Silliness

The crazy busy summer continues. This past weekend my friend Athena was in town. We braved the heat and hit all the hotspots.

The highlight of the weekend, was my friend's birthday extravaganza. He has been planning this event for months. A group of 40 of us dressed totally rad in 80s attire and hopped on a bus headed to Medieval Times.

(chicken as big as your head! No utensils anywhere!)

Although our red-and-yellow-striped knight lost the battle,



we all had a blast. Once the bus brought us back,

we finished up the night with karaoke in Korean town. It was an interesting mix of things, but a winning combo!

I'm taking the red-eye outta here on Wednesday; heading back to Wisconsin for Gretchen's wedding!

Smoke in the City

Here's a view from the Getty Center of the smoke clouds from the fire in the Angeles National Forest Fire. The smoke continues to creep in today as the fire spreads. Pretty incredible.

On a happier note, I think this pic I took in the Getty gardens turned out fantastic:

Lemon Zucchini Cookies

My mom was talking about the Lemon Zucchini cookies she made last week, and as I got bit with the baking bug this weekend, I decided to find a recipe to make these myself.



I used this recipe, without the walnuts.

Yum!

Chirp Chirp

I whipped up this little stash-buster this week for my mom (surprise, Mom!), before I return her Closely Knit book to her.

It's a pincushion - just needs a little bird to sit on top!

Happiness

Happiness costs just five dollars at the Beverly Hills Farmer's Market. I'll be happily gazing at these beauties all week. :)

Cap-Sleeved Eyelet Top

It's done! This seemed to go on forever because of all the busy-ness in the past month. It turned out really well, and fits great.



This is the Cap-Sleeved Eyelet Top from the book Closely Knit by Hannah Fettig. I totally would have skimmed right past this pattern based on the picture in the book, but this FO on Ravelry caught my eye, and luckily my mom had the book.



I used exactly four skeins of Blue Sky Hand-Dyed Cotton (there was about two feet left when it was all done) that I bought for 30% off at the Knitter's Studio on 3rd Street. I thought the color was a little more blue in the store lighting, but it turns out it's a periwinkle color that exactly matches my last FO. I guess I like that color!

The cotton is a little fuzzy and a little thick, but it should be a nice top for fall.

New Digs

Here’s a few pics of the new place (I found it a little difficult to photograph, plus there's a bit of extra unpacking clutter around, but you'll get the idea). Decorations/pictures aren’t hung up yet, and we might be upgrading some of our furniture soon, but this should give you a view of the new digs.

Our old view put us looking out over noisy 3^rd Street, with the Nordstrom’s sign glaring into our window at night. The traffic meant that our balcony was covered in filth, and wasn’t very usable.

* old view at the Palazzo on 3rd *

Our new apartment overlooks the pool, so while we will probably have to deal with some noise on the weekends for another month or so, it’s still much more peaceful. We are also on the top floor, which means we get some extra light.

** if you had x-ray vision to see through the opposite side of the building, you’d be staring right at the Hollywood sign, and the Griffith Park Observatory. **

*living room, master bedroom off to the left*

* All the mirrors in the bathroom are perfect for hair-stylin'! *

The extra bedroom allows us to have more storage room, and really frees up the living room. It’s nice to not feel so cramped in, without a lot of clutter around.

And what’s this? My own closet? Fabulous! My clothes are quite happy with their extra breathing room.

All in all it’s a definite upgrade, and I think although moving is quite a headache, it was all worth it.