Shrinking

The sweater was medium. It was too big. It was made of cotton, so I did what I had to do. The results were even better than expected.

The sweater under discussion is the yellow one. Here it is shown beside a blue one, the original size of the now shrunken one, for comparison. I washed it as usual and put it in the dryer on low heat, delicate. I checked it every 15 minutes until the desired size was reached. 

Now the yellow sweater fits just right. Shrinking it tightened the knit but not too much. Probably because the original knit is too loose for my tastes. I like a sweater to not feel like it's going to fall apart. Even if it is. Hopefully it won't. 

Now it's the blue one's turn.

Spending Time With James

One of the things I want to do this year is get back to a closer relationship with my husband. It's not that there's anything wrong as it is, but life gets busy and we have kids and we work so much that sometimes we just end up not hanging out. The kids go to bed and he reads and I work on school stuff and that's that.

But I had this idea. See, I drink wine almost every night. A glass of red. It's supposed to be healthy, right? But it's not good to drink alone, they say. But I do anyway because James doesn't like wine.

Well, on a recent date, I got him to try this unfiltered sake. It turns out it is a solid overlap of his taste preference and my own.

So I got three bottles from the liquor store. The first bottle was consumed while chatting on the couch and watching Sound of Noise. (good movie!) The second was consumed while folding 6 loads of laundry. We still have one bottle left and already we have spent more time hanging out together than usual.

At work last night, I found myself missing James and wondering what he was up to and looking forward to seeing him. Like I said, we are fine. But 9 years into a relationship? There are bound to be peaks and valleys. If some Japanese alcohol can warm our winter, I say it's a good thing.

This is kind of a pity though because one of my heretofore unspoken resolutions is to drink less.

What's in my Art Kit

I see a lot of bloggers do posts about all the stuff in their purses. It's all pretty and cute and useful stuff. I'm not going to show you what's in my purse. It's all receipts and tissues and diapers. And nothing cute. But I will show you my art kit. It is a handy wooden box, inexplicably labeled 1996. 

Those beautiful soft pastels were a gift from one of my longest-standing friends, Kara, herself an artist, now more of a writer.

The strange and lovely print of Adam and Eve over the world is by my own aunt, my father's sister, Stephanie Jo. Her work is very inspiring to me and I hope to follow in her footsteps this next semester as I embark on a printmaking path.

Hair, Hair, Hair

I am growing my hair out and I want long hair, I really do. I can do fun things with it already, like this. I have a whole pinterest board of hair-spiration. But sometimes I think a quirky, actually ugly cut might be more up my alley...

Ok, so maybe not that last one, lol. But the others I could rock. 

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Wantsies :: Hokusai Leggings

Most of what I want in this life is A) what I already have/money can't buy or B) DIY-able. This is an exception. It isn't often I come across something I can't live without that can't be (sorta) recreated at home using common household objects. James says this is surely not what the artist had in mind when he created this amazing print and I said, "oh, well."

Could you resist? Plus, new members get 20% off. So for $11 one really can't blame oneself if she weren't to resist, right?

Inspiration for the New Year

I'm ready for this. A brand new year, so many things I am excited about!

This year, I want to be less selfish, say "no" to my kids less, paint and paint and paint, be a lot closer to James, teach Beatrice to read, teach Am his letter sounds and counting, graduate from college, have lots of fun adventures, tighten up my friendship and work on some new ones.

Oh, and blog more. That too.

My etsy shop has been getting pretty low lately, but that's all about to change. My camera remote should be here at least a few days before I go back to school. So I should have a pretty good bit to add very soon. :D

My one big, try-to-keep-it-up-all-year goal is to wear perfume every time I leave the house. You know, like a real girl, or whatever.

Here's some great visual inspiration. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and all that jazz, but here's what I find beautiful.

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Happy New Year, Happy New Hair

Well, he sure does look like a boy now! 

My little two year old got his first haircut. He really looks like James. We went to Great Clips and I told the girl to leave it a little shaggy and I forbad those awful, straight-across-the-forehead bangs. She did a fine job, no?

cardigan :: target

shirt :: vintage/thrifted

skinny jeans :: baby gap/thrifted

baby legs :: target women's socks

The tiger is named Hobbes, of course.