March Madness at Lion Brand Studio!

Last weekend I took a little trip to the big apple with my sweet friend, Karla. We had been planning this trip for months (before Thanksgiving!) and were really excited to celebrate her 30th birthday out of town. Of course, this trip was really awesome for us both because it was the first time all our best friends were together in the same place! As you can imagine, it took us a few hours to get beyond the fact that we were all together in the most glamorous city in the country. We spent the weekend shopping in Union Square, going to Momofuku Ssam Bar for an amazing family-style dinner (so good!), and dancing the weekend away. It was just the right amount of fun that I needed.

Now, you guys know me pretty well, so you know that if I'm going to be in NYC, I am definitely going to Lion Brand Studio. Cory and I were in no rush to leave on Sunday, so Lisa and I walked down to LBS (yes, she lives within walking distance... I know!) for a quick visit. NYC was pretty beautiful last weekend as the trees were covered in blooms. For the first time ever, I could honestly say that NYC smelled fresh. How many times do you hear that? lol

The studio was set up perfectly for spring and for March Madness! I get that giddy inspiration feeling every time I walk up to the door!

The most amazing part of the studio this time around, to be honest, was the front window. The Art of Yarn--so perfect and full of talent! I wish there weren't such a glare on the window, but I tried my best!

Look closely, even the frame on the Van Gogh piece is stitched! Incredible!

During the entire month of March Hometown USA yarn was on sale for 15% off. I have been stitching up some new hats for my shop, so I decided to try out the pattern in that yarn. Fortunately, I was also able to pick up a new Interweave Crochet magazine and a few yarny accessories I've been needing. Since it's always one of my last stops in NYC, the way home is always pretty productive for me in the car as I am full of inspiration! I'm happy to say Hometown USA worked quite nicely with the hat pattern I tried (more on that later)!  

I'm so glad Lisa took an hour or two to visit the shop and pick up some new supplies. I am really inspired and get back into crocheting on a regular basis again. Recently, I've been really obsessed with crocheting new hats. I don't know why? Maybe it's the unpredictability of the weather in Maryland recently? Hmm.

What has been inspiring you?

Roadtrip Must Haves

As you're reading this, I'm waking up in New York City! Hooray! 

I'm not only visiting my BFF Lisa, but I am also bringing together lots of different parts of my little world. Right now, I'm in the middle of a weekend trip to celebrate the 30th birthday of my former co-worker and beloved friend, Karla! I'm so excited to FINALLY be going on this trip as we have been planning it since BEFORE Thanksgiving! I cannot even believe it! 

Other former co-workers and beloved friends, Moira and Ryan, are also attending the trip and I am just over joyed to be hanging out with them again. I miss my old department more than I could even find the words to express. That department means the world to me and they are special, special people. Having an ENTIRE weekend to hang out and explore NYC is going to be... incredible.

Anywho! These are my road trip essentials. A comfortable outfit is imperative for any long car ride, but to me, the most comfortable is skinny jeans and a loose tee with shoes that can slip on and off easily. I just bought the blue shoes (19.99 from Target) and wore them to work on Thursday. They are so comfortable and I got a million compliments on them! I'm planning on pairing them with a pair of strawberry red skinny jeans and a grey top for the trip (the ones above are from Anthro). I'm a big fan of gummies (any kind), but Sweedish Fish are my favorite by far. Pair those with that and a good book (I'm currently reading Shop Girl) and I'm set!

I hope you have a really great weekend! I'll be back next week with a full review of our super-fun-omg-Karla's30-bff-weekend-getaway! What are you doing this weekend?

xo,

Ending 2011 (photo heavy)

Last year...er... 2010, Cory and I rang in the new year surrounded by family and friends at his sister's wedding. It was so much fun that we knew we wanted to do something equally as enjoyable this year, too. Since we take 3 days to celebrate Christmas (Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Day-After-Christmas), our Christmas break was limited to just a week. We headed down to Reston, Virginia to hang out with our friends Rich and Beth for our annual mix swap and Anthro shopping trip. Since it's been so unusually warm in the mid-Atlantic region, the boys were actually able to put their new golfing gear to use and hit the links! Crazy! Meanwhile, Beth and I hung out and ran errands. We had a lovely dinner with Beth's family and played games as well. 

After making it home around midnight on Wednesday night, we decided to take it easy on Thursday by eating a yummy pancake breakfast, taking care of a sick kitty, solidifying our New Years plans, listening to last bit of Christmas music, reading books, and cleaning the house. I put up the new curtains I picked up at World Market with Beth (I LOVE the pop of color they bring to our mix-match living room) and ran a few last minute errands around town with Cory. We treated ourselves to a slice of pizza from a local pizza shop that we adore and hit the sheets early for a full night's rest.

 (those are sneaks of a new crochet project I'm working on!)

Friday morning we woke early, cleaned out our closet and packed for a New Year's trip to New York City! So fun! No, we didn't hit up Time's Square; instead we headed out to Queens to bring in 2012 with a small group of friends. Before the ball dropped, though, Lisa and I decided to go thrifting in her new neighborhood, Gramercy. My oh my, there was a lot of wonderful thrifting. I scored an entire outfit for $30, which made me crazy happy. There was so much furniture I had my eye on, too. We also got a mani/pedi together... a typical Liz & Lisa thing to do whenever we're around one another :) 

We also went to a few neighborhood spots to check out their Christmas attire... like Rolf pub that was so incredibly over the top, I couldn't even focus! CRAZY!

We also went to Molly's, that had a less distracting, more-able-to-focus atmosphere. ha!

For dinner on New Year's Eve, we wanted it to just be the 4 of us in their apartment, so Lisa and I decided use the pasta maker Cory and I gifted her and Kevin (for housewarming in September) and make a home-cooked Italian meal full of pasta, meatballs, and garlic bread! We had so much fun figuring out how to use the pasta maker. I felt like it was the perfect gift for such a lovely Italian couple :)

We headed to Queens around 9 p.m. and had a great time playing the best card game ever, Cards Against Humanity. It is so much fun and totally inappropriate!  I only have a few cell phone shots from the night, but I know there are a ton of photos floating around.. so once my friends post them, I'll share them with you.

How did you put an end to 2011?

A little weekend action

Aside from participating in two craft shows this weekend, I found a little time to hangout with my BFF who was visiting from New York City. We had a good time checking out a new restaurant downtown, The Wine Kitchen and looking through old photo albums (yes, I still put together photo albums and I L.O.V.E. them). I had the best time hanging out with Lisa--it was so great getting girl time right before the holidays!

I also received my new earrings from the Bellwether Shop! I'm wearing them right now and specifically picked out an outfit to wear them with tomorrow ;). They're really light weight and the perfect amount of color for my autumn wardrobe :)

How was your weekend?

Weekend Musings

Life is so funny. I'm the kind of person who can get really wound up in whatever I'm working on and need a friendly reminder that sometimes, life just isn't that serious.

(fyi: the photos used in this post were taken with my droid phone)

This past weekend my best friend, Lisa, came to visit from New York City. It's always a treat to have her here; she hasn't been since our wedding last July. She even treated us to a cupcake themed housewarming gift including yummy Magnolia Bakery cupcakes fresh from NYC! Yes! We had a lovely weekend together despite the humidity and insane heat. We visited the pool, went antiquing and thrifting, and had a few drinks at my favorite local bar.

And of course, we ended our night Saturday with a dinner at Nido's (my fav Italian joint in town) and hulu action back home with a few bottles of wine. Pretty perfect, if you ask me.

Today, we woke slowly and left for brunch before taking Lisa back to Baltimore to catch her bus. As we were heading toward brunch, Cory and I were reviewing the itinerary for his upcoming work conference in Rehoboth, Delaware. Something puzzled me... we weren't supposed to check in until Monday? Hm. Okay, we could just find a place to crash tonight, not a big deal. We have loads of friends and family in the area. Because something just didn't feel right, I looked up the conference on my phone and realized that the conference doesn't actually begin until... Tuesday! Which is why our county wasn't providing room and board this evening. Silly, silly. So we're all packed up and have the housesitter all set...

with no where to go! lol

Unfortunately, Cory is really suffering with a head cold, so we decided to take Lisa to Baltimore and head back home. Our compromise was that we would go see the new Harry Potter and take it easy at home tonight. I'm happy to say my husband is currently asleep at 9:30pm.. which is exactly where he needs to be in order to get better before this conference!

So, we'll head out early tomorrow, probably spend some time roaming the Delaware beaches and taking it easy. I'll be at the beach all week while he's at the conference... or going around the Ocean City boardwalk taking photos ;).

Have you had a moment when life just made you giggle a little?

xo, Liz

Cement Jungle Makes You Feel Brand New

Cory and I had so much fun in NYC visiting Lisa this past weekend. It was exactly what we needed: a little fresh air, a little sunshine, a little shopping, and a lot of time together.

We caught the Bolt Bus in Baltimore and got into the city (later than expected) around 8. We hailed a cab and went straight to Lisa's apartment on the upper east side to drop off our luggage, freshen up, and head to Fetch for a delicious dinner. We had a few drinks and caught up with each other before heading back to Lisa's place to hang out and watch a little "Will and Grace" before heading to bed.

Saturday morning rolled around and of course, Cory and I woke up before Lisa and Kristen. We headed to a bakery on Lisa's block to pick up breakfast and had these delicious ham and cheese danishes. They were so light and flaky, I salavate just thinking about them!

We headed out to Union Square to do a little shopping and catch some rays. It was a beautiful day, so I had my Nikon in tow. We caught a little farmer's market action and this kind gentleman caught my eye. He allowed me to stand on the lift at the bottom of his truck. Without me knowing, he began to raise it up so I could see over the crowd. It was very sweet of him, considering it was NYC and I am a total stranger :).

Lisa and I got a few pictures together...although I cannot figure out why they are so grainy.. weird. Then Lisa spotted this awesome table that a NY farm was hosting where you just had to jot down your email to get a free caramel apple. Yum!

Lisa had to meet up with a group from one of her master's classes, so Cory and I got a few hours to ourselves to grab a little lunch and do a little Christmas shopping in the neighborhood.

We snuck in a little time to watch the "Rally to Restore Sanity" with Jon Stewart and Stephen Cobert that we were missing in D.C..

We also found time to squeeze in a quick trip to Lion Brand Yarn's boutique on 15th street... here's a little peak (more tomorrow)!

After we shopped till we dropped, we headed back uptown and changed for a delicious Mexican dinner at Taco Taco. Delicious. It was a lovely Saturday in the city. Exactly what I needed. I'll post more pics from Lion Brand tonight :)

xo,

Liz

Happy Wednesday!