Friday I went to see Paranormal Activity which I thought was ok if you like the whole shaky camera Blair Witch thing and are ridiculous enough to not realize it was actors and not at all real. But maybe I just need to stop researching my movies before I see them.

Saturday was my first Toronto Zombie Walk and it was such a great time. There were so many good zombie costumes (and some not so good ones) It was great to see so many interpretations. I went for the whole fresh zombie look while Rachael decided on the decomposing-for-many-weeks- possibly-in-the-water zombie look. I’m still playing Where’s Waldo with the photos in the Flickr pool to see if I can find myself.

So the good news is I can now take pictures! Of food! And projects! And outings! Today really could not have been a more perfect day to get a new camera. Firstly, because Nuit Blanche is tonight and there is going to be lots of weirdness to document. Secondly, because a certain someone had to be up at 6:30am to carry out the dead, I too was up early enough to watch the sun come up over my amazing view.

I feel special when I’m added to blogrolls…and also slightly mortified since I am the worst updater in the history of the universe. I mean, lots of cool stuff happens in my life, but most of it I don’t want to share with the whole internet. Also, I am not a very good writer and am not convinced that anyone actually reads this crap. Anyways, I am sad to admit I have dated NLC’s #3 through #8. Although I feel that if I happen to get through #1 and #2 I should get a damn prize. Seriously.

So here’s a little glimpse into my personal life for you, internet: I am currently dating a guy who works for the coroner’s office/a funeral home where the majority of our dates have consisted of me just tagging along with him when he goes to pick up a body……..and he’s probably the most normal of anyone I have dated.

What the heck does that say?

This past Friday I got to be one of the passengers who was on the train that hit and killed a woman who was walking her dogs, leaving us stranded 20 mins outside of London for 4 hours.

Then I read about a VIA train catching on fire last night on it’s way to Ottawa forcing more than 300 passengers to walk for kilometers.

Seriously VIA……get it together.

A Robot going through her Routine, you might say. Yes. I just went there.

The other night, I made myself go to Stitch N’ Bitch, even though I was sans project,  and I am so glad I did! Besides getting out of my apartment for the night, it got me really excited about the future and of things to come.

Here are some of the things I am looking forward to:

• Classes at The Workroom - I signed up for the Leather Clutch class and am beyond excited for it for a number of reasons.  It’s something small I can continue to do at home, they can be made out of recycled thrift store jackets and it’s a great starting point to get back into selling on Etsy (which Nikki has been on my back about for months!) Basically, it embodies all of my favourite things: Thrift store shopping, recycling and crafting.*  
• Making a trip to the new Anthropologie store here in Toronto - They have the most beautiful things there!  
• Eating as much avocado and Brie as I please. Especially in sandwich form.

That and a whole lot of satisfaction.

*Some people out there think people who craft are crazy.  I think that they are just very undereducated about the difference between Popsicle stick and glitter glue “crafting” and crafting which requires actual skill.  Sometimes I feel the need to set them straight.

I know you probably thought I was dead, but surprise! I’m not! I am still very much alive, possibly new and improved, and definitely with much more added bitter.

You probably wouldn’t know this, unless you stalk my Facebook,  but I recently moved from the classy-hooker two bedroom penthouse to a shoeless-hooker one bedroom penthouse.  I ended up with a downgraded kitchen but an upgraded view.  I would share a picture of its awesomeness but my camera total is now at level zero. Nothing is looking nice enough to take pictures as of yet anyway and that probably comes down to me being the world’s slowest unpacker. Literally, nothing gets done around here unless my friends are armed with rum and coke and are cracking the whip. Also, I am using a cardboard box as a desk because I haven’t had the chance to pick up a new one yet. I’m kind of tempted to forgo furniture in my new apartment altogether and just fill it with gum drop pillows, upholstered cubes and cushions.  It will be like a squishy harem, population: me.

The shoebox sized kitchen I can probably deal with, but the lack of camera makes it kind of hard to run a cooking blog as originally intended. Instead I will try to keep you updated with the Monday morning crime scenes.

Love, Kelly

Brandi:  hahah ABORT MY LIFE

Brandi: go to the clinic….
“hi im here for an abortion”
“how old is the fetus?”
“26″

Both of them are tasty, so it’s really a matter of how much flavour you like your caramel to have. (I think I prefer mine somewhere in the middle of these two.)  Another factor in flavour is salt. I stuck with the amount in the recipe but wished in the end that they had been saltier, so you can feel free to adjust that to your taste as well. 

I had the most fun wrapping them up afterwards to ship off to my caramel loving friends - and Holy Mother of Pete do I have  a lot! I’m going to have to start a waiting list if I get any more requests, but I think they look super adorable and old fashioned wrapped up in the wax paper and I hope everyone enjoys them!

Salted Caramels

Adapted from Gourmet October 2004 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1-2 teaspoons fleur de sel*, depending on taste. 
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup water

• Special equipment: parchment paper; a candy or deep-fat thermometer

* (Or any flakey salt - I used Murray River Pink Flake Salt)

Directions

Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly oil parchment.

Bring cream, butter, and fleur de sel to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and set aside.

Boil sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan, until mixture is a light golden caramel.

Carefully stir in cream mixture (mixture will bubble up) and simmer, stirring frequently, until caramel registers 248°F on thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour into baking pan and cool 2 hours. Cut into 1-inch pieces, then wrap each piece in a 4-inch square of wax paper, twisting 2 ends to close.

Makes approx 40 candies.

 

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

• We are 1/4 of the way through this year.
• We are 2 months away from June which = summer.
• I am only 9 days away from taking  my company-forced vacation.

I am most excited for that last one.  Vacation + Tax refund = Good times.  I haven’t decided on exactly what I am going to do yet but it lies somewhere between flying to Vancouver for a few days, going on a road trip to Montreal and finally going to the dentist on my company’s dime. According to everyone there is something very wrong with me, but I actually love going to the dentist! I even like the taste of the fluoride polish - cherry being my favourite.

Not only do I actually enjoy going to the dentist - I think I found the most awesome dentist in the whole city! They have flat screen TVs and computer monitors in each room and I totally picked them based on having the prettiest website. It also sounds like they will pretty much gas you up on request too, which I am told is pretty flipping awesome if you have the right music to listen to on your Ipod.  *Cough-Brandi-Cough*

Other important things I should mention that occured today: Our friend Neil’s band Silverstein has a new album coming out today  - you should check it out! (Our other friend Martin did their cover art again - I think it’s my favourite so far.) Also, there’s a new baby in our family - Congrats to my cousin Jamie and her boyfriend Kevin and welcome Alexander James!

One thing I know is that Brandi is the best person to go to concerts with because she’s from Scarborough and will totally fuck you up if you don’t behave.

Some of the best things to come out of her mouth:

Brandi: “I choked her good. It was awesome.”

Stupid pushy guy: “I’m just trying to get by.”
Brandi: “Yeah, well, it’s rude to push girls!”
Stupid pushy guy: “Well, there’s no other way…”
Brandi: “WELL FIND ANOTHER WAY!”
Stupid pushy guy blinks and then leaves.