Easter & Spring Cake Pops


I created these last month as display cake pops for the store when we had our "open house" to promote my March Break cake pops classes for kids. These pops are made with Rice Krispies treats instead of cake, so that they can keep as displays and won't go bad like cake. These were my first attempt at cake pops that were more than just balls dipped in chocolate. I used Wilton candy melts so I could have colors, molded them into different shapes and used sprinkles for details.

March // Busy Bee

"Busy, busy, busy, like a really tall bee."
- Lorelei Gilmore, Gilmore Girls

Yup, that's me. A really tall bee. The exciting thing is that, months after officially becoming a Wilton Method Instructor, I finally started teaching my first cake decorating classes last week! The only not-so-great part about that is that it means my schedule has been jammed-pack (jam-packed?) with preparing last-minute for classes (because I'm a big procrastinator), teaching classes, 4 trips to the grocery store in one week and my regular work shifts. Phew! I'm exhausted everyday!


So, as exciting as this new job and part of my life is, it's making me sad that I've had to put aside the other parts of my life that I love like craft projects, video ideas, catching up on tv and movies and, obviously, blogging! I kept intending to write my first-of-the-month post about what to look forward to this month, and my March project posts, but as it got later and later into the month, I finally said- I'll have to let this month slip by. Darn. I may save my March theme for another month, if I find that it suits it.


As far as a project for March, it looks like that has become cake classes! This week I have a class (or two, or three) every day. And every night I'm rushing around preparing for the next day's classes right up until I force myself into bed early, so I can get a decent amount of sleep before getting up early. (Early for me, that is. I can easily stay up until 3am, so forcing myself into bed at 12am to get up at 8am is difficult.) So, this month I'm going to let everything else get pushed aside, if it has to, in order to be a prepared and awesome class instructor and let myself get used to what this new job entails, including my new sleep schedule. Once I get into the groove of things and get my kitchen/baking supplies/class supplies organized better, I should be able to find more time for my usual creative projects.


I hate starting a feature on my blog and then having to miss one (or stop entirely) because "real" life gets in the way (aka I'm not prioritizing my time wisely.) so, I wanted to quickly write a post to say this is what's really up with me for March.


If you're interested you can find me on Twitter and Instagram (both @TishChambers) to follow my adventures in cake decorating classes, and my Facebook page for information about the classes and baking tips and fun stuff like that. 

As always, I have plenty of blog post ideas and half-written articles saved up, so never fear- my blogging will continue, just maybe not for the next week or so.

Enjoy the Spring weather coming at ya this month! I know I am! :)

Flashback Friday // La Photo Cabine

Once I discovered the cool website La Photo Cabine (in Fall '09) that lets you take old fashioned photo booth photos, I started using it almost everyday to, well, let's face it: be a little vain, but also as a sort of photo journal of my life.


I guess I forgot about it and/or lost interest in it at some point. It's been over a year since I was regularly taking photos with it. But, I'm back at it, trying to remember to take photos everyday. Rather than post them on my blog (like I used to) I've put them into a Flickr photo set where they can all be seen in order and write a short description to go along with them. You may have noticed the Flickr widget in my side column where you can see the latest photo, as well. So, if you're interested in my face, or like me, miss my long hair and want to reminisce with photos of it, take a look at the photo set and keep an eye on the widget for glimpses of what I'm up to, or just look like day-to-day.

Valentine's Day Cake Pops

After I used the larger leftover cake pieces to make mini-cakes, I crumbled up the rest of the cake bits to make cake pops.


Unfortunately for us vegans, our only dipping option is dark chocolate (no milk ingredients). The candy melts that are usually used, which come in many colors, contain milk ingredients. So, basically, that sucks for vegans because we don't get color options. I won't stand for that, so I attempted to dip the pops in a simple glaze (icing sugar + water), which I prefer taste-wise and would give me color choices. That didn't work out as planned, however, as the glaze just continued to slowly drip off the pops, not setting hard like chocolate will.
My next idea for dipping cake pops, in something colorful and vegan, is poured fondant. It's similar to glaze, but with more ingredients, so I will have to test out its dripping. Otherwise, it looks like I'll be using the candy melts for colorful cake pops, but not eating them myself. (Which is okay with me, since I don't really like cake pops- too much icing.)


I did find a compromise with these cake pops for adding color. I drizzled some of the glaze over top of the chocolate to add some fun pink swirls. I also stuck on some heart sprinkles.


This was only my second attempt at cake pops. I had a lot of fun this time experimenting with making shapes and decorating techniques. The next cake pops I make will be for a store demo (March 3rd 1-3pm, Michaels Stores). I'm planning on making Easter and Spring themed cake pops, using the Wilton Candy Melts. So, look forward to seeing those on the blog soon. If you're in the Ottawa area and interested in learning to make cake pops and cake decorating, I am a Wilton Method Instructor at a Michaels store. Check out my Facebook page to see my upcoming classes. I'll be doing some cake pops classes for kids & teens during March Break.


Valentine's Day Mini Cakes



After I made this cake last week, I had a lot of cake leftovers. Since Valentine's Day was coming up (and I was planning on making a video that could use some props) I decided to make some Valentine's Day treats from the leftover cake and icing.
From leveling out the cake layers, I was left with large, almost 1" thick pieces of cake, which was exactly what I needed for this Valentine's mini cakes idea.
Here's what I used: Cake, buttercream icing, fondant, gum paste, heart-shaped cookie cutter, fondant & gum paste tools.


To create my heart shapes, I used a cookie cutter to cut hearts out of any cake pieces that were big enough. I made two pieces into cake sandwiches with icing between and then iced the outside.


I covered them in fondant, which can be quite tricky, especially for small shapes like this. The trick is to work your way down from the top, smoothing it out. Don't let the fondant fold. I used a handy gum paste rolling cutter tool to trim the excess, but you can use a sharp knife.


The next day I decided that just the red was too plain, so I got out my gum paste and tools to make some heart shapes to add on top.


And this is what I ended up with!


I ended up putting them in cupcake liners (flattened a bit) to give them some some bottom protection for moving them around and giving them away.
I also made cake pops from the rest of the leftover cake!

Thank You Cake

This was my cake project last week. A co-worker ordered it from me for her last day at work. The flowers are some flowers from the new Wilton course, Advanced Gum Paste Flowers, with some changes and some I just kind of made up using basics gum paste flower techniques. I've never been good at getting buttercream nice and smooth (I'd much rather have covered this cake in fondant) and my piping writing is still horrible despite using a tracing technique. But, hopefully the pretty flowers make up for the rest of it.


Tomorrow, I'll show you what I made out of the leftovers of this cake [mini cakes & cake pops]. Unless you watched yesterday's Tuesdays with Tish, then you've seen the treats. In the post, I'll show you how I made them.

Tuesdays with Tish // Single Girl's Valentine's Day

It's been a while since I made a video! It was so much fun (and work) to make this one. This started as something I was writing for just a blog post, but then I got ideas how I could make it even more fun by acting out.  This is quite possibly my most embarrassing video, but also possibly the funniest. People making fools of themselves is usually funny, right? Single or not, enjoy!



Fun Facts
- My cocktail is actually just water and food coloring. The tequila bottle is filled with water. It's from Mexico. Where I didn't go. Which I didn't drink.
- I spent the better part of two days' free time making the mini-cakes and cake-pops from the leftovers of a cake I made last week. (You'll see the cake and how I made the cake pops & mini-cakes in posts later this week.)
- I was listening to dubstep (my newest music fascination- just getting into it- any recommendations?) between shots, so I have a lot of outtakes of me dancing like an idiot who doesn't know how to dance to dubstep.
- I don't actually like cake pops because I don't like cake and icing together. I like cake, but I put a nice simple glaze (icing sugar and water) on my cupcakes. And I do like my icing (I'll lick the beaters- yum!) but not on cake. (In an outtake I might show someday, after shoving that mini-cake in my mouth, I said "Oh my god, I'm gonna throw up." But I didn't.)
- I can make myself cry really easily, so I didn't even have to actually watch sappy romance movies to make myself cry for the video.
- This was my first attempt at split-screen in a video and it was a lot easier to set up & edit than I thought. So, look forward to more videos featuring more than one of me!
- I took all those cake pops & mini cakes to work yesterday for the masses to devour. I got a lot of complements and thanks and maybe even a cake pop order!
- I'm not actually doing any of those things today. I think I'm all Valentined out. I'll be spending the day cleaning up the chaos left over from the video shoot. :)


Links + Likes // 02.12.12


I actually like her hair and most of her outfits, but they do make their point that she has worn some questionable outfits on the show.

I love this idea and the resulting photos. It's basically a photo story of two girls visiting a city, checking out the vintage shops and happenin' spots, and making you jealous of their fabulous lives.

My blog friend, Mandy, is having a really neat giveaway on her blog, Chocolate & Cream Cake! Some Amazon gift cards, yes, but what I'm really excited about is winning a custom bookplate design! Mandy made this geeky cute one for her & her husband's personal library (for the inside cover of books, so borrowers know where to return it) and I love the idea! I hope I win, so we can design one for me together, but I may just design something for myself. ;)

Degrassi (the original series, guys) really is one of the best TV shows ever. I remember going to my best friend's house everyday after school to watch Degrassi Junior High on TV. She even once cut her hair like Liz. Man, we were so cool. Degrassi taught me so much about being a teenager, even though I was only in the third grade. I think it prepared me for high school much better than Clueless, which was also a big influence on third grade me, did. I watched the entire series this past year and loved every bit of it, even though 80's fashion hurts my eyeballs.

As a Scott Pilgrim fan and a Canadian, I was extremely jealous when my friends, who have lived in Toronto, said they recognized a lot of places from the Scott Pilgrim movie (which, like the comic, is set in Toronto). Someone got photos of the real-life places depicted in the Scott Pilgrim comics to compare. Nerdfest!

I have no interest in ever watching Dawson's Creek (I think I was bit young to be enticed by it when it originally aired, so I've never seen it.) but I am so enjoying these hilarious recaps.

Movie Marathon // Long Distance Love


I recently had myself a movie marathon consisting of movies featuring long distance relationships. I might have subconsciously had something on my mind? These three movies each take a very different approach to looking at the dynamics of a long distance relationship. There's the practical issues like Skype dates and violated Visas, the problems with jealousy and seeing other people, and, thankfully, none of them have a sappy ending, teaching us that long distance doesn't really work, but there is hope...

With Valentine's Day coming up, these movies may get you romantically inspired. Unless you are, in fact, in a long distance relationship and these just make you totally depressed that you can't be with your loved one on Valentine's Day. Or maybe you're single and these will be the perfect angry, alone Valentine's Day movies to have a good cry to. Or maybe you're just in a perfectly happy relationship and you can watch these and be glad that it's not you. (P.S. We hate you.)


The Comedy: Going the Distance
Maybe ease yourself into these movies with the light-hearted look at how two people try to make a long distance relationship work. This one may actually give you some legitimate advice on how to deal with being in a long distance relationship. Skype dates, texts, phone calls, expensive airfare, and a lot of frustration are all part of the deal.

The Nicholas Sparks: Dear John
Here's the real tear jerker for you, if that's what you're into. Torn apart by war and damn 9/11. If you want to see beautiful people be in love for half a movie and then not really in love/together for the other half, well, get the tissues out.

The Indie: Like Crazy
This is by far the most realistic portrayal of a long distance relationship out of these movies. The 'indie' title should have been the tip-off right? Those indies are always so real. Their relationship is just so torturous. She literally cannot leave the country because she violated her Visa in America, so they're both living their lives far apart, and then they try to let go, but then they visit, and they're together, then they're with other people, then they're together, and it's just so, like, crazy!

Banjo Inspiration


As I spend this month focusing on learning & practicing the banjo, guitar, and piano, having some inspiration and goals will help push me. Just learning the basics can be so boring, but when I have a cool song in mind that I want to learn to play, that will really motivate me to work at it. So, throughout the month I'm going to share some songs and videos that are my inspirations and motivations to learn these instruments.

My primary goal this month is learning to play the banjo. I have to start from scratch, learning to tune it, learning the notes, how to pick, etc. Unfortunately there aren't a lot of people doing banjo covers on YouTube and not many of those are songs I would actually like to learn to play, but I did find a few videos that I like.




And, of course, my biggest Banjo inspiration of all... 

I'm also collecting cool banjo images on a Pinterest board. Take a look. I told you; Banjos are cool!

The Bakestress on Facebook

I just wanted to let you know that I've made myself a Facebook page for my cake making; The Bakestress.

If you haven't checked out The Bakestress page here on the blog, you may not know I make cakes, since it's  been a while since I've posted any baking on my blog. I've been making cakes for people for a couple years, usually with my friend, Kim. I've tried a couple times to make a proper 'business' out of it with a website and Facebook page and business cards and all that, but now I'm taking a more casual approach to it.

Rather than a business name, I'm using the name I came up with for myself (Originally "cakestress", coined by my BFF Addie when Kim and I were making her wedding cake. I decided to change it to "Bakestress" to be less specific.) to generally promote my cake-making.

I'm using the Facebook page as a public place to show my photos and promote my classes. After taking the Wilton cake decorating classes last Summer, I officially became a Wilton Method Instructor back in November. However, I have yet to teach any classes because no one has signed up for my daytime classes. One of my instructors, and now friend, uses a Facebook page to promote his cakes, classes and communicate with his former students, so I figured I should do the same. Once I start teaching, I think it'll be a good way to connect with my students if I have a place they can go to check me out, contact me, and I can let them know when my new class times are so they can take their next course with me!

Like I said, I'm trying not to get ahead of myself and make this too 'business-y', but I am making business cards. Word of mouth is great for this type of job, but handing out some business cards along with someone's cake order is another great way to make sure people will check out your work and think of you when they need a cake. These are my simple business card designs I'm printing myself later this week (in time to hand out with a cake job due Friday).


So, please take a moment to go check out the Facebook page. You can see photos of all my cake projects in one place, and some new photos of the new gum paste flowers I'm learning to make. If you're in the Ottawa area, be sure to 'like' the page and share it with your friends! My cake jobs have been few and far between lately. I'd love the chance to design a cake and use the new techniques I'm learning. And, if you're interested in learning cake decorating, check out the calendar to see when I'm teaching (location & contact information on the page).

February Project // Learn the Banjo



This month's project is really one main accomplishment and a few smaller projects.

I'm going to learn how to play (as well as I can) the banjo. Why the banjo? Well, short answer: because I have one. I rescued it from my parent's house after I decided the banjo was cool. Technically, it's my dad's, but he doesn't know how to play it. (Other unused instruments in my parents' house include a violin and a Chinese flute- Which I have attempted to play to no avail, despite the fact I played flute in high school.)


I've decided that the banjo is the new cool instrument, overtaking the title from the ukulele. That bitch is everywhere these days. And, although I do love a good ukulele song and would love to learn it someday, I also think the banjo is an under appreciated instrument that has been stereotyped as only for one genre; country/bluegrass. Well, this month as I learn to play the banjo I will prove that it's for more than just hillbillies.


As I said, I also have some smaller projects I want to do this month within the theme of music. In general, I will be practicing the guitar and keyboard (another rescue from my parents) more often. Sadly, it's been so long since I played these instruments with any regularity that I will be almost re-learning to play them. I'm hoping with some diligent practicing, it'll all come back to me quickly.

I have some specific goals for each instrument.

 
On the guitar, I'm going to learn the song '89 Volvo which was performed by Mary Lynn Rajskub on an episode of Gilmore girls. I'll have to learn the chords just by watching her play it. The fun part is that, in the episode, she was interrupted by Taylor Dose (Damnit, Taylor!), so we don't get to hear past the second verse. I'm going to enlist the help of my best friend, and fellow Gilmore Girls addict, Addie, to help me write lyrics and melody to finish the song. It's not a serious song, so finishing the lyrics with Addie will be fun.

 
On the piano, I would like to learn a Lady Gaga song. Watching her perform her songs with just a piano always inspires me to get out my keyboard. I don't know if I can do this in just one month, but I would like to be able to play a song completely from memory; a song that I can sing along to. I'm not a great singer, but I have dreams of wowing people by just sitting down at a piano and bursting out in song.

Someday, when I have the money, I'll buy myself a flute and re-learn that as well. Maybe someday I'll even steal my mom's violin and attempt that, too. (Although, I'm sure my neighbors would not appreciate my musical aspirations.)

By the end of the month, hopefully, I will have videos of me playing a song on the banjo (and perhaps singing, if I can learn a cool song), my rendition of '89 Volvo, and maybe even me belting out some Lady Gaga while playing the keyboard. Keep up with me on Twitter and Instagram for progress updates, including any performance videos.

What else am I getting up to this month?

I am tantalizingly close to having my 'Unseen' list of movies read 0. I wrote a bit about this in this post. So, this month, I have about 15 movies to watch that I've had for a while, but haven't watched yet. Okay, my unseen list may never get down to zero because I'm always downloading more movies, but I think I can get it down to only a few at a time.

I'm embarrassed to say that I don't read enough! Last month I finished White Oleander (second reading), but considering I started it months before, that's not a proud accomplishment. So, now the only book left that I haven't finished reading is my 15-in-1 Oz series book. I've been slowly making it through the stories for, I think, a couple years. Because they're children stories, they don't suck you in like a novel that you stay up late reading. Which is why I have to almost force myself to put in the time to read them. But I do enjoy them if I allow myself the time to get into the story. So, I've decided that I'll make it a monthly goal to read at least one Oz story. This month it's The Patchwork Girl of Oz.

P.S. I'm still working on my January project. It'll be posted next week sometime. You can see some sneak peaks if you follow me on Instagram. 

February // Love is in the Air

 

Oh, how cliché of me to make February's theme love just because it contains one day dedicated to love. Well, joke's on you- I'm not a complete cliché! I decided that yes, February's focus will be all about love but I want us to focus on self-love.

“Love yourself, for if you don't, how can you expect anybody else to love you?” True facts, guys. Whether you're single and dreading seeing Valentine's day junk everywhere you go, or looking forward to a romantic night with your partner, take this month to focus your warm fuzzy feelings inwards to yourself.

February is a pretty dreary month weather-wise, but try to beat the winter blues. Treat yourself with some self-love in the form of a home spa day, a shopping trip, a trip to a favorite museum or gallery, anything that will make you happy and celebrate your awesomeness.

My recommendations this month are all about giving yourself some much-needed love.



Gala Darling is all about self-love. Her website is dedicated to 'radical self-love', which is what this month is all about, right? Gala sells her e-book Love & Sequins chapter-by-chapter, or all together. (And it's half-price for February, so no excuse not to grab it.) I've read about half of the chapters so far. It has provided me with so much inspiration. The book covers topics from business, blogging, self-love, social awkwardness, and style. If you're not ready to take the plunge into a 12-chapter e-book, then just check out Gala's blog. You can get your daily dose of self-love and fun stuff for free.

Listen: Lights
I've been enjoying Lights' newest album, Siberia (and her first album, and her EPs), since it came out a few months ago. This album is 'grittier' than her first and just as electro fun. While I recommend all of Lights' sweet jams, there are a couple songs that specifically go with February. One song is February Air- Obviously, because it mentions February. The other is My Boots- an ode to her love/hate relationship with Winter (Canadians can totally relate.) Get yourself to the iTunes store to check out Siberia for sure, and her older music as well.

Watch: Disney fairy tales
Modern day love stories like Nicholas Sparks movies are too obvious and cheesey. Let's go back to old school love. Your first love: Disney movies. Why make yourself cry over another tragic ending to a Nicholas Sparks film when you can live happily ever after with Cinderella, Belle, Snow White, Ariel, and Aurora?
Single or taken, we can all enjoy a PG wholesome love story to remind us of what it's all (supposed to be) about: falling in love, over coming obstacles together and living happily ever after.




Entertainment
Two great albums dropped yesterday; Lana Del Rey's Born to Die and The Asteroids Galaxy Tour's Out of Frequency. I managed to snag them last week online (Shh!) and have been listening to them non-stop. I already loved Lana Del Rey's singles, so I was sure I'd like the album. I saw that The Asteroids Galaxy Tour had a new single, so I decided to check out their whole discography since I had one song of theirs that I liked. I've been loving their fun, groovy music all week. You can find them both in the iTunes store.

On February 11th, Zooey Deschanel will be hosting SNL with musical guest Karmin. I usually don't know in advance and anticipate SNL hosts or musical guests, but when I heard about this combination I got excited. I've been really loving Zooey's new show New Girl, so I have high hopes for her adorable humor in the sketches. Karmin became quite famous on YouTube for their covers, but they're coming out with their album of original songs soon. I love their first single Crash Your Party. I'm excited to see them live. They put on a good show.

There are only two movie releases that I'm looking forward to this month. The first is Chronicle on the 3rd. A group of teenage boys have superhero-like powers, which they use to amuse themselves at first, but then one of them goes a little nutso. On the 17th, you can see The Secret World of Arrietty. I may have developed a soft spot for Japanese animated movies like this because of my love of Hayao Miyazaki and, more recently, Mamoru Hosoda. This looks like a cute adventure for all ages. 



Days of Note
2nd - Groundhog Day
This is one of those gimmick holidays that really has no point. There's something about when a groundhog pops its head out of its hole today, if it sees its shadow, we're in for 6 more weeks of Winter but if it doesn't, Spring will come early? Some nonsense like that. Or, you could watch that Bill Murray movie?
Yay! Football! Just kidding- I don't care about sports.

"No glove, no love." "Pack your meat before the heat." "Wrap your attacker before you tap her." But seriously, guys. Safe sex.
First, click above to read about the history of Valentine's Day. Everyone says it's such a cheesey holiday invented by the greeting card companies. But like every holiday, it has its own history and reason behind it. On the other hand, embrace the cheese! Come on, have fun making Valentines for your friends, dress up in red and white and enjoy those little heart-shaped candies with weird sayings on them.

21st - Mardi Gras
Fellow singletons, don't let your lonely Valentine's Day get you down! Remember you've only got one more week til Mardi Gras! Unfortunately, only some cities really go all out for Mardi Gras, so you may not be able to partake in some crazy festivities around town, but nothing's stopping you from having fun making a mask, putting on some beads and having some fun! Throw your own Mardi Gras party! Just keep your shirt on, please.

29th - Leap Day
It's that special day that comes but once every four years. It's almost like a non-day. It doesn't really count. So, do something crazy that you wouldn't normally do! Oh, and, don't forget that adorable movie Leap Year starring Amy Adams.


February art from 2011 calender by Abby Orsow for Seablanket

Photo Shoot // Red, Black, and White

There have been periods of my life in which I was often doing photo shoots of myself dressed up in my new favorite outfit, or sporting a newly discovered hairstyle I liked. It's been quite a while since I've had the time and energy to get myself dolled up, get the lights and camera set up and have myself a fun little photo shoot. I haven't even taken a proper photo of myself since before I dyed the red section in my hair, in October. So, it's nice for me to see my lovely vivid red hair in good lighting and a bit of Photoshop effects.

Alright, call me superficial and self-centered, but I like having nice photos of myself to use as my Facebook profile picture, Twitter, blog, etc. It's fun and a confidence booster to do your hair and make-up and put together a nice outfit, and then have photos as evidence of that one time you looked nice to show off.

A high bun is definitely my favorite hair style right now. On myself, and on other girls. I especially love it with my bangs & red section. My everyday make-up is only eye make-up. Lipstick is way to high-maintenance for me, I'll stick to my Dr. Pepper Lipsmacker, thanks. But for photos, I love to rock the bright red lipstick with just mascara on the eyes. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that when it comes to make-up you can emphasize the eyes or the lips, but both is too much. Which is why as soon as my lips get any color on them my unadorned eyes will just pop.

I'm also rocking my current idea of a good semi-dressed-up look consisting of an over-sized men's white shirt tucked into high-waisted black shorts. I often wear men's shirts at home and as soon as it's warm enough, I will be rocking them with shorts and boots outside. And the black and white color scheme made my red hair & lips stand out even more.

I guess I should stop talking about the photos and just let you have a look. These are the ones I chose as good enough to enhance a bit with Photoshop and share with you.



 
Bonus: An Instagram shot as I was getting ready and my La Photo Cabine of the day after I was done.

And then I had some fun adding effects to some of the photos with the iPhone app PictureShow.

Movie Marathon // Funeral Crashers


I know what you're thinking. "Is funeral crashing really such a popular pastime that there is more than one movie about it for you to make a Movie Marathon post?" Well, obviously the answer is "Yes. Funeral crashing is a very popular pastime in movies."

If you know me at all, or have been reading my blog, you may have noticed my love of cemeteries. Now, I've never crashed a funeral. (I'm socially stunted and incapable of lying. I could never get away with it, anyway.) But I understand the fascination. Except the dead bodies. That would creep me out. Who decided that it was a good idea to put a dead body on display while trying to remember the life of someone you love? No one wants to see that.

As you can guess, it takes a very odd character to be interested in attending strangers' funerals. Most are fascinated, or intrigued, by death. But I also think that this is an extreme form of people watching. Oh, sure, it's all well and good to sit in a public place and watch how people go about their business, but I would think observing people in more rare, emotionally-heightened situations, like funerals, would be more interesting.


The Classic: Harold and Maude
"The greatest love story of all time", as described by Mary in There's Something About Mary, is between a young man obsessed with death and an old lady with a lust for life. Harold enjoys faking his suicide, crashing funerals and creating a hybrid Jaguar-hearse car. Maude enjoys pretty much everything about life and tries to impart that to Harold.

The Straight-to-DVD: Wake
Don't be scared off by the terrifying Photoshop job of the DVD cover. The movie really isn't that bad. Okay, it's not really that great, either, but it does star a funeral crasher. And Ian Somerhalder, who, I think we can all agree, makes any movie worth watching. The movie isn't really so much about crashing funerals so much as it is about having a relationship with the fiancé of a girl whose wake you crashed and whose engagement ring you "accidentally" stole off her cold dead finger while said fiancé is being investigated as a suspect in her death.

The Indie: Restless
Finally, some funeral crashers with somewhat legitimate reasons for doing so. (If there are acceptable reasons for crashing a funeral. I doubt it.) Enoch lost his parents in a car crash which left him in a coma for three months and Annabell is going to be dead in three months. So, really, they're just doing research. Enoch also has a ghost friend who was a Japanese kamikaze pilot in WWII, but that's no big deal, right?

Flashback Friday // Mug Shots

Once upon a time, two years ago, I started a group called Runaway Girls. We made videos, but it didn't last very long. When we first started the group, I thought it would be a cool idea to do mug shot photos of each of us. 'Cause we're, like, badass. As with most of my ideas, no one else wanted to do it, but I had fun with my own mug shot photoshoot.
If you're wondering about the card... 13 because it's my favorite number, 02/20/2010 was the day we put up our first videos and OPP is the Ontario Provincial Police (I live in Ontario, duh.)

Girl I Love // Dianna Agron

...but you can call her Charlie.


After reading about how strange and awesome this chick is in her NYLON interview, I decided she wasn't just a pretty face (and she is almost annoyingly pretty), and nothing like her Glee character, cheerleader Quinn Fabray.

After using her Tumblr as a place to gather her inspiration, she found a lot of people were sharing a lot of their inspiration with her as well, so she began her own website, You, Me & Charlie. The site is run by Dianna with many contributing writers. I would compare it to Hello Giggles in its format, but its content is very different. Charlie focuses on sharing inspiring artwork, people, etc. It's more like a Tumblr in the way that people will post a photo set, a video, a website, but there aren't a lot of written articles. It's a website you can get completely lost in for hours browsing through all the categories, discovering new things and getting inspired.


It turns out Dianna, who identifies more with the name Charlie, is a pretty rad girl who "would live [her] entire life down the rabbit hole in a world of nonsense, but due to the low probability of [her] ever finding that damn hole, [she uses her] vivid imagination every day and refuse[s] to ever truly grow up." 

Dianna Agron is a Girl I Love because she explores all types of art, shares inspiration through her website, is weird in a good way, believes in magick and is the kind of gorgeous, cool chick who you just want to be friends with.

Why I Don't Miss Having TV

You may be surprised (unless you pay attention) to know that this movie and TV show connoisseur does not actually have TV. I have a television. But I don't have cable or satellite television provider. I never have. Except for my first apartment and that was only because cable internet/TV was included. 

Growing up, we were more of a computer household than a TV household, thanks largely in part to my brother becoming a computer geek at an early age. We did have TV, though. Some of you may be unfamiliar with the concept of free TV, but it did exist. You just needed a big aerial on your house or a little "bunny ears" antenna on your TV. Ya, some channels were fuzzy, but they were there.

I haven't watched TV on actual live-broadcast TV in a long time. Mostly because nothing good is on. And, also, because any show I want to watch, I download. It's better quality, no commercials and I can watch it anytime I want. Recently the US and Canada made the switch to digital television broadcasting, which means if you want your 'free' TV, you need to buy a digital converter box so you can use your antenna. My parents decided to take the plunge and actually get satellite television. Ooh, such luxuries I never had growing up!

So now, when I visit my parents, I can waste time watching crap TV, which is nice once in a while. But, for the most part, I do not miss having TV at all. Like I said, even before couldn't have free TV, I was barely ever watching it. And there is no way I would pay money to be able to waste my time watching the crap that is all over the channels these days.

It would be a different story if I could get all British TV channels, though. Most of my favorite shows are British. And even their 'crap' shows, like talk shows & reality shows would be fascinating to me. However, if I were to watch TV my options would be mainly American. And that is why I am not bothered that I do not have television access.

Some of the Things Americans Make TV Shows About (both reality & fiction)
Housewives
Teenage mothers
Women who did not realize they were pregnant
Fat people trying to lose weight
Rich private school kids
Child beauty pageants
Rich people
Poor people
Cops chasing idiots
Bounty hunters
People who live in trailer parks
People cooking food
People eating food
People who think they are talented, but are not
People doing their jobs (from tattoo artists to gold miners to cake decorators to sewage workers)
Interior decorating
Birthday parties
Famous people
Not famous people
People who don't clean their homes
People who use coupons
People who won't stop having children
Men with more than one wife
People singing
People dancing
People having babies
Gay people
Straight people
People with secrets

So, mostly, people doing the same regular shit everyone else does.

Alright, so now that I'm done insulting American television, I must say there are a few things I miss about being able to just turn on the telly and have a bunch of useless shows to choose from.

A Few Things I Do Miss About Having TV
Award Shows
It's not worth downloading, like, 5 hours of award show, most of which I don't care about. However, if I had TV and one was on, I'd be interested to see the pretty dresses on the red carpet, the host's jokes and find out the winners, just for the sake of knowing.

Infomercials
Rookie wrote a really good article about this under-appreciated TV genre. I have truly enjoyed weekends and late nights watching infomercials for The Magic Bullet, the H2O Mop, the Tobi, Oxyclean, ShamWow, the Silhouette, various hair straighteners/blow-dryers, Proactiv, Sheer Cover make-up and even some Miracle Water! All of which I want. (Except the Magic Bullet and ShamWow- because I have those!)

Miscellaneous Entertainment List Shows
Those random half-hour shows like "Top Ten Father-Son Actors", "The Role that Changed My Life", "Countdown of the 50 Best Chick Flicks". The forced "narration" by random "celebrity experts" reading off poorly written scripts full of lame puns brings it down a little bit, but I love discovering new movies/TV shows/actors and hearing fun facts about them.

Commercials
Sometimes commercials are really good, okay? Don't tell me you've never laughed at a commercial, talked about it with your friends and maybe even continue to use phrases originating from commercials in your daily life. Oh, is that just me and my lame friends still saying "Good to go!" with the smooth hand movement when we're ready to leave? I admit, I've even been tempted to check out the Superbowl just for the commercials because the Superbowl is like the Oscar season of commercials. They spend millions of dollars on those 30-second productions to entice and entertain the millions of viewers. 

Okay, so, I guess TV and I have a love-hate relationship. I love good shows. I hate bad shows. Yes, there are some things I miss out on seeing/knowing about by not having live television shoved in my face everyday, but- Everything's on the Internet now, anyway, right?

Some Things I Learned from Star Wars

On Friday I had myself a Star Wars Movie Marathon, and I learned some important things about the Star Wars world and some life lessons...


They really like big award ceremonies in a galaxy far, far away...

Put aside the politics, the super-cool fight scenes, the battle between good and evil, and what you've really got is a buddy comedy starring C3PO and R2D2. Clearly, George Lucas was really just trying to write a story of two friends getting into all sorts of hilarious trouble, but all the human drama overshadows them.

Don't split up siblings when adopting because they will grow up, be attracted to each other, kiss, and forever be disgusted with themselves.

Every good movie needs an abominable snow monster.
[Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Star Wars, Monsters Inc.]

The correct response to "I love you." is "I know."

"Sith" is an anagram of "Tish" that I had not realized until now.

Leia's hair buns are actually much larger than costumes and parodies have led me to think.

Light sabers are a very efficient and mess-free way of killing or just amputating as they cauterize as they slice.

Anakin is a brat!
He mouths off to the guy who owns him. He talks tough to a scary pod racer. He whines about everything. He doesn't do what he's told. How was anyone surprised when he went evil?

Machines/droids that walk on legs are much less efficient, but much cooler than ones that just roll along smoothly.



Executions used to be fun.
Nowadays we just get it over with using injections, but long ago in a galaxy far, far away, they made a good show of it. Why just chop off their head, when you can tie them up in an arena and release vicious beasts to rip off their heads for your entertainment and delight? Obviously, this doesn't work with Jedis, they're too clever.

Why Daily Grace calls us "gungans." 
I knew it looked/sounded familiar and if I had just Googled it, I would have found the answer, but it was more fun hearing Star Wars characters say it multiple times.