Object: One miniature Police Telephone Box.
Spotted: in Noe Valley of San Francisco, CA.
Color: TARDIS blue.
Near: A dog park.
Official Mission: Find the Doctor and help with the alien invasion that has clearly occured in sweet SF pups.
Secret Mission: Be so impressive in doggy aid that I am invited to be the next companion.
First Stop Once Aboard TARDIS: Jupiter. I bet any aliens living there are mental bad-asses.
Today I'm handing my blog over to my pal and sponsor Laurie from Hooked Up on This! Take it away Laura!
Hey there! My name is Laura and I'm just your average, everyday Jersey girl with a knack for anything, and everything, artistic. As a recent college graduate, I'm excited to begin fulfilling my professional ambitions, all while knitting and crocheting in my "spare" time. My blog, Hooked Up On This..., documents this transitional stage of my life where I'm crafting non stop either at home or on the train to my beloved city, Philadelphia, as well as just about anything else in between.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
As a child, I wanted to be a nurse during the day and in the circus at night, haha. Wow! That's one doozy of a career combination there my friends! But, I've come a long way since then. I recently received a degree in music and business. Anything in the administrative aspect of the music industry is right up my alley! I'm hopeful that the music industry will treat me well.
Describe your first knitting or crochet experience- who taught you, what did you make, how did it turn out?
This is a good question, one that calls for a little bit of a back story! My paternal grandmother was very artistic back in the day. She loved crocheting and knitting. After she passed away, she left behind books, skeins of yarn, crochet hooks, and knitting needles. These materials were left untouched for almost twenty years before I stumbled upon these items in my house. I knew right away that crafting with yarn was something I wanted to learn and do.
My dream is to learn as much as I can about my craft. I'm a firm believer that learning never ends. I'd love to meet other crocheters as well as knitters, and, hopefully, find something worthy of selling. I'd love to open my own Etsy shop within the year. So, everyone out there, keep an eye out!
Tell us your best love story.
I personally think the best love stories come right out of one's own life. That being said, I have my own personal love story I'd like to briefly share:-)I met my guy back within the first few weeks of my freshman year in college. It wasn't exactly love at first sight for both of us. Instead, we were more interested in having ensemble begin (aka the small "band" course offered at our school) . However, that was all about to change. I felt awkward being the only freshman in sight waiting for class to start. I really wanted to talk to someone to ease the nerves. So, I naturally turned to the only person close by whom I could talk to immediately. My guy was the lucky winner and this was what I said, word for word, "How do you play flute with a beard?" Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that was my pick up line, and it goes down in the one of the "best pick up lines of all time" hall of fame, haha!
I have to say, this man is absolutely wonderful. He's my best friend and I couldn't ask for a better person to be with for the rest of my life :-)
Tell us three "secrets" about yourself.
Oh my, only three? Lol! I'm not good with keeping secrets to begin with, but, I can tell you three fun facts about me!I'm a small person. Everything about me is short. I'm short in stature (approx 5'3", in my dreams, lol) and have short hair. But that's about all that's small! My personality, spirit, and ambitions make up for the rest :-)
I'm a small person. Everything about me is short. I'm short in stature (approx 5'3", in my dreams, lol) and have short hair. But that's about all that's small! My personality, spirit, and ambitions make up for the rest :-)
I'm a self diagnosed pretzel-aholic...probably why I love Philly so much! lol
I love a good laugh. I've got a great pun-like sense of humor, which sometimes comes out in the titles of my blog posts.
I am absolutely loving the Q&A a Day Book I bought at the end of December. So far I have only forgotten to write in it one day, and since I realized that I had forgotten early the next morning and knew my answer would have been exactly the same the day before, I went ahead and wrote it in.
I thought it would be fun to share an answer from my book every once in awhile (maybe once a month?). February 6 is my favorite questions from February so far:
How would you answer? Are you seeking contentment or excitement?
Keeping my February goal of "going on more walks" has not been hard at all. I am lucky enough to live in a town full of creeks with secret paths* that do a lot to make walks my favorite part of the day.
I woke up this morning and discovered that it had rained hard during the night. More raindrops threatened to fall, so after a cup of coffee (and a quick episode of The Vampire Diaries just to find out if Damon and Elena kissed again) I put on my stretch pants, converse sneakers, and rain gear jacket (that I bought before going to Wales in 2003 and then never actually wore because I realized that the brochure lied and Welsh people are actually quite fashionable people, especially in a university setting) and hopped out the door before the weather decided I shouldn't.
The air deliciously chilled air woke all the happy things inside me. Like daffodils bobbing, partying like headbangers in the winds of a storm that would flatten them. Yellow laughing at the grey, living in joy despite the world around them.
Every happy cell inside me was awake, they let all the sad cells sleep, and I dreamed of all the places I could go and all the useful things I could do for the world in the future.
I winded my way to a Starbucks and rested with a drink. It was too warm and stuffy inside, so I was the only person sitting in the nippy outdoor seating area. With an iced drink (and awesome sparkly fingernails) nonetheless.
Chilly air, walk enduced endorphines, and daydreams about the future.
This is what happy looks like.
*The existence of the paths and the creeks are not at all secret. The real secret is the awesome experience of walking them.
My college roomate, my dearest friend, had her first baby about a week ago. I am officially an (unofficial) Auntie!
I found out that my friend was having a baby several months ago, and I knew right away that I wanted to make a special gift for it. My friend and her husband decided that they were going to wait until the baby was born to find out whether it was a boy or a girl. The question I struggled with was this:
What's a girl to knit?
The woman I refer to as my "sister-in-law-to-be-someday" helped me figure out the solution when she and my brother-in-law visited from Wales. She also had friends with babies on the way, so after a trip to the most marvelous yarn store (Knitterly) we chose to knit the same baby sweater pattern. I seleceted a neutral colorway for the yarn that everyone in the store assured me would work for a boy or a girl.
We both finished in a matter of days and had lots of fun working on the same project together.
This was the result:
When I was young my dad gave me a stuffed lion that I imagined protected me from all sorts of monsters that could attack in my sleep. I wanted to include these awesome little lion buttons as sort of a protection blessing for my new little friend. I think I secretly fancy myself his Fairy God Mother, capable of giving him a magical gift.
The only potential problem: this sweater is teeny tiny. I hope he gets it before he is too big to wear it!
(I love winter sunsets)
In February I will...
go on more walks.
read more educational books
visit two out of town friends
start a new fitness goal
blog some craft projects
What are your goals for February?
I picked up this book on my birthday a few days ago for three reasons: 1. Everybody was talking about how amazing it is. 2. I had never read anything by John Green and everyone is always talking about how amazing he is. 3. This year, I always encourage myself to follow the stars.
Some books are discovery journeys, both for the reader and the characters, and are therefore very hard to describe without spoiling the joy of reading the story. Imagine me trying to describe The Hunger Games to my dad, while we are speeding down a freeway in Seattle, in a way that makes him understand that he HAS TO READ THIS BOOK with out saying anything about the plot. It sounds like just another been there, read that Big Brother dystopian story, but anyone who has read it knows it is so much more. So, I am going to try and tell you how much you HAVE TO READ The Fault in Our Stars without telling you anything that actually happens in the story. Look- the Space Needle is on your left!
In The Fault in Our Stars...
There is a breathing machine that sounds like a dragon.
There is a sexy use of a Venn Diagram.
We get to go inside the The Literal Heart of Jesus Christ.
On page 49 I think I already know how the novel is going to end and I want to throw it across the room and figure out a way to punch John Green (do I end up doing these things? No spoilers!).
This video pretty much captures the tone and many themes of TFIOS. I am 99% sure Green was working on the book when he made this video and it shows beautifully. Honestly, I think that my #1 favorite thing about the internet is watching artists work on projects through their blog posts, tweets, photos, words that they start to focus on, doodles that appear everywhere, philosophies or motifs that resurface... and then getting to enjoy the project (book, painting, album... whatever medium) when it is finished. I love watching their creative processes.
When I finished reading TFIOS I knew that while I understood the book this time around, I would understand it even more the second time around. When I read it a third time a few years from now, I will probably understand it in a completely different way. This desire to reread a book with a thirst for more understanding is rare and the ultimate compliment a book can recieve.
Read The Fault In Our Stars.
Did you know that every copy of the first printing of TFIOS (basically, any book on the shelves in stores RIGHT NOW) is signed by John Green? Frequently, in GREEN sharpie? Watch a funny video about the task of signing all these books here.
(But not as good as the book itself!)
I went on a walk this early evening. It was the first time I left the house all day (after driving my husband to work in the morning) and it was lovely. The sky was grey, which made all the pretty greens, blues, pinks, of the plants, trees and other general signs of life seem extra bright.
Just like my grey shoes and highlighter color socks.
The air was light, and nowhere near cold or hot. Just perfect. The clouds had woven themselves into an airtight blanket that let some light seep through while hiding the brightness of the sun.
I realized that it was the sky that was making me feel so light, happy, and safe. Most people hate overcast weather, but I love it. There is something about the way the cloud blocks out the rest of the universe that allows me to focus on the universe inside my head. I know I can let the ideas floating around in my head out for a little run without worrying that they will venture out to Jupiter and get lost in it's perpetual storm.
I can wander without getting lost.
The skies here, at The Real Home, tend to tinge blue when grey. The skies in The Home Away From Home tend to tinge pink.
I became an independent, roaming, life loving adult in The Home Away From Home. Today, I miss it's pink skies.
Today I went to my favorite place in the whole wide world (ok, my favorite place in the town that sits next to mine): the bookstore! Why did I go? To meet Marissa Meyer, author of the new YA dystopian novel Cinder. Meeting her was a blast- she was very friendly and everyone around me was talking about how wonderful her book is. I'm sure a book report is coming down the pipeline, but for now let's get down to the really important stuff: my outfit. Everyone knows that its always super important to wear interesting and fancy clothes when one wants to hang out with books and the people who write them, yeah?
purple t-shirt: Rubbish, silver shrug: Anthropologie, denim skirt: Old Navy, tights: unknown, boots: Anthropologie, silver star necklace: unknown, bag: Steve Madden/thrifted.
My only regret: that I didn't wear my red shoes.
Guess what? Today is my birthday! I turn 29 today.
To celebrate, I want to share a little tutorial I did for Mary Rebecca's Birthday Blog Party last month. You can wear these fun birthday crowns at birthday parties, bachelorette parties, on tuesday nights... anytime you feel like celebrating!
Heart Crown
Step Four: Attach the tops of your hearts together with small pieces of pipe cleaner. Twist excess pipe cleaner into little circles for a pretty, royal effect.
