goal six: learn to knit

April 18, 2013

I can officially say I know how to knit. So far I have only made a cotton dish cloth (and I’m not finished with it yet), but still, I know how to knit all the same.

Practice is the key here, I think, and before you and I know it, I’ll {hopefully} be knitting up a storm.

Here are some things I am dreaming of making:

A hat like this one

And a scarf like this one.

For Zan.

And for me.

Also, how adorable is this? I just can’t even.

Next Christmas, I’ll hopefully be making all my holiday gifts. At this point it seems I’m getting ahead of myself, but with enough practice I think I can start to make some magic. At least, I’m dreaming about it! There is so much pretty out there, I just want to make it all.

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I tried to teach myself via youtube, but that didn’t work in my favor, then my cousin Haley came to town and taught me how to knit and purl, but as soon as she left I forgot everything she taught me, so last weekend I finally decided to spend a little money to take an actual class.

Enter, Gather Here…

DREAMY!

The class (Knitting Basics) was awesome and completely worth the money ($45). It was just me and 4 other people, so it was really intimate and completely hands-on (obviously!). The instructor was super nice and adorable, and with the small number of students she was really able to walk around and help us as we needed it. It was two and a half hours, too, which seems really long but actually went by in a flash. I loved sitting around the knitting table chatting with the other beginning knitters, sipping on tea (they have it there for you to enjoy!) and working towards by goal.

Most of all, I love how good I feel about knitting now that I’ve taken the class. I feel more confident and now it’s just about a whole lot of practice.

Who knows, maybe next I’ll learn to sew?

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Do you knit? Did you have a hard time getting used to it? So far for me it’s still pretty laborious, but I dream of the day I can sit in front of the TV with my knitting needles working feverishly on a cozy project.

SOMEDAY!

I’ll be sure to post about my first real project (not my dish towel) as soon as I complete it. Wish me luck.

16 Comments · Filed Under: handmade, life ·

snapshots {from winter to spring}

April 17, 2013

SNAP·SHOT [snap-shot]
noun
1. an informal photograph, especially one taken quickly by a hand-held camera.
2. an impression or view of something brief or transitory <a snapshot of life back then>

//

ONE: A few weeks ago I met up with my lovely friend Tania for brunch in Harvard Square. Tania is a friend I actually met THROUGH instagram, which is pretty wild, but also pretty awesome. I felt like I could have talked with her forever and I’m so glad I got the nerve up to email her when I saw a photo she posted showing she was in Boston. This whole internet-friend thing hardly phases me anymore, and I’m happy to have found some wonderful people because of it.

TWO: Shake Shack. Now in Chestnut Hill. Get after it.

THREE: A favorite bookstore of mine, The New England Mobile Book Fair. Get some Shake Shack and then head over to check out the crazy book collection there. Or better yet, go buy some books, and then read them while you wait in the LONGEST LINE EVER to get a burger and fries (we waited over and hour… BUT, it was worth it).

FOUR:

HUG O’ WAR

I will not play at tug o’ war.
I’d rather play at hug o’ war,
Where everyone hugs
Instead of tugs,
Where everyone giggles
And rolls on the rug,
Where everyone kisses,
And everyone grins,
And everyone cuddles,
And everyone wins.

by Shel Silverstein

FIVE: Speaking of internet friendships, this is Natalie. We met through the Boston Blogging network and I feel so lucky to have found her (almost 2 years ago!). She’s sweet and thoughtful, and as soon as I saw Nat the Fat Rat’s #mightylove project, she popped into my mind as someone who I truly appreciate and admire.

SIX: In a little over one week I will be flying to Denver to visit Beth (a best friend from high school). My friend Bailey and I are spending 4 days with her in Colorado and I am so excited I could squeal. I imagine she’ll have a plan for things to see and do, but if you’ve ever been to Denver and have any recs, we’ll take ’em!

SEVEN: I found High Rise Bread Company while riding my bike one weekend and I’m ever so glad I did. It’s bakery food is delicious and they make the bread right there in front of you, which is local business at it’s best.

EIGHT: I also found a great antique shop while biking around Cambridge that very same afternoon, and I’m going to take my mom there when she comes to visit in May. Although definitely on the expensive side, it’s a fun place to look around and reminds me a little of this place we used to visit on rides to my Grandmother’s house years and years ago. Give me something that makes me feel nostalgic and I’m all over it, no question.

NINE: The Cambridge Public Library is the best (and fairly close to where I live, too). Have you been? I love love love it– especially the children’s floor. Books for DAYS and there’s a bright, fresh, modern feel to the place. Definitely worth a visit if you have work to get done, or even if you just want a quiet, happy place to read.

TEN: Thank you all so much for your kind comments yesterday. My friend Alex was a runner in the marathon and her heartfelt post was an inspiration for writing out my own thoughts about what happened here in Boston. Other favorite posts are here and here and here and here. There has been so much beautiful, honest writing all around the internet these past few days— so much kindness and hope and bravery and strength. We’ve all been touched in some way or another by this tragedy, and have all felt a great amount of sadness and defeat. There’s worry, and helplessness, and confusion, and fear, but there’s also one thing that is very clear: LOVE. Love comforts. Love heals. Love is shining through the darkness. And I truly believe that in the end, love always wins.

9 Comments · Filed Under: blogging, instagram, life ·

for boston.

April 16, 2013

I am completely overwhelmed with emotions over the events of yesterday, as I’m sure each and every one of you are, too.

My sister and I went out to watch the marathon with some friends yesterday morning and came back yesterday afternoon in a state of shock and sorrow. We are all okay, and all our friends in Boston are okay too. We were watching the marathon a few miles up and were a good distance from the finish line. I am humbled by the concerns from friends old and new, near and far. I am humbled by the response of people everywhere to this tragic event that ruined what was supposed to be a perfect day– a perfect day for the incredible athletes, a perfect day for the spectators, and a perfect day for Boston. Far from perfect, it’s sad to realize that our city and this day will never quite be the same.

My heart is broken for those that were injured and those that lost their lives. It is unimaginable and horrific and depressing. It will never make sense and it will always be unfair.

But for what it’s worth, I’m more proud than ever to call this place my home.

I’m proud of this city and its people who came out to watch and to cheer.

I’m proud of the Boston Police + paramedics + volunteers + of all the hospitals in Boston who worked so hard to help in the aftermath of the explosions.

I’m proud of those that offered up their homes + donated blood + food + comfort.

And more than anything, I’m so proud of all the runners and their months and months of training to get to this day. For those who crossed the finish line, and especially those that didn’t get the chance.

From now until forever, you are all marathoners to me.

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Quote from J.R.R. Tolkien

Photographs from my walk through Back Bay on Saturday
in this beyond beautiful city, both inside and out.

27 Comments · Filed Under: boston, fitness, life ·

enjoy all the things: spring break 2013

April 15, 2013

BAAAAACK.

Here I am, back in action. Sun in the sky, spring vacation at my feet. It feels good to be here and it feels good to be free.

So! I thought I’d map out my plan for the week, to hopefully make it a worthwhile one, but also, because who doesn’t love a good list every now and again? This spring break is a staycation for me, and although I love traveling, this is just what I need this time around– a little rest and relaxation, and some free time to enjoy my favorite city at the start of a new spring.

On the agenda:

1. Blog everyday.

That’s right, ya heard me! I’m going to take this week to blog about things I’ve been meaning to blog about for a long, long time. There are pictures to share and stories to tell and I’m glad to finally have the time to sit down with my trusty keyboard write it all out.

2. Watch the Boston Marathon.

The best day of the year in Boston!! No, but seriously, IT IS. My sister, her boyfriend, and I are going to head over to Brookline in a bit to stand in the sunshine and CHEER ON THOSE RUNNERS! The Boston Marathon always brings me 2 things: it brings me this overwhelming sense of appreciation for Boston, and, it brings me to tears. Happy, hopeful, honest to goodness inspirational tears. THE BEST.

{GO ALEX!! YOU ROCK!}

3. Spring clean. EVERYTHING.

Long overdue {both spring, and the cleaning}, I am ready to tackle this project with everything I’ve got. I’m getting rid of old clothes, scrubbing the house top to bottom, and de-junkifying my life. BRING. IT. ON. I am pumped.

4. Read The Light Between Oceans.

Finally some time to sit and read and get lost inside a story– and I’ve heard this book is a good one. If it’s nice enough I’ll read on my back porch, I’ll spend an afternoon at the Boston Public Library, and my couch, with the afternoon sunlight streaming on my feet, simply never lets me down.

5. Finish Dawson’s Creek.

AT LAST I am on season 6 {the final season!} and it’s been one heck of a run. I started watching this show (for the second time) back in November, got good and into it, then lost steam somewhere around the holidays. Recently, I’ve come back to it in full force and have mixed feelings that the end is near. What will I do without my beloved Creek friends once I’m all through? And more seriously, what will I tweet about?? Totally ridiculous, I know, but I can’t help but love it. I always have and I always will.

6. Run | Bike | Yoga.

It’s a beautiful time to be outside! It’s a beautiful time to get some exercise.

7. Enjoy all the things.

Frolic in the sunshine, sip my coffee slowly, take lots of pictures, go out to dinner, have a solo-dance party, savor every day, every hour, every minute. This is spring break, after all. Better make it a good one.

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HAPPY MARATHON MONDAY, FRIENDS!!

15 Comments · Filed Under: life ·
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