Glass of Win

I saw this segment on other blogs and thought it was pretty cute. I’m such a nosy little snoop, I like to know these things. Do you? Anyway, I thought I’d join in the fun every now and again; when my purse and its contents change – which happens every couple of months to make it significant enough to warrant a post.

Purse by Paperchase
purchased at A|wear (Cork, Ireland)

1. Unicorn pillbox
2. Bobby pin
3. Wipes purchased at Tesco (hey, be prepared!)
4. Studio Fix face powder by MAC
5. 51 cents in American change
6. TAIKO PROJECT ticket stub
7. Hand sanitizer (hey, I take public transportation!)
8. Loose Claritin (allergy pill)
9. Scrap piece of paper
10. Quick oil off sheets by Softymo

1. Keys (including unicorn key head gifted by spicy, Kermit house key and Hello Kitty in Wonderland keychain)
2. Honeysuckle roll-on fragrance by Ten Digit Creations
3. Little Twin Star wallet by Sanrio
4. Ditalizem (my emergency pill to handle sudden arrhythmia)
5. Black pen no. 1
6. Black lace on white bow from Dunnes (Cork, Ireland)
7. Green Motorola w490 cell phone
8. Johnson & Johnson soft hand lotion
9. Rose flavored lip balm by Balm Box
10. Black pen no. 2
11. Burt’s Bee Lip Shimmer in Papaya

Whew, that’s a lot of stuff I truck around! What about you? What do you carry in your purse?

I met Jess Lyons of Ragamuffin Design via Twitter. I think it was Twitter. I always meet the coolest people on Twitter. Anyhow, when I checked out her Etsy store I fell positively in love with her hand knitted elf hats. Then she started listing beautiful hand crocheted tams and one in particular just screamed, “BUY ME!” (we all know how that goes). I purchased the lavender and cream tam on May 4th and had it in my possession less than a week later. It was neatly packaged, along with a personalized note from Jess.

The hat is made with a level of professionalism and personal care that one rarely sees with mass-produced brands. Wrapped in purple tissue paper, the tam was even more stunning in person.

I found an excuse to wear my new tam that very day and wore it to the theater when I saw my boyfriend perform for the first time.

In addition to elf hats and tams, Jess also makes jewelry, scarves and neck warmers, mitts and hand warmers, eco-friendly bags and household items. Whew! And I consider it a productive day when I put on pants. Now, being the nosy kind of person I am, I just had to pick Jess’s brain on Ragamuffin as I am insanely jealous of her awesome knitting/crocheting talent.

Q1: When//where did you learn to crochet and knit?

A: I learned to crochet simple chains from my grandmother when I was 8, but it wasn’t until college that I really started making anything – I
mostly learned to crochet from online directions (!) and I learned to knit from friends.

Q2: What is your “regular/offline” field of work/study?

A: Haha it’s totally unrelated! I am working on my PhD in Science and Technology Studies, focusing on international environmental policy in
relation to whaling.

Q3: What has been the best part of operating Ragamuffin Design?

A: Being my own boss! I can work whenever and wherever I am, not to mention I actually like my job.

Q4: How did Ragamuffin Designs come about?

A: Dear Lord! Basically, my family got tired of getting hats/scarfs/mittens/etc for Christmas/Birthdays/Valentines Day/etc. I
ended up with two garbage bags full of things I had made in my basement. I really needed to get rid of them and free up some space &
Etsy seemed like the best place to start.

Q5: What is currently influencing your personal style and creative flow?

A: Now that days are getting longer, hotter and sunnier I find myself, of course, being influenced more and more by summery things – sea shells,
bright tropical flowers, and nautical themes. I’ve also been paying a lot more attention to texture and have been mixing more fabrics and
patterns, and mixing pieces in my own wardrobe from the Salvation Army with more high end designers to create a casual bohemian look.

So, what are you waiting for? Hop on over to Etsy and check out Ragamuffin Design today!

Learn More:
Ragamuffin Design (Etsy)
Modern Renaissance (Jess’s Blog)
Ragamuffin Design on Facebook

Shopaholic Saturday is once again brought to you by my friend Liz, aka SOON-TO-BE-DOCTOR Liz, who was gracious enough to take the time away from curing cancer to contribute to Glass of Win. Liz was the kind of Smart Girl in high school who didn’t lord it over others, and was also a good sport about being Sailor Mars to my Super Sailor Moon. IN PUBLIC. She is also the kind of girl who will pass notes written entirely in Elvish. Thank you for everything, Liz! -R

I’ve wanted to be a scientist since elementary school and ever since then I’ve been on the nerdy side. My high school friends put up with me telling them that “oranges are composed of specialized plant hairs” or called yogurt pops “frozen bacteria cultures on a stick.” …I’m surprised that they were still my friends after that. Anyway, I never grew out of being fan-girly about science, especially biochemistry and molecular biology. While not all science is biology, here are some delightful sciencey finds: