Ghosts of Halloween Present

Here it is - the moment you've been waiting for!
I present our Halloween costumes - 2011.

Steve is Van Gogh self portrait, and mine is Portrait of Madame Metzinger.
Here's the original of mine, as reference:

I'm really happy with how they turned out :)
Our friends are also awesome in the dress-up department, check out some of their costumes!

Little Dragon J - I didn't get a good shot of his parents, but they were a King & Queen.

K & F as 80's rockstars. Love the wigs.

A + D as Popeye and Olive Oil.   Note how hilarious D's arms/gloves/hands are - they made for some entertaining moments. 

C & K were Harry & Marv from Home Alone.  Awesomesauce.

And K made these witch finger cookies.  They looked so gross, but were delish!

How was your Halloween?  What did you dress up as?
Link to pics in the comments, I'd love to see!

Ghosts of Hallowe'ens Past

I love Hallowe'en.

  Not really because of the scary movies, pumpkins or candy, well ok the candy too.
I love it the most for the costumes. 
I did a little bit of digging through the archives, to share some of the costumes I've worn over the past few years.   No cat ears allowed.

One of my faves as a kid.  Slice o' pizza.  Proudly wearing my UNICEF collection box, and trick-or-treating with my bro and sis. 

Marie Antoinette was my fave costume of all time.  I made the entire outfit myself, in a fit of sewing inspiration.  (Ordered the wig online.) My friend A was a beautiful raven. 

Steve and I spent one year hopping around potato-sack-style in a duvet, dressed as John Lennon and Yoko Ono during their Bed in For Peace.  

Shout outs to Bry (Casey Jones of TMNT fame) who blogs too.

Last year I was a Rockford Peach - any other fans of A League of Their Own?

Steve was a Saturday Night Live character, which I hope you know, if not, I suggest you watch.

I'll be back tomorrow with pictures from this years Hallowe'en party.

What's your favourite costume you've ever worn?
I've got to dig out pictures from the other 24 years of my life!

Lemon cookies are the best thing in the world.

I love lemon.  Lemon cookies are the best thing in the world.  

Oh yes, best enough to mention that twice.

I found this recipe a few months ago on the Whisk Kid blog, and made these on a rainy afternoon. 

Over on her blog she made them thinner and crispier, but I like nothing more than chewy cookies.  

So I made them thicker, and they were lovely. 

Especially when served with tea, fresh roses and a good book. 

Lemon Cookies

1/2 c (118 g) unsalted butter, room temp
3/4 c (149 g)sugar
1 egg, room temp
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice (I just used the juice of half a lemon)
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest (I used the zest from the whole lemon)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 c (156 g) flour

Preheat oven to 350F (175C).
Cream together the butter and sugar, then add the egg, juice, zest and vanilla. Sift in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Drop by 1 1/2 tsps onto lined baking sheets and bake 10-12 min until lightly golden around edges. Let cool on sheets one minute before placing on racks to cool completely.   Makes about 2 dozen.

Lemon Icing
1 c (150 g) icing sugar
4-6 Tbsp lemon juice

Beat together and drizzle over cooled cookies. 

 Enjoy the deliciousness!

What's your favourite cookie?

Back to School

This post is a little late I suppose.  I did start back at school weeks ago already. 
I'm just taking one night class: Introduction to Commercial Photography.
I was enrolled in a Photoshop class, but after learning that the first 3 hour lecture would be about using the pencil and eraser tools (waaaay too simple for my skill level) I dropped it.  So I was a little late starting this new course, but it's going well so far.
The class is revolves mostly around shooting in studio and then having our work be evaluated.
I attempted to shoot a new pack of gum.

I really wanted to get the classic shot, with the reflection of the gum in the surface below and I fought with the limited supply of lights for hours.  I found out later that the reason I couldn't get it to look clean was that the white surface wasn't shiny enough.  Better knowledge for next time, when I'll shoot it completely differently.

Once I stopped trying to get the package shot, I moved on and just played a little bit.  Then I ended up taking this photo below, which I really love, and my Prof did as well - saying I "elevated the subject matter to something graceful and humorous at the same time, giving it personality."
Whoo hoo, I'll take that evaluation :)

I really do like this shot.
Have a great weekend! Are you up to anything exciting?

52 weeks - weeks thirty-nine and forty.

Somehow there are only 12 weeks left in the year.  (I think I'm one behind the calendar.)
Time flies.

If you're in the Toronto area and haven't been the subject of a week yet, act now!

#40.  Hamish, a friend doing his PhD at the University of Toronto.  We wandered around the school and found an impressive amount of stately fireplaces.  This one was the favourite. 

 Note the other fireplace selections.

Week #39 was a walk through the paths near my house with my old friend Katie.   We wanted to capture the colours of the fall leaves.  They weren't there yet.  We found a nicely manicured garden in someone's yard and snapped away in front of the flowers that matched her sweater.

Have a great day!

Lego Love.

I love Lego.  I have been a Legomaniac since I was a kid. 

In my opinion, there is no better toy in the world.  I still have mine from when I was a younger.  

And no, they're not in my mom's basement, they are here, in my apartment in Toronto under the bed. 

Here are some of the amazing things online from other people that clearly love Lego too.

Colossal.com featured Albert Seveso's Ink Surfing collection and I love it. 

There is a group on Flickr of album covers recreated with Lego.  Some of them are really impressive!

I'm trying to think of one that I'd want to recreate...

I created an Etsy treasury of all the coolest Lego inspired things there.

 

And some more goodies from the web:

http://www.ubergizmo.com/2009/11/lego-inspired-digital-watch/

And I would love to do this in my own kitchen, but I don't want to give up the blocks!

http://www.dwell.com/articles/lego-island.html

Any other Legomaniacs out there?

How to Make Perogies

I hope I don't get in trouble from my family for sharing this recipe ;)
This is a staple crucial item at holiday dinners.  I just made them for our (Canadian) Thanksgiving, and decided to document the process. 

The dough recipe is really simple. 

4 cups of flour

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

about 1 cup of water

1/2 cup softened butter or margarine

For the filling you can get creative.  The classic is mashed potatoes with a few cups of shredded cheese (to taste) mixed in while the potatoes are hot.  I've also had potato and cottage cheese, jalapeno ones, ricotta and spinach and I haven't tried, but I know blueberry dessert ones exist. 

Back to the classic.  While your cheesey mashed potatoes are cooling, mix your dough.  If the dough is too dry, add more water.  Too wet? Add some flour.
Knead the dough about a hundred times to get the softest dough you've ever seen. 

Roll out the dough onto some parchment paper.  

Don't roll too thin, you don't want holes in the dough, but too thick will make tough perogies.  If you have a round cookie cutter, congrats.  If not, use a drinking glass to cut the dough into circles.  

Plunk a spoonful of the cheesey potatoes onto the dough circles.  

Fold the dough circle around the filling and pinch the edge closed.  

Don't let the potato get in the way of the pinch, it won't stick properly. 

Repeat until you've run out of dough! This made 5 dozen perogies for me. 

(I used about 8 large potatoes and a half brick of old cheddar for the filling.)

Be careful to never stack the little pouches of deliciousness - they are very sticky. 

You're almost done! Fry some onions in butter.  Cook the perogies by boiling in water for 3-4 minutes, or until they float to the top.  Toss in melted onions and butter and serve!

If you'd like to freeze them you can.  Before cooking, place perogies in single layer on parchment paper on a cookie sheet in the freezer.  When frozen, toss into a container and store.  

Leftovers can be microwaved or fried in a pan to be extra unhealthy/crispy on the outside :)

Serve with sour cream, plain yogurt, or even salsa - sooo tasty!

Enjoy! And let me know if you make them!
Does your family have any must-have recipes?

Send me your widgets!

Hey fellow bloggers!
I am finally working on adding some things to the blog here, including adding a page to feature the blogs that I love.  If you'd like to be on the page (maybe somehow I've missed your blog?) let me know in the comments below, or send me an email at melaniegodecki {at} gmail {dot} com.
It never hurts to share blogs you love with other readers, right?

If you'd like I do have a widget in the sidebar ;)

Also - anyone interested in guest posting or sharing in a blog party?  I'm thinking maybe a post-holiday one, for when all of us are bored and sick of winter.  

I'll be back tomorrow with a recipe that's been in my family forever.

Unrelated, but one of my enamel flower brooches.

Good night!

How to Make a Ribbon Wreath for Fall - DIY

I was in the mood for something festive for our apartment door, so I put this little wreath together. 

I wanted something that was small and easy to store in our little apartment.  Not much space for big foam wreaths around here.   It's so easy and simple that you can do it late at night, while catching up on tv shows, and not miss any jokes or plot points.

Speaking of late at night, please excuse the crummy process photos - it was a night too lazy to pull out the SLR and light things.  

1. You will need:
Cardboard
Loads of Ribbon in several colours and widths (I believe I used 9 yards)
Spare fabric (I used an old t-shirt)
Hot glue gun (or a lot of straight pins)

Scissors

Tape

2 round objects to trace

2.  Trace round objects and cut out circles in the cardboard.  Mine was thin so I doubled up.
 Also, cut fabric into strips - 3 or 4 inches wide. 

3.  Wrap the fabric strips around the cardboard circles until the cardboard is hidden.  Secure the ends. 

4.  Cut ribbon into roughly 4 inch lengths for wide ones, 2.5 inches for the skinnies.  Place them evenly around the circle.  Fold in half, allowing for a pretty ribbon loop and pin or glue to the wreath.  Repeat until your wreath is full and you've run out of ribbon!

voila!  A sweet little wreath to decorate your door (or your floor, as seen here).

I hope you had a great weekend, whether you celebrated Thanksgiving like us Canadians, Columbus Day, or just the end of the week :)
I'm so thankful for the phenomenal weather we had!

Happy Friday!

Have you got plans for the weekend?
Here in Canada we're celebrating Thanksgiving, complete with a holiday on Monday.
We'll be having some friends over for a dinner on Sunday night.  

This also means that in the next couple of days I will be:
-Cleaning our apartment

-Finding the perfect recipes for the dinner (anyone have a great one for stuffing? I'm thinking apple cranberry....)
-Grocery shopping for the above mentioned perfect recipes

-Making Perogies with my grandmother's recipe.  This will be a day in itself.
-Finishing the wreath I'm making for the front door

-Finding/making an extra little something to put with my mom's birthday present

-Sending my mom's gift in the mail

-Checking out the sale at my local Goodwill

-Going out for birthday drinks with some friends tonight

-Editing photos for a client

And speaking of photos...
I took some pictures of my friend Alex a couple weeks ago to celebrate her 30th birthday.
She is spending a huge chunk of this year traveling the world.  She also blogs about it.
Here she is, but stop by her blog and wish her a happy birthday too :)

Are you celebrating Thanksgiving this weekend?
What will you be doing?

new age. new haircut.

Hello hello.

I hope your Wednesday is going well.

I had a very nice day yesterday, my 29th (gulp!) birthday.

I had the day off, so I started it out by reading lovely facebook messages from friends.  Perfect start.

 And the sun was out and warm.  Amazing.

Then I went and got my haircut.  I went for the big change-up, because for some reason I do that on my birthday regularly...(sometimes not by choice)

Voila.  My new hair - a classic bob with fringe. 

I am not sure how I feel about the bangs, they're taking some time to grow on me.  *bad pun - groan.

After the haircut I met up with Cindy for a chocolate milk :) and then met Steve for dinner.

Torontonians - don't be fooled by "Big Daddy's Crabshack & Oyster Bar"  - they didn't actually have crab.  Which is my fave.  I did get crabcakes, and the rest of the food was good, but really - I would have gone to Red Lobster.   At least I got crème brûlée.

I got spoiled with birthday gifts!

My mom, bro & sis got me the JoTotes Betsy camera bag, which is great, and the perfect size. 

And among other pretty things (for one the t-shirt I'm wearing)

Tegan and Sara : The Con

 Steve spoiled me with records.

Radiohead : In Rainbows

Architecture in Helsinki : Moment Bends

 

The first two are older favourite albums of mine, and the third one is new, I've never heard it before, but love the band.

A solid birthday all around.  

When is your birthday?  Any fellow Libras reading?

See you soon with some photos, baking and a fall craft!

~mel

missing summer, but fall is ok.

It seems like on every blog I read, everyone's head over heels for fall.

I think too many of the blogs I read are based in places like Arizona.

missing summer

- no more air drying my hair

-sundresses are boxed up

-lines on my ankles from wearing socks

-windows are closed for the first time in months

-popsicles are no longer a treat.  soup is.

-berries grown in local fields taste better

liking fall

-i get to wear my cute coats

-it's ok to turn on the oven and bake

-tv shows are back

-cozy curling up under blankets

-spiced pear body wash

-deciding what to be for Hallowe'en

The biggest difference, in my corner of Canada at least, is what to wear to go out. 

Summer:

getting dressed in summer is easy by smilesfrommel featuring sterling silver necklaces

Pink dress
GUESS summer shoes, $35
Mar Y Sol straw tote bag, $88
Aurélie Bidermann sterling silver necklace, $705

Fall, thankfully, still looks good:

getting dressed in fall takes more effort by smilesfrommel featuring knit hats

Oasis sleeveless dress, £35
Cardigan, $23
Coat, $150
Betsey johnson tight, $20
R2 slouchy boots, $60
Kate Spade printed tote, $145
Vintage glove, $15
H M lace shawl, £2.99
Armani Exchange knit hat, $38

 What do you miss about summer/like about fall? 

The worst thing about fall?  It's one step closer to winter.