Saturday, July 31, 2010

Making up for lost time

I am happy to report that I finished my first knitting project in more months than I care to count, one work in progress that I'm slowly chipping away at but rather bored with, and one new project which is providing some enjoyment for me. The finished project needs to remain Top Secret until it has been gifted, but the other two are available for photos if anyone is interested. I'm knitting a Clapotis scarf (my second go at this pattern, I so enjoyed the first), and a pair of simple toe-up self-striping socks for the mister. His first pair of hand-knit socks! Unfortunately I do not have photos to share with you today. So what's the point of this post, you ask? Why taunt you with promises of crafty goodness and then fail to deliver the goods? Well, it simply leads me to what I'm currently craving which is some new yarns!

So creamy and buttery, I could just eat it. Inspired by sunflowers (ok, I see it) but you can't tell me that doesn't look like a delicious kernel of popcorn. Yum!

Bold streaks of beautiful color... the things I could dream up for this yarn...

Both of these are hand dyed in limited batches from SockPixie, and neither would be turned away if they showed up at my door, justsoyounkow.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

word of the day

I subscribe to dictionary.com's word of the day on my Google Reader. Sometimes the word of the day is a basic, average word that I assume most people know. Sometimes it's a strange, complicated word I can't think of any reason I would ever use. But sometimes I get real, honest enjoyment from the word of the day.

Like today. The word of the day for 7/29/2010 is...

busticate: to break into pieces.
 
Busticate. Busticate is a word. My computer does not think it is a word, as it insists on underlining i with a jagged red line that screams "I'm wrong, fix me!" But dictionary.com says it is real.  I love it.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

A lot of quotes lately...


I would be remiss to not mention that I find this slightly oozing with cheese, but it's really the first line that gets me. Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark in the hopeless swaps of the not-quite, the not-yet, and the not-at-all. Sometimes (always) what I really need is someone to light a fire under my ass to get me to do what I really want to do. Create. For myself. For others. For enjoyment. For sustenance. That's it.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Sweet dreams

Babies are good for lots of things. Cuddling, tickling, smelling. But who knew this was one of the things they were good for? 
New mom Adele takes photos of her daughter Mila. "While my daughter is taking her nap," she says, "I try to imagine her dream and capture it." How precious. Check out more adorable photos at Mila's Daydreams. And try to resist the urge to snatch a baby and create your own dream scenes.

Found via Hello!Lucky

Sunday, July 25, 2010

happy feet

Someone please find me some gigantic yarn because this rug is uh-may-zing and I want to make it.
I've seen it before, but this time via Frankie magazine

Saturday, July 24, 2010

love is...


How adorable are these felt cassette tape ipod cases and zipper pouches? (perfectly, absolutely adorable, let me tell you) Brave Moonman offers up a wide variety of mix tapes, as well as Nintendo controllers, calculator watches, floppy disks, and more.

In other news, it was The Mister's birthday on Thursday so HAPPY BIRTHDAY! It has been a difficult week for me so I hope I will be forgiven for a slightly delayed proper birthday celebration. I will not let it get away from me, I promise. Maybe I will make him a mixtape.

Friday, July 23, 2010

backyard scrabble (otherwise known as the perfect day)

Come on, a nice summer day, good company, and a giant game of Scrabble? Sign me up.
See it here.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

gah, so cute!

Adorable (though I hear not entirely functional) balloon party invites from on=hand + modern via you are my fave and oh happy day

Monday, July 19, 2010

MIA

Sorry for the absenteeism over the weekend, it was a rare weekend indeed. Not that that's a bad thing.

Friday night I slept for about 12-14 hours, recovering from one of the longest weeks I can think of. Saturday morning we headed up to PA for some Crabfest at the Unger's. Many did not partake in the crab, but there were plenty of hot dogs, hamburgers, side dishes, snacks, cookies, brownies, and kegs to make up for it. And Cornhole. Lots of Cornhole.

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Sunday was another early day out and about as we went out for breakfast (yay!), ran some errands, made a spontaneous trip to MD and fell in love with another wedding venue. Apparently I wasn't supposed to talk about it because I might jinx it, but oh well. When we got there I was so overwhelmed with excitement I thought I might cry. I think that means it's it.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Care package from Mark Ryden (or why sometimes it's better to not get what you want)

Remember when the mister and I drove to New York to see Mark Ryden and the Lost at Sea show and both galleries were inexplicably closed? Yeah, I was pretty upset (especially when I realized that had we pushed it back to the next weekend we could have seen both of those shows AND the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn) but I couldn't be too upset for too long because that was also the weekend the mister and I got engaged! And I sent Mark Ryden a message on Facebook telling him about our fruitless trip, and he promised to send me some goodies in the mail to make up for it! Fast forward to today. Most days I've all but forgotten that I've been waiting on a package. It certainly hasn't been on the forefront of my mind, and when I saw the envelope in the mailbox I assumed it was the t-shirt I had ordered a couple weeks ago. But....
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I ripped into it immediately, before I thought to take a photo.
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And this is what I found. A horrible blurry cell phone photo, you ask? Yes, that and a whole bunch of Mark Ryden goodies! Let me give you a better idea of the amazingness of this package.
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There's a teeny tiny (signed and hand numbered) book.
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Some pins.
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Some little prints.
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A set of lots more prints.
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A package of postcards (don't expect to be seeing these in the mail from me any time soon. I'm keeping these babies).
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More.
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And oh yeah, let's not forget about this: To Melissa, Love Mark Ryden.

And so I ask you this- how many times has anyone gone above and beyond to apologize for something that wasn't even their fault to begin with? Mark Ryden does not own the gallery that decided to close for the day. He doesn't even control the information provided on the gallery website that failed to warn us that they would be closed. He has nothing to do with it! (I'm assuming). And yet he decided to reach out to me, one disappointed fan, to make sure that I would not be disappointed. And I am not. I am exceedingly impressed, and pleased, and happy to call myself a fan.

In other news, it's almost the end of a pretty rough week and I'm looking forward to a little crabfest action this weekend!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

easy and delicious

Ok, so I haven't made them yet but they look divine. I'm imagining them made with frozen bananas and lots of nuts. Yum.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

little piggy, I love you so





I have started a small collection of white ceramics to decorate my bookcase, and I think I've found the next addition! This adorable piggy needs a new home. Mine.
Fruit Fly Pie via Modish
There's tons of adorable stuff in that shop, but my stomach did a little flip when I saw the pig and I just had to post it. Go on and check it out for yourself!

Monday, July 12, 2010

This will be our year



There is so much that I want to accomplish this year, and it is halfway over. But instead of being discouraged by this, I am motivated. It's time to act. Make plans. Do things. Make things. Be happy.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

happy weekend!

It has been a busy weekend! Yesterday we woke up early, went downtown to get the mister's hair cut (I really need to get my hair cut, but I don't even have time to think about it. The mister asked if I was growing my hair out. No. Not on purpose. Ugh.), had lunch at Matchbox (yummy pizza), and headed to Alexandria to check out some potential wedding venues.


We went to the Athenaeum (love), and the Lorien (like, definitely sold on the rooftop terrace), and was immediately smitten by the Alexandria Courthouse. Read more about my trials and tribulations with the Athenaeum at our wedding blog, but here are a few photos to whet your appetite.

The Athenaeum
 

 Alexandria Courthouse
 

And, well, I forgot to take pictures at the Lorien. I was tired.

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend!

Thursday, July 8, 2010

wanderlust

"Wandering re-establishes the original harmony which once existed between man and the universe" ~ Anatole France
 A friend of mine posted this quote on Facebook today and it really resonated with me. I've been reading this blog for the last month or so, written by a girl taking a cross country road trip by herself (check it out and be prepared to be jealous!). While I have absolutely no desire to go about this alone, I do possess a very strong desire to pack up and see the country and all that it has to offer. Especially if it involves one of these:
I want. I covet. I kind of need this in my life.
 

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

it's summertime, did you notice?

Just in case the 100+ temperatures did not clue you in, it is indeed summertime. July. Summer. Heat. What better to show these sweltering hot days who's boss than popsicles? How about a month of yummy popsicles? Oh yes, I think yes. Thanks, Chris for the link! :)

Monday, July 5, 2010

weekend recap

 
My fourth of July involved: napping, knitting, a secluded park for grilling burgers and hot dogs (score!), a small but entertaining playground (perfect for nerdy iPhone videos), makeshift frisbees, sparkler photo shoots, sitting on the side of Route 7 to watch fireworks, and apple pie and ice cream at McDonalds afterwards (apparently not an original idea, in case you were wondering. The place was packed with ice cream eating fools). All in all it was pretty good times. A little warm but not unreasonable for me. I'm glad to have today to relax before getting back to work tomorrow. Laundry and dishes are getting done, as well as a little wedding list making. Progress! Productivity! Wahoo!