3, 2, 1...LAUNCH!

YIPPEE! I am officially launching my business on November 1st! I can hardly wait to share what I've been up to with all of the people in my life. As I've been planning for the shindig I've been realizing a few things:

1. Friends will do just about anything for you
2. I have made some really beautiful things
3. Baby hats are a million-billion times cuter than any other kind of hat
4. Did I mention how great friends are??? They're the best!
5. Being creative may be risky (as far a profession goes) but it is infinitely more satisfying than anything else I've ever done!

For those of you who may be wondering what exactly I'm up to here are a few pictures of my designs. Enjoy!

Jonesing for Produce

For the past sevenish years I have been a frequenter of The Milkpail market in Mountain View. The Milkpail is a haven of all things produce as well as the home of the world's largest variety of imported cheese (no kidding). It is an open air market resplendent in all of the freshest things that I love to cook with. It comes pretty close to being my Mecca!
Since moving to San Jose my life has been desperately short on produce. I have been forced into buying Safeway lettuce and trying to imagine that it is actually tasty. It was at the point where I didn't even want to go to the store because I knew I would be sad because the vegetables were so disappointing. Today I mustered the strength to drive myself over to Trader Joe's in the hopes of securing at least a few edible vegetables. As I drove up I saw the most beautiful thing! Next door to my neighborhood TJ's is a new store called "Real Produce" and it is lovely! It is a nod in the direction of the Milkpail, including a small cheese refrigerator and it brought hope and produce back into my life!
My refrigerator is now bursting with crisp broccoli rabe and juicy deep red tomatoes. I also secured a butternut squash for soup making purposes and dream of the delicious sauce I am going to make with the shallots I bought. Ah...no more night sweats and shakes from lack of produce! YEAH!

Growing Pains

This past fall I started my own knitting business. It has been an interesting road to travel on. I have nary a clue about the business of business and I've fallen on my face more than once. I love the thrill of designing and making a new hat and watching as people oh and aw over it! The whole creative process rocks my world!
I am currently faced with the issue of marketing my products so that I can make some kind of profit from them. My friends and family all look at them and tell me how beautiful they are but rarely do they ever purchase something. I am now in a quandary. How in the heck can I get people to buy my stuff? Anyone have any ideas?
Check out the pics that I have so far at http://www.chickenandcookies.etsy.com There will be more up after September 20th when I have another photo shoot with some of my new fabulous designs.

Seriously people...BUY HATS!!! It's getting cold outside for the love!

Civic Duties

This week I was called to jury duty. I don't know how many of you have actually made it into the courtroom and up to the jurors box but let me tell you it was interesting! Today I reported to the Hall of Justice in downtown San Jose. Panel 8 was called and we filed into the courtroom of Judge Brown. The place was packed! The entire process of establishing a panel of 12 impartial potential jurors took us about 2 hours with excuses galore and some seriously intriguing stories from people about crimes that had happened to them or were perpetrated by them. I learned things about strangers that would curl your hair (mine is a bit more fro style as I write this!) One man was held at gunpoint in his own home by a burglar that, after holstering his gun, shot himself in the leg and then died in the man's living room. Another woman's husband was wrongfully arrested on charges of murder but was later identified as NOT the perpetrator by a witness. And this was just the icing on the cake of crimes served up this morning.
Yes, my turn in the box came and my story was much more boring than any of the thrilling tales listed above. I simply will be in a state of financial hardship if I am out of work for 5-7 days. I was gently excused by our friendly and hilarious judge but I kind of wished I could have stayed. I really wanted to see justice through and to have the full experience of being in the midst of a criminal trial. I guess I'll have to wait another year before I can enjoy my civic duties to their fullest. Ah well...

My bedroom problem

My bedroom is making me insane! I moved into my new house about a month ago and I still have boxes in the middle of my room and my desk looks like some really nasty paper monster barfed on it. I can hardly get to my dresser and I have stuff piled on top of unpacked boxes in the middle of my room. It's not a pleasant place to be and it brings me absolutely no peace of mind. I've also noticed that I'm not sleeping well. Hideous!

In the face of my hideous room I am making a pact with myself and all of you faithful readers;) I will play around with the arrange-a-room website and create a room arrangement that makes me happy by Monday morning. I will then proceed to arrange my room in an awesome way and unpack everything by Monday night, starting my week off with a happy and clean room! YEAH! I am creating peace and serenity for myself (as well as a good night's sleep!)

And yes...I will post fab pics of my terrific bedroom on Monday!

The Evil "Reality" Show

Lately I have been spending a great deal of quality time with my television. I suddenly have access to hundreds of cable stations and can readily use the excuse "I need to knit..." in order to watch all of the rather fabulous reality shows available! Today I was the victim of ... What Not To Wear!

There I sat, innocently knitting a darling light green fuzzy wool beanie as Clinton and Stacy attacked another unsuspecting woman (however...I must add that it boggles my mind when these people are actually surprised that someone has discovered their special dressing skills!) I watched and knitted and was suddenly transfixed by this fabulously cute shirt dress with a dreamy necklace. I knew that I must have such a thing in my wardrobe! But first it was off to acupuncture!

The entire acupuncture session, as I lay on a table with needles sticking out of every limb and surface, listening to relaxing music and attempting to nap, I thought "Which store is my best bet? Where should I go first? Target? Hmm...or maybe a smaller store...no, no I have to go to Target first..." Needless to say I was not very relaxed during my session! The session behind me and all of the needles retrieved, I raced to my nearest Avenue store (a store that carries a random array of clothes for pleasantly plump women), scored a FANTASTIC new denim jacket but was thwarted as to my quest for cute jewelry and a new fab shirt. The answer had to be Target.

Target...the Mecca of today's suburban shopper...the location of all household cleaning and back to school needs...the hub of affordable yet trendy clothes...AHHHH Target! Yes, Target was the answer! My loot consisted of a light weight gauzy black top with silver threads running through it and and a multi-strand necklace chalk full of pearls, silver loops and black beads. Now...I ask you...could either Clinton or Stacy complain? I think not! Not only am I completely trendy, but now I have another outfit to wear my silver faux snake skin ballet flats with. How many of you can say that?

The lesson of the day...beware of evil reality shows...especially if they come in the marathon variety. They can really mess up a perfectly relaxing acupuncture session!

Welcome!

I have realized that I have so many people in my life that I want to keep in the know that I have to breakdown and blog on a regular basis! So here it is...Life: Take Big Bites! It's a little slice of my life, shared with all of you!

To start off, the latest news in my life is that I've moved to a new home and have a new roommate. The new place is a dream and my new roomie is so fantastic! I've also started freelance interpreting and even though I started it feeling scared and SO not up to the task, I have discovered that I love it! Not only do I get to use my ASL skills but I get to learn all kinds of cool tidbits of random knowledge that I can use to wow and impress;)

Christmas orders have started coming in for my knitting business. Chicken & Cookies Handknits is going to make it! There are so many ups and downs when you start a new business and so many people give you SOOOOOO many suggestions about what you should do and how you should do it that you can get lost in all of the "good" advice. I am learning how to manage all of the advice and creating a business that I am proud of. Truly having ownership of your work is a fan-flippin-tastic sensation! Order your hand knits today!!!!

Enough with the boring blah, blah details...I made these totally dreamy brownies today that were so rich it made my eyes water. FABULOUS! I fed lots of friends tasty food, read a good book and sat in the sun. Today was a great day!