Hope It Isn't a Theme...

Although with only 10 courses left, it might just stay that way during school. What am I talking about?! My random gaps in blog updates.

I am pleased to report that everything is well! I have been using all of my time to study, work, knit for 4 hours a week (more if the homework is light), and maintain my social life (by studying with friends..2 birds).

I was only disappointed with one of my midterm grades, and after talking to my teacher, he said that I am doing really well, but that if he just handed out A's it wouldn't reflect that we were learning anything. So hopefully I can get that B+ up to an A by the end of the term.. Other than that I have two A's, and in my most difficult class, a B. Not to shabby.. especially if you know how my grades tend to go! I am loving school! It is actually a lot of fun... I shouldn't have gone back to the classroom when I first moved here, instead of waiting for 3 years..of course I really wasn't ready yet.

On other notes.. I have no finished objects, but still make it to knitting almost every week. I wasn't able to go to any of the fiber fests this year :( maybe next year I will go to all three to make up for it!

I have pictures for you somewhere, but I don't currently have time to sit here and wait for them to upload.

I will try to make it less than a month before I make it back again, and the next post will hopefully have some pictures...maybe of hand knit socks, or hair cuts, or who knows...

Happy Firday! Happy weekend!

Been a while

I finally found time to update!

After that last post, literally the same day, I was coming home from a jog, and got swarmed with Hornets! I recieved 5 stings, along with the information that I am not allergic to them whew! That was the last big thing to happen during the Hamptons trip.

We arrived home a few weeks ago on Sunday, and then School stuff began. My orientation was that Monday, and my classes were that Wednesday. My apartment had one full suitcase, and a full duffle from the trip, waiting to be unpacked, and between work, school, meeting up with friends I hadn't seen in a month, and the rest... I must admit, I still haven't unpacked the duffle! (Aren't you glad to find out that I am updating you before unpacking?!)

School has been going very well! I am taking classes towards finishing my Interior Design Degree, and I love all of my classes! Even the math. But there are a lot of hours put in to doing the whole school thing.. both inside and out of class. I am noticing a huge difference this time around in taking my classes. I am so motivated to accomplish everything and finally be able to start my career, and finally call myself an interior designer, instead of a nanny! (Not that there is anything at all wrong with being a nanny.. look where it's gotten me!) The point of this rambling is that I am loving school, and everything about it!

The Bean Family is all good as well, work is great, I love the kids and the 'rents are great too! They are working around my classes, and we are all making it work. We have finished the first Freddy book, Freddy Goes to Florida and started on the second, Freddy Goes to the North Pole. Because of my classes though, I haven't really been here to read bed time stories, and we haven't ready any of it since we arrived back in CT. They are great books though, I'm not sure who is enjoying them more, me or the kids! I'll try to keep you posted on our adventures, even though I'm busy with school!

My knitting has been receiving about the same amount of attention as my blog has. I am going to continue trying to make it to my weekly SnB. I think 2 hours of knitting a week is allowed. I am currently knitting on my Blue Tweed Vest, the pattern is from knitty, and is called Milly. I am almost finished with the Right front, and I took it to our Stitch and Pitch this past Sunday. It was such fun!

Okay, School, Work, and Knitting... that completes the update... sorry for a photo-less post. Hopefully I will find time to update soon!!

Happy Tuesday :)

Sag Harbor

Let me just first point out that it is not even 6AM, and I am already on cupa #2. Been up since about 4:30, it was almost funny when I woke up this morning. I heard crying, but my mind said, someone is handling it, go back to bed. (And that was the truth, someone was handling it.) But then it continued, so I struggled to roll over and look at the clock, and the 4 jumped out at me and scared me half to death. I managed to pull myself out of bed and go see if there was anything I could do to help so we could all sleep sooner, and there was nothing to be done. So I slinked, or rather stumbled, eyes half-open, back to bed and crawled in. Just one problem... My mind was now awake, so I just lay there not asleep, and listened to the crying that I could do nothing to help. And at 5:15, I decided to make coffee. So now I'm on cup number 2, and finally finding the time I have been looking for to blog. To be completely honest, any other moments I have had have been fleeting and my first thoughts are to quickly pick up my knitting before it's too late! But a week and a half ago, I spent the morning all by myself tooling around Sag Harbor.


It was great, and I needed it. While we have been here, I have explored many of the Hampton Towns. So far I have made it to East Hampton, where I bought the cutest bathing suit ever to be seen in all the planet! The movie theater is also there, and I have made it to see "The Switch", as well as "The Kids are All Right". I have also been through Amagansett, where I found the worlds best coffee! If you are in need of a delicious roast, let me know, and I will send it your way... I'm only here until Sunday, but I see on the bag that their main location is in NYC, so I'm sure I could make my way there to get some as well, and if not for you, most assuredly for me! Montauk was nice as well, but that was while a friend was out for a brief visit, so I'll save that post for another day. And other than this post, it is the only place I took pictures.. I'm sorry, but in ritzy East Hampton, you don't wanted to be spotted looking like a tourist. As for Amagansett, I have no excuse.

So Sag Harbor. It is a little Harbor town (never would have guessed right?), with big beautiful yachts, small storefronts, great sea food, and even houses with buoys attached. So I jammed in the car to my favorite toons on my way, windows down, sunroof open, and I arrived around 10AM. I really wanted a smoothy, but couldn't find one right away. So I simply meandered through the shops, and around the town until I came upon a farmers market. Very small. Very quaint. But really who has wine tasting tents set up at the farmers market to sample wine before noon... and yes there were multiple wine tents. So I tasted a sample. Then I successfully found a smoothy, mango-pineapple. And then I found my way to lunch at a little dock-side shack. I had an amazing lobster/seafood roll, with fries doused with malt vinegar. And even though I was full to the brim I ordered a cup of their clam chowder to bring home with me just in case I needed it when my body found room. And when I ate it, it was well worth it!

It was a wonderful and much needed day. But alas, the children are all awake now, so I am off to entertain. Or rather have fun with this kooky smile bringing boys!

Have a fabulous day!

Rainy Day Kids

Today is our first rainy day in the Hamptons. Which reminds me of a rainy day we had about a month ago back home.

These boys love the rain! They like to take rain walks, and get bundled up and play when it's pouring. This particular rainy day, they decided to get all geared up, and splash around in the back yard...


See anything peculiar about this picture? Jock has a tiny tushie, and his pants are always slithering down... When he was running around in the rain, it was no exception. Although he typically notices when his pants have hit the ground, he was beside himself with all the fun he was having in this wonderful weather! So he just played in the rain with his pants around his ankles, and I shamelessly photographed it.


What a great group I have to look after!
Are you a rain person? Do you splash about when the rain comes out? Or do you frown and stay inside? I am a rain person! I love it, unless it is going on for too many consecutive days...then it can get old, but here and there, not only can they be fun, but they are a great way to literally clear the air, and refresh the earth. What's not to love?!

Happy Munchkin Monday!

What do you See?

I cast on project number two on Monday, and it is knitting up fairly quickly. The only problem is, my creativity for naming has run out. So, What do you see?


Any names just pop into your head when you look at this. Now really it isn't that big of a deal, I just want to give it a proper name for Ravelry. But when I knit it, that is all I can think about... and I'm drawing blanks.

Here is a bit of info about it, to get you started... the pattern is called Diamond Rib Bolero. The yarn is Stella, in Black. It has a gold strand in the twist, which I wrongfully thought might be subtle, so due to its prominence, it will be an evening wear thing. Anyway, it is almost complete, and you won't get a Finished Object Report until I have a name.

Happy Knitting!

Munckin-ing at the Beach

The boys were just ushered out the door by yours truly, to be taken to camp by Mrs. Bean. Although Freddy and Jock will be attending the same camp, they will be in different groups and enjoying their own activities. Today is their first day, and I do hope they have fun. They are signed up to go for the remaining weeks that we are here, but based on their spirits, and how much they enjoy the camp, Mrs. Bean is thinking she may have them complete only the first week. Or she may have Jock, who is younger complete one week, and Freddy complete two. So cross your fingers that they have fun, because the more fun they have, the longer they continue going to their day camp, and the less cranky I will be! (See how it comes full circle?)


Last week, we were trying to come up with all different fun activities for the boys to do around town and at the beach to fill the days. We have been doing quite well, and I think they have only fulfilled their 30 minute daily tv limit three times!

One thing that we did that was particularly fun, was we had a beach breakfast! I made pancakes, and scrambled eggs, cut up some fruit, filled some water sippies, and packed Freddy Goes to Florida and we headed down to have a waterfront breaky.


It was great! Not a difficult task, and when we finished eating, we read two chapters from our book before heading out on an adventure. Can you believe that a beach breakfast was a big enough thing to fill the morning. Not only were their bellies full until lunch, but they were having so much fun, they forgot to complain until they became hungry at lunch time. What a great thing! This is definitely on the list of keepers. Anything that keeps them happy, keeps me happy! (Full Circle again... It's all relative!)

Happy Munchkin Monday!

Finished Lace

I finished my Hydrangea Shawl! Well that is what I have decided to call it because, the pattern looks like it has leaves in it, and the color the yarn is called is Hydrangea.


The pattern is called Springtime Bandit.
The yarn is Lobster Pot Cashmere Lace, hand dyed in bright hydrangea blue.
The needles are Addi Turbos size 9.

For this one, I didn't check gauge, or anything. The yarn that the pattern called for was much heavier, but as I was doing it in this fabulous yarn, and as it is lace, I didn't much care for gauging... although I have been a lot better about doing gauge swatches lately because I find that things are more likely to turn out how you expect them to when you swatch! (imagine that!)



So I finished it on the 23rd of July, then blocked it the following week so that I could have it ready to bring with me this month. The FO report had to wait as I wanted to get these lovely seaside images. These were taken by my helper at the beach, Freddy!

Happy Friday, and Happy Knitting!

Nature's Beauties

The Hamptons are definitely a place that I would have on that list. It is gorgeous here. We are nestled in a residential area in East Hampton, near Amagansett. We can see the Bay from the house, and it is just a two minute walk (at kid speed) to the beach. Simply wonderful.


So far work-wise, things have been good. Extremely better than past Nannying work trips I have been on. I have my own room.. enough said.

We have explored a little bit of the area. Took the kids putt putt golfing the other day, and I won a free game for the next time. We have spent a lot of time adventuring by foot, at the beach. The weather has overall been great. Although as I'm sitting here typing this, it is overcast, a little chilly, and there is actually enough fog in the air that our view of the water has turned into a view of smokey-white abyss this morning. All in all a great time is being had.

I have been knitting and jogging daily to keep myself sane. The knitting is my zen, and the jogging is just a wonderful breath of fresh air. I have only missed one day since arriving, and that was simply because I was the adult on duty and couldn't leave the kids here to go out.

My spirits are great, and we are almost finished with week one. Hopefully things keep up in the direction that they are going! More to come soon!

Knitting in the Hamptons

I haven't had a tremendous amount of time to knit, but I have been fitting it in. Which I am more than thrilled about being able to do. It is my way to wind down at the end of the day... not that I'm not already exhausted from running around with the kiddos all day.. That is why I started with an easy, mindless knitting pattern.

I cast on Herbage while stopped in some parking lot after getting off the ferry boat. Mrs. Bean was feeding baby Jinx, and we were all just standing around for a few hours.. yes I did say hours. 2 to be exact. I figured that I could stand and knit.

I was using the long tail cast on method, and after trying, 2 times, I finally got it, with enough yarn for all the stitches, on the third time. That was all I accomplished while we were there... well that and drinking some more coffee!


Throughout the past 2 days however, I have managed to get in enough time to do just under 30 rows of the pattern. Not a huge amount, but I am satisfied with 15 rows a day while I'm working.

So that's that. Nothing to exciting. I will post withing the next few days about just the environment here in the Hamptons... all I can say is, so far, it's all good.

Face Shapes

Every once in a while, I get tired of sitting around the house doing the same mundane activities with the Bean Farm kids, so we go on outings. This particular outing was to a place called Earth Place. It is a fun facility geared towards adventurous kids. They get to run around and explore the environment. There are indoor activities, and outdoor trails and things. Fun, fun place. Great place for the boys to let off steam.

While we were there, we found a giant peg board thing. It was red on one side and clear on the other, and when you pushed all the pegs to one side, you could make designs by pushing some of them to the other side. Or, you could push your face in them, and that started a world of fun... push your face in once, or see how many times you could fit your face in the peg board. These boys tried it all. And I enjoyed chuckling right along in their fun!




Sometimes it is good to be easily amused! And I love finding great new ways to keep kids happy, this definitely falls into that category!

Have a happy munchkin Monday!

Summertime Shake

This is not some sort of a dance move, but it is a filling drink snack time.
A Blueberry Peach Smoothie

I have an intolerance for dairy products, but Trader Joe's carries a delicious Soy Yogurt, and I love their peach flavor. Toss that into a blender with some frozen Blueberries....



And Voila! A fabulously fruity, wonderful Shake. Check out the color:


Not only does it taste good, it is beautiful!

Happy Summertime Slurping!

A Myriad of Knitting

Isn't myriad a fun word?!




So, I have been working hard to try and narrow down what projects to bring with me to the Hamptons. We will be there for an entire month, and I don't want to run out of options or things to do. I originally was going to start #21 Lace Tunic from the Spring 2010 issue of Vogue Knitting. However, I went to the LYS on Saturday, and couldn't purchase enough yarn.. or order it within the time we'd still be in CT.

So I retreated home, and started searching through Ravelry, and my own book/pattern stash. I decided to choose some things from my stash that I bought with the intent of doing certain projects. So here is what I wound up with:

Up first is the Rowan Felted Tweed in Midnight. This will become the vest Milly from the newest issue of Knitty. The front is simple, yet cute. But the back of it really puts it over the top. I love that it is lacy! This will be great for spring or fall... possibly even into the beginning of winter!


Next is Rowan Classics Bamboo Soft in a lovely shade of Lavender. I had cast on a sweater for this yarn at the beginning of last summer, and then moved on after finishing the back piece. Well now that I have lost weight the back piece is much too large, so I have frogged it, and I will be re-knitting it (this time I'll make all of the pieces, and maybe even put it together). The pattern is from Rowan Classics Booklet 18 Nature, called Herbage simple little cardi, with great ruffle detail!


Out of the same booklet I will be making a pattern called Monet. This yarn was not stashed, but, hey, I had the book, and needles already, so I really didn't do that much damage! The yarn is a sock yarn called Happy Feet by the Plymouth Yarn Co., They call the color Bronze, but it is more like the color bronze turns after being weathered for a dozen years.


Last but not least, is Stella, in Black. It is shiny, and wonderful. I wanted to do something small that could be a great accent for an evening out... nothing too over the top. I found this pattern on Ravelry... Diamond Rib Lace Shrug (bolero). It is cute, and the directions are so simple... you can make it to fit any size.


I told you it was a myriad! Do you think I have enough? Happy Knitting, and Happy Vacationing as well!!

Workin hard..?

Of course! But, that doesn't mean that I don't get to enjoy my work! With the Bean Family, we go swimming a lot. Which is a wonderful way to avoid the CT heat! If I had access to a pool on me own time, you would probably think I was a fish! I have been trying to take advantage of the benefits of swimming while we are at the pool, and if the boys are trying to come up with games to do, I try and turn them into laps for me. Sometimes it works, and sometimes not, but I get in the laps I can while simultaneously watching Jock and Freddy.



Jock loves the water as much as I do, but Freddy needs a little bit more convincing. Which is fine... when the temp gets high enough, he joins us... or if he has a friend over that wants to get in, he'll get in too, or if Jock is acting like it's the most fun he has ever had in his life, Freddy inevitably gets in then as well. Nonetheless, when we're all swimming, we are all having a fun time!

What's your favorite summer time activity? I really love just being outside, doing any number of things, but when it is too hot, I either need nature to provide a body of water, or I need to have pool access!

Happy Munchkin Monday!

Snack Time!

Before I head off for Party madness, I will give you a Snack post! Let's have an Italian snack this week! How about some tomatoes and mozzarella! Just add a drizzle of olive oil, a crack of pepper, and a sprinkle of salt, and voila! Had I had basil, it would have been better, but this will do! Bite sized flavors of Italy.


Delicious, Nutritious, It's all good!

Received Gift

Hooray! It fits! I don't yet have a picture of Laura in it that she would be okay with me blogging, but I did make my friend Lauren try it on before I sent it off, as they are similarly sized and I wanted to get an idea of the fit.

Project Details: Yarn-Lang Silk Dreams in Dusted Rose aka pale silvery pink. Pattern-Double V Cardigan from the Spring 2010 issue of Interweave Knits. Needles-Addi Turbo Circulars in Sizes 5 and 3, both 32" long.

I got all of the pieces done, and blocked it, but had never seamed anything before, so my friend Karen, from my SnB, helped me put it all together! It's good to have friends that share your hobbies so you can get help when you need it.


Today I am going to knitting group, then afterwards I will be attending a welcome home party for a friend who has been in the Middle East since just after Christmas. It is good to have her back, and it will be great to see her! Tomorrow, is Freddy's Birthday Party, which I have been helping a lot with, and will be there to make sure it all gets set up, goes smoothly, and then that it all gets cleaned up properly.

What are your weekend plans?

Alas, It's Laura's Birthday!

Woop! Happy Birthday to one of my very best besties! I love you and I hope you have an outstanding day. Wish I was there to help you celebrate.

This year, I am not having a scavenger hunt for Laura, but I made her a gift. Hopefully she will receive it today and then I can do a Finished Object Report on it tomorrow! Can you believe that I actually finished it with enough time... well I finished late Monday night, and Mailed it out Tuesday Morning... they said it should be there by today, but in order for me to confirm it it was the difference of $5, or $25... So I opted to take my chances.... now I'm wishing I would have had them get it there by today... oh well I saved some money, and the latest she will receive it will be tomorrow.


Anyway, I hope that first and foremost, she likes it, secondly I hope it fits (I think it should, I had a friend of about the same size put it on, and it fit her), thirdly, I hope it brings a smile to her face to thank her for all of the smiles she is endlessly bringing to me.

Thank you Laura for being such a wonderful friend. I hope you get to enjoy the birthday you deserve!

Fun in the PNW

A couple of weeks ago I went home for a visit. I was only home for a short four days, but I had a great time!
The Sunday that I arrived was father's day. After being picked up at the airport, Mr. Jay, the Queen and I met up with some family friends at a local brew fest. It was fun, despite the typical Seattle rain.

Monday morning I took the remarkable new shall my mom maid on the ferry with me. I convinced my friend Kelsey that we needed to ride the ferry because, I love ferry boats, and I haven't been in a long time! It is a great and inexpensive way to spend some time. We walked on, and on found an awesome crepe place on the other side. Had an enormous breakfast, then puddled around town looking at cute shops, and local art. The sun made it out just in time for our ride back across the Sound.
When I got home, Mr. Jay and I went out for lunch, then spent some time lounging around the house with the dogs.

Tuesday I lounged with the pups some more, then grabbed coffee with grandpa. Followed that with lunch at Red Hook Brewery with Laura, then we raced down to Seattle to go on the Ride the Duck tour. It was so much fun, I love being a tourist in your home town, it's a great way to learn more about where you are from. They do Duck tours in a host of towns near bodies of water, I want to start going any chance I get!

Wednesday I went out to breakfast with my dad and my sister. Then after running a few errands, we went home and hung out until we needed to leave for knitting group.

Thursday I spent the day with my mama, aka the Queen. We had a good day! Started with walking the houndies up for coffee (no they didn't drink any). Then we went to an appt. followed by treating our toes to a pedicure, and treating our tummies to lunch. After that we headed home, did some house work, hung around... and I re-packed all my stuff. Laura tried to fit in my Carry On Bag, but she was just a bit to big for the bag.

Friday I took the bus into Seattle with my mom, and my dad picked me up at her office. He and I tooled around in the neighborhood of the airport, and when the time came, he dropped me off.

I enjoyed my time home, and I had a lot of fun adventures in those five days, but my favorite part of the trip was definitely getting to spend some time with Dudley. It was harder than ever to leave, but I am thankful for the time that I was able to spend with him.

Finished Sweater!

I finally finished the SMS! Well actually I finished it a while ago, but I didn't want to blog about it until I had a picture of SM in her Sweater!

It took me just about a year to complete this start to finish, but it was worth it, as the fit looks pretty good, and she loves it!

Hooray! The patter is from the book Button Up your Top Down. It was the second sweater from this book, the first one being my gray sweater. The only changes I made to this sweater was that I added some ribbing in the sides and some darts in the ribbing so that the sweater would have more of a waist shape, as that was the only thing I didn't like about my sweater.


For the yarn and complete details you can check my Ravelry project page. Happy knitting!

Slip Slidin' Munchins

Last week, I went shopping for some fun outdoor activities to do on the Farm during hot weather. I purchased a slip'n'slide!


We (Freddy & I, Jack had an appt, and Jinx is simply too small for these kinds of activities!) had a lot of fun with it, even if there wasn't a whole lot of sliding. We mostly just used it as an extremely large sprinkler... it may have been better if the water wasn't icy cold in the mid-80 degree heat.... too much contrast for us! None the less, we had a laughter filled afternoon!

After we were done with the slide... we splashed in the mud puddles that the water made running down the lawn... soo fun!


What kind of water activities do you enjoy when it gets too hot?

Dogs On Thursday

I'm house sitting this week for the Little's. They are on there annual summer vacation, and the dogs aren't allowed this time. So I am staying home with Kati & Zahra.


We have been walking daily, playing, and having way too many treats! I'm supposed to be spoiling them right? Well I won't get too carried away, but we are going to continue having fun!

I love these girls, (mostly Kati, but Zahra too)! Hopefully they will start getting better on their leashes as time goes on.

***Also Happy Birthday Miss Channon! (She's 38, again!)

A New Group Of Munchkins

These three will take on the names of Characters from the Freddy The Pig books. Did you ever read them? Well, of all the children's books I have read, these are not on the list. I did a quick Google search to see what I could discover about children's books with three characters to find some andventurous animals that may properly portray this new trio, and I came upon Freddy and his friends from the Bean Family Farm in Upstate New York. Just the descriptions of there events make me want to rush to the library and check out all 26 books that were published in the series. I think as I am working with these three, I may make a weekly, or bi-weekly trip to the library to pick them up, one at a time. I will try to find them all, and I will review them along with my munchkin posts.

For now I have chosen Freddy to be the oldest, a boy of 5 years old, he is spunky, creative, and full of spunk! Jack will portray the second and middle child, another boy, 3 years old. And Jinx will be the newest addition to the family, 2 month old baby girl. As I have yet to read any of the stories, I do reserve the right to change which character represents which child, although, I will probably just keep them the same so you (and I) don't become confused.

Here's to a new start with a new group of fun-loving munchkins! Happy Munchkin Monday!

Salty SoTW

Tuna and Crackers!

Easy as can be, good source of protein, crackers provide a nice crunch, and the snack is very filling.


To make the tuna, I just use whatever is cheapest, and I buy the ones that are in water, not oil or anything else. Then I mix in light Mayo (have you tried the canola mayo yet, it is supposed to be super yummy, and lighter than the real stuff), diced celery, and relish. You can use whatever crackers you have on hand. I like the Rice crackers. They are thin, crunchy, and lightly salted. You also get a ton of them per serving, so your hankering for a salty snack is sure to be filled without over-doing it!

Happy Snacking!

Non-Knitting FO

Wrapping Paper!

Why spend money on wrapping paper, when your town has a plastic bag ban, and every time you buy more than will fit into your re-usable bags, you get paper.

Here's What you do... cut the paper bag so that it will lay flat.


Choose no more than 5 coordinating colors, and get a ruler (unless you want to free-hand it)



Come up with a design.. Stripes are fun, and using a combination of different widths adds a new design element than just stripes. You could also do polka dots in different colors and sizes, or big swirly lines, etc. When you are doing something that isn't as rigid as stripes, it will take less time to color the paper.



I used the width of my ruler as a spacing guide, that way you can just roll it over and mark along the width of the paper. You mark with one color, then two times with the next color, that way you get the variance of wide versus thin stripes. Go back after and color them in.



Voila, you're done! You can use the paper for any holiday, birthday, wedding, or other gift giving reason.


Happy Crafting!

Sprucin' things up!

I just re-signed my lease for another year, and I love my little studio apartment for the most part. But if I could do anything differently, I would have a little deck to put an Adirondack chair or two and little table on, and I would have my bedroom be it's own room. However, sense I cant alter the structure of the building to add what I want, I will just spruce up what I have.

To make my studio apartment feel more like it has 2 separate rooms, I have the same basic colors (white, and espresso) in both spaces with red to accent the bedroom area, and orange to accent the living room.

In the past the main things that have kept these colors present in each space are the curtains. Now, I have added a painting above my bed that has the perfect neutrals in it, and a gorgeous red dress! My friend bought it for me as a thank you for helping her find all of the wall art (paintings, photo frames, and mirrors) for her new condo. She claims that if I were already an interior designer, she would have to pay me the big bucks to help her out, so instead she just bought me a painting that I pointed out while we were shopping. I love it, and I think it fits perfectly in the space!



A few weeks ago, I decided that while I don't have Charlie or Sheila around anymore, my place could use some more life. So to cheer me up, I bought this charming little tropical plant... the pot was more expensive than the plant itself, but it is a good fit for my decor. It is a tropical plant, that I don't have to water more than once a week, and it can go for 2 weeks without water, I just have to feel the soil so I don't over or under water it. I get quite a bit of light in my place too, so it gets all the sun it needs, and it gives the place a nice bit of life.



We'll see if these new changes are good enough to last a year, or if I'll end up adding more or less in the future. The next project is re-organizing and de-cluttering the place!

Baby Booties!

A finished object!! No, it isn't the sweater previously posted about this week-I'm not that fast of a knitter!

It's booties! One of the families that I work for on occasion just had a baby. She is the third child, and the first girl! First I found the buttons, and then I knew that I had to make her Mary Jane's! The pattern is a free one I found on Ravelry called, Mary Jane Booties, by Lucie Sinkler and the pattern is actually from TLC, found here.

The yarn was Debbie Bliss Cotton Denim Aran, in a dark Charcoal. I found these super cute buttons, and I knew that I had to do them in black or something dark gray so that I could showcase these adorable pink buttons. And the yarn was stash yarn...even better!


I knit it on Addi Turbo's.. some of my favorite needles by far. I did them 2 at a time, I find that is the easiest way for things that are pairs. It was a simple pattern to follow, and they were finished in no time at all! Baby knits are the best, not only are they super cute, but they are super quick as well!