Paris, we miss you already...

View from our room

We're back in Columbus! Actually, we've been back for almost a week now. I've missed blogging - I think this is the longest I've gone without posting something. We've been having fun catching up with old friends, meeting new friends, and getting back into our routine. Jewelry class was on Wednesday, where I gave my copper bracelet some final buffing (I love shiny things) and started my second project. Devon and her husband were in town (soon to be neighbours!) and we all had dinner together at Spagio Cellars , and then on Friday I stopped by the Pearl Alley farmer's market for the first time this week, which was great and oh-so-close - literally just down the street. Then Saturday, we lounged poolside at Jay and Sonja's. Such a hard life, I know.

I have other exciting news too! If you remember, just before I left, I was hired as a freelance cake decorator. I have yet to do any work for the owner, but much has happened during my absence. She is planning to move into a new location, building it up from scratch, and wants my help on a more regular basis - hopefully full time in the fall. The only downside is that I'll be moving in a short 5 months, and there will probably be many delays, so who knows what will actually happen. Anyhow, it's a great opportunity and I'm pretty thrilled about seeing how a bakery gets set up. Even if the store takes a while to set up, she's got some wedding cake work for me in July - there are 3 weddings that I'll be helping out with, and I'll also likely be going back to the other bakery at some point. Hmm, at this rate, I may never go back to land of psychology.

Meet Mr. Domo, a monster, and also a USB flashdrive

Ok, enough with updates. The other reason for my blogging delay is that every time I think about posting, I become completely indecisive about what I should include (a.k.a., Too Many Vacation Photos). So, after much procrastination, I think I'll just show you some photos we took during the first leg of our trip, which was spent in Paris, and save Italy and Croatia for another day.

Canneles at the Marche Bastille on a Sunday

It was our second time in Paris, and I like to think that we are developing a bit of a routine, which we'll build on in future trips, revisiting our favourites and continuing to discover new things. You may notice that most of the pictures are of pastries, picnicking, drinking coffee and sitting around in gardens...we must look incredibly lazy. But really, it's not laziness, it's just a more balanced and relaxed way of life. No one in Paris brings their laptop to the cafe. People aren't checking their blackberries or texting each other every second. There are so many people out in the gardens at lunch that I'm certain they don't eat lousy microwaved lunches at their desk. When was the last time you ate your lunch at the park? If you are going to spend time in Paris, then I say do as the locals would.

Exotic looking cheese

On our first trip, people thought we were crazy not to go up the Eiffel Tower, go inside the Louvre, or visit Versailles, but the thought of battling the herds of tourists really didn't appeal to me. So, this time, we only did a little bit of touristy stuff, and spent the rest of the time relaxing, enjoying the delicious food and beautiful public spaces, and walking about the city.

Rainy day at the Louvre

Why I dislike visiting tourist attractions: Hoards of tourists crowded in front of the Mona Lisa

Jardin du Luxembourg

Public bicycles you can rent by the hour & drop off at any of a multitude of locations

Lunchtime formules come with a sandwich, drink, and dessert: Apricot tart

Eating, eating, everywhere eating: Falafel sandwiches on Rue des Rosiers in the Marais

The obligatory Eiffel Tower photo

Finished: Lilac Cherry Cardigan

As promised, here she is, the finished Cherry cardigan!

Pattern: Cherry Cardigan from My Fashionable Life
Yarn: Jaegar Aqua 100% cotton, 7 and a bit skeins
Needles: US6 and US3

The is going to be a very wearable knit - it's springy, feminine, good with jeans or skirts, buttoned up or open. The eyelet detail along the waistband is a nice touch, so you can weave in any tie or ribbon you like. As you can tell, I'm quite happy with it - I've been parading it around Columbus the past week, and I think it will be coming on holiday with me as well. The pattern is from My Fashionable Life and is easy to follow - I'll hopefully be making a couple more using the basic instructions, but maybe with another motif. Amazingly, I was even able to make a few adjustments without any major catastrophe. My mods: I swatched and got a tighter gauge than required, so instead of going up a couple of needle sizes (memories of the disaster with the Drops jacket), I just knit a bigger size that fortunately gave me the right measurements. Second, I knit the body to 14" long instead of 15", because I am short-waisted and noticed that the waist detail on other Cherries sat fairly low. The whole cardigan is knit in Jaegar Aqua, and took about 8 skeins total on US6 and US3 needles. The buttons and ribbon (the only roll of matching ribbon in the entire store) are from Joann, and although I originally wanted a grosgrain ribbon, the sheer one with blue trim has been holding up just fine. Seaming, as usual, was a pain, particularly setting the sleeves. Somehow, my sleeves were a bit on the tight side, so if I were to knit this again I would probably make them a tad bigger (I guess I have big arms). Next time I'll probably knit the back and sides as one pieces to reduce seaming.

I had artistic intentions of photographing Cherry at the park, but impatience and time constraints meant cleaning off (i.e. shoving to the side) the windowsill and snapping a few pictures with my webcam so that I could blog about it before my trip. They're a little washed out, but what can one do without a full time fashion photographer and one's beck and call? I'll be sure to get D to take a few pics in a nice garden in France.

From the back: Birdie pattern

We arrived in Toronto yesterday (leaving poor Gatsby behind) and will be spending a few days here before our flight to Europe. Before we left, I borrowed a whole bunch of audio books from the library (which, as usual, shocked me with their vast selection) including Julia Child's My Life in France, Inflight Croatian, Italian 101, basic French, and Paris Walks. So far we are really enjoying the Childs memoir, which should keep us entertained on the flight - she lived such an interesting life, and the descriptions of her Paris experiences are wonderful.

I have one more blog post I can put up before we leave, so check back here to see the efforts of my first jewelry class!

We're back from Toronto!

It's been a little while, hasn't it? Hope you all had a good week! D and I sure did - a week in Toronto flew by unbelievably fast. We drove home last week (with cat in tow) which wasn't too bad at all, about 6.5 hours. We stayed with my mom, where we, including Gatsby, were spoiled and pampered to death with delicious food every waking hour (thanks mom!).

On the Friday, we attended D's big graduation ceremony where he wore a rather stunning red gown and marched across the stage to be awarded his degree. And along with the hundreds of other family members and friends, I probably embarassed him by taking a gazillion photos of this entire process - but how often do you get to finish your PhD?

Just call me Doctor...

Afterward, we had a proper celebration with champagne, courtesy of Mr. C...

Delicious, delicious, delicious...

...followed by dinner out at Southern Accent, a cozy, yummy Cajun/Creole restaurant in Markham Village, where we gorged on blackened chicken livers, cornbread, piquant shrimp, crab cakes, jambalaya, pecan pie and creme brulee. If you are ever looking for a restaurant in Toronto, I highly highly recommend this place. I have sampled most of the menu and have so far never been disappointed by any dish. The only thing that can go horribly wrong is that one's judgment of realistic portion size goes completely out the window and you are experience 'eyes bigger than stomach' syndrome. Which is OK once in a while though, so no big deal.

We ate sooo much this past week - garlic-fried lobster, Japanese buffet, real Szechuan cuisine, steamed crab with ginger, dim sum, brunch... and being American Thanksgiving the day after we got back, we gorged on turkey, dressing, potatoes and pie. Burp. D and I could probably go without eating for 2 or 3 days and not lose an ounce.

All this eating has distracted me somewhat from crafting, but there are lots of things happening on the craft front. I'm a bit disorganized right now so I haven't got pics ready or done some final touches on things. I did go out and get some buttons for various projects, and I finished the baby cardigan as well. And I also acquired more quilting fabric for some Pointy Kitty toys I am planning to make. Today, I am going to plan out what I should work on over the next few weeks.

Before we left for Toronto, I made some muslin gift bags to put the bear toys in, and put some little iron-on tags on them.

More updates to come, soon!

i Heart Toronto

Yikes, the last six days just disappeared! It's been a busy week with visitors, packing and going home to Toronto - I had new project updates to share, and photos too, but unfortunately they are sitting on the computer at home instead of here on the traveling laptop. Over the last week, I had managed to finish the Khaki Jacket (which is now blocking and needs a few buttons), made some little pouches for gifts, bought some new quilting fabric and yarn, and started a baby cardigan for a friend who is due in December.

We are now in Toronto and I am relaxing and enjoying being at home. It's funny - we have only been away for three months, but it feels much longer than that. When we crossed Peace Bridge we both breathed out a sigh of relief, happy to be back in familiar territory. Strangely though, Canadian currency looks surprisingly foreign and monopoly-like. It's crazy what three months will do!

Gatsby is thoroughly enjoying his new surroundings. I would have thought he'd be a little scared, but he is roaming about as if he owns the place, and showing off his cuteness all day long (perhaps in hopes of being fed a few extra times).


On the drive up I started knitting a Debbie Bliss baby cardigan from her Beginner Baby Knits book. I'm using a pale grey cotton and the back and one front panel are done. I figured that babies probably receive a lot of pink, blue and yellow, so a neutral-coloured sweater might be appreciated as a wardrobe option. It's knitting up quickly, so should be finished soon.

This week I am planning to take in as much Toronto as possible: seeing friends and family, visiting our old haunts, eating a lot of Ace Bakery baguette, sushi and Chinese, getting my hair cut, perusing fabric shops and other window shopping. Have a great week and see you back in Columbus!