Off the Needles!

The Chevron Scarf has been liberated! Yay! Bid on it at Boob-Ha-Ha.



Okay, I still have to weave in the loose ends and block it, but the knitting is done. This my second time to make this scarf...I really need to make one for myself now.

Thanks!
For all of the birthday wishes!

It was a great day full of fun things. My parents and Porkchop gave me a lot of birthday presents...so many, I felt spoiled and guilty. Here's a quick rundown: kitchen tools (including nice metal measuring spoons and cups from Crate and Barrel, an old-timey jar opener, and a ginger grater), pretty ice cream bowls, the newest Get Fuzzy book, two yoga DVDs, the Gossip's newest CD, Fitted Knits, Whole Grains Every Day Every Way, Whole Grain Baking, a Cardinals hat (so that I'll stop borrowing Porkchop's for breakfast bagel runs), a great little necklace from KT and BD.

Here's Porkchop fixing my hat for me:



Porkchop also took me to Knitorious after lunch, and I came away with this:



One perfect little cake of Dream in Color Beach Fog. So pretty it makes me cry.

Next to the Beach Fog is two balls of Debbie Bliss Rialto. This soft merino will be made into a hat for an unsuspecting reader!

After yarn browsing, we went to the Galleria and picked up some Lush things. I think the last time I spent a solid chunk of change on bath things was the last time I went to Lush, which was in 1998. We're currently enjoying the Figs and Leaves soap.

Later in the afternoon, KT arrived! Yay! Much rejoicing!

We went to dinner at Niche. Here's me and KT (KT has mad photo skills and knows all the secrets of taking pretty pictures):



Although our server was a bit of an ass, the food was delightful. My dinner included the following courses:

• Blue Crab Salad. A mound of crab served over avocado, topped with grapefruit and a sesame cracker. SO GOOD! So glad I decided to get the same small plate as Porkchop. KT had the gingered beet salad with goat cheese.


• Wild Mushroom Gnocchi. The gnocchi was tasty, however, I wished for something a bit more...the dish just didn't feel complete for some reason. Porkchop had the bistro steak and KT had a risotto with some sort of carrot puree and some other toppings (can't remember).


• Fresh Mint Panna Cotta with chilled Rhubarb-Lime Soup. SO GOOD and so refreshing. Yum yum yum. KT had the apricot buckle with cream cheese ice cream and Porkchop had the toasted almond semifreddo with toffee-nut popcorn and glazed bing cherries. We were all please with our dessert selections.

We started the whole thing with a cheese plate. I can't remember the name of the cheese, but it was a triple cream. Also, I had a glass of riesling and KT had a cosmo that was light pink and full of vodka.

After dinner, we went to Absolutli Goosed. I had the "Flicking the Bean," which is my favorite (of the 4 or 5 that I've tried). KT had a French cosmo and it was only so-so. Porkchop had a Boulevard Wheat, which offered no surprises.

A great birthday!

What Else...
We were supposed to have breakfast at the Shangri-La Diner, but they weren't open! So, we went over to Lafayette Square and enjoyed omelettes and French toast at the Soda Fountain Square (only after trying Square One Brewery and Sqwires first...this town isn't cut out for Saturday brunch, I guess).

After KT and I did some shopping things and hung out at Mokabe's, KT had to leave. Murrr! I hadn't had enough sitting around apparently, so I went to Murdoch Perk (at Murdoch and Macklind). It's a nice neighborhood space and the decaf turtle latté was just fine, but I really didn't enjoy my Nutella creme crepe. I realized the description read "Nutella and mascarpone," but I didn't know the Nutella flavor would totally be ruined by the mascarpone. I really just wanted a fresh crepe with some Nutella slathered on it and slightly melty; instead I had what tasted like a pre-made dessert (as in made there and then refrigerated, perhaps) with tons of filling that tasted nothing like Nutella. Other than that, I enjoyed sitting and knitting.

On Sunday, I sat more at home and knitted, finishing the scarf in the evening. Yay!

It was really rough going back to work today. I had quite a bit of mail (conference travel reimbursements) and some annoying emails and voicemails. Blech. This travel reimbursement stuff is going to be a pain in the ass. So much.

Tonight we had grilled cheeses for the second night in the row. With the kitchen being hot hot hot, I don't want to turn on the oven. Our little George Foreman grill makes awesome grilled cheeses...so why make the kitchen even hotter. It sucks to plan cooking around the weather. We might be able to have baked tofu Wednesday night - I think it's just supposed to be in the low 80s then.

Anyway, have a great week! Bid on things at Boob-Ha-Ha!