Little Things

• My friend Candice and I went to lunch, then shopping last week.  We had a really good time.  We bought a lot of stuff, and we had a great lunch with Sangria!

• I got a manicure the day before our engagement photos and it made me look at my ring a lot.  I probably look like an idiot, but I think its so pretty. :-)

• Have you noticed that stores sometimes display scarves like skeins of yarn?  I think I will store my scarves like this.  It will save space and I think I can display them better so I don't forget what I have.

• Jimmy chewed my knitting needle.  It wasn't an expensive one, and this was the first time he's done anything like this.  He is a big chewer, but thankfully he loves his nylabones.  I left this out after I finished Baby Boy Stripes.  Thankfully, he didn't swallow any wood.

• Owen says, "Go Faster Pappy."  My dad was pushing him around the mall the other weekend.

Sam :-)

FO Friday

I actually have a couple of finished objects, but I think I'll show them to you one at a time.

I showed you the baby blanket I had started for my new work friend Becky in August, during my last WIP Wednesday post.  The blanket only took me 2 1/2 weeks!  I was a machine with this blanket.  I was just so excited about it.

I think it turned out great!

I'm really contemplating making another blanket with this yarn, maybe held double or triple for extra squishiness, for my living room.  It just matches my furniture so well!

I did a double think border and it helped me make the back just as pretty as the front.  It hid all of those ends!

I really love how this blanket turned out.  I can't say it enough.

Details:
Pattern:  No pattern really, I was inspired by this project, Noah's Blanket, who was inspired by this blanket, Hoodie Baby Blanket.  For the border, I used the border from Coastal Hoodie.
Yarn: Vanna's Choice in colors Dusty Green, Linen, Silver Blue, Taupe, White, and Dusty Blue (border)
Needle: US 8 - 5.00mm
Size: 33"x35" - I always worry that baby blankets are going to be too small and then end up bigger than I anticipate.
Time: 2.5 weeks!
Ravelry: Baby Boy Stripes


I gave the blanket to Becky last week and she loved it!  She keeps raving about it and how her mother loves it, so I'd say she is very knitworthy.  She kept saying, "You spent so much time on me!"  I think I binge watched 3 seasons of Lost Girl while I mader her blanket.  She laughed that I measured it in TV seasons.  I heard that is how some famous knitting guy measures how much time he puts into projects.  I think it fits!


Sam :-D

Changes

So my whole department at work moved floors.  We used to be on the 5th floor, and I was very lucky to have a window seat.  This was my desk:

This was the only photo I could find of my old desk, besides a lot of bottles needing to be recycled, you can see I have tons of pictures up and crochet garland that a swap partner made me.  The window was behind me while taking this photo.

Now, this is my new desk on the first floor:

It is a little messy because I took this photo while I was unpacking.  You can see that the walls of my desk are much shorter than the old ones.  No one was looking forward to going to this new furniture.  Plus, you didn't have a square, you had half a hexagon.

This is the view behind me.  You can see how the pods are hexagonal.  My one big plus to the move is I have even more windows!

I really thought I was going to hate the move, but it isn't bad.  I liked that I got a fresh start and got to throw a ton a stuff away.  I like the new person who sits behind me, Hi Becky!  It does get a little loud sometimes with the low walls, but it really isn't THAT bad.

Earlier in the summer, I told you about making the decision to get healthier.  My sister and I were makign weekly goals.  I did really well over the summer.  I've lost about 12lbs.  I've gone down a pants size, it probably would have been two sizes, but the size I was in when I started was really tight.

While I was making these new and better health decisions I found a website to follow called The Shrinking Kitchen.  I've tried a few of the recipes already. 

The Berry-licious Muffins are amazing, I made them 4 times in a row.  They recipe says that they are 147 calories per muffin, but I got more muffins out of each batch.  My muffin were about 125 calories a piece.

My dad made the next recipe, but it also from The Shrinking Kitchen.  We made Easy Weeknight Lo Mein and it was healthy and delicious!

It was only 286 calories a serving!  Ours might have been a little different, we added more of the veggies.  I would definitely make this again, my only problem is that Dave is picky!  So, I'd be cooking for one.

The last new recipe we tried was Lightened Up Spinach Lasagna.  I thought it was really good, but my dad said he could taste that we used skim ricotta cheese and skim mozzarella cheese.  He still said it was good though.  I didn't get a picture of it.

Do you have any good healthy recipes?  Do you have weird furniture at work? :-)

Sam :-)

WIP Wednesday

It has been a while since I partcipated in WIP Wednesday.  I've really been working on the same few projects.

I don't have an updated photo of my English Garden Hoodie, but I've actually reached the underarms.  I've started on my first sleeve as well.

I started a little hoodie for Owen.  The pattern is R &R Hoodie by Tanis Fiber Arts.  I think it looks so cute, and I actually can't wait to do the zipper.  This is what I have done so far.

I'm using Caron Simply Soft in color Autumn Red.  I figured it was best to use up my old acrylic stash on Owen, so my sister can just throw it in the wash and not worry.

My most recent project is a baby blanket I started for a woman at work.  She sits behind me in our new pods and she's really sweet.  She's having a little boy, so I decided on these colors out of Vanna's Choice.

The colors are Silver Blue, Taupe, Linen, White, and Dusty Green.  Only after I took this photo did I realize that they matched my chair and pillows perfectly.  I might have to later use this yarn for something for my living room.

I've been speeding along and this is what I have done so far:

Thirteen stripes in about 3 days!  I got the bulk of the stripes done on Sunday and then three each on Monday and Tuesday.

I'm going to use the color Dusty Blue for the border.

Well, what are you working on?  I've linked up with Tami's Amis.

Sam <3

Myrtle Beach Vacation

We hadn't gone on vacation as a family since 2011.  My nephew didn't exist then, my sister wasn't even married, and Dave wasn't diagnosed with cancer yet.

We drove from Pittsburgh to Myrtle.  Dave and I were in one car, then my parents in another, then Missy, Rob, and Owen in theirs.  My parents and Dave and I, decided to stop halfway through at a hotel.  Missy and Rob drove all through the night and got there at 5 am!  This was their sunrise selfie.

We went golfing when we were in Myrtle.

Then there's Owen and Dave relaxing in the car.

The merry-go-round

Crazy drummers

Right before we went out to dinner the one night,

On the last day, I took some photos from our balcony.

Then, last day photos on the beach.

It was a great week that went way too fast!!!

On the way home, we pass New River Gorge in West Virginia.  Dave and I decided to stop at take some photos at the overlooks.  It was amazing!  I actually just went there for a girls weekend, last weekend, but I'll show you those photos later.

It was so hard getting us both in a photo and trying to get the bridge in teh background.  I don't know what I was doing that I was making myself look taller either.

Then we ended the vacation with Sarris Chocolate Factory milkshakes!

Sam :-)

My Birthday and Dave's Family in Town

Dave's family came to visit about the 2nd week in July.  We had a great time, and they were here for my birthday, July 10th.

Everyone was so sweet on my birthday.  We went out to breakfast.  I got all sorts of cool things for my birthday.  I got new soccer shorts, a Team USA women's soccer jersey, a new hair straightener, and yoga gear!

After breakfast we went to Kennywood!  Kennywood is a local amusement park that I haven't been to in a long while.

The lines actually were not that long because we went on a Thursday.

We rode a ton of rides!

I'm not very good at taking pictures at Kennywood because you are constantly moving and doing stuff.  We actually went to our local water park, Sandcastle, the day before my birthday, but I have zero pictures from that day.

The day after my birthday we went shopping,

then rock climbing!

Dave then pretended to climb.

There was a mat involved in the above picture for someone to be taller! :-)

We managed to cram a lot in a week and it was a blast!!

PS.  The pups got really tired from all of the excitement.

We originally made up this little "bed" for my nephew, Owen, to try and nap during my birthday party.  He never used it, but my pups decided it was comfortable.

Next up, vacation photos!

Sam <3