The annotated life

Knit pieces for cold days

Monday, June 15, 2009 at 1:32 pm | In beauty+fashion, crafts+inspiration | Leave a Comment

I know the winter only starts on the 21st of June, but the weather is already as cold as can be in São Paulo. Because of that, I’ve been digging deep into my knitting projects’ queue, trying to decide what shall come first. And after checking out Kim Hargreaves’ books this last weekend, I completely flipped out and selected a ton of patterns to make. I mean, her items are wonderful and the whole looks shown in each book are just incredible.

So I’m gonna show you a few of my favourites from all her books. Check them out below and be sure to buy or borrow the books. If you cannot knit or crochet, ask a friend or a relative who does. Really, you need some of these pieces and you’ll see why.

Book: Amber
Patterns: Beth and Skye
This gray coat seems so cozy and warm! Perfect for keeping you safe from cold breezes in a stylish way. Plus, it is beautifully textured. I’m not so sure about all the colours in the wrap, even though I love colourful things. I guess it reminds me a bit of long and flowy hippy skirts, something I strongly dislike. But I really dig the way it looks with the large belt holding it in place.

Book: Breeze
Patterns: Willow e Devon
I love layered outfits, so of course I like vests. And this little blue one is just breathtaking! It is pretty and delicate, and is sure to be quite a match with romantic tops and jeans. Devon is an example of my love for slightly large tops; I always think they look so hip and cool! Layering it over a aubergine-coloured tee was a great idea, too.

Book: Heartfelt
Patterns: Flourish and Haven
Who doesn’t love a good ol’ scarf? Well, I can actually think about one or two friends that hate the idea of covering their necks, but, even if it is just to admire and touch, these two pieces from Kim Hargreaves are bound to please everyone. I just NEED Flourish (and the whole outfit, if possible) and it definitely jumped to the very top of my queue. It looks exquisite and I’m sure it feels really soft. Haven does seem to be very smooth, too, and the pattern is pretty indeed.

Book: Nectar
Patterns: Flicker and Glisten
For some reason, I’m obsessed with berets. No matter how many patterns are already in my Ravelry queue or annotated in sheets of paper all around my house, whenever I see a new one in a site or book, I have to copy and keep it. That’s why Flicker is in my list. And Glisten… well, one more vest and, this time, with tiny glistening (duh) beads all over it. Gotta love it!! Once again, a belt provides a special touch.

Book: Thrown Together
Patterns: Polly and Rosa
One more great blouse to use over a long-sleeved t-shirt, in a layered look. I also love navy blue and that’s what draw my attention to this item. It should look amazing with a basic pair of jeans. Rosa, on the other hand, is more on the feminine side and definitely looks like it was made to use with pearls. I’m in love with the frilly part over the chest area; it makes the blouse even more special.

For all the beret lovers out there… Can you believe in these cute little hats below? I gotta make a bunch in different colours as soon as possible. The red one is called Robin and the pattern can be found on “Thrown Together”; the other, Gem, is from “Heartfelt”.

(Some of these pieces are actually quite simple and experienced knitters won’t probably have difficulties in making them without the original pattern. If it’s your case, good for you! Check out bigger pictures by clicking on each of them or going to Kim Hargreaves’ site!)

Wishful thinking?

Monday, June 15, 2009 at 10:37 am | In random rants | Leave a Comment

I’m pretty sure I’ve already posted this, but I guess sometimes it’s necessary to be reminded of keeping that in mind.

Holiday at work

Friday, June 12, 2009 at 4:41 pm | In random rants | Leave a Comment

So, it’s Corpus Christi and everybody is enjoying their holiday doing fun or relaxing things, right? But not me, oh, no. I’m working. =P

In order to endure this trial, I chose to resort to cute videos, happy songs and candy. \o/

Below, my weapons of choice:

I love this movie, this scene, this song… I also love dancing to it on Wii.

Vampire – Antsy Pants

7_belo_maxiduo_blog

Bala 7Belo Maxi (a normal e a versão duo)

Nail care: (miraculous) wax for cuticles

Friday, June 5, 2009 at 1:14 am | In beauty+fashion | 1 Comment

I stopped removing my cuticles over a month ago, for a number of reasons. First, it used to take forever to remove everything and leave my fingertips the way I liked. Then, after only two or three days, there she was again, ruining my manicure. And let’s not mention all the little bruises and all the blood I lost while doing that by myself or even at a professional. So when I heard that the less you remove your cuticles, the less they grow, I had to give it a try.

But, apparently, there is a catch to this whole thing (nothing in life is THAT easy, you know): you may not cut it out, but you do have to make sure all the skin around your nails is moisturised. There are a lot of lotions specially made for the skin on our hands, that’s for sure, but I never adapted well to any of them and never really thought they made any difference. So I was a bit suspicious of this Granado wax. It does come in a cute pink thingy, but outter beauty is not always an indicative of something good.

Anyways, I bought it for twelve bucks and started using it straight away for about three times a day. And, the biggest miracle of all: it worked just fine! My cuticles are now almost invisible and it is harder and harder for me to see my skin “chipping” (that is not the right word, I guess).

Wanna buy it? Head over to Granado’s site. Click here.

One more random post

Wednesday, June 3, 2009 at 10:41 pm | In random rants | Leave a Comment

After months of procrastination, I finally downloaded hundreds of pictures from my camera to my computer. And I really mean months: there were pictures in there I took at my cousin’s wedding – it happened in mid-February. I had pictures with friends, pictures of crafts, pictures of random stuff I saw in the street and liked.

And what may that mean, you ask me? Well, this means I have no excuse to get me out of posting about my crafty projects of lately. I know this blog is qauite abandoned, but things are sure to change.

Meanwhile, I’d like to leave a quote (or not?) that has me thinking a lot since yesterday: stand up for what you believe, even if it means standing alone. I guess it is really easier to just blend in with the crowd and follow whatever it is that the masses decide is good/right, ignoring your own thoughts, but there comes a time when it is all about taking sides. Am I going to be like everybody else and pretend I don’t see the whole of the situation? Or am I going to work up the courage to stand up and say “I don’t agree” out loud? I know what to do, actually, but I just feel so disappointed when everybody else do not have this kind of clarity. =(

(i really have to change my sidebar, i know. this is shameful. fortunately, kol is not anymore the only band in my playlist.)

Dressing plain shoes up

Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at 9:01 am | In beauty+fashion, crafts+inspiration | Leave a Comment

Nowadays, I’m quite girly and love shoes, but things weren’t always like that. I guess I like tops so much that every other clothing item ends up being forgotten (like pants… I do like wearing them – ha -, but I’m not crazy about buying them and do not get easily carried away when seeing different styles). I mean, it is very hard to me to find clothes I really like, but this is not true when it comes to tops. I usually love them all and cannot stay long without buying a few.

Anyway, the thing is I’ve only started really appreciating shoes recently and due to my stepmom’s love for them (she’s got a lot of them and some pretty awesome ones, believe me). And even though I own some absolutely adorable pairs, I do miss having a few a bit more “crazy”, if you know what I mean. This is why I just LOVED finding out about this site. …love Maegan features some great outfits by its owner and, surprise, surprise, she even teaches her readers how to add a charming little (or big) something to your plain-looking heels.

This project is the most recent one and my favourite. I mean, look at this blue explosion… It is just amazing! I don’t usually go for sandals that open, but the ruffle kind of covers a big part of the foot, so it’s definitely something I will make.

This one was inspired in a Louboutin and it’s also gorgeous. Again, the problem I might have with it (too open) is kinda fixed by adding the black “petals”.

Oh, and the best thing about this two embellishments: they are removable! So you don’t have to permanently “spoil” your shoes, if that’s a problem for you. And, better, you can change the ruffles’ colour, for example, and have different shoes for different circumstances.

Click on the images to go check the tutorials. All images were taken from …love Maegan.

Letting Charlie help me through the day

Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at 12:54 pm | In random rants | Leave a Comment

Right now, I really wanna go up to a certain someone and tell her she’s full of sh*t. I do have manners, though, and won’t do it. I’ll just keep on listening quietly and thinking about Paris in the winter. Patience is the key word here.

And in order to calm down, I suggest we all watch Charlie, the Unicorn. It is very much funny and kind of stupid, but that’s something I’m really in need of. Silly crazy videos, silly crazy voices, silly crazy stories.

First, Charlie goes to Candy Mountain:

Then, he (unwillingly) sets off to find the Banana King:

Finally, he has to find a Snowman to save the world:

Or something like it, anyway.

Desk organizers that are both cute and useful

Thursday, May 7, 2009 at 10:00 am | In cool items | Leave a Comment

I love stationery items, so my workdesk is a complete mess. To be honest, my desks at home are also pretty terrible, full of stuff thrown around and in dire need of some organizing. The problem is I get tons of small boxes and tins to put stuff into and end up making a mess with all these containers. This is why I loved the desk organizers below. they are big and have thousands of spaces for one to put everything one might need while at work. I can really see myself using this a lot, specially because it is soooo cute!

Bad news: I just cannot recall where I saw this item. And, even worse, I have no clue where you can buy it. =( This is quite a bummer because not only do I want to link it here, but also I was looking forward to buying it. Argh. I saved these images while at work, so I’ll try and check my computer there for any information.

EDIT: just found the website from where you can get those! They are sold in Artfire by NothingElegant. I still don’t know, though, where I came to know about it. =p