Year End

Now that the holidays are coming to a close, I am going to have some fun knitting to share with you. As always, I had a lot of fun knitting gifts for the holidays, and feel they went to some very knit-worthy recipients. Stay tuned to future posts to see what's been on the needles lately.



For now, I'm going to work on getting settled back in after a week away in with family, friends and lots of snow. After a day of traveling back, a nap may be in order, if I plan to make it to midnight tonight! Thanks for tuning in to this little blog during 2009. Happy new year!

Christmas Eve

*snow at my parents house*

Our tradition on Christmas Eve is to look at Christmas lights. We have our regular favorite spots to go. This year's freezing rain cut our ride a little short, but we still got to drive by my favorite house on Foster.



When I was younger, this house's light display was paired with the house next door, and included a horse drawn-carriage with two riders. They are no longer there, but the friendly waving snowman (he moves!) always says Christmas time to me.


*(My parent's pic, taken right after 15 inches of snow)*

Now we're snuggling up by the fire, getting ready for Santa to come tomorrow. Merry Christmas!

Get crackin'

There were two of these guys outside of my apartment's front entryway and they made me laugh.



Somebody call hunky Santa at the Beverly Center and tell him there's a new guy in town....

Caramel Pretzel Turtles

Over the weekend Boyfriend and I had dinner at my Aunt's house. As a holiday treat to bring along, I made these Caramel Pretzel Turtles:

I flattened out caramels with a rolling pin



wrapped them around pretzel nuggets (these steps were improvised a little bit. I couldn't find regular caramels, so I used caramel cremes...these worked, but the cream part flaked a little bit in the wrapping process, and pretzel nuggets/round were not available either, so I chopped up pretzel rods).



The caramel wrapped pretzels were dipped in chocolate, and rolled around in finely chopped almonds.



* They don't look particularly appetizing like this....*

Finally, I wrapped them up in individual cellophane bags - ta-da!

Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

Hello holiday friends! Preparations for the holidays have been keeping me busy. There's been a lot of Christmas knitting happening, which I can't share yet, but I can share the holiday baking!

I turned to my Martha Cookie book for inspiration, but you can find the same recipe online. These turned out great - the fresh ginger really adds to the flavor of the cookie, and mine turned out super chewy, even a few days later.



This little elf has to get back to work, if I want to win Christmas like the Target lady!

Thanksgiving in Wisconsin

The table was skillfully set by yours truly



Pumpkins and turkeys were all around



Brussel Sprouts from the garden (I don’t eat these, but they look cool!)



A hand-crafted button tree (mom’s work, not mine)



A sleepy kitty



Mittens make piano playing even MORE fun



And of course, mini-mittens were presented just in time for December 1st



I hope your Thanksgiving was as nice as mine!

Winterizing

I've had a bit of knitting"start-itis" lately, and have been casting on all sorts of small projects. This week I knit up a flower headband. Ellen and I were on the same page this week, as she created one too! Her's is based off one her co-worker saw in a salon being sold for $85...shesh! I made mine from a free pattern on Ravelry, based on one at Anthropologie. Anthropologie's version is here. They also have a cute one with a bow, which might be fun to try.



I also finished my mittens, and attached the poms:



Looks like I'm all set to head to colder weather next week.

A Mitten

A finished mitten:



There is only one, but the second one shouldn't be too far behind. This was my first dabble in colorwork. It started off a little rough, but after a few rows (or 10) of the pattern, I got into a grove, and I suspect the second mitten will be much easier.

These are the Herringbone Mittens with Pom (Ravelry Link).

I have Christmas crafting on the brain...my hands will be busy this weekend!

Eva Restaurant

Tonight Boyfriend and I skipped our usual Sunday take-out night, and walked two blocks to a new addition in our neighborhood: Eva Restaurant. We have wanted to try it for awhile, and I recently found out that they do a Sunday night family-style, Prix Fixe, five-course (wine included) meal. The menu changes each Sunday, but you can check their website in advance to see if it's what you want.

Tonight, we had:
Salad of little gem lettuce, green goddess dressing
Fried chicken
Warm potato salad, capers, vinegar, parsley, shallots
Red wine braised brisket
Creamed spinach
Bread pudding



* Red wine braised brisket and creamed spinach (iphone photo in dim lighting - sorry!)

This was such a nice way to finish off the weekend. The cozy, intimate setting at Eva was matched with such a wholesome, home-cookin' kind of feel. I would love to try their regular menu, but also might not be able to pass up trying another Sunday night there.


* Bread Pudding *

Christmas is right around the corner, and I couldn't help but try out one of these little elves. This pattern covers a wine cork. An early Christmas decoration in about 15 minutes!

Happy Halloween!

Rag Bath Mat

The preview from my last post turned into this:



This is the Rag Bath Mat by Cocoknits. I used two Ikea fitted twin sheets, and used the Cocoknit tutorial to connect the cut up strips without using knots. Ripping and connecting the strips is a little messy and time consuming, but since the project is on such large needles, it didn't take much time at all.



This mat has the right amount of squishiness. Love it.



And...happy one year anniversary to my blog! Thanks for reading.

YUM

My taste buds are doing a happy dance after dinner tonight, and I had to share! Tonight I got out my new grill pan and whipped up Apple Maple Turkey Burgers with Maple Dijon Sauce. They were so easy and delicious! I think this was a good way to bring in Autumn flavors, without digging into heavy comfort foods (of course I love those too!). Check out the link for the recipe!



There's been lots of knitting going on and soon I'll have something to show off. Here's a preview:

Too Ambitious For a Wednesday

In college there was a great place open late that made delicious Pelmeni – Russian dumplings. They were served up with a soda and a side of sour cream for five bucks, which was a great bargain for us poor college students. The place is now closed, but always remembered fondly. Boyfriend and I often crave Pel’meni, and recently one of my friends attempted making them at home by researching recipes on the internet. He shared how he made them, and last night I decided to attempt them as well.

All in all they turned out ok, although this was way too ambitious for a Wednesday night – probably a much better weekend project, with the help of extra hands. I immediately knew I was going to struggle with the dough I made, and set back out to the store to pick up some potsticker wrappers. Of course this took away a bit of the authenticity of texture and taste, but it made my life a lot easier. I made both potato and meat filled dumplings. Once I had all my potsticker wrappers complete, I went back to trying to work with my dough. I was able to complete a decent sized batch with the real dough, which helped give the right flavor the dish needed.

*yum!*

Topped with white vinegar, cilantro, hot sauce, curry powder, and a side of sour cream, this dish did end up hitting the spot and filled the craving for now. With one experience attempting this under my belt, I think it might be easier the next time – but I think I’ll wait a long while before trying this again!

My Own Autumn

I don’t think it’s a secret that I LOVE fall, and that the weather in Los Angeles this time of year just does not provide anything close to the crisp, cool fall air that I love.



This weekend, my mom sent me my own little piece of fall.



This bright red leaves were a pleasant surprise to bring an autumnal feel amongst the palm trees and hot temps. It even SMELLED like Fall. As the temperature dropped a bit yesterday and today, I think there must have been some cooler weather packed into the envelope as well…thanks Mom!

Woodsy

I couldn't resist this tiny project, especially after I saw Natalie's worked up.



I happened to have some woodsy/acorny colored cotton taken from my Grandma's stash that I wasn't sure what to do with, considering "Butterscotch" isn't one I regularly work into my wardrobe.

This is the Woodsy Acorn Pot pattern from the Sept./Oct. Crochet Today.

What's with all this crochet? I think it's time to get back to two needles...

Foliage Hat

This weekend's finished object:



This is the Foliage pattern from Knitty. Of course, the weekend's heat wasn't exactly the right conditions for this hat, but I hope that soon enough I might get a couple of days to wear it! This was a quick and easy pattern, and just the thing for some instant gratification knitting.

Back To It

Wasn't this blog supposed to be about knitting? Well, I'm back to it. After such a busy summer it's nice to get back to my long list of projects I've been wanting to make.



Last night I whipped up this fun little project, which I loooove! It's a shower loofah. I'm still getting the hang of crochet, but this project was easy enough for me to work through in a night. I haven't tested it out yet, but I like the idea that I could easily throw it in the laundry to use for as long as it will hold up, rather than having to constantly replace the store-bought kind.

I am dreaming about fall and knitting cozy winter-y things, but unfortunately the upper 90 degree temps are not exactly compatible. I'm crossing my fingers that things will cool down soon!

Wilmington Wedding

The reason for trekking to Wilmington for the weekend was for one of my oldest friends', Charlsie, wedding. We grew up basically like sisters, just eight houses apart. Now we have each relocated to opposite coasts, but I knew I couldn't miss making the trip out there to see her get married.

The ceremony and reception were held at the historic City Club de Rosset.



It had the perfect amount of Southern charm.





*entryway inside the club...the chandeliers were gorgeous!*





*Chad and Charlsie*


*Mom, me, and maid-of-honor/sister-of-the-bride, Darchelle*

It was a lovely, intimate wedding, and I'm glad I was able to go. Congrats to Chad and Charlsie!

Wilmington

I had a whirlwind 36 hours in Wilmington, North Carolina this weekend. Despite the short trip, I was able to cram a lot in.



My parents booked a hotel right on the ocean. You could leave your sandals behind and walk right out to the beach.



The sunrise



Shell haul from a week spent at the beach



In Historic Downtown you’ll find a store for all your house column needs. There happened to be an art fair going on while we were downtown, where we picked up some goodies.



The Riverwalk



USS Carolina



Daytime view of the ocean



We even had time to find the local yarn store to score some sale yarn!

The main event of the weekend was of course a beautiful Southern Wedding. Tune in tomorrow.