little black journal

I filled up the last page of my sketchbook/journal the other day and am looking forward to cracking open another fresh, new Moleskine notebook.  I have been using these same journals for over five years now and get such a sense of accomplishment from seeing them all lined up on our bookshelf, knowing that between the simple, black, nondescript covers lie words, drawings, and mementos that detail some of my most precious memories and ideas.  I became attached to my first Moleskine when I was living in Paris – I never left my apartment without my sketchbook in hand.  I spent hours sitting in cafes, jotting down verbal and graphic impressions of all the new places I was seeing.  I reread some of my entries and can almost put myself back on that sidewalk terrace, with pencil in hand and that tiny cup of espresso in front of me.  That journal was my constant traveling companion.  When I returned to the States in 2004, my sketchbook became a place for me to compose and chronicle my thoughts and ideas on my thesis project.  Upon graduation from college and soon-after engagement to Shane in 2005, my journal took on the form of a wedding planner, filled with to-do lists and doodles of invitation ideas.  In 2006-2007, I journaled and sketched much less frequently as I settled into the routine of my job and my marriage.  There is a random entry here and there about a book I read or a gallery opening I attended, but for the most part, entries are sparse.  In 2008, as noted here, I began my weekly sketch initiative.  This has been an excellent incentive for me to regularly, creatively put pen to paper.  My weekly sketches thus far have the taken the form of a lot of abstract graphic doodling, which is fine, but my hope for next year is that I do more real-life drawing of actual objects and places.  So, cheers to a fresh, new palette and to lots of journal-worthy, sketch-inspiring experiences in 2009!

This is the first year that I’m trying my hand at some handmade Christmas presents.  We exchanged gifts with Shane’s family on Thanksgiving, and it was nice to watch people unwrap things that I had made specially for them.

Slippers for Shane’s mom: Made with a soft, washable cotton blend yarn.  I made a pair of these for myself a few months ago (pattern found here), and I can tell you that they are guaranteed to keep your feet toasty.

Scarf was for Shane’s sister:  Made a super-soft silvery bamboo blend yarn, paired with a bronze ribbon that was used as a second strand.  Cozy, pretty, and hopefully perfect for those Minnesota winters…

I took another licensing exam on Wednesday night, which meant that my weekends and evenings prior to that were filled with studying.  Many nights, I fell asleep with my flashcards in my hands or my study guide propped up on my chest.  Notes and books were strewn about the living room.  From the minute I schedule an exam, it becomes a constant, nagging weight on my shoulders.  What a relief to have another test over with and to be able to put that stuff away for a little while!  Thursday night, I reveled in the bliss of an obligation-free evening and spent some time knitting, baking, and returning a couple of overdue phone calls.  Made a batch of peanut brittle and finished up a knitted Christmas gift.  Called my best friend and chatted with her for nearly an hour.  That’s the upside of all these tests and all this studying – when I do have free time, I tend to want to make the most of it.  I don’t spend too many nights just vegging out in front of the TV anymore (although there certainly are times when vegging is completely necessary and acceptable).  It feels good to get back into my neglected hobbies, even if this break may be short-lived.

I’ve been trying my hand at baking lately – the cool weather is upon us and there are few things I love more right now than the feel of a cozy kitchen, filled with the warmth of the oven and the smells of baked goodies.  Last Saturday was a perfect “pie day”, with the rain falling outside and the stores full of freshly harvested Washington apples.  We had a couple of friends over and spent the afternoon chopping apples, rolling out homemade crusts, and then anxiously awaiting the moment when the pie would be pulled out the oven and ready for sampling.  And it was so worth the wait.  The crust was flaky and warm and buttery and so melt-in-your-mouth yummy.  And the apples were the perfect balance of soft, yet still just slightly crispy, spiced with just enough nutmeg and cinnamon.  My own little slice of autumn goodness, served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and cup of hot tea.  I would say my first attempt at a from-scratch pie was a smashing success.  (And, I was able to cross #2 off my list.)

This weekend is cookie weekend – the dilemma now is “oatmeal raisin or chocolate chip”?  Decisions…

This was a really simple project, but something new for me – I had never made (or worn) a cowl before.  I’m pleased with the results, though it did end up being a little more “drapy” than I’d planned – I was hoping for something that would have a little more stiffness.  Next time I’ll use a chunkier yarn that will hold its shape more.  Nonetheless, it’s cute and super-soft.  I wore it to work yesterday and received a couple of pride-inducing compliments on it, although one of my coworkers did refer to it as a “dickie” (those weird half-shirt things that people would wear under sweaters or blazers – think 80′s news reporter with big hair and shoulder-pads).  I was quick to correct him.

Excuse the pics – I was not in the mood for playing model today, and so I draped the cowl around my favorite vase rather than my neck for the photo shoot.  You get the idea…

Details:  Pattern found in Joelle Hoverson’s Last-Minute Knitted Gifts.   Knitted using size 6 circular needles and a fingering weight baby alpaca yarn (so soft!).

It’s amazing what a little paint and a few small touches can do. We had grown tired of the aqua blue that we had chosen when we first moved in, and since I am constantly looking for things to add to my to-do list, we (by “we”, I guess I mean “I”), decided that we should give the bedroom a little update.  I love the way the gray turned out – Shane and I were a little nervous as we were painting, as the paint looked much more lavender than gray when it was wet, but it dried into the perfect balance of cool and warm.  For a pop of color, I bought new pillowcases and did the small painting that hangs over the headboard.  The painting was done over a page that I tore out of an old French paperback, which makes a nice background for the simple graphic.  The lamp was an old Ikea purchase that I was no longer in love with, but I wrapped the base in gray yarn to give it a totally new texture and color. We’re still working on a couple of small finishing touches – a new lamp for Shane’s side table, and maybe a new duvet cover for the bed, but it’s coming along.  And now it’s on to the next the home project…

I’ve been on kind of a knitting binge lately and finally finished up this scarf.  This was my first attempt at a “lacy” pattern, and once I got into the groove of it, it was surprisingly simple.  Check out the pattern here (I used size 10.5 needles and a regular worsted yarn instead).

Seriously, how cute are these?  Just finished these little booties for a certain little someone and am starting pair #2 for another special little girl.  Knitted with a super-soft cotton/cashmere/angora blend, weight 50g, pattern found here.

Our front yard has been getting progressively shabbier these past few months, as our grass was browning blade by blade.  Poor soil and a lack of water had resulted in this patchy, dry mess:

We decided this week that it was time to take action and get rid of our dying grass altogether.  I never realized what a maintenance headache grass can be, and we much prefer the look of plants anyhow, so we went to work yesterday afternoon pulling up all the grass in our front yard.  Shane was resistant to taking this project on this weekend, since we hadn’t done much planning, researching, or budgeting, and things certainly got off to a bumpy start yesterday morning (me dramatically crying “Why don’t you ever want to do anything around the house?!”, Shane accusing me of being impulsive and illogical…), but we eventually re-opened the lines of rational communication and really started to get things done.  Shane did the hardest part, in actually ripping the clumps of grass out.  I assisted by shaking the dirt from them and hauling them around to our yard waste bin out back.  Within a couple of hours, we had our very own little grass-free dirt patch.  We got up this morning and headed straight to Home Depot and our new favorite local nursery to pick up compost, mulch, and plants.  The installation of the plants took some time, as we wanted to dig big enough holes to surround each plant with a decent amount of compost.  We also ran into quite a few rocks and chunks of concrete – with soil quality like this, it’s not surprising that our grass wasn’t doing well.  Anyhow, nine big holes, six bags of compost, and two bags of mulch later, we were the proud owners of this nice little yard:

We’re pretty pleased with the results.  It was tempting to overplant, as things look a little sparse right now, but many of our plants have doubled or even tripled in size in the past year (hence the lavender forests that you see in the foreground and background of the photo), so we will just have to wait patiently for things to fill in a little bit.  I’m excited to watch the plants take shape, bloom, and (hopefully) fluorish.  There’s so much satisfaction to be had in a completed home improvement project – I keep looking out the window, appreciating the progress we made today.  We’ve had several neighbors come by and comment on how nice things look, which feels so good for a novice gardener like myself.

And cheers to my husband for a job well-done!  He was one tired, dirty, sweaty, blistered man by the end of the day.  I’m off now to pour him well-deserved glass of wine…

Shane and I have enjoyed spending the last couple of evenings working out in the yard, doing some weeding, planting, watering, and general clean-up.  We are completely new to the yard maintenance game, so we’re asking our neighbors for advice and making the rest up as we go.  My little back porch herb garden isn’t quite thriving, but it is at least surviving, which is enough to keep me happy.  I did break down and buy a full-grown basil plant from Trader Joe’s, since the basil I grew from seed still hasn’t really taken off.  But my dill, on the other hand, is going crazy and has produced these beautiful firework-like flowers.  The trick now is to figure out what to do with all these herbs, since my cooking skills are as rough as my gardening skills…