Sick Sunday

PC's been sick for the past few days (a virus that needs to.run its course).  Today was Pumpkin's turn...hip, the cat has a cold. She's lethargic, sneezy, and snoring up a storm.

Me? I'm enjoying the napping family as nice knitting time.

Welcome back Mojo!

My mini mojo went missing for awhile...all of it. Knitting. Blogging. Living. I have NOT been in a good place. But, the mojo is back. All thanks to a skein of sock yarn and a travelling woman. On, and a new smartphone for better mobile Blogging.

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I had to knit some baby gifts, but it was torture...I had to force myself to sit down and really work on it. But this shawlette has renewed my mojo and every stitch is a treat. It is for a friend at work who has been giving me some good karma. This will make her smile and she deserves to smile.

Knit night

It went from teaching one co-worker to knit to a bonafide knit night! 

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

Friday Rundow

• i've been at work more times past 7pm than i care to count this week
• i may have to stay late again tonight
• next week, i travel San Francisco
• some people love NY, I love SF.
• PC's joining me at the end of my trip.
• PC's never been to California
• don't worry: Pumpkin's going to her grandparents for a few days. (she loves it there: they have stairs!)
• i'm exhausted with my breakfast options lately. Since I'm on South Beach (or was until that pizza at 8pm last night- ugh) and am tired of eggs or greek yogurt. Give me some ideas!
• i get to "borrow" an assistant at work next week and i have no idea what to have her do.
• i'm a bit of a control freak.
• i'm ahead on 2 projects, way behind on 1.
• i'm having work nightmares this week that I forgot to put someone on the programs.

*sigh*

the winner is....

ZUZU!! 

email me at kskaare (at) gmail (dot) com w/ your addy so I can send your prize!

On a side note: my guild is hosting the one, the only: LUCY NEATBY in April and we have some spaces left in some of the classes. We have now opened it to non-guild members, so click here to get more info and to sign up!

If you haven't taken one of Lucy's classes, this will be eye-opening! And if you have, you know what a good time they can be!

10 on Tuesday: no-knit version

Top 10 non-knitting blogs.

1. The Pioneer Woman. Who doesn't read Ree Drummond at this point? Hell, she's even on the morning shows every now and again. I love, love, love her "cowgirl" food.

2. The Lettered Cottage. Layla & Kevin... what a great couple. Working hard to keep it real (I can't imagine that their two professions make a LOT of money, but they trust in God and a budget).

3. The Nester. I giggle every time I see something else she's drilling to the wall or painting. Mostly b/c she's in a rental and wow: "if only I could...." is my dream sentence around this rental.

4. Young House Love. I'm not sure what's going to happen when they finish this house, but I'm thinking these two have a future at HGTV. Or writing a parenting book on how to not let your kid fall into a paint bucket.

5. Apartment Therapy. I think my favorite piece might be the scavenger. I don't know what they are typing into craigslist, but I always end up with dirty couches offered up for too much money from bed-ridden student meccas (like Brighton) or Ikea bookcases. From 5th floor walk-ups.

6. Well-Heeled Finance Blog. I like her. She's funny and practical and has made me think about my money in a whole new way.

7. Fabulously Broke. Also, another personal finance blogger who makes me think.

8. Boston Gal's Open Wallet. This used to be better. I don't know if she just got more comfortable with her finances or she's just not into it like she was before (i'm hoping there's some love keeping her too busy), but she's good. A downside? Her net wealth (that she publishes) makes me feel insecure.

9. Robin Abrahams. Miss Manners, from the Boston Globe. She's funny and smart-mouthed and I adore her. and she takes pics of her outfits. Who, in Boston, does that? I love that!

10. Kalyn's Kitchen. My go-to source of South Beach diet recipes. Kalyn's personable, and very nice--- she and I had an email conversation that involved me breaking down b/c I thought it was just.all.too.much and she said "we all fail sometimes, but you need to keep trying." I thought: she writes this food blog. She can't fail. But, she does. And she makes it work. And that makes me want to make it work.

What have you learned about me?

• I like to look into people's houses. Even when i'm out driving, i like peeking at windows. :)
• I'm concerned about and taking charge of my personal finance.
• I'm slightly obsessed with etiquette ( I am. There are some things you should NOT do in public).
• I'm on South Beach. *sigh*

Happy Valentine's Day Contest

photo/graphic credit: xkcd:http://xkcd.com/223/

Happy Valentine's Day! Yup, the day of love, amour, smooches, roses, winks, nudges and chocolate filled I-love-yous.

PC and I celebrated all weekend, starting off Friday night with dinner with my nephew, my "other" Valentine. He's 2 and he's awesome. Saturday morning, a trip to Dunkin' (a tradition in our house and how awesome is it that we can WALK to a Dunks?) means someone has to walk past our favorite florist. They were happy to see him. So was the shop dog, Benny. These two ladies at Busy Bee love PC... y'see, he's always buying me flowers. He likes how happy they make me and he likes the smell of fresh flowers in the house. Win-Win. Saturday, I went shopping and ran some errands while he watched soccer and kept an eye on the couch. Saturday night was dinner for two at Atasca.

Let's start with a few things about Atasca. 1) it's always gotten good reviews, until recently. and 2) it was on my Boston/Cambridge to-dine list. Well, Saturday night was a flop. The food was so-so, the service was okay (once she realized we wanted a full meal experience: start with a drink, appetizer...she was more friendly) but s-l-o-w. The owner had friends in the restaurant (seated next to us) and instead of perhaps, hustling along the service or checking on customers (I overheard a few complaints that were going unnoticed), he was too busy sitting and chatting.

In addition, I have determined that people do not know how to behave in public anymore. I must be getting old... a woman (about my age) was there with her husband and friends: she was getting drunk and we pretty much heard the entire conversation. And, then there were the people with the cameras. I do not come from a generation that photo-documents everything from their morning pee to the application of night cream.

On the way to the car, we decided we might need a do-over.

Sunday was a trip to the Fiber Loft (first time!) to see the Berroco trunk show and meeting Andra Asras, a designer hosting a tea. I walked out $120 poorer, but with 7 buttons, 2 skeins of coordinating yarn for a project you'll see on Wednesday, and some baby yarns for baby shower gifts, as well as sock yarn for my PC.... who'd like the "next pair to be a bit higher." Funny, a few years ago, he was anti-handknit socks. Oh, and one of those Cha-Cha scarves. Yup. I said it. I'm going to knit with a novelty yarn. I haven't done it since the fun fur hat project. It's wool (mostly) and it'll look cute on my mom. Enough said.

Sunday night was dinner at "our place" : Legal Seafoods. We love the Chestnut Hill location and they didn't disappoint last night: clam chowder & caesar salad for me, seafood casserole & butternut squash for him. A few things to know about Legal: there are secrets, items not on the menu that you can get, if you know to ask. It's fun, like a secret club. If you can name 1 thing that you can get at Legal that is not on the menu (or a secret item at any other restaurant, to be fair), post it in the comments. Wednesday, i'll hand out prizes.

a whale of a good time

(photo credit: hannah haworth: http://hannahhaworth.com/blog/)

I will never complain about how big & heavy a sweater project is again. Ever.

damn.
wow.

buzzzzz

that's the buzz of a crazy-busy worker bee (me!) who's been swamped at the office. A trip to the Left Coast (San Francisco) is coming up and I've got more deadlines than I can count. So, I'm leaving you until later this week for a knitting update. (sorry!)

Instead, my favorite commercial ever.

10 on Tuesday: the sleepy edition

10 things on my beside table. Nope that's not mine up there. I wish...it's Pottery Barn and it's my ideal beside table.

1. glasses. I'm blind and they are the last thing off at night and the first thing on in the morning.

2. Watch and promise ring. Same as glasses.

3. Perfume. This is where I keep my collection of 3 perfumes: Donna Karan Cashmere Mist, L'Eau D'Issey by Issey Miyake, and Happy by Clinique.

4. Jewelry box. (my beside table is small dresser)

5. cell phone (it's my alarm)

6. lamp.

7. moisturizer (see last week's ten on tuesday for brand info)

8. wooden tulips that my grampy made for me.

and b/c mine is a dresser (and I'm desperate for 9-10)... inside, top drawer....

9. knitting stuff

10. sheep heating pad (it's shaped like a sheep, it's not for warming up sheep....)

racing...

...to finish my January socks before my lunch w/ Tracey tomorrow. Think I can knit a heel and an entire foot tonight? Cooking & cleaning might suffer, but the knit will go on!

And in lieu of knitting photos... how about an LOL cat to make you smile? This is for all the Boston knitters.... I love my wool socks, but this Wednesday snowstorm stuff is gettin' old...

Looking for a man in a yellow hat....

Next weekend, we'll celebrate my nephew's 2nd birthday (which was 1/24). It's hard to believe he's been on the planet this long, but I have to say, he's a pretty awesome little kid. He plays h-a-r-d and is so curious. No wonder his favorite thing in the whole wide world is:

And my sister-in-law has established Curious George as the theme for his party! How cool is that for a room full of 2 year olds?! Being the wonderful Auntie that I am (insert applause here), I decided that he needs to "look the part" at his party. Behold the Curious George sweater:

It's a basic boys' sweater from Ann Budd's handy book of sweaters (drop sleeve), knit at the smallest size.

Details:
Size: 26 inch chest (2-4 year old size)

Yarns: Cascade 220 Superwash (blue), Berroco Vintage (browns, whites)

Needles: US 7

method: Intarsia (*shudder*)--- my skills improved on this project, but I chose to embroider the eyes and mouth.

And this past week, the birthday boy was visiting his maternal grandparents in Florida and was arriving home sans mittens. My sis-in-law has been having quite the time getting 1) mittens that fit, 2) mittens that stay on, 3) mittens that he doesn't immediately rip off, and 4) mittens that don't interrupt Very Important Toddler Play (this kid takes his snow play seriously!). Entire Auntie again:

Some leftovers in the stash from his dino hat resulted in a quick little mitten set (w/ string to eliminate LMS (lost mitten syndrome)). I chose a twisted rib (extra long- 2 inches!) to keep the cuff snug and a two-color pattern to make them doubly warm and add interest. The final product is 5 inches in circumference. and... direct from a facebook post: "Mittens were a success. He don't love having them on but at least he kept them. The size is perfect. Thanks again."

10 on Tuesday: girlie edition

Top Ten Beauty Products? Oh, this is one for me... I'm a beauty product grrl.

1. Neutrogena Anti-Wrinkle, Anti-Blemish face cleanser. A must have. Wash with it twice a day and you get clear, firmer skin and who doesn't want that?

2. Neutrogena Fast Absorbing Hand Cream. This is a must for New England winters... quick, fast drying, non-oily hand cream that you can rub in and immediately knit after. Yeah. It's that good. I'm on my 1st tube of 2011; it's always in my purse, in my travel "go" bag, and one on my desk.

3. Neutrogena Body Wrap Treatment. Yes, there is some brand loyalty here, but the bigger issue? Brand loyalty due to two things: a) good for sensitive skin & noses, b) well-priced.

4. Burt's Bees lip balm. I wear every day, under lipstick, over lipstick, instead of lipstick.

5. Oil of Olay moisturizer. Yup, the sensitive skin version of the pink lotion my mom & my nana both put on every morning and every night after washing their faces. In my family, it's a family "secret" that most of us use it and we all have fabulously soft skin. I used to steal my mom's when I was little because I thought it was make-up. *giggle*

6. Essie nail polish. I get a mani every two weeks (silk wrapped because I have messed up nail beds that lift instead of curve) and a pedi once a month. I am loathe to leave the house is my nails are a wreck (yes, I'm the same girl who camps in the woods for weeks on end, but guess what I do the day before we leave? Yup- mani/pedi).

7. Secret Clinical Strength Deoderant. This has saved my life and my shirts. 'Nuff said.

8. Aveda foot cream. Pricey, but totally worth it. PC says it smells horrible, but it goes on my heels every night because if not? I could shred the sheets with my dry cracked feet.

9. Almay Smart Shade foundation: fights wrinkles and no more guessing about if you are a "light buff 02" or a "medium buff 02?" while in CVS? I'm all about this. I wear very little make-up and this helps me feel "done" without making me feel like I'm wearing grease paint.

10. Vitamins! I take a multi-vitamin (prenatal for the folic acid & extra calcium), Vitamin D (3000mg), a Viactiv chew, and "fish sticks" (omega 3 fatty acids in the form of fish oil) every day. No one product will do as much for your skin as eating right and vitamins!

tale of wee mittens

Yesterday, like every other Sunday during football season, I met my friend Dora for some knitting (first we had lunch: yummy open faced prime rib sandwich for her, pastrami for me: yum!).

(That's Dora, seaming together her adorable butter-yellow bolero 3/4 sleeve jacket). Also seen, my mitten... sans thumb.

Close up of mitten detail: simple twisted rib cuff (2 inches long to keep the snow out!), followed by a two color vertical stripe pattern.

Finished and ready to be mailed! I crocheted the mitten string this morning, and packed them up and headed in the bitter cold to the post office.

Last weekend, I went on my annual retreat for my guild and while gabbing, gossiping, learning about vacuums, eating, drinking, laughing, gambling and refilling my heart with the power of knitters, I made this hat. It's Clotilde from Alison Green Will. and it's too big. It's destined to be re-knit, but since there is nothing wrong with it besides my gauge (it's off my a miniscule amount, like 1/8, it's going to be a gift. I loved the pattern though, so I'm stalking my stash for the right wee bit of dk yarn...

Now this item was also finished that weekend: my quiviot cowl. With beads. I love it. 1 ounce, 218 yards and 4 pattern repeats... on Size 3 needles... it's decadent, it's amazing, it's warm and I love it! Thanks again for the yarn PC! (he gave it to me Christmas 2009!)

Sock club and more..

As you can see; my sock club has begun. I'm 70% through the 1st one: basic sock, 72 stitch leg, 66 stitch foot, slip stitch heel, triangle toe....on US 1 dpns. The yarn is Lisa Souza's Yarn! In gendarme colorway.

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

10 on Tuesday: game night

10 favorite games from childhood:

1. Sorry! There were 3 siblings, all within about a year or two of each other: this was the perfect board game from age 5-10.

2. Chutes and Ladders. Simple, easy to play, didn't take more than an hour.

3. Gin Rummy. We camped (alot!) and card games were the ultimate in entertainment for us.

4. Cribbage. Yup, we learned addition quickly when learning this game.

5. Gin. I still remember the first time I beat my dad in a game of gin.

6. Scrabble. As kids, we were all big readers, so this was a fun one... showing off your spelling words via the Scrabble board. (PC and I still play this, alot... if you ever want to play scrabble, come to our house: we have 4 versions!)

7. Trivial Pursuit. I loved this game! I am the queen of useless knowledge, so it came in handy, but oh, what fun.

8. Plinko: it involved not dropping a marble while removing sticks from a tube.

9. Boggle. (see Scrabble)

10. yahtzee!

Knit night deluxe

So, I'm home from San Francisco and I'm in Maine!!! At the York Harbor Inn, on my guild's annual knitting retreat. Tonight was a 3 course gourmet dinner (see the smiley faces of my tablemates?? Hi Jen, Jen, and Mari!!) followed by some wine (thanks Sharon...yum) & knitting. The yarn above is kathmandu dk and the pattern is Alison Green Will's Clotilde...and it's a lovely knit. Hopefully a finished knit tomorrow :)

Oh, and if anyone wants to pop in and check on PC, tell him 1 night of pizza is enough and to stop making my pillows hot. 

-- Sent from my Palm Pre

10 on Tuesday

10 ways to get more organized. 

I'm still in San Francisco (about to stretch my legs and wander to Artfibers. yes, you should be jealous, but I was on a conference call at 5am Pacific time this morning, so it's time for me to stretch)... i'm hoping to get home Thursday morning via the redeye, but let's see what happens in Boston tonight & tomorrow, right?

1. calendars. day planners. outlook calendars.... write it down. I stay organized by keeping a daily journal (a day planner) and keeping an online calendar (bonus: my online work calendar syncs to my google calendar, which is my personal one). 

2. make lists. I make a lot of lists, but usually deviate from them. For 2011, I said I'm starting to shop with a list and some cash: and no more. it's an effort to be more organized, waste less and save more($$). 

3. Donate. Donate clothes, odd household items (those college kids need kitsch for their apartments, it might as well be yours), and anything else in good usable condition to local organizations. Oh, and shoes.. donate shoes. i hate doing it, but I need to 'cull the herd' of shoes when I get home.

. 

4. Use any system that works for YOU. The Container Store (*heart*) will tell you that this way or that is the best, but honestly, if you buy stuff to stay organized and it's just not the way you function, it's really just more clutter.... right? 

5. Post its, scrap paper & pens should be handy to you at any given time. In your purse, your kitchen, the bedroom... perhaps the loo, but that's not how i roll, but then again: see #4.

6. Sort mail. Mail is a huge headache in chez Mini y PC; i deal with it by ignoring it, but it just stacks up. PC assumes that if it doesn't have his name on it, it's not his... but I do argue that he is, as a rent paying household member, a "resident" and should deal with the ads once in a while. 

7. Recycle. Yup: it's organizing at its easiest. Newton has single-stream recycling now and having the "one bin" saves a lot of headaches.

8. Purge. Yarn. Clothes. Shoes. Accessories. Purses. Books. CDs.... one day when you have some down time, look at a stack/pile/group of whatever and say 'I'll go through the one stack/pile/group" and nothing else. Move into "want, need, donate, trash" (yes, I added a new category: PC says I don't "need" shoes or yarn or purses or accessories, but I want them). Spend an hour. Be brutal. Be honest.  

9. Buy.Less.Stuff. Easy, right? Not really,but it's an effort we're making at our house b/c we'd like to own a home. And we don't want to move a lot of crap. 

10.  make it a daily thing: don't wait until it's too much to do, do a little everyday. 

Rice 'A Roni...

Greetings from San Francisco! Yes, that's a laptop, work stuff and knitting..all on my hotel room desk. All work, a little play on this trip. :) Actually, I'm covering for a colleague who had her 1st baby last week. Mini's karma points are adding up. Unfortunately, not for my United flight: 2 scream-y babies and no bathrooms. Yup: all 3 potties were "out of order" within 15 minutes of reaching cruising altitude. That's a LOT of people running for the restrooms at the San Fran airport. 

The sock you see is a little 2011 experiment I am trying with my friend, Tracey. We are taking a clue from the Yarn Harlot herself and attacking our sock yarn stashes: 2011 Kate & Tracey Sock Yarn Club. :) Every month, we'll knit a pair of socks from stash. Every OTHER month, we knit from each other's stash :) Cool right? Feel free to join in: grab a friend and swap sock stash yarn in Feb, April, June, August, October, & December. By New Year's Eve 2011, you'll have 12 pair of socks and a nice dent in two sets of stash!

I've also cast on for a hat, but I need to email the designer, I think I'm reading the pattern wrong. :(

10 on Tuesday

So, this week's 10 on Tuesday is for things we can't live without. Oh, and they can't be people. They must be things. Believe it or not, this was tough for me... I have lived without a lot and I've lived with a lot... this requires some really deep thinking.

*deeply thinking...*

*navel gazing...*

Got it!

1. My car. I love my Subaru, I do... but I absolutely 100% require a car to live. Stressed out? Long drive. Need some quality time w/ a friend; hop in the car. Camping vacation? Get.in.the.car and let's roll out. I am unnaturally attached to my car, and PC knows I am obnoxious when other people drive it.

2. My Coach purses. (wow... #2 and I'm starting to feel *slightly* superficial) Coach bags are comfy, stylish and rugged. Oh, and timeless. I'm currently rocking a nice hobo style from PC,which he so nicely purchased for my birthday. My goal is to carry it every day until my next birthday. :) This is tough b/c I have a LOT of bags. 

3. cell phone. Ugh. I love & hate this device all at the same time. It has email (work & home), phone, GPS, facebook, twitter, games.... all in one little black case. I'm a cell phone whore, too... i've been eyeing the new Android phones but haven 't pulled the trigger b/c I am pretending to have self control.

4. my knitting bag. It's Lexie Barnes (Lady B) and I love it. I can carry up to 5 small projects or 2 really big ones and it's perfect and did I mention that I love it?

5. My new Bartlett Yarns wool blanket. Srsly? House on fire, that puppy's coming with me. It's warm, it's made from sheep from my brother's girlfriend's mom's farm... I love it.

6. my kitchen island. This is the hub of our house. PC sits there and talks to me while I make dinner. Sometimes he's the sous chef, sometimes he's the peanut gallery. Friends sit here to chat and it's my fave place for a  cup of tea and a magazine. I do need to cushion the stools though.

7. My bed. PC & I have a super comfy bed...even though last night we realized it might be dipping in the middle (note to self; lose weight). It's where we laugh, love, and lay our heads to sleep each night.

8. my "Queen of Fucking Everything" mug from Christmas 2009. 'Nuff said.

9. my coffee warmer thing on my desk at work. Sylvie gave it to me b/c she knows I can keep a cup of coffee going all day long. This keeps it hot. 

10. .... I know we can't list people, so I'll say the tv... it's a source of entertainment and information. And we watch a LOT of it.

11.... PC. I can't imagine my life without you. *smooch*