C'est Bon

My beret staring at the Eiffel tower is an illusion created by Apple's Photobooth.

Since, I can't seem to find where I stored my winter accessories, it was time to make some new ones. I fell in love with the Purl Beret, it was simple and stylish. I dug into my stash (we are in a recession) and knit up the beret in Blue Sky Alpacas sportweight alpaca in navy blue on size 2 double pointed needles. It knit up in several hours. I'm really happy with how it turned out. I'm actually working on a French website at work, so people joke that I should start making other types of hats for the other language websites. I'm not sure what a German hat would look like. I just keep imagining an Oktoberfest photo I saw once, a big hat with a stick of huge pretzels on top, nothing wrong with that.

Hope In Dreary Days

I teared up last night listening to Obama's speech, as president elect. It might have been the story he told of the 106 year old woman, I have a soft spot for older people, but I'd like to think I was overwhelmed by the moment. I had lost faith in the American people since they re-elected (W) Bush for another term, and I was bracing myself for another similar result, just hoping against it. But, I was not prepared for the jubilation I felt at the election results and how it restored my faith in America, as a whole.

Like everyone else, I have been suffering anxiety attacks. They have calmed down recently, thanks to hubby. It's been dreary, with the doom and gloom of the markets, the impending falling axe (layoffs) we all know are coming. My current employer, let's call them Middle Bank, moved our group to the Flat Iron District. It is a restrictive office environment, with silly rules, like "must not eat at your desk" (trust me, someone will report you). This was okay when the weather was warmer a month ago and I could sit in the park and enjoy a Shack Burger! And yes, it is as glorious as you've heard. The second best find was the JAS Mart across the street, my drawer is filled with Japanese groceries (Pocky, UCC Coffee, Bikkle). I am hoping no one reports my stash...shhhh!

Shake Shack, Madison Park on a warmer day.

Shack Burger, that secret sauce is something special.

Tristan's Cardigan

My friend Jenna had her son Tristan yesterday. Happy to report they are both healthy. Welcome to the world little Tristan!

For Jenna's shower (which I didn't go to :( ), I made Tristan an eyelet cardigan. The pattern was from the Japanese Baby's Knit book, knit with my baby favorite, Sirdar's Snuggly yarn in an aqua hue. Other than the wavy bottom, I should have purled for the first row not knit, I'm happy with the way it turned out.

Bonjour Madeleine!

Madeline from the Children's book, image from http://www.madeline.com

My niece Madeleine was born on September 10th, 2008. I was very proud of my sister and overjoyed for her and brother-in-law. I still can't believe I am an aunt. Maddy is the cutest baby and the most interesting person I have ever met. I do hope that she lets her parents get some rest. Of course I'm thinking of knitting projects already, I just need to finish some UFOs first.

Labor Day Weekend?

View of the bridge from Bubby's Brooklyn.

Photo of the blanket from the book

We threw my sister and brother-in-law a shower on Aug 2nd at Bubby's Brooklyn. (Yes, I am just a tad late in blogging about this...). We had the whole mezzanine area, with a selection of brunch foods and drinks. We ordered these really cute rice krispies favors with their baby photos on them and lots of colorful sprinkles. We ate, we played games, people won silly prizes like kazoos and etcher sketchers. Everyone enjoyed the amazing views of the river and bridges. We hope everyone had fun.

I had started knitting the baby blanket from the Japanese Baby's Knit book the minute I learned my sister was pregnant. It was knit in Sirdar's Snuggly DK in "Lemon", on size 6 needles. I knit up almost 200 rows in this fun triangular weave pattern, with a garter border. Like most people who knit baby knits, I thought I would have plenty of time, but got sidelined by many many late nights at work. I had to finish it at 2AM the day of the shower. But at least it was finished!

Now, we are waiting to see if this Labor day will be my sister's labor day. I can't wait to meet my nephew or niece.

Spectacular!

Shot of the incredible Macy's firework display from our terrace.

A very spectacular long weekend filled with a July 4th barbecue and birthday surprises.

We knew we had to host a July 4th barbecue on our terrace the minute we saw the view. So we thought, we could quickly throw together a small party by ordering some furniture and food. All seemed to go as planned, until I came home to 22 boxes of furniture (most taller than me) that had to be brought upstairs. (Don't worry we have an elevator but still dragging it down hallways was no fun). And we didn't plan on the furniture having to be assembled, it didn't say so on the website. So we spent a whole week building and hauling the stuff outside, only for it to rain and then having to haul it back inside. Then I had the brilliant idea that we (really my hubby) should tear up an existing rusty bench outside. By the 4th, we both felt like we had hernias and poor hubby probably had tetanus. All the exhaustion melted away when we saw everyone enjoying the space, and the first spark of fireworks were spotted. It was like a private light show with really, really loud sound effects.


I was also surprised by a tiramisu cake on the 4th, a dinner with friends on the 5th, dimsum with in-laws and dinner with my immediate family on the 6th. It was an endless series of birthday celebrations. By the end of the weekend, I had devoured 4 cakes, and received many presents and sweet messages. :D I felt really really special, thank you!

2 Good 2 B Forgotten

Photo of Cafe Gray from nymag.com

Our 2nd anniversary was last, last, last week. I can't believe that we've been married for 2 years already, and in August we would have dated for 10 years. That reels my mind still when I think we have been together for a decade, 1/3rd of my life. Left to my own devices (as we saw when I was unemployed), I'm very introverted and hermit-like, hubby makes me "normal." He's the reason I get off my butt and leave the apt, even to travel outside of the country sometimes. :)  And I enjoy it, that's the real surprise. 

We went to Cafe Gray in the Time Warner Center to celebrate. I thought it was neat that they had an open kitchen and there was no pretentious vibe there. I indulged in foie gras and short ribs that melted off the bone. I was planning my next trip back, when hubby told me they were closing shortly afterwards. :( 

We Went Wild!

Blue skies and white beaches

Sunset as seen on the plane flying home

Hubby and I went to Cancun for my friend Jenna & Nick's wedding. The wedding was very intimate, and we felt very honored to be invited. It was an interesting contrast to the Paris wedding we went to just weeks before. Since the weather was cold and bleak in Paris, and this was the complete opposite. I was actually barefoot through most of the event, since my heels refused to stay on in the heat.

Originally, I was a little anxious about Cancun's reputation for partying college students. But, I was happily surprised by the private white sand beaches and the jacuzzi (and on our side hammock) in every room of the Moon Palace Resort. Since it was all-inclusive, we were able to go to any restaurant, bar, our own mini-bar, eat/drink, without paying. It was just a freeing feeling, we could eat/drink and just walk away. Wow. Thank goodness I had to squeeze myself into a bathing suit there, or else I may not have been able to exercise portion control.

Popover recipe from Ruhlman's blog

It was very very hard to return to the humid, fickle early summer NY weather. But I've managed to stay afloat by reading some of my favorite blogs in between working my crazy hours again. Found this great recipe for popovers from Michael Ruhlman's blog. And an update on my job, I am not moving to Newark, or at least my group is not. :)

Bonjour!

from Ladurée's website

Currently wandering through the cobbled stoned streets of Paris with hubby. Sadly, the weather here is foggy and rainy. I do have to note the weather makes Paris look more romantic, like a black and white film. It has hailed on our climb up the Eiffel tower on Monday and has hailed again today as we were trying to find the metro to Montmarte. I have found comfort at Ladurée, gobbling down their decadent macaroons and sipping chocolat chaud (hot chocolate) at Angelina. When it's chilly outside, it's also a good reason to go to the museums, we have hit the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, and L'Orangerie. I have never seen so many famous works in person. Hopefully the weather will hold up when we try to tour the gardens of Versailles again. On our first trip it was pouring.

Au revoir for now!

Newark

Just when I thought the job had some semblance of normalcy, other than the 9PM Singapore conference calls, we get news on Friday that we may be relocated to Newark, NJ. I really didn't know much about Newark, except that there is an airport there and it sounded far. Hubby after hearing this news, forbade me to go "It's too dangerous." So I googled the place and I was not too happy to find that it was well known for the riots and car jacking. Then my ex-coworker shared a harrowing story with me about her trip to Newark in broad daylight and that really scared me. I would feel better about this whole thing if my boss or any of my coworkers weren't apprehensive about this move too and worried about their safety. 

On the flip side, on researching this, I read an article about some locals that were crushed that my company wasn't moving to their town (they lost the bid). How this one simple move would have created lots of local jobs for them and ensured other companies nearby stayed. I felt really spoiled realizing I had many options (quit, find another job, etc), but they might not.

Changing Horizon

Lunar eclipse on the 21st

Hubby and I stood outside on our terrace and watched the moon turn from a bright white oval to crimson to a sliver of blue last Thursday. The lunar eclipse was breathtaking. I wish I could capture the images better or show how clear the sky was. We didn't stay the whole 50 minutes, it was just too cold.

I started on my father's cabled vest from Ondori's Men's Knit Design. It is being knit in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted yarn, which is perfect for him, because it is machine washable. I really like that it is hand dyed, so there are natural color gradations that show up as you knit. I am knitting this on size 7 needles (for the bottom ribbing) and size 8 for the rest. It is so important to knit a swatch and make sure you reach the correct gauge specified in the pattern. For instance if I had blindly followed the recommendation of needle conversion on the ABS site and not swatched, I would have used a size 4 needle and the vest would have been way too small. So I made sure that 22 stitches at 24 rows in pattern equaled 10 cm, in this case a size 8 needle for me.


I really like Japanese knitting books like the Ondori's Men's Knit Design and others I have bought, because the charts are graphical. In the back, they reference all the symbols they use the charts, so you know you are doing a ssk and not a k2tog. It makes knitting in another language, pretty breezy. After a while, you recognize the symbols, since they are standard, and you can easily anticipate what each project would entail.


I felt I had to show this pink moth orchid that my friend Wen gave me as a house warming present. So far 7 flowers have bloomed and it looks quite happy. It was a much needed addition, since none of my orchids from last year have bloomed. I think next year I will start tinkering with plant grow lights and adjusting the temperatures to 10 degrees below the daytime.

Way too busy this year to give them that extra attention. I am in the final week of the changeover from Hello Bank to our new entity. So, I can only hope that the new owners of our division will be kind to us.

Charley

Yes, your eyes do not fool you, the "Charley Sweater" from Rowan 37 is done! I didn't think I would finish either, I am the queen of procrastination. I especially love the way the cables are lined up on the arms. I used circular needles for the neck, I hate sewing up, so this was a no brainer. I noticed that the neck band pattern didn't match the photo, so mine is (WS):P3 *K2, P3, rep * to end. Since I was using circular needles, I pretty much repeated this row until it hit 6 cm. I also didn't start as P3, because I wanted the 3 purl stitches in the body (WS) to match up with the ones in the neck. A little anal, but it worked well. I really love it, it just doesn't look Gap cookie-cutter, and it has such interesting details. Hubby is wearing it to watch Furinkazan right now. This project didn't make me big fan of Rowan All Seasons Cotton Yarn though, and I usually love Rowan yarns. The yarn came apart too easily.

Ham and pickle sandwiches (for jean) and Sabodet with Mâcon wine, vegetables and dried mushrooms

I have been lusting after the Pork & Sons cookbook forever. I don't know if it was the pig doodles inside (I have a thing for pigs) or the large photos of rustic dishes, but I understood what Anthony Bourdain meant when he said he looked at people roasting pigs, like other people watch porn. A little TMI, I know.

Last weekend, we went shopping at Chelsea Market for the ingredients for the "Ham and pickle sandwiches (for jean)" and the "Sabodet with Mâcon wine, vegetables and dried mushrooms." We substituted the prosciutto for the ham and italian parsley for the chives in the sandwich. It was pretty yummy, the italian parsley gave it a clean lemon flavor.

I couldn't find the sabodet sausage for the recipe, so I used regular Italian pork & leek sausages. It was definitely turnip-y, but I'm not sure I tasted much else. Unless I find the real deal, I won't be making this recipe again any time soon.

Half-Pint

Me rocking my size 5 Tibetan moon boots, scored from Nordstrom.com

I'm a small person. I'm 5'1", so I always have trouble finding pants, dresses, let's face it anything that fits well, unless I find a petites section (yeah, good luck there). Sometimes even with a petite section, they assume I must be stick thin, cuz' I'm short...no those things don't necessarily go together. Many stores also don't carry shoes in my size, a 5. Shopping is always a headache and if I dare to complain, some woman will always put me in my place, "Yeah, poor you and your small feet, I wish I were a size 5." So, apparently I should rejoice that I have to spend hours scouring for 1 item that others can buy in a nearby store.

Today, I am searching for gym clothes, my 1 pair of petite gym pants shrunk in the dryer. No, I don't recycle pants (eeeew!), everything else is shorts, they fit. Don't even begin to tell me to go buy capris, I have capris, they don't fit right, because they aren't shaped for short people. And nothing good is ever on sale in my size, nope, I need to snap it up before some other small woman comes along, because they only made 2 of them. Wheew, thanks for listening to that rant.

Now, if you need to shop for petite workout gear (and be prepared being small is not cheap):

• Athleta.com
• Lucy.com
  

Size 5 Shoes, browse these sites:

• Nordstrom.com (they even have size 4 here)
• NineWest.com
• Bluefly.com
  

Sites I regularly score decent petite clothes from:

• jcrew.com
• BananaRepublic.com
• AnnTaylor.com
  

Who said being short, means you have to dress like a 12 year old, thank goodness for the Internet. :)

Happy New Year!

A belated Happy New Year! We celebrated by having hot pot with my sister and my brother-in-law at our apt, which is a tradition. If you have never had hot pot, you are missing out, it's a fun group meal/activity. It's very much like shabu-shabu. In fact we used a shabu-shabu electric pot my sister gifted us when she got an extra from her registry. We gave them our extra bread machine, from our wedding.

I got my haircut in midtown today, so we decided to walk to the new multi-level Kinokuniya bookstore across from Bryant park. I bought 2 books, Ondori's Men's Knit Design in Japanese and Cute Dolls by Aranzi and Aronzo, amazingly in English. I find there are few men's patterns in American knitting books that I feel compelled to make, and they are hard to find. I figure I'll make a sweater for my good ol' dad, because he worries about me and constantly buys too much groceries for me to fit in my fridge. I bought Cute Dolls, because I have an unhealthy obsession with all things cute. I can make believe that I will be making a stuffed animal for a friend's kid. Hey it can happen! 1 for them, 5 for me!

Ondori's Men's Knit Design

Cute Dolls by Aranzi Aronzo

My hands are always cold, I blame bad circulation. As a kid my fingers and toes would turn quickly to blue-purple, and this would be indoors with the heat on. So, I decided to knit up the "Hand/Wrist Warmers" from the Last-Minute Knitted Gifts book. I used Blue Sky Alpacas Sportweight yarn in blue-grey doubled throughout. These two balls were reserved for an elephant for a friend's child, but I errr... didn't get to it. They knit up real fast, I skipped the last 10+ rows, because my hands are very small. They are so soft and I like the zig-zag fake cable pattern, it looks really neat. My hands are very happy.