Eggplant and flowers

But not at the same time!

I tried an amazingly good recipe the other day that I wanted to share with you. It's an eggplant parm recipe from Martha Stewart

I think it came out really well!



It's also relatively healthy since it's baked and not fried but still tastes just as yummy. "
I only used one eggplant instead of 2 and had MORE than enough to fill a 9x13" pan.

I couldn't resist taking some pics of my flowers too. They are all bursting at the moment!






Have a great week!!

Day trips

It's been a while but I still wanted to share of the fun day trips I went on recently. My friend Nicol was in town for a visit and we went EVERYWHERE! After picking her up from the airport in DC - headed to Alexandria for dinner and ice cream.


We ate at the Fish Market and it was fun to sit up on their balcony and look over the activities on the street below. After dinner we drove home via DC and stopped at the monuments. It's always amazing to see the monuments at night all lit up! Please excuse the crappy cell phone pics!





The next day we headed to Philly!

We walked around South Street and I had a cheesesteak at Jim's - my favorite!




After South street - we headed to center city and saw the Liberty Bell and Independence hall.





Finally - we went to Manayunk for dinner - such a cute little town!



Next up was Baltimore - I took Nic to see my favorite parts of Baltimore - Inner Harbor, Fells Point, Camden, Hampden and everything in between!



Sunday was DC! We headed down early to get tickets for the DCDuck tour. We bummed around China town, saw a Nationals game and saw more monuments and landmarks.




It was a busy but fun filled weekend!

Hello!

It's been a long time since I've posted! I've been busy! Went to Sheep and Wool, spent time with friends, worked, slept ate, etc etc etc.

Thanks for all the kind words about John. It was a long road. Watching him go through cancer for the last three years was the hardest thing I ever had to do, but it has made me stronger.

Meanwhile, life goes on...

I have been doing some running! I did two 5Ks last month! Can you believe it!?!



I ran the first one in 38 minutes and the second in 42. I was trying to take it easy on the second one since I kind of hurt my knee on the first one. I ran the second one with Jolene and she is doing so great! She joined a running club and everything!

My friends have been just awesome in general - I don't know what I would have done without them. My friend Sarah stayed at my place for two weeks and kept me laughing. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world for having such great friends. Sarah, Jolene, Erin and Coleen - you are my sisters for life!

John

My husband John passed away on April 18th after battling cancer for almost 3 years. He was surrounded by friends and family and went very peacefully and without any pain. Thanks to everyone for all the love and support!







You will be missed!

John wanted donations to be made to Stand up to Cancer.

Project 365 - March!

Third month of Project 365 down! I am enjoying this so much and am so thankful for all the wonderful photos I've taken as a result of this project.

Here are my photos for March:



There's no start or stop time for this project - if the mood strikes you - start taking pictures too! You can post to flickr or the 365 project website. I'm doing both!

I'm looking forward to more - I'm a quarter of the way to 365!

Simon's 1st birthday

My nephew Simon turned 1 year old on Saturday! I can't believe how time flies! I knit him a birthday vest:



Stats:
Pattern: Merino 5 Baby - Toddler Vest by Crystal Palace Yarns
Yarn: Interlacements Dyers Choice - worsted weight
Needles: size 8
Mods: I only did 5 rows of ribbing on the neck and arms instead of 10.

I like the buttons on the shoulder for easy on/off on a wiggly toddler too!



I ended up buying a complete outfit with a second vest - so I could put my vest on the outfit instead. I think it looks cute!





Simon had a fun birthday party too - here is eating his birthday cake.



Happy birthday Simon!

Olympic knitting done!

I finally finished knitting my Olympic sweater! I wove in the ends on Saturday and didn't get a chance to take pictures until today. i love how it came out.

There's nothing like a handspun sweater!



Stats:
Pattern: Sweetgum Duncan by Meghan McFarlane
Yarn: My own Handspun from the following dyers:
-Pigeonroof Studios
-Dragonfly fibers
-Wool Gatherings
-Fat Cat
-Yarn Wench
-Hello Yarn
-Rhinebeck Mystery fiber
Needles: Size 9 US
Mods: I didn't knit the bottom ribbing the same way - instead I did about 4 inches




I especially love the neck of this sweater...



It was so much fun knitting with my own handspun and blending the colors. I'm thrilled with how it came out and can't wait to spin more!!!

Thank you!

Thank you to everyone who voted for my pictures on the Ravelry site for the Homespun Yarn party!




My yarn photo came in 2nd place and will be made into a card and available at the event! Yay!! I hope to see you all there!


In other photo news - I finished the second month of my Project 365!



It is definitely getting harder to find things to take pictures of. I am so ready for spring and the flowers and the trees and the birds! ha! There's only so many things in my house I can photograph! Maybe winter wasn't the best choice of start dates! Oh well - at least the hardest part will be over! I just noticed that February was a very red/orange/yellow month for me... don't you think? It's cool to see all the photos together like this.

Also - to update you on my Olympic knitting - no I didn't finish my sweater! But I am very close. I have about half a sleeve to go. I blame not finishing on having to rip out about 4 inches of my sweater body due to the fact the yarn I was trying to add didn't match the weight of the previous yarn at all and looked BAD. That's what I get for trying to use yarn I've spun over the last two years! Consistency was not part of the equation when I stated spinning these skeins. Live and learn! But I am close and pictures will soon follow.

Homespun Yarn Party photo contest!

Hey guys! I have some photos up for a vote for the Homespun Yarn party photo contest.

Take a peek and vote for your favs.... mine of course!


Click here to vote for the best yarn photo:





Click here to vote for the best fiber photo:





Click here to vote for the best Animal photo:



Thanks and hope to see you all there!

Olympic knitting update!

I'm keeping up with my Olympics knitting so far! I'm so close to being done with the body. Out of 7 different handspun skeins I'm on number 6! I really hope I have enough - I don't want to have to spin more. I think I'll just make it!

Here it is so far:




In other knitting news - I participated in a sock swap on Sarah's blog. I got mine from Michelle and they are so great! She sent a sweet package of goodies too:



I was knitting for Jake - and here are the awesome socks I made for him:


Pattern: Guitar Man socks by Rebecca Mercier
Yarn: Happy Feet
Needles: Size 2US
Mods: I only did 5 repeats instead of 8 - because man these would have been huge!


It was also time for the doggies to get their haircuts! I love freshly cut doggies - and they are so exhausted after they get back from their haircuts they sleep the rest of the day! They both look kind of annoyed here because I woke them up to take their pictures!