Sassa * Nova

Kiki-Mariko-Jeffrey

2009-06-25T12:12:00.002-04:00

I love the Kiki-Mariko Rug from the second Mason-Dixon book, but I wanted to try a smaller project first before diving into such a huge effort.

The perfect opportunity arose when my boss showed me his new glasses. The arms of his glasses have a funky little pattern that looks just like the zig zag pattern in the Kiki-Mariko Rug. Since his birthday was coming up, I decided to make a dishcloth using the pattern in the same colors as his glasses.

I tried a flat discloth first. Oops - the floats show. Well, duh. So I decided to knit it in the round without the steek and make it more of thick hot pad than a dish cloth. I knit the tube, turned it inside out, seemed the bottom, turned it rightside out and did a 3-needle bind off for the top. Voila!

Bunny on Swing

2009-05-05T11:59:00.006-04:00

Papercutting . . . because I really need another

craft to add to the list.

I started to get interested in papercutting after I signed up to get mailorder #8 from the Angry Chicken. (Wow - that's a weird sentence). After trying out papercutting, I was amazed at how easy it was to get a fairly decent looking piece of art with few tools (pattern, exacto knife, paper, magazine as cutting board) and a short period of time. This can be my go to craft for last minute gifts and simple re-decorating for my house and office.

I am really inspired by the papercuts of Elsa Mora and I own a few pieces. I love the otherworldly look of her artwork.

To further myself along, I have signed up for a class later this month at Asheville BookWorks. The teacher will be Beatrice Coron and I can't wait to learn from her. I've never taken a class like this before; it's going to be an adventure.

Mini House Dreams

2009-04-13T17:49:00.004-04:00

When I am not knitting or fooling around with some other craft, I am dreaming about mini houses. What is a mini house? Well besides being an obsession of mine, it is a house that is less than 250 square feet or so.

I'm not sure how this all started. Maybe it was my childhood ambition to become an interior designer who exclusively worked with children's play houses. My "big" idea back then was to paint yellow stripes on the floor that would serve as sleeping bag parking spots. We can say that my tastes have changed a bit since then.

About a year ago, I stumbled across the Tumbleweed Tiny House Company website. The ingenious and teeny houses really inspired me to design my own. Since I am slow as molasses, I finally got around to designing my own trial sized house today during my lunch break.

This is my idea of drawing up architectural plans - in Excel, using shapes and text boxes. Low-tech . . . yup. My ideal tiny house would be about 15' x 20'. I decided to scale it down to the infinitesimal 5' x 8' for one reason. If you check out the Tumbleweed site, you'll notice that a lot of the smallest houses are built on trailers instead of foundations. Well, my Dad has a 5' x 8' trailer and he seems interested in helping me build this. So this nutty dream of living a fun-size life MIGHT actually happen (one day . . . maybe).

The house is basically a small room with a walled off toilet/shower area, a small kitchen and a living area. You climb a rope ladder to access the sleeping loft above. This drawing is missing a lot (like its bottom third and . . . um . . . windows), but it is a start.

I envision that the mini house would be permanently parked on a beautiful piece of land with views of the NC mountains. While getting super lost on the way to Caroline's baby shower, I spotted potential "parking spots" in Stokes County. It is close to home, but far enough away for a little vacation house.

I would have just enough room in the mini house for a few knitting projects, books, my laptop, food and (maybe) my dog, Iris. Any visitors would have to sleep in tents or curled up in the living area.

So is this totally nuts?

What I did over my blog break

2009-03-25T16:39:00.004-04:00

I knit up a storm last year. I just had blognesia and completely forgot to blog about what I was working on (some friends would say that they reminded me a few times).

Here are just a few highlights:
The Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann (made for a friend's newborn baby boy). I really took advantage of the Knit Picks 40% off book sale and got copies of The Opinionated Knitter, Knitting Without Tears and Knitters Almanac. I love EZ's wit and good common knitting sense. I see many more EZ projects in my future.

I started the Twilight socks the morning of my little sister's college graduation in May. I finished sometime in the fall. These are my second pair of socks and a week doesn't go by when I don't wear them to bed or with jeans. I did try the two-at-a-time technique with these socks, but I got really tangled. I got to the heel, put one sock on stitch markers and just proceeded one at at time.

I tried my first seamless, raglan sweater, Francis Revisited. I bought the yarn over a year ago when my boss gave me a gift certificate for Knit Picky Yarns. I thought it was going to be the Tree Jacket, but I am glad that I chose this sweater pattern instead - I love how it drapes. I have a really hard time not wearing it every day.

I knit not one, but two thongs this year. They were both bachelorette party gifts for close friends. From my Ravelry notes: When I bought two skeins of Risata last summer, I was pretty sure that they would be knit up into a pair of socks. However, I used both to knit thongs for bachelorette party gifts. I started this one as the train departed Greensboro for DC. Luckily, no one asked me what I was knitting while I was on the train. I bound off the stitches as the train pulled into Union Station. I wove in the ends when I got to my friend’s, the hostess, apartment in Chinatown. I did this discreetly as her father sat a few feet away. After the hostess’s parents and husband left I started the i-cord waist tie. I knit on this mysteriously through the night as we talked, laughed and sipped wine. All the other guests knew was that I making 40 inches of … something. Near the end of the night, I snuck away to thread the i-cord through the eyelet row and, voila … a thong was born.

So, that plus a few more projects is how I spent my year. Hopefully it won't be another 13 months until my next post.

Chuva

2009-03-23T17:24:00.005-04:00

Umm . . . yeah . . . it's been a while since I've posted anything. Technically it has almost been 13 months. Yikes! I have been knitting up a storm, I just never got the "knit something, take a picture, put the picture on flickr, blog about picture" thing down. I'll try to be better . . . we'll see.

I am turning up now for a good reason. If you remember all the way back to my last blog post, I was congratulating Emily on winning my contest supporting Big Brothers and Big Sisters. The 2009 Bowl for Kids Sake for Big Brothers and Big Sisters has come and gone, but I am still raising money. If you donate to my local Big Brothers and Big Sisters, I will send you a copy of my first pattern, Chuva. This fingerless mitt is based on the beautiful Droplet Hat designed by Norah Gaughan (who graciously let me use this motif in my design).

You can donate through the above link through March 31st. Please send me a quick email at renee dot antoinette at gmail dot com to let me know that you made a donation and I will send you a pdf of the pattern.

Thanks to my test knitters Nik and Stacey!

Coming soon . . . what I have been working on for the last year so.

Blog Contest Winner - Emily!

2008-02-26T12:23:00.003-05:00

Thank you to everyone who gave to Bowl for Kids Sake to support Big Brothers Big Sisters! Ranette and I raised $534.05 - that is much more than I ever dreamed possible.

Emily is our big winner! She wins her very own copy of The Best of Interweave Knits: Our Favorite Designs from the First Ten Years!

Emily, send your address to me at renee DOT antoinette AT gmail DOT com and I will send the book to you. In case you already have this book, we can work out another knitterly prize for you.

I was a biology major and I feel the need to include a "Methods" section to this blog post. My completely scientific process included:

1) put all four entrants names in an excel spreadsheet

2) sort the names by the third letter in each person's first name

3) run down the hall and ask my co-worker Greg to pick a number between 1 and 4

4) tell Greg that 3.5 is not an answer that works for me and ask him to pick a whole number

5) Greg picks 3

6) I run back to my desk to see who is in the number 3 position on the spreadsheet and see that it is Emily.

So congratulations, Emily! Your book will come to you soon.

Also coming soon, the last of my Christmas presents!

Bowl for Kids Sake!

2008-01-10T16:44:00.000-05:00

I am holding my first ever Sassa Nova Blog Contest to support Bowl for Kids Sake (BFKS)! This event raises money for my local Big Brothers/Big Sisters agency. In fact, this one event raises nearly 40% of the total annual budget for Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

This event means so much to me because of the smart, funny, super cool 13-year-old by my side, Ranette. We have been matched through Big Brothers/Big Sisters for three and a half years and we have loved every minute of it! OK, she doesn't look like she is loving the particular minute that was captured in this picture, but do you know how hard it is to get a 13-year-old to smile? Especially when she is super cool AND surrounded by her super cool friends!

Ranette and I will be bowling at the BFKS event on February 23rd and we need sponsors! If you can spare $5, please donate online here. Leave a comment saying that you donated (no need to say how much) and I will enter you in a contest to win a great knitting prize. Only 3 people read this blog so you have a REALLY good chance of winning. Good luck!

Gifts for Kids

2008-01-09T07:27:00.000-05:00

What little girl doesn't like a dolly? Especially a handmade Ruby Doll with calico, lace, ribbons and cute felt faces. These dolls were Christmas gifts for the baby daughters of a few of my friends.

They were a joy to sew up! I matched the dolls "hair" color to each baby's hair color. Each doll has a different hair style, facial expression, and outfit. I added little flannel sleeping bags and blankies for each doll. If there is one thing I learned from Barbie, it is that every doll needs an accessory. Ruby doesn't get a Corvette or a condo with an elevator, but she does get a sleeping bag.

I met seven-year-old Tevan at my cousin's wedding in Buffalo. While we were waiting for members of the bridal party to get their nails done, I taught Tevan how to knit. She picked it up in a matter of minutes. She is certainly a knitting wunderkind! To encourage her in her art, I gave her the book "Kids Learn to Knit" by Lucinda Guy and Francois Hall. I first saw this book on the Brownberry Chronicles and knew that it would be the perfect Christmas gift for Tevan. I added a few skeins of kid-friendly DK yarn (colorful, not itchy, not acrylic), a blunt tapestry needle, and a pair of size 6 bamboo needles just like the needles in the book. Tevan called me last week to say that she loved her Christmas surprise and that she has already cast on!

This is so very "Reading Rainbow," but I have to say that I love this book. But don't take my word for it! Go to your local library or check out the Blue Blog's great write up about "Kids Learn to Knit".

During that knitting class in the nail shop, Tevan said that she wanted a scarf with a cat on it. So, of course, she got that in her Christmas box too.

Whew! I think that is the last of my Christmas craftiness blogging. Now I get to start a little something for me!

Christmas Gift Wrap Up Part 2

2008-01-01T13:34:00.001-05:00

More Christmas gifts!

Dad got a promise of a sweater vest and an actual scarf. The scarf is much darker and richer looking in real life. The yarn was something gorgeous and sproingy from the sale bin at Knit Picky. I think it was a Crystal Palace yarn, but I will have to check. The pattern is the Cable Scarf from Lion Brand.

Mom got a scarf inspired by Denyse Schmidt Quilts. "Inspired" means that I didn't follow the directions and it came out different than it was supposed to be.

Mom also got the Juliet I made for myself. I went down a size, but I think that I need to go down to the small (unthinkable!) even though I got gauge with the Patons Shetland Chunky. I'll have to try it again.

I didn't manage to get started on the Amy Butler messenger bag for my brother Sturkey. Hopefully, he will get it for his birthday next month. My little brother is only 10 so I didn't want to inflict hand knits on him (although I did threaten him with itchy wool underpants). He got a Playstation 3 game instead. But when he saw me knitting the Dashings, he said that his friend had a pair of fingerless mitts and he wanted some too. I'll have to start on those soon plus a pair for Stephanie, in red of course.

My co-workers, family, and my book club buddies all got rice heat therapies bags and a few got eye pillows too.

The coolest thing I made is for my friend Ben out in Colorado.

That hat was amazing to knit! This was my first fair isle project. It was fun watching the pattern emerge as I knit from the chart. I used Cascade 220 in cream and black (the leftovers went to Laura's Dashings). This is the perfect hat for Ben because 1) the logo for his new band involves skulls so he can wear this onstage during gigs, 2) Colorado is cold right now and the extra earflap will be useful, and 3) he loves him some pirates y'all.

And of course everything got wrapped up all cute like and Christmas cards (from Paper Source) went out before Christmas!

Overall, everyone loved their gifts. I have decided to start making gifts all year long so I don't go through this again next year. If you think that's a good idea too, check out the Year Long Gift-A-Long.

Christmas Gift Wrap Up Part 1

2008-01-01T12:06:00.001-05:00

I got an email from Stacey the other day commenting on another Scholar Collar that I made for a Christmas present. Stacey (very nicely) made the valid point that she has to keep up with my projects via flickr because my blogging is . . . well . . . less than frequent.

That's true, but there has been a good reason for that. You'll notice that badge for Handmade Holidays on the left of my blog. Well, I attempted to make nearly all of my Christmas gifts this year and every free moment for the past 5-6 weeks has been spent knitting and sewing. I even developed what I call "Craft Induced Insomnia" - a state of sleeplessness brought on by self-inflicted deadlines, the whir of a sewing machine, and the clack of knitting needles. I would look up at the clock after finishing a project and notice that it was 1:00 am and I had to be at work in 7 hours.

I can't really complain though. I knit a lot of great little projects, learned a few new techniques, and saved myself from the mall. Here are a few items:

For my friends Danielle and Christine - The "Simple Tote Bag" from Bend The Rules Sewing filled with rice heat therapy bags (thanks Sew, Mama, Sew!), eye pillows and books

from my collection that I thought they would like. Christine also got a Scholar Collar for her birthday on the 22nd. Christine, like Danielle, is smart, skinny, successful, and beautiful. Yet she is so cool and funny that I can look past all of that and call her one of my best friends ; )

For my sisters Laura and Stephanie - Shoulder Bags, a capelet for Stephanie, and a set of Dashings for Laura (picture to come). Lordy, next year Stephanie won't be allowed downstairs with a doo rag on. And she won't be allowed to wear ALL of her presents at the same time!

More to come . . .

The Scholar Collar

2007-11-12T13:05:00.001-05:00

My dear friend Danielle is one of those people that you would assume that you would not like. Beautiful - yup. Successful - yup. Smart - yup. Stylish - yup yup. Nice - yup yup yup. It is that last part that gets you. She is so nice, kind and funny that you have to forgive her for being so darn perfect. She is the one person that I can call that I know I will end up laughing so hard that I will have to gasp for breath.

Danielle is three weeks younger than me. This means that I get to see what it is like to be 31 and then I tell her what it's like. Luckily, nothing has fallen off or dropped to the floor. We can both breathe a sigh of relief. Besides this special knowledge, I can also give her a handmade present - the Scholar Collar by brooklyntweed. I chose this because: 1) Danielle works in Brooklyn, 2) she went to law school so she is certainly a scholar and 3) it is probably the only one of the gorgeous things designed by brooklyntweed that I can actually make.

I used this yarn and size 10 1/2 needles for this project. I knit a garter stitch rectangle (7" X 22.5") and placed buttonholes where I thought they should go. The results are so squishable . . . I really almost kept it.

Danielle, this is how you wear it - just button and go:

Happy Birthday, Danielle!

Greetings from Buffalo!

2007-10-10T07:44:00.000-04:00

I have loads of FOs to share, but I thought that I would share my "Anthropologie-Inspired Capelet" first. A few weeks ago I started looking for a little sweater to wear over a black spaghetti strap dress that I planned to wear to my cousin's wedding. Since cousin Tommy's wedding was going to take place in Buffalo in October and I am so not used to cold weather, I had to find something reasonably warm, but still dressy enough for a wedding. In a radical change of thinking, I decided to make something instead of simply going to the store.

After an exhaustive search through Ravelry, I came across the capelet - a short sleeved cropped sweater in reverse stockinette. The chunky yarn, the reversibility, and the pin closure sold me on the sweater. I chose Cascade 128 in a lavendar shade (maybe lilac mist - did I just make that up?) and I used just over two skeins. Which was kind of a problem. I only had two skeins and couldn't find another one in Winston-Salem or Charlotte. I went online and found what I needed at Yarn Country. Luckily, it came quickly and I was able to finish up the ribbing on the bottom of the body and sleeves.

This was my first time blocking and I think that it turned out all right. I used the full-size upright steamer I got for Christmas a few years back (before I even considered it for blocking). I found a cute pin at Target and I was all ready for the wedding.

It was such a success that my sister and a bridesmaid have asked for capelets of their very own!

OK, I am no longer in Buffalo. It is November 9th and I am just now remembering to put up this post. I've got lots more to share - I hope that I can get to it all!

Help Find A Cure for Lupus

2007-09-27T12:12:00.000-04:00

Aimee over at Fairie_Knits is raising money to support the Alliance for Lupus Research Walk With Us To Cure Lupus Walk-A-Thon. The Alliance for Lupus Research (ALR) supports ground breaking Lupus research that will, hopefully, find a cure for this awful disease. My rheumatologist, Dr. Mishra, has a research project that is funded through the ALR. So you know that the money you give will go to the researchers who will help me and other patients with Lupus live a healthier life.

The walk will take place in Raleigh on Saturday October 6, 2007. Please take a moment to go over to Aimee's blog to donate to the ALR. She hopes to raise $5,000 for Lupus Research and I hope that you can help her reach that goal. If you like to knit, crochet or spin, there are a lot of great prizes that you can win if you donate. If you aren't crafty (or just crafty in a different way), you can still donate.

Thank you for helping us find a cure!

A Little Flower Power in the Living Room

2007-09-25T07:37:00.002-04:00

Chair slipcover 1
Originally uploaded by Renee Antoinette

It has been a few weeks and I am still not sure how I was able to pull this off. Maybe it was all that "Project Runway" that I saw on DVD. Maybe I inherited the seamstress gene from my mom and grandmother. Despite my limited experience with my sewing machine, I was able to turn out a chair slipcover in one day.

The chair - an IKEA purchase from years ago - is one of my favorite pieces of furniture. I was heartbroken when I spilled red wine on it. Since the chair is discontinued, I knew that I wouldn't be able to get a cover from IKEA. So I purchased the fabric, "Flower Power" at Hancock Fabrics during a big sale. I glanced at a slipcover book and I was soon on my way. I draped muslin around the chair and pinned around the edges ("Project Runway's" influence I bet). Then I used chalk to mark where the seams would go. I took the muslin off, cut around the marked seams using a seam allowance that went from 1/8" to 1" - very sloppy. I sewed the muslin together and fit it on the chair. The fit looked surprisingly good given my slap dash pattern making.

I ripped out the seams of the musin slipcover and transferred the pattern to the fabric. Miraculously, the slipcover fit as well as the muslin. I poked holes in the fabric where the arms attached and put it all together.

Voila! One becomes three

2007-09-24T07:02:00.000-04:00

I rescued this huge bouquet from the trashcan at work. It was left over from a board meeting and no one wanted to take it home. I can see why - it is a bit too formal to have in your house.

I knew that a little creative re-arranging, a vase and two re-purposed candle holders would yield wonderful results. So my house looks all pretty and it didn't cost me a cent! Don't you love it when that happens!

What I have been up to, craftwise

2007-08-31T16:58:00.000-04:00

This is the start of my first quilt, the Crazy Eights. So far I have 16 of the 32 squares that I will need for the quilt top. I have no idea how to piece them together, add a back to the quilt, or do the binding. I want to learn the process one step at a time. This will probably result in a lot of mistakes, but this is how I will do it for now. Can you tell that I am one of those people who hates reading the instruction manual first?

Mistakes aplenty have already been made. Due to an unfortunate cutting error I will have to go back to this lovely store - Sew Original - to purchase more fabric. The last time (and first time) I was there, my mom and I DESCENDED on that store. The sweet owners showed us all of the fabric and all of the projects hanging around the store. They invited us to come back and take a class or just browse to our hearts content. They ended up keeping the store open for 30 extra minutes to answer all of our questions. It was probably the best experience I have ever had in a fabric store and that is saying a lot.

A Particularly Good Sunday

2007-08-19T23:13:00.000-04:00

I got the chance to read a novella and drink a cup of weeping rose tea from a local tea shop. After that I did a little crafting.

I think that I should have slowed down while reading "Memories of My Melancholy Whores" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Now that I am writing about it nearly a month later, I can hardly remember it. I just have this hazy memory of a very sumptuous story. It was definitely a good read for a hot summer afternoon.

I've Been Simpsonized!

2007-07-24T10:38:00.000-04:00

Woo hoo! I've been Simpsonized!

It's A Live Blogging Christmas! Part 2

2006-12-25T15:40:00.000-05:00

The living room is officially a disaster area. The Taylor family has ripped through layers of wrapping paper and yards of ribbon and we are all playing with our brand new toys. Like every year, we went from youngest to oldest (Daniel to Mom) to take turns opening our presents. Stephanie cried when she opened her new mac book. Within an hour she was creating and editing a movie (she is a media studies major). Laura already has tons of songs on her iPod and I added a subscription to "Ask A Ninja" to her iTunes. I am really excited about my sewing machine and a fancy-schmancy home dry cleaning system. I can't wait to experiment with them once I get home. I wonder how long it will be before I can make a skirt?

OK, I feel a gumbo coma coming on. I shouldn't have had that second bowl . . .

It's A Live Blogging Christmas! Part 1

2006-12-25T11:06:00.000-05:00

I woke up this morning and decided that I was going to live blog this Christmas. I'll start with a re-cap of the Christmas Eve activities. I picked up my Little Sister Ranette for a little last minute grocery shopping and a quick trip to Starbucks. Ranette helped me wrap the last of my presents while I finished cleaning. As soon as I finished cleaning the bathroom, I saw my sister Laura's head pop through my front door. Great timing. My mom and my sisters helped me in the kitchen and pretty soon we were eating chili-rubbed salmon with zucchini spears and fiesta corn followed by my favorite dessert - chocolate bread pudding. We all got to open one present (a Taylor family tradition). Daniel was less than thrilled with his Soduku books and Laura and Stephanie were aghast when they opened their matching toothbrush/flosser sets. I was thrilled with my picture key chain and makeup set from Ranetti Spaghetti and her family.

After dinner, my parents went to pick up my older brother from the airport and the rest of us headed to Danville. Stephanie's boyfriend, LJ, and some of her other friends joined us around midnight for a late night snack and a gift exchange. They got a kick out of listening to the message the Funky Robot left on my answering machine. They begged the FR to make an appearance, but he is terribly shy. Maybe they will get a phone call from him.

Sturkey and our parents came in after midnight. He allowed one hug before bellowing, "Stop touching me!" Awww. I miss him too.

I am a little antsy waiting for the present opening to start. Laura and Stephanie are going to pee on themselves with excitement when they see their gifts. And I am going to laugh at them for peeing on themselves. What a nice big sister!

I'll check back in after the present opening starts.

Song of the Week

2006-12-14T22:22:00.000-05:00

The Song of the Week is "The Stars of Track and Field" by Belle and Sebastian. This particular song is dedicated to my cool new boss Jeffrey because it offers a glimpse into our working relationship.

While Jeffrey is very professional, I sometimes have problems with what we call "image management." This usually involves me doing or saying something ridiculous in response to something sensible that Jeffrey has said. For example, Jeffrey mentioned his new track jacket and I quoted him this line from "The Stars of Track and Field": "You only did it so that you could wear/Your terry underware/And feel the city air/Run past your body." So my thought process looked like this: Track jacket -> "Stars of Track and Field" -> weird Belle and Sebastianesque lyric.

This type of behavior would usually result in a psych evaluation and a written warning from HR, but Jeffrey just smiles and shakes his head. I have vowed to work on my image management and Jeffrey has been very patient with me. There has been progress - I haven't done the robot dance at my office in weeks. Three cheers for professionalism!

Song of the Week

2006-12-08T20:20:00.000-05:00

I am resurrecting the "Song of the Week" - I believe the last one may have been "Freak-A-Zoid," a true classic. This week's song was inspired by Caroline's blog entry about Sufjan Steven's Christmas Box Set. From her description, it seems like the box set is a cavalcade of stickers, sing-a-long sheets, and Christmas-y goodness. I must run out and get it. I can already tell that it will be my soundtrack as I attempt to make most of my Christmas gifts this year.

As for the much awaited Song of the Week, it is "Oh Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head (Restore! Rebuild! Reconsider)." Known for his interesting song titles and amazing story telling ability, Sufjan Stevens is a little hard to describe. Just last week I was telling someone about Sufjan Stevens' music, and after a lot of rambling, the person still had no idea what a Sufjan Stevens song sounded like. I guess I can say that it is indie/pop/ folk and many instruments are used (not really that helpful). On the "Greetings from Michigan" CD, Sufjan plays: oboe, English horn, piano, electric organ, electric piano, banjo, acoustic and electric guitars, bass guitar, vibraphone, xylophone, glockenspiel, recorder, wood flute and like minded whistles, drum kit, various percussion, shakers, sleigh bells, tambourine, dramatic cymbal swells, singing, rhetoric. Slacker.

I hope that you enjoy his music, and if you have a succinct way to describe this loveliness, let me know.

BFF - No, really . . . forever

2006-12-04T20:35:00.000-05:00

I'm skipping the shame spiral this time around. It has been months and months since my last post, but at least I had good intentions to blog. I mental blogged - I thought about it, was encouraged to do it, but I never sat down to do it. Now that the semester is nearly over, I feel like I have a little more time to sit and reflect.

I know that everyone is in Christmas frenzy, but I want to roll the clock back a few weeks to Thanksgiving. Even though I swore I was too old to pile in a van with my siblings for a car trip, I ended up driving Mom, Laura, Stephanie, and Daniel down to Atlanta to meet my Dad (on his way home from New Orleans). Once in Atlanta, we invaded the home of my great-aunt Anita and auntie Deborah. I smothered my sweet-a aunt Anita with kisses and gave my auntie Deborah a bear hug then I promptly fell asleep and let the others finish making the Thanksgiving meal.

Before we started gathering for Thanksgiving dinner, Anita received a special Thanksgiving treat. Her friend, Mrs. Haddad came over for a visit. Anita began working for Mrs. Haddad over 50 years ago. They became very close and Mrs. Haddad's family became Anita's family. After Anita retired, Mrs. Haddad would drive over to Anita's to sit and chat in Anita's front room. Their frequent visits (as well as visits from Mrs. Haddad's son and grandchildren) were ended by Katrina. Anita went to Atlanta while Mrs. Haddad remained in the New Orleans area.

Now Anita and Mrs. Haddad look forward to their phone calls and rare visits. It is really so sweet to see them together talking about the past and their families. I wonder how their friendship has lasted so long, what has kept them together over 50 years, a catastrophic hurricane, and many other obstacles.

I've started my own friendship with Anita's "other" family. Over Thanksgiving, Heather, Lauren, and I commiserated over the fact that the doctors at the hospitals where we work look nothing like the doctors on Grey's Anatomy. Stephen and I discussed music. It looks like the friendship between our families will continue to grow . . .

Sara and I have only been friends for 20 years (since the 4th grade). We drifted apart and back together again about a million times - Sara told me in the 6th grade that she had to dump me in favor of more popular kids (she hates when I tell that story) and I told Sara in the 8th grade that our friendship had lost its zing. We were very odd children. Despite all of the pre-adolescent, big banged, aqua mascara tinged back stabbing, we are still friends. We had dinner together last month in Asheville and we laughed and laughed . . . you would have thought it was Field Day 1986.

That's the thing that I am looking for - what brings us together despite egos, pride, pettiness, and all of the other things that get in the way. As much as I wish that my Thanksgiving was a big, happy reunion, it wasn't. We had a little family falling out. I only hope that we can all find that something that binds us.

So now we can roll the clock back to the present. I have papers to write, presents to make (yes, make), and a dog to play with.

Until next time,
Renee

PS: Here are two songs to enjoy: a little brazilian music and a little scottish music. "If Looks Could Kill" by Camera Obscura and "Bem Querer (My Dear)" by Seu Jorge.

Little Miss Remiss

2006-08-16T21:40:00.000-04:00

Y'all, I'm going through a shame spiral. I haven't blogged in weeks . . . this is more shameful than my pile of unfolded laundry . . . more shameful than the El DeBarge on my iPod . . . more shameful than a stack of unread issues of the New Yorker! I wish that I had a good excuse like I was rehabilitating a hateful and over-gelled Mel Gibson. Or that I was healing the enormous rift between Paris and Nicole. Alas, I was just having a full-on veg-out between the Summer and Fall semesters.

During this time I have succeeded in doing very little. I have watched nearly half of Season 2 of both Project Runway and The O.C. I have lost a good deal of brain cells doing this and may start drooling at any minute. I have to say that Project Runway is pretty spectacular. Many of my friends told me how great the show was, but I feigned disinterest and a commitment to my cable-free (cheap) lifestyle. But when I heard Daniel V. say the words, "It's a mothef**king walkoff!!!" I knew that I had found something special. I find The O.C. equally addictive and I noticed that O.C. speak has sneaked into my vocabulary (I said something was gi-normous the other day).

When not wallowing in pop culture over the past few weeks, I have read my favorite book - Running in the Family - and what may be my least favorite book - Jitterbug Perfume (sorry pagan bookclubbers). I am currently enjoying A Girl Named Zippy and am looking for another book to read before school starts. Any suggestions? I also got to see my favorite movie Black Orpheus (not Black Orifice, as my brother thought).

I traveled to Atlanta twice to visit with my family and I had a great time as usual. My 88-year-old Aunt Anita is beautiful as ever and my grandpa (her brother) seems to be the most popular guy in town. When we paid a surprise visit to his apartment, we were a little stunned to see his lovely young (25ish) neighbor sitting at his kitchen table. It turns out that she is a great person who often visits with Grandpa. He assures us that they are just friends.

On my long car trips to and from Atlanta, the Gilles Peterson in Brazil podcasts kept me company. The commentaries are a great introduction to Brazilian music and a wonderful way for me to expand my horizons beyond bossa nova.

Well, that's it. I'm going to do something frivolous. Until next time . . .

2006-07-22T17:56:00.000-04:00

Song of the week

Last week was heavy on the "nova" so this week will be heavy on the "sassa." For your listening pleasure, I present "Freak-A-Zoid" by Midnight Star. My good friend, The Funky Robot, is heavily featured on the track. As some of you know, The Funky Robot hacked into my cell phone voicemail system and has recorded the outgoing message. I should change it, but he is such a talented rapper.

Speaking of talented . . . my very talented sister had a birthday on Thursday. I hope that you sassed it up on your special day, Stephunkanie!

(Stephanie is in the picture on the right.)

Thanks for the Comments

2006-07-16T12:15:00.000-04:00

Thanks for all of the lovely comments, ladies (+ Ben).

Ben, in a moment of sass-induced delirium, I forgot to say that political discussion will be a part of the new blog. I invite you to be my co-blogger on a weekly political round-up. You even get to choose the name.

Kelly, I am sorry that I made you laugh at work. Next time, tell the person on the phone that you have a nervous tic. Oh, I had a dream about you - you were pregnant and you had a dazzling mystic tan. You were really glowing!

Andi, I plan on documenting the real and fake histories of Sassitude. Please blog with me as we recall the illustrious beginnings of Sassitude.

Stacy, I will have different features on the blog including: Guest Blogger, Song of the Week, Political Round-Up, Contest Mania (win some craftiness or stuff in my Goodwill pile!), This Week in Sassitude History AND . . . . Sass it Up - a guide to increase your sass quotient. To tide you over, here is a sass tip: start your day with a samba - beginner or advanced.

Lisa, Sassitude is available for live performances. Next time Andi is in town, you will find us doing the roger rabbit on your front lawn.

Guest Blogger: Ranette

2006-07-15T11:05:00.002-04:00

Today we have a very special guest blogger - my friend, Ranette! Ranette (also known as Ranetti-Spaghetti) and I spend a lot of time together doing very fun things like roller skating, eating at Moe's, shopping, and picnicking. This morning Ranette and I cooked an amazing breakfast of scrambled eggs and blueberry waffles - yumtastic!

Ranette: This is Ranette one of Renee's friends and i just wanted 2 say hi and we did have fun eating blueberrie waffles and the eggs were delicious.and this furry dog is Iris and she likes to jump and if u tease her she will jump on u now bye bye and bo u.

To find out how you too can get such a cool friend, click here!

2006-07-14T07:26:00.000-04:00

Song of the Week:
"Stay" by Astrud Gilberto

Hello, everyone. The song of the week is "Stay" by Astrud Gilberto. Quite possibly one of the most beautiful songs ever recorded.

Welcome!

2006-07-13T15:44:00.000-04:00

Hello! I'm so glad to see you. You look wonderful today - that color really brings out your eyes. Did you do something different with your hair? Really . . . you are just glowing.

Anyway . . . you are probably wondering why I asked you here today. See, I've started a blog. I know. I know. How will I find the time to keep it up? Trust me, I'll manage. What will I talk about? Nothing in particular - music, media, hurtful gossip, gardening, and knitting.

I hope that you will join me on this journey of shameless self promotion and narcissism. I am so glad you are here.