In between the working, sleeping and endless jaw gnashing I managed to take some pictures. Not very many but at least there were one or two that I thought decent enough to share. On the plant that gave me two beautiful pink flowers a week ago appeared this white and lavender bloom.



And just for fun, here's a "Behind the Scenes at Heather Ink" photograph for you.

I've been tagged by the lovely Jamie Christina over at Pretty Ditty. Jamie makes beautiful aprons and lots of other artsy wonders that are always so, well, pretty.

Here's how the tagged thing goes: each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What was I doing ten years ago?
I was just finishing up my freshman year of college and dating a much older man. I'm still dating him, just now there's a ring I'm supposed to wear.

What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today?
1. Have lunch with Lesley
2. Go to Jazzercise
3. Go to Knit Wits (my favorite stitch 'n bitch!)
4. Attack the dogs with our new Furminator
5. Clean that smelly kitchen and maybe change the sheets

What are five snacks I enjoy?
1. A cup of coffee
2. Dark chocolate
3. Dried cranberries and cashews
4. Tasty Kake Kandy Kakes
5. Crackers

What five things would I do if I were a billionaire?
1. Get coordinating classic and new Mini Coopers
2. Fix my husband's Jaguars (yes, plural)
3. Buy a place on the beach and one in London
4. Fly first class
5. Hook up our parents

What are five place you have lived?
1. Emmaus, PA - where I grew up
2. Bryn Mawr, PA - my first dorm room
3. Philadelphia, PA - my second dorm room
4. Wynnewood, PA - my first tiny (no exaggeration) apartment
5. Oceanside, CA - my first house

What are five jobs have I had?
1. Sneaker sales person
2. Paste-up artist at a local newspaper
3. An intern, shortly after the Monica Lewinsky thing so there were a lot of "jokes" about the interns
4. Graphic designer
5. Yarn store owner

Tag...you're it! Let's learn a little bit about these fabulous bloggers I admire...
@ny Price
Head Knit Wit
Emily
Lesley
NobleKnits

Have fun!

Last week was such a whirlwind. I had a rush job for a new client and tons of work for my seasoned clients. I worked all weekend and straight into the week. By the time Wednesday rolled around I felt like I needed to start the day with a mimosa instead of coffee. The highlight of the week came on Thursday when we went to a party at the Playboy Mansion, and I must say, if you ever have the opportunity to go. GO. We had a great time.



We arrived at the party a little early so we could see the property before it got dark. After coming in and having a cocktail we wandered around to the different areas. While Thomas was chatting to his colleagues about work I spotted a white peacock squawking at the guests and went over to take some pictures.



To my amazement there were about a dozen peacocks, white and blue hoping around the grounds between tree branches and buildings. Thomas came over to join me and we ventured down a little jungle path only to find more beautiful birds and tiny monkeys. There was monkey food, grapes and bananas, in buckets by the side of the path. The monkeys scurried over and ever-so-gently reached through the fence to take the grape from your fingers.



It was like we were in a hidden jungle forest in the middle of Beverly Hills.



We then went on a tour of the grounds, led by Lauren, where we saw the tennis courts, game house, guest house and the largest redwood grove in Southern California. Toward the end of the tour we ducked out and went and played with this beautiful lady, Nana.





She was so gentle and really had no interest in parting ways with Thomas. She groomed my hair and nibbled on his collar. She was a delight.

Enough for now... more tomorrow!

Our get-up for the Great Soul Train Party of 2008. Click here to see some more snaps.

Tonight we are hitting the streets for a Soul Train themed party. Above is a sampling of Thomas' ensemble, below is mine. You may want to dim your monitor before scrolling down to look at my outfit. Imagine the hottest pink, multiply it by 10, then add flowers in hunter orange. It is so bright that if you stare at it for 30 seconds and then look at a blank wall you will see the image of Jesus or your eyes may just fall out of your head. I. AM. SO. EXCITED.

I think I nearly peed my pants when I saw this remote control on a recent shopping excursion. It was a foot tall.

There's only two seasons here in Southern California, warm and warmer. Warm starts in mid-October and lasts through mid-March. Warmer lasts the other seven to eight months of the year. I didn't realize it was warmer season already, but what do you know, I have my first sunburn! It was 78 and perfect in Santa Monica yesterday.

On our way out the door for some breakfast at the Beach Break Cafe, Thomas was ready to go and I was not moving as quickly as he would have liked. He muttered something along the lines of, "Get your 12 colored outfit in the car!"

Sitting down behind the wheel, I glanced down at my ensemble. "It's only 11 colors," I mumble.

"What's that? No, I don't think so. Look here, I can't count five shades of pink just on your raincoat. Then there's one, two on your scarf, that's seven. Your shirt, cardigan, and jeans, there's three more. Oh, and your shoes? Eleven and TWELVE!"

I'm finally back from a long holiday trip to the east coast. It's taken me a few days to get back in the swing of things. I could have been blogging since Tuesday, but I just didn't know where to start!

Should I talk about my parents adorable, yet nosy Scottie dog, Robbie?



There's the truly adorable, as her shirt says, Kathryn.



Or, maybe I should talk about the many cups of espresso I had to consume to get us back from New Jersey to Pennsylvania after a fun night with friends?



...because I looked like this:



I could talk about the local, hole-in-the-wall, pizza place where we ate ourselves full for about six bucks.







Or, I could tell the world how much my mom liked her custom Made By Tess Reuse bag.



Or, there's always my new niece, Annabella, a beautiful little reindeer.



Or, the tired, strep throat ailing, Hadley I found organizing photos in an album to hide from the Christmas craziness,



who then suddenly became revitalized when somebody mentioned presents...



Or, I guess I could just post a lot of pictures and post about normal stuff another day!

Colored lights or white lights? White lights for me. I like the ornaments to be the color and pop, not the lights.

Real tree or fake tree? Real. My dad has sold Christmas trees with his local Optimist club for as long as I can remember. He can pick the most beautiful tree just by hugging it.

What is your least favorite thing about the holidays? Not having the right gift for someone.

What is the one thing that you would like to see under the tree this year? A MacBook. (I know it's not going to happen, but a girl can dream, can't she?)

What is your favorite thing to do/build in the snow? Jump in the car late at night and drive around on the untouched snow.

What is your favorite holiday drink? A warm glass of mulled cider that my sister ladels up from a giant pot on the stove.

What is your favorite holiday smell? Christmas tree.

Who is your favorite reindeer? Rudolph.

What is your Christmas Eve ritual? Open presents that arrive from far away places, we usually save the presents for each other for Christmas day.

Are you a Friday after Thanksgiving shopper? I always somehow make it out on Black Friday, whether it be my brother-in-law dragging me to the mall at 6am without coffee or breakfast or my husband insisting we go to Fry's Electronics JUST TO SEE THE CROWD, I still have fun.

What is your favorite holiday food? Irish coffee my dad makes on Christmas eve.

How did you find out that Santa wasn't real? A friend from school told me when I was 10.

Who do you want to be under the mistletoe with? My new husband!

Have you bought all your presents yet? Most, not all. There are a couple odds and ends to gather, but there's still plenty of time.

Do you spend Christmas with a lot of family? I have 3 siblings and so does Thomas so there's always a whole lot going on.

Do you still make snowmen and snow angels? I haven't been in cold weather in four years and I don't think I've seen snow in five...

Do you still have snow ball fights? Somebody always needs to get pelted in the back of the head, don't they?

What's your favorite Christmas movie? Rudolph.

What do you plan to do for New Year's Eve? Come home and hang out with my puppies that I won't have seen for two weeks!

What's the most expensive thing you've ever gotten for Christmas? Skis and a Kitchen Aid mixer.

How early do you wake up on Christmas morning? No later than 6.30 because I have to sit and look at the presents in cold quiet, alone.

What do you usually get in your stocking? That's usually where Thomas puts all my gifts if they'll fit.

What is your favorite religious Christmas carol? O, Little Town of Bethlehem.

What is your favorite non-religious Christmas song? I like them all.

How long do you leave up your Christmas decorations? Until the tree dies and the dogs are getting pine needles uncomfortably wedged in their fur.

Consider yourself tagged!

I finally decide to introduce myself to the neighbor who looks cool but I hadn't ever talked to because, I don't know, we've only lived near each other for three years. I went old school, taking her a homemade peach cobbler. I figured she'd have to like me if I take her food, and what girl doesn't want dessert at 11am from an unshowered neighbor she's never met?

So Jane and I got to chatting, she sews, loves serving dishes and is generally disinterested in all things uncool. I watched their dog. We had them over for dinner. They got us really drunk one night. Perfect! Then Jane ordered a pumpkin latte from Starbucks and everything changed. "Oh, you should come see my husband's band play next week," she said.

"Cool."

"His band, the Pigdogs, will be playing and then after them is another cool band with this guy Nato Wolfgang."

"Huh? Nato Wolfgang. That sounds really familiar. Why do I know that name?"

"He's like two cars in front of me in the Starbucks drive-thru. He lives in our neighborhood."

"Oh yea, I do know him. Well, I know his mom from my yarn store days, and his sister does my hair!"

"Wait, you know Julia?"

"Wait, you know her?"

That conversation was just too weird for me to handle. Since moving to California I have been relatively anonymous. It wasn't like in Pennsylvania where people would accost me and say, "You look like your father." Or "How's your mother doing?" Or, "Jennifer, Jennifer!"

My siblings are quite a bit older than me and my parents had a different circle of friends by the time I came along. The old friends would see me about town and shout various things at me. I would come home and describe the situation, where I was, what they were driving, etc. and my parents would say, "Oh, that was Nancy's best friend in fourth grade, how's she doing?" Uh, yea. She's great. WTF?

But if you ever want to remain anonymous, don't open a yarn shop where you meet thousands of women. Last night I went to happy hour with my neighbor and some of her other friends. Jane was recounting the story about how we know the same people and then one of the other women pipes up and says, "Yarn shop? You must know Moira!"

Anonymity over.

If you live anywhere near Temecula, California you should go see the light display at our friends' home. They begin planning in June and the show is fantastic. Perfectly timed to your favorite Christmas carols, the lights flash on and off, run up the side of the hill and just generally light the entire neighborhood. This year they have over 43,000 lights.

43,000!

You drive up, tune your radio to FM 105.5 and enjoy the amazing spectacle. It's truly a sight to be seen this Christmas season!

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Visit www.socalchristmas.com for directions and more information.

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This ring is freaking awesome!

If a certain husband were to get a certain wife a present for a certain upcoming holiday, this would be a good choice.

Designed by Terrence Kelleman, it has "three nickel-plated magnetic arches and four opalescent magnetic jewel spacers in pink, blue, magenta and lime."

I found it at the MoMA store, a place that has a certain significance between a certain husband and a certain wife.

And it's most certainly only 30 bucks.

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Jeweled Magnetic Ring, here.

Meet Sue! She's my favorite friend and she's started a blog!

Sue is mom to Ruby, an adorable sassy one year old. Her blog includes stuff about mommyhood, great books to read to your tot, modern conveniences for busy moms and good beer recommendations.



Here we are prepping for my wedding, we look so fancy and put together, HA! Five minutes before this photo was taken, my mom came in the room to find us sitting on the floor, in our dresses shoveling sushi into our mouths. Then my poor mom tried to iron out the wrinkles from my dress, yes while I was inside of the dress, and burned my bum with steam. All I remember is Sue laughing hysterically at the entire situation.

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Sue's blog: @ny price, go here to check it out, and don't forget to comment!

Of the things I miss most from Pennsylvania, pierogies are number two. (Tastykake Kandy Kakes are number one.) Have you ever heard of the wonderful fried treats called pierogies? That's what I thought. Pierogies are a delightful Hungarian potato dough dumpling filled with fluffy mashed potatoes, boiled then deep fried. I then enjoy them salted and carefully drizzled with ketchup.

We have tried to find them in California, but nobody knows what we're talking about when we ask. We then commence the story about how our favorite hot dog restaurant, Yocco's, offers these little fried bites of heaven, and oh how we're craving them. We just can't go on living without them. Yocco's sells the Doggie Pac which includes a dozen dogs, buns and all the fixings. My dad has been keeping us filled with Yocco's dogs for the last few years by air mailing a Doggie Pac on Thomas's birthday or whenever he thinks Thomas has a hankering. Yocco's does not, unfortunately for us, package their pierogies!

A few days ago, I received a cryptic email from my dad. "Expect a package on Thursday." We speculated what it could be, one can never be too sure when dealing with my family. We waited and pondered some more.

Thursday came and here's what arrived:



Pierogies! Six DOZEN pierogies to be exact. He split the order into different varieties sending us potato and cheese, plain cheese, and potato and onion. I dropped a dozen in the fryer and they turned out perfectly!

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Millie's Pierogi, get some for yourself, here.

I'm not much of a garage sale fanatic, but Jane called me this morning to let me know our neighbors had some cool vintage stuff splayed on their lawns. With Thomas still asleep, I threw on some jeans, grabbed my coffee and headed over.

Check out this vase I picked up! It's groovy, in every sense of the word, isn't it?



I love the irregular drippy top. The bright orange of the body fades out to lighter orange on top and bottom, and look at those cute little nubby feet! Thomas is going to love this find!

We celebrated Halloween a little bit earlier in the week. Saturday night we went to a party at our friends Carolyn and George's home. The invite instructed we come as dead rock stars. After weeks of pondering the possibilities and four trips to the thrift store, we ended up as Mama Cass and a white Jimi Hendrix.

When I found that dress, I had to have it. I didn't have an immediate idea for who I could become while wearing it. I snapped some shots on the iPhone and uploaded them to Flickr. My sister Jen helped me formulate the rest of the ensemble. She took one look at the dress and knew what to do with it! Right away she spouted, "Mama Cass! Tie something around your head, get some daisies, a ham sandwich and go barefoot!"

Plus Jen found this photo of Mama Cass knitting! Hooray!



The dress fit pretty well and I didn't think I would be able to put a pillow under the dress to make me look fat. Thomas was dead set on fattening me up for the costume. He made me shove every throw pillow in the house under my dress and finally he was satisfied with a green square one. Thrilled with his decision, he scampered off to the garage to get the duct tape. A word to the wise, don't ever let your husband convince you that duct taping something directly to your skin is a good idea. Ever. Learn it now. This is what happens at the end of the evening, and it stays that way with a mild burning sensation for the next four days.



Thomas on the other hand was a bit more challenging. Do we send him as Kurt Cobain, a young Jerri Garcia? Nothing seemed to work right. Then I found a photo of Jimi Hendrix in a black shirt and a white jacket with tight jeans. He owns a white jacket. That was a good start. I found a classy polyester double-knit navy blue button-down shirt with white triangles. To add to my excitement, the shirt was not only his neck size but cut long in the torso. Perfect!

We found a scarf for his head, and frizzed up his hair.

The only hurdle left was pants. I didn't find anything appropriate at the thrift store. Thomas doesn't own jeans, he considers them too average, too expected, too common. I was racking my brain to figure something out. His business khakis certainly wouldn't work. Scanning the dirty laundry piles in the bedroom, I spotted the perfect item. I convinced him to wear my skinny jeans.

Thomas. Skinny. Jeans.

He complained that they were crushingly painful. He couldn't reach his feet to put on his socks or tie his shoes. But damn, they looked good!

Always on the lookout for something interesting, Thomas came across a Flexible Joints Camera Tripod and ordered it for me. He wanted an extra cable for his iPhone and somehow I ended up with this oddly exciting new piece of gadgetry.



It's a pretty nifty little tripod that you can bend in any direction. He thought it would be good for uneven surfaces in the garden or at dog beach.

Thomas orders cables and odds and ends from a website called DealExtreme.com. I always remember the name because their shipping packages are extreme. It ships from Hong Kong and always has something silly on the customs label, like LED FLASHLIGHTS. For a while there he was ordering quite a few items from DealExtreme, and I'd happily go out to get the mail only to be greeted by the mailman saying, "Gee, Tom sure likes flashlights. Does he know he could get this stuff at the grocery store and save us all a lot of trouble?"

I would take the package inside, "Here hon, more flashlights for you." But I never visited the website. It's no wonder I end up with new stuff when he needs something as mundane as a cable. That website is insane!

You can purchase everything from useful items, like cables and tripods, to more unique items like this adorable LED Piggy Flashlight:



Next time he orders he better get me one of these, an Invisible Ink Pen.



Or you could even pick up one of these very curious, um, Water Pipes.

Little and fun and exciting, I just got my MiniCards in the mail from MOO.com. They're about the same length as regular business cards but only half the width. You can use provided images or your own photography on the cards. 100 cards come in a pack and each card can have a different image on the back.

I used ten of my own photos and then on the reverse I listed my company, blog site and email address. Simple, fun and so exciting!

It's here! Finally my calendar is correct!



Today is new mum Emily's birthday! (Is she going by mum or mom?) Enjoy your day!