This & That #5

This:  The yarn I came home with from Michael's after work.  I couldn't say no to three amazing sales!  I saved five bucks off of these puppies.  ;)

That:  A few yummy snacks I brought home from work.  Belgian waffles and a White Gummi - the ultimate comfort food!

I'm sorry I've been so MIA lately!  School and work have been consuming my time.  But nevertheless, I feel rejuvinated.  I met with a counselor yesterday to confirm that I actually do have to take precalc, and after he cleared up my questions about transferring to UC Riverside after I graduate from the JC, I realized that finishing at the JC is actually within reach.  And it's never felt like that to me before.

When you enroll there after high school, everyone pretty much knows that you're not going to graduate in two years, because work and having a life get in the way.  So I kind of accepted that I'd be there 'for ever'.  But after thinking about it, and realizing that I will be eligible to graduate (and transfer to UCR sometime after) in December, a huge weight has been taken off my shoulders.  I love it!  I love finally having a concrete, tangible goal to work toward that is in my very near future.

I apologize for kind of ranting, but I'm so happy and excited about it!  Anyway, I'll find time tomorrow for a real post.  xx

currently listening to.... Heavy In Your Arms - Florence + The Machine

A New Beginning

This is what I spent my evening last night doing - making my iPhone its very own case!  It is also my first ever design.  :D   I know it's small and un-complicated, but I'm excited nonetheless.  I'm planning on posting this on Etsy sometime today, and putting this pattern on something other than binder paper (e.g., a PDF) to put on Ravelry sometime in the near future.  Yay!  Maybe this means it's time to buy a 'design idea' notebook to carry with me?  :)

Today is an extremely lazy day (the fact that I'm making this post in bed is no doubt an indication of that!) and I have a feeling it will involve many, many stitches and perhaps the next season of Gossip Girl.  :)  I hope your Saturday is just as carefree!  xx

currently listening to.... I'm Taking You With Me - Relient K

Cloudy With a Dash of Luck

As promised, here is the post on the neckwarmer/cowl I made the other day.  Unfortunately, I found out the hard way that this stitch sucks up inches like no other.  As you can see, I blocked it ridiculously aggressively.  I still love this stitch to death though, and a second cowl in it is already on a set of needles.  This time, I know to account for a huge amount of extra stitches, though.  When I did this one, I counted enough stitches to give me a length of 45", and what you see above is only 30" around.  Luckily I was able to block it to 36", so now it's sort of a decent length. It's pretty tight, but I wore it all day today and was super warm.  :)

I've included two pictures of it below because it hangs differently when it's on a hanger.  And I'm sorry I only have one picture of it on me; one quick pic was all I had time for on my way out the door to class this morning.  In both pictures it's wrapped twice around - closer to a neckwarm than a cowl, but that's okay.

The other majorly exciting news is that I got my iPhone today!  I have been waiting five whole years for this puppy.  And been anxiously counting down the days from three months ago, when I found out I was due for a phone upgrade five months before my contract expired.  I'm ssososo excited!  :D  That's it for today loves.  Have a wonderful evening!  xx

currently listening to.... Inside Out - Eve 6

Knitting Inspiration - Clothing

Feast your eyes upon some beautiful knitwear!  I love just gazing at pictures like this; they feed my knitting-drive!  ;)

Unfortunately a post on the oatmeal-colored cowl I mentioned on Monday is going to have to wait until tomorrow - last night I ran out of yarn with only 20 or so stitches left to bind off.  So disappointed!  I was really hoping it could block overnight.  But alas, c'est la vie.  So for today, it's just some lovely knitwear inspiration.  Enjoy!  xx

currently listening to.... My Heart - Paramore

Frenzy

Wow, it's been four whole days since I last posted anything - sorry I've been so absent!  When I'm not in class or at work, I'm either sleeping, doing homework, or knitting.  It's only the second week of classes and life is crazy!  Already I'm starting to feel overwhelmed.  Since my hours at work rely on the good graces of Mother Nature, I haven't been working very much because of the storm that's been blowing through.  In order to make up for that, I've been knitting constantly the last few days for my Etsy shop, and here you can see the fruits of my work.  These are the three infinity scarves/cowls that I finished this weekend.  I started the fourth between classes this afternoon, which you can see down below.  I've had my eye on that herringbone stitch for ages, and I finally picked up some yarn that I felt suited it.  I can't wait to see how it comes out!

Tomorrow is my mom's birthday, and I'm giving her the jade scarf on the right - sshh! don't tell!
& you can find all of the Etsy listings for these scarves over on the right there, if you're interested in buying one.

On the agenda tonight is a smoothie and another 5+ hour precalc homework marathon....  Have I mentioned that I hate math?  I have a feeling I will be saying it many times to come during this semester..

If you're curious about this smoothie, it's made with orange juice, coconut-pineapple ice cream, strawberries, and blueberries - the closest Safeway has to offer to my current obsession at Jamba Juice: the Orange Berry Blitz.  I know the combination may have you a little skeptical, but trust me!  It's to die for.  Try it the next time you're at Jamba!  xx

currently listening to.... Let Me Go - Three Doors Down

Winter's Day

skirt: forever 21  cardigan: charlotte russe  cami: old navy  boots: madden girl  belt: h&m

I have finally finished the first week of the semester.  Is it bad that I'm practically counting down the days until it's over already??  I'm so tired of school.  Theoretically, if I take classes this summer and fall, I'll be ready to graduate from the JC.  Fingers crossed. I'm so ready to be done with this school!  For those who don't know, I'm taking english, astronomy, psychology, and precalc (eep!) classes.  Lots of late nights and coffee runs in store for me this semester....

Also on the negative side, our lovely weather that has been the same since September, has finally changed.  It is now raining.  I know it's a really good thing because it's now late January, and this is the first rain of the winter season, and we need it, but... I really don't like the rain.  It's such depressing weather.  I like the sun!  (Can you tell summer is my favorite season?)  And I'm hoping it's just the lighting, but I seem to look extremely pale in these pictures... I'm not sure why I'm surprised though, since I'm a natural ginger.  Have a good afternoon!  xx

currently listening to.... My Heart - Paramore

Knitting for Confidence #2

Today I was at Starbucks to meet up with Will and chat for a bit, since we haven't exactly touched base in the last month.  Anyway, I was there for about an hour waiting for him to get off of work, and knew I would be ahead of time, so I packed the project I started last night: a pair of super soft, merino gloves for me.  After I had my deliriously-happy-looking pink tumbler filled with a really good white mocha, I sat down at one of the tables outside to wait.

The reason this is a Knitting for Confidence post is because I really hate knitting in public.  I'm ridiculously self-conscious about it.  Which is totally absurd, because it's something I love to do.  As much as I say that I don't care what others think about me, unfortunately, that's not true most of the time, especially when it comes to knitting.  It doesn't help that I was surrounded by throngs of middle school students who are always at this Starbucks in the early afternoon; an age group that seems to make fun of everything, including knitting, which "is for grandmas."

Even though I was slightly hunched over my work, and my hair was hanging in drapes around my face (obscuring most of my view, and thus, others' views of me), I picked up my work anyway and worked away at it for an hour until I couldn't feel my fingers (because of the cold).  Also until the point where I needed safety pins to hold the thumb gusset stitches, which I didn't have.  So even though I'm still insanely insecure about knitting in public, at least I'm taking steps to alleviate it.  Which is good.... right?

The other amazing news is that my Addi Lace Clicks came today!  I was so excited to see the package on my front entry table that I actually started shrieking very embarassingly, and sort of jumping up and down.  I'm very glad no one was home at the time, haha.  ;)

I'm actually still surprised that it only took eleven days to ship from Finland; but, I'm not complaining!  I can't wait to put them to use!!  And is this not the most amazing package you've ever seen?  So pretty!

I'll be back tomorrow with an outfit post.  Have a wonderful evening loves!  xx

currently listening to.... Bad Day - Daniel Powter

Every Ending is a New Beginning

Hey guys - sorry I haven't posted in a few days!  I've been enjoying a few days off, just lounging around... :)  So this post is on my new and improved room (bed).  My dad's father died over the summer, and his mom has since moved into an assisted living facility; her eyes have deteriorated so much that it's made it nearly impossible to live on her own, not to mention there's a flight of stairs down to her house from street-level.  Since she has moved out, we will be putting the house on the market late next month/early March, and all of the items in the house have to go somewhere.  So I spent yesterday at the house in Berkeley rummaging through books, kitchenware, bedding, paintings, odds & ends... deciding what I wanted to keep before everything else was put up in an estate sale.

A few weeks ago, my dad asked me about the bed (a queen) that was in his childhood room (after the Berkeley hills fire, it became the guest room); he wondered if I might want to inherit it.  The words were barely out of his mouth when I was practically like, Yes! Yes! Pick me! Pick me!  After spending a few hours cleaning my room last night (you'll see why in a moment), we dismantled my twin bed and its frame this morning, and installed my new queen bed!  I am so.  Totally.  Ecstatic.  Beyond words.  It's been pretty much my lifelong dream to have a bed that is bigger than a twin, since I stand at 5'10" and always touch the end of my bed.  Not to mention that having a bigger bed is so much better.

I also inherited a bookshelf from my grandparents' house, so I spent most of this afternoon filling it and reconfiguring my room to accomodate the bed that now takes up about half the space in my room.  Of course, after my mom and I made a trip to Bed, Bath & Beyond to find new bedding (SO IN LOVE.)

So, without further ado, here are before and after pictures (listed in that order) of my bedroom makeover.
Is it just me, or are the first two pictures reminiscent of reality TV shows that makeover the interior of people's homes?

Mostly I'm thrilled that this space finally has something that ties the entire room together; almost like a centerpiece, if you will.  It was very much lacking one before.  All of my furniture never quite seemed to fit the theme that I've always envisioned for my room, or fit the wall colors.  Now, four of six pieces (two bookshelves, the headboard, and dresser) are the same color wood; my white desk reflects the white in my comforter and pillows; and in turn, the bedding complements the wall colors.  Perfection!

And the only reason I included the second-to-last picture of my new bookshelf is because I'm really excited that all of my textbooks now have a home (including my hot pink calculator!).  For the first time ever (after three semesters) they are no longer sitting in stacks on the floor.  So happy!  Now my desk area has a bit of a scholarly feel.  ;)  I'm also really excited that I can now proudly display my snowboard; before, I had stood it at the end of my bed behind all kinds of stuff on the floor..  Never again! (especially after how much I paid for it!)

  

Also, if you were wondering, the International Star Registry certificates were a birthday present from Will last year.  He named one in honor of me, in Aries (my astrological sign), and the other for my dog, Sydney, who died on Valentine's Day last year.  Hers (as you can imagine) is in Canis Major.  As you saw, before today, they had assorted homes on bookcases, but never hung.  I'm really glad that I finally have, and get to look straight at them as I lie in bed.

Anyway, that's about it.  I've barely gotten off my bed all day, and can't wait to test-run it tonight!  For the first time in almost 20 years I'll get to sleep in a big bed of my own.... I'm practically drooling just thinking about it.  :)

Cheers!  xx

currently listening to.... Bring Me to Life - Evanescence

A Pink Sunrise #2

I finished this (mini) shawl last night, and love it!  It is ssooo soffttt.  I really can't stand wearing shawls traditionally across one's shoulders, and this one came out the perfect length to wrap around my neck.  And unfortunately, it's still drying right now as it's blocking, so I don't have any pictures of it being modeled.
  
Also, you might have noticed the new changes to my blog!  I love the new layout so much more than the old one I had kind of half-assed.  Less than a week after writing my resolutions, and already I've taken a crack at six (of ten) of the things on my list (seven, if you count growing out my hair, as it's probably grown one whole milimeter since last week) : create Knitting for Confidence, start and finish five items I've never made before, make more graphic art, post at least 3-4 times a week, leave 7+ comments a week on others' blogs, and finally, create a layout for A String of Purls that is more streamlined.  I feel pretty accomplished!

Have a good Thursday night! xx

currently listening to.... Iris - The Goo Goo Dolls

A Pink Sunrise

     This is the project that's currently on my needles: a pink lace shawl (my first ever!).  I must first apologize for not taking a picture of it stretched out; I was in the middle of a row when I left it last night, and I got home from work today just in time to shoot it in the last few minutes of sunshine.  It's also a little more pink, and a little less orange than the pictures show, so I'm hoping that morning or early afternoon light will reflect that better than near-dusk sunlight.


     I'm using Knit Picks' Shadow Tonal laceweight yarn in Queen Anne; it's something that I've had my eye on for quite a while, and finally bought it a few days before the year ended.  I've never used lace before, and my fingers feel ridiculously bulky, and almost clumsy, trying to handle such thin yarn.  It's coming along okay though (minus a few mistakes... whoops!), and I'm in love with the pattern.  It calls for 100 yards more than I have, but I'm hoping that the 4 sizes difference in needles will make up for it; I'm using 3s, and the pattern calls for 7s.

     I started it only three days ago, and I'm hoping to have it done within the week.  Perfect for the start of classes next week! (not....)


     Have a lovely rest of your Monday night!


     xx

currently listening to.... More Than a Love Song - Fireflight