If you are a subscriber of Yarn Crush, then you might have already received your January yarn box, filled with 5 yummy candy-colored mini-skeins, a knit pattern by Spilly Jane, and a crochet pattern from me! They’re Pretty Parfait Fingerless Mitts! I think the pattern is a fun one for intermediate beginners, because you can practice working some basic texture stitches like the puff stitch, working in back loops only, front post stitches, and alternating tall stitches with short stitches. I don’t normally work with sportweight yarn in my patterns, so if that’s your thang, you’re gonna be stoked. (Yarn Crush’s photo of the whole box put together… so cute and bright!)

 We got to help pick the colorway for these mini skeins of merino yarn, and I really love how yummy and candylicious this allowed the mitts to look. (Yarn photo from Yarn Crush.)

I was going to call these something like Birthday Cake Fingerless Mitts, but my buddy Candace saw them and said they looked like parfaits, and that seemed to make more sense to me.

Here’s a fun random fact: while I was shooting these photos in my bedroom, the smoke alarm went off because Manda burned some of her hair off with a hair-dryer and a round brush with a metal core. Be careful with those round brushes, folks. Don’t daydream and blow-dry.

I had a lot of weird “hands around face” photos, so here is the least weird one! Glove Modeling is probably not in my job search for 2016.

If you love what you see, you should check out Yarn Crush! Most of these January boxes have already gone out, but she may have a few extra boxes left. Don’t be shy about emailing Yarn Crush if you’re interested! New yarnies and patterns every month, for knitters and crocheters. New subscribers will get a free notions pouch filled with goodies (like mini skeins, patterns, and tools) all worth about $20 just for signing up for a 3-12 month prepaid plan. This gets shipped out shortly after signing up. Anyone who would rather go month-to-month instead of prepaid can use the coupon code HELLO to get 15% off their first month.

Thanks so much to Yarn Crush for inviting me to design for the January box! I might be designing for another Yarn Crush box in the summertime, so stay tuned!

If you’re like, “I already have some really cute sock weight yarn, and I would really just like the pattern itself,” well we got you covered, too. The pattern is for sale on Ravelry.com! It’s my first time putting a pattern for sale on Ravelry, and honestly, there have been a few kinks. Specifically, my PayPal was not talking to my Ravelry, so when I received a payment, Ravelry didn’t know to send the pattern info to people. THE WORST, RIGHT!? I’ve been talking to Ravelry, though, and trying to figure out the issue. It looks good on my end now (before, I was noting zero sales on Ravelry, but now I can see the sale going through, so there is definite communication). Sorry for all this boring and seemingly-TMI info, but I just wanted to keep you abreast of the situation, in case you go ahead with a purchase. If there are any problems, do not hesitate to email me so we can work it out!

Final voting is open for the 2015 Super Cute Kawaii awards! Click here to check out the finalists and get the link  to the voting form! I’m kinda surprised I’m in the mix again, because I feel like I dropped the ball a little on crocheting/blogging while I was writing my book for most of the year, but I do appreciate all the support and hope to bust out a kabillion cute things in 2016! 😀

I’m off to vote for some favorites and friends!

I posted one of these photos on my Instagram but thought I’d stick em on my blog, too! I was scrolling through the activity feed on IG a few weeks ago and ran into a picture of a girl and boy in these super funny sunglasses. I didn’t really know how to search for that specific pair online (“cute sunglasses,” “kawaii sunglasses,” “anime sunglasses”), and then I discovered that you can print your own novelty sunglasses on Zazzle.com. There are already a bunch of styles available for purchase, but I still didn’t run into the ones that I wanted. So, I loaded up Photoshop and drew my own pair. I kinda love them! (But I wouldn’t, like, drive a car in them….) If you guys end up printing your own glasses, you gotta show me! They cost me about $11 to print before shipping, and I could see these being a fun party favor!

P.S. I’ve been sick the past week or two PLUS I’ve been completing my 2015 bookkeeping to prep for tax stuff, so I have been taking a bit of a crochet break. BUT, I do plan to film a crochet tutorial for YouTube really super duper soon! I promise! I’ll just edit out my coughing! 😛

(This post contains some affiliate links.)

When it comes to makeup/beauty stuff, I’m usually the one asking the questions, so I don’t really post about that much here. HOWEVER, as every winter approaches, I find the skin on my face getting dryer and dryer, and in my search to find something to soothe my freaked-out skin, I thought I would share some discoveries with you guys.

To start, I have always had really oily skin, oftentimes prone to breakouts, which I could stave off with regular exfoliation. For most of my 20s, I didn’t even moisturize most of my face, just some dryer areas like around my mouth or on my eyelids. As I got a bit older, my skin started to change a little and I was also worried about skin care for wrinkles, so I started lightly moisturizing every day and night. I still am prone to regular oiliness, and I blot my face like a mofo, but it’s like I have a dry, flakey base with oil on top. Really awesome, right? It sounds like dehydrated skin to me, but my face reacts poorly to things like hyaluronic acid, so I’m always trying to find ways to feed my skin without boosting the oil. I know there are also things you can eat, like fish, nuts, avocados, flax, supplements, etc. that can help your skin, and I could probably do more of that as well.

For the past few years, I’ve been a Kiehl’s girl as far as moisturizers, but this winter, it wasn’t enough. I explored the world of OILS. I’ve found that any oil alone is not enough to moisturize me overnight. I apply the oil first, and then I put on my moisturizer. I’ve tried Algenist Anti-Aging Repairing Oil, Josie Maran Light Argan Oil, jojoba oil, maracuja oil… there are tons and more. What I was looking for was something that would keep my nose and forehead from flaking during the day. I also tried using different oils for day and night, but day-time oil application usually leaves me a little too oily.

Here’s my current skincare regimen which I’m pretty happy with.

Morning:

Wash with Algenist Gentle Rejuvenating Cleanser. I super love this cleanser! One tube lasts forever, because a tiny drop goes a long way. The longer you massage it into your skin, the more moisturized you get. Manda has super sensitive skin, and she likes it, too.

(I don’t tone because I’m lazy and have never found one that has blown me away.)

Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Moisturizer – this has been my go-to forever. I can use it day and night during the summer, but I need something heavier at night during the winter.

I use a La Roche-Posay sunscreen in SPF 40, but it seems to be hard to find at the moment. You can check out their other sunscreens here. Mine has an oil-absorbant quality which I like a lot.

Night:

Wash with Neutrogena Oil-Free Deep Clean Cream Cleanser. I’ve just been using this for a million years, and it works well for me. If I use it during the day and night, it somehow makes me more oily, so I only use it at night. I like that it has salicylic acid in it, and I hope it’s getting the makeup and gunk off my face, but I can’t say that’s what’s happening for sure!

Here’s my new favorite thing, thanks to my buddy Candace. Evening primrose oil!! My mom said it made her break out, Candace says it helps her break-outs, and for me, I haven’t noticed anything break-out-related.  I put 4 drops in my hand and then massage gently onto my face. Then I pretend to do face yoga exercises.

Moisturize with Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream. It’s in the same line as my daytime lotion, but it’s heavier and creamier.

SOooometimes, I’ll also layer this  Lioele Water Drop Sleeping Pack on top of everything.  Some people put it on without any moisturizer underneath, and some people layer it over all their other stuff. You’d have to play with it and figure it out, but I didn’t notice much of a benefit if I used it alone. I like how it kind of feels like it’s sealing all the other goodness inside.

As far as other face masks, I have always loved Juice Beauty’s Green Apple Organic Peel – Sensitive. They have a full-strength one which I’ve never actually tried because I was always happy with the sensitive skin formula. ((EDIT: since I started writing this blog entry, I bought the full-strength mask. A lot of the reviews noted redness and burning even though people still loved it, and although I did notice a tingle in the beginning, I didn’t get red or splotchy or anything, and I liked the mask a lot.)

I know this entry was really boring for most of you guys, but maybe some of you will find a helpful product or two!

(My “Butt” art is by UglyBaby.)

I’m excited to launch our first blog sponsor giveaway of the year! I’m so sorry it’s a day late. I’ve been under the weather and doing everything in super slow motion :-o. Thank you so much to my wonderful and generous blog sponsors for these super fun prizes. ONE winner will receive:

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