Girl of Cardigan

Winning!

August 26th, 2011 § 1 Comment

Thanks to my good friend the random number generator, we have a winner in commenter number 4 – yay for jazznjava! Of course, as our jazzy friend may want to knit this headband herself, we’ll give her the option to claim her prize or declare a redraw. :) Either way, lovely… let me know!

Favorite, Doggo, and I are wishing you an incredibly beautiful weekend.

love.

photo by the incomparable Shannon Hannon.

Fall Knitsperation and a giveaway!

August 25th, 2011 § 13 Comments

Good morning, lovely friends.

Back to school time always gets me super jazzed about fall (nerd.) This is my absolute favorite time of year, early fall through early winter, and I’m looking forward to a chill in the air and wool in my hands (I know, I know. Lucky for you I don’t control the weather.)

Here’s my dream list of things to knit for this fall:

Listeme by the Berroco Design Team

Um, hello, birds on it? Swallow Cowl by Hannah Fettig

Peace, love, and braided Winter Ear Warmer by Elisa McLaughlin

Ah, Truffle Cardigan. You’ve been on my list a long time.

Newly obsessed with this Stripe Study Shawl by Veera Valimaki

love these. love them. Fiddlehead Mittens by Adrian Bizilia

Stripes for Favorite. Emilien by Ariane Caron-Lacoste

Perfect over dresses: Elegant Grey Capelet by Bernadette Ambergen

Whose kid wants this? Roo by Kate Gilbert

Some crochet for practice: Calm Cowl by Suzana Davidovic

love. Phinney by Cirilia Rose

Someone who comments on this blog will get a Braided Earwarmer from me. Leave me a note and tell me what you love about fall. Winner picked tomorrow!

love.

Hey Karyn, why did you put that on your arm?

August 24th, 2011 § 7 Comments

I figure if I’m going to do something that makes my parents say “oooooh” in that highly suspicious, we’renotpleasedbutweloveyouandwillpretendtolikeyourchoices way, I’d better have a good explanation prepared. For that reason, I’ve a trifecta rule for tattoos: Anything I’m inking permanently on my body over the course of this lifetime has to have at least three points of significance/symbolism to make the cut.

A few truths about me and tattoos, for those of you who don’t know: This is my second. The first is a white ink “Believe” on the right side of my lower back that I acquired in Santa Cruz about 5 years ago. I have exactly three more planned for the future, which I will get at least 5 years apart to keep myself from falling into the “ooo, give me another one!” trap. When I’m done, 4 out of 5 tattoos will be text only – anything illustrated makes my undiagnosed OCD immediately kick in and freak about having to match my clothes to it for the rest of my life. True story.

So, this tattoo.

First – The phrase “heart of my own heart” is a line from the hymn Be Thou My Vision, which is a favorite of mine, but the significance is deeper than that. Those words are the clearest way for me to capture what I guess I’d call my spiritual ambition. If I had one prayer, one persisting goal in my relationship with God, it would be to be of one heart with Him – to have my will so surrendered to His that I see things the way He sees them, feel what He feels for others, am saddened where He’s saddened, rejoice where He rejoices. It’s difficult for me to explain without thinking it sounds hopelessly cheesy, but I wanted to be reminded of that ambition. I want to remember to strive to allow the heart of God to be the center of my own. I also love that I’ll obviously never fully achieve this goal on this planet…the tattoo will never be obsolete. It’s a good reminder to constantly be asking God to be the center.

And – There’s an e.e. cummings poem I’ve always loved – i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart) – which is essentially about someone’s life being not only theirs, but shared with a loved one they carry along with them. It’s absolutely my favorite way to imagine a connection to people I love who are no longer with me. Everything I do is done by not only me, but also by their influence, their shadow, their indelible mark on my life, permanently stored in the center of my heart and permanently part of my person.

And – One such person is my grandfather, who used to send me typewritten letters about everything from static electricity to ambition to God to talent to talking seagulls. The choice of font, the intentionally aged typewriter lettering – that’s my memorial to him, to his heart that I carry with me (i carry it in my heart)

Also, this is the first tomato from our garden! Yippee!

love.

Cheap Thrills: Inked

August 23rd, 2011 § 2 Comments

I know, I know, tattoos aren’t really cheap, but you want to see pictures, right?

So we’re going with the old “cost divided by number of wears” rationalization. Assuming I wear this tattoo every day of my life (reasonable assumption) and I live for 60 more years, give or take, this tattoo is costing me less than a penny a day. Cheap-o! Without further ado:

For those of you who are into that sort of thing, the shirt is from Urban Outfitters, grey jeans are Target, shoes are old school Macy’s. Tattoo is pure love, and curtesy of the talented and lovely Lisa Maurine of Icon Tattoo. Go see her!

love.

In Other Words: Sister

August 22nd, 2011 § 1 Comment

In a word, yes.

Yes, I found this book to be a bit disturbing, a bit impossible to put down, and a bit of a tearjerker. Yes, I found Rosamund Lupton’s spot-on observations about the relationship between sisters jarring at times, humorous at others, convicting at her finest moments. Yes, I think you should go out and get this book, as it would make a fabulous late summer read.

Sister is Beatrice’s story, told in her increasingly wavering voice as she recounts the events that have unfolded in the few months since her younger sister, Tess, was found dead in a London park. Though the police, Tess’ friends, and the rest of Beatrice’s family all seem convinced that Tess committed suicide, Beatrice refuses to accept what she believes to be an impossible contradiction – Tess’ joie de vivre and the accusation that she ended her own life. Sister is a winding path through Beatrice’s memory, full of twists and turns, moments of extreme sadness and subtle victory, and an overwhelmingly accurate look at the complicated-but-powerful love between sisters.

I read this book in a a sitting and a half, and summer is simply made for page turners and afternoon breezes and glasses of lemonade. Go get this dark and lovely book and read it while the sun is still shining.

love.

A little vacation…

August 12th, 2011 § 3 Comments

Lovely friends -

This next week is a busy one for me – adjusting to my new job and learning the ropes, celebrating my 29th birthday, acquiring a new tattoo, and logging some hours Love (ing) Portland. I’ve decided for my sake, and poor Favorite’s sake, to give myself a brief vacation from blogging to celebrate, adjust, and relax. We’ll return to our regularly scheduled programing on Monday the 22nd. Until then, I’m wishing you tons of happy summer moments with all the peace that’s present in the picture above. May your hugs be long ones, your meals be full of great company and conversations, and your sangria plentiful. :)

See you in a week!

love.

Photo by the incomparable Shannon Hannon.

Cheap Thrills: $5 Outfit

August 9th, 2011 § 1 Comment

I realized as Fave and I were walking in the park the other day that the outfit I was wearing was a total Cheap Thrill.

Owl Skirt: $5 vintage at Palace of Industry in Portland.

Shoes: Canvas Rope Sole Wedges, Target, gifted to me by the Easter Bunny, but went down to $7 on clearance. Freckles: God.

Leather Belt: Goodwill, $3.

Tank: From Delia*s, completely ancient… but you can get one just like it at Target for $8. Sunglasses: Forever 21 $4 Dog: Priceless. Had to do it.

love.

Things I Want to Eat Before Summer Ends

August 8th, 2011 § 3 Comments

The simple truth is that these neede to be posted while it was still summery around here. Because I want to make all of them. Possibly at once. Maybe tomorrow. Enjoy!

This fig and goat cheese pizza from the Etsy blog looks completely amazing.

OMG, this salad. Omg. From Fashion Intel via The Modantiquarian

Buffalo Chicken Rolls from Can You Stay for Dinner? Drool.

Dear NPR – who knew you were good at breakfast?

It’s finally hot enough for this, right? From This is Glamorous.

To sip while porch sitting, from Cook Au Vin.

love.

TGIF.

August 5th, 2011 § Leave a Comment

Lovely friends-

I hope you have something fabulous planned for the weekend. Fave and I are catching a Flick on the Bricks, working in the garden, and taking in some Shakespeare in the Park… I heart summer.

Some link love to carry you through -

I think these blocks would be an incredibly cool baby shower gift. Since everyone, everyone, everyone is pregnant all of a sudden. (Not me. Stop it.)

I’ll confess that I sorta like “friends with benefits” movies, but this article offers some much needed perspective.

More fun things to make for kids. And a good way to use broken crayons. (I was that kid that refused to color with a crayon once it was broken. Figures.)

I want to send everyone a telegram.

The boots, the socks, the dress, the eyeliner… love this girl’s look. Love it.

Going to the beach would be way more fun if we still dressed like this.

May your weekend be full of happy moments, deep conversations, multitudes of stars, just the right amount of sun, and the overwhelming knowledge that you’ve been hugely blessed.

love.

Photo by the incomparable Shannon Hannon. Is she amazing, or what?