Holiday!

I fell off the wagon hard. so far I downloaded the latest episode of the Cho Show and after reading the new issue of Blender magazine, I ended up downloading about 10 songs on itunes. I bought a book, eight skeins of homespun and probably four magazines. the only thing I have not been able to find is a rolling laptop case that is small enough to fit under a plane seat and non dorky. Carry around a bunch of work crap and the huge work laptop is killing my shoulders and i can't use backpacks any more because i feel like they are pulling me backwards and it still doesn't help the shoulder thing.

Mom and I hit a bunch of the Labor Day weekend sales, hence, the shopping mentioned above and now we are just chilling watching Jane Austen movies. Right now we are watching the BBC version of Mansfield Park.

I started another shawl, with some Candy Apple Homespun that is a really nice shade of red and I really like how it is turning out so far.

I was naughty and had a mango rasberry swirl smoothie and a chocolate chip bagel from Panera for breakfast this morning. I did take the dogs on two walks around the neighborhood today so hopefully that balanced things out.

Traveling!

This weekend is Labor day weekend and I should be at home rounding up the yarn and the Jane Austen movies. it's been kind of a long week and it will be nice to have a little break. My ditzy boss told me this morning that I will be traveling down to Charlotte four times this month. seriously! One of them is right two days after Labor Day but it's little 2 and 3 day trips during the week so it's not that advantageous for me but if the company wants to pay to put me up in the hotel and all that goodness, then I will happily go along with it.

I finished the Gothic shawl that I started this weekend. Last night at Michaels I discovered Bernat's new glow in the dark yarn which comes in tiny skeins but it's pretty cool so I bought a skein and made a cozy for Saffron the itouch.

My delft blue Red Heart arrived yesterday so I am excited because I can work on the Special Olympic scarf this weekend. I also received my Emily Dickinson print (ordered from the Emily Dickinson Museum) so now I just have to find a frame to fit it so that I can put it up over the manual. It's very tasteful looking. Now I am just waiting on my Kiehl's order but it didn't ship until Monday and I am not really expecting it until after the holiday.

Victory!

I finished the quilt block and it looks pretty good! I know it’s not perfect, but I think I did well considering the fact that until Saturday afternoon, I couldn’t even figure out how to thread the bobbin correctly. I packed up the sewing machine and drove it over to the local sewing machine repair store and told the lady my whole sob story. She helped me thread the bobbin and showed me how to fix the tension (the tension knob had been knocked around during all my moving this past year). I took it home and was able to finish the block in under an hour. I really need to buy a table so that I can have a place to set up the sewing machine without having to move stuff off my desk to sew.
I made a stop at Jo-Ann’s and they are carried Dritz branded Project Runway sewing notions now. It was really tempting but I didn’t buy anything because I didn’t really need any of it. I can’t wait until season 4 of Project Runway comes out on DVD. It will be fierce!
Speaking of fierce, I was at Barnes and Noble and discovered Mia Tyler’s new book, Creating Myself: How I Learned That Beauty Comes In all Shapes, Sizes and Packages, Including Me. It was so good that I started reading it this afternoon and read until I finished it. I really need to buy another bookshelf. I have two five shelf bookcases and they are packed with books. My DVD rack is also completely full too. I did watch a couple of episodes of The Tudors last night.
I was able to finish another dishcloth yesterday as well. It’s made from the Sugar N Cream Stripes too, but it’s the blue-green stripes that remind me of the ocean colors. I have about six inches done on the Gothic shawl. I really like how this colorway looks. I am using the M hook on this one because Homespun is easier to crochet with the larger hooks.
Yesterday morning when I was at Trader Joes, I discover their store brand lip balm. It’s spearmint flavored and you get three tubes in a package for about the same price as one tube of my all-time favorite Burt’s Bees. I wasn’t planning on going there this weekend but I needed mail off my car insurance payment and there was this giant festival downtown which is where the closest post office is to me but there is another post office that is over by Trader Joes and Whole Foods, so I decided that since I was already in the area it made sense to go over there. Sunshine will be amused to know that I finally discovered where Wal-Mart is located. The funniest part is that it is RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM WHOLE FOODS!!!! Now, let me explain how it is possible not to notice this. Across the street from Whole Foods is this strip shopping area that is at the bottom of the slope. So Wal-Mart is at the bottom of the slope and this street is really busy but since it was early Saturday morning the traffic was light and I just happened to notice what was actually down at the bottom of the slope. I didn’t go there but at least now I can say that I know where it is. I just think it was funny that it was right under my nose the whole time because I go to Trader Joe's or Whole Foods at least once a week if I am home during the weekend.

Flying By

This week has been crazy. It really nice that I don’t have any place to go this weekend because I know this coming week is going to be rough because it’s month-end and the fiscal year end is drawing near.

Last weekend I discovered Trader Joe’s oatmeal and cranberry cookie dough. It is packaged into 16 little dough balls and smells like heaven in the oven. I have so much fun every time I go there just reading the little stories on the packages and the employees are laid back and friendly. I still love my Whole Foods too because they have my favorite croutons and dip and the trash bags I like.

I scored The Tudors Season 1 on dvd at FYE’s big dvd sale this week for only $15 and this normally retails for between $30-40. I think I am going through a Brit Lit phase again. I re-read Jane Eyre recently for the first time in ten years and then I found the BBC/Masterpiece Theatre edition on DVD and loved it. I also watched the new versions of Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion and the biopic Miss Austen Regrets. I also bought Smart People on DVD with Ellen Page and Sarah Jessica Parker and it is hilarious! I am happy that I bought that one too.

I finally read Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks (LOVE IT) just in time for the movie to come out next month(?). I also finished reading Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. This book is definitely the most dark and twisty book in the series but I was happy with the ending. I also read Looking for Anne of Green Gables: The Story of L.M. Montgomery and Her Literary Classic by Irene Gammel and White Heat: The Friendship of Emily Dickinson & Thomas Wentworth Higginson by Brenda Wineapple. Both books were excellent and make me want to visit Prince Edward Island and Amherst. I have been reading like crazy lately and so that’s why my crafty progress has been slower.

The sewing machine drama continues. I still can’t figure out how to thread the damn bobbin so I am going to go to the Singer store on Saturday and plead for help. I have the new needle installed and threaded so I am so close. I have over a foot completed on the knitted shawl but I am using two strands of TLC Amore and I knit really super slow so it is taking me forever. Plus, I am also halfway done crocheting a dishcloth and I started crocheting another shawl out of Lion Brand Homespun in Gothic (which is the deep purple that I really like). I haven’t made much progress on the tote bag I started crocheting in Virginia Beach because I have to alternate stitches every row and I keep forgetting which row I am on. I might be ripping back and marking it off as I go on a Post-It.

Breezy Days

I honestly don’t know where this weekend has gone. I ended up watching several movies, including The Notebook and Lars and the Real Girl. I also watched Sex in the City Season 1 today which sounds like a lot but the first season only has two discs. I have watched the entire series several times but I still laugh every single time and I can’t wait until the movie comes out on DVD. I have finished the Prairie shawl, the blue shawl and I am halfway done with the purple shawl that I started yesterday. It sounds like a lot but it’s a really simple pattern and I can crochet really fast when I am watching a movie or TV shows or if I’m with a big group of crocheters or knitters.
I should have been sewing but I have a small problem. I managed to thread the machine and find a bobbin and then I look down at the machine to thread the needle and I realize that there is NO NEEDLE!!!!!! It was like after lunch and I thought I would practice a little so that I got all the kinks worked out before I started to actually sew the block. So, I am just going to wait until next weekend because I have already been to Jo Ann’s this weekend and for some odd reason I just don’t feel like going out again today. Then I had to call my mother and admit how much of a spaz I am so that she could tell me what kind of sewing machine needles I needed to get because there is like a bazillion different kinds and they are all for different purposes. I think she got a good laugh out of it. Hell, I was laughing too just because it was so typical of something that would happen to me.
I am really excited though because I was reading the new issue of Crochet Today and they had mentioned that Red Heart had a new kind of yarn called Red Heart Eco-Cotton blend which is made up of 75% recycled cotton. I thought that it would be cool to try but I didn’t seriously think that any of the craft stores would have it in. Much to my surprise, AC Moore had some so I picked up a skein in Denim. It’s like 3.39 for 145 yards. There was even a free leaflet for it that has a washcloth, a hand towel and a soap holder. I think I am going to make the soap holder because it looks really cute and I have all this free hotel bar soap.
Yesterday, I had this sudden cleaning kick and I ended up reorganizing my yarn stash and my knitting and crochet books. The yarn has been consolidated more but I still want to buy some cube like shelves so that I can actually see it on display and know what all I have. The books are all on the shelf and group together by category. I am not motivated to organize the magazines, because I just have a ton of magazines in general and most of them are the reference type.
Last night I started reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I still need to finish Breaking Dawn too. I am really bad about having several books going at once and switching back and forth depending on the mood I am in. I haven’t read Jane Eyre in about ten years, so it’s like reading it for the first time all over again.
Musically speaking, it’s marching band season again. YAY! I think I am going to go to a couple of football games this season just to hear what the local marching bands sound like. One of my favorite drum corps, Phantom Regiment won the championship this week and my other favorite drum corp took third place so I was overall happy. I got to watch clips on You Tube so that was cool. I’m seriously thinking about buying the DVDs when they come out so that I can see all the shows in their entirety. I have also been listening to Coldplay, Alanis Morrisette and the Mamma Mia soundtrack. I think Violet Hill is my favorite song off the new Coldplay album so far. As for Alanis’ new cd, I actually enjoy the whole cd and it is in heavy rotation in the Subaru. The Mamma Mia soundtrack is just fun peppy music to listen to and I have always been a fan of ABBA. I was actually listening to it yesterday while I was cleaning and organizing things. I came to the conclusion that I need to hang some artwork on the walls or something because since I spent the entire weekend in my apartment for the most part, I realized how boring the walls are and they are painted that “apartment white” color that just doesn’t inspire me that much.

Here

I'm not sure how this happened, but the temperature managed to drop a few degrees today. I think I even felt a breeze walking out of the office this late afternoon. The second awesome this is when I got to Barnes and Noble, I could hear the marching band practicing and I think I let a little tiny squeal of joy out.

I did managed to find another skein of the blue homespun so I can finish the blue shawl and I am almost finished with the second skein of the Prairie shawl that I started while I waited to find more blue. Hopefully I don't run out of the Prairie. I have not worked on the Summer tote much. it uses a G hook and it alternates between single and half double crochet and so it is very slow progress.

I also have ambitious dreams of threading my sewing machine this weekend and making the quilt square this weekend for the quilt raffle at work. Lol. This could be interesting, but I have a back-up planning of taking it into the local Singer store if I can't understand the manual. I won't be going to see Mom until Labor Day weekend and we are supposed to turn in our squares on the 22nd, so that is why I am sort of paddling without an oar. I really want to learn though. My mom is a sewing goddess, so I think that somewhere inside of me I must have some repressed sewing talent. If this works out then I would like to make a little kitchen curtain and a big curtain to cover my bedroom window that faces the disgustingly bright street light.

Anyways, I am home for the whole weekend. it should be fun, I think. I have mountain dew and soy ice cream so I should be good to go.

Just Beachy

I woke up this morning and my breakfast arrived and it was huge! I forgot how big the portions are when you order room service. It also came with the world's largest Heinz Ketchup packet, so i am totally taking that home with me. Anyways, I took a picture of the whole thing because my sister likes vacation food pics.

I am nearly finished with the blue shawl but since it is a little wider than the last one I made with Homespun I am almost out of yarn and I'm not sure that it will be long enough and I know I won't have enough to add fringe. damn. I am going to hunt around for another skein this week. Hopefully AC Moore will have more of it because when I originally bought it, they only had three skeins left when I originally purchased the yarn. Oops! Once this is finished I am going to start a bag made out of kitchen cotton. It's a free leaflet pattern that I got at Hobby Lobby while I was visiting my parents the other weekend.

Since I have time to burn before the reception I am going to go back to the beach. I already checked the weather report at weather.com and there is not supposed to be any sprinkling or rain going on today.

Road Trip!

I woke up this morning and fell off the purse wagon hard. Yesterday at work, one of the other female accountants told me at lunch that I should go to the outlet mall in Smithfield because they have a Coach factory outlet store there. Smithfield is just south of Raleigh so I decided that I would take a little detour on the way to Virginia Beach. If there is such a thing as purse heaven, this would be it. I bought a brand new "Carly" purse with the purple strap (to go with my new Converses). I basically bought this purse for cheaper than my first purse that is like half the size of this one. I definitely plan on coming back. they have the scarves and the matching wallets and the keychains in all the styles and colors and shapes. I just wish that a Coach purse would have qualified for the tax-fee holiday but I got such a deal on this purse I can't complain too much because it was around 50% off the original price because it was on sale. The nice thing about buying at the actual Coach store or the Coach outlet stores is that they give you the little brown bag to store your purse in when it's not in use. They had a Fossil store there too so I was able to buy a new wallet for my sister. It is so cute!!! She needed

I'm not sure how long it took me to get to Virginia Beach but it seemed like it took awhile. The only bad thing about road tripping solo is that you don't have someone to chat with on the way there. I think the trip home will go a little faster because I will be driving straight there.

I stopped at the Virginia visitor's center and got a free "Virginia is for Lovers" bumper sticker and a map (just in case). I drove through the Chesapeake Bay Tunnel and went over the bridge. That was interesting. The only other time I have driven through a tunnel like that was when I drove through the mountains on my way out here. I stopped at First Landing State Park and spent twenty minutes on the beach before it started to rain a little. So I packed it up and headed for the hotel. The cool thing about the bay is that you can see all the barges off in the distance and the Cape Henry Lighthouse. I'm not too sad though. It has been a long week and it's nice to just hang out in the hotel and relax. I am going to finish the blue shawl and probably read some more of Breaking Dawn (soo worth the 3 1/2 wait at the store).

the best sign I saw on the road trip has to be at this Baptist church in Virginia. The quote on their sign out front read "Wal-Mart isn't the only saving place." Unfortunately, I was driving and I couldn't snap a pic. I had to smile because I haven't been to a Wal-Mart since I left Oklahoma. I was also excited to see the Welcome to Virginia sign because it meant I was almost there.

Anyways, tomorrow is the wedding reception and then I will head home to the Triangle. I can't believe that summer is almost over.

Breaking Dawn!

The wait is finally almost over! I am really mad because a certain bookstore claims they dont have my reservation. I think it's because the chick entering it had never done it before and she was a beyond air head. It just ticks me off. I wish they would give you some sort of confirmation number or something.So I am debating on whether or not to go yell at customer service or stay in one of the few chairs left in the cafe. I did not wear my fish nets today. it is like humid and 100 degrees, so i settled on the black sparkle shirt and my black pants.

the other fun thing about today is that I bought a pair of gray and purple satin double-tongue Converses at Lady Foot Locker today and they also qualified for the sales tax holiday. Hell yeah. I am wearing those right now as I speak. I went to the mall looking to find actual clothes that fit which was a total joke and most of the stores are switching to fall and it is too hot to wear long sleeves right now.

Tomorrow morning I leave for Virginia Beach. YAY!!! I am stopping at the big outlet mall on my way that is home to the Coach Outlet store. I want to look and see how much (if at all) cheaper they are then buying them from the regular mall. it is hit and miss with outlet stores sometimes. Too bad a Coach purse isn't part of the sales tax holiday. They should be. Every woman needs at least one really nice expensive purse.

It’s The End of the World

Not really but the end of the month is awful in the corporate accounting world and we are not playing with a full team this week so it kind of sucks a lot. I am focusing on the prize at the end of the week. Friday night I am staying up really late so I can go to the Twilight Prom at Barnes and Noble and buy Stephenie Meyer’s latest book in the Twilight series – Breaking Dawn. I am honestly excited about this book. I will probably be stoned for saying this but her books appealed to me more then Harry Potter as far as my personality goes. Plus, she has excellent taste in music and I love the playlists that she created for each book. Anyways, you are supposed to wear your dress up clothes so I am going to dust off one of my gothy party outfits. Shudders…. Yes I do have gothy type wear. I love wearing black and fish nets thigh highs. It’s not full fledged goth, just gothy. Plus, I am dying to see what people are going to wear or if they dress up because when they would have the Harry Potter release parties some of the outfits were as hardcore as attending Comic Con.
Then part two of the weekend begins when I drag myself out of bed and drive up to Virginia Beach for some fun in the sun and a wedding reception. I don’t have my outfit yet but I am planning on going to the mall Friday night before Twilight Prom so that I can find something. I live in black t-shirts and business casual. I don’t really have a lot of in between outfits because I tend to buy clothes based on what I will wear the most times.
I am halfway through the second skein of the Cobalt Homespun. I made this one a tad bit wider then my other Homespun shawl so I am a little paranoid that I won’t have enough to finish because I bought the only three skeins that AC Moore had that day. Oops. It is the brightest prettiest blue though, so I had to have it.
Since I spent the weekend at my parents house it was a big movie weekend. Mom and I watched:
1. Juno
2. Penelope
3. Definitely Maybe (April was my favorite girlfriend and I loved all the Nirvana references and Jane Eyre books)
4. Pride and Prejudice (The BBC Edition with Colin Firth – he is the only Mr. Darcy in my book)
5. And MAMMA MIA!!! (I love love love ABBA! And Colin Firth! Plus, it had Amanda S. from Big Love)

I am feverishly trying to use up my yarn stash and it didn’t help that Mom stuffed a bunch of yarn in my Subaru. Mom has discovered the art of knitting socks and as soon as she makes it through her first sock she is going to attempt to show me how. Did I mention that she has 6 socks started? We were trying out different types of dpns and weights of yarn to determine what would be the ideal.

Soundtrack of the Week:
1. If Ever – Foo Fighters
2. Free Fallin’ (Live) – John Mayer
3. Chasing Pavements – Adele
4. Heart Songs – Weezer
5. Dancing Queen – ABBA
6. Anything played on the sound system at my corner Starbucks

I would list the books on my bedside table, but I would be typing all night. Currently I am finishing up Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin and I finished The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch while I was at my parents house. I do make an honest attempt to read at least one book a week. I would read more but working and crocheting slow down the reading pace a little bit.