You can pre-order now, but I think it won’t actually be shipped until June.  Still, so exciting!

Hope you all have a lovely day,

Kristen

Homemade Lattes:

Blue eggs from our “Easter Egger” chicken Esther:

The vintage S & P shakers my Mimi gave me from her collection:

The Pendleton blanket I’ve had since high school (it’s from the National Park series.  This one is “Bryce Canyon”):

The Vitamix:

My new lunch box (a gift from my Bro and Sis in-laws, it’s a Vivo):

These Owl Measuring Cups:

This amazing PBS show:

Happy Monday!

Kristen

It’s the Very Hungry Caterpilar with a little room to grow.  It turned out pretty cute, eh?

Nick wasn’t quite sure what it was at first.  He thought maybe is was a beard sack for him…

Or for Wallace…

Silly boys.

I’ve already had requests for another one and a written pattern so never fear, there is more cuteness where this came from…

Their Winter 2011/2012 edition is really phenomenal.  I don’t know what it is, it just spoke to me.  More than once a co-worker at Jimmy Beans and I have drooled over this skirt.  Come on!  How gorgeous is that?!?

And this short sleeved bulky sweater?  Already planning to make it!

I am just going to show you all the rest of my favorites…

So that’s it.  I bought it.  It’s currently taunting me from my coffee table.  Soon.  Soon.

Ok, done with the Vogue love fest.  Happy knitting!

Kristen

I just wanted to pop in to let you know that I am hosting a Swans Island KAL (knit-a-long) over on the Jimmy Beans Wool Blog and Ravelry Discussion Board.  We are using the beautiful “Anna Cowl” pattern designed by Breean Elyse Miller for Swans Island Yarns.  I am knitting mine in Swans Island Worsted, color Garnet.  Here is what the finished project will look like:

Isn’t it purty?  I’ve gotten a pretty good start on it.  Here’s my progress:

I hope all of you fellow knitters will come and join me!

Happy knitting,

Kristen

Our cute little home...

We put in the offer on June 30th and finally closed on the house on September 26th.  The day after our 1st wedding anniversary!  It was a long 3 months of waiting and signing papers, and waiting some more and we finally did it!  We bought our own little piece of land to call our own!  So of course, with the home purchased, that led way to a very busy fall season as we moved out of my in-laws and into our new place.  We are still unpacking boxes, but for the most part we are settled in.

It’s been such a crazy 6 months, and I am so glad that things are finally winding down a bit.  Work is calming a ton with the addition of more staff in my department and I am finally able to be a manager/leader and deal with internal improvements which I’ve not been able to do since I took on that role earlier in the spring.  Even the holidays aren’t getting me all worked up this year.  I’ve done a good job of planning for them this year and I think I should have plenty of time with my gift giving plans and such–plenty of hand-made goodness.  It’s gonna be a good season. So all of that said, I wanted to share with you some of the pictures taken in preparation for our housewarming potluck last month.  The house is a work in progress but you can definitely see the potential!

Bunting banner!

Living room.

Dining area and side board and my very sad Rubber Tree plant.

Patio.

Fire pit and shed.

"The ladies"-- Enid and Esther.

So that is the short tour.  It’s still a work in progress and we are so excited to put our mar on the place.  As you can see, the previous owners did a ton of work on the place and needs very few modifications, just  a bit of our personality and my crafty touch!  I’ll post more (and hopefully better) pics as we do just that.

In the meantime, I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving!  I know I have a lot to be thankful for this year.  I am looking forward to spending the day with my family and avoiding the chaos of Black Friday by crafting the day away.  I hope you all have a fun and safe weekend as well!

Kristen

Knitting, lots of it.  Many projects.  Too many really.  Here’s a few:

Endless Possibilities KAL- "Larch" by Tinks and Frogs Rue

Rust and Stone test knit for Miljaska...I have to finish this by the end of September!!!

This cute little garter for Marian's wedding...

The beginnings of an Aestlight Shawl by Gudrun Johnston.

A Catkin. I am determined to finish this by the holidays.

Lots and lots of these vintage style dishcloths. I'm loving this free pattern from Mason-Dixon Knitting!

Cooking.  Sometimes.  Less than I would like actually, but all efforts have been a success.

Quinoa burgers/patties (my new favorite) with Cilantro-lime yogurt dressing, sauteed zucchini and fresh tomato and avocado! Yum!

Baking fresh bread--my skills are definitely improving!

Spicy tomato bisque soup made from tomatoes fresh from the garden! Yummy in the tummy!

Pinterest.  I’m obsessed.  Everyone should try it.  Do it, we can all be friends.  It’s where I found most of the recipes above.

Pickling.  Here’s a photo, but you can read about all of my pickling adventures with the gals at JBW here.

Pickles!!!

This awesome all women’s music festival put on by some friends that took place here:

Virginia City, NV

And one other big project that involves this:

Hmm...

and this:

What could it be...

More on that soon…

-Kristen

This is actually a picture of the shirt she made me for my bachelorette party of us in pre-school in that parade. She has one with her face circled too.

Years and years later, we’ve maintained a close friendship.  I moved to Oregon when we were 9 , but because our parents were friends, we stayed close and visited often.  It helped that all of my family still lived in the small town in Central California that we hailed from.  We saw each other at least 3 or 4 times per year.

Marian wearing her awesome shirt.

More importantly though she’s always kind-of been the sister I used to ask my parents for.  She was an only child, so my brother and I provided her with the sibling companionship that she’d always wanted too.  My brother and I actually fought over her constantly to the point where she would have to sit between us to keep the peace at all times.  ”Marian in the middle” became the running joke.

"Marian in the Middle" at my wedding.

Marian went to THE Ohio State University for college and moved all the way across the country.  I visited when I could and so did she, and we’ve managed to maintain our relationship over the years.  Four years ago, she moved to the Washington DC area for a boy, and the rest is history.

At Marian's parents retirement party in 2009, Marian and Sean are the two blondies in the back row.

She was my maid of honor last year in Nick’s and my wedding.  My oldest friend stood beside me as we said our vows and supported me in every way throughout the process. Shortly before Nick’s and my wedding, Sean her wonderful fella, proposed to her!  We simultaneously celebrated her engagement and my wedding, both so excited for one another.

Post-ceremony hugs!

Another "Marian in the Middle."

Of course, I was asked to be in her bridal party and I couldn’t have been more thrilled. And that’s how I found myself, on a beautiful afternoon in July, all gussied up and ready to celebrate with my oldest friend.  I even made her this cute little garter to wear under her gorgeous dress.  (I’m still working on their actual wedding gift, which will probably be done just in time for when cold weather strikes.)

Marian's darling little hand-knit garter.

The beautiful bride and her parents!

Congratulations Marian and Sean!  May your lives together be awesome and fun and full of love, laughter and light!

Me, pretending to be an artist...

On the road into camp.

Now Bridgeport has a pretty big hometown 4th of July Celebration of sorts that involves a parade among other things.  We were more interested in getting out into the backcountry and finding some hot springs.  We settled on Buckeye hot springs and campground.

Self photo...hurray for camping and gettin' dirty!

Surprisingly far back in the woods down a dirt road, the campground was beautiful and not overly crowded.  We’ll definitely be going back.

Our campsite at Buckeye.

We hung out, relaxed, went for some short hikes, read (I was finishing up “Game of Thrones” by George RR Martin–so good!), and played plenty of Dominion (a fun card game we are addicted to).

Playing Dominion-- I let Nick win a few games... since it was his birthday and all.

Sadly, the water levels were too high this year, and the hot springs, which are situated in the river, were actually too far under water for us to enjoy them.  When we got too hot, we drove up the road to Twin Lakes and found a beach to enjoy.  Situated far back in a gorgeous glacial hanging valley, Twin Lakes were just what the doctor ordered, clean clear cold water.  And boy do I mean cold!  Burr!

The very upper end of Twin Lakes.

Beautiful but cold!

Relaxing and reading on the beach...perfect way to spend an afternoon!

Enjoying the sunshine!

Wallace had fun at the beach too!

We did seek out some lovely hot springs– Travertine Hot Springs, and enjoyed a gorgeous sunset (and tons of mosquitos) one evening overlooking the whole valley.  Sadly my camera died as we got there, so you are missing out on some awesome pics of me covered in mineral rich but very stinky mud, and an awesome rock that the hot water pours out of that looks slightly indecently like lady-parts.  :)

After a few days of fresh air and sunshine, we returned to Reno refreshed and rejuvenated.  How did you spend your 4th of July?

-Kristen

Us at 4am after 3 hours of sleep ready for our final legs!

It sounds pretty funny… a bunch of running hippie girls calling themselves “Gold Diggers.”  Well, to be honest, it was sort of ironic in a lot of ways.  In others, the name lent itself to a fun mining theme with great costume potential.  All insinuations aside, we had a fun time with the theme.

All of us sassy Van 1 Diggers at the start of the race.

We probably expended more energy dancing and cheering at the exchange spots than anything else.  We also passed out tons of “bling” to other runners and gave plenty of “go get ‘em tiger” butt taps with our gold toy shovels.

Diggers in action!

I swear I'm only this sassy when I wear gold!

The race was held on June 3rd and 4th starting on Friday morning and ending mid-day on Saturday.  We had such a blast!  And to top it off, all of the other teams voted, and we won most spirited team!  Out of 210 teams!  How cool is that?  We were elated to win that coveted award.

Van 1 cheering on runners on the last leg...

We are already planning next years race.  New team shirts and jackets.  Hopefully faster running times…we’ve even made arrangements for our Army “Digger” to run via satellite from her deployment post in Afghanistan.  So awesome!

Fried chicken break..."Gold Digger" fuel...

These ladies I ran with are truly some of the best people I know.  Some I’ve known for a long long time.  For example my best friend Elle who I’ve known since Jr. High, and Jenny who I’ve known just as long–we all had 8th grade French together with Monsieur Martin.  Danielle, Ali, and Renee are all gals that I’ve known for years, are some of my closest pals, and they are so dear to my heart.  Maresa, I met through Jenny in college and she’s been a good friend ever since.  Years later when I met my husband, it turned out his best friend from high school is Maresa’s younger brother!  Small world.  These ladies are more then just friends to me, they are family.  And there is no other group of women that I would want to endure this extremely challenging race with.

Celebratory Bloody Mary's from the Bucket of Blood Saloon at the end of Van 1's last leg in Virginia City, NV!

So here’s to the “Gold Diggers”, the Reno Tahoe Odyssey 2011′s Most Spirited Team. May next year be even more spirited and fun!

All 12 of us at the start of the race.

Hope you are all having a great weekend!

Kristen