I’m back from my trip to Ireland and England, and boy did I have some catching up to do in the blogging world!  I’ve been reading for at least an hour, but now it’s time to write, because I have so much to share with you!

First, I met Rachel from The Little Room of Rachell while I was on my trip!  It was my first time meeting a fellow blogger, and it was hers, too.  We met up in Oxford and spent a lovely afternoon strolling around and chatting (about lots of stuff, not just blogging and crochet) and eating and drinking.  We visited some yarn/craft shops, but not everything was open due to the holidays.  I’m still exceedingly jealous that there are so many little yarn shops in England!  At least, there are compared to South Carolina, where there is only one that I can semi-easily get to.  We saw some of the tourist-y attractions as well, and I kept saying how sort of mind boggling it is to visit places that are older than my country.  The places we stopped at for foodstuffs were very tasty and they felt very authentic — I believe Rachel told me that one of the pubs had been on the same site since the 1400s and I was in total awe.  It was so much fun and it was so lovely to meet Rachel, and I hope I can meet her again some time!  Oh and she gave me a little gift she made herself (thank you Rachel!):

isn’t this little crochet stocking the cutest thing?

While I was in Oxford, I had to stop at the Cath Kidston store.  We don’t have them in the US, and the shipping costs are ridiculous, so I tried to stock up on some cute little items that would fit in my suitcase.  I got some melamine storage bowls, a nice face mitt, and a couple of other picture-worthy items:

a lovely new tape measure

a knitting needle roll (on sale)

a new collar for my baby girl, who was trying to lick me as I took pictures

Can I share some other pictures from my trip with you?

tree at Christ Church in Dublin

at the Guinness Storehouse, with the pint I poured

cool bottle chandelier at the Old Jameson’s Distillery

chapel of King’s College, where we attended the Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols service

Christ Church, Oxford, where some Harry Potter scenes were filmed

And guess what my grandma got me for Christmas?  Two new crochet books:

These are going to teach me so much!

And my parents got me, among some lovely other things, this magazine which I thought might interest you:

Not only does it have 31 knitting projects inspired by Jane Austen’s books — it also has some really interesting articles about materials and clothes during her lifetime.  Here are the titles of the articles:

It was so interesting I read it all in one sitting!

OK, I think that’s all for now.  Unfortunately, even though I took my needles and hooks and some yarn with me on the trip, I didn’t do a thing — I was too tired to pick anything up.  I’ve got nothing new to show at this time, but I’m sure I’ll get back to business soon.  Also, I may do a “review of 2012” post, like so many others are doing.  It’s a nice way to remember all the good crafty moments, don’t you think?

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you drop in again soon!