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Thursday, September 5, 2013

Stampin Up Cards

I mentioned yesterday that I made some cards at a workshop hosted by my friend Carrie. Carrie is just one of those crafty people who can crochet a baby blanket, refinish her own floors, make a few cards, and take care of her 1 year old son all at the same time. (Ok, maybe not the exact same time, but it sure seems like it!) 

Anyway, Carrie is such a great teacher with inventive ideas that even someone paper crafting challenged, like myself, can make pretty cool cards. I'm one of those people that some things come naturally to, and I always do those things. Like knitting, or reading, or playing tennis. Anything I'm not good at right away I usually give up on because who wants to work hard at something you aren't good at? However, I just love the idea of making my own cards so much that I have tried to stick with this card making thing, and Carrie is patient and puts up with my always-crooked stamps and million questions :)

Here are the cards I made at Saturday's workshop:

This one is a bit hard to read, but it is a birthday card. Fun splatters!

This one I can see being perfect for my mom, aunt, or grandmother. So feminine!

I think this is a great "anyone" card. Maybe I will give it to my dad for his birthday next week :)

Again, another cool feminine card. I love the layering of the different colored flowers!

This one was probably the coolest one we made. The hubs likes maps, so I think he will get one of them! Perfect manly card.

While I don't think stamping or other paper crafts will become my hobby of choice, I really enjoy sitting down for an hour or two and coming away with something I can give to others easily. Who doesn't love a handmade card?

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Massive Catch-up Post

Between the super busy holiday weekend and having problems uploading photos again, I haven't had a chance to share the weekend, our menu, or my WIPs thus far. I'm going to do a big post here in effort to catch it all up, so hang on!

Saturday I worked and then went to a Stampin Up workshop run by my friend Carrie. She does a great job of designing the cards and showing us how to make our own. I plan to do a separate post showing the cards I made because they are that cool! That night we had a birthday party for our friend's son, and gave him a camo fleece blanket that we tied the fringe of. He loved it!

Sunday was a really fun day. A group of 10 of us was looking for something fun to do, and when a few of the ideas fell flat we settled on a sailboat ride and dinner at Pearl Street Grill. Then one of our friends called in a favor and got us a limo to ride in for the day! How fun is that? Since we had the car for most of the day, we left early and stopped and got coffee and walked around Delaware Park before our boat left. Here are some of the guys hanging out, waiting for the boat.


The boat we rode on was the Spirit of Buffalo. It was very relaxing to sail around Lake Erie, though it did start to rain for a bit. Here is the boat:


We were more than ready for dinner when the sailing tour was done, so we walked the few blocks to Pearl Street Grill. I had never eaten here before, and got the portobello mushroom  tortellini. YUM!

Monday started with me being delivered breakfast in bed. Awesome! Cheese omelette and yogurt with coffee. I have the best husband :)


When the group of us were hanging out on Sunday, we realized that none of us had Labor Day plans, so we invited everyone over for an impromptu hot dog and burger get together. People brought food and we all just hung out. Since the weather ended up not being so great, we mostly hung out inside, which was fine.

Whew! Lots to report, even if I didn't take that many photos. I will keep the knitting part brief, but I wanted to include it since this is a Wednesday WIPs post after all!

I finished my barndom shawl!



I really enjoyed this project, and I think this will be very wearable in a few more weeks when it cools down! I knit this in Malabrigo Sock in the Ivy, Chocolate Amargo, and Boticelli Red colorways. I highly recommend it!

I started a new project this week, but haven;t had a chance to take photos of it yet, so that will have to wait until next Wednesday!

This post is linked up with Ginny's Yarn Along.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Are you ready for some football?

Last Thursday the hubs and I participated in a fantasy football draft, but before I get to that I wanted to share last night's dinner with you. We had pesto mushroom pizza with tater tots, and it was pretty darn good!


In the background you can see my dipping sauce of choice - Marie's Guacamole dip. Marie's dips were on sale this week, and I picked this up on a whim. It's actually pretty good and should satisfy my avocado cravings when I don't feel like eating a whole avocado ;)

Anyway, FOOTBALL! Oddly enough, my husband is not a huge football fan, but a friend has a fantasy team and asked him if he wanted to sign up. We decided we would do it together, and the draft was lots of fun. I wont go through the whole draft, but some of the highlights were: Roddy White, Marshawn Lynch, Blair Walsh, Reggie Bush, and Eli Manning (I have loved him for a while!). Not exactly an all star team, but I think we have a shot. I'll try to remember to post updates every once in a while.

Today after work will consist of mowing my lawn and assorted chores around the house. Doesn't look like we will have any free time this weekend, so I'm trying to get things all caught up!

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

The monogamous week

This week I have been knitting on only one project. ONE. Since Camp Loopy is ending right along with August, and that is happening in three days, I decided that if I was going to finish this thing on time that I better bust a move and concentrate. I have made some pretty good progress, and there is a decent chance that I will be binding off before Saturday at midnight.


The colors are a little off- we've had really cloudy weather here this week- but you can see that I am onto the border. Naturally I was in the middle of the row, but at this point the shawl is so large it wouldn't have mattered; I can't get a shot of the whole thing stretched out anyway.

Since the knitting content is a little concentrated this week, I thought I would share some of the items I am planning to cast on soon.

First up is the Gathering Stripes sweater that will be my OWL this term. I plan on starting this on September 1or as close to it as I can. I have wound some Knit Picks Stroll Sport to use for this:


The teal will be the main color with the silvery gray as the contrasting stripes. I wound two skeins together for most of these to keep the number of balls down, and it worked pretty well.

The other big project I have planned to start soon is the Bellevue Cardigan. I have some Knit Picks Comfy fingering all wound and ready for that, which will be a gift for my mom.


I'm pretty excited to be knitting some larger garments. I knit the Dark and Stormy early this year, and it still needs a good block and some buttons. I can't wait til it cools down enough to wear it :)

This post is linked up with Ginny's Yarn Along.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Mid Week Menu

Yesterday was such a busy day I totally forgot about blogging! The funny part is, I actually had some free time Sunday to plan a menu and make a grocery list, so I was ahead of the game for once. Oh well :)

 Thursday I had some of the first veggies from our garden- a tomato and a cucumber with an avocado (not from our garden!) and italian dressing. YUM!


We also had kebabs for dinner on Friday. Always a winner!


Saturday the hubs worked a long day so I got stuff done around the house. Our office is almost finished- I will share pictures soon! Waiting for my new chair (!) to come in the mail.

 Sunday we had a picnic in the park after church and went to an open house around the corner from ours, just for fun. 



Even though it was a quick little picnic 2 minutes from our house, it was a nice change from our usual routine. Yay for random dates!

Anyway, the menu!

Monday:
lunch- lean pocket and an apple
dinner- out (grocery shopping)

Tuesday:
lunch- veggies and dip, string cheese, granola bar
dinner- baked chicken chimichangas with mushrooms

Wednesday:
lunch- leftovers

Thursday:
lunch- pizza leftovers
dinner- meatball subs and roasted veggies

Friday:
lunch- sandwich, banana, granola bar
dinner- leftovers/ help yourself!

Saturday:
dinner- fried rice

This Saturday is a packed day including a Stampin up card party and a 7 year old's birthday party. I have actually made a few cards at Stampin up events since my friend Carrie became a Stampin Up Rep. After the event on Saturday I will do a post about all the cards I have made!

And since everyone loves a photo of the pup:


He has it rough.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Crunchy Chicken Salad

I mentioned on Monday that I'm feeling in a bit of a rut with my cooking and meal planning. I think part of it has to do with the fact that it feels like summer is almost over, and I'm ready to move onto Fall foods. Soups, casseroles, homemade bread, and pumpkin everything. Anyway, I was desperate this week to find some interesting food to make for dinner, and I stumbled across a recipe on Pinterest that caught my eye. We don't eat a lot of crazy food here; normally it's simple food with few ingredients that doesn't take a lot of time. This recipe stretched those boundaries, but I'm really glad we gave it a try!


The original recipe can be found here, but I made a few modifications I will share. I omitted the sesame seed, because I didn't have any at home and we don't use it much. I also skipped the peanuts and green onions. I followed the cooking instructions exactly, only when the noodles were done and added to the bowl I added a bit of oil to the pan and cooked up some mushrooms. They soaked up the flavor of the noodle mixture and really added to the dish!


We really enjoyed this recipe, and I hope that if you are feeling a bit adventurous you will give it a go too!


Wednesday, August 21, 2013

WIP Wednesday

I feel like I haven't gotten much knitting done, but since I wasn't able to post last week maybe it wont seem that way to you ;) The plan for the rest of the month is to go gangbusters on the shawl, since that is my Camp Loopy 3 project. I think it is definitely doable to finish it in time, I just need to make it a priority. Then I will work on the socks until September first, when new things go on the needles. I'll give a preview next week of what I plan on knitting for September!

First up is the shawl. I left it in the middle of a row last night, but you can see that I have made some progress. I am loving how this is turning out, and really want to finish on time!


This is the Barndom pattern by Stephen West and I am knitting it in Malabrigo sock.

Next up: the socks. These haven't seen a whole lot progress, but the heel is turned so they are well on their way.


These are the Men's Socks for Giving Away pattern by Purl Bee and I'm knitting them in Berroco Vintage DK.

I started a new project recently, keeping with my need to continually knit baby things because there are so many people in my life who have little ones or who are pregnant. Really, I don't mind, because baby things are quick and fun to knit, but it could be spaced out a little!


This is the Jackson Blanket pattern by Tash Barneveld and I'm knitting it out of Hobby Lobby I Love This Yarn. The colors aren't quite as bright as this pictures suggests, the orange is much more burnt pumpkin and the purple is a darker mulberry color. I love this pattern, and have decided I'm not allowed to work on it until the shawl is finished, so hopefully this knitty motivation works!

Lastly, I finally washed and lightly blocked the blanket for my new niece, who I made the first Jackson Blanket for. You may notice that the edges are curling a little, which isn't a big deal, but I did a garter border on the blanket I am making now to fix that. Still, I hope she likes her new blanket!


This post is linked up with Ginny's Yarn Along

Monday, August 19, 2013

Menu Monday

I don't have much of a weekend recap for you since I blogged Saturday about our day trip to Grove City, so I guess I will just get right to the menu for this week!

Monday: lunch- leftovers and a sandwich
dinner: spicy chorizo soup and bread rounds with brie cheese

Tuesday: lunch- chopped veggies, yogurt, and granola bar
dinner- crunchy chicken salad and corn on the cob

Wednesday: lunch- leftovers
dinner- deluxe grilled pizzas

Thursday: lunch- subway
dinner- leftovers/cereal

Friday: lunch- not sure
dinner- kebabs with shrimp and chicken

Even though it is supposed to be in the high seventies all this week, the mornings and evenings are cooling down, which means Fall is coming! As much as I love summer, I really enjoy Fall for its crisp weather, turning leaves, and of course all the food! I feel like I have been really uninspired for meals lately, and I'm hoping being able to incorporate more casserole/warm foods into the rotation will help. Plus, Fall means pumpkin flavored anything :)

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Photo Issue fixed and some clothes!

I'm really happy to report that I think I have fixed the photo problem. The long and short of it is, when I would plug in my iPhone to download photos, iPhoto would tell me that some of all of my photos were in an unrecognizable format.  I tried a combination of things, but what finally worked for me was to get as many photos off that way as I could, then I emailed the rest to myself and cleaned off my camera roll. I uploaded the photos from yesterday/this morning a minute ago and they all worked without a hitch! 

Yesterday, the hubs took me shopping in Grove City. Ladies, I am about to blow your minds here because he told me that I had a minimum amount of money to spend and I needed to come away with at least three full outfits. The bonus? Instead of paying for the clothes with out debit cards (aka bank accounts/shared money) he was going to use his money he had saved up. We each get an "allowance" every week that we can spend on whatever we want or we can save it. He used his to buy me clothes! Yes, I have a keeper :)

The backstory: I don't really like shopping. This comes from a lot of different things that I wont go into here, but I basically avoid clothes shopping and have gotten by the past 6 or so years shopping online sales and running into stores for something if absolutely needed. Much of my closet either doesn't fit, is really too old or worn to be anything but paint clothes, or doesn't get worn because I don't feel comfortable in it. 

After yesterday, I practically doubled my wardrobe. We used a lot of coupons, took advantage of sales, and my husband is very generous :) Here is a shot of my haul:


Tops are on the right, bottoms on the left. Yeah, thats more clothes than I have bought in years!

I took photos of about 2/3 of the clothes I tried on yesterday, and I thought I would share some of them and talk about why I chose some things and not others. I'm not a fashion expert by ANY means, but sometimes I find it helpful when regular people show how things look on them and how they pick what works and what doesn't. I'll try to name the stores the clothes are from too!


These are jeans from Banana Republic. I hadn't shopped here before, because their clothes are usually out of my price range, but because it was an outlet store, the sale they were having, and my coupon, I was able to get some nice things! These are their bootcut fit, and I ended up having to go with a short- these are the regulars, and as you can see they are a bit long ;) I'm pear shaped, so bottoms are usually more of a problem for me, but these fit just a little snug, which is perfect since jeans tend to stretch just a bit when you were them.

Here is an example of pants that did not work:


These were a type of cropped dress pant that the hubs had handed me. I'm not a very short person (5ft 5) but I feel like these pants make me look shorter than I am. Also the fit isn't great- you can't tell from this photo, but the waist was gapping at the back. Overall, I did well at Banana Republic, and I will definitely be watching for sales in the future!

This next outfit is something that is out of my comfort zone.


For a long time I thought I couldn't pull off leggings. Since I'm bottom heavy I always thought that they wouldn't work. I have found that they key is to buy well fitting structured leggings. Really stretchy ones can become see through if you are more ample on the bottom like me :) These leggings are really think with stretch, so there is no chance of them becoming see through. I didn't end up getting this sweater- it was a really drapey fabric and I felt like it didn't do anything for me. This was also one of the stores we didn't have a coupon for (Ann Taylor) so I only got the leggings and a sweater that was on sale. What do you think about leggings? Yay or nay?

This outfit was also from Ann Taylor:


And it's a no. The top fit all wrong- it was too big at the top, and you can see how big the armhole is. If I moved you could see my bra- not ok! The pants came up too high on my waist- you can see the waistband giving me a tummy pouch through the shirt. This all went back on the rack.

Gap is one of my favorite stores. I found several nice things there! It is one of those stores that I can go into knowing that the stuff usually fits well.

This sweater is one of my favorites from the day.


I love stripes, so that was a bonus. I also like the sleeve length- I tend to shove my full length sleeves up, so this length is perfect for me. I think the sweater has just the right amount of drape and structure to be flattering, and I like the length of it. This was a pick by the hubs, and he got it spot on!

Here is an example of a bad top:


This didn't work for me for a few reasons- 1. It is too long. 2. the sleeves are too long, and they have the thumbholes at the bottom so it makes cuffing them awkward. 3. It is too tight around my hips. So this one went back on the rack for someone taller and thinner than me!

This is an amazingly soft sweater that I actually got in two colors, also from Gap:


Notice how I have the last two buttons undone? It's not because the sweater doesn't fit- I have found that on slightly longer sweaters this makes them a bit more hourglass friendly (also, I was lazy and didn't feel like buttoning and unbuttoning ALL the buttons!) If you have a button up cardigan try it sometime! 

That's it for this not-a-fashion-post. I hope you guys liked seeing what I tried on and maybe even found some ideas for new clothes for yourself! If you have any questions about clothes and brands I tend to buy, let me know! Us pear shaped people have to stick together ;)

Thursday, August 15, 2013

You may have noticed...

that I missed blogging Monday and Wednesday. I'm having issues getting photos off of my phone and onto my computer, which means that any other means of getting photos into blog posts is going to be time consuming. Plus, we have had a really busy week, so the time consuming methods weren't going to cut it. I'm working on it, and I was able to get a few photos off this morning before work, so hopefully next week will be back to normal!

In other news, the hubs is taking me shopping tomorrow! We are driving to the Grove City outlets and he is handing me cash and telling me to spend it on new clothes. I don't talk about clothes or fashion here because A) I don't like shopping and B) I don't have a lot of fashion sense. However, the hubs seems to think I need new clothes ( I do) and thinks these clothes need to be more professional (maybe I can sneak in a pair of jeans?) so shopping we will go! I'm going to take photos with my phone in hopes that I will be able to share them with you :)

Have a great week/weekend!

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

WIP Wednesday

This week hasn't seen a ton of knitting progress. I focused mainly on my Barndom shawl, which is my Camp Loopy 3 project. Monday I noticed that I had slipped stitches with the yarn on the wrong side, which meant I had a random piece of brown yarn in front of the pretty slipped stitches. It was really noticeable, so I tinked back the 5 or so rows, corrected it, and then caught back up. I think I am still on track to finish by the end of the month. Here's where I was at this morning:


This is being knit out of Malabrigo Sock yarn in Chocolate Amargo, Ivy, and Boticelli Red (to be added in at the end). I'm liking the project so far, and it is making me think of Fall!

I did a few round on my socks for Dad, but these are mostly my on-the-go knitting, and I haven't had too much time in the car or waiting around to work on them.


I think I'm almost to the point where I start the heel flap, so almost 75%!

I also did a few rounds on my Marsh stripey socks this week. It is embarrassing how long these things have been on the needles. I might just work on them monogamously once I get sick of the shawl for a bit to finish them up, because they are so close! Just the ribbing for the leg and 1 heel.


Once I get one of these pairs of socks finished, more baby items!

This post is linked up with Ginny's Yarn Along

Monday, August 5, 2013

Full Weekend but nothing to show?

We had quite the weekend here at the Handcraftedsnippets home. Saturday we went to the fair for most of the day, and the weather was pretty darn perfect. Mid 70s with a slight breeze. We also worked in our office for a while, getting rid of things we don't need and planning on how to rearrange and reorganize. 

Sunday was a full day- we had nursery duty at church, then we went home to grab my in-laws truck and bring it over to the fair for them. They camped at the fair all week long, and were packing up the camper and getting ready to come home. After a brief visit home for some cereal we headed over to Sara and Kris' to help remove a branch that had fallen. The hubs took the bigger pieces to use in woodworking. Then we came home, changed clothes, and played tennis with Sara, Miranda, and Marcus.

Serious, playing tennis was the best part of my weekend. I played for a few years in high school, and it was a blast getting back out on the courts and playing again. This morning I was reminded how long it has been since I played tennis- my left hip is complaining :) But it was totally worth it and I'm hoping to make it back to the courts a few more times this summer.

After tennis all 6 of us (Sara and Kris, Marcus and Miranda, and the hubs and I) grabbed groceries. We were quite the sight! Dinner was the hubs, my dad and I, and we had steak on the grill, crock pot salt potatoes, and cucumber from the garden. Then the 6 of us met up to Sara and Kris' for a movie. And of course, I took photos of none of it. Regardless, it was a fun weekend spent with friends :)

Here is our meal plan for the week:

Monday: lunch- leftover potatoes and chicken patty
dinner- either chicken salad sandwiches or steak salad

Tuesday: lunch- leftovers or crackers and cheese 

Wednesday: lunch- leftover enchiladas
dinner- out or grilled chieken

Thursday: lunch- subway?
dinner- chicken burritos

Friday: lunch- chicken and veggies
dinner: solo supper! not sure what yet

Saturday: lunch- probably something light, since I'm having a Stampin Up party with appetizers at 3pm
dinner- not sure yet!

As I mentioned above, Saturday I'm hosting a Stampin Up party and I want to make a few snacky foods. Zucchini tots would be good, especially since the ones from my garden might be ready! I also need at least one sweet treat, but I have time to figure it all out.

This post is linked up with http://orgjunkie.com/

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

WIP Wednesday

I always love sharing my knitting on the blog. Not only does it keep me accountable to work on all my projects and finish in a timely manner, it also feels good to share something you made with the world. Or at least the small section of it that reads my blog :)

This week I finished the baby sweater I have been working on. 


This sweet little cardigan is a DROPS pattern, and I was pretty happy with it. I decided to do the 1-3 month size. I think my stitch counts got a bit wonky at the lace section, but it ended up working out and I wasn't too worried about it. I used Loops and Threads Snuggly Wuggly Baby Sport  and I was pretty pleased with it for an acrylic. It was a bit rough when working with it, but the finished product is nice and soft. Perfect for a baby!

The other project going on my needles right now is a pair of socks.


I had hoped to have these done by the end of the month, but a few days ago I realized that only one of these projects was going to get finished, so I worked on the baby cardigan more. Still, I've only had these on the needles for 2 1/2 weeks, so that's not bad progress. 

As far as reading goes, we finished reading Multiply as a staff here at work. It was a pretty good book, but definitely meant to be read with application to a mentor relationship. Still a good read though. I'm more than halfway through Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident, and still working away on A Letter of Mary. I hope to sit down with Young House Love this week and make more progress on that book. I want to find a way to save the projects in there I see myself doing in the near future but I'm not sure the best way to do that. Maybe an iPhone photo uploaded to Pinterest?

This post is linked up with Ginny's Yarn Along.

Monday, July 29, 2013

Menu Monday

This weekend was pretty boring in this blogger's home. It involved a lot of working, some cleaning, church, and the bright spot- dinner and a movie with friends. The hubs and I went to get groceries and run errands after church, and 5 minutes into our grocery shopping somehow I deleted my list off of my phone. Fail. At least I got to have lunch at Wegmans!


I got tilapia, corn and bean salad, edamame and garbanzo bean salad, chicken salad, roasted curry cauliflower, pasta salad, and some sort of grain salad in the top left that I don't remember. It was all delicious! Best part about Wegmans (for me anyway) is that I can get one spoonful of a lot of things.

Anyway, this week's eats:

Monday: lunch- leftover burger and mac and cheese

Tuesday: lunch- leftover lasagna
dinner- tuna melts

Wednesday: lunch- leftovers or sandwich and an apple
dinner- Crockpot Sesame Chicken with rice

Thursday: lunch- leftover chicken and rice
dinner: maybe out? or help yourself night

Friday: lunch- cheese and crackers and a banana
dinner- meatball subs

Saturday: fair day!

Our niece is showing her pig at the fair, so we will probably be there part of the day Saturday, and possibly Thursday as well. You will notice that none of these foods are particularly summery, and that is because the weather in Western NY is resembling a cool rainy Spring rather than warm summer. Oh well, at least we got rid of the high 90's weather we had a few weeks ago!

Friday, July 26, 2013

Friday Pinterest Finds

It has been a while since I shared what I have been pinning! I wasn't on Pinterest much for a bit and decided it was better to wait until I had some good stuff to share rather than have short, skimpy posts. This post is mostly home decor (because I'm in a mood to make my house prettier than it is) and of course food, with a few random things thrown in.




Chevron Pillow from Target

Cute idea for closet doors

Decor for above the bed



Have you found anything good online lately? Any home decor ideas you are implementing?

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Mark of Athena and a Sunset


This week I finished two books! The first was The Mark of Athena, the third in a series by Rick Riordan. Even though this is a junior fiction series, I really enjoy Rick Riordan's writing and the Greek and Roman mythology he weaves in. I don't want to give away too much in case you aren't familiar with the series, but this book was a nice meshing of the first two, and the first time we see the different characters interact with one another. There were a few points that made me roll my eyes, but I think that was more because of the age level they are written for rather than cliche or poor writing. I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars over on Goodreads.



The second was an audiobook I happened upon at the library, and I listened to it in about a week. It was Sherlock Holmes Radio Mysteries, and it was a recording of old radio broadcasts. I love anything Sherlock Holmes, so even though it was a little overdone and the mysteries were a little easier to figure out than some other Holmes books I've read, I still found it enjoyable. It also got a 4 star rating.


Speaking of Goodreads, at the beginning of the year I set a goal to read 50 books this year. I'm finding that goal very ambitious, especially since I was in school until May and had no time to read books outside of school assignments. So far I am at 19 books for the year, but I also realized that a lot of those books were very long. Hopefully I can sneak in a few quick reads to try and get back on track.

Last night we went out to dinner with friends to Cabana Sams. We hadn't been there before, and it was really neat to sit right on the water for dinner. We even snagged a table on the upper deck outside, so the view was nice for the whole meal. I had their Cubana Sam-wish, which was their version of a cuban. It was pretty good, but nothing spectacular. After dinner we look a stroll on the beach and the pier before heading home. I managed to snag a few photos:



It was actually pretty cool yesterday- I don't know if it got over 70, which is crazy because last week we were pushing mid to high 90s. Either way, the weather was nice and it was fun to try out a new place :)