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Menichetti

There are a few items I like from the Fall 2006 Menichetti line.


This sweater looks like one I could, without a huge amount of difficulty, create myself. I'm not into the grey tights in the same outfit as the cream pieces at all. The sandals just make the overall effect that much worse, but I do like the sweater, though I might make it just slightly longer.



I really like this jacket. It's simple and classic and has really pleasing proportions. The shape is also really flattering. The multiple layers of the skirt might make it a bit impractical for everyday, but it would be easy to find one that isn't so delicate but retains some of the stylistic details.

oi! knit

Punk Knits has created these completely kickass Skull Needles. Appropriately, they are available in size 13 (I hope that in the future, additional sizes will be available). They're a bit pricey for needles, but not excessively so and with these sweet skull tops, I'd say they're worth it. The Punk Knits website notes that there will be a book coming out in 2007 - I'll be looking forward to it.

udon

This Udon Noodle Bowl from Target is one of those items that looks cool but makes me wonder if it would actually be useful. I definitely like the concept of having a stable place to rest chopsticks but I worry that it'd be easy to catch the thick end accidentally and upset the entire bowl (perhaps only slightly, but still, spilled or sloshes hot noodle liquid is not pleasant). It also seems likely to be one of those items you use once or twice and abandon in favor of the usual pieces in your dish set.

lovely koi cardigan

I am seriously close to ordering this koi cardigan.



So lovely!

Bottega Veneta suit

I've been finding myself increasingly interested in suits and/or suit jackets for work lately.



This Bottega Veneta suit has a lot of aspects I look for, including being single-breasted, the bottom of the jacket falls significantly below the natural waist, and the shoulders aren't exaggerated or puffy. I also like that the sleeves have more of a relaxed look.

knit overload

The fall D&G collection is predominantly knit. It's a knit explosion!



This collection completely reinforces my sense that knitwear should be either an accessory (or two) OR one larger piece of apparel. More than that and it's simply too much.

Moschino knits

The Moschino Fall collection has a lot of knit items as well. I really like the idea of the pieces - the general look and feel - though the specifics are too runway for real life.











Overall, I'm so pleased with the color palette for fall.

Burberry Knits

I'm so happy to see that it looks like knit items will still be very in style this coming fall. Burberry Prorsum has quite a few items in their Fall 2006 line.







I'm not a big fan of hat bobbles but I could easily eliminate that aspect of the rib hat. It's an exceedingly basic stitch pattern so it'd probably only be a couple-hour project. (I love those! Instant gratification.) It's difficult to see how the cable hat pattern looks in the available photos but I'm sure more detailed photos will be available in the not too distant future. And it's even more difficult to see the detail on the scarf but again, I'm sure better shots will become available.

pan-tastic

Oh, cwap.

sonic fabric

Sonic Fabric is officially the Cool Item of the Day.

ice storm

I didn't manage to get many good photos of all the ice. I saw a lot of good opportunities while driving around town, but it was so damn cold I didn't stop to get out of the car. Here's a shot of a corner near our house.

Foliage scarf

I haven't posted knitted objects in way too long. Here's a scarf I recently made from Berroco Foliage in Statice (5985).



I used a basic knit2-purl2 rib.

I'm not sure who it will be for yet. Any takers?

fried chik'n

K and I received many wonderful xmas presents this year, one of which is a deep-fryer (thanks, Dan!). K has used it quite a bit and while I have definitely enjoyed the extra-crispy tater tots and mozzarella sticks, nothing really wowed me until I ate the results of tonight's experiment: deep fried chik'n.

I've mentioned before that I am a fan of Morningstar Farms newest faux meat item: Morningstar Farms Meal Starters Chik'n Strips.

(And yes! They are finally on the Morningstar website!)

The recommended preparation instructions for the Chik'n Strips do not include anything about deep frying so I wasn't sure if it would be a successful method of cooking. It was a major success!



I used Luzianne Cajun Chicken Coating Mix (yes, it's vegematarian, just designed for use with chicken) and adhered it to the strips using a mix of milk and egg. The result was a thin crispy coating with a hint of flavor. The strips themselves aren't heavy on flavor (just the way I like 'em - if they tasted more like chicken, I wouldn't be a fan) and fried, they were a perfect match with our own house blend of barbecue sauce.*

This is most certainly a meal I will be repeating.

*half Kraft Original Flavor Barbecue Sauce, half Bullseye Original Barbecue Sauce

earbuddy

How great is this little earbud tote? While my current mint-tin storage system (not actually a mint tin, but a tin very similar to those that curiously strong mints are sold in) works, the $14.95 price tag of the earbuddy is extremely enticing.

flat and pointy

I'm in the market for a pair of pointy-toe black flats. Something I can wear with dress trousers, but more comfortable than heels.


This Gabriella Rocha Belinda is one of the only ones I can find and while it's fine, it's not particularly thrilling. I'm also not so keen on the mesh detail, though it isn't so bad as to keep me from trying the shoe. I'm having difficulty locating any other options, though, that are black and aren't embellished within an inch of existence. Anyone got suggestions?

fashionista dreamin'

We survived the ice storm thus far, but more about that later. For now, I'm going to look at more Fall 2006 collections as I sit under an afghan and use my laptop as a source of both entertainment and physical warmth.


Take away the stringy embellishment thingies and this Peter Jensen is an ensemble I'd wear. I'm not usually one to pick green, but I like the combination of these tones.


Although the waist is a bit high, this Paul Smith Women outfit is lovely, though the waist is a bit high for my comfort, and I definitely am not into the visinipple. This deranged patternblind office assistant look, though, not so much. And speaking of high waists, this Acuascutum is also very attractive but I'm not sure anyone with curves can pull off the look.

On a general note, I'm very pleased to see that scarves still look to be in vogue, and happily there are a lot of (scarves and otherwise) knitted items on the runway.

puppybutt

Who wouldn't want this chic piece keeping a towel in arm's reach? Get one for the kitchen, bathroom, mudroom - the list goes on!

Harvest Moon

I'm really excited for the upcoming DS version of Harvest Moon.

I've gotten hooked on almost all the other versions of Harvest Moon - A Wonderful Life and Another Wonderful Life for Gamecube, Friends of Mineral Town and More Friends of Mineral Town for GBA.

I did not care for the Playstation version. The way the town was set up (sprawling, covering what felt like miles, every landmark/area isolated completely from its so-called neighbors) combined with the visual perspective made it way too difficult to keep track of where you were. That difficulty combined with time that passed much too quickly created a world where I couldn't manage to accomplish anywhere near as much as in the other platform versions.

One of my favorite things about the Nintendo platform games is that if you link the GBA and GCN versions you can gain extra benefits and unlock additional cool items. It looks like the DS version will have a similar interface if one has the DS version and either of the GBA versions inserted into the DS at the same time. The DS game also purports to have mini-games and some other neat features I'm looking forward to trying.

No release date has yet been announced according to Natsume's site, but Amazon lists it as 6/6/2006 - K's birthday!

for the sistrah

A certain someone is big on butterflies and I just saw this post about how butterfly belt buckles are or are about to be all the rage. Of course, it's a British poster so all the items listed would have hefty shipping charges attached. So I decided to look for other options she might enjoy.

If a person had a lot of money to throw around, she might choose this Dolce & Gabbana belt featuring crystal and brown leather.


On the opposite end of the spectrum, Old Navy has this Silk Tie belt with a butterfly buckle. It comes in pink (shown here) and blue.


A crafty gal like my sis could always create her own belt using one of the buckles available from Body Candy via Amazon or Shop.

flashy

I need a new flash drive. I have a few smaller-capacity drives which are handy for a few files here and there, but I really need something for transporting larger quantities of files. I think I'll probably get this SanDisk 2GB drive. Newegg always has great prices and this seems to be a pretty good deal. It's also gotten good reviews and SanDisk is a brand name I trust. I wouldn't mind a larger drive but I don't know that it would be worth it to me to pay for a 4GB drive. Any suggestions from the peanut gallery?

too much artsy not enough fartsy

I've been looking around online for random Boston Terrier items lately. As one might guess, I'm not into the typical art fair type of thing - someone else's BT photographed and printed onto a mug or whatnot. I do like this poster, though I think it'd be better without the text. This set is cute, though I think that the BT alone would be even better. K and I both have been looking at this vintage toy. There seem to be a fair number of them around, though in varying states of wear and tear. This little guy is so weird I like it. It'd be awesome to have it out in the garden (if we had one). This little guy is so ridiculous! But it appears that it's just printed 8.5x11", which makes me think it's just printed at home.

They Might Be Game Boy

This is the best thing I've heard all week.