Thursday, September 29, 2011

Happy Fall Thursday!

Isn't the fall just spectacular? On the drive to work this morning, I noticed all the colorful leaves falling to the ground and thought, "I better pay attention, fall's here!" It should be pretty easy to pay attention to fall this weekend because Applefest is finally here! There will be apples, apple cider, pumpkins, donuts, a corn maze and the most amazing french fries in the world! The only fall things I love that are missing from that list are Halloween, Thanksgiving and football.



 It's going to be a busy weekend full of yoga, running errands, finishing crafting projects, cleaning the house, cooking, having a few friends over (I like cooking and cleaning so much more when it's because friends are coming over) and then sitting outside all day trying to get people to buy the stuff we made. If you're in the Mount Pleasant area, come on out to Applefest and be one of those people!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Monday, September 26, 2011

The Monday Beloveds

Welcome to the first installment of The Monday Beloveds! I've decided to blog every Monday about some stuff I'm in love with. Every week, it seems, I have a new beloved TV show or object or snack or something and I feel the need to share the love with you! I'm making it Monday because I became really irrationally attached to calling the objects of my affections "beloveds," there's no weekday starting in a "b" removing my favorite writing device the illiteration from the title option and today is Monday and I am, as always, eager and excited to get started on this project before I can really think it through! So, on that note, let's jump right in!

The Monday Beloveds!

1) Akeelah and the Bee



I watched this movie for the first time over the weekend and fell in love. I laughed, I cried, I clapped, I cheered all while sitting at home alone and therefore bumping myself one more notch in the, "She's crazy because she lives alone" meter. I highly recommend this movie because I found it inspiring and touching and really triumphant. I've been meaning to watch it for quite some time. I can't really say why I chose this time in my life to check it out from the library. I really have no idea.
Curtis Armstrong is in this movie?! What a strange coincidence!

 2) Essie Nail Polish



I tried it on a whim and it rules. It's pricier than the really cheap stuff I normally buy and worth every penny. It goes on nicely and comes in a large array of fun and unusual colors. I'm completely hooked.

3) Trail Mix



There has never been a more convincing way to eat chocolate as part of a healthy snack. Yum.

4) Artie from Glee

It took me a long time to watch Glee. I know a lot of people like it and a lot of people told me I would like it because of my love for gratuitous displays of singing and dancing. And because I live alone and because I knit a lot and because I like to watch TV while I knit I finally checked out Glee. I have to say, it is the perfect knitting show. You don't have to pay attention because the plot is not complex and not even that important. The songs are fun and can be enjoyed even if you are in the middle of a difficult Celtic cable and you can't really look at the screen. But there is something about Artie's voice and attitude that gets me to look up just about every time he's on screen, dropped stitches be damned.

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Which is why I always make sure to blow out the candles

The other day, I bought a new knitting book that I am CRAZY for. I was telling my sister how bonkers bananas I was for this knitting book and I told her it was one of the items I would go out of my way to rescue in case of a house fire. Here is the rest of that list:

1) My favorite knitting book










 The book that started the whole conversation, The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns has absolutely changed the way I design and has me actually knitting gauge swatches just like a real knitter. Erica told me about it months ago, but I was resistant because I thought I had enough knitting books (I do have a fair few). But finally at her urging I checked it out from the library. The minute I opened it, I ordered my own copy from the local bookstore. It's a series of charts which allow you to either make basic hats, mittens, gloves, etc or a pattern upon which to base your design. It is the most useful book I own and I would encourage any knitter at all interested in designing their own work to take a look at this book.

2) My favorite cookbook





























The Joy of Cooking is as valuable to me for cooking as the pattern book is for knitting. It has a great index in the back so that when I bring home a butternut squash from the farmer's market because it looked pretty, I can look it up and find a couple of options of what to do with it. Joy has more information than I may ever use about setting a table, nutrition, stocking a pantry and certainly more recipes than I'll ever try. But it is my go-to resource in the kitchen.

3) My favorite kitchen tool


















For my birthday last year, my sisters bought me this immersion blender. Before I had my immersion blender, I got squash all over my ceiling. I made that same recipe this weekend and voila, no squash anywhere but in the soup pot! I love my immersion blender so, so much!

4) All three copies of Jane Eyre




I have been trying to get my book collecting under control. I work in a library for goodness sakes, and in the interlibrary loan department for that matter! I can get most any book I can think of! But there are some books that deserve collecting which is why I have three editions of Jane Eyre. There's the Signet Classic edition that was the first edition I owned and it is in tatters (I read Jane Eyre at least once a year). Then, I picked up a Norton Critical Edition at a used bookstore in town a few years ago. And then. The jewel of  my library, the best gift I have ever in my life received (yes, even a notch or two above the immersion blender). A copy of Jane Eyre in Thai. My ex-boyfriend Casey went to Thailand when his brother and sister-in-law got married and brought this back to me. His family thought he was nuts because I can't read Thai but I love it so much. It's not pictured above, I couldn't find it anywhere online, which actually just makes it cooler.

So while clearly I would be most concerned about my cats were a fire to break out, while I would of course want to rescue pictures and other sentimental objects, and while there's no way I would ever actually take the time to rescue any material thing from a house fire (my police officer father didn't raise any fools), these are my "Things I would save from a house fire" type of possessions, my favorite things.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Happy Curtis Armstrong Thursday!

Remember that time I confessed to having a crush on Booger? It hasn't really gone away. I can't explain it, when I confessed it to a friend she was totally grossed out and said, "But I'm pretty sure Booger smells bad." She is not wrong.



But now my crush has developed and become multifaceted and now I also really like Charles de Marr from Better Off Dead. I submit the following for your review:

I can't explain it, he's such a weird little dude. But he is darn funny!
Tell me I'm not the only one with a weird, semi-embarrassing crush. Who are you inexplicably in love with?

(Much thanks to Liz for bringing the Charles de Mar video to my attention!)

Thursday, September 15, 2011

I still believe in Happy Thursdays

If this video doesn't make you happy, you need some serious help.*
I want to be in this video so badly! I want to be as cool as that tattooed girl hanging out by the piano but I definitely want to be the girl Frank pulls on stage to play the harmonica. Because I lurve him.

Earlier this week I looked at my calender to see two blank, white squares labeled Friday and Saturday. You know what that means? NO COMMITMENTS!  I'm going to cook and read and watch a lot of Mad Men and knit A TON because Applefest is coming right up. I'm also going to buy myself something pretty with my birthday money because my Grandma told me to, and then I'm going to go show it to her. There's also a really good chance I'm going to drink too much coffee, eat a donut, get Mexican food for at least two meals and probably drink some wine (maybe even in a hot tub). Weekend, here I come!

Happy Thursday!



*Ok, try this:


Don Draper, kids. He will cheer you up anytime! (Also, you may have gotten pregnant just looking at these photos. Yes, even if you are a man. And you may be reduced to mumbling, "Don Draper...Handsome...Don...HANDSOME...Don Draper..." for the next hour or so.)

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Look what I can do!

Hey! Hey! Look what I can do!
This is not me. But I can do this too!
I can only do it for a half a second or so, but I can totally do it! I did it for the first time in class yesterday and then did it about 75 more times when I got home just to make sure I still actually could.

I still actually could! And now my arms are tired.

You're probably not supposed to brag about yoga, huh? Oh well.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Working Weekend

How to bring the weekend to work with you so as not to get depressed about only having one day off:

-Get a pumpkin latte (go ahead and spring for the biggest size available).
-Ditto bagel and cream cheese.
-Listen to some Dolly Parton.

-In fact, just cut to the chase and play the YouTube mix for Dolly Parton.
-Order a few Halloween movies and books through MeLCat

-Queue some knitting projects in Ravelry.

-Remember these songs exist and thank your lucky Pandora star.
 -Promise yourself at least one glass of wine and one Gary Oldman movie before bed.
You may be Creepy Gary Oldman, but I love you!