About A Girl

Recipe: Stuffed Empanadas

2012-02-29T05:30:00.000-06:00

I'm not really sure what to call these guys. They reminded me of empanadas so I thought I'd just go with that. I wanted to make some type of dough and try filling it with something. What first came to mind was something like a perogy potato and cheese filling, or just plain cheese. So that's what I went with! I had an awesome idea after I had already made these that I will share and hopefully try out soon.

FOR THE DOUGH

1/2 cup (or 125g) of Philadelphia Cream Cheese spread
1/2 cup butter softened
1.5 cups flour
1 egg (cracked into small bowl, set aside)

FILLING (potato/cheese)

2-4 potatoes
shredded cheese (I prefer sharp cheddar)
cream cheese, as much as you want really

FILLING (cheese)

your favorite type of cheese, shredded

This recipe should make about 24 empanadas

* For the cheese filled ones: I thought that when I cooked these, you would be biting into a big chunk of cheese in the middle. That is not how these turn out! The cheese melts and coats the inside of each empanada. They're still really good and will be great for stuffing with other things (see idea below).

DOUGH

Mix cream cheese and butter in large bowl until well blended.
Gradually mix in the flour.
Shape into a ball. Wrap in plastic and put in fridge for at least 1 hour.
While the dough is sitting, you can make/prep your filling. Or you can go clean the house, which is what I did.

The directions are quite simple for the potato/cheese filling. Just peel + cook the potatoes. Once they are cooked through, mash them up. Add in everything else and mix it up.

For just the cheese filled ones, I just shredded a bunch of cheese and that was that!

ONCE DOUGH IS READY

Preheat oven to 400° F
Sprinkle some flour on your rolling pin and surface you will be using to roll out dough.
Roll out the dough, fairly thin, but not too thin that when you fill them they will break.
Cut out little circles. You can use a cookie cutter or a cup.
Reroll any remaining dough scraps and continue cutting circles until you run out of dough.

Now onto filling these babies...

I used a rolling pin on each circle to stretch them out a bit and make some more room for the filling.
Take about a teaspoon of your filling and place in centre. You don't need a lot. If you overstuff, it will be hard to close.
If you make just the cheese ones, stuff as much as you can into them as the cheese melts and coats the side of the empanadas.
Brush edges with egg and press together. Poke holes in top with a fork to vent.
Brush tops with remaining egg.
Place on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray and bake 18 - 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Now here's the awesome idea I had after I had already made these. Make the cheese filled ones. Seeing as the cheese will just coat the inside of these empanadas, you can stuff them again. Once your cheesy empanadas are done baking, let them cool entirely. Make some type of awesome dip (I was thinking spinach), cut the cheesed up empanadas in half and then stuff them with your dip. YUM. I think that would be awesome and I am definitely trying it next time I make these.

Enjoy!
xoxo

What did you do this weekend?

2012-02-27T19:13:00.000-06:00

We shoveled. Yep, that was the entire weekend. Ok, not really. But it seemed like it. We were out everyday and sometimes twice a day keeping up with it. I guess we're not used to it because we've had a mild winter and this is the most snow + shoveling we've done this season. It was a weekend full of snow... and some more snow...

Aaron likes to film everything... and I like to take pictures of everything.

Keep warm!
xoxo

Gold Karting

2012-02-26T15:36:00.001-06:00

Friday night Larrikin jammed and it was fun, as usual. The jam itself was really smooth and sounded awesome. We ran through our second album a couple times, with some drinks of rum + coke as we rocked out. Just as Riley was taking off for the night, he mentioned he was going go karting the next day. Aaron made some type of remark like: "I've never been gold karting before..." He said that by accident, he really knows it's not "gold karting". Anyways, for some reason I found this hilarious and couldn't stop laughing about it. Something just sounds funny about gold karting and as soon as I heard it this is what I pictured in my head:

(x)

Haha, I've been laughing about this all weekend. It's such a ridiculous thing and not even really that funny, but it just became a thing. Ever have that happen to you?

Hope your weekend has been awesome!
xoxo

Some Recent Cat Shots

2012-02-22T06:01:00.000-06:00

This weekend/week has been a busy one so far! I feel like I have a ton of things to do but can't quite get them all done. You know how it is, some days you can get a lot done, others not so much. This happens or that happens, or you can't focus, the ideas aren't flowing, whatever it may be, there are days like that!

It's been snowing a lot here over the last day and it might continue for another day or two. It might actually be time to attempt cracking out my winter boots... or I can risk heading out in my converse high tops and see what happens. I bet I will do that and then regret it. Ah well, that's how it goes. Anyways, here are some recent shots of my loves:

1 // Sleeping in the sun on her favorite blanket
2 // Peeling her face off on a bush outside
3 // Being cute

1 // Sleeping in Aaron's housecoat
2 // Standing guard in front of our house
3 // Meatloaf

Have a lovely day everyone and stay warm!
xoxo

Taking it Back to the Old School

2012-02-19T09:25:00.001-06:00

Hello friends! Hope your weekend has been going well. Our Friday was a little busy and Saturday was a lot more chill. Friday night was filled with Larrikin heading out on a little adventure to the arcade (where we won purple squishy guy), getting slurpees, playing some hockey on the ice rink and jamming for hours afterwards. I was so sore after that jam, especially my fingers. It felt like I cut every single one of my nails too short, you know that feeling? Ugh. Anyways, it was good though. We had lots of fun and rocked some new songs. There was lots of energy that night. It's weird how you can just feel it when you're playing, it's hard to explain but it's a great feeling.

All that aside, it got my thinking about Larrikin, how we all met and started up this band. None of us could really play our instruments. Riley actually just learned to play drums when he joined. It's just been a lot of fun and we've grown so much together. I really love those guys and playing with them. We're all such good friends and always have a blast when we're together. I thought it would be fun to share some oldies of the band. These pictures are all from when we first got together a few years back.

Well, I've got a few things I have to get done before we head off to visit my mom today, so I better get on that.

Have a good one!
xoxo

Photodump: River Walk

2012-02-16T05:26:00.000-06:00

A week or two ago when it was all frosty here in Winnipeg, Aaron and I decided to go for a walk down to the river. It actually stayed frosty like this for a few days. Usually it only lasts a few hours! Anyways, it had been a while since we went for a walk down there so it was pretty nice.

It's always a nice walk over there, especially when everything is so pretty like it was that day. The skating rink is at a community centre near our house on the way back from the river. The ice looks so shiny and fresh!

This weekend is going to be a little busy for us. Friday & Saturday we're doing some filming for an upcoming Larrikin project. We'll also be jamming, as we usually do on Friday night. Then on Sunday we'll likely be visiting my mom and will probably stay at her place until Monday. It's Louis Riel Day here in Winnipeg on Monday (which is actually called Family Day in other parts of Canada), so it's a day off for most of us working folks!

Have an awesome day!
xoxo

Daily Valentine

2012-02-14T12:00:00.002-06:00

This Valentine is especially for Aaron. Those 2 ice cream cones are meant to be us. He's strawberry, I'm chocolate (our fave types of ice cream). Haha, sort of an inside joke so likely won't make sense to anyone but us, but I find it amusing and love it.

If you want to check out all the Valentine's cards I made this year, click here.

Happy Valentine's day! Now, go spread some love. :)
xoxo

Valentine's Nails

2012-02-14T05:31:00.000-06:00

I got a couple Sally Hansen Nail Art pens for Christmas and just recently started giving them a whirl. So far, so good. I actually got 3 in total, black, white and red. I haven't used black yet, white worked fine but I needed to do a couple coats of the hearts to get them covered and red seemed to work best, one coat and you're good.

Anyways, I just did something simple here with the hearts. I often want to paint my nails with all sorts of fun designs but I think: "How am I going to do my right hand?" That's always the issue. If it's something too extreme I'll just do one hand and leave the other without the design or not do it at all. I really need to get better at using my left hand to do my nails. Practice makes perfect I guess.

Peace + Love, here's to a beautiful day!
xoxo

Madison Losing It

2012-02-13T07:13:00.000-06:00

Here is a little video of Madison losing it in the bathtub. She's always loved hopping into the tub and playing or waiting for you to grab some TP and waving it around for her to chase, but lately she's been jumping in and chasing her tail like crazy. She actually goes pretty nuts with it. It's adorable, I love her so much!

Have a nice day!
xoxo

Daily Valentine

2012-02-12T08:35:00.001-06:00

"...and there's a picture of a bee on it." - Ralph Wiggum

Yesterday was not a great day for me. I started getting a headache Friday night which ended up carrying over to Saturday and turning into a super bad migraine. Needless to say I slept away most of my Saturday. I hate when that happens. Oh well, it's a new day and I'm going to get lots done!

Today Aaron and I are working on ideas for a music video we will be shooting next weekend for our band. It should be lots of fun. Today will also involve guitar playing, cleaning, photo editing and hopefully squeezing in a workout.

What have you been up to this weekend?
xoxo

Daily Valentine

2012-02-10T17:18:00.000-06:00

Pardon the language, but seriously... I swear sometimes. Actually, what made me think of this little card is this song right here. Listen to it, I bet it'll get stuck in your head. It's definitely stuck in mine!

Happy Friday everyone!
xoxo

Feb Photo a Day Update

2012-02-10T05:33:00.000-06:00

I decided to take part in a February Photo-a-Day challenge this month. I've done 365 projects for 2 years (straight! 2010 and 2011) so keeping up taking a photo a day for one month should be a breeze. I've been posting these daily on my Twitter, but thought I'd share an update here.

If you want to follow along as I do this challenge, feel free to follow me on Twitter. I love looking at pictures, so if anyone is taking part in any of these photo challenges, please leave me a comment with where I can see your pictures (or get in touch with me on Twitter if you're posting over there).

Happy Friday everyone!
xoxo

Daily Valentine

2012-02-09T13:30:00.001-06:00

I kind of love this card I made. I think the cupcakes are just so cute. I want to squeeze them... and then probably eat them. Nomnomnom. Haha, anyways... hope you're having a good day!
xoxo

Cats in Action

2012-02-09T05:25:00.000-06:00

Here is Hobbes waiting by her water dish to get fed. See how her eyes temporarily light up when she thinks I'm coming to bring her something. She then quickly realizes I'm just there to take her picture and shoots me the evil eye.

Hobbes trying to take an afternoon nap but acknowledging I'm there to visit her by wagging her tail just a little bit. She was making slight beeping noises as well. She's probably thinking, "If I wag my tail and beep, maybe she won't wake me up. She'll probably think this is cute." She was right. I didn't wake her up and I did think it was cute.

This one is quite subtle... and kind of creepy. Madison lounging in front of the window, in what used to be Hobbes' main spot.

Aw, I love my kitties! Madison used to always sleep on Aaron's pillow during the day, when we weren't there. She stopped doing that for a while, but she has recently started doing it again... but while we're sleeping! She comes into our bed and curls up on Aaron's pillow. I woke up last night to her purring near my head. Sometimes she tries to eat our hair/love bite our head too. It's adorable.

Have a rad day!
xoxo

Daily Valentine

2012-02-08T11:23:00.000-06:00

Here is another Valentine card I made. I'm having way too much fun making these! :)

Today it going to be a lazy day as I'm not feeling that great. I'm currently watching The Lost Boys and working on some drawings. There is also a very high possibility of more 80s movies to follow. Yay!

Have a good one!
xoxo

I ♥ Leg Warmers

2012-02-07T14:20:00.002-06:00

This winter I've been wearing leg warmers with converse shoes everyday. I usually have to wear winter boots, but I haven't cracked them out yet. They're old with holes in them and annoying to have to put on all the time, so I'm kind of hanging onto the hope that I can coast through winter in just my high top converse. I'm also in love with leg warmers. They're cute and remind me of the 80s. I bought all of the above leg warmers from Dollarama over the last couple years. They're cheap but they've lasted me through the winter so far (some for 2 winters), so that's pretty good if you ask me!

Hope your day is awesome!
xoxo

Daily Valentine

2012-02-07T08:20:00.000-06:00

I'm not a huge fan of Valentine's Day. It's not that I don't like it but I just don't really care about it. Aaron and I never celebrate as it's just another day to us. However, I do like drawing and making up cute little cards for the occasion. That's the one thing about this "holiday" I do enjoy. I remember handing out those cute little Valentine's as kids and it was always so fun. I really just like to use Valentine's Day as an excuse to draw up these cute little cards.

I have a few more that I'm going to share during the week as well and I should be back later with a non-Valentine's related post.

Have a lovely day!
xoxo

Recipe: Homemade Potato Chips

2012-02-06T06:53:00.001-06:00

I'm a bit of a sucker when it comes to chips. They are a guilty pleasure of mine. I often crave them and top it off with some good dip, oh yes! So, the other day I was craving some chips but we didn't have any. I thought I would try and make my own. I was totally expecting this not to work, that they wouldn't be that great or whatever, but it actually turned out really good! Are you a fellow potato chip lover? Well, give these a try!

Potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced*

1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

SPICES

dill
cayenne
taco seasoning
sea salt (or kosher salt)

* The number of potatoes to use is up to you, how many chips would you like?

For the spices: Use whatever spices you would like on your chips. I find that for the salt, kosher/sea salt works better. Cayenne is spicy and I like taco seasoning because it kind of reminds me of Mexican Chili (an Old Dutch chip flavour). Also, dill tasted pretty nice on the chips.

Peel and slice up the potatoes
Lay your chips out on some parchment paper
Drizzle the extra virgin olive oil over the chips
Sprinkle with your choice of spices + let sit for 20-30 mins
Preheat over to 350° F
Place chips on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray & cook approx. 20min (ovens vary, so just watch them to avoid burning)

Top these off with some dip and you have the ultimate snack! I like onion dip, which is just sour cream + onion soup mix. I also wouldn't mind trying these: sundried tomato + garlic dip, spinach + cheese dip or this pesto + roasted red pepper dip. They all look so good!

Enjoy and have a great day!
xoxo

France's Tattoo

2012-02-03T05:29:00.002-06:00

I want you all to meet my dear friend France. She's an awesome girl who loves to travel so I don't really get to see her that much, but she's a lot of fun to be around when I do get to hang out with her.

A few years back, France got her first tattoo. She was kind enough to let me come with her and take pictures of the experience. I was actually only there for the first session, but it was a lot of fun and really neat to capture the day. I had just come across these photos while looking for something on my external hard drive and thought it would be fun to share some pictures from the day. France also let me ask her some questions recently about this, which was very awesome of her. The photos are from a few years back, but the questions are a recent interview with her.

Q1. Why did you choose that particular tattoo and placement? Does it have any meaning?

There are a few reasons I chose my back as a location for my tattoo - first of all, it's a wonderful space. It's (relatively) flat, lots of bend and motion to it and a good canvas for any tattoo artist.

Secondly, I can't see my tattoo every day. Sometimes, I completely forget about it, and then when I do see it, it's a very pleasant surprise.

Thirdly, the back is one of the few places that doesn't really collect fat like other places on the body. When I (because it is INEVITABLE) gain weight and get old, the tattoo won't get warped too badly and there isn't such a thing as a "back-beer-belly"...thank god.

Lastly, my tattoo has everything to do with home, the journeys I've been on and the time that goes by in between. I like the physical action of having to look behind you - to your past experiences - to look at the reminder of the things and memories you love most in the world.

If you're wondering about colour as well, I wanted the tattoo to fade WITH me, not fade as a tattoo. I want it to become fainter with age so that it truly is imbedded into my skin by the time I'm ancient. The sepia tones allow this with a little more ease that your traditional black outlines.

Q2. How long did it take to complete your tattoo?

The tattoo (touch ups included) took somewhere between 9 and 10 hours. The first session was about 4-5 hours, the second one was about 3-4 and then another 2 hours of touch-ups further down the road.

As far as planning for it, I had the tattoo in mind LONG before I actually got around to doing it.

Q3. Do you have anymore tattoos? If so, what/where?

I don't have any more tattoos. For some reason, I feel as though I've covered what I wanted to express through a tattoo.

Q4. Do you want anymore tattoos? If so, what/where?

If I ever got another one, I would get it on the outside of my left thigh. I would probably get an entire story done up.

...On a more realistic note, I would probably get the engraving on the side of my Browning tattoo'ed on the back of my left elbow.

I do also have a secret craving to get my knuckles inked, but I doubt I'll ever get that done unless I know exactly what would be perfect for me.

Q5. What's the most interesting experience you've had in regards to your tattoo?

I had someone recognize me from the Metamorphosis website once. I was taking boxing for a while, and I believe they spotted it there.

The MOST interesting experiences come from the reasons why I got the tattoo in the first place. Although I really enjoy swimming, I seem prone to near-drowning experiences. Whether it was when I was little, and thankfully I have a big sister that saved me, or when I was older, and discovered Mach speeds on a waterslide, and thankfully have a big sister that saved me, I just feel like a fish outa water sometimes.

The skeleton fish has been a re-occurring symbol for me since I was little. The salmon, in particular, fascinates me. The journey a salmon does to get back home is the epitome of determination. With the traveling I've done, and places I've lived in, getting back home is always on my mind.

Q6. Do you have any advice to someone who might be thinking about getting their first tattoo?

Ask yourself if your tattoo is a tattoo you will be ready to love no matter what stage of life you are at, even if it is just a reminder of another time, a song you'll never forget, or about somebody in particular. AND... find an amazing tattoo artist. Don't settle!! It's OK to wait.

Q7. Who is the tattoo artist behind this tattoo?

Ivy Gowen at Metamorphosis

Ivy Gowen did my tattoo, and she was amazing. Her background was in painting landscapes, animals and all sorts of things. She has a few photos in her portfolio on line.

A wonderful lady and there's no one else I would have rather give me my tattoo.

Thanks so much to France for letting us have a little peek into her tattoo experience and for taking the time to answer those questions.

Have an awesome day!

xoxo

Photodump: Frosted Wonderland

2012-02-02T07:39:00.000-06:00

Yesterday morning when the sun finally came up (I was up before sunrise), I looked outside and saw a beautiful, sparkly, frosted yard. Yes, our yard was frosted. I love the way it looks outside when everything has that pretty layer on it. I always find it so difficult to capture the awesomeness on camera. It's never quite the same as when you're actually out there. But I did head out and took some pictures. It was a warm day out, which made it even better. The morning had gloomy skies but by the afternoon the blue skies and sun came out, it was gorgeous!

We've had such a mild winter so far, I am so thankful for that. There was one week a little while back where it was in the -40s but other than that, it's been pretty good!

Have a nice day everyone!
xoxo

Movie Crushes from the 80s

2012-02-01T07:47:00.002-06:00

"May I admire you again today?" - Duckie

Here we have Duckie (played by Jon Cryer) in Pretty in Pink. I love this movie and Duckie is adorable in it. He's hopelessly in love with Andie but kind of plays it up as a joke in front of her. But while Duckie is swooning over Andie, she's in love with a "richie" Blane. In the original ending of this movie (I saw this on an extra on the DVD), Andie was actually going to end up with Duckie. They didn't use this ending because during a test screening, the audience didn't like it. Which I find odd because I often hear people say they wanted Duckie and Andie to end up together. Oh well, Duckie is still a sweetheart! ♥

Haha, I ♥ him.

Do you have any movie crushes?
xoxo

Cats - Nicknames Part 3

2012-01-31T07:36:00.000-06:00

As I've mentioned before here and here, we often give our cats odd nicknames. They're always pretty random and kind of how in the world did you get this nickname but amusing (well, to us they are). I think I'm mostly to blame for the weirdness of the names as I usually come up with them. Here are a few of Hobbes + Madison's current nicknames...

Totally random, I know. Do your cats get any weird nicknames?

Have an awesome day!
xoxo

Friday Jam

2012-01-30T09:16:00.000-06:00

Friday we jammed with Larrikin, as we usually do on Friday nights. It was a long jam, 5 hours or so, but was really good. We got some new gear that we got to test out this weekend, which was cool. Up until this weekend, we always used this little crappy voice recorded to make demos and what not. Now we've got this totally awesome, new audio interface machine. It's quite the step up, that's forsure!

We got that machine + some new mics. We can plug our instruments right into the machine and record things separately if we want, or we can put mics around the room and record live off the floor. We did the live recording on Friday and it was so good. The recordings are so crisp and loud, they sound amazing. I'm pretty excited to see what we can do with this machine! Here are some photos:

This machine is going to come in handy as we're currently working on some new songs. So, it will be nice to reocrd some good quality demos and be able to play around with the new tracks a bit.

I also found out that we're being considered for the Top 5 bands to watch in 2012 by the University of Winnipeg's paper The Uniter. It was pretty exciting to hear that! Even if we don't make it, just that we were considered is pretty neat. :)

Have a lovely day everyone!
xoxo

Friday I'm in Love

2012-01-27T05:28:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone and happy Friday! I hope you're having a lovely day. :) Here are some things I'm currently loving (and wanting!)...

1 // These awesome boots. I really need a new pair! The weird thing is, I haven't even put my winter boots on this season yet. Been keepin' it real with my Chucks.

2 // This adorable cat bed! I want this so bad for my kitties. They would love it and it's so cute.

3 // Pretty dress, I ♥ you.

4 // A totally rad record clock.

5 // These striped tights are sweet, I really want a pair like this.

6 // Gremlins cups? Seriously need these.

7 // Super cute cupcake plugs.

8 // These Super Mario wall decals are too cool.

9 // Another pair of cute plugs - apples!

10 // I've been wanting to watch this lately and this is one 80s movie I don't own yet, but should.

11 // Grumpy bear hat, aww!

12 // I fell in love with these socks the moment I saw them.

13 // These go to eleven. Haha, what an awesome shirt!

14 // Great John Hughes movie + I love the checkerboard pattern on this shirt.

Oh boy, I really want to get some (well, all) of this stuff. Have you found anything cool online lately you're drooling over?

Today will be filled with working and getting things done, as well as jamming with Larrikin later tonight. Looking forward to starting the weekend off with some rock n' roll!

Have a great weekend!
xoxo

The Love of my Life

2012-01-25T09:35:00.000-06:00

Today is our 7 year anniversary! I am so thankful for having this love in my life, it's definitely that forever kind of love. I'm sure you've all heard how when you find the one, you just know. Well, it's true. Aaron is my best friend and he's also the best thing that's ever happened to me. I love him with all my heart! If you want to check out how we met, you can read our story here.

Here is a picture of us from each year we've been together, except 2012, don't have any yet, eep!

Here's to many more amazing years to come. Cheers!
xoxo

Staying Organized

2012-01-24T10:38:00.000-06:00

I like to try and keep things fairly organized. I keep lists, have a daily planner, calendars and countless notebooks I write in. I also keep track of things on my computer using spreadsheet software from OpenOffice (which is much like Microsoft Excel, but it's free). If you want you can download it from their website, it's a really great package of stuff! I've been using it for a while now and love it.

So, I made a monthly planner for my blog using the spreadsheet and I'm really loving it! It helps me see what is coming up, keep ideas all together and plan ahead. It looks something like this:

I love how I can see everything at once. See what I've done, see what's coming up and any ideas I have and would like to work on. It's nice.

I have all the months ready to go on the bottom tabs in case I get any ideas for something in the summer, or maybe an idea for Halloween, I can quickly throw it into the planner for a later date.

There is also a section on the right hand side of each month to jot down upcoming posts I'd like to work on or any blog related ideas I might have floating around.

I also started using this monthly planner for personal reasons as well. I just made a copy of this planner and filled it in with things that are coming up, that I need to do/have done, ie: have to go shopping, an appointment, days I workout, days I do vocal practice and so on. Then I can look back and see what I've done and when, and I can look forward to see what's coming up and what I have to do. LOVE it.

Want this little planner for yourself? You can use it! I hope it helps you as much as it has helped me. :) You do have to have or download OpenOffice though in order for it to work. If you want to use this for yourself, you would have to:

1) Download OpenOffice here (it's an awesome package, like Mircrosoft Office but FREE)

2) Once you have downloaded + installed OpenOffice to your computer, you can then download the montly planner here.

Now just open the planner and you're ready to start planning!

Yay, have fun staying organized!
xoxo

Madison Playing in the Snow

2012-01-23T08:57:00.000-06:00

Our kitties love going outside, even in the winter. Madison is a bit of a fool when it comes to being out there and doesn't care how cold it is. She always wants out and will go out in the worst conditions just to get some fresh air. She gets put on her leash (after she does this of course) and taken for a quick walk around the yard and will even begin to shake from being so cold but will still refuse to come inside. We have to pick her up and force her to, otherwise she'd likely turn into a frozen statue out there.

Hobbes on the other hand is a little more of a suck when it comes to the cold. She will go outside but if it's too cold, she's in and out. Kind of like that Simpsons episode when Bart starts working at that Burlesque house and Grampa Simpson walks in, notices Bart and walks right back out in one quick swing around. Remember that one? Hobbes is like Grampa when it's too cold outside.

Anyways, this is just a short clip of Madison playing in the fresh snow. It wasn't that cold out then and she was having fun. She does this really cute thing where she digs in the snow and throws it up in the air. She sort of does it in the second clip of the video. She digs but doesn't really throw the snow as she usually does. I haven't been able to catch her on camera fully doing that yet. I also love how at the end when she's walking away, she is throwing her feet up and back to get the snow off. She's so cute.

Have a beautiful day!
xoxo

Blue Skies and Butterflies

2012-01-21T09:18:00.003-06:00

This is just a little drawing I did. I am longing for blue skies. During the winter, the sky is usually grey/white and that gorgeous blue sky just doesn't come out as often as I'd like. It's currently snowing outside, with a very gloomy sort of feel out there. I'm definitely missing the nice weather and going outside and laying in the grass.

Last night we jammed for many hours. So many hours my fingers felt like they were bleeding by the end of it. That sounds bad, but it's bad in a good way. We needed a good jam like that. Rock and/or roll I tells ya!

Well, Aaron and I are having a chill weekend, that might possibly involve going to a movie with Riley.

Happy Saturday everyone! Hope your weekend is awesome. :)
xoxo

Photodump: Our Wintery Yard

2012-01-19T14:00:00.000-06:00

It's been insanely cold in Winnipeg this week. Luckily I haven't really had to go out, but I did have to pop outside to throw out the trash/recycling and get the mail. That was enough! It's been -41 and getting to -43 tomorrow. I am definitely staying inside. I can enjoy our yard and the beauty of winter from the warmth of my own home... and by looking at these pictures I snapped over the last few weeks. :)

Hobbes is staying warm by lounging around in her bed and looking out the window. That's one of her fave spots, however Madison has somewhat taken over the area. Hobbes must of got lucky that day and snagged it before her.

I really like taking pictures of our yard during each season. It's pretty neat looking back at how it changes so much.

Hope you're all having a nice day and staying warm, wherever you are!
xoxo

Recipe: Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2012-01-17T07:24:00.003-06:00

Aaron and I decided to make some cookies the other day. We had all this leftover chocolate from the holidays and were thinking we should just throw it all together and make some sort of cookie. Well, that cookie turned out to be pretty, pretty, pretty good.

    2 1/4 cups flour
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1 teaspoon salt
    1 cup butter, softened
    3/4 cup sugar
    1/2 cup packed brown sugar
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    2 eggs
    2 cups chocolatey excellence*

This recipe made about 32 cookies for me

* For the "chocolatey excellence" we used mainly 2 things: chocolate covered pretzels and a chocolate bar with almonds in it. These were leftover goodies from the holidays. Aaron threw the chocolate covered pretzels in the blender and I chopped up the chocolate/almond bar into chunks. I also added a few chocolate chips to top off the 2 cups. So, 2 cups of this = the chocolately excellence. You could really use whatever you want in this mix, I have a few more ideas I'd like to try!

Preheat oven to 375° F
Mix flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Beat butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in larger bowl until creamy.
Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each. Slowly mix in flour mixture.
Stir in chocolately excellence. Drop by tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.
BAKE for 9 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool.

Here are some other ideas I had to try in the chocolatey excellence mix another time. Do you have any ideas? I'd love to hear them!

toffee
white chocolate
walnuts
M+Ms
fudge

One night Aaron and I were craving something for dessert. We decided to try this little mix:

Yogurt (whatever you have on hand, we used vanilla and strawberry)

Sliced up banana

These cookies, crumbled

Mix this all together in a bowl and oh man, it's good. Really good.

Enjoy!

xoxo

Where the Magic Happens

2012-01-16T10:28:00.000-06:00

Here are some photos from where my band Larrikin jams, hangs out and has the occasional rum jam. This is in our basement. I didn't want to take shots of the basement in full because it's kind of messy right now. I really have to clean down there. Our jam area is fairly confined to one corner of the basement. In the middle are a couple couches, where we hang out and "take 5", and on the other end of the basement is our workout area. So yes, there is definitely some type of magic happening down here.

Many good times have been had down there and I'm sure there will be many more to come!

Have a nice day everyone!
xoxo

Today...

2012-01-15T17:28:00.002-06:00

... it snowed. This video is from a couple hours ago. It was nice. I like snow storms when I don't have to go out in them.

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. :)
xoxo

Maddie Bran

2012-01-13T05:19:00.000-06:00

Just a short (soundless) clip of Madison dipping her paw into my cereal bowl. I was eating raisin bran and left a flake or two in there with just a little bit of milk. I love how she takes a flake out first, then goes back for a dip of milk. She actually will do that in her treats as well. She puts her paw in the bag, reaches in and takes one. I have to get that recorded too. It's pretty cute.

Have a lovely day!
xoxo

Recipe: Homemade Minestrone Soup

2012-01-11T08:33:00.001-06:00

I felt like making some homemade soup the other day. I've done it once before and blogged about it here (wow, that was almost a year ago!). Anyways, I was in the mood to try another type of soup. This is really just my version of a Minestrone type soup. It was actually quite easy to make and tastes so good! I will definitely be making this one again.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrots
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 potatoes, peeled and cubed*
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can navy beans
4 cups low sodium chicken broth

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon cilantro
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Frank Red Hot Sauce*

* The potatoes I used were smallish, so if you are using bigger potatoes, I would maybe only use 2 or 3.

* Optional: Frank Red Hot Sauce - We love Franks and pretty much put it on/in everything. I just put a couple teaspoons in and it gave it a nice little kick! It was really good.

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and carrots. Cook and stir for 3 mins. Add garlic. Cook and stir for 1 minute.

Add potatoes and seasonings. Cook 1 minute. Stir in broth, beans and tomatoes, bring to a boil.

* Optional steps: Add Franks here and use cornstarch to thicken soup if you like.

Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until carrots and potatoes are tender, approx. 30 mins but I would just check them with a fork/tasting them to know forsure.

Mmm, a nice warm soup for a cold winter day. Really hits the spot, I'm so happy there are leftovers. Enjoy!
xoxo

Taking the Cats Outside

2012-01-09T05:21:00.000-06:00

We like to take the cats out for little dips every now and then. They looove going outside. Hobbes is awesome out there, she sticks to certain areas of the yard and listens. Madison is a little more wild, probably because she is so young. She has to be leashed up otherwise she would likely take off. Anyways, here are some pictures of their little adventure out there and just from around our yard.

The sky looked pretty that day as well. It gets dark so early... I took these photos just after 4pm.

After their little adventure, the cats were tired and took a nap. Well, Madison's in her bed getting ready for one...

...and I just had to post this picture. I love her face, so cute.

Have a nice day!
xoxo

Bloglovin

2012-01-06T05:48:00.000-06:00

Does anyone use Bloglovin? I've had it on my sidebar forever but I never actually made an account and "claimed" my blog. I noticed that my bloglovin link on the sidebar there took you to my old, old blog. Like my very first design! So, it should be updated now. Please feel free to Follow my blog with Bloglovin.

Hope you all have an awesome weekend!
xoxo

Some Fave posts from 2011

2012-01-05T05:46:00.001-06:00

Here are some of my fave posts from 2011.

This vegetarian chili recipe that has become a household favorite.

This recipe for Peanut Butter cups was amazing. So easy and good. Yum!

Our cats playing "The Spaghetti Game". Haha, this video always makes me laugh.

Madison attempting to bury the wall into her litter box. Another one that cracks me up.

Just a few of the nicknames Hobbes and Madison have earned throughout the year.

A fun tutorial to braid ribbons into your hair.

Another little fun idea with ribbons: A cute way to display your photos!

My top 5 movie crushes from the 80s. I ♥ these guys!

The story (with drawings) about the time I met Vanilla Ice.

Larrikin at the studio #1.

Larrikin at the studio #2.

A peek inside our home.

The beautiful garden we had during the summer.

Our lovely yard and pretty flowers.

Adventures in attempting to trim my own bangs but ending up ruining everything.

Some of the crazy weather Winnipeg experiences. In May, it went from being nice and spring like to cold and covered in snow overnight.

The beauty of autumn right in our backyard and neighbourhood.

It's been a great year with a lot of fun. Hopefully 2012 will be just as good or better!

xoxo

New Year, New Name, New Design!

2012-01-04T00:31:00.000-06:00

It's a new year and I've been wanting to re-design my blog for quite some time now and thought why not do it for the new year? Not only have I wanted to re-design the blog, but I wanted to change the name of it to something I felt better reflected me and my blog and the name "About A Girl" just came to me one day. I thought it was great because 1) The Nirvana reference. I am a huge Nirvana fan, they are my all time fave band so this suits me very well! 2) It's a very broad name and doesn't really limit what my blog is about. It's just... about a girl, and that girl is me! When I first decided on the name "Kafe 80s", I was thinking "recipes and 80s stuff". The name is actually from Back to the Future 2 (when Marty goes into Cafe 80s in the future) but what it made me think about was 80s stuff and food. I do like the name still, but just thought this new name was better suited and I am loving it! I'm also at www.aboutagirl.ca now.

Please take a look around, I've changed some of my pages and added some fun stuff around the blog. I had a lot of fun designing this one and am happy with the result. If you've taken a button previously, please update it with a new one here. If you'd like another size, comment or email me with your request, I'd be happy to make a button for you. Also, please let me know if you come across something that isn't working properly so I can fix it.

Thanks again for your love and support. Everyone I've met in the blogosphere are such wonderful and lovely people. I can't wait to make some more blogger friends in 2012!
xoxo

365 Project Faves from 2011

2011-12-31T13:49:00.001-06:00

For the last 2 years I've done a 365 project. One photo a day, for each day of the year. I was really good at keeping this updated in 2010 but I sort of got caught up with things at the end of 2011 and haven't updated my flickr with all the 365 photos. But I have taken a photo each day of 2011. It's weird to think that I've taken a picture every single day for the last 2 years. Here is one photo from my 365 for each month of 2011.

Have you ever done a 365 project? If so, how did it go?
xoxo

2011 in Review

2011-12-31T08:37:00.002-06:00

Here is a little review of my 2011. If you want to take a look back, check out my 2010 in Review post. Crazy, that seems so long ago already! Ok, here we go:

I did lots of cooking/baking throughout the year. Learned some new stuff and definitely did more of this then in 2010. Hopefully in 2012 I can try some new, fun stuf as well.

Hobbes and Madison celebrated their birthdays in style and got spoiled!

Did some digital drawings this year. This is something I've wanted to try for a long time but just never got around to it, thinking it would be too time consuming and difficult. It's actually a lot of fun and I hope to do more this coming year!

We grew a beautiful little garden and pretty flowers in our backyard. It was our first attempt at a garden and it turned out great. We'll be doing it again this year!

We went to see the Winnipeg Blue Bombers play the Banjo Bowl. This was the last time we'd see a game at this stadium. They're building a new stadium on our side of the city.

We had an amazing summer holiday. First we went to a family reunion weekend where we met a ton of great people and made some new friends. It was such a fun weekend, I wish we could do it again this year! And even though it wasn't my family reunion (it was my moms boyfriends), I felt like family by the end of it. We also spent some time out in the country visiting my aunt and enjoying the peaceful countryside. It's so relaxing out there, I love it.

We discovered a new local band, Mad Young Darlings, that totally rock! And made some new friends. How we met? We played our first show with them.

Larrikin finished and released our first album! More to come in 2012 as well. :)

And a couple memorable videos. First up, Larrikin playing their first show in the summer. It was some seriously good times that night!

And teaching Madison this little trick (Aaron taught her). Jumping into our arms to be let outside. Cutest thing ever!

What a great year! Happy New Year to you all! Wishing you all the best in 2012.
xoxo

A Portrait from The Nearsighted Owl

2011-12-30T08:41:00.000-06:00

I just had to share this beautiful drawing The Nearsighted Owl did of me. I love it! She is a very talented girl. You should definitely check out her blog if you don't already know about it. Also, she is doing a fun giveaway you may be interested in taking part in (where I found this awesome drawing). Thanks again Rachele, this cute drawing seriously made my day! :)
xoxo

Photodump: Christmas

2011-12-29T08:14:00.000-06:00

1 // Our Christmas Tree
2 // Presents
3 // Outside our front window - snow + pretty Christmas lights
4 // Our Tree again
5 // Hobbes + Madison's Christmst presents
6 // Our Tree - The lights change from white to blue

7 // Christmas morning, patiently waiting for Aaron + Hobbes to wake up
8 // Hobbes + Madison are in the back of this photo waiting near their stockings to open presents
9 // Hobbes about to get into her stocking
10 // Madison putting her face in her stocking
11 // Hobbes is tired now from all that gift opening
12 // Hobbes taking a nap, hugging one of her presents (a catnip filled pillow)

13 // Our front walkway
14 // Christmas socks
15 // Christmas Tree (@ my moms)
16 // Treats! (@ my moms)
17 // My auntie's homemade nuts and bolts, so good! (@ my moms)
18 // Christmas Tree (@ my moms)

Hope everyone is having a lovely day!
xoxo

Our Cats Opening Their Christmas Presents

2011-12-28T13:06:00.001-06:00

Here is a little video of Hobbes and Madison opening their Christmas presents. Our Christmas has been really great. Got to spend time with family, have some amazing food and great times. I even got to see some family I haven't seen for a very long time, which was a very nice surprise. It's been really wonderful. Now it's time to catch up on some stuff and get a good plan going for the new year! I also have some more Christmas photos to share soon.

How has your Christmas been?
xoxo

12 Days of Catmas

2011-12-24T18:31:00.002-06:00

I'm so happy that I finished all 12 Days of Catmas. I had the idea to do it for a while but just kept putting it off. Then when I posted that first cat, I knew I had to finish them! I was pretty much drawing/colouring them all each night after work because I wanted to make sure to get them all done by today. Whew! You can check out all 12 Days of Catmas here.

Today I spent a lot of the day putting gifts together and wrapping them up. We gave Hobbes and Madison their gifts tonight too. It was so cute watching them attempting to get into the stocking and open the gifts. We took some video that I hope to share sometime next week. We'll be heading over to my moms place tomorrow and spending one or two nights there with family. There will be lots of good food, good people and fun times.

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!
xoxo

12 Days of Catmas

2011-12-23T21:03:00.002-06:00

Busy day today and even busier day tomorrow. Today I was eating some crackers and drinking some orange juice. I was working on something while eating this and not really paying attention. Anyways, I went to grab another cracker from the bowl but instead I put my hand in my orange juice. Yep. That totally happened.

Hope everyone is doing well and having a nice holiday!
xoxo

Looking Back...

2011-12-23T09:56:00.003-06:00

I love looking back at old photos. It seems so weird that when I was younger, there was no such thing as digital cameras. Remember having a roll or two of film and having to pick your pictures carefully? You wouldn't want to waste taking any pictures because they were so limited. You couldn't even see if it was going to turn out or not! Old school.

Anyways, I was scanning some photos for a Christmas present I'm making and decided to share some Christmas ones I came across. These first few are from our house. We used to always have Christmas at our place, all (or at least, most) of our family would come over. It was really great. I miss those gatherings, having everyone together and having fun. That never really happens anymore for various reasons, things change, people pass away, people move on and have their own lives and families. But I'll always look back at those times fondly, they were some of the greatest family moments.

Now onto the pictures: Those are my grandparents at the back of the table there. The man right in the centre and cheersing is my gigi (my moms dad), the man next to him (on the right side of the picture) leaning over is my grandpa (dads dad), the lady next to him is my grandma (dads mom). My baba (moms mom) is there somewhere, but you can't see her in the photo.

In the front (the kids) is me (the only girl) and my cousins. Everyone in between the grandparents and kids are my aunts and uncles. My parents aren't in this picture actually. They were probably in the kitchen or something.

Here are some other photos from another house we lived in and when I was much younger. I still have that huge stocking around here somewhere.

Those last 3 photos were taken at my grandma + grandpa's house... which is now our house. So weird. We still have that green shag rug on the stairs but we ripped it out of the living room and just have hardwood now. I really love this house. So many good memories.

Hope everyone is getting ready for a nice Christmas weekend!
xoxo

12 Days of Catmas

2011-12-22T22:34:00.001-06:00

Tonight there was a couple of Charlie Brown Christmas Specials on. It was good. I love those old school Christmas specials, especially Garfield!

I drew all these cats tonight and needed to take a break while doing so. You know when you're working on something/staring at the computer for too long, you start to feel like you're going to lose it a little? Well, maybe it's just me but I felt like I needed a bit of a break.

I took a break from drawing cats to visit my cats (and make tea). Hobbes was beeping at me and then sitting on the stairs staring at me with her mouth open, in the "circle mouth" position. Madison was getting delirious due to the laser pointer. I like to place Madison on this little rug we have at our front door, then I get her to hunt the laser. She sits on that little rug, sticks her bum in the air, waves it and stalks the red dot. When she finally does go for it, the rug slips out from under her and she pretty much goes nowhere. Like when a cartoon character is trying to run... their legs spin in the same spot but they go nowhere. It's hard to explain and probably one of those things you just have to see, but it's amusing.

Anyways, time to chill out with my boy and enjoy the first night of a 2 week holiday.
xoxo

12 Days of Catmas

2011-12-21T22:29:00.000-06:00

I'm just about to go to bed after a fairly long day. One more day and I am on holidays and can get all my Christmas stuff wrapped and ready to go. I'm kind of looking forward to that, I think it will be fun to get the presents all prettied up.

A few good things from today: A lady from my work made these sticky buns and brought them in for everyone - they were so good! And still warm when I ate mine. I went grocery shopping and came in $20 under budget and after doing all these kitty drawings, I can feel myself getting faster at drawing/colouring, which is nice! I always wanted to do more drawing but thought it would just take me too long. Now that I've been drawing these up each night, I know it won't be as tough as I thought.

Have an awesome night!
xoxo

Dear Santa

2011-12-21T05:21:00.002-06:00

1 // I need this mug, it's so cute!

2 // These socks just look like they would be super comfortable. Love them!

3 // I am dying for this couch. I love sectionals, it's black and it looks super comfy. I haven't actually seen this couch in person because it's from Ikea and we don't have one yet in Winnipeg. They are currently building one and it will be ready in the fall of 2012. So, I have plenty of time to save up for it! This is the couch I want for when I switch our bedroom with our office/lounge room. So nice (drooling).

4 // Bill and Ted shirt?! Need I say more, seriously.

5 // These bubble baths looks really nice. I was actually at the store where they are from yesterday doing some Christmas shopping but I was buying for someone else, not for myself!

6 // These gorgeous earrings. I love this girls shop and have several pairs of earrings from there.

7 // Aaron and I watched this movie a week or two ago for the first time and holy shit, it was hilarious! So good.

8 // This dress is so cute! I don't really wear dresses that often but after looking through Modcloth's selection I was changing my mind from "your legs always look weird in dresses so why bother wearing them?" to "who gives a shit what your legs look like, this dress is too cute to pass up!"

9 // Adorable iPhone case. I actually don't currently have an iPhone, but Aaron and I are hoping to get ourselves some in the new year. If we do, I think I will need to get myself this case!

10 // This hoodie is a "soft kitty" hoodie, from The Big Bang Theory. I just saw that episode a couple weeks ago and it was pretty great! Even if it wasn't from that episode, it's still a cat! This hoodie is just awesome.

Well Santa, I hope I was good this year!

What do you want for Christmas? :)
xoxo

12 Days of Catmas

2011-12-20T21:10:00.001-06:00

I really like that pink fuzzy kitty. The little pink princess that's too good for the santa hat. I think when this series is done, I'm going to draw some funky kitties. Striped and polka dotted and stuff like that. Seems like fun.

This week is pretty hectic already and will continue to be that way. I have to go grocery shopping and pick up some last minute gifts over the next few days. Then I will have to put all my gifts together (wrapping, putting photo albums together, etc) so there is plenty to do! I can't wait until I have some time off from work so I can catch up on the fun stuff.

Have a nice night!
xoxo

12 Days of Catmas

2011-12-19T20:54:00.002-06:00

Just after getting home today, I leaned down to greet Madison and she jumped up to me and rubbed her head against my face. It was great. She doesn't usually do that. Sometimes she will jump up and rub against my hand, but not the face. Must be love. ♥

Well, I've had a headache for most of the day so am going to crash. Goodnight!
xoxo

12 Days of Catmas

2011-12-18T20:45:00.000-06:00

Seems like today flew by and I didn't get as much done as I would of liked. I think I always expect myself to be able to do about a million things but in reality I can't get everything done I set myself out to do each day. No matter what, there is only 24 hours in a day and that is never enough! I need to cut it down a bit so I don't feel like I didn't get anything done. Well, going to be a quiet evening of doing a bit more work and then watching some TV in bed.
xoxo

Larrikin on ice

2011-12-18T18:15:00.002-06:00

Aaron and Riley have been going skating a lot lately. The rinks right by our house are finally ready for some action! Seeing as Aaron is from Australia and they don't have regular access to ice as we do here in Winnipeg, he had only been ice skating once before. I love skating but unfortunately don't have any skates. I may get some or borrow a friends, we shall see. In the meantime, here is a little peek into Aaron and Riley's skating adventures.

Back to the grind tomorrow, have a nice night!
xoxo

12 Days of Catmas

2011-12-17T18:28:00.001-06:00

Today I spent most of the day dismantling our bed frame as it broke several months ago but we just never got around to actually taking it out of our room. So, we took it apart and got rid of it and then I re-arranged the whole room and cleaned everything! Took forever but it's so good now. Everything is nice and clean and there is sooo much more space in our room, it's insane. Maybe I'll share some pics... I don't really have any from before but I took some after.

We're actually going to switch our bedroom with our office one day but that probably won't be for a while. Our bedroom is huge and the office is a lot smaller, but we spend most of our time in the office, so we figure we should make that the zone. The other room is not really even that small, not too small for a bedroom or anything so it's all good. Aah, hopefully one day soon we can get to that. I'm going to make the office an awesome area, with a large work area, craft area and a chill zone with a sweet TV and plenty of 80s movie to watch. :)

Hope your weekend is going nicely! I'm just about to hang out with Aaron and chill. ♥
xoxo

Recipe: Eggnog Shake

2011-12-17T09:46:00.000-06:00

What you need

2 bananas
4 cups light egg nog

1/2 cup almond milk

1/2 cup Captain Morgans Spiced Rum
cinnamon to taste (+ you can sprinkle some on top to spice it up)

Blend it all together for an awesome holiday drink! You could probably add more rum and you wouldn't really taste it. This is just how much we put in the first time we tried this drink and it was delicious!

I wonder what other festive holiday shakes we can come up with.... anyone have any suggestions?
xoxo

12 Days of Catmas

2011-12-16T18:32:00.000-06:00

That one cat looks like a little cow, it's so cute. Tonight Larrikin will be jamming. This weekend will involve bed frame dismantling, cleaning, working and getting things ready for Christmas. Possibly some video games if there is time. Also, mango chickpea curry. Mmm so good. Happy Friday!
xoxo

On the Radio

2011-12-16T10:02:00.001-06:00

Today a Larrikin tune will be on the radio! I totally forgot to mention this but umfm will be playing our song "Local Band" today. First time on the radio, so a little excited! It's going to be played during a show called "The Scene" at 1pm (CST).

You can listen to it on the radio (101.5FM) or on the umfm website, where it says listen online. Yay!
xoxo

12 Days of Catmas

2011-12-15T21:11:00.006-06:00

As I'm posting this, a movie called Jack Frost came on TV. Wow, this movie is hilariously cheesy. It's a family movie, so what do you expect, right? But seriously, holy shit. The dad is in a band and is barely there for his son, has a pretty much perfect family/life other than this, realizes he should be with his family when he was on his way to get signed on Christmas Day, gets into an accident, dies and comes back as a snowman. Yes. Seriously. It's awesome in a totally cheesy, ridiculous way.

Anyways, other than that just been busy getting ready for Christmas, working like crazy and celebrating the release of our album... and getting sucked into ridiculous movies. Hope you're all doing well and staying warm!
xoxo

12 Days of Catmas

2011-12-14T21:19:00.000-06:00

Hobbes crapped in the bath tub the other day. Sometimes she gets scared to go into the basement (where the litters are located) because Madison scared the shit out of her once and she is now slightly traumatized. So, every now and then she has an accident.

Aaron woke up that morning and accused me of filling the bathroom with that smell. He didn't even see the tub log because he didn't turn the light on when he used the bathroom. I head into the can shortly after the accusation and see it. I guess the tub looked like a giant kitty litter to her.

At the end of all this, Hobbes earned herself a new nickname... Poo Tub. Yeah, that's right. We've been calling her Poo Tub.
xoxo

It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas

2011-12-14T16:32:00.000-06:00

Here's a little peek at our Christmas tree and some other decorations around our house.

And some other decorations from around the house. We have a couple other mini trees around. They are just small and have a few other decorations on them that didn't go with our main tree with the blue + silver theme.

Yes, that second last picture is an ornament of the leg lamp from A Christmas Story. Love that movie. Me and my dad always watch it together. ♥
xoxo

12 Days of Catmas

2011-12-13T20:02:00.000-06:00

I thought it might be fun to try and do a "12 Days of Catmas" in drawings. I've been super busy and feeling a little overwhelmed lately with all this Christmas stuff going on. I can't believe it's so close to Christmas, geeze! Anyways, I'll try to keep up with this little series and make it all the way to 12. These guys are fun to draw!
xoxo

Larrikin - 3 New Tunes

2011-12-09T05:57:00.000-06:00

BREAKOUT PEG CITY TAINTED

We finally got that last 3 Larrikin tracks back, which will complete our first album! As you may (or may not) know, we've been working hard at the studio these last couples months (check it out here, here, and here for some of our more recent adventures).

Also, feel free to follow our youtube page to see what we're up to or listen to the rest of the tracks. You can also go to my band page on here to listen to/download the tracks.

Here is a little image of us at the studio when we finished all the recording for this year. Aaron is cheersing with us, but he's also holding the camera so you can't see him. The guy on the left is Lloyd, our recording guy.

Yay! One album done, but more to come! Yes, we have more songs ready to be recorded, however we won't be diving into that for a few months.

Happy Friday everyone!
xoxo

The Mild Times

2011-12-06T05:30:00.003-06:00

My cat Madison is a little mild at times. She's kind of clumsy, tries eating paint chips off the wall and as you can see in the above photo... she is sitting there with one eye shut. Why? Well, you will see in the video why.

This is from over the weekend. We were setting up and decorating the tree, as well as throwing up some decorations around the house. When I was recording this video, I didn't even notice what happened to Madison. I was just recording because Hobbes was whirling up in the centre of the wreath. I just happened to notice Madison when I looked back at this last night. Poor Maddie! I must admit though, it did make me laugh. :/

Everytime I watch that it makes me laugh. That seems bad, I know. It's probably not even really that funny to anyone else but me. I love how she has one eye shut afterwards as she gives the wreath the evil eye: "How dare you.... poke me in the eye..... " My poor Maddie ripped her eye off and I'm laughing about it...

I can't help it! I find odd things amusing.
xoxo

Recipe: Shortbread Cookies

2011-12-05T05:25:00.000-06:00

Whenever I think about baking for the holidays, I always think of shortbread cookies. I have to make these every year! They are so simple and taste so good. My Aunt makes these each year as well and she gave me this recipe. It's such a basic and easy recipe, but a must have in this house around the holidays!

1 cup butter

1/2 cup icing sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

(This recipe will make about 24 cookies)

Whip the butter. Use a mixer or a wooden spoon and whip it for several minutes until it's smooth and creamy.

Add icing sugar + cornstarch. Mix. Add flour. Mix. Add vanilla. Mix.

Put dough in fridge for at least 30 minutes, but is ok to leave longer. I left mine for an hour.

Preheat oven to 325º.

Pull dough out of the fridge. Cover a flat surface and a rolling pin with flour so the dough doesn't stick.

Roll out some dough and then use cookie cutters (or you can just use the bottom of a glass for circles) and make your cookies. It's a good idea to dip the cookie cutters in flour as well to avoid sticking.

Bake for about 13 minutes but because ovens vary, please watch these! You want them out before the edges brown. If they cook for too long, they make get a bit stiff.

These made the kitchen smell so nice as well. :)

Enjoy!

xoxo

Mad Young Darlings Tour Kickoff Show

2011-12-04T09:36:00.002-06:00

Aaron, Riley and I went to the Mad Young Darlings Tour Kickoff show last week. It was good times. All 3 bands that played were awesome. It was a good crowd of people and a super fun night.

The first band, called the Holy Rollers, are a two piece. Really sweet sound! The singer/guitarist reminds me of Kurt Cobain and the drummer reminds me of a young Ben Gillies (Silverchair drummer). Awesome!

Check them out: Facebook // MySpace

Next up was Alverstone. The bassist in this band is also the bassist in Mad Young Darlings. This is also the bassist that filled in on our last 3 tracks. Very nice guy and wicked bass player. This band was super good! (Yes, the drum kit says 'Mad Young Darlings' on it, the 2 bands shared the kit for the show)

Check them out: Myspace

Finally, Mad Young Darlings hit the stage. This was their tour kickoff show. They are heading west for the next few weeks. If they stop by your city, I highly suggest checking them out! They are amazing. Not only does their music kick ass, they are the nicest people you'll meet. Good music, good people.

Check them out: Facebook // Myspace

Then we did some hanging out after the show. It was good times.

I love that group shot, so good! I know the pictures are mostly blurry, but I kind of like it. I don't usually bring my big camera out to shows like this so I was just using a little point and shoot camera, also without the flash because I don't really like using a flash and also don't want to be blasting a flash in peoples faces as they perform.

A funny thing about this show... Larrikin was actually going to play the gig with them but we didn't have a bass player, so decided not to.

What an awesome night!
xoxo

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

2011-11-29T05:35:00.004-06:00

Well, I think winter has arrived. There is snow on the ground and we've already had a -30 day (with the windchill, but still), so I think it's safe to say it's here to stay.

This weekend was a little crazy. A "Rum Jam" of sorts happened Friday night when we were jamming, which resulted in me being up most of the night babysitting the boys. Even though I had very little sleep Friday night, I surprisingly felt fine on Saturday. Sunday we watched the Grey Cup with my mom, it was pretty good stuff. Would have been better if Winnipeg won, but at least they made it there and got to play.

Anyways, here are some snowy photos from around our yard (+ a screenshot from Environment Canada on the -30 day):

These photos are from the last 2 weeks or so.

Oh and just so you know, the cats want to go outside in this weather! They both wait by the door. Hobbes circles and beeps. Madison jumps into our arms. Hobbes is funny because she desperately wants to go out. Then when she gets out she just stands there like a fool, holding one paw in the air and wanting to come in right away. Madison on the other hand just goes for it. She stamps her way right through the snow and off on her back yard adventure. It's cute.

Keep warm!
xoxo

A Word of Advice

2011-11-25T05:44:00.000-06:00

Do not attempt to cut your own bangs.

Time and time again I think I can cut my own bangs and make them look just as awesome as my hair dresser would of. 99% of the time, I am wrong. Just to get an idea...

I really don't like when my bangs grow out. They get thick and turn into a huge block you can't do anything with. It drives me mad.

Here are some styles I've come across in the process of trying to trim my bangs:

___________________________________________________________________________________

These look so much worse in real life. I don't have any real photos to show you because I would never want to remember the horror by taking a photo of myself after I've done something like this. Maybe I should just to remind myself what will happen? I could just attach the photo to my scissors so I will immediately see it in the event I attempt to go for the cut.

I bet there are some folks out there who can cut their own bangs and everything is fine, I know you must exist. But it's not me. So, please consider this before attempting by yourself. Otherwise you may be sporting one of these styles.

See ya!
xoxo

Photodump: The Studio

2011-11-22T05:30:00.000-06:00

This last weekend was the first weekend in a month we haven't gone to the studio. We spent most of November there and the album is almost done - eeee! I'm excited. Here are some of the photos from our many visits.

Here is some gear + random shots from around the studio:

We had the pleasure of working with our friend Chris Peluk (Mad Young Darlings + Alverstone). He filled in on bass for the last 3 tracks we recorded as we do not currently have a permanent bass player. Chris is an awesome guy and a stellar bass player, it was really great working with him.

The next series of photos are just mainly of us recording and having fun.

It was a fun few weeks at the studio! We likely won't be back until early 2012 but that's ok. I'm looking forward to our next batch of songs we have been getting ready to record when the time comes.

Much love!
xoxo

Movie Crushes from the 80s

2011-11-21T05:28:00.003-06:00

A while back I did a post about my top 5 movie crushes from the 80s... well, guess what? There are more! Oh yes, it will probably never end. I love these guys so much. I thought I'd do a little series about these boys, so here we go, first up!

"Andy", Andrew Clark (played by Emilio Estevez), from The Breakfast Club. I really love this movie and couldn't help but fall in love with Andrew in this. Yes, he's "the athlete"/"jock" and tapes peoples ass cheeks together, but he obviously has a sweeter side. I also thoroughly enjoyed how he acted after he had a little smoke... too good.

Do you have any movie crushes?
xoxo

10 Things I Love Right Now

2011-11-18T05:25:00.000-06:00

1. Huge mugs of hot chocolate with a ridiculous amout of marshmallows in it. Yes, chocolately, marshmallowy, excellence.

2. Ok, I always love this band but I've been listening to them a bit more lately and they just rock. We played our first show with them, they're amazing people and their music is awesome. Check them out in these places, you won't regret it! Facebook // Myspace // cdbaby

3. We've just started to get our first snowfalls the last couple of weeks. It's nice because it's not too cold out but the snow is lightly covering everything outside and it looks gorgeous. The cats still like going outside, even in the snow! Although Hobbes doesn't like staying out for too long... her toes get cold.

4. I love chickpeas. You can use them in so many different recipes, they taste good and are good for you. I love roasting them in the oven for a bit and then tossing them in a salad. Mmm, yum.

5. Yes, I love Aaron's hair right now. I don't know what it is, the it's getting long but not out of control yet length. It's good. I suggested he keep it this way but I know he's going to let it go to the Jesus levels again. That's ok, I love him no matter what. ♥

6. I recently bought some fabrics from Kaylah of The Dainty Squid. She had some scrap fabrics for sale in her etsy shop and I snagged some of them for some future craft projects. I thought I'd try scanning them and see how it turns out and it's awesome! You can make some nice textures, use them for decorating things, blog related stuff... so many possibilities.

7. We've been at the studio every weekend for the last 3 weeks so I'm starting to feel really comfortable there. It's been fun. I've always felt comfortable at Lloyd's but there is just something that feels more home like after you've been there every week for hours and hours. It's good stuff. We likely won't be back there until January, so I think I'm kind of going to miss it.

8. Most of the leaves have fallen now. There are a few left on some trees and hedges but I think the snow is going to take over soon. I took this photo only a week ago actually. The leaves are such a beautiful colour on these hedges that line our driveway.

9. Especially Home Alone. I've just been in the mood for Christmas movies lately and really in the mood to watch Home Alone. I did end up watching it the other day and it just made me want to watch more!

10. The Winnipeg Jets. This photo was taken downtown at the corner of Portage and Main. Winnipeg had an NHL team a long time ago, but we lost them in 1996 and have been without a team until this year. I was never that much into hockey, I thought it was ok but it wasn't something that I was really that interested in. Ever since we've got The Jets back though, I've actually been really into it. I love watching the games and cheering for them, it's so good.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ What do you love right now? ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

xoxo

Larrikin's Secret Recipe to Successful Vocals

2011-11-15T08:20:00.000-06:00

We went to the studio on Saturday and finally finished up the last 3 tracks for our album. We've been at the studio every weekend for the last 3 weeks so it's nice to finally get these done. They are also sounding totally awesome, I'm very excited! So, now we just have to do some final things (which is out of our hands) and wait for the final tracks to be returned to us. Here is a little video from our Saturday session. We were mainly doing vocals that day.

Yes, Buckley's + Beer. It works. Aaron's vocals went very smoothly and they were totally rockin'. Probably our best session yet in terms of that. Everything just fell together nicely.
xoxo

First Snow

2011-11-11T08:01:00.000-06:00

Winnipeg had it's first snow of the season a few days ago. It's kind of nice because it's not super cold out yet and the snow looks pretty. The only thing I don't like about all this right now is that it starts getting dark at 5pm! It's sort of weird because it feels like it's 9pm or something but then you check the time and it's still super early. I guess that's the upside of it getting dark so early! Anyways, here are some photos from around our yard.

Have a nice day everyone! Stay warm. ♥
xoxo

Fall Photos

2011-11-07T21:00:00.000-06:00

It's been a busy weekend and looks like it's going to be a busy week! Over the weekend we jammed, went to the studio and worked on a website for Larrikin. I feel like I didn't get enough done... even though I sort of did. Oh well, I guess that's just how it goes sometimes.

So, things are looking up in the world of Larrikin. We were at the studio Saturday doing some recording and we're going back this Saturday to wrap it up. We also might be playing a show at the end of the month if we can find someone to fill in on bass. I'll keep you posted!

Anyways, I found some photos I took at the beginning of October during a walk with Aaron to the river. It was when everything was yellow and orange out there, so pretty. It actually snowed today and the snow hasn't melted. I wonder if this is it?! It might be here to stay, we'll see. Hopefully I can get some photos to share. In the meantime, here are some lovely fall photos taken only a month ago:

Have a good one!
xoxo

Larrikin at the Studio

2011-11-02T12:59:00.000-05:00

So, Larrikin went to the studio again last weekend. We are recording 3 more songs to finish off our first album. We were actually in the studio just a month ago working on 4 songs, which have already been released. Go here to check them out if you like. So, here we go, our day at the studio:

1 // Me waiting in the car while the guys go get some coffee.

2 // Sweet, sweet coffee... and Frankenstein nails.

3 // We decide to go to Subway to grab something to eat before the studio.

4 - 11 // We get to the studio and begin setting up our gear, getting levels and getting ready to start rocking.

12 // Recording live off the floor. Aaron's feeling the music and giving me the rock n roll look.

13 // Riley giving 'the nod of approval' to Aaron.

14 // Lloyd (our recording guy): "You guys all tuned up?"

15 // Rock on.

We are heading back to the studio again this weekend to finish off these tracks. This will include doing vocals, recording the bass and mixing.

In other Larrikin news, our bassist Rob is no longer playing bass with us. So, we are currently looking for a bass player. In the meantime, we will be getting a very talented local musician to fill in the bass on these tracks. Can't wait to see how it will all go. :)

Cheers!
xoxo

Kitty Costumes

2011-10-31T16:34:00.000-05:00

So, I decided to dress Madison up for Halloween. She wasn't too bad in her little princess outfit but it wasn't long before she was trying to eat parts of it or walking sideways trying to get out of it. Here are a few snaps I was able to catch. It was a bit hard because she was moving a lot but I was able to get a few!

Hobbes is not at all tolerant when it comes to things like dressing up. So, I didn't even bother with her because she gets quite upset and I didn't want to upset my Hobbesy. But I also didn't want to leave her out so this is my way of including her in the Halloween shenanigans...

ARRR! ;)
Happy Halloween everyone!
xoxo

Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-31T06:13:00.000-05:00

This is the first year we've carved a pumpkin and it was lots of fun. Aaron has actually never carved one before, seeing as when he was a kid, they did not celebrate Halloween in Australia. Can you believe that? Halloween pretty much didn't exist for him as a kid. We've heard that this may now be changing over there but Aaron never experienced getting dressed up, carving pumpkins, trick or treating or any of that fun Halloween stuff. So, here we have it! Aarons first pumpkin carving - ever!

I think he turned out pretty cute!

I also roasted the seeds from the pumpkin and they were soooo good! You just have to put them in a strainer and rinse them off. Lay them on paper towel and let them dry. Then I put them back in the strainer, put a little bit of extra virgin olive oil on them and mixed them up. Then I sprinkled some pepper and sea salt on them, mix again. Throw them on a baking sheet in the oven at 350º for about 20 mins (flip them/shake them around at the half way mark) and voila! Toasted seeds that taste awesome. They were actually perfect. Yes.

Happy Halloween everyone!
xoxo

7 Movies I'll be Watching this Halloween

2011-10-31T05:44:00.000-05:00

7 - THE SHINING: A classic 80s horror film. Jack Nicholson is awesome in this movie. There is just something a bit spooky about him that goes so well with this role. I think I'll be curling up with the blankets tonight and watching this.

Check out all 7 movies here if you want to see what I've been watching this Halloween.
xoxo

Recipe: Funny Bones

2011-10-30T17:00:00.000-05:00

I came across this recipe and thought it would be another fun one to try for Halloween. This is so simple to do. It doesn't take a lot of time or ingredients and they are fun!

Bag of pretzels (sticks, not twists)

Bag of mini marshmallows

Vanilla frosting

Chocolate frosting

* or you can use those meltable candy wafers (I didn't have any on hand, so just used frosting)

Put the mini marshmallows on the end of the pretzel sticks to form a bone shape. Break the pretzels into different sizes to make different sized bones.
Put your frosting (or meltable candy wafers) in the microwave to make the coating. For the frosting, I put it in for about 10-15 seconds, but each microwave is different so just be sure to check on it to avoid burning.
Now coat the bones with the frosting. TIP: Make sure not to put the bones into the frosting when it is too hot otherwise the marshmallows will melt off the pretzel. I did this to a couple by accident!
Place the coated bones on some parchment paper and let set at room temperature.

Enjoy!
xoxo

7 Movies I'll be Watching this Halloween

2011-10-30T13:00:00.000-05:00

6 - EVIL DEAD II: Cheesy 80s horror movie at it's best. Seriously, if you haven't seen this movie and want a good laugh, check it out. It's hilarious and awesome.
xoxo

Recipe: Potato Skin Ghosts

2011-10-30T08:57:00.000-05:00

I had to try this out because it was just too cute to pass up. Potato skins are good stuff, so why not make them look like ghosts for Halloween?

Potatoes (washed and unpeeled)

Olive Oil

Seasoning Salt

Onion Powder

Garlic Powder

Sour Cream

Green Onion

Preheat the oven to 400º.
Cut each potato lengthwise (my potatoes made 3 ghosts each - just cut them as thick as you would like them).
Cut the rounded tip off one of the ends to make a ghost shape (like in above photo).
Grease a baking sheet and lay potatoes on it, skin side down.
Brush the tops with olive oil. Then sprinkle a bit of all the seasonings on them. You could combime all the seasoning into one bowl as that might make it easier.
Bake for about 30 mins or until you can pierce a fork through them.
Cool for about 10 mins. Cover tops with sour cream to create a ghost. Then slice up the green onions and use them as the eyes and mouth.

Haha, they're pretty cute and they were delicious.
xoxo

7 Movies I'll be Watching this Halloween

2011-10-29T20:24:00.000-05:00

5 - THE LOST BOYS: A totally awesome 80s movie with Corey Haim being cute and Kiefer Sutherland as a vampire. Pretty sweet. Oh yeah, and Grandpa rocks. He uses Windex as cologne. This is one of those movies I could watch over and over. Just one of those things.
xoxo

Halloween Nails

2011-10-28T19:51:00.000-05:00

I painted my nails the other day for Halloween. I think the Frankenstein thumb is my fave. He's so cute. I might do my nails one more time before Halloween all with Frankensteins. And I wanted to try painting a nose and whiskers on the cat eyes nail, but my nails are a bit short so I didn't think I could fit it on there. I usually don't let my nails get too long because it's easier to play guitar with shorter nails (for me anyways) and I really don't like the feeling of dirt getting stuck under my nails, bleh.

So, I painted a Frankenstein guy on my thumb and my fingers: Jack-o-Lantern, spiderweb, cat eyes and candy corn.

Happy Friday everyone! Those last photos were of me practicing guitar yesterday because tomorrow Larrikin is heading back into the studio to record 3 more songs. If you haven't heard our newest tunes, pop over to Facebook or this blog post and check 'em out. :)
xoxo

7 Movies I'll be Watching this Halloween

2011-10-28T05:26:00.000-05:00

4 - THE CROW: Another movie I adore. It's been a while since I watched this movie and I must admit my eyes were filling up the other day when I did. The story itself is sad but what really breaks my heart about this movie is that Brandon Lee actually died while making it. So sad, but what an awesome movie.
xoxo

Halloween Decorations: Around the House

2011-10-27T05:56:00.001-05:00

I've been having some fun decorating our house with Halloween stuff. And as soon as Halloween is done, I'll be getting on the Christmas decorating! I love doing that sort of stuff and making our place really feel whatever holiday is upon us. It's good!

I wish I had some more stuff to put up, but unfortunately I didn't really get to do any decoration shopping this year and just used some stuff we had around from last year. I would probably go overboard with the decoration shopping if I did, so perhaps it's for the best. ;) We're finally going to be carving that pumpkin tonight too!

Have a good one!
xoxo

7 Movies I'll be Watching this Halloween

2011-10-27T05:00:00.004-05:00

3 - INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE: I had a very serious Brad Pitt obsession for a period of time back in the day. I used to watch this movie all the time, over and over, to feed that obsession. All that aside, I do actually love this movie for more than drooling over a vampired up Brad Pitt.
xoxo

Recipe: Eyeball Donut Holes

2011-10-26T09:38:00.000-05:00

In the spirit of Halloween, I thought I would make some donut holes. Not just any donut holes, eyeball donut holes! I saw the idea here and decided to give it a shot myself. They turned out pretty good! They were very easy to make, fun to decorate and were delicious. These would be a great treat to have at your own party, or bring to a party. They are awesome.

Vanilla cake mix (or make your own donut batter, recipe here)
1 tub each of vanilla + chocolate frosting
Bag of white chocolate chips
Bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips
Tube of red decorating frosting
1 sandwich baggie

Tips

I used a donut hole maker to make these, like in the picture above. If you don't have one of these, you can still do this! I have a couple of suggestions on how: 1) You could try making some type of batter that would be easy to work with so you can actually form balls yourself. Even cookie dough rolled into little balls would work. 2) Go to your local donut shop/bakery and buy some donut holes.

If you're using a donut hole maker, just follow the instructions for the machine. If you're rolling some type of dough by hand, well that will really depend on what you're using.

I have never tried using cake mix in the donut hole maker before but I thought of the idea and how easy and great it would be if it worked. And it did! So, cake mix works in this machine. They are like little cupcake balls, so good.

Make your donut holes. Whether you're buying them at the store, rolling them yourself or using the machine, get those babies ready!

For the white eyeballs, use white frosting. For the brown eyeballs, use chocolate. Put some frosting in a bowl and microwave it until it is nice and melted. Be sure not to burn it. I put mine in for about 10-20 seconds.

Take your donut holes and coat them in the melted frosting. This stuff coats so very nicely. Roll them in the frosting and use a spoon or knife to cover spots that don't get covered. Once coated, put the ball in a baking cup and let it harden. Repeat for as many eyeballs as you want to make.

Once they are all dry/hardened, use the chocolate chips for the pupils. Use the semi-sweet chocolate chips for the white eyeballs and the white chocolate chips for the chocolate ones. Just use the pointed side of the chocolate chip and pierce it into the donut hole to make a pupil.

Next is the red veins. The tube of frosting I bought had a very large tip on it and there was no way I was going to be able to make such small veins with that thing. If you have one of those frosting tips that are specially made to make different shapes/sizes, you could use that. I don't have one so I just used a ziploc sandwich baggie. I poured some red frosting into the corner of the baggie and then pushed it all tightly down to the bottom. Once it was all packed to the corner, I cut the tip of the corner of the bag off, just a very small snip so it would allow only a little bit of frosting to come out. Now squeeze the baggie lightly and the red frosting will come out of the hole you made and will be so easy to make the veins.

That's it! These were fun to make + they look awesome. Little cupcake balls covered in frosting. YUM.

Hope you're all having a wonderful day! If anyone tries this out and has pictures, drop me a line with a link to them, I'd love to see how they turned out. :)
xoxo