baguettes fraîches

Ah, je suis très fatigué! Tried out the baguette recipe in my Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook and I have to say, making baguettes is akin to finding a sick bird and nursing it to health. I have been adding this and that, letting them rest, tucking them in, gently patting them and swaddling them in a towel in my bathroom (the warmest room in this cold cold house) for more rest for the last well, about 24 hours. In the end I nursed 4 beautiful baby baguettes to health only to feel sorry when I was forced to kill one to feed my family. It was hard deciding who would go first.



Pretty tasty overall, even though I forgot to add most of the salt. All that work and of course I space out on something. Next time I will make these little guys on the weekend instead of during the work week, too hard to concentrate after a day of concentrating.

hummus anyone?

Made a delicious recipe for "Luxury Hummus" from my How to Cook cookbook. It's uber tasty but made quite a bit more hummus than I can eat without turning into it. I would like to invite all two of my readers, Luke and Jon, to take some. Please?



Last night my right foot was kept toasty warm by my one finished sock. Too bad I made it in such a light color, the only thing I could photograph it against was this couch. Not the most beautiful background. Actually neither of these are beautiful photographs since the hummus and the counter are practically the same color.



Here is a list of a few shows I am hoping to attend...anyone interested? Two readers?

Cat Power - 26 Feb - Vic
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - 27 Feb - Logan Square Auditorium
Belle & Sebastian and The New Pornographers - 10 March - Rivera
Art Brut - 30 March - Metro
Built to Spill - 14/15 April - Metro
Ladytron - 21 April - Metro

Going alone, well it just never happens.

back on the ground

There was a treat awaiting me upon my return from San Diego...snow! It's about time. Winter has been cheap-ass this year and it's about time for it to pay up. And by pay up I mean give me my snow. For Christmas I received a sweet pair of snow boots from my mom but I was starting to think it was a curse in the shape of snow boots.

San Diego was a good time, I met the rest of Luke's family, played some Barbie, saw a few photos and enjoyed some warm weather. Here are a few photos from the journey.


Santa Monica Beach


Luke with our sweet rented ride.


And of course the airplane knitting. I would have finished but I started knitting the smaller size on the way to San Diego and being on a plane, I was unable to try them on. I knit almost the entire cuff but found they were too small, so rip rip rip and now here's where I am. They will most certainly be warm. I can't wait.



On our return flight there were these three ladies who knit. Well there was one lady in a "Got Yarn?" t-shirt and she seemed like the leader of the three. She knit continental faster than the airplane we were on was going, and the other two seemed to be chugging along and asking her a lot of questions about some yarns they had seen in chunks of swatches somewhere. The leader said she thought they were probably Lorna's Laces. The leader also talked yarn faster than she knit, while she was knitting. Quite impressive.

knitting?

Doesn't the Snaggle Tooth look so cozy wrapped up in my R2 Snug scarf? That's exactly what I look like wearing it, only I have legs instead of roots.



Here are the beginnings of R2 Cuddle with the "snood." I am 99% sure this will somewhat reduce my longing to be wrapped in every piece of clothing I own. Well maybe 40% sure, layering is a hard habit to break.



And here we have a bit of airplane/California knitting. I need a smallish project to take with and somehow I thought the size US35 needles weren't the most portable. They will be in Cascade 220 color = Pear on US4 needles instead of the super fat yarn on US5 needles. They're the Log Cabin socks of course, and they ought to solve another one of my problems...ice cold feet.



It is hard work being cold...always looking like a marshmallow, snuggling into a flannel sheet, blanket, down comforter, flannel quilt and crocheted throw whilst wearing long underwear under your pajamas, and such. So it is off to California this weekend to meet more of Luke's family and hopefully absorb a bit of warmth. And see some art. No tans though, got the SPF packed already.

knitted skirts?

Oh yes, knitted skirts. I bought this one from Urban Outfitters and I have to say it's like wearing sweats with the added bonus of it being appropriate for work.



Because of this skirt I can't wait to make this little number from Vogue Knitting. Maybe not in white though.

movin' along

Well item number 3 is moving much closer to finishing. The Heirloom Cardigan from Rowan 37 has been sitting with one button band unsewn for weeks now. I attached the first one and in doing so realized that it was my most tedious knitting related action, well since I started knitting. After that I just let it hang out and throw pleading looks at me to finish it.



So I finally buckled down and sewed it on, but now it has no buttons. I had buttons all picked out, some cheap-ass Hancock Fabrics plastic pearl buttons. Best lookin' thing at Hancock but everything was about to change on a recent trip to Barney's with ol' Bats.



We happened upon Tender Buttons. I would say that we head down to that corner quite a bit scouting out suits but never had I noticed this store. Well they have some super sweet buttons that I have decided this sweater deserves. All real non-plastic pearly, smooth and cold, and I do feel like I owe this sweater after making it sit around so long. So back to waiting it goes.

cross that off your list...

the stripey mittens are finished. It's about time, they have been burning a hole in my brain since I put them down about 2 months ago. The recipe is 2 skeins Blue Sky Alpacas sportweight (one olive, one white) + 1 Warmest Mittens pattern from Knitting Pretty and voilà!