January 2018 – Pure Sugar

New Haircut!

Posted on January 31, 2018 by Carol — 1 Comment ↓

Are there any things that you put off, and put off again, and put off some more until the thing has been put off so many times that you are almost embarrassed to do it? That’s me with hair cuts. Don’t ask why, but for the last few years, that’s how I’ve been. In fact, the last time I went to the salon was about two years ago. (Yes, you read that correctly — two years ago.)

My hair had gotten extremely long. The snarls were maddening and honestly it just looked a mess. So last Wednesday I finally called and made the appointment for this morning. As you can see from these “before” photos, it was so long I had trouble getting it all in the photo! Might be the longest my hair has ever been, actually.

And… the after! I wanted to keep it long (ponytails and messy buns are critical to my style, lol!), but had to go a bit shorter. She cut five inches off the length, and added in long layers and shaped the sides. I think my hair looks and feels much better (and healthier)! My hairdresser is a magician, that’s for sure!

I did schedule my next hair appointment so I don’t get myself into the same predicament. It really is important to take the time to do things for yourself too. I’m a pretty low-maintenance person, but really there’s nothing selfish about taking the time to get your hair done or do your nails or other little things like that. I think I tend to put everyone else’s needs before mine sometimes. A little TLC goes a long way, even if it’s just an hour at the hair salon!

Decorating With Silk Flowers

Posted on January 26, 2018 by Carol — No Comments ↓

I received a free product from Silk Plants Direct and CSI Wall Panels in exchange for my honest review.

The sun is shining here in the Hudson Valley, but it is still very cold out. I’m starting to grow impatient for spring, and finding myself wanting to have flowers in the house for pops of color. My cats, however, tend to nibble on fresh flowers, so I enjoy using silk flowers instead.

I was given the opportunity to try out a silk arrangement from Silk Plants Direct and I was happy to oblige! The first thing that struck me was the vast selection of gorgeous silk plants on their website. Whether you are looking for greenery, stems, or finished arrangements, Silk Plants Direct has it all.

I knew I wanted something with lots of color, so I chose this Peony arrangement:

It arrived quickly and extremely well-packaged. The glass vase was very secure and the silk flowers were not crushed. It just needed a little bit of fluffing before I put it on display.

The flowers are incredibly realistic looking! In fact, my mother-in-law was surprised when I told her that the flowers were artificial — she thought I’d purchased the arrangement from the florist!

Originally I had planned to put these flowers on my nightstand because the colors coordinate perfectly with my quilt, but I love it so much it is in my kitchen where everyone can enjoy it

Silk flowers are one way to give a quick update to your decor. Another way is using 3D Wall panels from CSI Wall Panels. These lightweight panels have so many creative uses — if you’re itching for a change, check them out!

So. Much. YARN!

Posted on January 24, 2018 by Carol — No Comments ↓

Oh boy, what a project I am working on! When we had our heating issue and had to empty closets and move everything in order to access the pipes, I became all too aware of how much yarn I have. I found Michael’s bags with a few balls of Sugar ‘n Cream. I found baskets with a couple skeins tucked away. And my storage tote was overflowing. I decided that I really needed to go through and organize it all, so that is what I did today.

I started out with everything just thrown together.

I decided that I was going to get rid of any yarn that was terribly tangled, and say “goodbye” to any unfinished project to which I no longer had the pattern, or was over a year old.

I’ll be honest: it wasn’t easy. There were some Stitch-cation squares I let go of, some half-complete dishcloths with yarn that was broken or tangled, and a cowl I had started with Red Heart Unforgettable. Love the colors, but hated working with the yarn!

Does anyone remember the planned pooling craze? Yeah, I wanted to try it out and got frustrated, I guess. Found this in there, too. I just cut off the portion that I had done. Tension is so important when you’re doing that technique — no point in trying to pick it back up now!.

I just had to get rid of these things for my own sanity. Also, any clumps of “yarn barf” went right in the trash. The point of this exercise was not to spend hours detangling!

Then it was on to trying to decide how to organize everything. I’d love to have beautiful open storage, but we have cats. And the cats love yarn. Therefore, totes are the most practical storage, if not the prettiest.

I now have one for acrylic yarns (my go-to), one for “fancy” acrylics (like Caron Cakes, some that have glitter or sequins, etc.), one for cotton dishcloth yarn:

And finally one smallish box of specialty yarn (anything I purchase at real yarn store, or at the Sheep & Wool festival):

I’m not 100% done yet. My acrylic tote is still overflowing, but tonight my plan is to break out the yarn winder. Some of the half-used skeins can be wound into compact cakes and that should make a difference for storage (not to mention it’s probably better for the yarn).

So yeah… I really think I can go on a “yarn diet” for a few months and try to use what I have. However, I think part of my problem is that it never was really organized before, so if I wasn’t sure if I had a color I’d buy it instead of digging through everything. That shouldn’t happen now!

What a Start to the New Year

Posted on January 6, 2018 by Carol — No Comments ↓

Happy New Year! I wish I could say that ours has been amazing so far, but that’s not exactly the case. As if the frigid cold temperatures and below-zero wind chill factors weren’t bad enough, we are without heat on the second floor of our house!

Our pipes froze and at least one burst (though luckily, we do not have water damage) Check out that chunk of ice that came out.

So we have been dealing with plumbers, and homeowner’s insurance, and Drew is trying to do some of the work himself to save money. Hopefully by the end of next week everything will be back to normal. In the meantime, we have heat on the first floor, so we’ve just been sleeping down here. The “campout” was amusing the first couple of nights, but now I am kind of over it and ready to sleep in my own bed again.

Other than that, not much else is going on. It’s hard trying to get back into a schedule. Everything seems so chaotic! Plus, we had that “bomb cyclone” snow storm on Thursday. Everything was closed up. The snow accumulation wasn’t too bad (maybe 4-5 inches), but the wind and temperatures were awful. And today is even colder!

I’m trying to get back into a calligraphy practice.

And I want to get back to working on my Atlanticus blanket.

Basically I just want things back to normal! Drew ran out to Home Depot for a few more things, so he is just going to pick up pizza for dinner tonight. Honestly I’m really looking forward to it! Well, I’m going to wash a few dishes and try to fold up this last load of laundry. I want to try to get back into a blogging schedule so desperately — here’s hoping that the rest of this month goes a little bit better than the way it started!