Thursday's Randoms

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The mister and I have been in talks about the bathroom in our bedroom and how we will fix it up.  Right now it's pretty "meh".  The paint is not at all appealing to me, but it's been tolerable.   The countertops are perfectly fine and so is the shower, but it's not very tranquil and that is something I definitely long for.  Plus, it doesn't even begin to match our bedroom, as that was the first room we painted.  I would love to be able to recreate this bathroom - view included.  Although our view is pretty rad if I do say so.  It overlooks a meadow and many mornings I have looked out and watched groups of deer frolicking, with their fluffy white tails bobbing up and down.  I'm thinking we'll paint the walls the same shade of minty blue green as our bedroom and hang wainscot halfway up the walls.  We'll add some shelves and pops of red and voila, the perfect bathroom shall transpire!

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Between taking care of Stevie, work and well, taking care of Stevie, there hasn't been much motivation to knit.  I've been trying to work on finishing up a last-minute Christmas gift (that obviously didn't really turn out to be a last-minute gift considering it's mid-January practically and it's no where near being done) and still have a lot to do, but when I'm done, I'm thinking this beautiful pattern is my next project.  The last hat I knit for myself was definitely a learning project.  It was completely unwearable even though it looked good over all.  

How chic are these mittens?  I love the zipper and I love how warm they are making me feel.  They're on sale, too!

I purchased a bar of soap a few months ago from a boutique here in Louisville and I've been loving the way it feels and smells.  If you're in the Brooklyn area, check out Saipua - a family-owned soap and flower shop with amazing scents.  They're carefully handmade in the store and they have some pretty great packaging too, might I add.  If you're not in Brooklyn, the soaps are sold across the US!  I have the gardener's soap and I love it, but I really wish I could wash my hands with the coffee mint right about now!

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So many of us are experiencing winter today - finally.  Since I have the day off, I'm thinking that curling up by the window with a book is the best idea.  

Happy Thursday, everyone! What's inspiring you today?

Fall is for Knitting

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I've recently been working on a project that has me so excited for cold nights.  I've been going through yarn faster than ever and each and every stitch gets me more and more eager to finish.  But after I finish, I know I'll want to start another project.  I'm just not sure what.

Thank goodness for the internet ::

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Mayhaps I'll knit a blanket with bold blocks of color.  Or intricately knit the most adorable booties in existence.  Or perhaps I'll finally knit my main squeeze a manly gray cap (I've knit hats, I just never have for him.  Poor thing) or really get into the Halloween spirit (too late) and knit up a witch!

Hope the weather is treating you nicely wherever you are - our weather is fall at its finest right now :)

Weekend recap

On Friday night, I met up with friends at Millenium Park to hear some Christmas caroling by the Wicker Park Choral Singers.  They were gathered in front of the Bean, which looked amazing with chunks of snow on it.   This, by the way, is the best view of the city.  There's a reason they created that park where they did!

 Shortly after my arrival at Millenium Park, my feet completely froze and I couldn't feel most of my body.  So we walked over to Macy's and wandered aimlessly just trying to warm up.

After we warmed up, I went to dinner with my other half and then we moseyed on over to the Chicago Theater to see the one and only Jerry Seinfeld.  It was kind of a short show but it was one of the best Friday nights I've had in eons.  For the entire hour and 45 minutes he was on stage, I had a steady stream of tears rolling down my face from laughing so hard.  Seriously, all he has to do is just say a few words in his unique Jerry voice and I'm laughing.  I highly recommend shelling out the money if he's coming to a town near you.  

On Friday afternoon, we had to take our little fella into the vet to get his shots up to date and his claws trimmed, plus since we're taking him with us to Louisville over Christmas, we needed some sedatives to ease his trauma of being in the car!  But in typical Gus fashion, he was a terror and wouldn't let anyone come near him without hissing and swatting at you with claws out, ready to rumble.  So the vet had to sedate him which meant we had to leave him overnight.  I can't recall a night spent at home without the snuggle monster so it was just as traumatic for me as it was for him.  We picked him up on Saturday morning and gave him lots of love, created his own bed in a box (see above) and after a few days of acting like a total stoner, I think he's back to his old self.

I whipped up the butterscotch eternity scarf over the last few days.  I wanted to make something for myself and I wanted it to be warm.  So I used Lion brand's thick and quick which is the most aptly named yarn out there.  Over the last few weeks, I had been working on the teal basket-weave scarf above as a Christmas gift for Anna-Maria.  I don't have a picture of the finished product but it turned out pretty good for my second project!  

Lastly, B made me this cute grilled cheese and I couldn't resist sharing even though he rolled his eyes when I got the camera out.

It was a really great weekend.  We had dinner with friends on Saturday night and played Euchre with them, did a lot of baking yesterday but still have so much left to do for our holiday party tomorrow and finished the weekend off by hanging out with a group of friends, some who were in town from NYC.  

I can't believe next weekend is Christmas.  Luckily, I've been done with my shopping for awhile so I am only left with wrapping presents.  How were your weekends?

Knitting inspiration

I'm stepping my game up folks.  I have my second knitting class tomorrow morning and I'm going to learn some key information so that I can knit, knit, knit all winter long!  I can't wait!

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My first knitting project!

Well, I did it!  I have officially knit a project from start to finish.  Hooray!

I picked up this bulky yarn a few weeks ago and decided that for my mom's birthday, I really wanted to make her something.  I knew it would be special to her because I've never made her anything in my grown up years because I've never really been the crafty type.  My last sewing project (in home-ec) was a disaster and both her and my grandma (both experts with the sewing machine) made a great deal of fun over it.  So not only would it mean a lot to her but it did to me too.  I didn't have a pattern in mind so I just started knitting.  I kept knitting until I ran out of yarn (3 skeins, it was all they had in that color) and it was still a little bit too short so I turned it into an eternity scarf!  I had no clue how to do it so I just took my needle and wove some strands through, tied a knot and called it done.  It turned out pretty great and she loved it.  It's rather bulky so she'll have to reserve it for those bitterly cold days.  I told her it would be great for when she comes to visit us this winter, hint hint.

Now it's time to attempt to make patterns, wish me luck!

Knit Wit

So yesterday morning, I took my very first knitting class at Sister Arts Studio in Lincoln Park.  I had so much fun!  Over the last month and a half, I've taught myself the knitting basics by watching videos recommended to me and "Teen Cafe" on YouTube - pretty helpful once I got past the whole cast-on debacle.  So since I wasn't sure if I was doing everything right and I had no clue how to read patterns, I opted for the personal project class to get some one-on-one time with an expert.  Not only do I knit correctly (patting my back here) but I was praised for the progress of my project which I thought was entirely way too difficult for me to even think of starting at this point.  When I decided to knit, I was inspired by this blanket pattern by Patons and thought that "easy" meant easy for someone who has no clue how to knit.  BOY was I wrong!  They make beginners patterns, Meagan.  Remember this.

Ann at the studio helped me decipher the complicated pattern terms, taught me how to slip stitch and then guided me row by row until I could just repeat the pattern over and over again.  I only had one color of yarn so it didn't have the same effect but I learned new things, made good progress, was applauded by the other knitters and gained a whole lot of confidence along the way.  That's the thing about me and my mom's side of the family.  If you tell us we can't do something, we're that much more determined to do it just to prove you wrong.  Even though nobody told me I couldn't do it, I wasn't exactly too sure of my abilities so I pushed myself harder.  It may take me all winter and spring but I'm going to complete this afghan whether my fingers fall off or not!

So not only was I completely inspired to continue knitting yesterday but thanks to Stephanie from Bird on a Wire, I found an incredible Christmas craft to make that was easy and completely my kind of style.  So I immediately ran to Joanns, returned some other yarn I had bought and exchanged it for some StitchNation yarn in colors I like and I'm going to dive in to making some other stuff while I work on the blanket (thick yarn, thick needles = quick project, right?!).  I also bought pinecones and after I go get this cavity filled in an hour and a half (yikes!) I'm going to get to working on the garland ::

I don't even have a fireplace!  Hah!  

And maybe I'll do some knitting so that I can get good enough to make something like these for a special lil' baby due in February ::

or these ::

Happy Thursday!

Cozy scarves

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It's knits like these that made me decide to give knitting a try (it's coming along very slowly but surely).  With the temps rapidly dropping, cozy neck warmers/cowls/scarves are on my mind.  The thought of actually making one myself is so appealing and when there's something that I want out of myself, I usually make it work.  So I'm using these chunky, stylish knits as my inspiration.  Wish me luck!