Socks!!!

At long last I've finally finished my first pair of socks. They aren't real socks (no heels) but comfy tube socks that I plan to spend the entire winter in. These are the perfect around the house socks. They are by far the warmest socks I've ever worn. Acrylic apparently wins out over wool, at least in this case. They are soft and comfy and warm and mine. My first homemade socks and I made them. Can you tell I'm a bit excited?

A close-up on the pattern. It's actually really simple. And boring.

Twice Studios

A couple days ago I mentioned that my boss had an art photography/t-shirt store that he ran in his free time. What I didn’t mention in that post is that I’m going to very quickly go broke buying things from the store. Not because he’s my boss. Because the art photography has to be some of the most unique and beautiful I’ve seen in a while. And the t-shirts are easily the softest (and most interesting) I’ve ever worn. In fact I’m sitting here writing this in the t-shirt I bought from the store last week. I’ve had a couple people comment on it already. Comfort and a conversation starter, I’m in.

The store is Twice Studios; and it’s run by my boss, his sister-in-law (the photographer) and his brother-in-law (the medical illustrator). Now I know what you’re thinking, a photographer and a medical illustrator, what type of store is this? My favorite kind, of course. A bit eccentric, a bit odd, and just the right amount of beautiful. The photography is what originally interested me in checking the store out. My boss had mentioned it as a hobby of his but when I checked out the art images I was instantly infatuated. I’m already thinking of adding the image above (Mermaid) to my walls along with the Tea Party image below. Prints are so reasonable that I’m also thinking of adding this image (Truth) to the walls of my studio.

I walked into one of the local stores that sell Twice’s t-shirts last weekend and picked up this shirt. Heart has quickly become my favorite t-shirt. It’s interesting certainly. I get a lot of people commenting. But what really makes me want to wear it is the softness. This shirt is incredible, one of the softest I’ve ever worn. And you all know how much I like comfort. The other one I would love to purchase is the firefly shirt. There are a couple local places that carry the t-shirts but I’ll be picking up my art prints from the Etsy store. I love the idea of supporting local artists and particularly ones whose work is so interesting.

I’m thinking about buying the t-shirt below for my brother. For those of you not of a medical bent, this is a Sphenoid bone, a beautiful butterfly shaped bone found at the base of the skull. As a doctor I think he’d love it. Heck, knowing him he’d try to wear it to clinic to see patients. As a big fan of comfort, I think he’d wear it all the time.

Still Not Back in Reality

I'm still on vacation today so I've been a little slow posting anything. The day has been wasted reading webcomics and playing with the cat. Mostly this is because the weekend was just so wonderful. I'm not yet in the mood to do anything productive. So instead I'm sitting out on the front patio, enjoying the gorgeous weather and a good cup of coffee and remembering.

I took Friday off and Jeff and decided that we would do some shopping on the way down to St. Louis. There was no hurry. So we packed that morning and headed out about noon. We stopped in Williamsburg at the outlet mall and did some serious shopping for work clothes. I got a ton of cute clothing and had an enjoyable day. I was working to finish my knitted shawl (which didn't get done) and the miles were flying by. About Hannibal (an hour and a half outside of St. Louis) Jeff realized that we had forgotten our dress clothes at home. My dress and his suit for the wedding were hanging on the bedroom door. There were many bad words said and then we both collapsed into giggles. It just seemed so much like us to forget.

So when we arrived in St. Louis, Jeff dropped me off at the mall and headed to Mens Warehouse. He found a really nice suit and then went to the mall. I'd been searching all over and couldn't find anything I like. He took me to one store and picked out a great black dress. I'm still impressed with his sense of fashion. I tried it on and we both agreed that it was perfect. So at 9 we finally arrived at the hotel to see two busloads of high schoolers heading in. Jeff and I just looked at each other and groaned. It was a high school band. Luckily for us their parents were there as well and we didn't hear them at night. That night we hung out with Jeff's brother and the soon to be bride (along with some of their friends) at the hotel bar playing cards. At midnight there was the required Steak n Shake run but then we all headed to bed.

The day of the wedding was a great mix of sunny and cloudy but cold. I had bought a back-up shawl in Williamsburg which worked out perfectly. I had abandoned my knitted one after realizing that I didn't even have the dress. The wedding took place in the afternoon outdoors in a pretty little park. It was a small service but very sweet. Jeff's brother got choked up on the vows and couldn't speak. My nephew (he's 2) spent the whole service running around the park and trying to get into every picture he could. The bride wore this beautiful strapless dress but ended up with a shawl. It was freezing in the shade. After the wedding service, we headed back to the bride and groom's house so they could change and then to the restaurant for dinner. After dinner (which was wonderful) we headed out to a bar to watch football and play more cards. We stayed for a little while but neither of us was used to the smoke and it started bothering both of us. We were home by 11 and I was asleep by 11:30.

The next morning I was up really early and sat down in the lobby writing and watching the high schoolers leave. I was impressed by how little I had heard them. At 10 we had breakfast with his parents and the bride and groom and then headed out. I drove most of the drive home since Jeff was so tired and the time just flew. I don't remember the last time a trip in total went that quick. We had a wonderful time. We spent tons of time with his brother and (now) wife. We met some very nice friends of theirs. We hung out with my in-laws and got to be part of a very sweet wedding. Next they get married in Mexico which I'm looking forward to. Warm weather, sandy beaches, wonderful people. That weekend will be even better than this last one. But I'm still pretty relaxed.