the Cyclades).

here are just a few photos to give you the idea...

FANTASTIC right!? - click here to see more!

favorite thing of the week! - clare vivier

I don't know about you but I have about 100 bags for the summertime, I go through favorites, and I LOVE having 100 bags for the summer! This is my NEW favorite.. just enough neon to make me happy! (and if I can get a bag for around $100, that's just fine with me thank you!)

In honor of our favorite bag of the week we are offing this bag for $120!!

The yellow version is $120 also!!


click here to shop clare vivier on Nonchalantmom

best new magazine - RUE

yes, I feel as though I am very LATE to this one... everyone probably already knows about this wonderful online magazine RUE. I came to it via Bloesem (as usual!) But I was totally impressed with their editorial... it's a bit like Domino, but that's a GOOD thing right!?

So here is some RUE love...

may/june issue

a bit of DIY that was pretty darn cute! a possible summertime project for kids

some fashion never hurt anybody!

this fantastic home in Sweden started me on the whole thing... it's SO inspiring and SO fantastic! I'm crazy for every inch and every detail!

these are the proprietors, and by the looks of it they live in Dalarna, Sweden! (that's just a guess)

this is a place that Irene (of Bloesem) styled for this photoshoot! (LOVE it!)

visit this fantastic magazine online NOW - click here (it's only online - not in print)