Stitch and Pitch

Last night I went with my knitting friends, Kate and Angie, to a Brewers game. It was a special Stitch and Pitch night, and there was an entire section devoted to knitters. Angie, Kate, and I took the charter bus from The Sow's Ear in Verona with a bunch of other Madison-area needle clackers. We tailgated before the game, and then we settled into our seats for a night of baseball and knitting. Here's the baby hat I made at the game:

Party like it's 1999

This weekend, my friends and I had our own 10-year college reunion. It was so fun. We visited all of our old haunts and spent lots of time laughing and catching up. Here's a picture of Lindsay, picking out songs on the jukebox. Funny how as time passes, jukeboxes get worse.

A for Effort

This blog post was supposed to be titled "Favorite Summer Supper." It was supposed to have a picture of my new invention (though I'm sure it's been invented by others before) and a recipe. I decided to photograph my culinary delight after reading this post by Pioneer Woman. But after several tries, I learned that I am definitely not a photographer. Here are three yucky-looking pictures of a food that is actually delicious:




I'll tell you how to make it, just in case you still have any appetite left after looking at those pictures. It's really easy. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (you could also spray the pan, but if you're lazy like me, then parchment paper is your best friend). Place a slice of bread on the paper. On the bread, layer basil leaves, tomato slices, and cheese. Bake at 350 until the cheese is melted. Mmmm. Just don't try to take a picture of it.

Our New House!

Yay! It's for sure-- Karl and I are buying a house! It is in a cute neighborhood, right where we were hoping to live. Here is a picture of the fireplace, complete with mantel.

And here is a partial picture of the kitchen. It has a lot of cupboards and windows that look out to the front yard.

Other great features are the washing machine, the hardwood floors, and the back yard with a brick patio. Karl is planning to build a deck sometime. But for now, let's just get moved in...

Pack to the Max

I've been crazily packing lately. We close on our house on August 7, and I know it's going to creep up before we know it! Yesterday I packed the living room. In the CD shelves, I found two discs that made me smile...

The first was this recording of cat and dog sounds that Lia gave me a couple of years ago. Believe it or not, I've actually used it. Woof woof! Meow meow!

And this little gem, labeled Professional Development, is actually a recording of a Hip Hop routine that Jessica and I learned at a class we took. I called it Professional Development because I made the DVD at work, and I didn't want people to think I was doing personal technology projects on work time/equipment. Which is precisely what I was doing. But don't tell anyone.

I got so tired and hungry in the packing process, I needed a snack... bring out the cappucino creme brulee! I had already packed our blow torch, so my patient husband stood for hours with the lighter, carmelizing the sugar.

Bargain Blitz

This weekend was the annual Maxwell Street Days on State Street, as well as the semi-annual sidewalk sale at Hilldale. I know you're all wondering what great buys I scored. Well, let me tell you...

Karl and I hit Maxwell Street Days first thing Friday morning. We didn't buy much, but we had a good time browsing. I did pick up these cute dish towels and napkins at Tellus Mater. Karl thought we had plenty of kitchen towels. He didn't know about the ones I recently ruined in my jam-making experiments.

Lia and I went to Hilldale on Sunday afternoon, where the tail end of the sidewalk sales meant great markdowns. I went crazy on the baby clothes. Playthings had almost everything in their sale 90 percent off. Ninety percent! That means that if something is usually $25.00, it was $2.50! One of the sweaters I bought was originally $74.00. I'm not sure who would ever pay that much for a baby item; I could barely justify $7.40. My Baby Presents Tote is now fully stocked... and maybe, if things go well, we'll be able to use some of these things for our own little one in not too long!

Fanciest Dinner Ever

Our Newbery Committee had dinner with Neil Gaiman last weekend! Mainly it was just me and Neil hanging out, having quality time together, as witnessed by the photo below:

We went to a super fancy restaurant. The menus had been specially illustrated just for our celebration of The Graveyard Book.

Check out the view...

Breaking all the rules