Random Snapshots

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.  :)   

A meme

Sabbath posted this Valentine's Day Meme on her blog and I noticed today that she tagged me so here are my answers.  :)

How long have you been together?  We just celebrated 9 years together last month.

How long did you date?  A looooong time.  :)  01/99 - 09/06...almost 8 years.

How old is he?  29.

Who eats more?  He does.

Who said “I love you” first?  Sadly, I don't remember...it was probably me though.

Who is taller?  Um, have you ever seen us?  :)  I'm 5' and he's 6'2".

Who is smarter?  He's a genius so there's really no competition there.  He's smarter than most people I know.  :)

Who does the laundry?  Not me.  ;)

Who does the dishes?  Nope, I don't do this job either.  Let's be honest, Adam does all the household chores except cleaning the bathrooms...that one is mine.  Since I started school he's pretty much taken care of everything in the house.  Husband of year - for real!

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed?  He does.

Who pays the bills?  Me, that's my other job besides toilet cleaner.  HA!

Who mows the lawn?  The landscapers.  Ahhh, condo living. 

Who cooks dinner?  Depends on the restaurant we're at that night!  We eat out far too often.  When we eat in though I usually cook dinner unless we're having something he knows how to cook and then he helps.  It's probably 50/50 at this point.

Who is more stubborn?  Eh, we're splitting hairs now.  I think we're equal.  He would probably say me and I would probably say him, but we're both very stubborn.

Who kissed who first?  I think he did, again I have the worst memory.

Who asked who out?  Neither, we just sort of started dating I think.

Who proposed?  No proposal.  We both decided when and where.

Who is more sensitive?  I'm the biggest drama queen alive.

Who has more friends?  That's hard to say - we both have a lot of friends.  He's got a huge group of friends from the Marine Corps though so I would say he probably wins this one.

Who has more siblings?  I have 2 brothers and he has 1.

What my husband REALLY thinks of me...

Went to a pumpkin carving party at a fellow photography-obsessed friend's house this past weekend.  Each couple was taking turns doing these photos.  It didn't take Adam but a minute to decide what he wanted to do for our photo.  :)  So there you have it...I'm the devil and he's the angel.  Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. 

Enjoy your Tuesday.  :)

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...

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!

Our First Married Christmas...

as told in a mini tag book.

I've never really been one to scrapbook Christmas photos.  I'm not sure why...it's just not something I do.  I usually don't take many photos to begin with so there's not much to work with.  Being that this past Christmas was our first together as a married couple, I felt that I wanted to do something.  I was thinking a minibook and it just so happened that I got the perfect minibook and embellishments from our secret stocking exchange this year.  I really haven't scrapbooked since August, but I didn't have any excuse now.  Everything was right in front of me.  This took me only a few days and I really enjoyed the process.  Each tag has a little layout on the front and the journaling on the back.  I took my time with the journaling and hopefully this will be something nice to look at in the future.  I actually finished this on New Year's Eve weekend, but have just gotten around to photographing it now.

You can see the whole album here :: First Married Christmas MiniBook

I kept it simple with the product and if you're interested, here's a list:

• 7 Gypsies Mini Tag Book
• Heidi Swapp Chipboard Alphas, Bling Frames, Journaling Spots, Alpha Stickers
• Making Memories Tiny Alphas
• SU, Technique Tuesday & Impress Rubber Stamps
• Tim Holtz Ink
• Basic Grey Paper, Tags & RubOns

I started my next project last night and finished just the cover.

Another MiniBook, but not quite as mini.  I think this one is 6x6.  I'm going to make it similar to the tag book above - mini layout on the front with journaling on the back.  Maybe I'll just make MiniBooks for a while...it seems to be what I enjoy right now.  =)

I need to go work on some knitting projects now and finish teaching Adam how to make sauce.  Maybe it will help him recover emotionally from the poor showing by the Seahawks today.  Boo!  The good thing about the game was that we got treated to a delicious breakfast over at Allison & Rob's house and also got to meet another couple they've been friends with for a while.  Can't beat a morning like that.  =)

A good knitting husband...

isn't afraid to show his love for crafty chicks.

The shirt was one of Adam's Christmas gifts.  I really have to give it up to him.  He's totally cool with all of my bad habits hobbies.  He's always interested and never gives me a hard time about how much it all costs.  And, no, it's not just knitting and scrapbooking.  It's painting, stamping, crochet, jewelry making, candle making, soap making, etc.  I've really tried it all and have a room full of crap stuff to prove it.  =)

For my knitting group - check out Kermie in the spotlight!

In other news, we've had some snow in the Seattle area this week.  Real snow.  It's crippled pretty much everyone around here which is sort of funny to Adam and I....until you have to deal with it.  Then the humor wears off.  Driving with a bunch of numbnuts who can't figure out what to do on the ice is really not funny - it's irritating.  It snowed Wednesday night and unlike most people around here, we drove to work on Thursday and Friday.  It was icy then and it hasn't gotten any warmer than 30 as of today so it's still icy.  I think it's supposed to warm up around Monday, but I'm hoping for some sun tomorrow to at least melt some of this ice. 

Here's the street in front of our complex on Thursday morning.  My settings were all messed up and I didn't know it so these pictures are dark.  But, it pretty much represents most Seattle mornings...dark.  =)  These cars were abandoned on Wednesday night because people just couldn't make it home. 

I fixed my setting in these next couple of pictures - just some cool ones I got of the fresh snow.  It's been a while since I've seen real snow.

That's all I've got for tonight.  We're heading over the Allison & Rob's tomorrow morning to knit watch the Seahawks play and eat some breakfast.  Go Hawks!