sock it to me

I started my first pair of socks! My secret pal sent me a "Knitting Pure & Simple" pattern for beginner socks and superwash self-patterning sock yarn. Looks pretty sedate, huh? Blue, white, black, a little burgundy, and green are visible on the outside of the skein. But who knew what mysteries lay within?

It's a veritable rainbow of colors! At my knitting group last night we all enjoyed seeing the colors that emerged. These are going to be very fun to wear with clogs (and probably a very plain outfit otherwise). I just divided for the heel. So far it's going pretty quickly, and I definitely can see the addictive appeal of sock-knitting.

For those of you in the Chicago area, the DIY Trunk Show takes place this Saturday. As far as I can tell, it's a "hip" craft fair, kind of like the Renegade Craft Fair, but indoors. This will be my first time. I'm meeting up with some knitting group friends for brunch beforehand at Milk & Honey Cafe, a restaurant that I've been wanting to try for a long time.

I'm also gearing up for my husband's birthday party tomorrow night. We're meeting friends for German food and beer at the local outpost of the Hofbrauhaus, then having birthday treats. I just baked Paul's favorite butterscotch bars; brownies are on the agenda for tonight's baking, as well. I'm going to post the recipe for the butterscotch bars below, but consider yourself forewarned. The recipe is very easy, but it contains TONS of processed foods. So if you're a Whole Foods / slow food movement / organic food devotee, you're going to want to steer clear of this one. They're absolutely delicious, though!

Butterscotch Bars

Duncan Hines yellow cake mix (no pudding in the mix)
4 butterscotch pudding snack packs (the non-refrigerated kind)
12 oz. butterscotch chips
granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 cake pan. Mix together the cake mix and the pudding, then mix in about half of the butterscotch chips. Spread the batter (which will be sticky) into the cake pan. Sprinkle with a little granulated sugar and the rest of the butterscotch chips. Bake 32-35 minutes.