I had the pleasure of taking Hannah Thiessen, the new Creative Director for Premier yarns, on a little excursion tonight. We didn’t have time for much, just a jaunt to Purl, which happens to be near the office. How ever do you choose from all the goodies there (or at any yarn shop)? It’s always nice to be a little ambassador to the city and what it has to offer. I showed her the colorful array there and then the twinkling lights of the city from above…

I love the beach at all times—it’s my favorite place in the world—but there’s a certain particular magic to the beach in the winter. The emptiness, the quiet, the expansiveness. Holly and I took a drive on a dreary day during this winter-that-does-not-feel-like-winter and captured some of what beachy winter looks like.

One thing I like about the switch to Standard Time has been how magical the city feels when I leave work at the end of the day. Sure, I see the lights later at night in Daylight Savings, too, but I’ve noticed a restaurant for the first time precisely because it was lit up so invitingly when seen in the dark. The air in the fall is always more crisp, too, making the lights even prettier.

Actual candy for this Friday! Delicious sugars in every color of the rainbow are for sale at NY Cake & Bake. When my competitive cooking group gets around to “Cakefest,” you know where I’ll be shopping!

Merry Christmas all! I’m here in Norway celebrating with my parents. It’s been freezing and snowy pretty much every day. But I suppose that’s a lot more Christmassy feeling than what we had the last time we were together for the holiday.

fall!

I took enough yarn with me down the shore to knit an entire sweater. I told myself “you have one week: get it done.” I knew this was risky, given I would not have my (small but good) library of knitting books on hand as reference, as I was designing my first set-in sleeve. I knew i would have internet access and could easily read great tutorials on armscyes on knitty, and I could use the fantastic armscye calculator, created by my friend Elinor of Exercise Before Knitting’s genius husband. I knew if all else failed I could wing it and it would probably be okay. But instead . . .

I used to be so good about Eye Candy Friday, posting every week without fail! I don’t know why I stopped, especially because I have some really lovely shots in my library of late. Here’s one to take you into the weekend.

A little life update . . .

orchids @ the Singapore Botanic Gardens