Random Snapshots

Rainy Day Thursday

After all the nice weather we've had lately...

the rain is back. 

Figures, since tomorrow is the 4th of July and all.  :)  There was a pretty big thunderstorm last night.  Complete with lighting too.  We don't get many thunderstorms around here.  Apparently it is supposed to rain on the 4th too.  I hope they are wrong.   

Do you have big plans for the 4th?

I haven't had much to blog about this week.  I've been busy with school and haven't had much excitement.  I'm happy for the 3 day weekend coming up though.  I'm hoping to be able to catch up on some things that need to be done around the house. 

See you tomorrow for Friday Favorites.  :)

Daily Outfit

I'm sharing my outfit today for a couple of reasons:

1. Did you know ruffles are in right now?  Are you wearing anything with ruffles?  If so, I'd love to hear about it or better yet, see fotos!

2. One of my favorite fashion bloggers, Jessica McDougall, posted last week about taking fashion risks.  I've talked about it on here before and the fact that I don't take many fashion risks, but would like to.  I bought this dress last month and was inspired to wear it today.  Here's her post: Ruffles and Risks.

Happy Monday!

Update

The heat won.

We just picked this up at Sam's Club. 

Now I can finish my homework and sleep in peace tonight.  :) 

I'm melting

It's been really hot here this weekend.  And by hot I mean hot for this area and too hot not to have air conditioning.  I know I have some Arizona readers and I'm definitely not comparing to their heat.  :)

I hate to even complain because I love the sun.  We barely get sun in Western Washington.  In fact, we typically only get about 75 days of sun in one whole year.  That's definitely on my "cons of living in Seattle" list. 

I also happen to be on an antibiotic right now.  For the second time in 2 months.  And I shouldn't be out in the sun for very long while I'm on it. 

Our two story condo occupies the second and third floor of the building.  Our second story is where the bedrooms are and it's brutal up here.  It's like a sauna...I think we might have to break down and buy an air conditioner today. 

Anyways, there is really no point to this post.  Except complaining I guess.  :) 

I'm taking a break from the mountain of homework I have to finish today and thought I'd write a quick post.  I'm playing around with some new Photoshop actions that I downloaded here.  I snapped a few fresh photos of my desk to play with and I like how this one turned out with the actions.

A diet Coke with lime and some blackberries are my homework-doing-snacks today.

Hope your all staying cool!  Adam just asked me if I wanted to go drive around in our truck with the air conditioning on.  It's not a bad idea - even if gas is over $4/gallon.  :)

Friday Favorites

I'm so glad that Friday is finally here.  I'm not sure why, but this week has really been dragging on.  I'm looking forward to the weekend, a little relaxation and hopefully some time with friends.

Playing Card MiniBooks: I stumbled upon this tutorial online this week.  I love these little mini books.  Using playing cards for the cover is such a fun idea.  I immediately thought of my Vegas wedding and all the fun little books I could make with playing cards and our photos.

Liesl:  I think this will be one of my next projects.  I'm going to buy the pattern this weekend.  I love the fact that the pattern is so versatile from the yarn weight to the styling.

Clearing DVD Clutter: We have a lot of DVDs and I've been looking for a better storage method for a while.  I like this one a lot and it is perfect for our small space.  This type of storage would work well for most of our DVDs - we have a few special edition sets which I would leave as is.  I still have to figure out where I would put them, but I have a few ideas.

Etsy's Pounce: I could spend hours using Etsy's Pounce.  The basic idea is that it shows items that have been recently sold in addition to a link to that store.  Every time you click "Pounce Again" a new set of recently sold items comes up.  It is such a good way to find new and interesting items on Etsy.  I think Etsy is one of the greatest resources out there for handmade items, but I find it to be a little overwhelming sometimes when I just want to browse. 

Those are my favorites for the week.  Have a great weekend! 

WIP: Rusted Root

Here's my Rusted Root so far:

It's not as bright, lime green in real life.  The color is more of a bright grass green.

I finished the shaping last night and now just have to knit the body to the appropriate length.  After I finish the body I need to go back and do the ribbing on the sleeves and the neckline.  I hope the rest of the knitting goes well because I am anxious to wear this.  I tried it on the other night and it seems like it will be a good fit after blocking.

And I can't help but plot my next cast on...being so close to finishing this WIP and all.  :)

One sock down + Outfit remix

I finished the first Spring Forward sock yesterday and made a little progress on the second.  The yarn is a little darker than it shows in this picture.

I was able to make it to knit night last night.  It was really good to get out and catch up with everyone.  I even got a little knitting done.  :) 

I worked on my Rusted Root - started the shaping under the bust.  I'm hoping to finish up the shaping tonight and snap a photo. 

Speaking of going to knit night...I remixed my work outfit into a casual night outfit last night.  I've been making an effort to mix up my outfits lately using the current pieces in my closet.  I'm such a creature of habit.  I tend to wear the same outfits over and over instead of having fun and trying to create new ones.  That's definitely something that I'm working on changing.

Here's my easy day to night remix:

Day: Sweater - Forever 21, Tank - Old Navy, Black Pants - NY&Co, Peep Toe Wedges - MaxStudio, Earrings - Bitten

Night: Sweater - Forever 21, Tank - Old Navy, Jeans - Ann Taylor Loft, Peep Toes - Bandolino, Earrings - Bitten

Those blue peep toes are quickly becoming my favorite pair of shoes.  They have the perfect little kitten heel and are very comfortable. 

And lastly, since this is turning out to be a random post I'll share my happy lunch from yesterday.

Yesterday morning I was running late (what else is new) so my cutie husband made my lunch.  I was craving a PB&J and he even let me use his Wonder Bread sandwich holder.  This lunch just made me happy when I opened it up.  :)   

WIP: Spring Foward

I've made some quick progress on my first Spring Forward sock.  I picked it back up again this morning after working on my Rusted Root (photos coming) for a few days. 

I'm ready to start decreasing for the toe now.  I think I will bring it to knit night tonight and hopefully finish it up.  I plan on starting the second sock immediately so this one isn't sitting lonely for long.  I haven't knit socks one at a time in a quite a while so I don't want to fall victim to second-sock-syndrome.  :)

I really like this colorway and how it works with the wavy lace stitch pattern.  The stitch pattern is really easy too - it's making the knitting fly by.

So, what are you knitting (or crocheting or crafting) right now?  I'd love to hear about the WIPs that my knitting-readers are working on.  :)

Mosaic Monday + J,K,L

I'm catching up on the ABC-Along again. 

J is for jewelry and jeweled flip flops.

K is for knitting needles (my vintage collection) and knitting.

L is for lemon and lens.

Here is the photostream of all my ABC-Along photos so far :: ABC-Along.

Happy Monday - enjoy your day!

Friday Favorites

 Happy Friday!  I've got a real random mix of Friday Favorites for you this week. 

Eat This, Not That:  If you eat out at all you must own this book.  I bought it last Friday and read through most of it over the weekend.  (It's more looking than reading really).  There is some info that will really surprise you in here.  I consider myself up-to-date for the most part on nutrition, fitness, healthy eating and healthy living, but I was really surprised many times by this book.  It's an excellent resource to have handy - especially for those of us who are always on-the-go.

Hungry Girl:  Yep, another book about healthy eating this week.  This is a cookbook though, full of delicious recipes.  If you haven't heard of Hungry Girl and her fabulous website then I suggest you head over there right now.  The website has always been a fantastic resource for me and especially lately since she partnered with Weight Watchers.  I had always hoped for a book full of her recipes and now I have it. 

Knitpicks Nickle Plated Double Pointed Needle Set: Adam got these for me for Christmas and I'm just getting the chance to test them out now.  I haven't knit a sock on double pointed needles in a while.  I'm using them now for my Spring Forward socks and I really love them so far.  They are very slick (not for new knitters!) and very pointy - two things that I look for in a sock knitting needle.  You get a good range of sock knitting sizes all with 5 needles per size.

Loving Living Small:  I'm really glad I found this website earlier this week.  I've been looking through the archives and just browsing the site in general.  I will take all the small-space-living-ideas I can get and this website has some great ones.  I've already jotted down some ideas that will help us to make better use of our small condo space.

Apartment Therapy:  This is a site that I've been visiting for about a year now.  I found the site above via this one.  I love this website and visit several times a day.  It's set up like a blog and there are multiple posts from around the country.  Everything from decorating, to organizing, to utilizing small spaces.  The website focuses on small apartments/condos that are rented or owned.  But, even if you don't live in a small home you should still visit - there are tons of ideas for everyone.

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This morning I got a little bonus treat.  Two different people were making my drink by accident at Starbucks.  So they gave me both.  :)

I should mention that I drink tea, not coffee.  I don't think I could handle 2 Ventis worth of caffeine in one morning.   

Have a great weekend!