Cliched.

I feel like a walking cliche. Every bride grows her hair out for the wedding for gorgeous photos. Then she goes home and gets her hair cut into a short sassy new 'do. Now I didn't intend for it to be THIS short, but here I am...the Cliche Queen.

Honeymooning.

Well I'm finally back in Kansas (as of last night) and Wes and I are enjoying settling into married life. I'm still catching up on laundry, wedding thank you notes and the like. I have, however, posted our honeymoon photos. We hope you enjoy viewing them as much as we enjoyed taking them!



Find the full set here.

Hitched: Now with more photo goodness!

Thanks to a few friends and my dad who sent the following gems:








More photos will continue to appear here at the Flickr set and I should have the professional photos to show soon! Enjoy!

Hitched. (AKA Shameless request for pictures)

We are back, we are hitched and we're figuring out Mt. Laundry and the daunting task of changing my name (why DID I get so many credit cards?) Actually, we returned from the amazing Alaskan honeymoon this afternoon. Wes is back in KC, and I'm still in Los Angeles. I'm going to chill for a few days and see a few friends and then start the drive back to KC with my mom.

I promise to have more updates and pictures soon... which brings me to the title of my post. My professional pictures aren't ready yet, but I really wanted to post a pic of me and my honey getting hitched. So all y'all who read and attended the festivities - don't hold back on me. Send me what ya got!

Still here.

Desperately trying to finish this before I leave:



So I can start this.

And packing and last-minute wedding planning. And.... oh yeah! Sanity.

Quick report.

Things are crazy here, what with the last minute wedding preparations, frenzied knitting (to finish samples before I go), the diminished space in our apartment (due to wedding packages!)

Posting will probably be a little light in the next few weeks. I'm working at my temp job until this Thursday, and then the little sis flies in on Friday morning and we head for LA - we're driving so I don't expect to get there until Sunday night. With the hassles of travel these days, I'm glad we're driving, but right now I'm trying to pack for the next three weeks of wedding, honeymoon, and a few different climates.


I'll try and check back in as I'm able, and will post pictures when I can find the cable, a laptop and myself in the same room! For now I leave you with a few photos of the weekend. The first is what I came home and found yesterday. Apparently Wes has rescued him (Bob the Box Turtle as he became known) from the middle of a busy road. Somehow he thought it would be fun to scare the bejeezus out of me by bringing him home. Needless to say we will NOT be needing a turtle-sitter while at the wedding. We took Bob to a nearby lake last night and let him go wild.

The last two are photos of yarn I've been hoarding in my stash. The yarn is dyed by a semi-local artisan and each skein is one-of-a-kind. I actually took a dying class from her yesterday and will be posting pics of my own hand-dyed once I skein it up. However, these two are destined to become socks on my honeymoon and will also constitute my vacation knitting pictures for Summer of Socks. LOVE this yarn.

The Difference Between Girls and Boys.

This morning I got this:

Dear Laura:

Tomorrow, I plan to go to the Men's Wearhouse, but I need to know the color tie and cummerbund you'd like me to get as a first choice. Was it white? Ivory?

Love,
Dad

I sent this back:

Dad:

Ivory. :) If you want to match the groomsmen they got something called Tuscany Bisque.

Love,
Laura

Dad replied:

Hey, I'm a guy. Guys don't recognize colors like "Tuscany Bisque". (Ask Wes if you don't believe me.) We only know seven colors: red, green, blue, orange, yellow, purple and brown. Oh, yeah, and the non-colors: black and white. But, because I love you, I will go to the Men's Wearhouse, screw up my courage, and ask with my best straight face whether they have "Tuscany Bisque"!

I forwarded this response to Wes and this is what I got back:

Hey I thought bisque was a soup.

Duly forwarded to Dad. His response:

Told ya!

Men: 2, Woman: Hey they're wearing it aren't they?

Well Whaddya Know?

Guess who's getting married on Elizabeth Zimmerman's birthday? How perfect is that? Couldn't be better if I'd planned it that way....

(which of course I did.... NOT!)

A summer steal.

This weekend was fairly quiet. Yesterday I got up on the early side and commenced to working on my to-do list, writing wedding gift thank you notes and, of course, knitting!

I whipped up my own little contribution to something new, something blue for the wedding:


Pattern: Eloping from Knitty Summer 2008

Yarn: Lily Chin's Times Square

Needles: US 3's

Verdict: It's a pretty easy pattern that only took me an hour or two to finish. It will be the perfect addition to my wedding ensemble - something new and something blue (and even a little sparkley!)

Last night we decided to have a date night. We found a local movie theatre and headed to a showing of Get Smart. It wasn't much like the original, but it was still pretty funny. I love Steve Carrell and Anne Hathaway made a pretty decent 99. After dinner we grabbed some Thai food and did a little shopping for gifts for the wedding party.

Today I slept in a little. When I woke up there was a brand new bike in front of the couch and Wes was grinning a little sheepishly. Apparently this one was marked down a little and seemed like a good deal, so it's mine. So I got dressed and we headed out for a short ride. It's been YEARS since I've been on a bike and apparently the stationary bike at the gym isn't a good approximation. After 2 miles I was tired and after 4 (well we had to get home!) I was downright exhausted.

Then we headed out for a bit more shopping and some lunch. Wes had suggested that we try to get some off season deals on 3-in-1 winter coats, to be used on our honeymoon in Alaska. We managed to get a total steal on one for me - a Columbia jacket with a great removable fleece liner for only $75! (Then I came home and found one online for him for $100.)

Tonight was a simple dinner and some relaxing in front of the TV. I did manage to get photographs today of another knit I completed this week:


Pattern: Knit Impressionism by Kennita Tully from Creative Knitting, July 2008

Yarn: Tahki New Tweed

Needles: US 8's and 9's

The Verdict: This is a sweet, easy to knit cardigan for summer. The hem and waist detailing give it nice shaping without increasing/decreasing. The yarn is super soft and gives a real mock tweed look - I'm dying to try it again in a burgundy colorway. This is a sample that's off to LA tomorrow! The designer, Kennita also owns a yarn shop, Wildflower, in Manhattan, KS (where my in-laws are) that I love to visit.

Things that make me happy:

• Listening to this song on repeat.
  
• Wearing my new work appropriate Madden Girl shoes to work and being able to wear handknit socks with them. (And the fact that Wes suggested I buy them a little big specifically so that I could do this!)
  
  
• That Wednesday night is knit night EVERY WHERE I like to hang.
  
• Last but MOST DEFINITELY not least, I'm getting married to my favorite person in the whole world one month from today. YIPPEE!
  

I can relax now.

I'm not getting married naked.

A few people might be there.

There will be pictures to share afterward.

That is all now. Thank you.

Update Part II: Going Home Again

This was a great trip to LA but I do think I've learned that you can't go home again. I few home last Sunday to spend some time finishing up wedding planning, hanging with friends, and hanging out with family. I arrived on Sunday night and had lunch with Sean at our favorite Brazilian place. Then I went home with my parents and enjoyed a quiet evening at home.

Monday morning I got up early and took my dress to the seamstress for alterations. I learned that the shoes I bought weren't right for the dress, but everything else went off without a hitch. I had lunch with my old roomie in LA and we chatted about everything under the sun. Then we went over to the mall and I got made over for my wedding. Although my sister is going to do my makeup on my wedding day, I wanted to go to the MAC counter and get a little advice on colors. One makeover and a few dollars later, I had my wedding makeup!


Monday evening I headed over to A Mano to join the group for Stitch & Pitch 2008. Dodger dogs, Stitch n Pitch hats, and 3 hours of knitting later the Dodgers had won the game and the knitters had knitted up a storm. I was really glad I made it home for the game. Even my Pomatomus sock enjoyed the game!


Tuesday Mom and I headed out to the wedding site to work out last minute details. We picked napkins and chairs and set up the time table for the wedding and even got to visit the site once more. Then we tried another cake place and headed home for Sex in the City (fun!) and dinner at my favorite Mexican place.

Wednesday was sushi with the gang and more A Mano time. I came home with a bunch of new samples and even a few bits of yarn for myself (don't worry, I was mostly good!). After knit night Sean and I got together for dinner and enjoyed the evening.


Thursday morning was the final meeting with the florist and Thursday night Wes flew in to LA! Friday was a busy day as we got our marriage license, lunched with friends, picked up my dress and got him fitted for his tux. We managed to find a few spare hours to enjoy Los Angeles though. We sat and watched the sailboats for a few hours before meeting up with friends for dinner.

Saturday Wes and I caught a showing of Indiana Jones and then had dinner and attended the Asia America Symphony with my parents. The show was really amazing - where else can you go see a symphony play Beethoven, Jazz and Flamenco music all in one evening?

Sunday was brunch with my parents and that ill-fated return trip.

All in all it was a great trip. I loved seeing my friends, visiting my old haunts (all the restaurants where the staff knows my name and my order) and spending time with my family. However, I realized that I don't miss the traffic and some of the other things that go along with a big city. Most disappointing this week was that the neighborhood around the LYS has had some problems recently. I guess I don't miss that part of living in a big city - who knew I'd want to come home to Kansas?

Busy busy!

This past week has just simply flown by. I realized about 1am on Monday night/Tuesday morning that our wedding is just over two months away! While I'm SUPER excited, the anxiety also kicked in. Not about the marriage mind you - just about the wedding. So many details to attend to, and so little time left. We've been engaged for so long that the wedding has always been far away. Not any more!

This week I've also been busy knitting - I hope to have some finished objects to show soon. I got to meet up with a bunch of my knitting friends several times this week. I've also been working (a little bit - just yesterday). All that leaves very little time for packing. Yes, I'm leaving for LA tomorrow morning for the final pre-wedding trip. The next week will see me getting fitted for my dress, having the final meeting with the florist and the venue, getting our marriage license, getting Wes measured for his tux, and seeing friends, knitting and attending Stitch 'n Pitch on Monday night!


As today is our last day together for a bit (Wes won't join me in LA until later next week) we decided to enjoy the day together. As you can see above, some people thought it might be a good day for ballooning. We opted to kayak instead. We headed out to a little lake near us and spent a few hours paddling around the lake, seeing birds and wildlife up close, and peacefully kayaking in grassy and tree-filled areas. This is my favorite picture that I shot today.

Home again home again.

We just got back from a weekend in at my inlaws. Unfortunately the weather just did not cooperate for kayaking, but we did get Wes'bike to the shop and my bridal veil is now in progress.

As many of you know (but some don't), this past week I ended my time at the job I'd been at. It was a temporary to permanent position, but it didn't work out well so I've got the temp agency looking for more work for me. Tomorrow I'm heading back to a place I've been before and like, so that should be good.


Not working every day, however, has led to some great knitting time. In the past few weeks I've almost knocked out a pair of birthday socks for my friend Light, a cotton summer sweater for A Mano, and some test socks for Cookie A! I was picked as one of her test knitters for her beautiful Ornette sock and I'm super excited. I'm using some Smooshy in a beautiful colorway called Ruby River and I can't wait to get more into it. I'm posting a picture of rows 1-16 here. More progress photos soon!

Finally, things have been growing around here. We now have the basil that took over St. Louis.

Bigass Update

I arrived home last night after a great week at home and have lots and lots to tell!

I flew home Tuesday evening and arrived just around the same time as my sister. Dad picked us up at the airport and took us home where we slept in the same bedroom and talked all night (kind of like an extended sleepover!)

Of note, I finished my first summer tank top on the plane ride to LA.


The Pattern: Ribby Tank from ChicKnits

The Yarn: Incense from Elann.com

The Needles: US 6

The Verdict: I really like the way this tank is structured and it fits very well. It's a simple pattern, and a little boring to knit, but produces a really simple, elegant tank. I love the color, but the yarn itself is a wool/bamboo/silk blend that I think will be a little heavy for summer. Regardless, it was a pretty quick knit and I know I will wear it!

Wednesday was my play day. I got up early and visited a yarn shop close to my parents house where I found some great Noro Matsuri - 87% cotton. I think I'm going to use it for a bias tank top. The best part was that I had a gift card!

Then I headed up to West LA where I got a pedicure and then met my friends for sushi lunch at our favorite place. The waitress gave me a huge hug and knew my order right off the bat. It was a little like coming home to Cheers again. Catching up with everyone was great, and it didn't even feel like I had left! After lunch I went by the old job and visited with people. It was nice to see everyone, but I'm pretty happy with my choice to have left there.

After that, I headed over to A Mano for an afternoon of fun with yarn. They had some beautiful new yarns in the shop which I got to touch and buy. I also picked up a copy of Elizabeth Zimmerman's The Opinionated Knitter, which I can't wait to read! I spent the rest of the afternoon and evening knitting, catching up, and picking out a few samples to bring back to the midwest and knit up. By the time I left I had to add a third bag to my luggage to get all the yarn home. Ooops! I capped off the night by having dinner with my Knitmeister S at our usual Brazilian place. The waitstaff remembered me there too!

I have to say that Wednesday was a great day catching up with friends, but it was also a little depressing. I think it's finally hitting me that I'm not the LA girl anymore, and that I really don't live there any more. It's so hard with such special friends there and places that know me. I really like Kansas so far, and I've met some wonderful people here, but it's weird because now I feel like I have two homes, and I don't really belong in the one in LA.

Thursday dawned bright and early as Mom, the Li'l Sis and I headed out to spend a day doing assorted wedding stuff. We started inauspiciously by getting stuck in a lot of traffic and a freeway closure and being 30 minutes late to our first appointment. The day got better though - we visited 2 invitation designers and 2 florists and should be able to get everything we need from these visits. We even managed to get in a good deli lunch, some midafternoon iced coffee treats and make it home by 5:30. I spent the evening in with my parents, discussing wedding details and catching up.

Friday morning was gown day! We headed over to the bridal store around 11am to pick up my gown. The gown fits almost perfectly and it looks like it will only need some alterations around the bust line. I'm still in love with the dress and can't wait to get it altered to fit (that's up for June). Now all I need to do is put together a veil and shoes and I'm dressed for the big day!

Friday afternoon we managed to go to lunch, all 4 of us, at a great local Mexican place. I can't remember the last time I was able to eat lunch with my parents and my sister on a weekday.


After lunch, I headed out for a doctor's appointment, and a bit more wedding shopping, and then back up to West LA to see friends and attend Bel's birthday party! Other than managing to scrape my dad's car (ick, definite worst part of the weekend), I had a good time seeing old friends and catching up, not to mention snacking on great nibbles (Knitmeister S's brownies are to DIE FOR!).

Saturday was the first day of Passover and we celebrated it family style, with my aunt and uncle and young cousin coming to visit. It was a nice last evening in town, with good eats and good company.


Sunday morning was an early one as we dropped my sister at the airport and I had breakfast with my parents before heading out myself. The day was mostly spent flying and I arrived home late last night to lots of laundry, and some growing plants. Today is a catchup and errand day and tomorrow I start another job. More details on that as I learn them!

The Windy City

This weekend I went to visit the windy city and the li'l sis and to go dress shopping for her maid of honor dress. We had moderate success - we found a dress, but it wasn't the color scheme I wanted, so I'm thinking it over for a few days before we proceed. Regardless, we had a great weekend of walking around, shopping, eating good foods, meeting and greeting her friends and just spending time together. She and I haven't lived in the same place since we were in high school, so the times we spend together are few and far between.

I had a great time this weekend, despite the weather being so cold I thought my face might fall off. Yesterday was just in the 30's, but today was 2 degrees and -25 with wind chill. Even coming home to Kansas wasn't much better as it was single digits this evening. I leave you with a few pictures, most of which include my Eskimo hood!




P.S. I also bought a crazy pair of boots from NorthFace. Normally $200, these were a steal at just over $100. One of Beth's friends saw them on me Saturday night and quipped: "Those are some serious boots... snow is afraid of them." May it be so!

I'm ready for my close up now Mr. DeMille

Otherwise known as PHOTOGRAPHER DAY. I got up bright and early and once again met mom, this time for a little journey to the photographer's studio to contemplate wedding packages (for those interested Harry Bellows). After a bit of chit-chat we placed our deposit and went merrily on our way. I love knowing the photographer in advance - he has shot several events we have been a part of and did the awesome family photos for my Dad's 60th including our engagement photo.

After the meeting, my mom and I went shopping a bit for some linens for her new dining room table. I was shocked - we went to 2 department stores and the linens section in each was barren. All that was there were some overdone ugly tablecloths that would be hard to look at while eating. What happened to beautiful tablecloths and cloth napkins?

Since our shopping wasn't much of a success, we decide to break for lunch. Then Mom had some appointments to get to so I headed home. I managed to get most of my errands done and even get in a little nap and a chat with my honey before heading over to the LYS for Bad Girls Knitting night - think wine and knitting! I'm turning the heels on my socks right now, and I'm almost done with the first mitten.

The rest of the weekend is busy: meeting with the judge who is marrying us tomorrow, a bit more knitting, staying with my family (and my 8 yo cousin who is crashing at my parents this weekend), and then a bowling party Sunday night. It's really starting to sink in that I'm leaving here soon - Monday is the last packing day, Tuesday is a collection of last appointments and Wednesday the moving van comes (eek!). By this time next week I'll be somewhere between here and Kansas. Scary and exciting all at once!


ETA - My quote of the day:

"Unemployment would be fun if I didn't have so much shit to do."

Let them eat cake.

Otherwise known as CAKE FOR BREAKFAST day.

I met my mom at 10am this morning at a cake studio in Sherman Oaks (Layers for those who are interested) to do a little cake tasting and choosing. We got to sample 7 DELICIOUS cakes (well ok I only tried 6, because the 7th was banana and I don't eat banana flavored cakes/pies/cookies/candy/etc.) The shop smelled like a sugary heaven. We got to look at books and books of cake, discuss the merits of butter cream versus fondant, and ultimately, to design my wedding cake. I don't want to spill all the details but it's going to be simple and elegant with a splash of color and fun. One more thing off the to-do list!

P.S. That's not a picture of my cake... just one that I liked.

Happiness is...

Logging into "The Knot" and seeing that there are only 208 days until my wedding!

A lovely weekend.

This weekend was busy, but truly lovely. I came home on Friday night to relax, knit and watch Tin Man. I only got through the first two parts, but it was an interesting take on the tale. I'm still not sure how I feel about how it has spun Oz on it's head, and the second part seems to diverge greatly from any story I've ever known, but it was interesting. I'm probably going to watch the third part Monday night.

Saturday dawned with lots of things to do. First I met my mom at the bridal salon to try on my dress and then place the order! I'm super excited to have it ordered and it should come in 3-4 months! After that I ran a few errands and headed over to the LYS to sit and knit for a while. It had been a few weeks since I had been there, and I was definitely ready. I started a top-down cardigan with some wool my parents brought me from New Zealand. I'll finish that up over Christmas. Saturday night Wes and I had our movie date and watched the remake of The Stepford Wives. It was very different from the original, but I wouldn't say it was great. However, Wes and I were so glad that he had power back and that we could Skype that it was just fine!


Today I did some laundry and headed down to the parents for a belated Chanukah celebration. On the way, I stopped a spa to get a few women's beauty treatments. No sooner had I settled into a room than a knock came on the door. Without giving away too much information, I was in no condition for the door to be opened. Whoever was on the other side asked if I owned a silver RAV4. My heart sank...a lot. "Someone has just hit your car. I'm sorry!" came the reply. So we quickly finished up and I got dressed and headed out to check the damage. All I was thinking was "I hope it's drivable" and "thank goodness it wasn't my fault!" So I go outside and brace myself... and it wasn't my car! It was someone else's RAV4. I feel very bad for whoever else that was, but thank goodness it wasn't mine.

Tonight I had Chanukah dinner with my parents, aunt and uncle and cousin. Chanukah is technically over, but since we were in Kansas last weekend, we did a little dinner and gift exchange tonight. I think my family finally got the hint that I'm a little obsessed with yarn. My aunt gave me three beautiful skeins of Noro Yarn, and a gift card. My mom gave me the Stitch 'n Bitch pattern a day calendar. I'm super excited about the yarn and the calendar, and I've already got plans for the gift card too - I'm going to get a crock pot to make warm stews and soups for the cold days in Kansas. I can't wait!

Tonight I came home to finish watching some DVDs (Bones, Season 2) and to finish the first cabled glove. I'm so excited that the first one's done and that it looks so good. Just 4 more fingers to go on the other one and then they're ready! Just in time for the holidays. I'm also whipping up a few last minute gifts and reveling in some new fibers. This is the last week of work, and on Friday I head out to Kansas. I can't believe the holidays are here and it's almost the new year.

Hope you all had a great weekend! More news as it's fit to print.

P.S. Look what photo I finally got!