Phat Fiber Sample Box: Shades of Light silk yarn giveaway! (take two)

Phat Fiber giveaway for Shades of Light!
I wrote a really great post about this giveaway and the shop, but it didn't post and is missing from my drafts. Darn! Here's my second try on it.


Shades of Light etsy shop in Greece that produces amazingly brilliant hand dyed colors of yarn in different weights and fiber blends.
My favorite is this bold mumbai colorway. When I checked out the listing, I can order it EIGHT different ways!



 
I think I might need to buy some to get me through the winter blahs, even though I'm trying to knit down my stash, not add to it.

More posts coming soon: a 2013 recap, 2014 goals including a plan for more consistent posts, knitting, and more!

Don't miss out - Phat fiber quaere fibre sock yarn giveaway!!

A real post with actual content is in the works (aren't they always) but until then, check out the Phat fiber Quaere Fibre sock yarn giveaway.

I found out about Phat Fiber on one of the Ravelry boards (I think for Knitting Go's green-a-long kal going on now) and it turns out they do lots of giveaways on their blog.

The blurb from their website:
The Phat Fiber Sampler box is a way for independent fiber, yarn and related needlecraft companies and artisans to promote their products through a tactile goodie box that goes on sale once monthly. Our contributors get exposure while the consumers get to handle and experiment with products before making larger purchases. 

Pretty cool huh?

It's Time to READ!!!

I have recently finished American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and I think the completion of that book has started a veritable book binge. I just listened to an entire audiobook I download a couple months ago, The Tao of Martha by Jen Lancaster. In preparation for my upcoming vacation, I have requested 11 books from the library, downloaded 2 e-books and 2 audiobooks (all from the library) and mined my own shelves for 3 more books. Something tells me I can cross 'reading material' off my list.

From the library:

• Mort by Terry Pratchett [ebook]
• Equal Rites by same [ebook]
• Weekend Knitting by Melanie Falick (possible baby sweater)
• More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson (possible baby sweater)
• It starts with food by Dallas & Melissa Hartwig 
• The spectacular now [sound recording] / Tim Tharp 
• Dyer consequences / Maggie Sefton
• Everything I needed to know about being a girl I learned from Judy Blume / edited by Jennifer O'Connell
• Forever ... / Judy Blume
• The chessmen of doom / John Bellairs ; frontispiece by Edward Gorey
• The happiness project : or, Why I spent a year trying to sing in the morning, clean my closets, fight right, read Aristotle and generally have more fun / by Gretchen Rubin.   
• Chapter & hearse / Lorna Barrett.
• Needled to death / Maggie Sefton. 

Advance Reader Copy of REMOVED by S.J. Pajonas

My books to read that I own:

• Never Let me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer(in progress)

Quick check-in

I'm working on a few posts, and I'm cramming a lot of work in this week in preparation for my VACATION that starts tomorrow, so I shouldn't even be on here typing this post, but I had to share a link to a super cute Dr. Horrible costume. And if you don't read SewTara's blog, well, you should! I don't sew and I find her very entertaining. Read on!

False starts

I've been experiencing a lack of focus on all fronts for months now - blogging, dating, fitness, organization, blah blah blah. It's not important - there are too many to name.

In terms of blogging, I have 10 draft posts sitting behind the scenes that span the last year and half. I start writing a post and then get all perfectionist about it, save it for later, and never return to review it.  Most of them are 80-90% finished. A few are one liners on topics I thought I wanted to write about here.

This blog is really for my own thoughts anyway, so what does it matter if it's organized? I think I struggle with wanting to have a blog and also wanting a written journal, filled with art and momentos. It's hard to include the content I want in a virtual format - my ticket stub from the Neil Gaiman reading is a tangible thing. I suppose I could scan it in and toss it, but that added level of work just won't fit in to the limited free time I have. Besides, I love paging through overstuff books, seeing my handwriting in different inks and with things sticking out of the pages.

Perhaps I should keep a physical journal and then scan and upload the pages here. But how much of that journal is private? The struggle continues.

For the meantime, here's what I'm doing lately:

• I joined Boston Sports Club - I go back and forth with gyms, but this one is a BLOCK from me and I did a trial 30 day pass last summer and loved it. I have been thinking of joining since then, and last week I took the plunge
• I've started running. I haven't run lately, since I was without an indoor space to run, and it was hot and humid, but now that I've got the gym it's time to start up run/walk intervals again.
• Penpals - I joined The League of Extraordinary Penpals to try and reconnect with letter writing
• I participated in Tour de Fleece, a spinning competition/motivation event and spun a little over half of the fiber I started with, 2.2 of 4 ounces. 

Get into that cooking groove

I've never been much of a cook, I think mainly because I don't take the time to plan, shop, or actually cook the meals!

My big sis is my inspiration for cooking. She has a stack of recipes she wants to make and sets aside Sundays to cook up a storm. I often call her to catch up and she's making a giant batch of chili.

During my last visit in January, things were a bit different as she is a new mom - isn't my nephew John cute? He will be three months old this week!

So this time, she made her stack of recipes, 6 in all some tried and true, some new. She ordered groceries from a delivery service. And then I took over the kitchen and set to work. I made two quiches, chocolate chip cookies, meatloaf, green bean casserole, and plowed through the prep of ingredients for a few other things. It was great cooking in her kitchen with so much counter space, a big oven and room to move around. I felt accomplished in my day, even if we polished off a quiche a few hours after the making.

I really want to start this practice in my own life. Make time for cooking, and maybe set aside one evening, or a weekend day, to cook healthy recipes in preparation for the week.

Last week Boston was expecting another snow storm and I prepped by ordering groceries from Peapod.com, only this time I based my order on three recipes I want to try, not on past orders or whatever I had a craving to eat.

Lat night during The Oscars I managed to cook a Kale and Butternut Squash Saute. Yum! I halved the oil, and I would leave out the lemon entirely - it eliminated the sweetness of the squash. I ate it with some apple chicken sausages and it was a great winter meal. I have a few others saved in my Pinterest that I hope to try by the end of next weekend.

Source: fitnessmagazine.com via Ingrid on Pinterest

And here, a parting shot of Adela performing Skyfall at The Oscars last night. Beautiful!

Source: blog.newsok.com via Ingrid on Pinterest