New yarn! My testing of poofy super soft synthetic yarns continues. This time we have GGH Vamos (in a varigated light to dark grey) and GGH Esprit. Both from the lovely, friendly, light and fresh (and local to me) The Knitter’s Studio, which has a nice new website from the last time I mentioned it, which isn’t quite done yet but has a nice introduction.

If you’re in the area and you’re intersted in what you can do with felting, stop in the shop and check out the hat on the front table, and the flowered vine piece they have near the cash register. They’re incredible.

I know I should be using more earth-friendly non-toxic cleaners but damn does Scrubbing Bubbles ever kick butt! I didn’t even realize the tiles on the floor of the shower really were all that white underneath there. And all I did was wait for the bubbles to do thier thing. Remember the commercial with the little bubble guys wizzing all over the bath tub? It’s just like that but slower.

Travelling vicariously — I almost missed it (I should learn to scroll more often), ljc is keeping a fabulous travel diary of her trip to London and Paris. So cool.

There is a great thread at Glitter about selling stuff on Ebay.

FAQ

There are two questions I get email about occasionally and I have been meaning to put up an FAQ section but I’m being incredibly good at putting it off so here is the beginning of it at least:

Where I got that clear compact lip balm container shown on the lip balm page.

I bought some cheap lip gloss from a drugstore and cleaned it out to use. However, Andrea (thank you Andrea!) tracked them down at Oshun, see this post. You can buy them individually or in quantities of 1000 (wowsers). Keep in mind Oshun is a Canadian company, so here is a handy currency convertor for you. This finding was back in March so by now I’m sure they are sold somewhere else as well, anybody know?

And looking at the packaging product listing I see Oshun carries round labels, a few people have popped in looking for those as well.

Where I got the glass topped favor container/watchmaker’s case/bindi tin shown on the wine glass charm page.

The ones in the picture were from Lee Valley, a woodworking shop, which offers a bunch of different sizes and carries the ones which come in thier own metal box. As far as I can tell, they were made popular by Martha Stewart as a wedding favor container (those are the most expensive, of course). You can also find them here at Profundia. Pipe up if you know of another place offering them as well, thanks.

I did have a few, erm, concerns with the ones shown, see this post and the comments for a discussion.

I really like these fabulous striped gardening boots at Garnet Hill. I’m sure I can find a less expensive option somewhere, but I’ve always wanted tall rubber boots.

Halloween stuff is showing up in the Martha By Mail catalog, so far a lot of the same stuff from last year. But a few caught my eye:

• eyeball soap kit – if I get molds I could make this with what I have bought in the past, mostly because I havn’t used it up yet :)
• christopher norman pumpkin so pretty!
• wendy kromer fondant bones
• pumpkin cake mold I must own this. (But of course I can’t afford it.)

Metagrrl, who I’m eternally grateful to for introducing me to the Jasmine, is looking for a recipe for a drink called the Lemony Snicket. Having just read the first book, I’m all excited. Does anyone know it? I must go search for this recipe.

I have been making popsicles. I bought some cheap molds from Target, and took a (sorta) recipe from a friend – in a blender combine some vanilla yogurt (already frozen), some fresh or frozen strawberries, and a splash of orange juice, blend, freeze in molds. They are yummy and justifiable as a breakfast item. The mold I have only holds four popsicles, not nearly enough, so I’m off to buy some bigger, better ones at Williams-Sonoma and some fresh fruit. I’ll have frozen breakfast treats for weeks.

After Suzie Q posted her pictures of cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery in Manhattan, Lucky had a little story about the cupcake colors inspiring Jane cosmetics to make eyecolor. I clipped out the picture from the story and found it again yesterday. It’s a pastel green frosted cupcake with white and yellow sprinkles and two white sugar daisies with yellow centers on top. I was immediately gripped with the desire to make something this charming. I went out to look for similar decorations yesterday, nada! There is no cake and candy making supply store near me. So now, I must find or make these decorations! I could mold my own I suppose — darn, now that I finally have a reason, Marthastewart.com has stopped selling the flower shaped butter and sugar molds! At the store I found some Wilton gum paste and glucose for decoration making, but how does that taste?

I posted an update of the stuff I’ve been knitting. I’m still using synthetic yarns, I have learned to love bamboo needles, and (get ready for it) I made one thing which is not a scarf. But I did make three which are. Go see it.

Ok, gimme your margarita recipes! I am officially on a quest to make the greatest one. I have no idea what a margarita is supposed to be in a traditional sense, and all the recipes I find online are different. I think I need a good bartending book while I’m at it.

Last Sunday we went out and bought a cute little grill, veggies for kebobs, and some tequila. I made Jimmy Buffet’s Perfect Margarita (up until now I’ve been using mixes, silly me) — and we pretended like vacation wasn’t over yet. It’s the first time I’ve had a charcoal grill, I’m pretty excited about trying to grill lots of stuff. Especially bananas, there was a restaurant in Cleveland which served the yummiest grilled bananas. Also to check out on the Margaritaville site: History of the Margarita, and A Blender History Lesson.

I’m back. It was a fun roadtrip through the west, we visited Dinosaur National Monument, Rocky Mountain National Park, Mount Rushmore, Devil’s Tower, saw a rodeo, camped in Yellowstone, and took a tram to view the Tetons. Then, on the way back home through Idaho, I found this:

[see here for information on the Choco-dile]

another fun picture:

in Vernal, Utah

I didn’t realize this until we got there, but the wedding I was attending was held in The Stanley Hotel, more commonly known as The Overlook. My uncle was even staying in room 217. I found out the interior of the hotel was originally white, for that breezy summer place feel. However, the interior is now all dark carpet and dark wood. When they filmed the miniseries there the crew came in and painted faux woodgrain all over, and if you look you can definetely tell. The hotel isn’t quite as large as one might imagine, but it was a beautful place for a wedding.

I’m off on a Western Adventure until the 19th, when I will answer my email, I swear.