Friday cuteness!

Her Royal Cuteness (Red Panda @ DC / US National Zoo)
Originally uploaded by Nikographer [Jon]

Collective *sigh*.

On a side note, Peter and I went to see the Kids in the Hall last night. They're touring a live show right now across the U.S., though I don't know when it ends. However, if they are coming to somewhere near you, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT! It was so great. I'm not as big of a fan as Peter, though I like them, but it was so funny and so great. They're still relevant and they've still got it!

Synopsis to come...

Dusk
Originally uploaded by Faux pas

...but in the mean time, you can view all our Seattle photos (minus Peter's broken toe, which he made me delete) here. Enjoy!

It finally IS a sweater!

My first sweater
Originally uploaded by Faux pas

This post is a little over a week late, but here it is: I finally finished my first sweater! It's the Hourglass Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, knitted in a beautiful green Cash Iroha -- totally worth what I paid for it on eBay.

I used the T-shirt hem method from the Nothing But a T-Shirt pattern, which is still available on Ravelry, but no longer on MagKnits. I knitted the small version, but I added a couple of inches to the body and the sleeves. I also added a few extra yoke decreases to make a narrower neckline.

I'm so in love with this sweater that I took it with me to Seattle this past weekend, despite the fact that it's not blocked yet. It was so warm and springy, perfect for the sea breeze there.

I'm so happy with this first sweater that sweaters no longer seem so daunting. Hence I've got two more on needles already. This jacket from Drops in what has to be my favorite yarn so far Mirasol Sulka, and a seamless hybrid sweater for Peter. I figured after six years together (anniversary next week) it's now safe to knit him a sweater :)

We're going back!!!

Kerry Park 5 TTHDR
Originally uploaded by manleyaudio

Peter and I leave this evening for a fun-filled weekend in Seattle, including two nights of backpacking in Olympic National Park! I can't wait to introduce him to my new favorite city (sorry San Fran :)). Wish me luck in trying to convince him that the west coast is where we need to be!

Sorry, but I just can't get enough...

... of sad panda. Awwwww.....

30 years ago today.

You know, I really thought that 30 wouldn't phase me. I've been calling myself 30 for months now, even years - just rounding up when it was too taxing to try to remember my actual age. But then it comes and it says, "Here, have a few gray hairs and a slowing metabolism to go along with your adolescent acne that you'll never be free of," and it starts to bum you out a little. Not to mention the feelings of inadequacy because you're not exactly where you thought or hoped you'd be at 30.

Peter has been great though. He bought me some beautiful flowers (photo to come when I get it uploaded), chocolate and some great wine. We played games last night and he's cooking crab for me this evening. Plus he's put up with my weekend depression. A girl couldn't ask for more :)

Your Friday cuteness.

Baby marmoset
Originally uploaded by floridapfe

Who knew they'd be so small when young, and yet still have so much fur?

The just-over-one-year mark

New hair
Originally uploaded by Faux pas

Well, it's been just a little more than a year since I cut off more than a foot of my hair and donated it to Locks of Love. It has been such a life-changing experience having short hair. You would never believe how differently I'm treated with short hair, for better and sometimes for worse. It makes me want to write an article about it, maybe for Venus? That can come a little later. Right now I just want to vent at how long it's taking my hair to grow back. Here's a picture from a year ago.

Wow that was an ugly haircut. But anyway,d o you see the difference? A little? Besides the fact that I am apparently wearing the same shirt? That's the problem. There's little difference between the two. My hair grows so slow, despite the fact that I'm taking prenatal vitamins. Hopefully next year at this time it will at least be close to my shoulders. Halfway down my neck would be fine. I just need it to get long enough to tuck behind my ears, maybe put into some kind of ponytail... Grow, grow, grow.

I-go Crazy!

So recently Peter and I joined the I-Go Car Sharing program. For $15 a month we get three free hours and each additional hour is approximately $8.50. This includes gas and insurance! There are three cars just down the street from us, and we've taken out the Prius the last two times. It is so nice, as we've been able to do our grocery shopping at several places at once, including my favorite, Trader Joe's. This is a big deal since it has been a year since our closest grocery store and the fruit market both closed, and we've been trucking it a half mile to the Jewel in the snow, sleet, rain... you get the idea. Plus we've been able to do other things, like finally go to the tailor and get all my pants and Peter's shirts done. Peter's going to take one of these cars to my concert next week, and we may even make an Ikea run soon.

The down side is this: I get super cranky when we're running errands with the I-Go car. Why? Well, you book it for a certain timeframe ahead of time, and so you are limited to the time you reserved. This becomes problematic when traffic is bad, or, in my case, when you have no idea how long a given errand is going to take. As a result, Peter and I have become super-shoppers, running like bats out of hell around the various grocery stores trying to fit in as much as possible in our alloted time. We've actually made a Trader Joe's run from the apartment and back in less than 20 minutes. Including shopping time. We're most efficient when we go to Stanley's, this amazing fruit market that sells super cheap produce. How cheap, you ask? Well, I recently got a case, that's right an entire CASE of strawberries for the low, low price of $.98. Anyway, on Saturday we were at Stanley's doing our crazy go-go-go shopping when the Top Gun theme song "Highway to the Danger Zone" came on the loud speakers. It was fitting, and I used it to keep me motivated as I counted out the number of lemons we needed for homemade lemonade from our most recent Everyday Food magazine (the best recipe magazine ever). By the way, that recipe right there? Great with some pureed strawberries :)