the BIG move

This past weekend was the BIG move into our new house!!! Hubby and I are pros at the whole moving game as we’ve moved 6 times in the 9 years we’ve lived together. And that’s not even counting all of the moves during those college years (hubby and I lived together during some of that time…that’s just a whole other story… but I digress. …meandering mind!)

What I want to tell you is that the move went just fine! Almost too easy. I kept waiting for something to go wrong; some sort of moving disaster to tend to. Our big move (2 summers ago) was filled with stories of lame moving guys that didn’t bring proper moving equipment (like truck dollies), moving guys that show up in flip flops and want you to brew hot coffee on a 90 degree day, and guys that show up late and leave early because they have somewhere else to be! (you know who you are, crazy Seattle movers!)

After all of that we were due some pro movers. And these guys delivered. They showed up on time, came prepared, and the best part was the whole job lasted only 4 hours. I would so recommend them to anyone in the area. Love-love-loved them!

Below are a few pics from the BIG day. Stay tuned for home improvement pics– we’ve been making some major changes already on the inside of the house. Well, off to unpack some boxes!

Boxes!

and Boxes!

and more Boxes!

yay for unpacking the bed

cheers to us!

I have a FO!

That’s ‘finished object’ speak in my knit-knit world!

Let me introduce you to my pretty cable scarf…

I’ve been working on my Double Cable Scarf for many, many, months now (I started this project at the end of January) and I’m happy to say it’s finally done! I actually finished it right before my SoCal trip but just got around to letting the world know :) In defense of my extremely slow knitting … I have been a little preoccupied with other knit-knit projects, my sister’s upcoming wedding, and, oh, being a new home owner! Oh, and…. a special thanks to my friend Tyna for walking me through the blocking part. This was the first item I have ever ‘blocked’ and I’m so glad I did it. I think it really evened out the stitches.

Now I get to tuck this beauty away until the weather cools down again. Like in 5 months! Can’t wear a scarf in June when the weather is 90 degrees outside. Hee. Hee.

Dreams really do come True!

Look what hubby and I bought today…. our very first house!!!!! Very exciting to be official home owners. Whoo Hoo!!! Happy dance time– yeah. yeah. yeah.

Proof that dreams really do come true.

SoCal Fun

Just got back from SoCal. My sis is getting married in July and I was there for both her bridal shower and bachelorette parties this past weekend. What fun!!!

Sorry, I won’t share pics of her naughty party (people, my mom reads this blog!), but here are some from her shower and the Japanese Tea Garden she’ll be getting married in.

tea garden

koi party

Janet’s spot

happy mama

Janet & Barb

pretty bride-to-be & me

C is for Cookie

Look what I made today…. mmmm peanut butter sandwich cookies. Don’t they look de-lish? Crunchy, chewy, and creamy; all of the best textures rolled into one yummy, peanut butter lovers cookie. I know these will be made again and again at my house! One bite into these lovelies and I found out how rich they are! Off to buy more milk.

Caffeine Swap

I love to receive packages! Really, who doesn’t? A couple of days ago I got one from my secret caffeine swap buddy on ravelry. Let me try and explain… I joined a group on ravelry called caffeine addicts (love to drink coffee, tea, & knit) and they did something similar to a secret santa thing (but this is with people from around the world). There were rules, a max on what to spend, and everyone who signed up got a secret buddy to buy for.

Here’s what I saw when I opened my box. The loot included: one skein of sorbet Pagewood Farm sock yarn, one skein of 100% wool Manos del Uruguay in moss, adorable stitch markers, a cute blue coffee cup, AND the most yummy smelling Caffe Zingaro coffee & World Peace tea from Seattle. Seriously, you could smell this stuff through the packaging. Thank you Carol for making my first swap rockin’ awesome! I love my package! :)

Doing the Happy Dance!

Well, I did it. I finished my first pair of handmade knitted socks. I decided about 8 weeks ago that I was going to take a knitting class that was going to challenge me… and boy oh boy was I challenged. At first I was like, how the heck am I going to figure out how to use these tiny needles that really felt more like toothpicks than something I was going to use to make a sock?! But after some angry knitting moments (and a few naughty words) things started to click and soon I felt fine using my size 2 DPNs (double pointed needles). I’m so proud. This really wouldn’t have been possible without the help from my most excellent knitting teacher, Emily. You rock and you have the patience of a saint. Thank you. I’m doing the happy dance in my fabulous hand knitted pink socks!

Brinner and hulu

Did ya catch last Thursday’s Scrubs episode– My Bad Too? If you haven’t, click on the link and watch it when you have a minute. Hilarious! Turk was raving about how much he loves Brinner; AND so do I! I always feel like it’s some special treat:) Last night, hubby made me Brinner (breakfast for dinner) and let me just say… it was beyond awesome! I had the most delicious homemade banana chocolate chip pancakes. Ohhhhh my. I love Brinner. I’m such a lucky girl.

Hey, did you notice that when you open the Scrubs link it sends you to hulu? Check it out. It’s my new favorite site. Hubby and I spent a good chunk of time last Friday just browsing away on it. I’m not sure how hulu is doing it– all of those tv shows and movies for FREE. Better check it out while it lasts.

Monet to Magnolia

What a fun Sunday I had yesterday! Hubby and I decided to take a trip into the city and see a little fine art at The Frist. We saw some fantastic work from my favorite period in art; impressionism, of course. Oh, how I love me some Monet! :) I loved looking at the Wheat Field and Low Tide at Pourville, near Dieppe. Ahhhh…. just takes me to my happy place. Other works we saw…. Rodin, The Thinker. Now, this may sound a little naive, but I thought the piece would be much bigger. Really, you could put it on your coffee table. The work that most surprised me was the Mondrian, Chrysanthemum. I think it took me by surprise because I never thought of him drawing flowers; I always associated him with works like Composition with Red, Yellow, and Blue.

After soaking in all of that fine art we were ready for a little nosh in Nash… so we headed downtown and ended up at a restaurant that serves one of my favorite beers, Sweet Magnolia.  Mmmm Magnolia.  Truly, the perfect end to a perfect afternoon.

Encounter with a Knitting Rock Star!

Last night I had the pleasure of attending my very first book signing; the Yarn Harlot was in town! (For those of you non-knitters out there… please click on the hyperlink above to read all about the Harlot.) She’s so smart & witty; in her books and live, in person. I even got my pic taken with her. And, I’m even holding the Harlot’s sock—Whee!!! It was so much fun being around other folks who share the love of knitting and LOVE this knitting rock star.