Julie & Julia

Jeromy and I watched a ton of movies while snowed in--part of a great, relaxing weekend. One of them was Julie & Julia. I could have watched the entire movie just about Julia Child and done without the Julie Powell part, but I did find the premise of her blog intriguing and so did Jeromy. We decided that we wanted to cook through an entire cookbook in one year as well (but don't worry, we're not going to blog about the experience, we're not complete copycats). We like the idea of challenging ourselves to try every recipe and not just the ones we've cherry-picked from the book. Starting January 1, 2010, our goal is to make every recipe out of this:



We'll let you know how it goes and if there are some recipes that really stand out, we'll post them here. We're both big fans of Giada's cooking so I think we're in for some very good meals!

One scarf finished!

I finally finished my first scarf! Love how it came out. Unfortunately, the washing machine did not love it so much and ripped a section of it to shreds :-( The question is, do I give in and just buy a gift for my godchild, or, do I attempt to make a scarf in 4 days? With a snow day tomorrow, maybe it's possible....

Here's a picture of Dixie modeling the completed scarf pre-washing machine disaster.

Blizzaster 2009 cont'd

These were taken this morning...

Blizzaster 2009 pictures

These were taken around 10 am, the snow is already a lot higher...updates will be posted later!

The Great Blizzaster of 2009!

The best part of living in the Mid-Atlantic region--the sheer panic when there is snow in the forecast. Granted, this snow storm is actually pretty big with up to 2 feet in some areas, so this is a bit of a big deal. What I find most entertaining is the amount of time we spend making fun of the panicking before the panic has even set in. The two articles below had me laughing hysterically...enjoy! I'll post some pictures later today of all the snow.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/commons/2009/12/here_comes_the_snow_a_survival.html

http://wonkette.com/412828/washington-dc-to-be-absolutely-decimated-permanently-with-snow

And yes, the word "Blizzaster" just came out of the mouth of meteorologist Chuck Bell. Wow.

Confrontation

Over the course of 4 hours last night, I did battle with the nasty, angry knot of yarn that you see in the previous post. 4 hours of pulling, threading and winding and at the end I had 6 balls of yarn to show for it! Yes, it's true, I confronted the angry yarn and I WON! It felt like a very big accomplishment, now if only I can finish this scarf before Christmas.....

my new obsession...

My Sitoo (my mom's mother) taught me how to knit in high school. My poor sister even wore the horrible scarf I knitted for her once or twice. I made one more scarf after that and then put down my knitting needles. Recently, I decided to pick them back up. I think it was the new yarn stores with shelves upon shelves of beautifully colored threads calling my name. So I signed up for a knitting class. It was like riding a bike and I'm happy to say that the results seem to be A LOT better than the first time I tried. Once again, Kristin, I am so sorry I made you wear that scarf. The next one will be a lot better, I promise!

I have three projects going right now. The purple one is a ribbed scarf that is a Christmas gift. The yarn was in a nice, neat ball but something happened and all of a sudden it became an angry mess. The yarn and I are working through our difference and I'm confident that in the end we'll have a great scarf to show for our efforts :-)

The second one, which is almost finished, is for my Godchild, Isabella. I thought the color combination was perfect for her and I just love the tassles at the end.

And last but not least, is a scarf I'm working on for me :-)

These scarves are the result of the beginner class, stay tuned for more difficult projects as I take more classes!

Lisa :-)

Happy Holidays!

For comparison....

Our Christmas Tree (at Stover Drive)....

OR

The Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center (in NYC).....

Had a great time in New York, despite the crazy crowd wielding umbrellas, and I love the Rockefeller tree, but I will always love the tree that we have at home more--it's just so us. :-)

Dixie's favorite spot...

is right under the tree!