Random Snapshots

Yesterday...

marked the 1 year anniversary of the closing on our condo.  Another 1 year anniversary that has come up very quickly.  On hand it's hard to believe that we've lived in our place for a year and on the other hand it's not because it feels like home. 

We've been slowly trying to make it a home...really taking our time choosing paint colors that we'll like for a while, collecting things to hang on the walls, etc.

The other weekend we picked this up at Marshalls and hung it over our closet door in the living room.

It matches the reds we've been accenting with perfectly and also fits nicely up there. 

We also hung some shelves above our couch, but I don't have a photo of those yet.  I'm collecting things to fill them up and then I'll share. 

I was finally able to get the last of the boxes (for now!) that I need in my art room.  Yesterday I worked a little more in there organizing and will also do some more tonight.  I hope to wrap it up in there soon.  We had an extra TV in there taking up some room, but were able to sell it on Craigslist last night within in minutes of listing it.  The guy came last night to pick it up so I've gained some space in there.

Tuesday starts my week off of school which is very exciting for me!  I can't wait to finally be able to get some things done around here.  :) 

Have a nice Sunday....go Seahawks!

New options

Thank you everyone for the kind anniversary wishes.  We both appreciate the thought.  :)

Last night after work we went to a really nice dinner at the Melorse Grill.  I must say right off the bat that it was one of the best meals I've ever had - hand's down - and I've eaten A LOT of meals.  :) 

Melrose is this quiet little steakhouse down the street from my office.  My boss has been telling me to go there for 2 years, but for whatever reason we never ended up there.  I'm so sorry that I didn't listen 2 years ago because this place is a gem.  Amazing food and even better service.  They specialize in steak and many reviews claim that you can't get a better steak in the Seattle-metro area.  I'm not a steak eater, but I'll take everyone's word for it.  Other than that there are only a few things on the menu in addition to nightly specials.  I like small menus because 99% of the time that means that whatever you order will be amazing.  They are good at making these certain dishes and you will not be disappointed.

I went with a nightly special and certainly wasn't disappointed.  Dover sole stuffed with seafood and topped with shrimp sauce.  It was to die for - the sole was as fresh as I've ever had it and it came with a side of veggies and these amazing crispy parmesan potatoes.  I think the best part of the meal might have been the beefsteak tomato and Danish blue cheese salad that I started out with though.  :)

The meal ended with a delicious mixed berry crisp that was covered in homemade whipped cream.  The sort of dessert that you simply cannot stop eating despite the fact that your stomach is now hanging over your pants.   :) 

If you are in and/or around Renton, WA and would like a great meal then check out the Melrose - you will NOT be disappointed.

Now onto the good stuff...gifts!

Last night when we got home my gift was waiting for me.  Adam bought me the KnitPicks Options Interchangeable Needle Set!!  I've been wanting these since they came out, but haven't really NEEDED them.  I have a perfectly good set of Denise Needles that have been good to me for 2 years.  I know I will like the Options better though and I've already found a good home for my Denise needles so it's a win-win situation.  :) 

He bought me the initial set and told me to order the extras today since he wasn't sure what else to get.  I placed my order for the extras earlier and should have a complete set next week.  I can't wait.  :)

In addition to all of this good stuff I got some great news today.  I was getting ready to pay some out of pocket costs for school that hadn't been covered by aid this morning and it showed up as already being paid.  After looking into it some more I found out that I was approved for a grant in the same amount of what I owed.  I'm relieved because it was a pretty big chunk of money and now I get to hang onto it.  You can't beat that!

Oh yeah, and tonight's knit night.  :) 

Uno

Today is Adam and my first wedding anniversary.  :)  (thank you for all the kind words yesterday from those who guessed correctly)

It seems surreal that an entire year could have flown by so quickly.  I feel like it was just yesterday that we were exchanging vows in Las Vegas at the Monte Carlo.  We really had the best weekend - loved everything about it.

We've had a great first year of marriage.  It's been extremely busy and is gone in the blink of an eye.  All that I can remember is good stuff. 

I was given a cute card and a dozen gorgeous yellow roses this morning.  I'm told that my gift is on it's way via UPS and should be here tonight.  I gave Adam a new iPod Nano last weekend because I was too excited to wait and knew he'd want to use it right away.  We're going to have a nice dinner tonight and just relax.  Relaxing is a real luxury for us lately so it will be nice. 

Happy Anniversary Adam!  I love YOU more everyday.  Here's to forever...

OFFF

On Saturday I experienced my first Fiber Festival.  There's not much to say about it except WOW! 

It was amazing and overwhelming at the same time!!  A fair ground filled with fiber and yarn is a beautiful thing indeed!

I drove down to OFFF with Mel and Joanne and we spent most of the day there.  There were many purchases made and overall we had a really great time.  We did a once around, ate lunch and then went back for a second run at the place.  There are so many things to look at that it's hard to concentrate and decide what to buy.

I bought a lot of sock yarn because I love sock yarn and I love knitting socks.  You can buy it without having a project in mind too which isn't true for most other yarns.  I also bought a bunch of roving for my drop spindle.  I seriously contemplated buying a wheel, but I'm going to hold off and try to find a used one on Craigslist.  There were so many great yarns and fibers too look at and touch.  I learned a few things about fiber as well. 

Here's my stash addition:

I've already started spinning some of that red roving in the bag.  I was excited about those bags because there are 5 balls of roving - a little roving sampler!   

I also took some cute pictures of the livestock, but didn't get a chance to edit those yet so stay tuned.  The only thing I could have done without is the big lamb tent - I HATE lamb...the smell makes me so ill so I had to try and steer clear.  :)

In other knitting news...

Juliet is coming along.  I bound off the sleeves this morning and will be on to the lace panel tonight.  This is a really quick knit just like everyone says and I bet it will be finished by this weekend.  It's pretty cold here lately though so I'm not sure when I'll wear it.  I wonder how it would look with a tight, long sleeve, t-shirt underneath?

The Minimalist Cardigan is error-free now.  :)  After staring at it for an hour and asking Adam (who confirmed that I'll complain about it forever) I decided to frog it back 4 inches and fix the mistake.  It took a little bit of time, but it's back on track and I'm happy. 

That's all for today.  Tomorrow's a special day...can anyone guess why?

Have a great Monday!  :) 

   

Eye Candy Friday

Miles of moss stitch...

I just started decreasing for the sleeves on the back of the Minimalist Cardigan (IK Fall 07).  I am really loving this moss stitch with this gorgeous deep gold Cascade 220.  The photo in the magazine doesn't really do the cardigan justice.

There's a glaring error in the stitch about 1/2 way up the back, but I've decided to leave it.  You can see it in these photos.  I knit the wrong row and it doesn't look like the other rows.  I can't bear to frog it though mainly because knitting time is precious to me, not to mention minimal!  It will bother me forever, but what can you do?!

I received my yarn for Juliet today and I'm in love with the color.  I've actually already casted on and knit a few rows.  I think this one is going to move quickly. 

Cotton Fleece in Columbine Blue.  It's similar to the color used in the pattern photo which is what really drew me in.   

I'm off to do some more knitting - my reward for finishing my homework early.  :)

Say hello to...

Montego Bay.

I finished and blocked Montego Bay last weekend.  I really love how it turned out.  It's one of my favorite projects so far.  Yards and yards of beautiful fishnet lace.  Fishnet is a really easy stitch and gives an intricate look. 

The yarn was a splurge...a reward for myself for an accomplishment last month.  It was a dream to work with. 

To me this scarf is more of an accessory and I will wear it a lot.  I chose the neutral colors so that I could wear it a lot.  It's very soft and surprisingly warm too - I wore it for football Sunday last week.  As pictured here it's wrapped around my neck 3 times.   

• Montego Bay scarf - Interweave Knits Summer 2007
• 50%silk/50%merino blend, fingering weight - I can't remember the name of the company, but it's handpainted and I got it at my LYS
• Size 7 Denise needles (it's knit back and forth, but I don't use straights)
• A couple of weeks to finish (while working on various other WIPs) 

Eye Candy

I meant to make this post yesterday for Eye Candy Friday, but I didn't get around to it.  Eye Candy Friday is something that a lot of knit bloggers do.  It's simple - on Friday you post some Eye Candy on your blog.  Knitting related or not. 

This week mine is knitting related.  :)

I bought this yarn to do the Tree Jacket, but after reading some other blogs I realized that it's not the right yarn for that project.  I need something in a blend that will drape nicely so I will choose something else. 

Instead I'm going to use this yarn for the Minimalist Cardigan.  The 4th yarn cake isn't pictured because I started the cardigan the other day.  It's done in moss stitch and I'm really happy with how it look so far.  I'm only a few inches into the back, but the color of the yarn looks great with the stitch.

Another set of Duets Sock Yarn.  I love this stuff and am getting addicted to knitting socks because of it.  The creator of Duets, Angi, is in my knitting group and it's been really cool to see the creation and then subsequent explosion of Duets.  You can't imagine how difficult it is to get this stuff online.  It sells out within minutes of her posting! 

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this set yet, but it will no doubt be a beautiful pair of socks.  :)

And yes, just like Erica, my patterned paper has been reduced to a backdrop for my yarn.  I never thought that would happen!

Speaking of scrapbooking...my room is pretty close to being finished.  The closet work-area is complete, the futon is built and the room is looking a lot better.  My only hold up at the moment is IKEA.  I've been buying boxes to hold my stuff from there over the last month, but they've been selling out of the color that I like really quickly.  It's been difficult to get as many boxes in the sizes that I need.  Hopefully I can get that wrapped up soon.  Less than a month before my Mom gets here so I need to get it all set.  I'm still going to repaint, but probably not for a few months.

I finished my Monkey socks last weekend.  They're definitely my favorite pair of socks that I've knit so far.  Really easy pattern to follow and the lace panel made it knit up quickly.  Of course they are knit in Duets and I think that makes them even better looking than the original.

I need to go finish watching the Yankees game and get a few errands done.

Have a great Saturday!

Are you ready for some football?

I know we are!

Today was the first football Sunday of the season and we were parked in front of the TV for the better part of the afternoon.  After getting home from the gym this morning we were happy to see the Buffalo Bills game on TV.  We don't typically get to see the Bills' games way out here in Seattle so that was a welcome surprise.  Unfortunately in true Bills fashion they let it go right at the end...a couple swear words were uttered, but in true Bills fan fashion we'll be back next week. 

After that game it was right on to the Seattle Seahawks game.  Allison & Rob came over to watch it with us.  We decided that this season we're going to alternate houses and watch all the games together.  It gives the guys an opportunity to watch the game with another guy and it gives us girls an opportunity to knit.  Knitting...that's really what football season is about right?!  And friends and food of course.

For today's game I made stromboli and we had some nice salads with it.  It turned out really good and I think everyone liked it.  Allison is the queen of desserts and she made some really chocolate-y brownies that we ate with some vanilla ice cream.  It was delicious!  Can't wait until next Sunday.

I've been working on a couple of projects lately and started a new one today.

I'm about halfway finished with Montego Bay from Interweave Summer 07.  I love this scarf so far and think that I'll wear it a lot.  I'm knitting with some delicious 50% merino/50% silk fingering weight yarn.  It's hand painted and I picked a neutral color that I could wear a lot.  This scarf is more of an accessory which I really like.  The pattern is simple as well which makes for a quick project.

At half-time I started a one skein project that I think is going to go quickly.  This is another project from the LYS tour that Allison and I did in May.  It's a little entrelac clutch made with Noro Tidori.  This is one of my favorite projects from the tour and I can't wait to finish.  The yarn is really gorgeous like all Noro yarns.  I think this would be a nice gift too - it knits up quickly and you only use one $9 skein.

I also finished a project this weekend, but will share that one tomorrow. 

I can't believe the weekend is over - they go by too quickly.  Anyone watching the VMAs tonight?

Until next time...   

 

Stupid Chores

Does anyone really enjoy doing chores around the house? 

I know I don't!  But, I can't stand a dirty, messy or cluttered house and that outweighs my displeasure in doing chores.

Most everyone that knows Adam and I knows that we do chores on the weekend and there's always "chore list."  We have our own regular chores that we do and then split up the chore list.  Luckily for me Adam does his fair share (plus most of mine since school started!) of chores without much complaint.  I know he doesn't enjoy them, but he also can't stand a messy house so it works out for both of us.

In the past we've made jokes about chores, complained, etc.  Everyone always laughs at our "chore list," but it's the only way to go in my opinion.  Crossing those chores off feels great!  (I also pretty much live my day by a "to do" list - at work and at home!)

So back to the chore list - Adam received a package from my cousin Denise the other day that had a funny t-shirt in it.  Homer Simpson holding a looooong chore list with the words Stupid Chores at the top.  Adam is the ultimate Simpsons fan and if you watch the show you know that there have always been references to the fact that Homer doesn't do chores.  She thought of Adam immediately when she saw it.  Of course he loves the shirt and I had to snap a few photos of him wearing it. 

Here he is with his shirt on, hanging out at the laundry closet (which is one of his regular chores!) 

Have a great weekend!

One long weekend/Two concerts (kind of)

I couldn't think of a better way to end the long weekend.

I'm watching the JT concert on HBO right now. 

I feel like I'm at my second concert of the weekend. 

47 inches of JT in HD. 

Love me some JT.