eBay Adventures

I'm selling these on eBay. I no longer fit in them and have been saying for quite some time that I would do a little cleaning of my busting-from-the-seams closet. This is my first attempt at selling on eBay, and am a little nervous that I'm doing something wrong. I tend to get that feeling when something seems new to me. Oh well, I'll get over it.

*sniff, sniff*

Goodbye, sailor outfit I only wore once, you looked pretty in my closet next to all the other outfits I rarely wear.

Knit You Heart Out!

Pattern: (Roughly based on Contrasting Edge Hat on Pg. 63) in The Baby Knits Book by Debbie Bliss
Needles: Clover circulars sz. 7
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-Ease in Charcoal with Taupe stripe
Started/Finished: 3 days

The original pattern wanted the brim folded over, but I knew that wouldn't last long on my picky toddler. I basically used the pattern for size. But went with the 2-3 year size after casting on and wrapping it around his head. It fits, with room. And the model seems to like it.

Snip, Snip!

I'll start off at the beginning, or atleast a good portion of the beginning. I took Seamus for his first haircut yesterday. To some it may not be a big deal, but us at Casa Rubyredruca consider it a big deal. We had held out as long as we could without cutting it, but it just started looking funky. A few times I bailed at the last minute, refusing to cut his cute little goldilocks, but like I said, it was starting to look bad.
The next problem was figuring out where to take him. Rick's barber can sometimes be hit and miss and my hair girl is expensive. Since it was so close to Easter Sara was over booked and there was no way Seamus could get squeezed in. I knew if I wanted his hair trimmed by Easter, it was going to have to be Rick's guy, Sean. Rick already had an appointment that day... So what the hell, we went for it.
Before:

During:



After:


The final results aren't bad. I expected it to be a little funky because I have a curious kid who always wants to turn his head and watch what's going on. He noticed himself in the mirror and sat still from that point on. I think it's kind of cute, but we're still not used it. He looks so different to us, it's so strange.

The weirdest part of yesterdays experience is that Rick's hair got totally f-cked up again, and Seamus' wasn't that bad!

^..^Happy Easter^..^

The happy little family.

Seamus hanging out with the cousins.

A Day For The Irish

This has been one crazy week, let me tell ya'. And I really didn't expect much for today, but things made a surprising change for the better for this leprachaun. I started off the day trying to make Irish Soda Bread, but didn't predict how difficult it would be to find carroway seeds and currants. Three different markets, same results, zilch. I decided to fall back on this recipe instead. Irish Soda Bread had seemed to be a tradition while I was growing up, so I decided to bring some to Rick's parents and share the tradition. It was ridiculously simple, and baked to perfection ( I can say that because I set the microwave timer and had my sister pull the bread out after 70 minutes!)

I also got a freakin' amazing pair of shoes in L.A., (or as Rick so fondly refers to it..."la", like la-la-la.) I was stuck chaffeuring Rick and the bestman-to-be to the best place in town to get EXACT replicas of vintage shoes, new. Rick has a pair of black and white wingtips that he plans on wearing in the wedding, and Brian (the best man) has admired them for awhile and decided to get a pair for the big day. Rick got another pair in all black, and then told me he'd buy me these babies! These dear, wonderful, amazing freakin' shoes. We got a crazy deal on them and I'm thrilled. Can you tell?

I'm going to wait a while before you see the actual shoes, but trust me. They're bad-ass.



Upon arriving home, I didn't notice the box next to the stroller that Rick had to point out. The invitations arrived! Double score! Yay!



So I took them with me, the baby and the soda bread over to Rick's parents house. The soda bread was a big hit. Scored some points with the in-laws, neice and nephew, and hubby-to-be. Then assembled some of my invitations because I was too frickin excited to wait until tomorrow.


So there you have it, I had an awesome day and had to brag about it. Now I'm gonna finish off my Guinness and put my own little leprachaun to bed.

Oiche mhaith. (Good night.)

.Shoes.

This post has been a long time coming. I've got a lot of shoes, A LOT. These are only a few.



And since I haven't had a whole lot to blog about lately, this seems as good a time as ever to share my shoe collection. While pondering what shoe to start with, I decided (on a whim, cuz that's how I roll!), that I would start from the beginning. Well, the beginning of my heel collection atleast.



Compared to some others in my closet, this pair ain't all that. But at the time, a fresh 18 that had never worn heels, unless you count those gunmetal gray clunkers I wore to homecoming (aah!). I'm getting off track...

I saw these one day while wandering through the mall to get to the MAC counter, passed them acouple times then came back later in the week and used my paycheck to buy them. I got a lot of use out of them that first year, but now it's been years since I've even put them on.
Oh well, maybe I'll wear them next time I go out. They look good with jeans too and are the perfect red.





Comfortable knitting shoes too!



Have a nice weekend.

Now I'm off to the Harley Davidson store to go buy some Girl Scout cookies. No joke. There's a pack of Thin Mints with my name on it!

Domesticated? Part Deux...

On the quest again, for a successful dinner.

Last night I made Matar Paneer and Chicken Tikka Masala. I'm a big fan of both dishes, but have always been a little intimidated by the recipes. So instead of using the Indian cookbook I have, I decided to use the recipes I linked too.

I made paneer from scratch. Next time I think it will look prettier in it's final outcome, but I was very impressed with my skills all the same.

Not the prettiest picture, but that's what it looks like right before you pour it into the cheesecloth.

After it was in the cheesecloth:



There's the chicken marinating in a bunch of seasonings and yogurt. I let it sit in the fridge for an hour.



The final product.



It looked good. Tasted pretty good. Especially the next day too! I think I'll play around with the recipe, maybe add a little more red pepper to it. I like it a little spicier.

Otherwise, not too shabby.

It's Time For PreSchool Waiting Lists!

Yipee! 

Not! The thought of having to apply to PREschool a year before my kid may or may not attend seems kind of ridiculous. I asked a mother how long she had her daughter on the waiting list today, while I was picking up an application.

"Oh, I've had her on the waiting list since she was 3 months old."

Crazy!

Domesticated?

I'm taking a stab at cooking something new tonight. Chicken terriyaki and fried rice. Um...we'll see how it goes. The last few times I've attempted to cook have ended up have been really disgusting.  

I've been a total freak lately, letting unnecessary stress get to me, and stuff. I'll spare you the drama, but wedding planning is stressful. Even when you've been with the guy for 5 years, have been friends/ or family with your bridesmaids for ever and even when you'll normally a strong-willed stubborn person. The stress gets to you, and suddenly you care what everyone thinks even when you really don't give a shit what anyone thinks. So fuck it! Seriously, fuck it!

On Tuesday night I went to my sister-in-law Michelle's house and taught her the basic knit stitch and the most basic cast-on stitch I know. The cast-on style, isn't one I'd recommend to anyone other than a newbie, but it gets the job done in the beginning! It's the cast-on my grandma taught me in third grade, and I still have a bit of the knitting bug still in me! (Even if I lack time and funds.) I haven't talked to her since, but I'm sure by next time I see her, she'll be asking me about the purling. She's normally a crocheter, but like me, didn't really like the crochet sweater patterns that she saw out there. She's great at those Amigarumi 's. One more crocheter converted! I wanted to take pictures, but I didn't want to make her self-consious...

I also bought this at IKEA last week. I tend to buy things I'm unsure of, have Rick build them, then after a week don't understand how we've been living without this amazing new thing. Yes, it's just a bookcase cabinet-thing. But I love it. And it's awesome.



Now a silly picture of my sleepy punkin who fell asleep mid-lunch. When he woke up, he went right back to eating like he hadn't fallen asleep at all.



And before anyone thinks I'm a crappy parent for keeping this poor child awake, he refused to take a nap all day long, and none of us expected this to happen...

Toodles!