Friday Night Music Videos - 1/24 Edition

Tonight I am living the exciting life, as I am so wont to do, and cleaning. Because I have company tomorrow and I don't want them to think I'm a dirty hamster (heeeey-OH, oblique Jersey Shore reference!) I'm good with the putting things away type of cleaning, and not so good with the vacuuming and actually scrubbing stuff type of cleaning. I also have a (small) Martha Stewart complex and want to impress people with my clean house, unless they're my dear friends and then I just don't care anymore. You know I really love you if my house is messy when you come over. Pumping myself up with some high energy garage-y alt rock!

 

Spring, Spring, Spring

I couldn't resist that bit of nerdiness, now you know my secret love for musicals. SORRYNOTSORRY.

Spring is a fever dream right now in New England. Warm weather? Exposed arms? Dafuq?! But you too can dream that fever dream by checking out the great spring looks that have just been released as part of Louet North America's Spring 2014 Collection. If you start knitting now, you'll be prepared by the time the snow melts! In theory...

This is a very well rounded collection, featuring tanks, tees, a long-sleeve pullover, two shawls and a skirt. All use either Gems Fingering, Gems Sport or Euroflax Sport. The first two are smoothly plied merino yarns and the last one is 100% Linen. Yarn store employee confession time--Euroflax Sport simultaneously intrigued and terrified me when I worked in the store. If a customer wanted 100% Linen yarn, Euroflax Sport was one of the only ones we had. In the hank it's stiff and wiry but we kept a blocked swatch nearby to prove how well it softened once washed. LIKE MAGIC. I never got a chance to try it but still hope to someday!

I decided to style my three favorite items from the collection. First up is Selway by Karen Marlatt. (All photos of the collection by Caro Sheridan, who is a fountain of awesomeness by the way. Took a photography class of hers and it was amazing!)

BFF Afternoon

I love oversized, airy layering pieces and Selway is perfect for that! You can add a different colored tank top under it to change your look completely and have it fit right in with your wardrobe, especially when knit in a neutral like white. I made it pop with yummy coral jeans and cute kitschy shoes from Modcloth but you could easily work Selway into a more ~grown-up look. I think this would be perfect for an afternoon of shopping with my BFF--comfortable and still fashionable!

Summer Date Night

Niobrara by Jairlyn Mason features an elegant pleated neck detail and a flattering shape. I dressed it up for a summery date night out with a look that's put-together but not stuffy. A mini and flats put all the attention on your legs (one of my favorite parts to highlight) and a cardigan is a must-have when braving overly air-conditioned restaurants. Just don't forget to roll the cuffs back to show off that sweet stack of bracelets!

Lazy Sunday

For days when you need a quick layer but want something more polished than a sweatshirt, Camulet by Anne Podlesak is perfect. I'd let a bright tee peek through this lacy number for a lazy Sunday spent knitting, running errands and doing whatever else strikes my fancy. I'm a huge fan of long sleeves with shorts--I think of it as the less-popular cousin of short sleeves with pants--and as I've mentioned before on this blog I am a diehard Converse fan, so there's no contest in the footwear department! Add a geometric necklace and you are golden for spending a day on the couch without looking like you're spending a day on the couch, ifyaknowwhatImean.

Now that I've unfairly whey your appetite for warmer weather, go forth and knit! Or check out the other stops on the Louet North America Spring 2014 Collection blog tour to explore these great designs further!

January 13: Louet North America January 15: Mari Knits January 17: From the Desk of Molly Purlz January 20: Fiber Dreams January 22: Nik’s Knits January 24: Emma Welford Designs January 27: Guest Post by Patty Nance on Louet Blog January 31: Wooly Wonka Fibers February 3: Kangath Knits

Friday Night Music Videos

Since I get to listen to music I already have at work (RIP deceased ipod), I like to listen to Pandora or videos on YouTube when I'm doing work at home. (Notice I said listen to videos...I don't actually pay attention to the videos themselves after the first time through.) Netflix is for knitting; YouTube is for pattern writing and other computer-driven activities. Makes no sense to try and watch two screens at once, yaknowwhatI'msaying?  So this is where I embarrass myself by revealing what I'm currently digging on! I'm thinking I'll make this a regular feature, if I can remember to. Tonight is all about female rappers because I love me some good rap, and I love women breaking into male-dominated areas of music.

(You probably shouldn't blast these at work though. Or if you can, you have a really chill workplace.)

 

Graze Box Review

This post has not been sponsored by Graze Box, nor have I received any compensation from them. Total free will here! In case you hadn't noticed by now, I really like food. I also really like getting stuff in the mail. So when one of my co-workers sent an email around about his free codes to join Graze Box, a snack subscription site, I decided to check them out!

For $6 a shipment (which includes shipping), you get snack-size portions of four different healthy snacks. Healthy is variable depending on your ideals of course, but the full ingredient list for all snacks is available on line and most are free of scary, unpronounceable ingredients--the exception being some of the cracker-y things but really, what do you expect from crackers. (Those scamps!) You can sign up to get a box every 2 weeks or every 4 weeks, I've opted for the latter and have received three boxes so far.

box shotsThese snacks are definitely SNACK sized. So if you want more bang for your buck, buying bulk bags of your favorite snacks and divvying them up yourself would probably be better. If you have problems with portion control or just want to try some new things then I think this is a good way to go.

photo 1 (3)Graze Box snacks fall into one or more of the following categories:

  • Cracker-y type items, which includes the sub-category of 'dippers'--a (usually) cracker-like item served with some type of dip or sauce
  • Dried fruit
  • Nuts/seeds
  • Chocolate
  • "Flapjacks" which is just a fancy-ass way of saying granola bar

There is much overlap in the fruit/nut/chocolate category. Ok, they give you lots of trail mix you could say. But it's GOOD trail mix, and I've never been a trail mix fan. Things like Dark Rocky Road (pecans, cranberries and dark chocolate buttons) or Jelly Doughnut (raspberry fruit strings, raspberry infused cranberries, almond slices and sponge pieces.)

closeupsThe coolest part is that when you sign up, you can browse their list of snacks and adjust your preferences. Hate anything spicy? 'Trash' the chili and honey almonds and you'll never receive them. Can't get enough of fancy-ass granola bars? 'Love' the flapjacks to receive them in your boxes more often. I nixed most crackers and spicy items from the get-go, along with any unpalatable flavor combinations, and left the rest set to 'try' so I could taste-test as many concoctions as possible. If you're allergic they can't guarantee no cross-contamination, but picky eaters are safe. Heck, you could even 'trash' all the chocolate if you believe in a world without chocolate. (Like a world without shrimp, a la Anya's explanation of other dimensions in Buffy. But why would you want a world without chocolate?!)

As boring as it may sound, I have to give full props to the dried fruit. I don't know what magic they inject into each tiny dehydrated nugget, but all the fruit is really juicy and tasty. You know when you're eating a bag of raisins or dates or whatever, and there are always a few depressingly hard ones, like they're shells of their former fruity selves? I haven't found any of those in my boxes yet which is pretty slammin'. A+ to the fruit. The cheesy sombreros (seen in the top right above), however, are a lie. I pictured a festival of cheesy, vaguely Mexican taste sensations in my mouth. Like Goldfish or Cheez-Its, but with a more fun name. Instead they are hard, decidedly un-cheesy rice wafers.  The biggest Graze Box blow so far, F-. I immediately trashed any other sombrero-containing snacks out of my future boxes.

Currently you need a referral code to sign up, or you can ask to be put on their wait list. I happen to have two shiny codes, so leave a comment if you would like one! First two people to comment with their emails included get them--and maybe you can spread yours around once you sign up to anyone else wanting one? Sign-up via code gives you your first and fifth boxes free, yay, and the person whose code you used gets $1 off a future box so that's all the kick-back I receive. I'm big on disclosure.

Snack happy!