Spring is trying her best to (finally) take hold here in Southwest Michigan. But Spring is fickle. Seemingly here one day . . . then snow the next!
We've been getting a lot of rain.
But I don't mind! It gives me a chance to stomp about in my new, birthday rain boots . . . a gift from my Mom and Dad.
They lighten up the dreariest of wet and muddy days.
Aren't they awesome?
First, join me in congratulating Cookie . . . who won my Travelogue Comment Contest. The St. Petersburg Matryoshka dolls will soon be on their way, Cookie!
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Next, I thought I would share a little True Confession.
My sister and I pack very lightly when we go on our trips together. For our 10-day cruise, for example, we each packed just one carry-on sized suitcase. This doesn't leave a whole lot of room for . . . shopping. On our previous trips, we've done a little shopping; a few things here and there, mostly small and packable. But for this trip? We figured we might want to do some Shopping! (I had been planning on finding yarn, of course.)
So. We brought an empty suitcase with us! To fill with goodies we might pick up along the way. We called it our "Treasure Chest."
And. . . fill it, we did!
In my family (and this tradition has now spread to my sister's family as well), we always buy a fridge magnet from every place we visit. (I'll have to do a blog post about our magnet collection someday.) So. . . new additions to our magnet collection went into the Treasure Chest.
I also have a special little cabinet on the wall in my bedroom -- handmade by Brian in his 8th grade woodshop class . . .
and on the middle shelf, I keep minature reminders of my trips with my sister.
What ELSE did I pack in the Treasure Chest to bring home?
A dala horse and a tomte from Sweden (to join others I already own).
Books, also from Sweden. (I usually bring home coffee-table books as a souvenir of my travels. Such lovely reminders of visits -- and very packable! My sister, though seeks out cookbooks to bring home. This time, I followed suit!)
I brought a pair of fulled mittens from Finland. . .
and a wool shawl from Russia.
My sister and I fell hard for the Baltic Amber jewelry, and each of us bought multiple pieces to bring home. Here are my rings (not usually worn together!). They're such delightful reminders of our trip.
I went a little crazy in Estonia. I had been admiring the style of the Scandinavian women we saw on the streets of Sweden and Finland. Linen. Layers. Simple. Lovely. And when I saw things in the shops of Estonia, I had to have them!
I got a long, linen vest (handknit) and a convertible shawl-thing (wool; also handknit).
Lovely. And the closest things to "yarn" I saw!
The kind of Estonian lace. . . that suits my style! Not too fancy; lovely in its simplicity.
I also picked up some scarves . . . because I loved their colors and textures. (The blue wool scarf is from Sweden; the linen scarves are from Estonia.)
I also found this charming linen tote bag in an Estonian shop. The buildings will always remind me of the fairy-tale charm of Estonia!
And in Copenhagen, I bought a pair of Royal Copenhagen coffee mugs.
(Which happens to be sitting on a hand-woven Swedish table runner.)
Let's just say. . . the Treasure Chest was not empty on our way home!
The last few days have been A Sign Of What's To Come: grey skies, blustery winds, rain. The leaves are past their prime. The gardens have stopped their blooming. The bleak months are on their way.
Time to add some color!
A couple of weeks ago, Margene showed us her new Keens. Bright, colorful, happy feet!
I have the same shoes. . . only mine are in a different color scheme.
It's such fun to look down at your feet and smile at the riot of pattern!
Personally, I'm a fool for navy and white ticking stripe. That's what sold me on these shoes!
Even on a gloomy, dark day . . . you can get a blast of color from your feet.
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In mid-September, Target launched its Missoni for Target line. Cool Missoni stuff . . . at Target prices. I didn't get there in time. By the time I arrived (the day after The Launch), nothing was left. So. Imagine my surprise when I stopped by Target last week for some essentials. . .
and found this. . .
A full month after The Launch, there was a lonely rack of Missoni merchandise. Not on clearance. But there all the same!
I bought a blouse (that is surprisingly well-made, although the buttons are really cheap-looking and need to be replaced) and this cute little knit bag.
There is nothing like Missoni to bring in a blast of color!
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And then, there is this. . .
a cute little baby set I finished up as a gift for a former co-worker who is having her first baby (a girl) next month.
Colorful.
Happy.
Bright.
A perfect blast of color for a gloomy day. (Ravelry details here.)
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Enjoy the weekend! Add some color ... whatever you're doing.
Soundtrack. . .
Oh, come on now. Everyone has at least one!
It's time to confess. . . my dirty little secret. . .
I follow fashion.
There. I've said it out loud.
It's not like I practice fashion. Not at all. I don't own any designer labels of anything (well, except a few carefully-selected pieces from Eileen Fisher). No Christian Louboutin shoes. No Prada bags. No little Michael Kors dresses. But that doesn't mean I'm not interested!!! (And you can be sure I'll be checking out the new Missoni line at Target next month! I'm all about affordable fashion.)
Anyway. I do like checking out the fashion mags -- especially the September issues (when they cover all the new fall styles). And I read a few fashion blogs -- preferring the ones that don't take themselves too seriously. And I can't seem to turn away from Project Runway.
I'm not exactly why I caught the fashionista bug, but I did. And I caught it early. Like, as a pre-adolescent. I learned to sew . . . and sew well. . . at a young age -- just so I could copy the styles I saw in Seventeen magazine.
I've always considered my fashion-thing . . . a dirty little secret. Because, well, fashion just seems so superficial. And I'm not a superficial person. But I am a person who likes . . . clothes, bags, shoes, patterns, textures, color, form, line, and design. I also think clothes DO make a statement about who we are, what we care about, how we feel -- and how we WANT to feel.
This summer, I'm reading a book called The Thoughtful Dresser: the Art of Adornment, the Pleasures of Shopping, and Why Clothes Matter by Linda Grant. Superficial as it may sound, it's an interesting book. (Linda Grant's blog -- The Thoughtful Dresser -- sports this tagline: "Because you can't have depths without surfaces.") The author explores the "dark side" and the "light side" of fashion, clothing, and dressing -- making the point that an attraction to fashion and beautiful clothing is not rational, but based on pleasure (sort of like. . . choosing to eat a chocolate eclair rather than, say, a container of Greek yogurt).
Here's a little quote from the book -- and actually, the passage that made me decide to confess all in a blog post!
“The purpose of this book is to advance no thesis, to break no ground in the history or theory of fashion, but rather to explore what is already known but rarely thought about by the ordinary mass of humanity who is interested in fashion and might, quite wrongly, feel a little ashamed of this passion. Might fear that they are not going to be taken seriously. That in announcing this preoccupation they will have confessed that women are not really fully grown up; unlike our male counterparts, who have mature and adult preoccupations without which the human race could not survive, such as moving balls from one end of a grassy field to the other with the aid of the human foot.”
So, yeah. I follow fashion.
(Jenny does NOT follow fashion . . . but she does follow yougurt!)
But. . . I don't LOOK like I follow fashion!
It's just my Dirty Little Secret!
Some days I wonder how I functioned without the Internet. No blogs. No YouTube. No Wikipedia. No Google Earth. No Ravelry. No Facebook. No LOLCats. What did I DO with my time?
This week, Ten on Tuesday has us exploring our Ten Favorite Non-Knitting Blogs. This is a dangerous topic, folks. Because I'm pretty sure I'm going to be tempted by whatever the rest of you post. And, trust me. . . I really don't need any more distractions!
When I'm not reading knitting blogs. . . or checking in on Ravelry. . . or Facebook. . . or playing around with aerial views of the Nile River. . . or looking up old commercials from my youth ("ancient Chinese secret, huh?") I do check out some other blogs and sites quite regularly. Here are are a few of my favorites:
Check out other Ten on Tuesday posts here. . . and Get Distracted!
Well. It's been a busy week. Time for a Friday Round Up. . . catch-as-catch can!
My garden is winding down for the season. I think it's lovely at this time of year -- although quite hit-and-miss. My roses are blooming their little hearts out right now. I think they know it's their last blast!
We may even get a frost this weekend. Kind of early. . . but, then, the weather has been a bit crazy all season!
I really love the structure . . .
of a garden winding down . . .
for the season!
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I haven't done a "purchase of the week" post in a long time. But, clearly, I've been busy "purchasing." I got this in the mail this week. . .
Oh, brother! I've got "gold member status" at Eddie Bauer. What does that mean, exactly? Well. It means I've spent way too much time and money shopping there. (It's not a credit card; just a frequent buyer card.) This makes me feel a little silly, actually. And sort of . . . creeped out. . . by the fact that they track my shopping. (I'm not naive . . . I just would prefer to live in the illusion that my life is my own!)
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I know that patterned rubber boots are popular these days . . . but I had No Idea what an absolute RAGE they are on the college fashion scene until last weekend at The Pull. There were so many (so VERY many) girls running around in boots . . .
that even Tom (who is, trust me, typically blind to fashion!) noticed! They were EVERYwhere!
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And speaking of fashion . . . how about that Mondo?
Way to work a color combo . . . not to mention stepping away from your own edge!
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Tomorrow - October 2 - is Livestrong Day.
Check the Livestrong website for information, resources, and support. If you - or someone you know - is dealing with cancer, be sure to check out the Livestrong Guidebook. You can order this great tool for FREE. The guidebook (two volumes) provides solid, pertinent information designed to help cancer patients and their families navigate the health care system and understand what's going on at every phase of the journey -- from diagnosis to survivorship. Also included -- organizational tools and journaling guides. Live. Strong.
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In knitting news. . . well, there really isn't any. I've been knitting on a secret project -- a Christmas gift for someone who reads this blog regularly, so. . . Do Not Open 'til Christmas. . . totally applies!
But. . . you might be interested in learning that . . . Twist Collective patterns are NOT test knit . . . and tend to be fraught with errata. Hmmmmmm. I'm feeling a rant coming on. But not today. Because . . .
it's the weekend! Have a good one!
