A Sweet Valentine

I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day yesterday! I managed to have my best single lady Valentine yet thanks to some sweet surprises from my mom. She broke in to my apartment while I was at my internship and left me some flowers, yummy macarons, and dinner in the fridge. I am so lucky to have parents who never let me forget that I am loved. :)

I also wore my heart sweater and cozy heart socks with pride. I received compliments throughout the day that warmed my heart. Have I said heart too much? Haha.

How was your day? Did your sweetheart do anything special for you? Or did you do something nice to show yourself a little love?

Blogging for Confidence #10 - A Week of Colorful Sweaters

Outfit details: Sweater - Milk & Honey boutique, Nails - Scallop trim tutorial Skirt - Fossil, Tights - Target, Shoes - Vance c/o Blowfish

Through this Blogging for Confidence series, I've discovered that even when the challenge I set for myself seems so tiny and insignificant, it truly makes a big difference. You all know by now of my affinity for colorful sweaters. I don't think there is any deep reason behind why I love them so much except that they are soft and pretty! Lately, colorful and quirky sweaters have been jumping off the shelves at me and I've gathered a little collection. Even though I cherish each sweater dearly...I have a confession to make. Whenever I reach for one in my closet my thoughts of the joyful and cozy day ahead of me shrink away as I ponder, "Oh gosh. What is that girl who sits next to me in journalism going to think of this one?" or "That cute guy in English is going to think I'm some sort of escaped clown if I wear this polka-dot sweater!" The negative thoughts go on and on until I change my mind and pick a quieter garment. This isn't always the case. Sometimes I tell all those negative voices in my head to pipe down, like the day I wore my swan sweater, and go on with my day without a care. However, if I wear a fun sweater one day there is no way I will wear another one the next day. I've got to spread the quirkiness out and give the world a break from the colors....right? Wrong! I need to stop letting others determine anything about me even if it is something as insignificant as my wardrobe. I hope this doesn't sound too lame to you guys. Sometimes when I ramble on about sweaters I worry that I sound like a weirdo...but then that proves my point, doesn't it? No more holding back! My challenge is to wear one of my colorful sweaters every day this week. One after the other, I'm going to wear my favorite knits and document any reactions and hesitations that I have. I started the challenge on Sunday with that colorful striped sweater and will share a round-up post on what I learned about myself next week. I'll let you know how it turns out! 

Sweater details: Polkadot - Milk & Honey boutique, Heart elbow patches - Sweater from Target, DIY by me!, Swan - Joy the Store, Horse - Aritzia, Blue floral - Milk & Honey, Pink floral - H&M

Bring on the stares and "What a colorful sweater you have there Meredith." comments. I'm wearing what I want! :)


Footnote - I wore the polkadot sweater today and failed one of my goals for the week. I didn't take off my jacket in my last class because I was embarrassed of the dots. I kept my sweater hidden underneath my puffy coat for over an hour, sweating the entire time. Hopefully my confidence will improve as the week goes on...

Weekend Baking - Red Velvet Heart-Shaped Donuts

I think my mom was hinting at something when she got me a heart-shaped donut pan for Valentine's Day. Last time I attempted to make these red velvet donuts, well....they didn't look so red. It was a failed baking attempt that stung especially hard because of my intense love for anything red velvet. So, as a result of the not-so-subtle gift from my mom, I gave it another try this weekend in between studying. We are pretty sure the red didn't work because I used low-fat buttermilk instead of regular. That's what I get for trying to be healthy...

I'm pretty proud that I finally achieved red velvet success. It was the perfect Valentine treat and great study fuel along with a cup of tea. I think I'll have one right now as I get ready for a big test in the morning. Ugh. However, there is the possibility of a "wintry mix" this evening. Am I too old to pray for a snow day?? ;)

How was your weekend? Bake/make/create anything fun?

Knit Espresso Machine Handle

I will begin by stating that I am oddly proud of this knit project. 

Thanks to my new milk frother, I can fuel my cappuccino craving without going to Starbucks. However, I've burnt my fingers a few times picking up the handle. I tried using my oven mitts, but I felt like it was going to slip through the bulky fingers and spill all over the floor. As Vanilla Ice would say..."If there was a problem, yo I'll solve it!" Haha. (Yes that was a Vanilla Ice reference. Word to your mother.) So...last night I made a little handle cover using 100% cotton yarn and I love how it turned out! I can just slip it on and off whenever I wash the machine. 

Since a lot of espresso machines are different, it's hard to give an exact pattern. Here is what I did and I'm sure you can adapt it for your handle size!

Materials: 100% cotton yarn, I used two different colors for the stripes.

Needles: Size 8

Dimensions: About 5.5 inches long, 4 inches in circumference at the top and 2 inches in circumference at the bottom. These dimensions vary on the machine you are using. 

Cast on 16 stitches.

Row 1-7 (odd rows): Select one of your colors. Knit all the way across

Row 2-8 (even rows) : Purl all the way across. For rows 3 and 4, change to your second color. Repeat these two rows with your alternating stripes for about 1.5 inches, or until your handle begins to get smaller.

Row 9: Knit two together, knit the rest of the row, knit two together. Now you have 14 stitches on the needle. 

Row 10-20 (even rows) : Purl all the way across

Row 11-19 (odd rows) : Knit all the way across

Row 21: Knit two together, knit the rest of the row, knit two together. Now you have 12 stitches on the needle. 

Row 22-26: Continue your knit/purl stripe pattern until your reach your desired length. 

Bind off, sew up the sides, and make yourself a latte! 

Uh oh. Now I'm making crazy sweaters for inanimate objects. Somebody stop me!! ;-)

Time is Flying

My clock is broken. The hands keep whirring and whirring, round and round, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. Ok...that's not true. That's not true for two reasons 1.) I don't own a clock with hands. I have this crochet one, but other than that I'm all digital. 2.) I'll be the first one to admit that my skills of reading a clock quickly are not up to snuff. Give me ten minutes and I'll give you the time. ;-) 

Apparently my time spent studying in college has been somewhat of a waste. As much as I would like to slow down time before graduation and the big, scary future that lies beyond May 12, my studies of Charlotte Bronte and Jane Austen have been little help in the time machine invention department. Ah well. I guess all I can do now is attempt to capture the moments I have left. The little moments between the stress, like my socks on sick days, books, notes, and sleepy eyes. The day I wore my typewriter shirt and how I like to doodle what's on my shirt during class. This is sometimes awkward as I look down and pull at my shirt to get a better look at the design while my classmates stare at me sideways and wonder if I'm trying to swat at a bug or if I'm just that strange. 

There have been yummy treats when I'm feeling down and days of dressing up and feeling pretty. So many Valentine's and hearts are around me this year even though I typically play the single and bitter role on the love day. And of course there is knitting to keep me sane, happy, and crafting, even if it's only for fifteen minutes in the afternoon. Somedays that smidgen of knitting time is all I need to keep from worrying so much about my future during the other 1,425 minutes.

The Blush List - Pretty Pastel

Knitting // Pretty mittens taped to the wall by Sarah McNeil

Crochet // A lovely granny square blanket in a lovely room. Photo by Mialiv

Handmade // DIY Paper Sheep Puppet Kit from Animalia

Style // I really do love these floral jeans...but could I actually pull them off? That is the question.... 

Art // Sweets & Cupcakes by Teri Chung

Food // A sweet surprise for a milk and cookies snack, heart milk cubes from A Subtle Revelry.

I don't like to stick with seasons and trends when it comes to colors, my clothes, yarn choices...well pretty much anything. This week I fell in love with all of these pretty pastel finds even though Mr. Punxsutawney Phil just declared that springtime is still several weeks away. As far as I know, a pale blue sweater is just as warm as a black one.

I had a great weekend at home working on my valentines, knitting, and watching movies. Now it's time for reading and homework before some major television event starts...you know....

....Downton Abbey. ;-)

How was your weekend? All of your plans in the last post sounded great to me!

Weekend Plans 2/3 - 2/5

If I wasn't aware of this before, I've finally come to the realization that I live for the weekend. I guess these "weekend plans" post should have tipped me off months ago. It's not like I do a "Monday Morning Plans" or "Midnight Studying Plans" or "This Week You Will Have a Week-Long Stress Headache Plans". Haha. That last one was especially true this week. So, I'm trying to find a way to be better at capturing what goes on during my week of classes and studying even though it's not too interesting. I think I've come up with a way to document my last few months of college on the blog and I'm excited to start next week. For now, I think I will take some Advil and get ready for my weekend plans...

-Make some crochet valentines out of my 2011 calendar for my sweet friends, family, and the giveaway winners! (I didn't forget!)
-I need to restock on wrist warmers in my shop! The weather has been uncharacteristically warm and humid (just ask my hair) in Texas lately. If you have colder weather, send some my way! ;)
-Eat ice cream and watch Clue. Is there a better way to de-stress after a busy week? I think not.

As always, I hope you had a great week! What are your plans for the hopefully relaxing weekend ahead?