Hey Everybody Do You Know What Time it Is???

It's PICTURE POST TIME!!!! Yay!!!!

Yes, it's a picture post, the posts I do when I'm too busy to type but have a huge back log of photos to share. This picture post is a mish mash of all different things so hopefully there's something for everyone.

I love the long dog days of summer (well I don't love the stink of the city but the lazy afternoons and devil may care attitudes really get me happy.) One of my favorite saturday morning things to do is get Dessie-pup all geared up for the dog park and then stop at the mini-farmers market that sets up every Saturday at Van Vorst Park (a cute little oasis by my house.) She gets tired and dirty and I get produce, cheese, pickles, olives and hummus for the week.
Here's a lunch I made last weekend with Jersey farm tomatoes and fresh buffalo mozzarella. The basil is from my terrace garden.

Yum

Speaking of my garden here's the first thing it gave me to eat this year (yes my gardening skills suck but I'm still holding out for at least one freaking tomato)

Spicy and hot, just like peppers should be. This sucker was so hot I scraped the seeds out and let them sit in olive oil to make a lovely fused spicy olive oil perfect for cooking or a daring salad.

This is my weed "Sandy"

I would normally pick the weeds but this little gal is so persistant growing out of the cracked cement of my terrace floor that I have to let her live as long as she can survive without me helping her out. I'm not watering her or anything and shes' the healthiest plant on my terrace :(

Here are some belly shot from my good friend Erik D. He takes lovely pictures and doesn't mind when I call him an asshole or make stupid faces at the camera (I hate having my picture taken)

And look glow poi pics

Very ravery

A Neglected FO

Okay, so I finished these arm warmers a million years ago, but I've been too damn busy (lazy) to post the FO with the details. Neglected and un-loved, they sat on my dresser top until my bestie Mollie came over last week. She saw the neglected FO and snatched them up proclaiming her love for them. I gladly gave them to her (I'm just not the kind of person to wear arm warmers) and she graciously let me take pics with her modeling them.

(Without Flash)
Pattern: Spirogyra from Knitty Spring 2008 (Found in the Knittyspin section
Yarn: Handspun 50/50 merino tencel from an unknown vendor purchased at rhinebeck. I spindle spun then yarn and andean plied it using my Louet S10 it was about fingering weight and 300 yards from 2oz
Needles: US2 & US3
Notes: No real modifications to the pattern, however my gauge must have gotten tighter (or my yarn thinner) because the left arm is smaller then the right. I also neglected to do the color thing that Knittyspin used this pattern for, instead I let the yarn do what it wanted and it made these cool thin stripes.

Pic with flash and look at Mollies cool nail polish (I can't wear cool nail polish cause of office dress code)

Shes so happy to have them, and oops I totally forgot to weave the ends in oh well.

A Video in which I Spaz out to Music in Costume

From my performance at the Showcase Sunday. I was a little buzzed which is totally obvious in my "oh my" faces.

A New Obsession

Okay, I'm spread pretty thin with all my hobbies and pursuits but I found something new to take up some more time I don't have. Bento boxes and not the ones that can be found in every Japanese/Asian/fusion restaurant in NY. Real bento boxes packed at home and brought to work to curtail my excessive spending and widening waist line.

Now of course to start any good hobby you must spend a little money first. Well look at this website! Cheap cheapy cheap cheap. I couldn't believe the prices, you should look at it even if you can't stand bentos. It's like a dollar store online that sells cute and use full Japanese items. They also sell really amazing USB hubs for cheap that make me smile and hate my job just a little less.

Now I tried to make a bento but it came out bad, like super bad (no Seth Rogan wasn't in a cop uniform) and well whatever, I'll just keep trying. The thing about Bento Boxes is that they are small so you have to maximize your space and you realize what portion control really is. Also you need color and variety to make it look nice and fill you up. I live by a few Asian supermarkets but I've never set foot inside one. I'm going to take a field trip this week and I will report what I find.

On the crafting front, I cast on another pair of socks (yes I have yet to finish the last pair.) I also started a baby sweater from handspun for a friend of mine who just had a little girl. I like baby knitting cause it goes so fast, instant gratification I say. I'll get some pics for the next post. Until then stay cool in this 90 plus weather.

FO for the Weekend

Okay I made it exactly 48 hours on the master cleanse and I'm never ever doing it again (okay I may try one more time when there are less food distractions to tempt me.)

Onto the FO

Mmmm Sleepy Face
Pattern: Lotus Blossom Tank from IK
Yarn: Cool Crochet by Bernat
Needles: US4 & US5
Notes: Well first of all I'm going to rant for a second. I printed the PDF for this pattern of of the IK website for free. I was about 3/4 of the way through the knit when the PDF, myself and the UFO were all soaked in a freak rainstorm. After letting it dry out I realized my printed copy was no longer legible and went to the IK website to print another copy. Well la-de-freaking-da, IK had pulled the free pattern to put it in their "Best of IK" book (which I do not intend to buy since I have most of the patterns in magazines) I was not going to spend 20 something dollars for a book for a single pattern that on it's own merit isn't very good. Go ahead look at the FO's on Ravelry the good looking tanks have all been modified and tweaked to make this unflattering knit pretty. Well after much struggle, bitching, whining and public airing of my grievances I found a copy of the magazine the pattern was in and was able to finish my tank.
Now for the modifications, buckle your seat belt there are a lot. First my gauge was almost a 1/2 inch smaller then what the pattern called for but this was a good thing because the knit is now fitted. Second I did 6 repeats of the lace pattern instead of 4 to make a baby-doll style top. I added a full inch to the bodice so that it wouldn't cut across my boobs and instead created a more A-line top. I shortened the armholes by an inch to avoid gaping and buckling and to compensate I picked up 10 less stitches for each arm hole. When switching from the lace to the bodice I decreased 10 stitches and then increased 10 stitches in alternated paired increases to create a more flattering line.

This is not the most flattering pic :P

Boobalicious

I should remember to stand up straight.

All in all this was a nice knit, I've worn it to the office and gotten many a compliment on it. The yarn was cheapo stuff that can be picked up at any mass-market store like wal-mart and has a lovely shine to it, slightly sparkly but not overwhelming, it tended to get a bit splitty but the entire tank cost me 14 dollars to make and has a lovely drape and touch to it.
I would recommend knitting this if you, like me, like to tool around with your patterns.

This post is approved by mermaid stickyfingers

I think I'm stupid

Okay, let me explain. I went to MA for the weekend to see my family and hang out by the beach. All was well except the weather didn't behave and instead of hanging on the beach I ate and drank and ate and ate and drank....So you get the point. I drank at Karaoke (then I did a kick ass rendition of "Because I got High" by Afroman and scared all the working class middle agers who practice all week for Karaoke) and I drank with dinner, I drank in the afternoon and I drank at night. It was pretty gross, I'm not even a big drinker so suffice to say I did my body a major disservice.

To remedy the bad treatment I had indulged in I decided the best thing to do would be to detox. And some googling took me to the "Master Cleanser" or "Lemonade Diet" this is a fast in which I eat NOTHING, that's right NOT A DAMN THING. Instead I drink this "lemonade" which consists of lemon juice, filtered water, maple syrup and cayenne pepper. I'm also allowed to drink herbal tea and water but not a solid thing is to cross my lips. You're supposed to torture yourself for 10 days, but that ain't happening. I'm on day 2 and I think I may shoot for 72 hours and consider it a success. I'm craving food like Shepard's pie and pizza, it kills me to walk down the street because the smokey smell of charring meat from the Halal carts may drive me to homicide. The upside is when I woke up this morning I felt great. I woke up half an hour earlier and had no desire to beat the crap out of the snooze button for and extra ten minutes (or thirty.) My skin is clearing up and the dark circles are going away. I don't know what I should do plug away and try to do this as long as possible or simply give in and eat something tomorrow.

Just had to rant, this post has nothing to do with crafting, my apologies for anyone who was looking for knitting or spinning.

A side note, I will be performing at the Lafayette Lounge in NYC Sunday at 6PM as part of a showcase. If you like middle eastern dance check it out. I think you need to make reservations because the last one sold out real quick.