scarf wardrobe

Every time I live in Paris, I find myself accumulating a new scarf wardrobe. I don't wear scarves as much at home (because I am rarely that cold), but here, we're outside a lot more, and for longer periods. Plus, everyone but everyone wears scarves here, so it's pretty much a wardrobe essential!

I saw this ruffly scarf at Monoprix (large grocery store chain) and had to have it. I'm such a sucker for ruffles. You can't tell how cute it is against the gray shirt I am wearing today.

This shows it off to better advantage. Besides being black and gray and ruffly, it has the added advantage of being thin and not too hot!

I started making this one way back in July (more ruffles, of course). I ran out of yarn with only 1 1/2 rows left. Jill brought me some more yarn so I could finally finish it! Thanks, Jill. It's made out of a super-soft bamboo yarn, and it's oh so cozy. I wore it out on a walk today and it kept me a little too warm.

I just finished this one. I made it for a Christmas gift. It's super soft and cuddly, but I don't know if it's as cute as the picture on the pattern.

This is the newest addition to my scarf wardrobe. I don't know if you can tell, but it has the occasional metallic thread running through it.

I love my scarves. But that doesn't stop me from wanting a new one when a great one catches my eye...

domesticity

In the last week or so, I've been yearning for domesticity (not really a stretch for me, but still). Yearning. I learned to knit. And now I'm a little bit obsessed. Last night, after putting Eva to bed, I was so anxious to sit down and watch Chuck with my boys and knit that I forgot to eat dinner! Seriously. I'm just not one to forget to eat. I realized it only later when I was on my way to bed.

I'm relearning how to crochet. This will no doubt tickle my mother to no end, as I used to crochet as a girl. When I didn't have anything else to do, I would say, "well, I guess I'll turn to crochet." I certainly can't say that I don't have anything else to do, but what can I say? I can't fight the yearning. I blame blogging, actually. Seeing so many friends making cool things is making me want to dive in.

Eva and I made these yesterday. Oh yeah, baby.

Today I cleaned out the boys' clothes and weeded out a ton of stuff. Max had 6 pairs of jeans in his drawer that were too small -- no wonder he couldn't fit his clothes in there!

And for those of you who asked, here are the recipes for:

overnight rolls

Grandma's French bread

Now, off to (hopefully) finish my book!

I could stay here in domestic bliss forever, leaving just to buy groceries. And possibly more yarn.

(Who knows? Maybe someday I will even learn to like ironing! Probably not, but that's for you, Grandma. And Mom. And Denise.)

Wonderful Wednesday!

Today was our second Wonderful Wednesday, and it was indeed wonderful.

I was feeling a bit paralyzed by the possibilities, but I just went with it, and I think I crammed a lot of good stuff in.


First I went to Barnes & Noble to browse at my leisure and use the gift card that Michelle gave me for Christmas. I took a large selection of potential books from my Goodreads to-read list, but that was pretty much a bust (can you believe they didn't have any of them?). I looked at a lot of knitting and sewing books, but didn't find anything that I had to have. Finally I decided to get some classics that I've been wanting to read. I got one of their scrumptious sugar cookies before I left:


Next, I went to Blockbuster to use a coupon I had for a free rental. Jessie has been trying to get me to watch Chuck, so I got the first disc of season 1.

Roberts was my next stop -- I wanted to pick up some cotton yarn.

Lastly, I went through Taco Hell (a guilty pleasure) for some lunch. (Jill brought me a Sonic diet Coke when she picked up Eva, oh happy day!)

I came home and settled in to eat and watch Chuck. I loved the pilot, but the second episode was a bit too slapstick for me. I'll see how I feel after episodes 3 & 4.

I kept myself on a strict Advil schedule (cramps).

After I finished my lunch, I picked up my knitting to practice some more. (Oh! I forgot to mention that Hannah came over on Monday to teach me the fundamentals of knitting! She came at 9:00, before Mya's dentist appointment, and showed me what to do amidst near-constant kid interruptions. She rocks.)

It's about 3-4 times as long now and I'm definitely feeling more comfortable. Lucas cannot figure out why I'm just knitting, not making an actual project... I think he's gunning for some fingerless gloves.

I took a break from knitting to eat this amazing ice cream that Hannah brought me last week! I've been saving it for a time when Eva was gone and I could just enjoy it. It's homemade burnt sugar ice cream, and I think she said it was her grandmother's recipe. Fabulous.

I had to run over to Max's school at one point for a parent-teacher conference. Not my first choice, but whatever.

I made a recipe of my grandma's French bread (got the recipe from her while talking on the phone yesterday). Lucas was thrilled, of course, he's our starchatarian.

I also did a couple of loads of laundry, prepped some recipes for my Laurels, and gathered ingredients for our cooking activity tonight.

Best of all, I was able to sleep through the night last night, so I wasn't tired and fighting the urge to take a nap!

Eva seems to have had a great day playing with Ashley at Jill's house and I had a great day playing by myself! Thanks for everything, Jill.