July Obsessions

It's a month of C's! The 5 things that I'm currently obsessed with this month:

1. Capes. There's a ton of cape action that I've been seeing lately. I like how Vogue Knitting dedicated their early fall issue to knitted cape patterns. The summer issue of Knitscene even has a pattern that I am dying to knit. Question is: can I pull off wearing a cape? Even a small one? Man, I want to make that and wear it so badly!

2. Chromeo. Brett introduced me to the Canadian duo years ago and I was all, "they're ok" about it. When I went to the Kootenays my cousin had a playlist that included one of their songs that made my ears perk up a bit. I've heard this song before...but where? When I got back to Victoria I kept hearing snippets of songs that I really liked. All from Brett's playlists. Curious, I checked out what we've been listening to. Yup. Chromeo. Brett only had a few songs but I quickly changed that! And now all the albums are in very high rotation on my iPod. Some songs are even on repeat. You know you've been listening to something too much when you're dancing to the music and it's not even playing!! Oops!

Image via Pitchfork

3. Caprese salads. With a balsamic vinegar reduction drizzled all over it. Pure heaven. I know I've mentioned it a few times on this here blog my love for this salad. Especially when the warmer weather rolls around. Sure enough, when the basil plants started appearing at Thrifty's Brett brought one home and I started chowing down. I seriously think I need to invest in a few more plants though. I'm eating the basil faster than it can grow! This salad always fills me up, and yet keeps me wanting more. Before I know it I've already gone through an entire carton of grape tomatoes and a container of pearl bocconcini...and in one sitting. Yikes!!

4. Coffee. More specifically, coffee from Oso Negro. Whenever I go see my family I always have to stock up. And when I say stock up, I mean I'm packing at least 6-7 lbs worth of this black gold into my luggage!! All other coffee beans have nothing on Oso Negro. Mmmm...I think I might go make a cup of it now...it's so freakin' good!!

5. Castile Soap. But not just any kind of castile soap. It has to be Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap. A cousin of mine had introduced this liquid soap to me ages ago...like, we're talking early 2000 here. Although, back then she had presented it to me as more of a shampoo than a soap that has a million uses. So I tried it on my hair. I didn't care for it. I kept the bottle though and had used it to wash my makeup and hair brushes. Then at the beginning of this year I was talking to the same cousin on the phone who was telling me to try Dr. Bronner's again, but this time not as a shampoo. So I did. I absolutely love it as a body wash AND as a face wash! It make for a fantastic all-purpose travel soap (during my trip it was my body and face wash in the shower, my hand soap when I went anywhere, and I had even used it to quickly hand wash some clothes!), but I also carry a little squeeze bottle of it with me for when I'm out and about cause I find the hand soap that you find in restaurants and public bathrooms to be extremely heavily scented and super drying. Sometimes I even use it to wash my delicates. And shhhhhh! Don't tell anyone, but the Tea Tree Oil version makes for a great household cleaner!

I wasn't sure if I should have added the Westknits Mystery Shawl KAL as one of my July obsessions, then decided not to since I haven't been obsessing about it all month. Just recently. But now you know what I will be obsessing about next month!

Heart Houndstooth

Two years ago I made my first post about my love of houndstooth. Fast forward to today and I'm still, if not even more so, in love with houndstooth. And I'm still in search of houndstooth fabric in 100% good quality wool in oversized scales. In the meantime I've been curbing my houndstooth appetite with small projects, such as the project bag and travel tumbler shown in the photo above.

I have quite the stash of Paula Prass' Summer Soiree fabric in 3 of her colourways, but have always been a little hesitant on actually using it (lest I run out!!). I finally broke down and decided to make a project bag since: a) it uses a small amount of fabric; and b) I needed a project bag for a cardigan that I'm currently knitting up. Of course, I also had to line my bag in pink, after all, I am using my favourite print of all time!

The travel tumbler is of the design-it-yourself variety, purchased last year with plans of being turned into a Christmas present for a grandparent. Obviously that didn't happen. So instead of letting it continue collecting dust in the cupboard I rummaged around my sewing closet and discovered the leftover paper from my Knit Kit. The paper was just big enough for me to draw the tumbler template on! This is my new fave travel cup to take with me to work and Toddler Time.

I'm thinking of getting the Noro off my loom and try my hand at weaving my own houndstooth. While digging through my closet last week I came upon this once-was-a-favourite capelet and thought how even more wonderful it would be if it were in a jumbo houndstooth print.

After a thorough inspection I think the capelet would be pretty easy to draft and simple to sew up. I wouldn't bank on seeing a new houndstooth capelet on this blog any time soon though, I would need to experiment with the weaving and try to find the right scale that I have in mind. Then I would have to weave up each pattern piece...yeah...this project idea will definitely take awhile!

Hmm...I wonder how else I can get my houndstooth fix?

Poufs

Image via

Ever since I had spotted these on a random blog (sorry, I was link happy at the time and completely forgot to take note which blog I was reading!!) sometime over the summer, I've been obsessed. Seriously. Obsessed. I can't stop thinking about them and how I want one! Actually, I would love to have a whole room filled with them.

What are they? They're Urchin Poufs by Dutch designer Christien Meindertsma. She hand knits these eco-friendly chunky poufs that takes around 6 weeks to complete. And that's per pouf! They are sooo simply gorgeous and comfy looking, don't you think?

Image via

Here's the designer herself knitting up a pouf. Look at the size of her knitting needles! Look at that huge pile of yarn! Look at how happy she looks knitting up one of these bad boys. When I first started knitting I was all about the chunky knits. The chunkier the better, was my motto. Obviously I have deviated away from that, judging from the current pullover that I have on the needles that is being knit up in tiny sock yarn on equally tiny needles. I'm still all about the chunky knits, but have realized that I can't wear them myself lest I look like a teapot wearing a cozy. I still gravitate towards ultra bulky yarn (I seriously drool over Cascade Magnum!). So check out how Christien winds up her handmade yarn:

Image unknown

Pure craziness, huh? And just to show you how big these Poufs really are, here's the designer sitting on one of her creations:

Image via

I can go on and on and on posting photos of her amazing work and process. But I won't. As much as I would love to own an original, I really can't afford to dish out €1600 for one (or €480 for the smallest version!). So I have been searching the Internets (and Ravelry!) for patterns in hopes of making one myself. It won't be the same, but maybe it'll help me get over this obsession. I've found a few promising patterns and have a few yarns in mind that I can try out. I'm dying to cast on for one pronto, but I'm promised myself that I wouldn't start any new projects until I complete a current WIP. But the wheels are turning I tell ya. Turning!!

So stay tuned. There may be posts about poufs on this blog sometime in the (near) future!

SweetGeorgia!!

Top row, left to right: August Yarn Club colourway, August Yarn Club colourway, Orchid

Middle row, left to right: Tourmaline, Cayenne, Lakeshore Drive, Peashoot

Bottom row, left to right: Maple, Saffron

I have some new yarn to add to the stash - my current obsession, SweetGeorgia Yarns. I discovered this company a while ago when I saw a huge selection of Felicia's Tough Love Sock yarns at Three Bags Full. I've never knit with this yarn before but couldn't resist the gorgeous and very vibrant colours. So I gave in and bought a few skeins of the Boheme colourway cause it contained one of my favourite colour combos: pink and brown. I haven't had the chance to knit with this yarn, mainly cause I would rather pet and admire it than to actually use it for its intended purposes. After checking out the SweetGeorgia website and Ravelry group page, I was wanting more! To make my yarn lust even worse, my friend Natalie showed up at knit night one night in July with this absolutely beautiful yellow yarn. She told me it was the Superwash Worsted in Saffron by SweetGeorgia. Ever since that night I've been seriously lusting after that colourway and have been dying to get my hands on some.

During a trip to Vancouver I made sure to stop by Three Bags Full and snagged a few skeins of Tough Love Sock in English Ivy, which I am currently knitting into a pullover. So far, knitting with this yarn has been quite lovely. It feels fabulous as it runs through my fingers, and as dorky as this sounds, I get all excited whenever I see the shades of green transition from a deep forest to a gorgeous kelly. My excitement usually escalates whenever I'm knitting outside or in brighter light, cause then I can really see, marvel, and appreciate the depths within the yarn. I'm getting a little impatient with myself as to how slow I'm knitting this up cause I really can't wait to wear it. But I have to admit, this project has made me determined to get my hands on even more SweetGeorgia!

Lucky for me, SweetGeorgia is a Vancouver based company that not only sells and offer shipping from their online shop, but they also allow for orders to be picked up at their studio. I hummed and hawed over which colours and yarn weights I wanted before checking out my Ravelry queue so that I can plan projects accordingly. Aside from Saffron (which I wanted to get in every single weight offered!), I really couldn't make up my mind and ended up subscribing to the yarn club. Yeah...I got way off track there! A few days later I finally settled on a few colours and made my order. Before heading to the Okanagan I got to pick up my yarn order and on the way back to the island I managed to convince Brett to make a stop at Three Bags Full (again!), where more SweetGeorgia was acquired.

If you haven't had the opportunity to check out SweetGeorgia, I highly urge you to. If the different bases don't get you hooked, the colours will definitely lure you in. I don't think Felicia has made a colourway that I don't like. I'm just glad that no yarn shop here in Victoria sells SweetGeorgia, or I would definitely be in some major trouble.

Mmm...after proof-reading this post, I've come to the conclusion that I have a problem. At first I thought it was a yarn-hoarding problem, but now I think it's a straight up SweetGeorgia obsession. Anyone with SweetGeorgia want to help me out?

Pink!

A few weeks ago my dear and wonderful friend Tai, who is an account manager for Dyson Canada, emailed to announce that they were doing a Friends & Family event and this time around the pink Breast Cancer model that I've been coveting ever since I first laid eyes on it, is included! Not only did I squeal and jumped up and down like a little school girl, but I emailed Tai and had put my order in pronto. The last week had been beyond excruciating waiting for the arrival of my new vacuum. But the wait was definitely worth it.

Yesterday afternoon, my new bundle of joy arrived at my doorstep. I didn't think I could get so unbelievably excited about a vacuum! Wow, how domesticated does that sound? I've been wanting a new vacuum for what feels like forever but had always put off getting one in favor of buying fabric and/or yarn. But now that I have a little one, having a super clean floor has moved up on my list of priorities. My old vacuum really sucked, actually, no, it didn't and that's why I needed a new one. I had even made buying a new vacuum as one of my 101 goals.

As soon as Brett handed me the box, I ripped it open, quickly assembled the vacuum and proceeded to vacuum the house with the old piece of crap. Why, when I had a perfectly new one in my midst? Cause I wanted to see what a lousy job it had been doing all these years. After a thorough clean with the old vacuum, I revved up the new pink Dyson and did a quick vacuum of the entire house all over again (the little one was not liking the fact that Mommy's attention was somewhere other than on him!).

W...O...W. I made sure I did a thorough job the first time around. Apparently not! The lovely Dyson had proved me wrong! Sorry for the dirt shot, but I was completely amazed. Wow...

Yes. I'm tickled pink in love!

Hip Holsters

Image via Queen Bee Creations

I am seriously in love with this hip pack, or hip holster as it is called by Queen Bee Creations. I spied this eons ago but wasn't in the mood at the time to be purchasing anything that involved being worn around my waist (I was pregnant and waiting to pop). I had forgotten about this sweet little gem until I got the QBC newsletter in my inbox at the beginning of the month and saw that they are having a sale for all of July! I heart the hip holster so much so, that I immediately clicked on it to add it to my "shopping cart". Then I almost had a heart attack when I discovered just how much shipping was going to cost me!! Shipping to Canada was a flat rate $30 USD!! More than what the hip holster costs!!

It's times like this that I wish I had a mailbox in the States, or a car so that I can drive over to Portland and get this myself. Unfortunately QBC has no other retail outlet that I can purchase this from. So I'm just going to have to stay coveting it, until I can either find a way to get my little hands on one or try to make one myself. I highly doubt I'd be able to get any of the fabulous silver faux leather that they use on this, which makes me very sad.

I'm usually not a fan of bags being worn around my hips, I think it's from being scarred from the fanny packs of the 80s is what did it. But as of late, I've seen some really funky non-fanny pack looking styles. A few years ago I had wanted the Gucci belt bag but settled for the Coach hip pack, as seen in my Warm weather nails post. I usually wear it slung across my back and not around my hips. I find this pack perfect for when I'm running small errands, going to concerts, and wherever there's a ton of people and I don't feel like lugging around a handbag or wearing a huge backpack. I think this QBC version would be perfect to add to my collection. Now if I can only find a way to get it...

So if anyone is heading to Portland, let me know if you can help me score a sweet hip holster!!

Le Creuset

One of my dreams have (finally!) become a reality:

I am a proud owner of a Le Creuset 5-quart dutch oven in cherry red!! I've been wanting one for as long as I can remember, but the expensive price tag (and my lack of cooking skills) had always deterred me from getting one. But now, thanks to Airmiles I have one to call my very own!!

It just arrived today via UPS, and it's sitting on top of the desk as I type this...I just can't stop staring at it. It is truly a thing of beauty! I can't wait to use it!! I plan on cooking this Ina Garten beef stew as the first recipe to 'break in' my new pot tomorrow night. Yes, I secretly am a 50's housewife.

Ever since I saw that Airmiles was offering this LC pot as a reward, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I don't know why I didn't just get it as soon as I saw it on the website. I think a part of me didn't want to get it, knowing I couldn't give the pot the home it deserved - a home where it would be used on a regular basis, and not just held and gazed upon. It's only been in the last few weeks that I've been finding recipes that require the use of a dutch oven. Mainly stews. I've been craving a good hearty stew for quite some time now. Actually, scratch that. I always crave a good hearty stew. Even though I've never made one in my entire life. Brett thinks it's the cold weather that's making me crave it. Truthfully, I'm a soup person. I love soup. If I could, I would live off of nothing but soup and a good chunk of bread. Speaking of which, I keep coming across recipes like this one where you bake the bread in the dutch oven. That is next on the list. Recipes like that and the intense and growing craving for stew is what forced me to finally cave in and get the coveted LC pot.

Arg! I just looked on the Airmiles website and discovered that they are now offering the same pot that I just got...but in blue!!!!
My new mission: to earn as many reward miles as possible ASAP so that I can acquire the blue LC pot to go with my red one. Clearly you can never have too many of these LC dutch ovens! Anyone who has one can tell you that, when taken care of, these pots can last for well over 15-20 years! And anyone who has one will swear that food just tastes better after being cooked in one of these bad boys. I don't know how or why, it just does.

One of my goals in life is to own this set in teal:
Brett thinks it's weird that I covet this, and weirder still that I am obsessed with having a cupboard-full of LC pots in every color. But mainly the teal ones. If they had pink ones...I would seriously go N-U-T-S!!! Aside from the dutch ovens, I love the rectangular casserole dishes and the petite casserole pots with the lids. I can envision making shepherd's pie and individual chicken pot pies in them. One day I strive to have a kitchen like Anna Olsen from the Food Network. In her show Fresh, she has a shelf lined with LC dutch ovens in various colors.

I'm also madly in love with these:
LC heart-shaped ramekins. Ah, ramekins...another obsession.

Cravings

All through my pregnancy I was majorly craving Girl Guide cookies but never got them. Mainly because the chocolate and vanilla sandwich cookies are only sold in the spring and the chocolate mint ones, which I couldn't care less about, are available in the fall. My pregnancy craving hit me apres spring, so I never even got the chance to try to suss the delicious cookies out.

But now it's spring, my craving is back...and right now those Girl Guides are out hocking these boxes of goodness. And I need to find them!! Yet, I don't even know if Victoria has a single Girl Guide?? I know if I was living in Vancouver, I would be able to find the GG girls by swinging by the Van art gallery and see them set up under a massive tent selling cookies by the case load!

So if anyone reading this is from Victoria and sees one of those girls dressed in blue (do they even wear those uniforms any more??), let me know!!!!

I...must...have...a...box!!!

Wanted: Black stripe asymmetrical jacket from Miss Selfridge

I absolutely LOVE this jacket! It's from Miss Selfridge. I love the sharp tailoring and how the flared peplum over the hips would make your waist look oh so small! *sigh* How great would this look over a white tank, jeans, and some cute flats??

If I had the time I would make this jacket...but alas, I have a 4 month old baby that refuses to nap or let me put him down. I can only drool from afar...

Going Green

I love kelly green! I don't think I have enough of this color in my wardrobe...or anywhere in my life! I think I need to suss out more of this color. I recently picked up a few skeins of Vanna's Choice yarn at Michaels a few weeks ago when it was on sale. I have no idea what I'm going to do with it, but the color was so gorgeous, I couldn't pass it up.

I'm drooling over the cute t-bar shoes by Next, pictured above. Unfortunately they are only available in the UK and ordering them would cost me £42. I'm sure I'd be able to find a similar pair like this if I looked hard enough. I also like the tulip skirt by Dorothy Perkins, but that kind of silhouette/shape would make me look like a tea pot - short and stout!

Hmmm...I must find more kelly green.

Hello M.A.C!!

I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for this day to arrive, ever since I found out about it...and I've been waiting and waiting and waiting to be able to post about this, but....

The M.A.C Hello Kitty collection has (finally!) arrived!!! Well, it has arrived on the M.A.C website as of midnight Monday night, and then in stores across Canada and the US today. I don't think the collection will make its appearance in Europe until later on in the year...sometime in March, I believe.
I was on the computer at midnight Sunday, waiting to submit my order on the M.A.C website. There are a few limited edition accessories that are only available online that I was coveting and needed to add to my Hello Kitty collection. Like this limited edition soft vanity case that's only available on the M.A.C website:

Photo via nitrolicious

Photo via nitrolicious

And check out the lining!!! It's hot pink with the M.A.C ang Hello Kitty logo!! It's the number one thing that I completely covet from this entire collection. The second would be this make up brush holder...I'm getting giddy with excitement!!
I actually woke up uber early this morning and made my way to the closest M.A.C store to score myself some of the HK loot. I was a bad girl and picked up a couple of lipglasses (I horde lip gloss like nobody's business! It's become quite the serious problem), a pot of tinted lip conditioner, a compact of beigey beauty powder, and the make up bag. I wanted to pick up the eyeshadow set, but was reluctant in case my eye problems never clear up.
Apparently I have to make my way to Mayfair Mall though, where the M.A.C head store for the Victoria region is located, if I want to pick up any of the HK accessories. Like this uber cute compact mirror!
Unfortunately I might not be able to get there 'til the weekend. I just hope they don't sell out by the time I get there!

Dreaming of Bloch

Ok, I know I just made a post about how much I love Wellies and that my current obsession involves owning as many pairs as possible. Well...I have another obsession. Actually, I think it's more lust than obsession. Whatever you want to call it. It just all boils down to the same point: I want to own the Bloch Rosalina flats and the Bloch Tri-Tone flats.

I realized that it's just not practical for me to wear heels, being a first time mom and all. I'm hoping that one day I'll be able to wear heels again...which most likely won't happen until the wee one is like, 5 years old or if I was having "mommy alone time". I also realized that my wardrobe since having my little one has been nothing but denim and black tops - not that it's a bad thing - but I usually like to wear a splash of color (I like to think cause I'm Asian I can get away with kooky bright colors and weird color combos). But since the beginning of October I like to wear anything that doesn't show stains or spit up marks. How sad is that??

Anyways, now I'm ranting here. So the point I was getting at is, I want to own these:

Bloch Rosalina in Fuschia

And these:

Bloch Tri-Tone

I'm thinking since I can't wear color in my clothes, I can at least get away with bold color on my feet. And what a bonus, they're flats! Now if I can only find these li'l buggers...I've been searching eBay and all over the net and just can seem to find anyone that sells them! WTF? If anyone knows of any store...online or whatever, let me know!

Longing for houndstooth

I have been on the search for jumbo houndstooth fabric in 100% wool for what feels like forever. I still have yet to find this perfect houndstooth fabric. I'm starting to think that I will never get my hands on any, at least not while I'm alive. Maybe my internet searching skills are lacking, but not even the world wide web can help me.

Below is one of my favorite dresses from the Marc by Marc Fall 2008 line. I think I'm a little biased, solely on the fact that it features jumbo houndstooth in my 2 of my favorite colors: hot pink and black. *drool*
I can only dream of finding and possessing hot pink and black wool houndstooth, since I can't even find jumbo black and white houndstooth. I dream of this fabric!
Look how gorgeous this simple coat is with the bold houndstooth... *sigh*
It's not exactly hot pink, but it's still bitchin'.

If anyone spots jumbo houndstooth fabric in wool...please, let me know!!! This insanity must stop!!

Cotton Time

My mission to find a retailer, either local or online, that sells Cotton Time is coming up fruitless!! I am convinced that if I was still living in Vancouver I would be able to find this magazine with ease. But alas, I'm in Victoria...where the Japanese culture is basically boiled down to one teeny tiny little convenience store, and not even a handful of Japanese restaurants. I am slowly going crazy at not being able to acquire even one copy of this magazine!! I don't even care if it's an uber old issue, I just want one!! I saw a few on sale via Etsy, but cannot justify paying over $20 for the magazine and then another $10-20 for shipping alone.

If anyone out there has access to a place that sells Cotton Time each month, let me know!!!!! I'm getting desparate!!

Glove it!

I have been drooling over these gloves for quite a while now. I think I'm the only female on this planet that has yet to go watch Sex and the City: The Movie, from which these gloves were made highly famous from. I had spotted these on The Style Spy website and had immediately fallen in love with them. Unfortunately they are sold out on the Patricia Field website (the only place where they are being sold apparently) but will be back in stock in July. So I will definitely be keeping an eye out for these babies!

I've always had a hard time finding gloves for my midget fingers. Every time I see a pair of gloves that I lust after, I'm always disappointed that even the smallest size is way too big in the fingers. I'm really hoping that these won't have the same problem. *sigh* Aren't they lovely?? They would be so great for fall.

Drool...

When I was in Williams Sonoma I had spied this little number that I've been wanting forever now, but did not know that it had also come in pink! I'm in heaven!! I think I'm on my third hand held mixer at the moment. The other 2 couldn't handle the amount of baking I was doing. So far the current one is holding up, but I still wouldn't turn down the KitchenAid 9-Speed hand mixer at all!! I had always thought that this mixer was expensive...like in the $200 range. To my utter surprise, it's actually quite reasonable at $99 CDN!! My birthday is in 8 days, I've been dropping mad hints but have a feeling I'm going to have to wait for another time to get my hands on this.
Another kitchen appliance that I've had my eye on for the past, oh, 5 years now...the KitchenAid Artisan Stand mixer...in pink of course! I've never had a stand mixer before, and if I were to ever get one, it would be this one and only this one. I have dreams of baking cakes, breads, and cookies in massive quantities with this magnificent machine. My holiday baking would go by so much faster and smoother with it. I...must...have...NOW!! *sigh* I've waited 5 years for this, I'll probably have to wait another 5 in order to call this mixer mine...how sad.