Hooded Cowl

October has, for the most part, been a fun month. I'm happy to report that my crocheting itch is back and in full swing, which is one of the reasons why. It just feels better doing it when the weather cools down, ya know what I'm sayin'? Here is my latest project I finished last night. Took me about two weeks to complete (not focusing tons of effort every night).

It's a fun crochet hooded cowl! And although Matt thinks it's dorky, I'm loving it. He just doesn't understand. :P

I got the pattern from the lovely Sarah at Repeat Crafter Me. I'm telling you, the amounts of patterns I've pinned from this girl are endless. She's so talented and I'm always excited to see what she comes up with next! You can find the pattern here! It's super easy to follow.

For this cowl, I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick & Quick Yarn in Wheat.

So, one thing I've noticed is that I must have crocheted a little bit tighter than Sarah. My hood ended up longer (taller?) and I had to add a few rows in order for it to fully cover my head....and I have a small head, let me tell ya. It's cool, though. I usually find myself trying to crochet in a more relaxed manner but it never happens! Womp.

And, probably for that reason, I was a little forced to flip the bottom up a bit to wrap nicely around my neck. Nonetheless, I think it turned out nice!

If you can half double crochet, you can make this awesomely warm hooded cowl. :)

Enjoy!

Disbelief

I've gone back and forth trying to decide how to write this post...how to get the words out...how to formulate them so that they make perfect sense in an elegant sort of way. It's kind of impossible.

On Friday, October 24th, 2014, someone I knew from high school passed away unexpectedly in a car accident out in Arizona. His name was Dave Elam, and he was 21 years old. He left behind a wife and two-year-old son.

I really hate to be like the endless amounts of people who are attaching themselves to social media, digging up old photos and trying to convince the world that they knew him well and were his closest friends. This is a common thing when tragedies occur, especially when we're all part of such a small community as Bethel, where the high school is made up of roughly 400 students (or less) and everyone knows everyone. The thing is, though, a lot of people really were close with him. He's an Elam, for crying out loud. The youngest son of Bethel's band and choir director. The silly little brother of Danny III and Mitchell, who all three together, were the wild, UK-loving Elam boys.

The last time I saw Dave was in the beginning of September. He was home for a wedding and was driving with his dad. I thought he was Danny because hell, they all look SO much alike. Plus, I really hadn't seen him since going to his senior year musical with my friend Leah. He had grown up a lot. It got me thinking, though. You really just never, ever know when it'll be the last time you see or speak to someone. Life is funny that way.

Going to Bethel, it was hard not to at least know of or speak to the majority of people at school at least once or twice. Though I was never personally close with Dave, it was overwhelming and shocking to hear of his accident. My older brother, Tony, is one of Mitch's best friends. Dave had been to our house on many occasions. The running joke was that one time, he clogged our upstairs toilet and the boys never let him down since "poopin' on the flo." Poor Davey.

Anyway, I hate to make any of this about anyone other than Dave. His family is a beloved part of the Bethel community, and it truly seems unreal that something like this had to happen to them. I'm praying that they find peace from all of this. I pray that they know how much they are loved by all, though that probably won't ease any of the pain. I pray that everyone holds on close to their loved ones, because you never, ever know when it will be the last time you get the opportunity.

Two Years

Recapping from yesterday because it was too perfect to spend online blogging! :P

Yesterday was mine and Matt's two-year wedding anniversary, and it couldn't have been a better day. I took the day off of work because Matt was off work as well, and we just spent the day together doing pretty normal things.... but it was great because we were together (awww). We shopped around a bit, getting ceiling lights for the entry-way (happy anniversary to me!) and a few other things. We stopped at The Cakery (where we got our wedding cake) to pick up some cupcakes, too!

For dinner, Matt took me to La Piazza in Troy. We shared some Moscato and ate a yummy Italian meal by candlelight. It was seriously the most perfect night. We haven't had a night like that in so long. It was fabulous.

Now, let's go down memory lane for a bit, remembering our perfect, beautiful, incredible wedding day. I wish we could go back so badly!

Our wedding song was "I Won't Give Up" by Jason Mraz. Can you tell we're obsessed?

Confessions

Good morning! Welcome to Beautiful Thing!

As you may or may not know, I was previously the owner of the Happy Wife Life blog. It was my first blogging venture and taught me SO much about this little blogging world. However, after about six or so months of {trying} to blog, I realized how much I had fallen out of love with the whole idea of what I had done. Yes, I love crafting. Yes, I loved creating something people could use. But, it just didn't feel right to me. So, that's why I've decided to make a new start with Beautiful Thing, still continuing to document life's little journeys but maybe just in a different way. I'm feeling much better about this one!

So that's that.

On a somewhat-related note, I want to own a blog. I don't want it to own me. Part of why I love this life is because I get to actually live it. So, I might not be able to post every day or even every week, but I'm going to try to have a balancing life with Beautiful Thing unlike before.

Okay, done ranting. Thanks for listening. :D

Anywayyyyys.....

This past Wednesday, Matt and I went to our third Jason Mraz concert together! (Can you tell we're slightly approaching obsessed status?) We traveled far to the unknown Columbus, Ohio Palace Theatre and it was absolutely incredible. It was like stepping back in time! And that's what I love about Jason; you can tell he truly prefers to play for a smaller, more intimate crowd. It was one of the best shows I've ever been to. He spoke a lot to us and it just felt very much like a coffee-shop kind of performance. He played with Raining Jane, a band of four kick-ass chicks that he made his most recent album with. If you haven't heard of them, I highly suggest checking them out, as well as the new album, Yes. Oh look! Here is the full album below from YouTube (and it's not mine).

Here are a few photos of the theatre and the band during the show. My phone sucks.

The amazing ceiling at the Palace Theatre.

Husband and me!

Fan girl moment when Jason walked through our aisle!

He was so phenomenal. I'll go back to listening to his entire album now. Enjoy!

Hello!

We've got a new thing goin' on here. I guess not "we;" really, just me. A new blog. A fresh start. Coming to you live from the previous Happy Wife Life blog.

Yes, I'm still married. Yes, I still love my previous blog. I've just felt incredibly inspired to create something new, something without limits. Something more than what I was doing before.

More details to follow...I promise!