I'd forgotten that my print copy of Ysolda Teague's Whimsical Little Knits, which I pre-ordered back in...January?...was coming in the mail, so I was completely surprised to find it in my mailbox yesterday morning. Happily surprised! Even though I also received the PDFs for these patterns as she released them individually, there's something really nice about having a little book to hold. And what great timing, too! You see, we had a little blizzard here yesterday, and there's no way my little car could've even made it down my street, so I stayed home from work. Cozy in my pajamas, watching Twilight for the third time in a week, I started knitting the Poppy pattern. I didn't have enough yarn to do the whole body in the flesh-colored yarn, so I decided to knit her wearing a shirt under her jumper, and once I get to the legs, she'll be wearing some striped knee-socks. The flesh-colored yarn is leftover from my Brenta Beret, and it's kind of an olive-y flesh tone (like Flavio!), so I'm giving her black hair and calling her Bambolina (Italian for "little doll"). I love her already! ♥
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Little Surprise
I'd forgotten that my print copy of Ysolda Teague's Whimsical Little Knits, which I pre-ordered back in...January?...was coming in the mail, so I was completely surprised to find it in my mailbox yesterday morning. Happily surprised! Even though I also received the PDFs for these patterns as she released them individually, there's something really nice about having a little book to hold. And what great timing, too! You see, we had a little blizzard here yesterday, and there's no way my little car could've even made it down my street, so I stayed home from work. Cozy in my pajamas, watching Twilight for the third time in a week, I started knitting the Poppy pattern. I didn't have enough yarn to do the whole body in the flesh-colored yarn, so I decided to knit her wearing a shirt under her jumper, and once I get to the legs, she'll be wearing some striped knee-socks. The flesh-colored yarn is leftover from my Brenta Beret, and it's kind of an olive-y flesh tone (like Flavio!), so I'm giving her black hair and calling her Bambolina (Italian for "little doll"). I love her already! ♥
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
A Unique Approach...
The last ten days have been pretty uneventful. I read two more books (the Rosie Winter mysteries by Kathryn Miller Haines), finally saw Twilight, cooked some food, washed a lot of dishes, and actually thought out a pretty fantastic solution to my wedding woes.
We're getting married backwards.
I guess the normal sequence of events goes something like this: ceremony, reception, honeymoon. Well, we're going to do it in the opposite order. The honeymoon part is still pretty up in the air, but if it works out, we could be taking a little trip to Paris before having our reception at an agritourism farm in Italy. We've decided to do it at a farm (instead of a castle) because we want something very relaxed and cozy. My family won't be there, but this will be our opportunity to celebrate our marriage with his family and friends. We spent a little bit of time this morning Googling agritourism farms in Piedmont, and so far our favorite is La Cascina Rosengana. After the reception, we'll come back to the US and get married at the courthouse, with my parents (and hopefully his) as witnesses.
It's a unique approach, but it seems to be the best fit for our situation. This way we both get what we want: he gets a traditional reception in Italy with all of his family and friends, and I get a no-fuss ceremony with my parents (and hopefully a honeymoon in Europe). Now, obviously this solution doesn't lend itself well to wedding photography. But I've come up with a solution to that problem too! And it's so much cheaper than traditional wedding photography. I'm thinking that after we get married, maybe we can hire Gingeroot Studios for a portrait session. They do some really beautiful work, and a portrait session is *so much* cheaper than traditional wedding photography.
We're getting married backwards.
I guess the normal sequence of events goes something like this: ceremony, reception, honeymoon. Well, we're going to do it in the opposite order. The honeymoon part is still pretty up in the air, but if it works out, we could be taking a little trip to Paris before having our reception at an agritourism farm in Italy. We've decided to do it at a farm (instead of a castle) because we want something very relaxed and cozy. My family won't be there, but this will be our opportunity to celebrate our marriage with his family and friends. We spent a little bit of time this morning Googling agritourism farms in Piedmont, and so far our favorite is La Cascina Rosengana. After the reception, we'll come back to the US and get married at the courthouse, with my parents (and hopefully his) as witnesses.
It's a unique approach, but it seems to be the best fit for our situation. This way we both get what we want: he gets a traditional reception in Italy with all of his family and friends, and I get a no-fuss ceremony with my parents (and hopefully a honeymoon in Europe). Now, obviously this solution doesn't lend itself well to wedding photography. But I've come up with a solution to that problem too! And it's so much cheaper than traditional wedding photography. I'm thinking that after we get married, maybe we can hire Gingeroot Studios for a portrait session. They do some really beautiful work, and a portrait session is *so much* cheaper than traditional wedding photography.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Two Weeks!
I've been engaged for two weeks! I can't believe it's only been 14 days since I was in Annecy, having lunch on a park bench next to the cleanest lake in France, touring a castle-turned-museum, debating with Flavio how to properly pronounce gaufre while we stood in a long line to get one. It was the perfect day. Warm sun, cool mountain air, the funny French radio station, little French children laughing on a playground, tandem bicycles, ducks and pigeons. I miss it. I miss him.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Book Worm
I just finished my 9th book of 2009! That's almost half of the total number of books I read in 2008 (20 in all). I'm not really sure how this has been accomplished. I mean, I don't really feel like I've been reading more often than I did last year. I have been reading better books, though. I mean, quicker books. The last three have been contemporary forensic thrillers, and I read all three in the past 2 and a half weeks. I'm taking a break from the genre, however. I have a stack of Kathy Reichs books, seven deep, waiting for me on the desk, but this last one (Déjà Dead) has given me nightmares and made sleeping through the night difficult. My cousin recently loaned a couple of books to me, The War Against Miss Winter and The Winter of Her Discontent, and I'm excited to dive back into mid-20th Century America. Well, the books weren't actually written then, but they're set in the time period, so it's close enough.
And I have plenty of other books on my reading list for the rest of the year! Here's a little peek at what will be keeping me busy:
And I have plenty of other books on my reading list for the rest of the year! Here's a little peek at what will be keeping me busy:
- Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson
- The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman
- Coraline by Neil Gaiman
- American Gods by Neil Gaiman
- A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire
- Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
- Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers
- Criminals by Margot Livesey
- Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
Au Gratin Potatoes
Wednesday night, I made these au gratin potatoes to go alongside a dinner of roast beef and carrots. This was my first time making au gratin potatoes from scratch. I'd been wanting to try it, then lo and behold, Cook's Country publishes a recipe in their latest issue. I love it when things work out like that! Plus, it gave me an excuse to buy a couple new pieces of kitchen equipment: a cheap mandolin slicer (which I love) and this Green Apple nonstick glass gratin dish. I like the gratin dish, but 'eco-friendly' nonstick coatings make me suspicious. Anyway, I may or may not keep the gratin dish...I really want this Emile Henry one.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Playing in the Kitchen
Today I had an unexpected day off. I started my day with a trip to the grocery store, where I bought a lovely bouquet full of my favorite springtime colors. For me, my perfect idea of spring is full of drizzly days and old movies and French music and anything that smells vaguely like lavender.
I also found these cute dishtowels on sale. They remind me a bit of a pie plate my mom has, which has a recipe for apple pie inside. I think they'll look sweet in our kitchen, which is (so far) looking to be a mish-mash of cottagy things, flowery things, and a lot of Starbucks mugs.
For dinner tonight, we made taco salad. I had a craving for this while I was at work on Thursday, and the real thing didn't disappoint. I found this recipe for baked taco salad bowls (so easy!), but otherwise this didn't require much more effort than just making tacos (which we do almost weekly in my house).
My cousin Aubree's birthday is on Thursday, so today we made some cookies for her. I think I got more sprinkles on the table than on the cookies! I hope she likes them anyway!
So that was how I spent my unexpected day off. Later this week, on my real days off, I'm going to be playing with my new mandolin slicer to make au gratin potatoes!
I also found these cute dishtowels on sale. They remind me a bit of a pie plate my mom has, which has a recipe for apple pie inside. I think they'll look sweet in our kitchen, which is (so far) looking to be a mish-mash of cottagy things, flowery things, and a lot of Starbucks mugs.
For dinner tonight, we made taco salad. I had a craving for this while I was at work on Thursday, and the real thing didn't disappoint. I found this recipe for baked taco salad bowls (so easy!), but otherwise this didn't require much more effort than just making tacos (which we do almost weekly in my house).
My cousin Aubree's birthday is on Thursday, so today we made some cookies for her. I think I got more sprinkles on the table than on the cookies! I hope she likes them anyway!
So that was how I spent my unexpected day off. Later this week, on my real days off, I'm going to be playing with my new mandolin slicer to make au gratin potatoes!
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Why are you reading this? Just say YES!!*
Well, I'm back from Italy. It's bittersweet...I'm glad to be home, but it doesn't feel much like home without Flavio. But we'll be back together soon, and hopefully then it will finally be permanent. Anyway, on to the pictures!!
On Thursday, we spent the afternoon at Lake Como.
We took a funicular up the mountain to visit a little village called Brunate. Funiculars are...scary!! The views are spectacular, though. I wish it hadn't been so misty; I could've gotten much nicer photos.
On Saturday, we drove from Vercelli, Italy to Annecy, France. Most of the drive was through the beautiful Alps. This is the entrance to the Tunnel du Mont Blanc. The border between Italy and France is inside the tunnel.
In Annecy, we had lunch on a park bench beside the Lac d'Annecy. This is a view of the lake from the Pont des Amours ('Bridge of Love').
Mmm...buono! Annecy is full of creperies, some of which sell churros and waffles. They don't have waffles in Italy, so Flavio was really excited about having one!
After lunch, we walked up a hill to visit the museum at the Chateau d'Annecy, a restored 12th-century castle...
...where we got engaged!!!!
Yay engaged!!!!
The rest of the trip was pretty relaxing...walking around Vercelli, aperitivo with his friends, cooking, snuggling, playing with Pippo. You can see a few more pictures of our adventures here.
*=The ring box was inside a gift bag. After he proposed and I was putting the box back into the bag, I noticed some writing on the bag's tag. I figured it probably said 'I love you' or something, but no...it said, "Why are you reading this? Just say YES!!" Hahahahhahahahah!!
On Thursday, we spent the afternoon at Lake Como.
We took a funicular up the mountain to visit a little village called Brunate. Funiculars are...scary!! The views are spectacular, though. I wish it hadn't been so misty; I could've gotten much nicer photos.
On Saturday, we drove from Vercelli, Italy to Annecy, France. Most of the drive was through the beautiful Alps. This is the entrance to the Tunnel du Mont Blanc. The border between Italy and France is inside the tunnel.
In Annecy, we had lunch on a park bench beside the Lac d'Annecy. This is a view of the lake from the Pont des Amours ('Bridge of Love').
Mmm...buono! Annecy is full of creperies, some of which sell churros and waffles. They don't have waffles in Italy, so Flavio was really excited about having one!
After lunch, we walked up a hill to visit the museum at the Chateau d'Annecy, a restored 12th-century castle...
...where we got engaged!!!!
Yay engaged!!!!
The rest of the trip was pretty relaxing...walking around Vercelli, aperitivo with his friends, cooking, snuggling, playing with Pippo. You can see a few more pictures of our adventures here.*=The ring box was inside a gift bag. After he proposed and I was putting the box back into the bag, I noticed some writing on the bag's tag. I figured it probably said 'I love you' or something, but no...it said, "Why are you reading this? Just say YES!!" Hahahahhahahahah!!
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