photos [and links!] galore

its only a month into the new year and there's already a sense of accomplishment. first, some house pics. i'm finally able to say that the 1st floor is about 90% done, with the remaining 10% being only very small things we need to finish. last week i skip troweled the remaining kitchen wall and ian painted and installed the baseboard. ta da:



as for the dining room, we really just need to move all of the misc furniture out of it, and put the dining room furniture back into it. we've also been trying to decide on a shelving unit... buying one or designing a built in unit. we also managed to score a free 55 gallon aquarium and we set that up last week and now have a few small schools of fish swimming around. it adds a nice bit of relaxation to the dining room, and i'm sure the cats will love it as well.




ian did a little organizing in the laundry room and put in a cast-off corner cabinet and a counter. i'd post a photo, but its piled up with laundry at the moment, so....


in the downstairs bath, i skip-troweled the walls and now i just need to pick a paint color and get moving on that. i have the floor [black tones] and tub surround [white/grey veinish] tiles, and am thinking either a khaki or blue grey paint to go with the woodwork of the vanity and recessed shelving.




over the past few weeks ian and i have managed to do some cleaning and downsizing: ended up taking a small truckload of "junk" to goodwill, along with a few bags of clothing to avalon, therefore having more closet space to go shopping :)

our weekend was busy but relaxing. friday night we headed out to squirrel hill to hit zyng for dinner but to my horror found out that it has gone out of business :( as did pi, which was our second choice. we ended up at shady grove in shadyside and then home to relax and watch some nip tuck season 2. saturday night we finally made our way over to abay to meet some friends for dinner, and it was pretty tasty! finished off the night with a few drinks at kelly's bar. sunday we brunched at fuel + fuddle... its a great deal. our bill was under $12, as all brunch items come with free coffee :) yum. we ran a bunch of errands through out the day, and of course ended up back at mad mex for dinner.

lets see... what else is going on? i've been on a huge knitting spree lately, trying to finish up a bunch of projects and starting some new ones. i tried my hand at "felting" wool, and made this cute little bag. see how much the felting shrinks it?






i have also started work on a new sweater, out of the softest silvery grey yarn. its the hourglass sweater from last minute knitted gifts, a book i repeatedly check out of the library and should just end up buying. its coming along pretty quickly, and its an easy knit to work on while watching tv. here's my progress: [note it would be alot more if i hadn't needed to frog most of it and restart with smaller needles].




before i close, there is one thing i find very amusing. i recently looked up the search strings people are using to end up on my site. here are the top 5 search strings for january:

1. jd fortune
2. ugly dolls
3. j.d. fortune
4. inxs jd
5. ugly dog

interesting, considering i've only mentioned ugly dolls and jd fortune once on the blog :) among some of the other searches were house remodeling how-tos, many other variants of jd fortune, misc. design search strings, and of course "hot girl laying out on the beach pic". anyways... how about some searches for kick-ass designer ?

:)

SP7

for those who need to know, they'll understand this post :)

SP7 info:

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand?
i'd like to say i'm a bit of a yarn snob, but i have a hard time splurging on fancy yarn for myself. i do use craft store yarn [lion brand, moda dea, bernat, etc...] but i'd really like to start upgrading to nicer products in the near future :) i have a hard time finding "nice" yarn without a high wool content.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
spin, no; crochet, yes i know how, but don't very often

3. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
i have an interchangeable needle set that came with a case; i store other needles in a mason jar for easy access.

4. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
15+ years; intermediate bordering on advanced

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
amazon, not entirely knitting-related, which i will be updating soon. will be making a knitpicks wishlist soon.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
raspberry, vanilla, coffee

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
i *love* chocolate. oh, and french martinis.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
i'm trying everything. currently remodeling/renovating my house that was a foreclosure; also an accomplished seamstress: hoping to get that website up and running soon; i'm a designer by day, that must be where all the DIY-ing comes from :)

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
ipod, computer + car stereo play mp3s. usually on rotation... dashboard confessional, r.e.m., death cab, alkaline trio, shins, postal service, mates of state, cake. currently enjoying say hi to your mom, arcade fire, hot hot heat, clap your hands say yeah, nada surf, etc...

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?
i love blues, greys, black, olive/basil-y greens, burgundys; i really do not like yellow, red, purple, bright primaries...

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
currently living with boyfriend [ian] of almost 4 years, with our deaf dog sydney, our 2 cats black & tan, and a handful of fish.

12. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
yes on scarves + mittens/gloves, occasionally hats. i kind of like ponchos but they do not like me. they overwhelm my small frame and i just look silly :P

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
hmm... for being a yarn snob, i actually do like simply soft for baby garments/easy wash stuff, but wouldn't say its my favorite. im searching for the perfect one.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
not a fan of scratchy acrylic, fur/eyelash yarns, novelty junk. i'm semi-allergic to wool, but i still work with it. wondering if alpaca would bother me too...

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
don't think i have one, other than starting 10 projects at a time.

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
can't say i have a favorite at the moment

17. What are you knitting right now?
working on my first felted project, a bag; turtleneck shrug; silvery grey dressier hoodie; a pair of gloves; a few gifts in progress; the list goes on and on... hoping to start a lelah and hot lava soon.

18. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
only if they're super cool and unique :) hehe.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
i use both, depending on project.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
i prefer aluminum over plastic, but i've never tried bamboo.

21. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
nope.

22. How did you learn to knit?
self-taught via book

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
umm.... at least 1 1/2 years.... :( its stuffed in a closet somewhere

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
i do love ugly dolls

25. What is your favorite holiday?
i don't really have a favorite holiday...they're all important for one reason or another. i *love* fall tho.

26. Is there anything that you collect?
hmm... not really...

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
none

28. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on?
the rowan butterfly pattern; i've checked last minute knitted gifts out of the library so often i think it should be on my list now as well. i'll think of others and post soon :)

29. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
can't think of any at the moment.

30. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
as much as i hate wearing socks, i am anxious to try sock knitting. it makes no sense. i'm a size 5.5/6

31. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
june 1

misc: as stated above, semi-allergic to wool. i say "semi" because its my own diagnosis :) some wool fibers make me itchy + blotchy, but i haven't figured out if its all types or not :
-aimee

... and a hectic but happy new year

already a week into the new year, and its as crazy as ever. a few freelance projects are keeping me busier than i expected, but thats not neccessarily a bad thing :) ian and i rang in the new year going out to dinner and then relaxing at home. here we are before leaving for the night:




ian has finally finished up the remodeling on his parents house and we've gotten back to work on our place. over the course of 2 short days we managed to get quite a bit done. ian worked on the baseboards and cutting in paint in the dining room, trimming out sydneys private food area, and installing/building a cabinet and shelving unit above the peninsula. i love the finished look. we'll need to get a coat of poly on there, and then finally start putting stuff away.






i finished hanging the drywall in the downstairs bathroom, and now i just need to start taping the seams and skip troweling. i have all the tile + fixtures for the room, but i still need to decide on a paint color. i'm hoping to start the tiling this weekend and before you know it, i'll finally be done with this room :) and not a very exciting photo, i know.




in other news, we hung out with joey 3 shirts on tuesday night for dinner, thats always a good time. as one of the few people who actually read this blog, i thought he deserved a shout out :) we've also finished up season 1 of lost on dvd, just in time for all of our regular shows to start up with new episodes. the tivo will be definitely getting a workout the new few weeks. speaking of workouts, i'm also hoping to get back to bally's on a regular basis, esp since they've been withdrawing from my account the past few months.

on that note, i may just go to the gym now :)