Happy Post-Zombie Jesus Day!

This is what I get to see everyday that I take Dragon to work. See? Mountains:D

So not much going on in our household this weekend (or for the past few weeks rather) thus the lack of updates. HOWEVER!!! I have completed some projects, started some new ones, taken a SLEW of pictures and I am here to inflict all of this information upon you.

Behold ye, and tremble in fear.

Purple Jade and Sterling Silver...so pretty!

This is a purple jade pendant with a silver dragon on it, courtesy of Uwajimaya Market in downtown Seattle. I also got some Puchi miniature meals...and they are made of awesome and cute!

Puchi Mini Meals...dangerously addictive.

It was amazing and we will definitely be going again sometime soon. It's so refreshing to finally have a place to go to get the awesome Japanese food that I remember from Japan:)

Now, on to the completed works! First up the infamous crochet orange scarf and knitted hat out of the Orange Slices Merino yarn from Andrea :

Finally completed. Very warm and very bright, they help to keep the dreary Seattle chill away. My favorite part (aside from the yarn) is the edging. It's a crochet braid stitch that looks to be much more complicated than it really is.

Then I splurged a little bit (a whole $6) and bought the Applejack hat pattern from Croshay Designs and proceeded to make two of them. The first is out of the amazing BFL in the ColdSteel colorway from the faboo Andrea .

And what's more, I had so much left over that I decided it needed a scarf to go with it, so I'm currently using the Magic Scarf pattern by Crazy Aunt Purl and still working on it:

Then I used a combo of the Dexter colorway in Merino/Silk blend from Cosmic Fibers Yarn on Etsy and some of the Obsidian Merino/Tencel from Andrea :
I didn't have enough of the Dexter to do more than the hat, so I'm thinking that if I knit a scarf for this one I'll do it strictly out of the Obsidian. And I'm thinking cables:D

Then we have the latest Calorimetry that I'm making for my BFF Dawn down in Alabama out of the most AMAZING chunky baby alpaca yarn! I picked it up from Yarnzilla for a steal and I will definitely be getting more of it because oh...it's so lush! I believe the colorway is called Ember Melange and the photos just do NOT do it justice!

That's my little purple skull cupcake stitch marker from Scary Merry over on Etsy. I adore them:)

And last, but certainly not least, I'm working on yet another scarf, this time using the incredibly gorgeous Her Eyes tencel from Andrea . Again....photos cannot capture how truly beautiful this yarn is, folks.

Those are the new bamboo needles I picked up on Amazon for a steal! I now have no excuse because I now have every size from 0 - 13 in 9" straights and DPNs.

I'm using the Old Shale Pattern, found on Ravelry, and so far, it may not look like much, but I swear, when it's blocked? It's going to be utterly fabulous!

So that's it for now:) I swear it's taken me entirely too long to get this update on here. But I'm sure that after viewing such beautiful yarns, you'll need a rest.

The battle for the water box is on. First Blade...

Then Kratos;)

Until next time;)

XOXO
~Bella

Cold and snowy.

It was a snowy day yesterday, apparently. I woke up to huge fat flakes falling from the sky in that dizzying whirl that can hypnotize you if you stare at it for too long. It didn't last for too long, and it didn't stick, because it was gone by about 2pm, but it was pretty while it lasted.

We're coming up on the rainy season around here, apparently, with forecasts stating that it should be raining all week long. I actually rather like the overcast days with random sun breaks.

As Dragon said, it's a good thing we hit the Uwajimaya market downtown on Saturday. Oh, I was in absolute HEAVEN!! I've been yearning for Japanese culture since I've been back stateside these 11 or 12 years now, and I believe I've found everything I could possibly want at U market. It's definitely somewhere I'm going to be taking my parents when they come to visit:)

I'm still working on the orange scarf that never ends. I suppose it might go faster if I actually put in long stretches of time crocheting it. I really should get it finished before, say, spring, so I have a chance to wear it. *laughs* I think right now, it's approaching the length I want, I'm just noodling with various ideas of how to edge the thing. I think I might do just a simple picot edge because it just seems to cry out for something easy.

I received two WONDERFUL skeins from my yarn pimptress this past week. I am utterly enamored with these two yarns. They both satisfy my "dark yarn" sweet tooth while being utterly soft and fabulous. I don't know what to do with them yet, but I do want it to be something I can wear regularly because I really adore the colors! Here...let me show you:

On Cat's Paws (Merino/Bamboo)
Coldsteel (BFL)

I adore both of these yarns. SO pretty. So addictive. And I am totally on the hunt for something fantastic to turn them into!

In cooking news, I made a fantastic White Cheese Chicken Lasagna on Friday night. The only change I can think of making would be to season the chicken a bit more and add a tiny smidge more spinach, but overall, it was quite tasty.

Other than that, I've been busy busy with work. I'm thinking of dropping back down to one company as opposed to the two I'm working now. I feel like I'm burning the candle at both ends, but due to some financial obligations, I won't be ditching the first job until the middle of April, most likely. I'm anxious to get there and who knows? I might be able to manage it earlier rather than later.

Also, the months of June, July, and August apparently are going to be quite full for us! In June, we've been invited to join a bunch of coworkers in Las Vegas. Considering everyone in my family has been without me, this will be my first excursion and I'm quite excited! My mom will apparently be joining us there, as will my good friend Dawn from Alabama. It's about time I get to meet her!!

In July, my folks, my grandmother, and my aunt/uncle are apparently coming to visit for a week. It's shaping up to be quite a large group. Hopefully, I'll be able to come up with plenty of things to keep everyone occupied! Dragon might have to work a few of the days but that's fine...it saves him from having to deal with my relatives;)

And then in August, Dawn and Jeff might be coming to spend some time here! *bounces about* We're thinking of going to Hempfest because Dragon and I missed out last year, so it'll be 1000xs more fun with them along;)

So that's it, for updates right now. If I think of anything else, you'll be the first (or...second) to know;) And now? Some updated pics of our furbabies:

Kratos sits pretty for the camera.

Blade, showing off his pretty face.

Mumbles, interested in "other" things.

About as close to a group shot as I'm going to get. Kratos is the only one missing (and yes, the area is a disaster, but it's cleaner now!)

Shadow decided that one day this past week was "take your kitty to work day" and proceeded to firmy entrench himself in Dragon's work satchel.

Could you really resist this face? This face is the only reason he's still with us and not out in the snow. LOL!

That's all for now!

XOXO
Bella

Flexitarianism? Whaa?

I received two of the books I'd ordered today. One, which relates to the crafty part of this blog:
I've been enamored with Amigurumi for a while now, but I tend to err on the side of creepy-cute rather than just cute;) So when I saw this book (and I recognized the author from her etsy.com Needle Noodles site) I had to pick it up and see what it was all about.

Omg. Seriously some of the most adorable little ami-dolls I think I've ever laid eyes upon. Very worth it, they make faboo gifts and I think I'm going to sit down in the next week or so and make one of each from the book!

When you've finally decided to quit smoking, you need something, anything to do with your hands. At least in the meantime, right? Quick stats:

1 day, 8 hours, 27 minutes and 48 seconds smoke free. 27 cigarettes not smoked.

Since I'm on a health kick lately too, I snagged this book:
Because, let's face it. Here we are in the Pacific Northwest. We can get fresh fish, but more importantly, some AMAZING veggies and fruits for dirt cheap. Yes, money has been tight, but with the introduction of this new job, there's no excuse anymore. It's time to get serious about our health (Dragon will have to get used to it) and this is a good plan that suits us both. See, I'm a carnivore by nature, Dragon - even more so. I love veggies, but I cannot exist on veggies alone. I know that if I'm going to go in a more....vegan trend with my eating there has to be some way to still incorporate the occasional meat product (I adore fish/chicken, where Dragon is a pork/beef kinda guy).

No guilt. Just healthier eating!

Of course, I'm sure all of this stems from the Doctor's appointment I have tomorrow. Finally, I should get some answers about what's going on with me and get started on being human again.

In the meantime, I will keep you all updated...have no fear! I think I'm going to plunge into this book and start absorbing as much of it as I can so I can circumvent any complaints Dragon might have;)

XOXO
~Bella

Finally, an update!

The view coming home from dropping Dragon off at work this morning. Sno!

It's been pretty slow around here since my last update. Most of the concerns have all been related to the economy and how I'm being impacted, financially, by losing one job and starting over at another one. Unfortunately, it's a significant reduction in income for us that I'm quite unhappy with. So, when the going gets tough, I get out there and try to find something else. I've had 3 interviews so far with one particular company and there's really no reason why I wouldn't get the job, I'm just going to keep most of it under wraps until I hear yay or nay.

So in lieu of boring wah-wah-meer-meer complaints, I'm going to give you pictures!

Mumbles approves of this post.

We went to see Abney Park this past Friday as a way to blow off some steam (haha!) and in celebration, I finally pulled out the Lumina yarn (from a few posts back) and crocheted up some skluv gloves! (By Copperscale Dragon on Etsy) I had bought the pattern a while back and was just fiddling with it, trying to figure out what yarn to use and how I wanted them to look. I finally decided on Friday that I was going to use the loverly red/black glittery Lumina I'd gotten back in January. I think they worked out pretty well:
I love the little skull pattern, and the buttons are some that I picked up from JoAnn's Fabric up the road just a few hours prior to the show. I'm glad I made this yarn into gloves, but my only beef with it is that it's quite scratchy. Definitely an accent yarn more than a garment yarn, in my opinion.

Speaking of the show, it was as amazing as the first time we saw them last year. And! Because I have a tall husband who can reach ON stage, I managed to get one of Finn's keys! (They were coming off her skirt as she danced):

Biggest and BEST concert memorabilia I have:) She's so beautiful to watch, not just being physically attractive, but also because she's an AMAZING dancer with a beautiful voice.

And because you can never have enough cat photos, my Dragon caught the Doom Brothers snuggling the other day. It was utterly adorable because, while they love on each other quite often, it's very rare to catch them completely passed out in a cat pile.

Mumbles and Kratos.

The Doom Brothers in a moment of brotherly love.

Nothing to see here, move along.

That's all for now!

XOXO
~Bella

Foggy days, crisp nights.

The last few days have been full o' fog around here and I've been enjoying every minute of it. To my macabre mind, I suppose it's just spooky enough to make it feel more surreal than it might to the average Pacific Northwesterner.

But then, I'm still newly transplanted.

It's a new year, therefore new goals, hassles, irritations and triumphs. We've been getting out and seeing the city more, slowly but surely, and I'm currently dying to get tickets for Cinematic Titanic's first show here in March. In case you don't already know, and I'm sure most of you don't, I'm a huge fan of MST3K. So when CT announced tour dates, you know I'll be in attendance:) See, this is one of the big reasons we moved here in the first place. The opportunities are crazy! Combine that with another Abney Park show next month and you've got a me that's just squirming in her pants to get out and get on with it!

I've been working on a new scarf. I'm using the lovely orange merino I got earlier this month and after searching high and low, I settled on a scarf that's similar to the Circle Crochet Scarf pattern and I fully intended on using that particular pattern. But then, while perusing through my Encyclopedia of Crochet the other day and found the perfect stitch pattern for it.

See, I envisioned this scarf, because of the yarn, looking like little slices of mandarin oranges, so I went with Catherine's Wheel. And yes, it's crochet:

See that gorgeous color? Believe me when I say that the camera does NOT do justice to how lusciously beautiful it is.

And my favorite dyer/spinner extraordinaire is at it again. Look at this: (picture totally taken by Andrea, by the way)

Now, I will admit my ignorance, because I don't know what Black BFL is (the fiber she used for this yarn) but is that not one of the most gorgeous red colorways you've ever seen? Can you imagine a deep violet color? OMG! So pretty!

So naturally, I want some. *laughs* We'll see what happens;) What with working two jobs now, I might be able to keep up my yarn-whore habit! (As it is, I'm totally tempted to have her add the Purple Haze merino she has in her shop. I keep lusting after it. Darn her!!)

Oh! And I haven't forgotten the backlog of stitch patterns of the day. I'm still doing them, I've just gotten caught up in other things. Hopefully over the next week, I'll get them all photo'd and uploaded and let you all know what I'm doing!

Game's on, have to run:)

XOXO
Bella