The Sincerest Form of Flattery: Part Nine

You can find the "official" (yeah, those are air quotes) explanation of the Copycat Project by clicking on the tag at the end of the post, but the long and short of it is this: I haven't updated my blogroll in forever and a day, and rather than update it now, I find it much more fun to tell you incrementally about blogs I read (that, uh, you might want to read too, if that wasn't already obvious). Each blog gets its own post, written in the style of, or about the topic of, the recommended blog. Hence the fun little "Copycat Project" name.

Today I'm suggesting that you go and check out Sally McGraw's blog, Already Pretty. She's witty and articulate with an infectious sense of confidence; she talks about wearing clothes you love and clothes you feel your best in (with bonus points if you can find said clothes for a song).

Go figure, I found a piece of clothing that fits that criteria.

Actually, there's a bit more of a story here than just "it's pretty and I love it." A few weeks ago, I became inspired to scout out a thrift store. No particular reason. I just felt like going thrifting. I'm not the type to go shopping without something specific in mind that I need to buy, so I found it odd. So odd, in fact, that I mentioned it, and my friend Andria had an interesting reaction: she insisted that I follow through on my hankering for a thrifting mission, because that very hankering indicated that there was an item out there waiting for me.

Now, Andria is one of the wisest people I know, and I'm always impressed by how connected she is to the world around her in ways that are just beyond my thorough comprehension. She gives excellent advice, and I've learned to heed it. (She does, however, need to get her blog of dessert recipes going again so I can link to her as well, but that's for another day.)

The first two shops had nothing that caught my eye. A little discouraged, I figured I'd given it a good shot but hey, nobody's right all the time. I forgot about it for a few days. Then the Awesome Husband mentioned he was in the market for one of those vintage plaid shirts with the mother-of-pearl buttons (he's broadening his own sartorial horizons, apparently -- to great effect, I might add), so off we went to shop number three. I mean, that one's the charm, right?

There it was, waiting for me. Fun and bright and versatile, and just what I didn't realize I was looking for.

Lessons learned:
- Always listen to Andria.
- Things will turn out the way they should if you give it time.
- A $6 dress can make your week.

The Sincerest Form of Flattery: Part Eight

You can find the "official" (yeah, those are air quotes) explanation of the Copycat Project by clicking on the tag at the end of the post, but the long and short of it is this: I haven't updated my blogroll in forever and a day, and rather than update it now I find it much more fun to tell you incrementally about blogs I read (that, uh, you might want to read too, if that wasn't already obvious). Each blog gets its own post, written in the style of, or about the topic of, the recommended blog. Hence the fun little "Copycat Project" name.

This Copycat post kind of snuck up on me. And by that I mean that I was catching up on my woefully neglected Google Reader account and happened upon a post by ddayporter over at Bananas, Continued that made me remember that I have this Copycat Project at all. Specifically, it was this post. She went to Mount Blue State Park recently. I went to Mount Blue State Park recently. She hiked the Brook Trail on Tumbledown Mountain. I hiked the Brook Trail on Tumbledown Mountain.

Clearly this is the universe's way of telling me I should link to her blog, right? Right. So go read. Maybe right-click so you don't lose your place here, ok? It's just not fun until you have 15 tabs of stuff you want to read, that's what I always say.

Anyway.

We went camping this weekend! The Awesome Husband and I trekked a couple hours north with his dad, my parents, and my brother. We left Mr. Cecil at home with a team of dog sitters (no, really), which very likely was a wise decision. Lower cute quotient on the photos, but higher sanity quotient for everyone involved.

Hiking Tumbledown turned out to be the main event, for sure. The leaflet provided by the park that outlined the hiking trails indicated that the Brook Trail should take 2-3 hours round-trip, and that it's a moderate hike. That sounded good, so my father, my brother, The Awesome Husband and I packed some fruit and granola bars and set out to hike it.

I'm not sure who wrote that leaflet or decided that the Brook Trail is a 3 hour "moderate" hike, but wherever they are, I'm pretty sure their pants are on fire. The first hour or so was lovely, and then it started to get progressively more challenging. My dad turned back to the car a little more than halfway up the mountain, and we later assured him that it was a good decision. It was sort of like walking up an uneven staircase, two steps at a time. For an hour.

We took a lot of water breaks.

At least it was pretty.

The increasingly noticeable ache in my knee was totally worth it when we got to the summit, where there's a nice view and a pond. And a feeling of accomplishment (or something).

So, so, so happy not to be climbing anymore.

Triumphant!

By the time we headed back down to the car, we were so focused on a) not getting injured, and b) just being done with the hiking already, we didn't really take any photos. But I'll tell you what, the turkey and manchego sandwich I ate at 3:30 that afternoon was the best food ever in the history of the universe.

And there are no pictures of that either.

The Sincerest Form of Flattery: Part Seven

It's been a while since I've done a Copycat Project post. You can find the "official" (yeah, those are air quotes) explanation here, but the long and short of it is this: I haven't updated my blogroll in forever and a day, and rather than update it now I find it much more fun to tell you incrementally about blogs I read (that, uh, you might want to read too, if that wasn't already obvious). Each blog gets its own post, written in the style of, or about the topic of, the recommended blog. Hence the fun little "Copycat Project" name.

I don't think I'm ever going to do one of these with an intro paragraph under 100 words. Oh well.

So, today I'm suggesting that you go visit Kasey at Thrifty Little Blog. She's a girl after my own heart, living within her means, balancing needs and wants, and generally being mindful of her spending.

Now, I'm pretty frugal in general (movies from the library for the win!), but my patience along with a generous helping of luck and generosity landed me a thrifty score last week that impressed even me. I'd been wanting to buy some downhill skis, having really enjoyed the two days of skiing I did about a year ago. (Skiing beats snowboarding by a MILE, by the way. I was actually able to move down the mountain instead of, say, clomping along on the bunny slope and throwing in the towel mid-way through a four-hour lesson. Ahem.)

Anyway, I thought about scouting out Craigslist for used skis. There was one pair for about $200 that I was afraid to bite the bullet on, not having much knowledge as to what signifies a good pair of used skis and what to steer clear of. I got a gift card to a local ski shop for Christmas, and I figured I could use it during an end-of-season sale: still spendy, but I'd be getting reliable skis from a reputable source. The gift card hung out under a magnet on the fridge for a few months as I put off what I expected would be a sizeable purchase.

Here's where the luck comes in: my fantastic mother-in-law, who hits the slopes often and is planning to upgrade from "intermediate" to "experienced" skis for next season, is giving me her old skis. And when I say "her old skis," I really mean "the skis she's been using up until now, which have been meticulously cared for and are no doubt in excellent condition." My mother-in-law is a lovely woman who doesn't foist her opinions on me or The Awesome Husband, AND she's giving me her skis? How lucky am I!?

With gift card in hand, The Awesome Husband and I did actually hit an end-of-season sale, but we made a bee-line for the ski boots. I started glancing at some of the price tags on the display models while the sales guy went to get the right size for me to try on: $300... $400... even with a benjamin to work with, those figures would still mean a dent in the bank account. It did, however, put into perspective how much I really would have had to spend for a complete skis-and-boots outfit.

But guess what? End-of-season sales are apparently no joke. I walked out of there having spent $89 out of pocket. Thanks to good timing (who am I kidding: procrastination) and a whole lot of luck and generosity, I'll be set with boots and skis next season for a cost to me of $89.

I still don't want it to snow again for a long, long time, though.

The Sincerest Form of Flattery: Part Six

Time for another installment of the Copycat Project, my method of letting you know about blogs worth reading, while continuing to put off updating the blog list over there in the left margin.

Now, I've thought about this for a while, trying to think of what exactly I'd write about in trying to "copy" Our Little Beehive for a Copycat Project post. She cooks... I cook. She crafts... I craft. She and her husband do house projects... You've heard a thing or two about our bathroom lately, yes?

Lots of material there, that's for sure, so what's been holding this up? Copying the Beehive is intimidating. Think Martha Stewart meets Bob Vila. Yeah.

But! A recent turn of events allows me to send you over there to read about the endeavors at the Beehive without having to compare them directly to anything here. They've been nominated for the Homies over at Apartment Therapy, so I can instead tell you to go peruse and wander about the Beehive and, once you've picked your jaw up off the floor, cast your vote.

Back to our regularly scheduled tiling nightmare later this week!

The Sincerest Form of Flattery: Part Five

I'd actually been planning to tell you guys about Squirrel over at The Nuthouse in a Copycat Project post with photos from a fun outdoorsy adventure. It'll be a while before Mr. Stupendous and I go kayaking, that's for sure, and even for hiking, I prefer to wait until the trails are ice-free before venturing out (I swear, I must have some sort of inner ear issue that explains my clumsiness). It's snowshoeing season, but who am I kidding, there won't be time for that until we wrap up the bathroom renovation in 2015. (Sigh.)

So! In the meantime, go read about Squirrel's travels. And hoo boy, do you want to check this out: she lived in Alaska, now lives in Australia (I know, right?), and makes a point of getting out and enjoying all the cool stuff there is to do in her area.

Another fun thing Squirrel blogs about -- and I'm looping back to the point of my post, so stick with me here -- is home brewing. She and her husband started brewing beer in part to avoid having to buy it in Australia (apparently it's pretty spendy) and have found that they quite enjoy it. A few days ago she talked about some of the beers they've concocted recently, and that reminded me that I never blogged about our sophomore brewing effort. Ta-dah:




It looks pretty much the same as our first beer, the Dark Horse Porter, but you'll have to take my word for it: that there is Christmas Cookie Ale. And it was good. (Yes, it's gone. Single tear.) We took a kit for a nut brown ale and added a hint of cinnamon and vanilla.* The flavors were more subtle than I expected, but I think that was for the best, and it might be one of my favorite beers ever. We've decided to make a double batch next year and make it our annual holiday brew.

Have I mentioned I'm disappointed it's gone?




* When I say "we," of course, I mean that Mr. Stupendous did all the actual brewing. I came up with the idea to add the cinnamon and vanilla, and the name. That counts as helping, right?

The Sincerest Form of Flattery: Part Four

Hey! I've got another blog you should go read! Justin over at The Declining is smart, witty, and observant, and he has excellent taste in music (go read about his self-designed Shuffle Challenge in particular).

In the spirit of Justin's discography analysis and musical comparisons, let's chat today about one of the songs I heard on the radio in the car yesterday. (Unlike Justin with his trusty ipod, I kick it old school and rely on my FM pre-set buttons when I'm driving.) My go-to station served up a nice little surprise for me, a veritable belated holiday gift for my ears: Cake's latest single, "Sick of You."

It's like a treasure trove of what I love about a good Cake song. Trumpet (of course... tug at those band geek heartstrings). Building layers of complexity, with harmonies on top of basslines and a little keyboard action. Awesome, awesome guitar riffs. Even that sproingy, ratchety thing (the technical term, of course). Interestingly, when the first chord left the speakers, I thought I might be hearing the Rolling Stones (odd, based on the radio station). A few bars in, though, the Cake sound was unmistakable. It actually made me happy to be stopped at a traffic light long enough to listen to the end.

The Sincerest Form of Flattery: Part Three

It's the third installment of the Copycat Project, wherein I steer you to blogs you should peruse whilst stubbornly refusing to maintain an updated blogroll. Check out part one and part two while you're here as well.

So you guys all know that I knit quite a bit, even if the majority of the content around here is woefully off topic for what ostensibly once was a knitblog. Jstrizzy, on the other hand, has a much more respectable attention span. A knitblog about knitting (and some sewing for good measure). What a concept! Plus, she's got skills, especially when it comes to lace. Go read about what she's been knitting these days... and ooh and ahh and pick your jaws up off the floor. She's good.

To take a page from Jstrizzy's book, I'll do a proper post about the sweater I finished last week -- the one that two of you wanted to see in greater detail than just the button bands. There's realio, trulio knitting content today, folks.

Pattern: Maude Louise, by Kristen Hanley Cardozo

Yarn: Lett Lopi, by Istex (Yes, very itchy. This is a layering sweater, that's for sure.)

Modifications: I omitted the seed stitch on the shoulders and stuck with stockinette. Otherwise, I pretty much followed the pattern.

And now for the pictures. The first one highlights the stitches and is pretty true to color. The second one shows off the pattern detail around the waist. There's also a row of those diamonds running down each sleeve, as you'll see (barely) in photo three.

The Sincerest Form of Flattery: Part Two

Yes, Part Two. For more on what the Copycat Project is all about, read Part One here.

A Practical Wedding has plenty of readers, so the paltry handful I might steer their way is sure to be a drop in the proverbial bucket in terms of a benefit to Meg, the driving force behind APW. But to the paltry handful themselves, I suspect the benefit will be substantial. I mean really, when has reading intelligent, confident (and witty!) posts that remind you that you're awesome and that anyone saying otherwise is insignificant -- when has that not been beneficial for you? Never? Ok then, go read.



I was prompted to use A Practical Wedding as my second Copycat blog when one of the anchors of the morning news (yes, I know, calling it "news" is a bit of a stretch) said this about the upcoming nuptials of Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton:

"... he'll have no input on the dress, of course."

*record scratch*

What's this, now? If the bride- and groom-to-be have decided that she'll be choosing her dress independent of all opinions he may have, that's fine. More power to 'em. That's totally their call. The assumptions, though -- and forgive me, but I'm just going out on a limb here and guessing that Ann Curry hasn't popped in for tea and chatted with the happy couple about their wedding planning philosophy -- are what get under my skin: that of course the groom has no interest in what the dress will look like, and everyone knows that men are useless when it comes to weddings, and obviously, even if he did have some thoughts on elaborate dress vs. simple dress, his opinion doesn't matter because hers is the one that counts. Because she's the briiide.

Even with all the sarcasm, it still sort of gave me the heebie-jeebies just typing that. Who's with me?

The Sincerest Form of Flattery: Part One

I realized last week that my list of blog links (for the two of you not reading through Google Reader, please direct your attention to the left margin) is woefully out of date... and probably will be for the foreseeable future. Until I get myself in gear and revise it (more often than not, I'm posting from my phone), I'll have to spread the word about the fun blogs I frequent some other way, and I'm super excited about the idea I came up with to accomplish that.

Enter the Copycat Project.

I write about a fairly broad range of topics. (To those of you who miss the days when this was more of a traditional knitblog, I apologize. Also: please come back, ok?) I'll be using this disjointed, haphazard nature to my advantage -- aha! play to your strengths! or at least, to your unavoidable characterisitcs! -- and perhaps broadening my horizons as well, as I take a page from a fellow blogger, write a post of my own that ties in with the subject matter of their site, and link back to them so you all can enjoy their stuff done right. By them.

Make sense?

Ok, first up: Kelly over at Tearing Up Houses. Let me be clear: I'm focusing on a very distinct subset of her posts to imitate. I've not recently knocked out any walls or purchased any real estate (all of which is fascinating to read about, though). No, no, I'll be tapping into her charmingly random pet portrait concept.

And so, I present to you the Great Furry Peace Summit of 2010:



Not much happened after this photo was taken... which is exactly how it should always be.

This post is worth three thousand words.

Three square feet

That's about the extent of unoccupied floor space in my house right now. With Attic Renovation 2008 in full swing, I have dresser drawers stacked in my kitchen, all the clothes I store on hangers are camped out on various pieces of furniture, and I have blankets laid out to protect parts of the floor from added traffic, falling lumber, etc. But I do have three square feet of space with which to take a picture of the new, finished (!) sleeveless turtleneck.


The pattern called for knitting in the round, but I didn't have circular needles in the right size to get gauge, so I knit the front and back separately on size 2 straight needles. I also added some darts in the front, in the stockinette panel. I need to block it and try to add a little length through the armholes, but otherwise I'm pleased with it.

On the agenda for today: refinishing the vintage doors I'll be using for my new closet in the attic. And coming up next week is a trip to the garden store to buy seeds and get a jump on the abbreviated Maine growing season. This year I *will* get it together and have seedlings ready to go when we're past frost danger.