Merry Christmas Eve Eve!

I am finally finished with all of my Christmas presents, and can move on to knitting for myself! I finished boyfriend's Christmas hooded scarf last night. It still needs to be blocked today, but I took pictures anyway...on my new camera! We exchanged gifts last night, and I got a new camera and a shiny new leather bomber jacket. Woohoo!

That is the Heelhead Scarf (Ravelry link) made with two skeins for Malabrigo Worsted in Black Forest. I like this color because it looks brownish/blackish/grayish depending on the light or what you pair it with. Now I get to go back to selfish knitting for myself! I think the February Lady sweater is up next, and quite possibly a little shrug. I just need to make sure I gather up all the materials I need today before I head back to Wisconsin.

We spent our Friday in Disneyland...a full 12 plus hours there meant we were extremely sore and wiped out the next day, but it was all worth it.

We squealed like little girls on all of the rides, and ooOoohed and Aaaahed at the fireworks over Sleeping Beauty's castle. Seeing Disney all decked out for the holidays definitely got me all ready for Christmas.


So pretty!

Now I need to find some motivation to get packing for the next two weeks...the worst part of traveling in my opinion. We are heading out early tomorrow morning, and I'm hoping the snow will let us through!

Happy Holidays!

Unique

On Saturday we went to the Unique Los Angeles independent design and gift sale. We had a great time looking at all the original ideas, and even stopped to get our picture taken (note Leon's new 'do! Hehe).



The weather has been a bit brisk, and even a little bit of rain! Just a little reminder that Christmas is right around the corner! Cool weather always makes me want to bake, so I tried my hand at some gingerbread biscotti. Wrapped up in a Christmas tin, it's been the perfect pair with gingerbread coffee!

Sweet Potatoes

Of course, I still have more pics of Christmas cheer. Here are my favorite holiday coasters, made by crafty Emily! The picture doesn't show the pretty silver thread she used, but it definitely makes them sparkle.


I love my candle holder my dad made from a birch tree. I think that covers all the holiday spirit around here!



Ever since boyfriend and I tried out Father's Office for their delicious burgers and sweet potato fries, I have been craving some more. I took a stab at making my own, and while they were a little mushy, they were really yummy. I put them in the microwave with a little water first before sticking them in the oven, and I think I would eliminate this step next time to hopefully get them a little crunchier. We ate these with some blue cheese dressing, and some good seasonings...mmm!! I had to capture all the matching yellow-ness behind the fries too - dinner was very coordinated with the kitchen that night.



I am finally knitting my LAST Christmas present! There is no way I would be able to knit everything for everybody if I had been working all this time, so I probably won't be as ambitious next year. I'm looking forward to giving everybody a handknit gift!

Job Cupcakes!

Boyfriend introduced me to Sprinkles cupcakes, which are just a whole lotta delicious.  He said that when I got a job, we would have to celebrate with cupcakes, since I love them so much.  Since I finally have a job, we went and picked up my job cupcakes!  Flavors: Eggnog, Peanut Butter Chocolate, Vanilla Peppermint, and Red Velvet.  They were all pretty amazing.  Maybe we should celebrate my first day on the job, January 5th, with some cupcakes too!  

Before picking up cupcakes we did a little shopping around Beverly Hills.  The palm trees are all decorated with lights wrapped around the trunk, and with poinsettias planted at the bottom.  Rodeo Drive has huge wrapped presents with glass chandeliers in glass boxes stuck in the middle of the street - only in LA!  I didn't get a great picture, so I can't show you, but I'm sure you can imagine why I think this wouldn't work in Wisconsin.  

Snow in LA!

Look who I saw!

And then, I saw snow!

(ok, so it was about 65 degrees, and the snow had a foam-like consistency, but the fake snow was pretty thrilling nonetheless).

Last night boyfriend and I walked over for an Italian dinner at Terroni, and then we finished off with Pinkberry. We have finally figured out our fav combo of toppings. Even Pinkberry guy said, "you have discovered the perfect combo." The secret to tasting success? Fruity pebbles, yogurt chips, and strawberries. We learned last night that it is just as tasty on the pomegranate. Yummy. I could eat that every day!

More Christmas Cheer

Here's some more of my of my favorite Christmas things.

I found this sparkly postcards at Anthropologie last year, along with the little tinsel tree with pearls.

And of course, I have to have a cupcake on the tree!

My computer is acting up, so I'll finish up later. Happy Friday!

Finding Christmas Part Deux

Here is a little bit of cheer popping up around the apartment.

Jolly the Elephant likes to keep an eye on the holiday happenings from his felt snowflake bag.

I love the little fuzzy dwarfs I found at Ikea.

A few more pictures to come!

Finding Christmas

Being back in Wisconsin for Thanksgiving was fantastic, and just what the doctor ordered. It was the first time back since the move to LA, and I really needed to be around friends and family for a few days to get my spirits back up, and to eliminate some homesickness. Seeing snow, enjoying the cold weather, getting into the Christmas spirit AND receiving a job offer didn't hurt either! When Sunday rolled around I was actually ready to get back to the LA apartment.

I know Christmas is coming, but with the sun and warmer temps every day its hard to believe that its just three weeks away! Putting up the Christmas decorations has helped, and of course seeing all of the store displays and the jolly Christmas cheer across the street at the Grove! I have heard that they make it 'snow' every night in December from 7-8 pm. I must check this out.

Knitting is still all presents, presents, presents, so I am not putting up pictures yet. I have one more solid week of nothing to finish up everything before my first day of work (unless they push it back until Jan. 5th). I'm also going to try to create my holiday cards this year, Martha Stewart Holiday issue inspired. Time to get to work!

His and Hers

Thursday night boyfriend and I went to see The Sounds at The Palladium on Sunset.  We were digging the venue, and The Sounds put on a great performance.  I have had dreams of being a rockin' lead singer every since.  Check them out here. 

I am continuing to search for a job, and as the process continues to ddrraagg on, I am at least able to continue my projects for Christmas.   No pictures; can't spoil the surprise!  

Last night boyfriend wasn't feeling the greatest so we stayed in. Boyfriend's new Call of Duty: War of Worlds game came in, something I will never understand, but that he was thrilled to pieces about.  Luckily, we happen to have his and hers televisions, as our apartment already came with one, and we both had one.  As our apartment is small, two of those tvs happen to be side by side.   He played his game on one tv, I happily watched Friends and Golden Girls reruns on the other.  I thought the number of tvs was extreme, but I suppose I wasn't really thinking about "Call of Duty" situations.  

Only three more days until the cold Wisconsin weather!  

Time to Get Movin'

It's time to get serious about blogging, since I took the time to set this up!  

This past weekend boyfriend went to San Fran to visit a friend, so I invited my cousin to come for the day.  We walked over to the LACMA to see the Vanity Fair Portraits exhibit.  I enjoyed the old photos the most, and it was interesting to see how the idea of celebrity has changed so much from Einstein or Stravinsky being the subject of a photo shoot, to today's Brad Pitt or Madonna. After the exhibit we were able to stroll around the outside of the museum to check out the La Brea Tar Pits.  Stinky!  We saw a Saber tooth pelvic bone buried in the tar, just a mile away from my apartment.  

Knitting has been all about little projects these days, mainly for the holidays, with a few 'test runs' of patterns for myself. :)  Once January rolls around, I plan to get pretty serious with some of the sweater patterns that have been burning a hole in my Ravelry queue for quite some time.  It will be hard to post pictures of it all in the next month...I don't want to spoil any Christmas surprises!!  

Some other things keeping me busy, in list form: 

- Making these cookies - YUMMMMMM.  Boyfriend tries to stay away from the sweets, and isn't as big of a fan of pumpkin like me, which means I've had to take care of finishing them off.  Luckily they have stayed moist and delicious since I've made them, so I can take my time. 

- Slowing making my way through Sense and Sensibility...I just re-watched the movie, which has put me in a Jane Austen-y kind of mood

- Concerts, concerts, concerts! Boyfriend loves to find tickets - Mates of State/Santogold/the Ting Tings, Bishop Allen, MGMT/Spoon/Beck, Vampire Weekend, Cold War Kids/Broken Social Scene, and seeing the opera: The Fly - LA definitely gets more names than Madison!!   

- And of course - always on the back of my mind: FINDING a JOB!!  I feel like I am getting closer.  While I'm trying to enjoy the time off, I feel like a bum most days, and hate watching my savings dwindle.  The next career move has to be right around the corner! 

Only eight more days until heading to the snow and cold in Wisconsin.  I can't wait! 

The Beginning

I have decided to join so many knitters and begin my own knitting blog.  I follow so many different blogs, and felt I should start my own to document my own knitting progress and FOs.  I have recently relocated to Los Angeles and am searching for a job, so I have some free time between surfing for jobs and new knitting projects.  Let the scribing begin!