Finally Back!

Well, we arrived back home last week. It was a great trip and we're both really glad we went! The hotel was nice- nicer than we expected and there was so much to do and see in the city. After a week, it's like we barely scraped the surface.
I got to see some friends I hadn't seen for years. They joined us for a day of sightseeing and it was a blast. They were with us when we saw naked man- the dude who just dropped trou in the middle of an intersection and yelled at a cab for awhile before putting his clothes back on and continuing about his business.
We saw Avenue Q while we were there and loved it. The show was hilarious. We did Central Park, Empire State building, Tribeca/Greenwich/SoHo, Wall Street, Times Square (including the awesome Toys 'R' Us and Disney store!), FAO Schwartz (yes giant piano!), WTC memorial, Museum of Natural History (twice! We loved it!) and yeah, I went to some yarn stores!

We did Habu first, and my boyfriend came with me. It was a rainy miserable morning and we were soaked by the time we got to the address. It took awhile to find because I was kinda expecting a storefront. Instead, it's in a random office building on the 8th floor in the back.
Once we found it, I was in heaven. So many pretties! Of course, they're mainly for weaving so everything was very fine. It was fine by me, though (ha ha) because I've got enough heavier yarns at home. Laceweight is fun!
I came home with some cream/white laceweight (enough for a simple shift dress, I think) as well as some dark turquoise merino, I think (unfortunately not labeled!) and the real treat- a cone of their silk and stainless steel yarn. Yummy. It's got a gorgeous sheen to it. I'm planning on making a shawl out of it and can't wait to see the final product. And my boyfriend was incredibly sweet- when it came time to pay, he insisted. It was a really nice gift! Am I a lucky gal or what?

I also went on my own (while my boyfriend looked around the nearby Museum of Natural History) to Knitty City. It was a great store. Everyone was really friendly and nice and I would love to go back some time.
I ended up with some real treats there too! Some gorgeous blue ShiBui sock yarn, some Madelinetosh Pashmina that I turned into a moebius cowl and my favorite, some Blue Heron Rayon Metallic. It's soft, yummy yarn that is so sparkly. I adore it. I've already made a slouchy beret from it but have enough leftover for a matching project. I'm thinking scarf. It was definitely a one time vacation treat- but I am having serious day dreams about a top made from this.

I'm glad I chose those two as the stores to visit. Habu isn't super customer friendly- they're really nice, but it's a different environment. Their yarns are pretty incredible, though. Knitty City carries a nice variety of general popular yarn, but their atmosphere and friendliness made them stand out.
I am glad to be home, though!

Some Photos- and a Vacation!

Today I finally got a chance to photograph some of my projects in real actual daylight. My Imitation Hawaiian Diamonds pullover now has nice pictures- it really does look so much better being worn than sitting on it's own!

I also got a photo of the little ruby red shrug I made out of that incredible mulberry merino yarn. It is so hard to photograph the colour red!

I've started a new sweater, too. I went and bought a bunch of cascade 220 and have chained on (is that the crochet equivalent to a cast on?) for a simple raglan pullover with a cable up the front and possibly a sweetheart neckline.

I have been decorating my front table. The cats were wine bottles- the wine was ok, but it was reasonably priced and I got these pretties to keep! The silver candleholders were my grandmothers, and the two bottles are some really kickin' Jones Soda bottles that I had to keep. The christmas candles, which I've been too lazy to put away, maybe because they're so pretty, were from Andrew's family. I also have my two aloe plants I got from my friend Mary and my poinsettia which I thought I'd killed when we went away for christmas, but is fighting back to life!
And come on, you gotta love the little dollar store pink elephant watering can!

The exciting thing that happened to me this week is planning the vacation! Neither of us have been and we're planning on doing all the tourist things, as well as nerdy things. Nintendo store and Toys 'R Us anyone?

I have also plotted out yarn stores in the city... Habu Textiles is walking distance of our hotel! I was looking at knitmaps (the existence of which threw my boyfriend enough!) when we were deciding on hotels and looking at all the yarn shops. My boyfriend said "Yes, we can go to a yarn shop while we're there." Very sweet- but like there was a question! If there's a yarn store, I'm going!

I'm really looking forward to it, though. We've been on trips together before, but this is the first time we've gone on a big trip just the two of us.

I decided I needed a new purse- I've been wanting a dark brown leather messenger style bag for awhile, and my normal purse is huge. It's perfect for bringing my lunch to work and having everything in there, but I want a smaller purse for this trip and for summertime when I don't need to shove a giant scarf and mitts and a hat in it.

I looked all over the Eaton Centre, up to the Winner's at College and back down... then went back to the mall and into some shops I'd missed.
Then I found it- more than I wanted to spend, but perfect. Just exactly what I wanted.

(You can see the sock I'm making in there!)

I've never spent so much on a bag before (after tax it was 100$... ah! But we have a Bentley club card from getting luggage, so I can go back and get a 15% discount, whew). I love it, though, and I intend to make it last a long time.
I think it's going to be difficult adjusting to a much smaller purse, but I think it's about time I did. My old purse was like a duffel bag! Sure, I could keep 3 wips in there no prob, but it did get a little heavy.

We hop on the bus this Saturday- I'm so excited!