My Romantic Hubby

My husband has been really good at being romantic lately. He sat through the entire Pride and Prejudice mini series (the Colin Firth version). The other day I took him to get his hair cut where I got mine done as well. While I was still getting my hair done he went to "run errands". He went to the store to get me flowers and a doughnut. Actually he got me two doughnuts, one glazed and the other chocolate with half sprinkles. He knows I love glazed and chocolate but hate sprinkles. He wanted to split the last doughnut because he already had one. How sweet.... I'll take it. Just wanted to brag about my husband.

On the other hand I asked him if he would still love me if I lost my arms and legs. His response, "Yes, our relationship wouldn't be the same. I would stick you in the pool and call you Bob."

I am going to have to start writing down the oh so romantic things he says.

Craziness at the O'Neill House

So in April my husband and I found out we were having a baby. Not that I don't need another thing on my plate. We also adopted another dog (actually he adopted us found him on our door step) that makes three dogs. But none the less I'm still going to school and working on my house.

We started a huge remodel because we found mold in our bathroom a few months after we moved in.
(I fell through the shower wall) So all my decorations went into my craft room and I open that door and I look like a hoarder.  My plans for decoration consist of:

• Living room ~ Orange and green in various shades. Bright and cheery with super white walls. I also happen to have a large window that has an alcove so I was considering painting various pots and putting them there so my dog will stop making "window art" with her wet nose.
• Library ~ Black square shelves complimented by some paintings I got while in Zambia. Room will be "world traveler" themed. Kyle and I have a collection of things from the places we have been over the years that will fit nicely. I got the largest painting for $20 at a market its about 3x2 feet. I haven't gotten a picture of it in its new frame. I am going to use the darker burnt orange with beige for that room.
• My dining room and kitchen has been stripped of all masculinity and has been grace by Audrey Hepburn. (Its okay I'll make up for it, my poor husband)
  
  
  • The bedroom is decorated in all my old wedding stuff. Blue and champagne, Parisian. Worked out really well because I bought drape fabric for the table clothes at my wedding for the purpose of making them drapes for my bedroom.  
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    • Kyle's office is hunting lodge. Not sure how I want that to look.
    • Guest bathroom is in John Wayne (told you I would make up for the dining room) old west theme. My poster from my meet and greet with Josh Turner will be going in there (have I mentioned huge Josh Turner fan). 
    • Master bath extends the blue theme from the bedroom. However it is dark blue and masculine. I'm looking to put very square modern fixtures in. Got my tile all picked out too. Also putting faux wood that extends into the bedroom. 
    • Baby's room. Here is the one I'm super excited about! If its a boy it will be Doctor Who themed, yes Doctor Who. If its a girl I'm going with Degas Ballerinas. I am going to have way too much fun!
     I have to go help Kyle now. In his boredom he has decided to make his own vanilla coffee syrup. It is not going as planned. Oh well.  

Irish Eyes

For a few months I have been working on a knitting project. In class, on the train and all around the Denver Metro area.  A white blanket/throw. A two panel blanket with three sets of cables and two sets of honey comb cable stitch.
Using a free pattern from Caron International for a baby blanket because I loved the pattern I am using for a throw in my library (green, white, orange and black color pallet).

This blanket uses these more complicated stitches in addition to knowing how to knit and purl.   

C2F = Knit 2nd stitch on needle, then knit first stitch, slide both stitches off needle at same time.

C4B = Slide 2 stitches onto cable needle and hold in back, knit 2, then knit 2 from cable needle.

C4F = Slide 2 stitches onto cable needle and hold in front, knit 2, then knit 2 from cable needle.

This pattern isn't too difficult and it took me only two months of on and off knitting to finish. It is good to note that I do not use the standard American style of knitting I use the European style known as continental style which is at least twice as fast, but can be difficult for beginners especially for purling (I learned to knit from an elder German woman).

BLANKET
Cast On 226 stitches.
Border
Row 1 (Right Side): K5, place marker (pm), *k1, p1; repeat from * to last 5 sts, pm , k5.
Row 2:  P1, [k1, p1] twice, slip marker (sm), *k1, p1; repeat from * to marker, sm, p1, [k1, p1] twice.
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 until border measures 1"/2.5cm, ending with a WrongSide row.



PATTERN STITCHES
Cable Panel A (over 40 sts)
Row 1 (RS): P3, *C4F, [k2, p3] twice; repeat from * once, C4F, k2, p3.
Row 2:(WS) K3, *(p6, k3, p2, k3) 2 times, p6, k3.
Row 3(RS): P3, *k2, C4B, p3, C2F, p3; repeat from * once, k2, C4B, p3.
Row 4(WS): Repeat Row 2.
Repeat Rows 1–4 for Cable Panel A.
Cable Panel B (over 48 sts)
Row 1 (RS): [C4F, C4B] 6 times.
Row 2: Purl.
Row 3: Knit.
Row 4: Purl.
Row 5: [C4B, C4F] 6 times.
Rows 6–8: Repeat Rows 2–4.
Repeat Rows 1–8 for Cable Panel B.

NOTES
1. Blanket contains five panels:  3 of Cable Panel A (40 sts) and 2 of Cable Panel B (48 sts), with 5 border sts at each edge, for a total of 226 sts in each row.  Panels alternate:  A, B, A, B, A.
2. Markers are used to separate the borders and cable patterns. Slip markers as you come to them


Body Pattern
Row 1 (Set Up): K5, sm, [work Row 1 of Cable Panel A, pm, work Row 1 of Cable Panel B, pm] twice, work Row 1 of Cable Panel A, sm, k5.
Row 2 and all WS rows: P1, [k1, p1] twice, sm, [work Row 2 of Cable Panel A, sm, work Row 2 of Cable Panel B, sm} twice, work Row 2 of Cable Panel A, sm, p1, [k1, p1] twice.
Row 3:  K5, sm, [work Row 3 of Cable Panel A, sm, work Row 3 of Cable Panel B, sm] twice, work Row 3 of Cable Panel A, sm, k5.
Row 5: K5, sm, [work Row 1 of Cable Panel A, pm, work Row 5 of Cable Panel B, pm] twice, work Row 1 of Cable Panel A, sm, k5.
Row 7: Repeat Row 3.
Row 8: Repeat Row 2.
Repeat Rows 1–8, slipping markers as you come to them, until blanket measures approximately 39"/99cm from beg, ending with Row 8. 
Border:
Work border same as beginning border. 
BO loosely. 

FINISHING
Using yarn needle, weave in yarn ends.  

To see a diagram visit Caron International 

Learning to Garden

I know how to garden I grew up on five acres with a huge garden. My mom is a natural green thumb and has enlisted and taught us many of her gardening secrets and fun. But growing up in the wet temperate valleys of Southern Oregon is a whole lot different than the dry wild plains of eastern Colorado it should be a challenge in and of itself.

Oregon Garden

With our new house in closing and the budget I'm on I wan to not only save money on groceries but eat healthy and enjoy my food. Plus with my husbands gluten allergy (not to mention he eats his body weight in food daily) I will be  attempting to really utilities veggies and fruits.

So I'm spending my day not out frolicking in the sun with Archibald getting dirty and sweaty feeling accomplished and sexy. Oh no. I am online browsing what veggies I can grow in this dry harsh land. Okay so I'm not trying to grow watermelon in the Mohave but still gardening like cooking is a little intimidating for me but here it goes. Lucky me my mother-in-law is starting off the seedlings for many of my plants. Saving me time an money the only catch is I have to grow tomatoes and cucumbers for her.
     Another difference between planting in Oregon and planting here is I'm doing ingrown planting while with my mom we did raised bed planting. This helps with weeds, watering, soil placement and altogether planning.

Raised Bed

I wanted my husband to tell me what he wanted to grow/eat (let's be honest he'll only be benefiting from the fruits of the harvest). A really nice aspect to our new house is that we have mature trees which creates a nice shady spot for those plants and veggies that need shade. After using some websites (one I particularly liked was http://www.smartgardener.com/) and pinterest to research the zone and the seasons not to mention planning out the plant area have decided on some plants. 

Swiss Chard

Sun Veggies:

• Bell Peppers
• Hot peppers 
• Roma tomatoes
• Cherry and pear tomatoes
• Lemon Cucumbers
• Eggplant
• Green Beans
• Strawberries 

Shade Veggies:

• Peas
• Broccoli 
• Cauliflower
• Lettuce
• Chard 

Also herbs that I'll put into pots and divide before the frost to put small portions inside my house in the winter so that I can have fresh herbs in the cold months too. 

Lettuce Mix

• Basil
• Cilantro
• French Thyme 
• Oregano
• Parsley
• Chives
• Rosemary 
• Sage 

Library Vision

Closing on my house has made me so excited. Its going to be so fun to decorate and be in my own house. Yesterday Kyle and I spent 2 hours just walking through Home Depot (next week will be Lowe's) it was relaxing and fun we got some new ideas and revamped others. Kyle is much more concerned with the porch and fire pit he wants outside. And I want to know the exact paint of all the rooms. The Library for we really do need one was food inspired. I had a basket of bright green granny Smith apples and Cuties (clementines). I will be painting the walls with a fresh coat of white (don't worry I'm not painting it orange I'm not that crazy) with black bookshelves that will line the walls. For my green and orange I have some awesome paintings that will go above the black shelves. At an estate sale I found the perfect green high wing-back chair for $20 its amazing I won't have to refurbish it or anything. I'd like to get three chairs for the room that are all older styled since the colors are so modern I want to tame it with antique furniture and odds and end. I have some green depression glass bowls and vases I bought on St. Patrick's Day I will incorporate into the decor. I meant to take a picture of the chair and forgot I really need to work on that.  

Archibald

Took Archibald on a walk today poor puppy was so tired all he could do was lay down. Found a chewed up power cord this morning. Puppy trouble of course.

Closing

A month ago Kyle and I put an offer on a house, well okay we but several offers on several house some that had no carpet, others that smelled of pet, and some that were a little quirky. The amount of houses we looked at was disheartening to say the least. But one day, when we were looking at puppies particularly the day we got Archibald, our agent called us and told us you have to look at this house well because we were looking at puppies and it was first come first serve basis we had a time limit. We shot over to the house and found it to be perfect without hesitation we said make our max offer and off we went. Well our offer got accepted out of the other 6 that were put on that same weekend. Then the waiting game began. We had accepted a short sale and we learned there is nothing short about a short sale. Everyone kept telling us that it would take 6 to 9 months and since out lease was up with our apartment we were staying with my parents and 6 to 9 months is a long time to be infringing on their hospitality. To increase the tension the house had been refinanced so we had to wait on two banks to give approval. The first bank gave approval within two weeks the second bank was being sold to another bank and that wouldn't go through until mid-April. All of this start to get our hopes of getting out of my parents anytime soon down but low and behold yesterday the banks called and gave us their approval. According to the contract May 21st is the latest we will take possession. Finely I can sleep in a queen bed again (Kyle and I have been sharing a twin for a month), cook in my own kitchen and decorate my first house. It should be fun!