Tons of traffic made the drive down to the Bay Area much longer than it's meant to take. But when we finally got to Alameda, the salty breeze in the air -- and a hearty lunch -- restored our spirits. We fell into a food coma and had a slumbering siesta well into the afternoon.
The walk really worked up our appetites -- we could hardly wait for the pizza to be ready! Thank goodness the trip back from there wasn't too long. DC had seen "The Ramen Girl" on a plane during a recent trip, so we rented it because he thought I'd like it. The story line was so-so, but the scenery made me nostalgic for Japan. Though I didn't notice it at the time, DC later said that I genuinely laughed a lot as we were watching it!
What a lovely wind-down to our busy weekend! Just what we needed to power-up for the six-hour-straight-shot back down to SoCal.
[one minute: cornfields aplenty!]
[next minute: deserts]
I brought my current knitting project, the Whisper Cardigan from Interweave Knits, Spring 2009. Stockinette stitch is perfect for roadtrips!
[Why so many safeties? Very rudimentary counting ability...]
We awoke on Friday morning entirely refreshed, and after a quick breakfast, were on the road again by mid-morning. It only took about 2 1/2 hours to get to Sacramento. Our destination: along the Sacramento River, just outside of city center. A quick lunch, an afternoon siesta, and a quick change, and we were all set.
The couple is techinically already married; that's why you don't see any chairs set up for a ceremony. In fact, they live abroad, and their summer vacation is actually three weeks on tour to have various celebrations with their friends and family who are in the U.S. The weather couldn't be better: a sort of cold-snap had Sac-town and its surrounds about 20+ degrees cooler than they usually are this time of year. Lucky us!
[open bar + hors d'oeuvres -- yes please!]
[dance floor?! boo yah!]
Our friends are Muslim, and had an Arabic-style celebration. Samosas, skewers, lamb chops -- yum. Ladies in beautiful, glittery, sheer, floaty saris and dresses -- beautiful. Arabic music, clapping, cheering -- interesting, and fun! Bon Jovi and ice cream -- typical of the groom. Table names of cities with significance to the couple and their courtship -- educational. Congrats, N+N!
Being so close to the capital, I had to stop by and see it (I hadn't been since the 6th grade California History field trip)! Unfortunately, deterred by large crowds of (loud) Asian tourists, we didn't stay too long. But I still managed to take a few cool shots.
All this in 20 minutes -- justapeek indeed! We spent more time and were at greater leisure at our next stop. And it was just Saturday morning! More (pictures, mostly) later!
Recently my blogsurfing has taken a turn away from knitters to sewers and fabric crafters. Through several meanderings I discovered this blog, which is simply a delightful read. Rachel's got crafts and cooking down pat, as well as a great eye for photography. She's posted a few ruffly headbands, and after seeing the post on 100 Layer Cake, I decided to make a ruffly waistband to wear with a LBD I have. With five weddings attended and four to go before year's end, my dress selection is getting scant; it's high time to get creative!
The wedding was last Friday, and what with the shorter week and preparing for the road trip up to Sacramento, it's quite a miracle I got to making this at all! Luckily I had a couple fabrics in stash that I knew I wanted to use; the only thing I had to go out and get was the 2" grosgrain ribbon.
On Wednesday night, after preparing road trip goodies (guac + chips, hard-boiled eggs, edamame), making sure my camera battery was charged, and packing everything to take to work (I'd be leaving from the office) the next day, I sat down with my fabrics, ribbon, scissors, needle, and thread, and got to work. My circles were all different sizes, and I layered the fabrics randomly -- sheer over sheer, solid over solid, sheer over solid, solid over sheer -- and sewed them down in random order as well. I don't remember exactly how many circles I cut of each fabric, but I'd estimate about 30 sheer and 24 solid. The final size of the ruffle blossom is about five inches. Overall, it took about four hours. I'm sure the time would diminish with more practice. Et voila:
I'd purchased a light pink fabric, but decided against adding it in favor of keeping the color scheme monochromatic. I like how the sheer fabric adds just the right amount of bling to the whole blossom. You can see that the ends are already starting to fray, but I kind of like that unfinished look, too. And, hopefully, this isn't going to get tossed around so much that the ends'll ever get too bad!
I tied a small bow at one end of the ruffle-blossom, and slid it over to the side. The full-length shots I took at the wedding came out blurry, so all I can offer is this one, taken awkwardly as I was sitting down. But you kinda get the idea, right?
The ruffly waistband totally made my plain ol' dress -- which I usually wear to work! -- so much more wedding-apropriate. DC was impressed, too!
Wanna make your own? You can find the tutorial here. Thank you, Rachel!
Not too bad, no? Unfortunately, not that great, either.
Aside from the occasional G+T or less occasional Sidecar, I'm not usually a fan of cocktails. Yet there was something summery about the thought of mint-infused drinks, so I surprised myself by offering to bring mojito ingredients to Le Chef's tapas party. I ended up making pitchers and pitchers of the stuff, and converted both myself and others who weren't quite given over to cocktails.
Then, a week later, I remembered my mom's spearmint bush... so, naturally, after planting the cuttings, I used the plucked off mint leaves to whip up a batch of my new favorite summertime drink.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Sit back, relax, and enjoy!
On a roll from my recent experiment with the hydrangea cuttings, I remembered that my mother has some spearmint in her backyard that she swears has a lemon scent. When I was at my folks' house last week, I pinched a couple of stems and brought them home to attempt to finally start my herb garden.
[freshly cut stems]
[ at home, top view]
[at home, side view]
[at home, close up]
I like how antiqued the flowers look, the purples, blues, and greens singed a bit with brown at some of the tips.
I also trimmed a few of the cuttings and planted them in some fresh potting soil. Et voila:
[grow, little ones!]
Now, a week or so later, the buds are starting to get a bit greener and have grown a teeny, tiny bit. I've put the pot on my dining table, which gets a bath of morning light every day, have kept the soil moist, and give it a few encouraging words each day. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll survive a four-day absence this (long, for me) weekend. If not, I know where to go for more!
My good friend, always a lover of food and food prepration, went to New York for culinary school a few years ago. Fortunately for me and many others, he's home and shares his skills. Food + drink + friends = more fun than you can shake a stick at. Here are just a few glimpses of the goodness:
