A sweet dog

Woof, woof! We took possession of Fifi for a week while her parents are on vacation.
She is still adjusting to her temporary house but she has a favorite spot. She loves lying down on the couch, on the top of the pillows. Uncle Norm yells at her every time – “Get off the couch, Get off the couch, Fifi!” but she is smart and somehow manages to win him over with lots of kisses. In the end, she gets away with crime!
The best time of the day for her is when either Norm or I come home and take her for a walk. Her bobtail can’t stop- it goes side to side, round and round, up and down and she gives us lots of kisses! Life is good!
Ruff, Ruff!!

Owl vest

The owl vest is in blocking phase. I simply loved knitting it and the yarn I chose has not disappointed me. The yarn is the Gramercy from Lily Chin, color 7543. To tell the truth, I’ve never knitted with such adorable and butter soft yarn like this before. It just glides over the needle and its malleability and drape is incredible.
Another lesson I learned with this project was to knit English style. It became so much easier for me, and I realized I was knitting totally crooked because I wasn’t knitting using neither Continental, nor English style. I don’t know what type of mess I was doing before, but I fixed it.
Every time I knitted on the round and had to switch to straight needles, the fabric ended up always slanted to the left where I was knitting on the round. I figured that out when I was knitting the evening shrug but I couldn’t understand what I was doing wrong. Well… now I know!
After blocking it and sewing the buttons up, I’ll post the pictures.
In the meantime, I was looking for tutorials on the double knitting technique and I couldn’t find anyone with clear and straight forward instructions. I started google-ing and found this site, Winter Foliage. Teaching is truly an art and few people master it. This lady, Miss Katie, is one of them. She nailed it. Merci!!
Some knitters who also knitted the vest:
Sereknitty, Westerly Whimsies, Thing 4 String, Sammy4586, Three Little Purls

South Pacific musical

South Pacific is a magnificent story that takes place in a tropical island during World War II. The musical tells the sweeping romantic story of two couples -- US Navy nurse Nellie Forbush and French plantation owner Emile de Becque and Navy Airman Joe Cable and a young local native girl Liat -- and how their happiness is threatened by the realities of war and by their own prejudices.
The setting is so stunning, you literally feel transported to an island and the songs bring you back to the 1940’ atmosphere where it seemed life was so much simpler and nicer.
“Some enchanted evening” is a beautiful song and I don't know who has written it but in Rod Gilfry’s voice sounds absolutely stunning and heartfelt. I would say his performance has much more punch than Paulo Szor’s. I know… I should say the other way around, after all Paulo is Brazilian. Forgive me but Rod’s overall performance is superior and superb!!!
South Pacific is a lesson o life layered with humor, passion and reinforces the idea that with hope in our hearts, we have the power to overcome hatred and prejudice and find the true meaning of our lives: LOVE!
By the way, Fox Theatre is a stunning venue and going back there is always a great deal of fun!

Spring evening shrug

The model on the picture is Fernanda. She is what I call Angelina Jolly meets Kimora.
Thanks Fe!!!!

The evening shrug was fun to knit and despite some bumps on the road, it turned out to be really cute. This pattern is perfect for beginners and the lacy cuff brings a little touch of sophistication if you want to wear it at night. A shrug can be worn day or night and it is like a splash of color which adds an incredible flair to any wardrobe. I learned different grafting techniques, but I came to a conclusion that the kitchener is the best if you like an invisible seam. I found this video where I learned to pay attention to the sets, making the memorization much simpler. Once you get the idea, it is easy and smooth sailing . Actually I am posting the sequence, so when I need for further projects, here is the mantra:

First set –
Front needle
- knit, let the stitch fall off the needle
- purl, leave the stitch on the neddle
Back needle
- purl, let the stitch fall off the neddle
- knit, leave the stitch on the needle
Second set-
Front needle
- knit, let the stitch fall off the needle
- purl, leave the stitch on the neddle
Back needle
- purl, let the stitch fall off the neddle
- knit, leave the stitch on the needle

Keep repeating the sets until you cast off all the stitches

More talented knitters who knitted the shrug
stitch and knit
knitting through the caos
katie leigh
the happy housewife, Winter Foliage

Spring cleaning

Out with the old

In with the new


1- Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion 4-CoverGirl- Smoky Shadow Blast
2- Benefit New 10 5-CoverGirl- LashBlast Volume
3- MAC Mineralize Skinfinish, Light Medium 6-MAC lipstick - Blankety

I did a spring cleaning inside my bathroom drawer. I am throwing away my ancient makeup. Seriously, I got foundation with expiration dated in 1996.
I clutter a lot, especially makeup. Seriously, one of these days, I will take a picture of my closet for further evidence.
Since it is beginning of spring and I am feeling good, I decided to do a spring cleaning and as I am in the cleaning mode already, I got inspired and uncluttered underneath the cabinet´s sink as well. Old shampoos, conditioners, hair detanglers, body lotion, creams, everything out. Off with the old, on with the new. It looks a lot better now without the mess.
The expiration dates on certain cosmetics are incredible. I freaked out when I realized I was wearing old eye liners and bacteria grows all over the tip of the applicator. Yack!
Below I got a list of cosmetics with their expiration dates.
Oil-Free Foundation: 1 year
Cream or Compact Foundation: 18 months
Concealer: 12-18 months
Powder: 2 years
Blush and Bronzer: 2 years
Cream Blush: 12-18 months
Powder Eye shadow: 2 years Cream Eye shadow: 12-18 months
Eyeliner: 2 years
Liquid eyeliner: 3-6 months
Mascara: 3 months
Lipstick: 2 years
Lip liner: 2 years
Lip gloss: 18-24 months
Nail Color: 1 year
Eu fiz uma faxina grossa na minha gaveta do banheiro. Estou jogando fora toda minha maquiagem antiga. Sério, eu tenho base com vencimento datado em 96.
Eu sou muito desorganizada, um dia desses, eu tiro uma foto do meu armário para posterior evidência.
Como é começo de primavera, decidi fazer uma limpa. Já que estou no módulo limpeza, me inspirei e organizei o armário embaixo da pia. Shampoos expirados, condicionadores, desembaraçantes, loção para o corpo, cremes, joguei tudo fora. Fora com o velho, espaço para o novo. A aparência dos armários melhorou muito, agora sem a bagunça.
As datas de vencimento em certos cosméticos são inacreditáveis. Eu me assustei quando percebi que estava usando delineador velho e que bactérias crescem incontroláveis ao redor do pincel. Eco!
Abaixo eu tenho uma lista de cosméticos com as respectivas datas de vencimento.
Maquilagem à base de água: 1 ano
Base cremosa ou compacta: 18 meses
Concealer: 12-18 meses
Pó: 2 anos
Blush e Bronzer: 2 anos
Blush cremoso: 12-18 meses
Sombra em pó: 2 anos – Sombra cremosa: 12-18 meses
Delineador: 2 anos
delineador líquido: 3-6 meses
Rímel: 3 meses
Batom: 2 anos
Delineador labial: 2 anos
Brilho labial: 18-24 meses
Esmalte: 1 ano