The Sweatshop of Lovers Blog

Excited!

EXCITED!!

Anne is Excited, Too

All I had been hearing about since PT and I started dating was how awesome Minnesota is and how totally awesome the Minnesota State Fair is. So crammed into the park and ride shuttle on the way to the Fair, stuck in Fair traffic, we were all freaking out and I didn’t even really understand why.

Ticket to FUN!

I had my ticket and was ready for whatever awaited us behind the gate. Anne and PT were old pros at the Fair and knew exactly what we had to hit first.

Fresh Cut French Fries

Mini Donuts

The Fair is one big thisiswhyyourfat.com entry, complete with extremely large people eating foot long corn dogs and mounds of funnel cake. If it’s not deep fried it’s not at the Fair, and that was ok with us. Anne bee-lined it to the mini donut stand which we ate with fries.

I can safely say that mini donuts are the most amazing thing I’ve ever tasted. They were probably my favorite part of the entire trip, which might make me a bad person. But who am I kidding? I might kill for another bag of these if it came to it.

Butter Head

The Fair had all your typical Fair things, like animals and carnival rides and lots of games. But it also had a lot of extremely ridiculous things that I’m convinced you can only find at the Minnesota State Fair. Like women carved out of butter.

Crop Art

And this crop art portrait titled, ‘Self Portrait with First Ladies’. So that is a picture of the haloed artist with Nancy Reagan with a parrot on her shoulder and Laura Bush with a monkey on her shoulder. Made of seeds.

Award Winning Sweaters

There was a lot of knitwear! My favorite part of these sweaters is that the maniquins are either being killed in a gas chamber or having orgasms.

Sweaters

Scarves and Socks

A lot of it was pretty boring. There wasn’t one sweater that stood out to me as anything more than just a sweater, but it was fun to see the display and everyone admiring the knitwear!

Award Winning Quilt

American Hipster

The Johnas Brothers

There was lots of art; some a little more classic than others.

The picture of PT and I reminds me of a picture of my little brother Adam and I on vacation when we were like 6 and 4. We put our heads and hands through old wooden torture devices, and I couldn’t stop laughing. Adam, at 4, looks like he is actually being tortured, and I’m laughing my butt off.

Bucket O' Cookies

We met up with PT and Anne’s friends Andy and Katie, who live in Minnesota, and by that time it had been like 90 minutes since our last fatty feast, so we did what any normal Fair goer does and split a bucket of cookies.

Andy’s face is for real. Those cookies were out of control.

His shirt is for real, too. It’s even glow in the dark.

We walked over to the all you can drink milk stand and ate as many cookies as we could while drinking as much milk as we could. And we were ready for animals!

Baby Piggies!

Baby Sheepy!

As much as I don’t care at all about people babies, I sure do love baby animals! I can’t tell you how many 4 year olds I had to elbow in the face to get these close up shots. That lamb was like 10 hours old!

But as much as I love baby animals, I sure as hell don’t want to see them being born. I innocently walked to the middle of the ‘Miracle of Life’ barn to see two hooves sticking out of a cow! I barely made it through the birthing video in health class, and a baby cow is significantly larger than a person baby! Gah.

Fuzzy Bunny

KKK Sheep

Biggest (Balls) Boar in Minnesota

While we were at the Fair we counted rascals, defined not as wheel chairs, but just used by people too fat to walk around the Fair, and Vikings Brett Favre jerseys. Final count? 29 rascals and 24 Favre jerseys. The weather was working against Brett, though, as it got pretty chilly by the time we left and we figured that a lot of those jerseys were covered up by sweatshirts. Still pretty amazing.

Also amazing?

Andy Might Just Always Make This Face

MORE?!

The fact that we spent 6 hours at the Fair, ate fries, mini donuts, 5 dozen cookies, all you can drink milk, frozen malts, corn dogs, honey lemonade, and deep fried cheese curds, went home to rest a few hours, then went out to a bar and ordered 18 wings baskets of deep fried green beans and deep fried pickles, two pitchers of beer and a glass of wine.

If you can measure your day in direct relation to food illness, the sicker the better, Minnesota State Fair Day was the best day of my life.

Upon arriving in Minnesota Thursday afternoon and entering PT’s mom’s adorable little house, I was greeted with this:

Baby PT

“Aw PT! You were so cute!”

“Yeah that is my senior picture.”

“THAT is your SENIOR PICTURE? I was going to guess 8th grade.”

Minnehaha Falls

PT was anxious to take me on a grand tour of St Paul, where he grew up, and Minneapolis, which is like a whole other world according to PT’s mom.

St Paul has about 300,000 people and Minneapolis has about 400,000, and St Paul is known as the small, quaint city, and Minneapolis as the big city.

I didn’t, and still kind of don’t, understand why they are two cities. Wouldn’t it just be easier to have one big city separated by the Mississippi River, instead of two cities that are just like one big city anyway?

It’s like the sharks and the jets, so I probably shouldn’t have even said that while still in Minnesota.

In any case, both cities are beautiful; full of parks and old buildings and tree lined boulevards. Our first stop was in Minneapolis, just over the river, to Minnehaha Falls. See? Lovely waterfall inside the city limits!

F Scott Fitzgerald's House

Historical Spot

I had forgotten that F Scott Fitzgerald grew up in St Paul, but PT was on it and took me to see his house. I love him, and I love Zelda, and I really love Ernest Hemingway who grew up in Oak Park but whose house I still haven’t seen, shamefully.

The Mississippi River

We had lunch on the banks of the Mississippi River, which I can safely say I’ve never done before.

Good Sandwich

Big Tuna Sandwich

PT’s favorite sandwich place in St Paul is called Acme Deli, where you fill out a sheet of options, hand in your worksheet, and get a sandwich. I got a tuna with lots of veggies, cheese, and horseradish, and it was awesome.

Turkey Breast

PT got the turkey breast with olives, of course.

Hidden Falls

Where we stopped for lunch also had a waterfall called Hidden Falls; less hard core falls than Minnehaha and much more mosquito filled, but still! Lunch+Mississippi River+waterfalls? This place is great!

Izzy's!

And we got some ice cream for the trip to Minneapolis! PT worked at Izzy’s for a summer, so it was part of the PT life tour. At least I can justify going the first time that way, anyway. The second time, this time, I was just being a fatty. But, I mean, salted caramel ice cream? With a little taste of whatever other ice cream flavor you want? It’s a good thing I don’t live here.

Lake Calhoun

PT&ME

We stopped at Lake Calhoun, one of the many lakes in Minneapolis, and walked on the path around it. There were lots of people out biking and jogging the paths, enjoying the beautiful afternoon.

Cherry and Spoon

We stopped at the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden that I loved.

‘I don’t get it,’ I said.

‘What’s to get? It’s a cherry and a spoon.’

PT sees things pretty clearly.

PT on the Light Rail

PT never asks to get his picture taken. I take pictures like a crazy and PT puts up with it like a champ, but this moment was a big moment in PT’s life. He was riding the light rail to the Metrodome for his last Twins game at that hell hole. So many people were riding that thing to the game! He was a very happy boy.

The New Target Field OMGOMGOMG!

Or I thought he was a happy boy, but in comparison to how happy he was to see the new Target Field where, in a matter of months, his beloved Twins will play, outside, like baseball should be played, he was catatonic on the light rail.

I didn’t understand exactly what a big deal this was. The Tigers got a new stadium a few years ago and it was a big deal but I wasn’t losing my shit over it. But then I went into the Metrodome to watch a baseball game.

What Baseball Should NOT Look Like

Entering the Metrodome, sitting down, and realizing you are about to watch baseball was kind of like seeing my best friend get punched in the face. Like, they took baseball, something I love so much, and dropped it into the shittiest place on earth. I was pissed! How could they do that? How could they stick BASEBALL in there?

Joe and Joe

But they were giving away Joe Mauer on a stick, which was fun. I don’t know why they didn’t throw some makeup on him and pluck his eyebrows down a little before blowing up his face that big, but it’s Minnesota. He might need those brows for warmth.

Besides the location, it was the perfect night. PT’s last Twins game in the Metrodome was a win, the Tigers won, the White Sox lost, and we light railed it back home.

Day Two? STATE FAIR! EVERYTHING DEEP FRIED AND ON A STICK!

I’ve got to charge my camera batteries.

I knew things were looking promising when it rose so high before baking.

Second Rise

I covered the bread in spices, drizzled the last of the olive oil over the top, and threw it in the oven.

Gah! Perfection!

It’s breathtaking. This recipe couldn’t have been better. And with the spices on the top! With the Parmesan! Die.

(Please note my mom’s hand woven basket in the background, and her hot pad below the bread. My mom took one look at this recipe and was like, hell no! Too much work. Mommy? SO WORTH IT.

… I’ll just make it for you when I’m home next weekend.)

Tuna Helper and Focaccia!

PT and I thought we would whip up a batch of the homemade cheesy tuna helper for Chris, and that it would go well with the focaccia, and we were right. I’m pretty sure we could have served anything and it would have gone well with the focaccia.

... Chris

I think Chris enjoyed himself.

Last night was the last movie in Grant Park. I’m always sad when this rolls around because it is the first sign that summer is winding down.

I Take a Picture of Brijeet Taking a Picture of Gil and Martin

But we won’t think about that now. We can’t! Not when Tootsie is playing, and every 10th person in the audience is dressed in drag, it’s 85 sunny degrees, and Rikkisha brings the most decadent, amazing pecan bars I’ve ever tasted. Gil, Martin, Brijeet, Rikkisha, PT and I got a slightly poop-filled spot in anticipation of Dustin Hoffman dressed as a woman. I can’t think of a better reason to sit in poop!

Me and PT

Tootsie was a lot of fun. Everyone was really into it! Which I love about Movies in the Park.

We were already trying to guess next year’s line-up.

Log Cabin Washcloths

I finished up my second washcloth at the movie, too! Didn’t these turn out cute? The knit up really quick and I love how they look. I like the alternating colors on this set of two. I have a feeling these will be big in Holiday Present Prep class this fall!

So now I’m chilling, watching the Tigers try to sweep the Angels, waiting for my laundry to come out of the dryer so I can pack for Minnesota tomorrow! PT and I have big plans for the Twin Cities; like a Twins game and the Minnesota State Fair! I can’t wait.

Big Mess

I’m also tackling focaccia. Yeah, it seems silly to be baking the day before leaving for the weekend, but PT’s friend Chris is coming over for dinner tonight, so we will have some help. His fiance Anne is in Minnesota, and we were worried he would be eating baked beans out of a can without her.

And I saw this focaccia recipe this morning and if Chris wasn’t coming over tonight I would be making some excuse about how Pudge Rodriguez likes bread. Seeing those pictures, how could you not run home and try to make it?

So far so good; you know how I have trouble with bread, so I followed this recipe to a T. I even pulled out my food thermometer to make sure the water was exactly 115 degrees. It’s rising! I hope it’s amazing because I certainly love focaccia.

My to do list this weekend:

1. Make entire fall schedule – check! It rocks, if I do say so myself.

2. Knit a cabled cowl – check!

LOVE!

Pretty Cables

I used some of the Lion Brand Fishermen’s Wool that will be left over from the Vogue Cropped Jacket I put on hold all weekend though I’m SO close to being done with it!

I love this cowl, and it knit up with size 15s in like 4 hours.

3. Knit a Turkey Finger Puppet – check!

Holy Cute

I wanted to put some kind of toy in the fall schedule, so I was searching around when I stumbled upon a really cute knitting blog called Team Knit, and this pattern for a turkey finger puppet. I instantly fell in love and knit it up and put it together in about 3 hours. The time consuming part is the tail. But EVERYONE should sign up for this class because not only is this little guy adorable but the class is free! November 11th, 7-9pm. Happy Thanksgiving from me to you.

4. Write fall schedule newsletter – check! Mostly written while knitting, which is a trick I’ve needed to teach myself that comes in handy almost every day.

5. Update website – check! Full list of classes looking hot. More Sweatshop love looking hot, too. The class list was a huge job since it was so empty this month.

6. Knit a Goldfish Toilet Lid Cover – not check.

Saturday Morning

Friday afternoon I thought it would be a great idea to put the Knit Pick’s Goldfish Toilet Lid Cover in my fall class schedule, meaning, ideally, I would need to knit one before my newsletter went out to make sure the pattern was good and I had a picture of it. Yeah. I’m a crazy person.

The problem was that the pattern calls for size 6s and DK weight yarn. I had size 4s and worsted weight, but that still didn’t do it, so I had to take 25 stitches off the pattern, basically rewriting the entire thing.

PT and Po' Boy

My Shrimp Po' Boy

By Sunday evening, after spending 11 hours knitting and writing frantically, PT suggested I leave the house. We walked over to Street Side and got po’ boys and fries. We were both very happy with how delicious they were! It was my first po’ boy and I would order this sandwich again in a heartbeat.

Toilet Lid In Lap

By Sunday night I had finished knitting the lid itself and just needed to duplicate stitch on the fish. When I looked at the picture of the lid on the pattern I thought it was intarsia; I had never even heard of duplicate stitching. It’s basically cross-stitching over the stitches of the body of your project, which is genius I think, since I get annoyed with a lot of intarsia. I’ve always loved cross stitch so this has been really fun.

But, notice a problem?

Don't Look Like No Fish!

I had that big orange skein of yarn I got at a garage sale I thought would be fun to use, and I started duplicate stitching the fish in whatever colors I had laying around in the goldfish family. PT says it looks like Pikachu. I think it kind of looks like Wilson. Whatever it looks like, it doesn’t look like a goldfish. It’s still going on my toilet, though!

I’m almost finished, not by deadline obviously, but still. Knitting an entire toilet lid with Pikachu/Wilson/Goldfish duplicate stitching in like 72 hours? Still impressive/ridiculous.

7. Blog – absolutely not. Lukily for me PT was free for some guest blogging so I got out of that one. He did such a great job! He also made sure I ate and drank enough water and that my legs didn’t atrophy all weekend, too.

8. Update Ravelry – absolutely not. I didn’t even look at it.

9. Update Sweatshop Facebook Page and Myspace Page – check! I don’t remember doing it, but it’s done so I’m not asking any questions.

Overall pretty good! I love being mostly self employed because if I worked for anyone else as much as I work for myself for as little as I make I would kill someone. But because everything I do is for myself I get up at 6:30 on a Sunday morning to knit a toilet seat cover and when I finally close my computer at 11pm Sunday night I’m so tired I could cry, but I’m happy because I love it.

Cotton Washcloths

Next up? Minnesota! PT and I are headed there Thursday, and I’m knitting up these cute washcloths from Purl Bee  as a present to PT’s mom. At least I’ve got a couple days to punch two of these out.  It should be a breeze after the knitting fiasco that was this weekend.

I’m determind to finish my toilet seat cover, though, and I miss my Vogue Cropped Jacket!

Man, I’ve caught fall knitting fever way early this season. Could that mean I will successfully knit everyone I know a present this year?

Only if I can keep my new issue of Interweave Knits closed!

Classes:
• Holiday Prep
• Knitted Happy/Sad Poos
• Toe Up Socks
• Two Texture Mittens
• Huge, Easy Crocheted Scarf
• Hat Days!
• Turkey Finger Puppet!
• Goldfish Toilet Lid Cover
• Wine Cozy
• Cabled Cowl
• Beginner Knitting
• Beginner Crochet
• Group Knitting and Crocheting
• Knitting in the Park!
• Knitting Book Club

Fall Classapalooza

As much as I love summer, I always get excited when fall is around the corner. It’s sweater season! And I can pull out my cute hand knit hats and scarves and gloves. Baseball is wrapping up and football is just getting going. I can pull my crock pot back out and live on root vegetables and bags of beans.

And, more importantly, you can knit without it sticking to you. You can knit things you can see wearing in the near future!

I always come into fall with high expectations. I’ve got three months! I can knit everyone I know their holiday presents, no problem! But before I know it it’s December 12th and I’ve got 3 down, 12 to go, and I have to turn into a knitting robot.

I’m pleased to introduce to you my fall schedule, complete with a two month Holiday Prep class, kind of like an unselfish Sweater Club. Also scheduled are small, quick projects that make great gifts, like the Cabled Cowl, Two Texture Mittens, Big and Easy Crocheted Shawl, Hat Days!, Turkey Finger Puppets, Knitted Happy/Sad Poos, and a Wine Cozy. Have a little extra time? Knit some Toe Up Socks or a Goldfish Toilet Lid Cover.

-Allyson

Fall Classes:

Knitting in the Park! Last movie! Tootsie is Tuesday and we couldn’t think of a better way to start saying goodbye to summer than with Dustin Hoffman in drag. We plan on getting their early with food and our knitting needles of course! Want to join us? Be sure to email me so we can coordinate.

Holiday Present Prep: Two months of classes to keep up with all the presents you are knitting for friends and family this season? I should have thought of this years ago! Get help picking out easy, quick gift patterns, materials, and construction. Signing up for this class gets you two months of classes, once or twice a week, running Thursdays 7-9pm and Sundays 10-12pm October 1st – November 22nd. Pick once a week, Thursday or Sundays, for $75, or pick twice a week for $120.

Toe-Up Socks: If you love someone a lot lot lot, then knit them some toe up socks for the holidays! But don’t bother if you only love them a little because this is the most time consuming class on the schedule. Part one is the toe, part two is the heel. Wednesdays September 2nd and 9th, 7-9pm. $40

Beginner Crochet: Now is the time to learn! Get down a couple stitches early this season to crochet gifts later. In this class we will learn to make a chain, single, half double, double, and treble crochet stitches, and how to crochet in the round. Thursday September 10th, 7-9pm. $25

Goldfish Toilet Lid Cover: Sometimes I see a pattern and instantly remember how much I love knitting. This is more of an advanced pattern, including short rows, wraps and turns, and duplicate stitching! If you just got really excited at the prospect of learning all that while knitting a toilet seat cover, sign up! Part one is the lid itself, part two is duplicate stitching. Wednesdays September 16th and 30th, 7-9pm. $40

Beginner Knitting: Want to save money this season and don’t know where to begin? Learn knitting now, knit presents later! Sign up for this beginner knitting class and learn how to cast on, bind off, and knit and purl. Tuesday September 15th, 7-9pm. $25

Cute Cabled Cowl!

Cabled Cowl: If you hate knitting scarves as much as I do, this season is for us because scarves are out, cowls are in! They are cute, easy, and knit up fast which make them even better. And cables fun them up even more! Big needles make them a breeze to knit in just a few hours. Thursday September 17th and Tuesday December 1st, 7-9pm. $25

Knitted Happy/Sad Poos: Have a friend with the sense of humor of a 12 year old boy? Then this is the perfect gift for her! Based on the amigurumi pattern, this knitted version is a perfect last minute gift. Class includes stuffing and the yarn to make the face. Tuesday September 22nd and Wednesday December 2nd, 7-9pm. $25

EVERYONE Will Love These

Group Class: Get help with pattern reading, learning new stitches, or use this time to make up a project class. Knitting or crocheting. $15
Thursday September 3rd, 7-9pm
Monday September 28th, 7-9pm
Monday October 19th, 7-9pm
Tuesday November 17th, 7-9pm

Two Texture Mittens: Using size 2s and 4s, worsted weight yarn and thin fuzzy yarn, craft these mittens up as a quick gift (or keep them for yourself!). Email me for a complete materials list. Part one is the cuff and changing yarns, part two is the pick up stitches thumb. Tuesdays October 6th and 13th, 7-9pm. $40

Huge, Easy Crocheted Scarf: Lots of people have been interested in crocheting lately, but it’s hard to make the transition from practicing to creating. This makes a great first project! A simple pattern that crochets up very quickly, this scarf makes a great last minute gift, or crochet a bunch for yourself in different colors! Wednesday October 21st, 7-9pm. $25

Hat Days! The end of October is dedicated to hats! Bring any hat pattern, or ask me for one, and we will work through them together. Pick one day to get started or come to both for even more help! Tuesday October 27th and/or Wednesday October 28th. One class is $25, Two classes is $35.

Wine Cozy

Wine Cozy: Mix up the classic gift of wine by giving it in a beautiful hand knit cozy! Using worsted weight half skeins and scraps, this cozy knits up fast. Add as many details as you like! Tassel ties and berries and leaves class it up every time.  Part one is the body, part two is the details. Mondays November 9th and 16th, 7-9pm. $40

Knitting Book Club: We are meeting a week early this month because of Labor Day, Monday, August 31st to talk about Chocolat by Joanne Harris. If you are interested in joining the book club, send me an email. Please don’t come with knitting questions as I won’t be teaching anything (so the book club can be free of course), just come to knit and chat about our book!

Turkey?! AWESOME!

Turkey Finger Puppet! I can’t think of a cuter thing to bring to Thanksgiving dinner. And no calories! As my holiday gift to you, please sign up for this adorable free workshop. A set of double pointed needles and some scrap yarn will have this little guy knit up quick! Wednesday November 11th, 7-9pm. FREE!

Email me at allyson@thesweatshopoflove.com to sign up for classes or ask questions! See you soon.

In an attempt to ease The Sweatshop’s ever-increasing holiday workload, today’s blog entry has been outsourced to the Web’s foremost kind-of blogger/twitter-lover, PT.

Prior to Allyson and I dating, my dietary habits were not exactly spectacular. I wasn’t ExtraValuin’, DoubleCheesin’ and TripleThickMilkshakin’ myself to an early, artery-clogged grave by any means. But I definitely did not always chose the most practical or most imaginative option when it came to feeding myself. Since I graduated from college and started working full-time, I purchased every single lunch from one of many of the Loop’s various eateries. While I would always try to be as health-conscious as possible with my lunch choices, I was spending bundle on my mid-day meals. To look back and do the math, to think about the amount of money spent over the years on eating meals out every day is both alarming and embarrassing. I justified doing this because A) I wanted to sleep in as much as humanly possible in the morning B) I felt I deserved a treat for working a job I didn’t like, and C) I couldn’t possibly make a delicious lunch for myself in the time between waking up and leaving for work.

When Allyson caught wind of what I had been doing for lunch for the past few years, she was less than thrilled “Seriously PT? Seriously?“. From there, a challenge was made. For the whole month of February, I didn’t eat out for a single meal. We packed lunches in the morning, and I soon realized how easy and inexpensive it was to put together a great lunch at home. It felt so great to know I was saving upwards of $7/day by brown baggin’ it. Once March 1st hit, Allyson ended our eating-out fast with brunch at Handlebar, and I was successfully deprogrammed of my prior work-lunch habit.

Seasonal Cold Asian Noodles

This week I pleasantly surprised to see when Allyson threw together a gigantic batch of these cold Asian noodles with seasonal veggies (yellow squash, green beans, corn, and cucumber). It was enough for her meal that night, and for two lunch-sized portions  for us to eat the next day. We generally used chow-mein noodles when we make this dish, but Allyson substituted whole wheat spaghetti. The summer veggies all tasted so fresh and went so well with the noodle’s sweet and spicy dressing.

Again, to look back at my old lunch habits, a lunch like this– which aside from probably not existing anywhere in the downtown area– would probably cost $6-8 if it were purchased at My Thai or Wow Bao.

Yesterday, with a fresh loaf of bread baked, nothing sounded better to me for lunch than a tuna sandwich.

When I moved out my old apartment a while back, my then-roommate bequeathed to me several cans of hella-fancy white albacore. We were down to our last can, and I couldn’t think of anything better to nosh on at the end of my work week than this sophisticated sandwich.

Fancy Fish Friday

CUCUMBERS ON TUNA. I cannot endorse this enough. For one reason of another, I was a tad skeptical this combo would be good. My God, I feel so foolish for questioning Allyson’s tuna-related recommendations.

To think that I’d be missing out on meals like this if I were still stuck in my eat-out-every-day rut is sad. Not only saving money, but getting to use your imagination to create an awesome meal for yourself is such a treat. I’ve made it my mission to try and convert many of my co-workers who eat like I once did. I haven’t been as successful as I would hope; but if I can at least annoy and make my co-workers feel bad about the decsions they’re making, I’ll have done my job, right? Right?

…I’m starting to see why I  eat a majority of my homemade lunches alone.

Lunches are only half of my ore-Allyson not-stellar eating habits. I’ve always loved to cook; but I when work would get stressful, and all I wanted to when I came home was kick up my feet and watch It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia on Hulu, I’d keep pre-processed meals on hand to both maximize my lazy time and a minimize any extra ‘work I had to put into my evening. Granted not EVERY meal was this way, but I had two major FoodCrutches I loved to keep on hand for nights like these: Soy Nuggets and frozen pizzas. The former I admittedly still crave from time to time. Soy Nuggets + Sweet and Sour sauce are easy (and somewhat embarrassing) comfort food. Frozen pizzas on the other hand, are totally a thing of the past since Allyson adn I have more or less perfected the art of the homemade pizza.

Drool

Faint.

This week we threw together a yellow squash, caramelized onion, and pineapple pizza. Aside from letting the pizza dough rise, there really isn’t a terrible discrepancy between the time it takes to make a homemade pie vs. a frozen pizza. The taste of every ingredient in this pizza shines, somethinf I could never say about a frozen pizza which, while easy to make, tasted homogenized as F. Side note: I put green olives on my half of this pizza and it was incredible. Olives get a bad rap on this blog; and I want to let all your olive lovers out there know that the green olive/pineapple combo is a match made in HEAVEN. it’s going to be my new go-to, the sweet, salty, briny, combo canNOT be beat.

So last night, it was my night to make dinner for Allyson and me. While looking for a recipe which included several of the veggies Allyson scored in Michigan, I stumbled upon this recipe for a warm lentil salad with roasted beets and goat cheese. I apologize for the above photos not really doing the dish justice, but, this salad was amazing! Allyson had reservations prior to her first bite. I’ll concede that the plate did look a bit like brown mush with these bright beets stacked on top, but the lentils were so flavorful, and both the sherry vinegarette and goat cheese made this salad a bright and satisfying home-cooked triumph.

To wash it all down, we cracked open this bottle of Leelanau Cellars Gerwurztraminer– a gift from Allyson’s mom.  It was exciting because this was a type of wine neither of us had ever heard of (Note: this wine was not chilled prior to us opening it, so please note the ice cubes in our wine glasses. We are officially senior citizens over here.). Gerwurztraminer must be German for Diabetes-enducer, because this was probably the sweetest non-dessert wine I’ve ever had. It was delicious, and went really well with our savory-as-hell lentil salad. The back of the bottle says the contents of this bottle of wine holds the “Taste Northern Michigan”. Who knew record unemployment rates could taste so sweet? AWWWWWW DAAAAAMN! BITING WINE-RELATED SOCIAL COMMENTARY! OH NO I DIDN’T!

In conclusion, some of the best times Allyson and I have had together are while we’re blazing new trails in the kitchen. Not only has our relationship yielded a more hands-on, thrifty way of looking at food for me; but it also given us fond memories and a more-expansive culinary skill set. That being said. I am inviting you all, the entire internet, over to our house for the meal of your choosing. And if you choose soy nuggets, we may be best friends for life.

I’ve been a little off kilter this week. There are a lot of things up in the air! I’m working on my class schedule which is an overwhelming (-ly fun!) task. I’m playing catch up at work from the time I missed. My roommate is moving out. PT and I are trying to figure things out. My papa is in the hospital with bleeding ulcers.

I’m just trying to hold on to things I know. Like knitting.

Seed Stitch Front Panel

I finished the seed stitch front panel of the Vogue Cropped Jacket with a miraculously small amount of complaining. I’m really liking how this sweater is coming out! I’m glad I added stitches to the panel; it looks like it will close nicely once I finish the other side’s panel and neckline.

I was on ravelry yesterday and saw that another woman was knitting this sweater and added 10 stitches to the front panel, too! It does make me feel better when I question the pattern with a friend.

Ugos

Kind of Blinding, Even

I’ve also been cleaning. Since I was in Michigan for a while, and then had a house guest last weekend, things started to get a little unpleasant.

I’ve got so many bags around with knitting and yarn in it I try not to think about it. Just Monday I cleaned and sorted at least 6 different bags. One of them had this painfully ugly yarn in it! I was given this yarn because the woman who bought it started that scarf with the bright rainbow yarn and hated it. I hate it so much that I threw it in a bag and haven’t seen it for three years.

I’m having trouble throwing it away, though, so it just sits in a bag in the corner.

Why am I having trouble throwing it away?

Yep. $37.95

So I’ve got like $120 of really ugly yarn on my hands.

Help!

I had a 50% off one online purchase at JoAnn.com, so I just assumed that that would probably take care of the shipping and I would be paying close to the $8.99 normal price for the Fishermen’s Wool I needed. Little did I know that shipping is $5.99! So even with my coupon I would still be looking at a total of $10.49 and a 7-14 day waiting period for my yarn. In 14 days I’ll be two days away from going back to Michigan for Labor Day weekend where I can get the yarn at Hobby Lobby, with a 40% coupon, for like $5.

Sometimes it’s hard being Dutch. I know in my head that we are talking about very small amounts of money, but can my heart justify spending an extra $5.49 for a skein of yarn just because I’m inpatient? It’s not even like I’m anywhere near wearing this sweater. It’s AUGUST, for Christ’s sake.

Then I remembered there is now a Michael’s in Chicago! In the South Loop. A quick google maps search and it is 5.2 miles away, a 10.4 round trip on my bike. My legs are coming off an extremely inactive trip in Michigan, and an extremely fatty weekend.

1) $10.49. Possible two week wait time.

2) Like $5.00. Almost three week wait time, get yarn over Labor Day in Michigan.

3) $8.99. 10.4 mile round trip to Michael’s, where they might not even have it.

I go on Michaels.com. If you sign up for their newsletter you get a 50% off one item coupon. Option 3 it is!

I bike down after work. I take it slow; it’s hot, I’m out of shape, but I make it and I’m feeling good! Michael’s is in that new mall with the new Whole Foods (which I shielded my eyes from and ran quickly by).

That is Better!

Upon entering I see Halloween displays! Still kind of ridiculous, but Halloween is two solid holidays and almost two months before Christmas, so I’m cool with it. They are excited about Halloween! I almost am, too.

Suck it, JoAnn.

I find the yarn section which is much smaller than JoAnn’s, so I get a little nervous. I find the Lion Brand Fishermen’s Wool and sigh. FOILED AGAIN!

YES!!!

But wait! What is behind those ugly free patterns? MY YARN! It was hiding, but I grab one and run back up to the front of the store like someone is going to steal it from me.

With my 50% coupon? $4.95 baby! I am feeling so good I don’t even feel how much my legs hurt as I climbed the escalator back to my bike.  But oh. Oh did I feel it through the headwind all the way back home. But I had my yarn! I could start working on my sweater again!

GAH! SEED STITCH FOIL!

I get home and realize the next thing I have to do is the seed stitch front panel. The SEED STITCH FRONT PANEL!

I. Hate. Seed. Stitch.

I know I have to do it, I know! I knew I had to do it coming in. And I knit a couple rows. Like, 6.

… and now I’m looking for my next project

Elizabeth and I met at Adrian College our freshmen year. We were both there for only one year, but the year highlights include strip monopoly, Optical Illusion Boy, me living off cookies and coffee for 9 months, Cripple Boy, Brad playing Oasis and Travis nonstop, Dreamy Matt Rife, Chelsea and I becoming drummers, The Gloworm, and a WHOLE lot of boy drama. Elizabeth, Chelsea, Lindsay and I, while recapping our weekends one Monday at lunch, discovered that between the four of us we made out with enough boys in the past 2 days to field a baseball team.

Elizabeth and I hadn’t seen each other since my 21st birthday party four and a half years ago. You know, like the Olympics.  She lives in Columbus, just far enough away from Chicago to make that an inconvenient drive. But she did it Friday! And 7 hours later she was in, and then we were out, of Chicago.

Colleen's Birthday

We had to drive out to St Charles for Colleen’s birthday party. After Elizabeth’s drive, and I had just gotten back in the city a couple hours before as well, we weren’t exactly pumped about the two hour drive through traffic to the burbs, but we had to do it for Colleen.

Well, I had to do it for Colleen and Elizabeth was a trooper.

Blueberry Pancakes and Potatoes with Fresh Dill

Saturday morning we made blueberry pancakes with the abundance of blueberries I brought back from Michigan, and potatoes with fresh dill.

It was hot and sunny and beautiful in Chicago Saturday, so Elizabeth and I walked around Logan Square and Wicker Park for a while with iced coffees before heading to Handlebar for a late lunch.

Elizabeth is PUMPED

We walked over to The Clipper for drinks after some Saturday night baseball (that Elizabeth was also a trooper through).

PT Ready to Ride

Beers and the Band

Gil and Martin came with a friend, and PT rode over despite having a Tastee Freeze-for-dinner tummy ache (Elizabeth and I didn’t seem to have a problem with it!).

Clue on a Rainy Afternoon

Sunday was rainy, so we played Clue! PT looks like he is really concentrating on the game, but it was a massacre. Elizabeth won twice and I won once.

BORED

Pudge thought we were the lamest people in the history of the world.

Look Out!

So she made us some drinks! The combo of the night? Aloe vera juice and coconut rum. Well done, Pudge. Well done.

Beet Salad and Fresh Corn on the Cob

They went very well with the beet salad and corn on the cob we made for dinner. Elizabeth has never eaten beets before, and she gave this a thumbs up! Naturally.

Night Beach

After dinner it stopped raining enough for us to drive over to North Avenue Beach, something we had been talking about all weekend, but with the Air and Water Show and it being 90 degrees, it was crowded and loud all weekend.

Water? 0 Degrees

Of course, without sun the water was a little cold! This was about as far as we could make it.

But the city was beautiful and the beach was empty. There was even a storm over the water we were watching for a while.

I think we showed Elizabeth a good time. I mean, who doesn’t like blueberry pancakes, clue, and the night beach?

It was nice to be back in the city for me, too. Sleeping in a bed was sweet! Seeing the kitties, and PT, was much needed. And those four pounds I didn’t gain while home I sure gained this weekend!

I’m looking forward to seeing Elizabeth again in four and a half years for my 30th birthday party! We planned this one out well, actually.