'Rusty' knits - and dogs!

This winter I changed up my wardrobe a bit to include shades of RUST.

Still wear a lot of grey and of course black, however thought the golden browns

 fit in well and brought color and warmth - although still neutral/natural - to what 

was becoming my somewhat dreary 'twenty shades of grey' closet. 

I'd also bought the lovely taupe wrap coat whilst in ZARA in London, and the

 camel coat at H&M, so adding warmer colored sweaters seemed the way to go

This rust color, more dressy cowl neck, I wore to dinner on board the ship as we

 headed to the Western Sahara desert in October - it was a bit more dressy and

 worked well for evenings with a black trouser or silky printed skirt. I pinned on a

 favorite brooch rather than dangling necklaces. . . . . . 

The neutrals - classic naturals.

. . . . . . . and then there's this gorgeous chunky sweater - found this week in the

 clearance sale at Target for just $17!  Of course I didn't go there looking for 

clothes but this was on a mannequin with black pants and caught my eye!  

It ticked all the boxes - rusty gold, loose crew neck and longer length, with

 very long sleeves to roll up or cover the wrists on cold days, and with just a little

 shaping knitted in to make it non-baggy looking. It's extremely light and feels

 awesome on - don't think it will itch - and goes with my reddish hair!  

Anyway it was tossed into the cart along with the items I was really there to buy!

Have you read this book?  If you enjoy classical music as I do, you will find

 this is a wonderful true story written by Korean violinist Min Kym. 

I grabbed this at the Dollar Tree store and must say it's been a great read.

While talking about the color rust I have to share my hairstylist Suzi's

'babies' (she's given me permission to post their picture). 

Roxy the miniature Schnauzer and Lucy the Goldendoodle were at the

 salon on my recent visit - so well behaved and of course adorable.

They posed for me. . . . . . and made me wish I had a doggie of my own!

Hope your weekend is fun, as ours has been so far.

Dogs were also in the spotlight for us last evening when we

 spent a couple of hours at our local theatre watching the 

English play, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

It also included a handsome 'rusty' Golden Retriever named 

Sandy - much admired for his acting skills during his brief appearance.  

BTW - I'm actually a cat person, my favorite being rusty colored

'marmalade' kitties, although I've never had one of my own!

January days at home. . . . . . . .

I baked this loaf of 'no-knead bread' this week.

The recipe is known and enjoyed by many - so many versions of it are

 available on the Internet - I use Jenny Jones because she's so much fun to 

watch on her video. It turned out well and gave me that sense of enjoyment

 possible from a simple, basic, homey food made in one's own kitchen

 on a dreary day.

Yesterday I decided to also get going on my 'sourdough starter'

in hopes I can make a loaf of real sourdough bread soon.

The amaryllis tale continues here in the dining room.

The first four blooms on the initial stem are almost over, in fact two have been

nipped off, the remaining two now fading also. However, the second stem is now 

showing three new buds - a total of seven delightful flowers from one bulb.

Meanwhile the second bulb is in full bloom with four perfect flowers. . . . . . . I feel 

like I'm in a garden. 

Winter beauty.

Baking and books . . . .

When I can make time - perhaps on a cold, preferably snowy, winter day, 

if we ever get one - I hope to make a sourdough starter and then 

learn how to bake a crusty, fragrant boule of sourdough bread.

This is the book I'll use because Emilie Raffa is my kind of gal when

 it comes to the kitchen and cooking. 

It's subtitled as "A Beginner's Guide to Delicious Handcrafted Bread with

 Minimal Kneading."

Instructions are clear, design and photography beautiful, printing and book

 quality excellent for a soft cover publication.

I discovered Emilie when I picked up "The Clever Cookbook" as gift for 

my granddaughter who now has a kitchen of her own. I admit I almost kept

 that book for myself as it's so fabulous.

I gifted myself with several new books at Christmas. I keep a Wish List on Amazon, 

just for books and music perhaps not available in our local independent book shop.

This year I also had to order my annual wall calendar for the kitchen online - the one 

I've bought for years - Swedish artist Carl Larsson (1853-1919) whose paintings of his 

house and family are amazing.

Being the age we are, purchases made online are minimal really. Getting out and

walking, looking, sometimes buying, and shopping in bricks and mortar stores seems 

to be exercise for us. . . . . . go ahead youngsters, you can laugh!

 My neighbor told me yesterday, during a discussion focusing on several major

 shops closing - or cutting back on store numbers as Pier 1 and Macy's have

 announced this week - that his young adult daughters purchase almost everything 

online.  Highlights of my younger days were meeting my girlfriends to 'go shopping',

 have a coffee or lunch, talk face to face. . . . . all made for a jolly good time and 

bring me so many great memories.

I still meet my friends now and then for a coffee or lunch outing, however 

must admit spending hours trawling malls and shops are infrequent. 

That part is usually done with Bob for items we really need. . . . such as food 

and a good bottle of wine!

Until that snowy day arrives I often seem to be spending time here, 

not only knitting whilst watching a movie of an evening, but grabbing an

 hour to catch up on magazines, read a chapter of my current book, or enjoy

 turning the pages of a cookbook. The latter often inspiring me to

unwind myself from the cozy throw, start moving, and get back into the

 kitchen, one of my favorite places to be.

Have you baked sourdough bread?

Did you get any great new cook books for Christmas?

Do you have snow, and are you enjoying snuggling in your

favorite comfy spot at home?

Any new yummy recipes to share for a cold January day?

Thanks so much for the really nice comments on my last post.

You are such great friends.