Knit-Nerd-Rant

So the belly dance has continued apace, and thanks to the recent discovery (via random Pinterest link) of a great tutorial on creating cabaret belly dance tops , I've finally gotten up the courage to create my own.  While I"m not ready for performances, I'm hoping that by the time I do get there, I'll have an awesome costume ready to go. This one features some really fun purple lame fabric found at a recent blow out sale form Bits of Thread, and the beads so far are from previous projects. I'm really excited about it! Was talking with my mother earlier and she noted that when my dad started back into his old cycling habit, he warned her that he would be enthusiastic/obsessive, and that didn't end up getting anywhere hear close to describing reality. So at least I know where I get it from! I'm also working on some simple baby blankets for the newborn ICU where the soon-to-bee mother-in-law volunteers.  So there's a lot of crafting going on up in h...

To celebrate the 4 year anniversary with the boyfriend (has it really been that long?!?!), we went up to Montreal. We had some help from a friend with an abundance of airline miles who was appreciative of help finding a job recently. The boyfriend had never been there, and it had been over 10 years since I had been, so we were in for a treat. We picked up a Fodor's guide and even had a paper AAA map on hand. I found the Hotel Ambrose on Hotels.com, and it was a pretty sweet deal for being located right in downtown (on the advice of a coworker who had lives there ages ago). Right by McGill, which was almost my undergrad alma mater, was an interesting neighborhood full of English-speaking students and tourists from all over.  then it was a question of trying to prepare my brain to start back up in French (though it's definitely possible to get around with just English, having the ability to do both makes things a lot easier, and some people a lot more friendly). Begi...

Posting ground to a halt because I wanted to post about an anniversary trip to Montreal with the boyfriend--and a family emergency that has kept me busy traveling to be with them most weekends (and I will not be posting about it here in the interest of privacy). Anyway,  the Montreal info will be up soon, as soon as I can do it justice. We found some really fun and great places to see and I want to spread the word and reward some kick-butt small businesses! I am also working on a new sweater made out of reclaimed yarn from possibly one of the most hideous sweaters ever to come out of an international retailer. And I'm so angry that I didn't take photos before I frogged that sucker. It was amazingly awful. But the yummy lambswool will soon be part of a sweater worthy of its buttery smoothness.

A small shop near the hotel with an amazing Mardi Gras display So I just recently returned from a business trip to New Orleans, and I am officially a convert!  The city at the time was in the early throes of Mardi Gras, and also preparing itself for the upcoming Superbowl.  The French Quarter was covered with police, who justifiably expected a lot of crowd to control between Mardi Gras celebrants and Superbowl partiers.  It was a bit of a head trip.  Jackson Square and the river front area were covered with different stages where the CBS folks were filming interviews and talking heads.  Despite the growing insanity, I had an amazing time, and made sure to keep a food journal. It was such an amazing culinary adventure.  Some of the highlights include Crawfish etoufée Coconut custard bread pudding, chocolate bread pudding, and Mother's bread pudding Poboys: Sammy's - roast beef poboy Red Fish Grill - bbq fried oyster poboy Mother's - turkey, roas...

[ via ] First, I've been so overwhelmed by the positive response on Ravelry and the sudden, dramatic uptick in hits that Blogger told me about after I posted my recent knitting patterns! I'm so excited that people actually bothered to look at my silly little posts! So here I present you with one of my favorite new creatures in the world, Grumpy Cat . Grumpy Cat makes me giggle like I've lost my marbles (high likelihood that it's true). And one quick update, I'll be out on a boat with the boyfriend's family for an extended holiday vacation. Should there be some sort of cosmic catastrophe on the 21st, should be interesting. Massive tidal wave/tsunami, I might be more safe than most or get totally destroyed. Zombie apocalypse on land, I'm gonna be just find. Enormous asteroid impact, we're likely all screwed. One way or another, I may be back. Until then, gaze into the infinte grump of Grumpy Cat surrounded by a Christmas wreath.