Vacation's over and First Day of Spring

Allow me to sum up my spring break: 4 days in the car; one bridal shower; many appointments with wedding people; one four and a half hour exam; some time with family and friends. I hope to be getting pics in from various sources from some of the events over the next few days (hint, hint guys-get those pics to me!).

I kept my promise to Juan and finished his sweater by the end of vacation- last night at 10:15 p.m. Viola! Here is my first (and last in a long time) aran sweater: Joseph from Rowan's A Yorkshire Fable knit in men's size small with size 11 needles and 100% alpaca wool yarn, which means a very, very soft and heavy sweater.
Nice sweater, but where's Juan?
Here he is! (The pattern looks crooked here, but it's just the way he put it on quickly so I could finally take a darn picture)
Back view- this one's for my mom's friend at work.

The bridal shower was lovely- my friend Amy hosted it for me, and I think it's safe to say that everyone there had a fabulous time. The food, the decorations, the drinks- she even got gifts for everyone there! I am so grateful that she spent all that time and energy for little ole me! Thanks, Aim! And thank you to everyone who attended- it was so nice to see everyone, especially in a girls-only setting!

Back a couple of days and already I've whipped up some yummy things from my favorite chefs, Giada and Rachel. Sunday after yoga, I just happened to turn on the Food Network and what was on? A chefography of Giada- whose recipe I was using for dinner! (Tortelloni in broth- simple but delish).

This year, Juan and I decided that instead of Valentine's Day, we're going to celebrate the first day of spring. So, today I made a "spring" dish from my new Rachel Ray 365 cookbook: shrimp and crab fritters and an Asian salad. Our beverage of choice was sake- a gift from Makiko- a family friend who is from Japan. She also gave us a beautiful green sake set, which you can see on the table along with some other great shower gifts as well as some general table junk.

A close-up on the salad- isn't it the "springiest" thing you've seen in a while?


I will talk more about last week as the pictures come rolling in. I've got to post updates to my Antoinette sweater, too. Now that it is the first day of spring, I've got to get back on the exercise track. I was doing well, but then vacation hit and there was no time to do much then. Yoga class was rough on Sunday- I started out very grumpy and annoyed at everything the teacher told us to do, because my body just didn't want to go there. It's amazing how quickly everything tightens up with a stressful exam and four days in the car. But I did get up this morning before 7 and did a forty-minute routine- and tomorrow I'll have an hour class in the afternoon after I teach. Baby steps, baby steps.