the highlight of my weekend

ok, well that sounds really lame. i'm not actually saying the highlight of my weekend was watching my wonderful hubby cuddling with his adorable kitty {i kid myself and think that cache is my cat too, but he's in love with josh. so really, he's his cat} but back to what i was saying- this photo is really more symbolic than literal. i love my weekends with my husband and adorable kitties {even when they prefer him over me}

yeah, that's pretty much it. i just love...this.

{and don't be fooled, cache may look annoyed, but he loves this}

my reading nook

so, i've been wanting a digital reader since they amazon announced they were making the kindle. i really really really wanted one. i may not be the most avid reader ever, but i'm still in the club and this little device definitely appeals to me.

so i splurged with my christmas money and got one.

so far its been, well, awesome!

i wasted no time in renewing our new yorker subscription on my nook {which husband loves to use, too}

and then i got lazy. instead of pulling out my sewing machine, i took the easy way out and bought cozy for it. i figured i would just by the material from etsy anyway, so why not skip a step and buy one? plus, i saw this and immediately described it as "crazy cute".

{i just couldn't resist turning it green, either}

i got it from sakizome and {in my humble opinion} she has the best ebook/ipad cases and the most adorable fabrics. i had trouble narrowing it down. plus, she sent a couple vintage book postcards with my package. how cool is that?

so, i've already got a couple books read and a couple more on my list, but i want to know what you recommend. stumbled across anything good lately??

for when it gets cold in kansas

i got a coat from my mom this christmas.

and one of my favorite parts is the lining. seriously, i'm a sucker for a cute lining {even if it is the most unimportant part of clothing...}

i was pretty excited about it. so as soon as we got home i made myself this matching cowl. it knit up in no time, considering i used super bulky yarn.

and then i made some matching mittens. i split the yarn to make them, so there are lots of loose fibers, which makes them extra fuzzy. in fact, the look a little ragged, so i like to call them my oscar the grouch mittens.

i'm staying warm and toasty, and i love my new coat even more now!

our little get-away

so maybe most people don't consider visiting family a "get-away" but our trip to my big sister's house in new-mexico-but-almost-colorado was just that.

we got to spend some quality time with her and my brother-in-law, but my little nephew is always the highlight {sorry big sis, he's just a whole lot cuter than anyone else i know}

and these two together? hilarious. {and extra adorable}

we're already planning on visiting during spring break. even if we have to hitchhike there and back!

what a week!

husband and i are spending a special weekend together.

i hope yours is wonderful, too!

photo

goodbye hair helmet

i got a haircut!

can you tell?

well, that's ok, not many people noticed. and really, it looks exactly the same from the front. i just got the weird mullet-y part in the back cut off. 

and why don't i have a picture of the back, then? and why are the photos so far away, you ask? well, after struggling to take a decent photo myself, i asked husband to step in and take the photos. the thing is, i get really awkward. so it works better if he doesn't stand so close. it limits my deer-in-the-headlights look which can quickly turn into cranky-wife face. longer distances are better.

{also, this is my mom's vest. she made it in college and i love it.}

friday nights

Friday night is our date night. we don't do anything fancy, just cuddle on the couch, indulge in our latest TV obsession, and eat pizza (usually frozen, sometimes delivery) this week it struck me as completely ridiculous that we haven't been making our own. Seriously, we have a bread machine and making crust couldn't be any easier.

Before it goes in the oven:

 (tomato, red onion and yellow pepppers)

when it came out:

so yummy! 

Although i needed to flour the pan a little more, the bottom layer stuck a bit!

As for our TV obsessions, most often it's an old HBO show. Early this year it was The Wire. (seriously almost-unhealtily-obsessed with that one) and now it's Carnivale- it's like a combination of Water for Elephants and Grapes of Wrath (plus there's magic)

 And speaking of Water for Elephants, I'm so excited for the movie! Although I just discovered that Robert Pattinson is the lead. Am I the only woman in America who is not attracted to him. At. All?

kicking the knitting habit

today i made my first non-knitting craft project since novemeber! {although i did check out a couple knitting books at the library}

i finally made myself a jewelry organizer. my sister-in-law and i made one for her {tutorial here!}, but i haven't felt the need to make my own until recently. i don't have a ton of jewels- just enough to start getting messy.

my bathroom counter:

cooped-up in the english pub ash-tray that husband's grandpa gave him. things get tangled.

 side note: this is the glass frog votive i've had since sixth grade that holds husband's wedding ring:

my bathroom wall:

 i found a beat-up-price-reduced frame at hobby lobby and painted it green {to match our other bathroom decor} i added the black ribbon to disguise a few major gashes, and hung with grosgrain ribbon. i like it. although the black doesn't exactly fit the color scheme, but i was working with what i have. and i'm really trying not to let the fact that one necklace in particular is just way too long. sister-in-law would never allow this to happen to her...

 and since it's already out, i thought i'd show you one of my favorite christmas gifts: this cutie from my bestie {she has one, too!} 

i wear it most days :)

although husband is always awed {thrilled, impressed, pleased...you get the idea} with all of my many {and messy} projects {he's so supportive}, he really thinks i should add some of these to my shop.  

opinions? i'd love to hear what you think!

a little knitted rebellion

this year for christmas i did something new. it's not unusual for me to make all my gifts, but this year i knit them all. which, consequently, meant i spent all my free time from thanksgiving to christmas knitting. i barely got some of the gifts done in time so i didn't get any photos of the results, including the awesome {and red} convertible mittens i made for my mom. 

but, as it turns out, after wearing them to work one day, she discovered that they are against the strict dress-code. that's right, my parents work at the salvation army training college and, while they have the freedom to choose either a red or black scarf to match their black {strictly regulated} winter coats, that is the limit of their personal choices. {is my this-is-a-little-ridiculous tone coming through here?} so, upon my return home, i started on a new pair. exactly the same {except for a few tweaks i made to my first pattern} but in black.

  

and, according to my mother's wishes, i added this little surprise:

 bam!

i absolutely approve of this little addition and these really are much cuter than an all-red pair. {plus, red, yellow, and blue are the salvation army colors, so quite acceptable, i think}

 kinda wishing i could have kept these for myself, but i sent them off earlier this week so she wouldn't have to keep breaking the rules. who knows how long they will put up with her blatant disregard for the dress code!

welcome home. we hate you now...

...would be the note our kitties wrote us when we finally came home from our christmas vacation. how do i know this? i was immediately greeted by this:

 our once cute little christmas tree. destroyed. 

i'm still looking for some missing ornaments.

 

and a stray evergreen bough or two.

but according to these cutie pies, we deserved it. 

he destroyed the tree:

and this one hid for two days straight and had our kitty-sitters convinced she ran away:

{they look so harmless while they're sleeping}

the good news is they eventually decided to forgive us for leaving. but not before they made it very clear that we are not to do it again. i tried to unpack that night, and as soon as i turned my back...

access denied!

well look who decided to show up....

hello? 

hello? 

is this thing on?

it's been so long i feel as though i should re-introduce myself.

hi!

i'm angie {or angelina, as my friends call me} who would have guessed that a short break from the computer would lead to this mini-sabbatical i've been on? {as i'm calling it now} 

it's been so long since i've seen you, how do i look?

since my last post i've travelled to omaha nebrask, chicago illinois, and grand rapids michigan, rung in the new year, let my hair grow {and no, i don't want to talk about it. it's awkward.} gotten dreadfully behind on correspondence {email, snailmail and swappy thank-yous} and returned home again. 

i would love to recount all my wonderful holiday stories for you, but i don't think i could do them any justice. it was great to be surrounded by family and friends again. and this year, inspite of my usually rather weepy good-byes, i surprised myself by actually looking forward to coming home. i adore the people in my life {who all seem to be so far away!} but there really is nothing like sleeping in your own bed {even if husband left his pillow in chicago and yours in omaha!} and of course, the kitties were thrilled to see us {not that you can tell from these photos, which are the best i could get...}

 {aria is less than thrilled with my attempts at cuddling}

{and cache is just annoyed. and huge!}

but enough about me, how are you! what have you been up to? i can't wait come around and say hi!