Friday, February 1, 2013

Friday Mishmash

It feels weird to do a Friday post and not announce a winner for something!  Never fear, next week I have a fun giveaway in store for you.  I guess I was a winner, though - yesterday I received a plethora of extras goodies with an order that I recently placed.

Backstory is that back in October of 2006, I bought a pot of lip gloss that, hands down, has been my favorite color ever.  It was expensive, but we were dealing with a stressful situation at the time, and this was a nice treat.  I tried to use the lip gloss sparingly, because I knew I'd have a hard time spending that kind of money on a frivolous item again.  Eventually, though, the pot was empty.  I saved it, and from time to time, thought about ordering more (I'd purchased this when I was in Oregon), but I never could let myself click the final "place order" button online.  I tried to find similar replacements, but nothing ever came close.   The other day I was straightening my drawer in the bathroom and came across the empty container of lip gloss.  I thought "what am I waiting for?" and went online to order some.  This may have something to do with my approaching milestone birthday and the realization that life keeps marching forward - until it doesn't - so why not get something that I've been wanting?  And in the grand scheme of things, I'm actually being pretty reasonable here...I've also been wanting a Mini Cooper for years, but you don't see me rushing off to go buy one (yet).  Yes, you might say that I am justifying, and you might be (a tiny bit) correct, but hey - some things are easier to make happen.
Left - new pot of lip gloss; Right - empty pot that I've saved for YEARS.  Not sure I can throw it away at this point!

Any case, I had to hunt around for my color because this stuff does not seem to be readily available.  I finally found a contact name (through a blogger's old review, ironically) and placed my order.  The contact and I exchanged a couple of pleasant emails, where I explained that I was treating myself for my upcoming birthday (this was after I went for broke and ordered TWO of the lip glosses - as long as I was paying for shipping, might as well, right?)(please tell me I'm not the only person who thinks like this).  She was celebrating HER milestone birthday (a different, younger one, but still a biggie) and said she'd throw in a treat for my birthday.  Well, I opened the mail to find two lipsticks, a different lip gloss, and two eye shadows, along with the two lip glosses I'd ordered!  What a huge surprise - I feel very indulged.  I know it probably seems like bloggers received a lot of freebies, and we do (some more than others), but this was amazing because it was sent just for me - purely a treat, and no review required.  Lovely.
The two boxes on the right are what I ordered...everything else was a wonderful surprise!

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Knitting update:  I'll start with the dud.  I finished my sock.  Yes sock - singular.  I finished one sock, It doesn't fit me well, and I probably won't make the mate for it.  While I loved the yarn I chose, and I thoroughly enjoyed the company of women that I met up with to knit with each week, I really didn't like the pattern, especially sewing up the side seams.  Other knitters in the group did great with this project, and have lovely pairs of socks to show for it.  Am I down on myself because I don't?  No.  I realized that this wasn't a great fit for me - figuratively at first, and then literally when I tried on the finished sock.  But I did take away some things from doing this, such as learning how to use double-pointed needles; plus, now I'm wanting to make a regular sock, which is something that always felt overwhelming to me prior to this project.  I guess the moral is that you can't win them all.  Here's the loser:
See how it barely goes over my heel?  Yeah, it's a bit small.  In my defense, the pattern said that it's supposed to be snug, and that also it would stretch.  I guess measurements were in order...oh well.  Pretty colors, right?

Moving on, here's the Hurricane Hat I'm making with my Secret Santa yarn (Malabrigo Twist):
I'm loving this pattern - it's so easy to knit that I can even carry on a conversation while I'm working on it.

My other finished piece this week is the Hunt's Lane Cowl (again, made with Malabrigo Twist) - I wanted a cowl that was shorter than the blue one that I made, and this is it.  The pattern was intricate enough that I had to pay attention, but not so hard that I got frustrated with it.  I love how the cowl came out:
 
 Why yes, I DID buy this sweater to go with the cowl!
Don't look too closely - I'm fairly certain I got off on the pattern, but hey, that's what makes it handmade, right? ;)

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Lastly, pets - well, two out of three.  I can guarantee you that Henry is under the bed as I type this - he's a big 'ol scardy cat!
Kip on the fridge.  Why?  I don't know.  He rarely does this.  And he didn't look very ashamed at being caught, either!
Paco.  He was a good boy and came when I called, but his eyes were on squirrels and birds, and I could barely contain him for the shot, before he was off and chasing again.

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Have a great weekend - GO NINERS! (says this former Bay Area girl).  This Sunday, I'll actually watch the SuperBowl and not just the commercials!

32 comments:

  1. I was reading your Friday mishmash and almost every paragraph I read I just wanted to say "YAY!" Yay to finally ordering the lip gloss for YOU. Yay to the extra goodies in the package. Yay for finishing the sock and yay for being ready to attempt a different pattern...the yays go on and on. YAY!

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    1. Thanks, Mary Fran - and I agree, sometimes, YAY suffices for everything! :)

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  2. I love the wool and you will be successful making socks. I know it. Love the cowl.

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    1. I hope to have sock success one of these days - thanks for the encouragement! :)

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  3. Hooray for the extra loot! That was so nice! I don't splurge on many things myself, in fact, I can't even remember the last time I put makeup on. Maybe that should be one of my goals for the month of February - wear makeup once a week!

    Have a great weekend Shelley!

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    1. I don't wear it when I'm home, but I do when I leave the house...I'm so pale that I just fade away, otherwise.

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  4. What a wonderful birthday surprise for you!! I love it when things like that happen! :)

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  5. Your sock brings back memories of "Pixie Boots" we (all girls in 7th grade home ec) had to knit. I hated every minute of that class and barely passed!

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  6. Wow, that turned out to be a good deal--made the lip gloss practically free, right? And I do love good packaging. I would want the lip gloss again, just to have the pretty little pot!

    I LOVE your cowl! Stitch pattern, please? LOL at buying the sweater to match the cowl. That's how the normal people do it, right?

    Yes, you must try real socks. And you can try them on as you go, and knit to fit. Hardly any measuring!!

    Love the animals update. Bess and Sophie are drooling over the dreamy shot of Paco.

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    1. Here's the pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hunts-lane-cowl

      I really liked it and I bet you will, too. Plus, the small size took less than one skein (150 yards)...although I'd probably make a bigger one next time.

      Bess and Sophie can have Paco this morning - it's the first of the month which means the meter reader is out in the neighborhood and he has been barking his head off.

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  7. I love that you finally ordered the lip gloss for yourself and were rewarded for it! So generous of that other person, too. Some people have very big hearts and I bet they don't even realize it.

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    1. Exactly - I don't think she has any idea of how much her generosity impacted me. I emailed her a thank you, of course, but still.

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  8. I am SO glad you got yourself a treat, and how lovely that you got "bonus treats". LOVE the cowl, such a pretty color. And the pets? What can I say? Cute, Cute and Cute under the bed! Have a wonderful Friday!

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  9. MAKEUP!!!! Oh I am a makeup junkie so that would have made me deliriously happy to get all those extras. I vote that we get a closeup of your lips with this magic gloss on them. I want to see the color.

    Have a great run tomorrow!

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  10. yeah for getting freebees! What's the milestone b-day? I thought you were the same age as me and Biz, and we'll be 45 in March....

    My friend is an extreme couponer and gets virtually all her makeup free from CVS - she's going to teach me how to do that - which would be awesome!

    LOVE the cowel! I'm wearing a hand made scarf my sister in law made me and it's keeping me toasty - it was -1 when I left for work today with a windchill of -15! (ick!)

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    1. I admire those couponers who managed to get things for free - I don't have the patience for that.

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  11. Yep, so much cool stuff comes from Oregon.

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  12. What a great surprise!!! (and I always figure when I'm ordering something that I might as well tack on another if the shipping is the same anyway)
    So funny that you bought the sweater to match the cowl - I can relate (again).

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    1. ...and maybe one day I'll actually KNIT the sweater to match the cowl!

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  13. Okay, I really want to know the brand of this legendary lip gloss; I have the WORST time finding one that doesn't dry out my lips!

    One sock, some great Kip shots, and you and Paco hugging -- what more could a Friday post have? :)

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    1. The brand is Dianne Brill - it's Lip Lingere, and my favorite color is Peekaboo Nightie. The extra lip gloss that I received is Pinoir, and it's really pretty, too.

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  14. Love the cowl and the sweater (my fave colours!).

    I need to get back to knitting one of these days.....I'm knitting with my youngest daughter right now - she's made 14 cowls for various people as gifts since the beginning of this winter!

    I'll be watching the game and the commercials tonight too - even have a feast planned for during!

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    1. Your daughter is a knitting machine - 14 cowls is awesome!!!

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  15. That must have been such a treat opening that package with all the goodies in it. So sweet that they gave you some gifts. My daycream is expensive but my "old" skin needs to be taken good care of, especially with running outside in all kinds of weather so I happily pay the price for it.

    Love the scarf you made, pretty color too.

    And Paco is adorable as always.

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  16. Oh my gosh! The lip gloss! Didn't we get the same color or something? Probably not considering our opposite coloring. But that was my all-time favorite lip gloss too. I do remember that you bought it for me as a present - thank you! :) I wonder if I still have my empty pot. I might have to go buy some as well.

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    1. I think we had the same color, actually...weird considering we are so opposite, but it worked great for both of us!

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