WIP Wednesday: The smell of pink and the touch of black

I wanted to paint my nails because the past few times I've been in yoga, my centered, spiritual thoughts have been interrupted when I looked at my toes and thought how nice it would be to have happy, colorful toes to look at during my sun salutations.  And so, I currently have, applied, dried, and shining on the tips of my fingers and toes, scented nail polish.  It's a very light pink that could pass as the neutral main color in a French manicure, and it supposedly smells like cotton candy.  Except that I just chopped some celery for my lunch tomorrow, so it smells like someone put creme brûlée in a celery stick.  Like the fanciest ants on a log ever.  What will they come up with next?

My fingers are very pampered, actually, between the polish on my nails and the soft squooshiness of the yarn I'm working with.  My Mini Fox Stole My Heart is hibernating, shall we say.  It's one leg, two ears and some brain stuffing away from completion, but I'm setting it aside for a little while because I cast on something else last week that was more suitable for mindless social knitting and I'm on a roll with it.

It's another tiny owl knits pattern, bo peep scarf.  Because I'm knitting it in black, I'm calling it Bow Peep's Black Sheep:

The yarn is Cascade Indulgence, an alpaca/angora blend, and my goodness, it feels so good.  It's like knitting a cloud.  The pattern calls for a fingering weight yarn held with a mohair lace, but this being worsted has about the same weight and the fiber still has that mohair halo without any itchiness.  It doesn't take the best pictures, as you can see, but I think a black bow will be cute and chic.  It's another project that's going in the pile of handmades for my longer-term swap, but I also have some pink yarn, unfortunately not Indulgence, to make one for myself later.

For more WIP Wednesdays, go to Tami's Amis.

WIP Wednesday: Cute in progress

In the last six months, I have worn my contacts for two reasons: to go skiing and to get my hair cut.  Those are the two activities that really make me grateful that I can set my glasses aside.  For skiing, it allows me to put on goggles comfortably, and for getting my hair cut, I'm able to see something more that just a vague head-shaped blur in the mirror.

Otherwise, I tend to just be lazy and put glasses on.

So in honor of this special, non-glasses day, and in a transparent display of my so-much-more-nicely-blown-out-than-I-would-ever-do-myself hair, here's me with my work in progress:

Mini Fox Stole My Heart is a body with a tail, and a head.  The next step is adding some legs.  I can sort of see how it's going to be an adorable little fox, but it's going to take a bit of seaming.  Then it will look a little cuter around my neck.

For more WIP Wednesday posts, go to Tami's Amis.

Inspiration Saturday: Wildflowers

I hope that those of you living in more Northerly climes are starting to experience the thawing powers of spring, because otherwise this post might be a bit provoking.  Here in Texas, spring has announced itself not just in the sunny warmth of the afternoons, but in the glorious color that speckles all of the highways and byways.

Every year around this time, some of the most gorgeous scenery can be found by driving along the interstate, where thick patches of bluebonnets, Indian paintbrushes, Indian blankets, pink evening primroses, and other native wildflowers cover swaths of land.  Driving out to Yarnorama the other week for their anniversary party, we saw some amazing color combinations, but even just between leaving my house and exiting the neighborhood there are little bursts of blooms.  You'll see people stopped by the side of the road with their kids (or their dogs) taking annual portraits in the bigger areas, the same way my mom took me out every year to sit and smile in the bluebonnets.

Visually, the wildflowers are stunning.  But there's something else that I love about them as well.  For one thing, they reappear every year all by themselves.  Yes, the seeds had to be spread initially using a tiny percentage of roadway budget thanks in large part to Lady Bird Johnson, and the success of their blooming depends on the weather each year.  But otherwise, nothing really has to be done to cultivate this garden show.  And it's not some manicured exhibit that you walk through once and then leave, or a beautiful bouquet you put on your dining room table for a week before it wilts.  You pass it every day on the way to work, along with everyone else.  It's something you all share each day in the midst of your mundane commute for a few weeks.  It makes me smile not just because it makes me smile, but because I know it makes other people smile, that it makes us smile year after year.  It's a communal experience even as you're alone in your car.

Of course, it's also great to go visit places like the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, which we went to today, to take a leisurely stroll through the flowers and get information about them.  It also gives you a chance to take lots of photos without cars speeding past.  Here's a little montage:

I have a few other shots I'm saving for next week's FO Friday post, because aside from being an inspirational starting point for knitting, wildflowers also make a great backdrop for photos of finished knitting.

Do wildflowers blanket the sides of the road where you live this time of year?  For more inspiration, go to Woolen Diversions.

WIP Wednesday: WIP-lash

Another busy Wednesday evening for me means another drive by post.  I spent all of the work day at a work event, then did some errand-running and made the shocking discovery that the Fuddruckers that's been around since I was a little kid has closed.  So instead of chili cheese fries, I had channa saag and roti for dinner.  Chickpeas are better for me then chili, anyway.

I do have some pictures for you this time, though.  I started a new project after blocking my cardigan, a colorful Coqille Shawl inspired by another Raveler who used this same Knit Picks yarn and colorway to create this short row shawl:

You might also notice my nails oh so casually posed in these pics.  They are indeed painted with last week's nail polish purchase, Butter London's Blagger.

Until next time!  For more WIP Wednesday posts, go to Tami's Amis.

Inspiration Saturday: Reaping the rewards

I feel like I've had a rather productive week or two, as evidence by my very jolly FO Friday post yesterday, but also in other things.

There's a project at work that has been particularly 'engaging', shall we say.  It's taken a lot of time and energy, but it has given me a sense that I'm contributing and accomplishing something.  Which, I think we all know, is not something that every demanding project gives back in return.

I also ran five miles last Saturday.  A short distance for many but my longest so far in my marathon training.  I ran the whole way, with no walk breaks, maintaining a steady pace just under a 12-minute mile.  Again, I know that in the running world, this isn't medal-worthy, but it's a start.  And perhaps the greatest accomplishment was not wanting to collapse when I was done.  Today I was back to just a three-mile run, but I took it on a very hilly road, so I feel no less accomplished for each of those steps.

To accompany this sense of effort, I paid myself a few rewards.  Nothing all that crazy or exciting, just the kind of stuff that I think we all indulge in when we're feeling proud of ourselves in some way.

First, I had a huge bowl of frozen yogurt for lunch after my run last week.  But frozen yogurt has become an almost weekly treat of mine, the swirled dessert and fresh fruit are what I give myself instead of entire pints of ice cream.  And it doesn't feel like any less of a reward.  I never expected to be get excited by the possibility of eating pomegranates or pureeing cauliflower, but those really are things I crave now, and feel lucky to find in the fridge.

After I finished blocking my cardigan on Sunday afternoon, I realized that I didn't have anything currently on my needles to knit.  Rather than pick up another of my hibernating WIPs, I let myself cast on a project that I've had in my queue for some time.  I'll share more on that next Wednesday, but the main reason I chose it was because it uses a very fun, colorful yarn.  I love crazy rainbow yarns, they make me happy as I knit each stitch on the needle to watch the colors shift.

I mentioned this briefly on Wednesday.  I was able to untangle a particularly confounding knot at work earlier that day, and then I did my running and a class at the gym, so I decided to take advantage of a one-day sale Ulta was having on Butter London nail polishes.  For those who are not beauty-obsessed, Butter London is one of the nicer polishes, and it has the $15 price tag to prove it.  I've wanted to try it for a while, but was unwilling to spend that much.  With the sale, and my sense of deserving, I invested in a single bottle, in a blue hue called Blagger.

I think I'll paint my nails tomorrow while I'm overdosing on NFL games.  As long as I'm not too busy knitting my colorful cast on or deseeding a pomegranate.

What little ways do you reward yourself?  Tell me in the comments, and don't forget to visit Alicia at Woolen Diversions for more inspiration.

WIP Wednesday: The WIP at my fingertips

Sometimes I don't paint my nails for a few weeks just because I can never seem to find those few minutes necessarily to not only apply the polish but wait for it to dry.  Oh, and at least a few minutes that have to be spent deciding on the color.  Have I ever mentioned how terrible I am at making decisions?

After careful deliberation over the many bottles on my shelf, last week I wore Sally Hansen's Salon Manicure in Green Tea on my tips.  I confess, I was already thinking about my Inspiration Saturday post when I made that decision.  So I extended the matcha inspiration to my polish.  And I saw a fair amount of that color as my fingers worked to make my cardigan's sleeve longer and longer.  It's still not done, but I'm optimistically hoping to cast it off by the end of this week.

Here's another 'staged' photo of my cardigan, this time I used safety pins to close up the sleeve and slip it onto my forearm:

Notice the sort-of-but-not-quite complimentary color on my nails?  I think it's more sea foam than green tea myself, it has just a hint of blue in there.  Still pretty, though, and it was remarkably chip-resistant.  On the knitting front, I think the sleeve is going to fit nicely.

I have a different polish on as I type this up, by the way: OPI's Gouda Gouda Two Shoes.  A sort of dusty rose with gold shimmer.  A warm tone for a warm summer, we've just gotten into triple-digit highs here.  Perfect weather for my one-sleeved cardigan...

For more WIP Wednesday posts, visit Tami's Amis.

Inspiration Saturday/Tokyo tales: Memories of the Matcha Mitts

I know inspiration usually comes at the start of a project, but in this case, I'm taking my inspiration from something I finished last year.

Yup, I'm never letting go of that Tokyo trip.  I've told you about some of the yarn, sushi, and donut-esque desserts, now I'm remembering my Matcha Mitts, the cuffs I knit as part of a swap themed around tea while I was there.  My spoilee had a preference for mitts, and I thought ones with a lacy leaf pattern would be like tea leaves.  Especially in a lovely light green yarn with a touch of sparkle from Heavenly Fiber.  So I packed up my DPNs and took my WIP on a whirlwind tour of Tokyo.

In front of the wishing tree at the Meiji shrine, I didn't purchase my own wooden tablet for posting a wish, but hopefully some of the magical powers of that Camphor tree were imbued into those few stitches:

At the train museum, they had these interesting stained glass windows about life on the train, and one of them depicted a little old lady knitting on her commute.  In solidarity, I had to bring out my own:

I was able to finish at least one of the mitts during my trip, but here is the completed pair:

And now they are off having other adventures somewhere else, and as you've read for the past few weeks, my current WIP has been having slightly less exotic, but nonetheless tasty (pancakes!), adventures being knit while I travel around Austin.

For more inspiration, go to Woolen Diversions.

5K and froyo hits (The Yogurt) Spot

So, I think I can say that I've moved beyond contemplation of insanity to commitment.  Not to an insane asylum, but to a marathon.  I haven't formally registered yet, but when I think about it, I've started thinking about how I want to train for it, not whether or not I will.  There are several options, from training programs that hold group runs every Saturday to plans I've found online that I could follow by myself.  Whatever I end up going with (I'm leaning towards Austin Fit right now, thanks to a commenter in my previous post), I have over a month until I enter the time frame for any of those programs.  So in the days before t-minus 26 weeks to the marathon, my goal is to extend my current conditioning from running a few miles at a time once a week to running a few miles at a time multiple times a week.

Marking the start of my pre-training training, I ran the Maudie's Moonlight Margarita Run last night.  If you remember, last year I celebrated reaching the finish line and refueled with a cupcake:

This time, it was frozen yogurt.  My mom once again helped me avoid the chaos of event parking by dropping me off, then settled herself in at The Yogurt Spot for some quality knitting and wi-fi time, with some tasty yogurt refreshment.  Further adding to her case for Mother of the Millennium, when I was done running, she got back into her truck and picked me up, with a bowl for me.  The frozen yogurt didn't last long enough for an at-home photo, so you'll have to imagine the bowl in my hands instead of the cupcake.  Same savoring-the-deliciousnee face, though.  Green Apple and Tart, mixed with pineapple, strawberries, kiwi, and a cherry on top.  Yum.  In true Yogurt Spot fashion, their Green Apple compares wonderfully against the others I've tried recently, and their Tart is fabulous as always.  Their prices have risen, though, from 43 to 49 cents an ounce.

Have you seen the commercial for Lay's potato chips where the woman is having her nails done, but just can't resist the greasy, salty goodness?  It makes me shudder just thinking about it, because the idea of the chip crumbs stuck in her still-wet polish is really disgusting to me.  I mention this not because I ate potato chips after my run as well, but because before my run I painted my nails with a quick coat of China Glaze's Papaya Punch before running this year, a slightly different shade of orange than last year.  I find that a fun nail polish is a helpful psychological trick in physical exertion.  Whether I'm keeping up the pace on the final lap or pulling the last rep on a bicep curl, seeing a glimmer or glamour while I'm feeling distinctly unglamorous can give me a boost.  And the fact that these colors coordinate with my lovely company-provided racing singlet makes it even more powerful.

The connection to that Lay's commercial is also because this color could just as easily be called 'Cheeto Orange'.  But that would probably not be as appealing to their target audience.  I do kind of like the idea of a whole line of polishes inspired by junk food.  Or maybe a collaboration between OPI and Ben & Jerry's.

I know, I'm weird.  But considering the pun in this post's title, what did you expect?

Inspiration Saturday: A swath of swatches

I have a random assortment of things that are inspiring me which share a common term: swatch.  It's funny how a single word can end up describing so many colorful things.


Knitting Swatches

I can't write about swatches and not first mention knitting, although it's perhaps the least personally inspiring example.  For me, swatching is one of those healthy habits that I know I should foster, but usually just...don't.  Something about it just feels like a waste of time, even though I know in my crafting soul that it isn't.  Thankfully it has yet to cause me any real trouble, but there have been a few projects that I've bitten the bullet and swatched.  Like for this Extermi-mac! laptop cozy:

This involved me merging some existing charts and using a different gauge of yarn, so I needed to make sure that the Daleks would still look like Daleks.

What I love, though, are projects that are made up entirely of swatch-like samplers of various stitches.  Because there are so many interesting ones out there, just like colors of nail polish, it's probably easier to mix them all up than to aim to use them each in their own project.  Whether it's in scarves, afghans, bags, or cushions, I like swatches that become something more.


Swatch the Dog

As a Project Runway fan from season one, visiting Mood Fabrics while I was in New York for college at least once was a must.  I wasn't crafty enough to invest in any actual fabric at the time.  If I were to go back, I would at least get a yard or two of something fabulous for a project bag or something.  And I would of course go running through the aisles calling out 'Swatch!  Swatch!'

Photo credit: Mood Fabrics

He's the pet of manager Eric Sauma and has earned his own little following amongst sewing animal lovers.  He has his own Pinterest board, and the only thing cuter would be if Swatch and Ravelry's Bob got together for a play date of the crafty mascots.


Paint Chips/Swatches

I'm working on another notebook in my notebook swap, and this one's owner has a very obvious favorite color: purple.  It's even in her Ravelry username, so the other weekend while I happened to be in Lowe's I decided to go ahead and grab a selection of the deepest purples I could find.  I'm using them as my inspiration for my pages in a few ways, including taking the names and working them into a very short story.  I've also wanted to do some kind of decor project with paint chips/swatches for years, there are so many possibilities.  Here's just one Pinterest board someone has curated full of ideas.


Nail Polish Swatches

This week I took advantage of the three-day weekend by taking a little of that extra time to paint my nails.  I have a stash of nail polish which may well be just as impressive (or scary) as my yarn stash.  Like jewelry, knitwear, and shoes, nail polish is a colorful detail that I add to my outfits to make myself smile even in the grayest of days.  Ironically enough, though, this week the polish I chose to feature was on the gray side of blue, OPI's I Don't Give a Rotterdam.  It's a sort of slate blue with gold tone shimmer.  I haven't decided yet if I'm going to switch it up for next week or try and extend this three-coater as long as I can.

I probably have enough polish to paint each nail a different color for every week of the year, but that doesn't keep me from staring at swatches of the new colors as they are released.  These are a few of the sites that I have bookmarked:

• Fashion Polish
• All Lacquered Up
• Polish or Perish
• The PolishAholic

Not only are they far more skilled with those brushes than I am, they take great photos.

For more inspiration this weekend, go to Woolen Diversions.

Silver linings and gray finger tips

I have been very remiss in my movie-going the past year or so.  Aside from 'Brave' and 'Sleepwalk with Me', I haven't seen any newly-released feature films in theaters recently.  I add these caveats because I've been to a few special screenings of movies and TV events at the Alamo Drafthouse.  But even counting those, I haven't been a regular theater-goer.  It wasn't a conscious decision, it wasn't as though I went on a consumer strike to protest the lack of a sequel to 'Spice World' or something.  It just happened to work out that way that of all the things I did, going to the movies wasn't one of them.

Until last Saturday, when it was.  After going for a long walk to enjoy the sunny day, we earned ourselves a few hours hidden away from it.  There were a few options, but 'Silver Linings Playbook' held the magical combination of playing at a nearby theater and being palatable for all three of us moviegoers.  A little bit of drama without being depressing, funny without being a slapstick comedy, and a little bit of dance thrown in for good measure.  And let's face it: this was the closest my dad was ever going to get to a sports flick.  I can't try and play movie critic or awards judge, I'll just say that I thought it was worth the few hours of invested time.

What I can play is a beauty junkie, because there were times when I was distracted from Jennifer Lawrence's statuette-earning performance by...her nail polish.  Seriously.  This is one of those 'You know you're obsessed when...' moments, because my eye is constantly catching sight of particular polishes.  I liked Tiffany's slightly gothic but sophisticated dark gray.  It may not be a spring/summer color, but I still wanted to find out what it was.

Here's a screenshot from the movie posted on Vogue UK where you can at least sort of see the nails:

You would think that with all of the millions of pointless pieces of information which can be found on the internet, this would be one of them.  Especially with product placement everywhere we turn, I was expecting someone to lay claim.  Like, 'Moody but insightful nails provided by ______.'  No such luck.

What the internet did have were some possible culprits, or at least dupes which I could try to recreate the look.  Here's the list I have so far, in case anyone else is looking:

Zoya Kelly

Dior Gris Montaigne

China Glaze Concrete Catwalk

OPI Nein! Nein! Nein! Okay Fine!

Maybelline Impeccable Grays

I'll have to raid my collection of nail polishes I already own and see if I have anything close, otherwise I just might have to add another bottle to the shelf.

Birthday sprouts and sprinkles

Yesterday I celebrated my 26th birthday, and I think I did it in kind of an Austin way.  There wasn't a party, there weren't any balloons, and shockingly enough, there wasn't even any cake.

Instead, it was essentially a trip down Lamar, starting with Half Price Books, where I bought three books for three dollars.  You gotta love that.  Here's what I added to my library:

• A complete collection of Guy de Maupassant's short stories
• A vintage copy of 'The Travels of Marco Polo' which is destined for a little Gilmore Girls swap upcycling
• Not technically a book, but a page-a-day cupcake calendar, with photos and recipes

From there, we headed up to The Yogurt Spot.  Because who needs cake when you can fill up a bowl with Taro Tart?  Every time I taste it, I cannot believe how delicious it is.  And even though there isn't as much turnaround of flavors here, that never really bothers us because we love what they have.  I would have been really disappointed if Taro hadn't been there.

There were some rotations, though.  Toasted Marshmallow was really interesting, I think it perfectly captured that slightly burnt sugar taste, without being too sweet or too smoky.  Raspberry Tart replaced the Burrberry, and inspired a very wide-eyed reaction on my part.  Both were tasty, but the latter made it into my bowl along with some Strawberry Fields.  Just with the yogurts, it looked so pretty, with a lilac, two soft pinks, and a deep magenta from the Raspberry Pomegranate sorbet.  And for my birthday, I splurged on some rainbow sprinkles to go along with my fresh fruit topping.  Because sprinkles make everything celebratory.

Taking advantage of the parking available at Yogurt Spot, we walked down the block to Lush for another chosen birthday indulgence: body care.  I have loved Lush ever since I first passed one by on the way to class when I was studying abroad in Prague.  I'm so glad that Austin now has one of our own, even though it's a terrible temptation.

I'm not really concerned with getting older and anti-aging at this point, but I feel like pampering is what birthdays are about, and my love of beauty products is not limited to nail polish and eye shadow.  They have some of that now at Lush, but there are so many other products I would love to try, from bath bombs to henna hair dyes.  I can't really justify buying any more lotion or shower gel until I use up more of what I stockpiled while I worked at Bath & Body Works.  It's been a couple of years now, and I still have plenty.

So this time around, I decided to try the Soak and Float shampoo bar and Angels on Bare Skin face cleanser (couldn't find it on their website).  The shampoo smells pretty much like a campfire, which is...interesting.  Makes me think of Salt Lick BBQ sauce, which isn't usually an association I make in the shower.  I've used their Godiva shampoo bar before and really like it.  Just the concept of a bar of shampoo is fun, and really pretty practical.  The facial cleanser I've used once so far, and feels really nice.  I'm thinking next time I might splurge for a face mask.  Because Cupcake just seems too perfect not to, right?

And then, we went further up to Central Market to source the necessary ingredients for what perhaps is an unlikely birthday dinner.  Weird as it sounds, I decided that I wanted some Brussels sprouts and cauliflower.  The sprouts we roasted in the oven with some dijon, and the cauliflower was just steamed with some seasoning.  Delicious.  And that left plenty of calories for me to indulge again for dessert.  The bakery had so many things to choose from, but ultimately I went with creme brulee.  It may never be Jello, but that's a good thing.  It was so luscious, I could literally feel the conditioning effect of the full-fat cream on my lips.

Another birthday gone, another 364 un-birthdays to celebrate until the next one!

To hair is human, to obsess divine

There are a number of things that needing to wear glasses make difficult.  Swimming, for instance, or any other water-related activity.  Another is getting your hair cut.  Perhaps difficult is a strong word, but when you are blind as a bat without glasses, and the stylist has to take off your glasses in order to cut freely, it's a little more nerve-wrecking to wait and see what kind of cut you will end up with.  While I imagine that those with 20/20 vision can glean clues as to what they might look like at the final blow, I myself can only just based on a vaguely me-looking fuzz in the mirror, and by trying to gauge the relative lightness of my head compared to when I walked in.

This could explain why getting my hair cut is something that requires a little bit of planning.  If I have an appointment with a stylist (like I did on Saturday), I also have an appointment with my computer, to spend several days pouring over images of hairstyles, from online makeover sites to celebrities who look like they might possibly have comparably thick and bushy hair.  Because it doesn't matter how much I like this haircut:

My hair won't do that.  Or maybe it would, if I put in 15 minutes or more of effort every morning.  But that's just not an investment of time I'm willing to make.  That's valuable spinning and knitting time!

No, a rebel pixie cut is not the direction my hair is going at the moment.  So after hemming and hawing, and searching for something 'different' to do, I decided to just continue to grow my hair a little longer.  I have some bangs, or fringe to Ms. Knightley, that are already started to grow out due to lack of trimming.  The rest of my hair also just needed some cleaning.  As the stylist said, my ends were screaming.  They needed to be put out of their misery.

So what I ended up with is something a little more like:

And yes, I know Keira's hair and mine have not become any more alike, but this is something my hair will do pretty much by itself, as long as I can brush all the tangles out.  My hair isn't quite this long yet either.  So far my hair has gotten just long enough to constantly get caught under the straps of my purse as I sling it over my shoulder, which is annoying.  But it can also go up in a ponytail, or even a braid depending on how dextrous I am.

Now that this monumentally important decision is made, I can move onto the next great debate: choosing a nail polish color...