My Favourite Things In October

With October coming to a close, I've looked back on the month with a smile.  I've hit a few bumps in the road (getting laid off from my job), but have come back with a vengeance.  So here are a few of my favourite things I've enjoyed this past month:

• Ronnybrook Farm Pumpkin Ice Cream 
• Visits to The Brooklyn Kitchen, which is conveniently down the street from my house
• The Higgins's Sarsaparilla cocktail from The Richardson in Williamsburg
• Trying both the dinner and brunch menus at Traif in Williamsburg
• Horror movies all month on AMC
• Pumpkin Beers on tap at all my favourite bars
• NBA season openers
• Making an amazing list of costume ideas and storing it up for costume parties
• CMJ Music Marathon 2010
• Currently knitting this scarf
• Listening to T-Rex while cooking
• Reconnecting with friends that I haven't spent enough time with

I can't wait to enjoy these last few days of October and head into November full force!  Happy Halloween!

Image via http://mpeabody.blog.uvm.edu/

Style Inspiration: Heathers

Everyone knows that Heathers in an iconic movie- for many reasons.  It is the original mean girls movie- full of manipulation, mockery, and murder.  The one-liners are great- "did you eat a brain tumor for breakfast?" and the actresses are perfect.  But for me, it's all about the clothes, when I recently watched it, that was the only thing I could focus on.*  The fashion is completely and utterly over-the-top and I absolutely love it.  The Heathers all have their selected colour that they wear in monochrome, all the way down to their croquet mallets.  The 80s shoulder pads, the matchy-matchy color combinations, and the coloured tights underneath everything.  As it's becoming colder, I'm definitely feeling monochromatic looks with tights to match- I've already invested in purple, teal, gray, and navy pairs to get me through the winter.  I'm longing for lots of ruffly skirts, cozy sweater and blazer combos, lapel broaches, and perfect fall flats!  Just gimmie some pate and croquet and I'm sold!

* Besides Christian Slater that is, but if he's on the screen, he's pretty much all I can focus on!

Current Playlist: Talk About a Revival

Lately I've been profoundly unsatisfied with popular music.  I keep hearing all this buzz around certain songs and then I go and listen to them, and time and again, I. Don't. Get. It.  So, instead, my playlist has been filled will all sorts of oldies, but goodies lately:

1. "Jolene" by Dolly Parton
2. "Rave On" by Buddy Holly
3. "Zombie" by The Cranberries
4. "A Little Respect" by Erasure
5. "Beds are Burning" by Midnight Oil
6. "Opportunities" by Pet Shop Boys
7. "Second Hand News" by Fleetwood Mac (which is always on my playlist)
8. "Jeepster" by Marc Bolan & T. Rex
9. "Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden
10. "Pictures of You" by The Cure

Anyone have any other good New Wave or 90's revival suggestions?  I've been totally in the zone with it lately!

Hipster Must-Read: Blindness

I am usually not a fan of fiction, and when I pick up fiction it usually tends to be ridiculous and easy reads books by Chuck Palahniuk and Bret Easton Ellis.  But, lately, I've promised a certain someone that I would try to read more fiction, and along with that, I'm trying to pick fiction that has been actually recognized for it's greatness.

So, I picked up a copy of Jose Saramago's Blindness.  The premise is pretty simple, an entire community becomes stricken with an epidemic of blindness, save for one very lucky woman who is left with her vision.  The story explores the human condition as society falls into ruin and we are exposed to the worst of people when they are left to become helpless.

Saramago strays from the typical literary path in his writing.  He has a structure and style unlike any I've seen in a book, and you never even learn the name of the characters.

In 2008, it was made into a film starring Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, and Gael Garcia Bernal.  But I definitely recommend reading the book before watching the movie if you can.  I felt as though the screen adaptation was rather accurate, but my only problem was that my imagination worked less than it could've and I just ended up picturing the actors in all the roles.  I will say, however, that I can't wait to go back and watch the movie again and see how it compares.

Blindness was a quick read and a great foray into the world of fiction for me.  I'm glad I choose something that was written by someone who has actually won a Pulitzer.  It gives me hope that I can one day get through the stack of classics and other Pulitzer winners that's sitting on my dresser!

Buttermilk Pumpkin Pancakes

For the first time in my adult life, I was up earlier then anyone else in the house (ie: boyfriend, roommate, and puppy), and I conveniently had all the makings for buttermilk pumpkin pancakes.  I took to the internet and found a great recipe by one of my fave food bloggers, The Pioneer Woman.  I love trying new recipes, and The Pioneer Woman has some of the best and easiest to follow recipes that I've used.

Now that I'm starting to understand baking a bit better, it takes me no time to whip up simple recipes like pancakes.  And they were a hit with the "family," even the dog loved them (and she's the most picky eater in the group)!  I used a little bit of left over cinnamon butter on them, and they were sweet enough to not even need syrup.  Paired with some coffee, they were the perfect Saturday morning breakfast recipe!*  A great way to say hello to the fall!

Canned pumpkin is one of my must-haves for my fall pantry!

Voila! The perfect fall breakfast!

*I'd love to find a vegan way to do these pancakes, so if you have any suggestions, please send them my way!

Glazed Doughnuts

Being unemployed gives me far too much time to myself.  And as much as I would love to sit and watch awful tv all day while job hunting, I would just feel so unproductive.  So instead, I've taken to baking again.

Yesterday, I took the afternoon and (with the help of my roommate) whipped up some homemade glazed doughnuts.  Using this recipe, it took me far longer than I would have thought.  I haven't worked with bread doughs too much, so I'm always a little unsure when it comes to letting something rise and just how long that takes.  The glaze was a super easy recipe from Alton Brown, and I loved it because you could add any flavouring you want to make it a flavoured glaze.

The finished product was a great fresh doughnut, with a super sweet glaze.  I can't wait to take this recipe and experiment with different flavours and toppings!

Hipster Must-See: A Must-Watch List of Ridiculous Movies

I once dated this lovely boy.  He was nice, fun, had a great job, and then, one night, we were at the bar and Tommy was on.  And he had no idea what it was, not just that he had never seen it, he didn't know that it existed.  Well, I let that one slide, but when I later found out that he had never seen The Labyrinth, I decided that it was unacceptable, and we broke up.*

So in honour of that, I've decided to list my "Top 10 Must-Watch" list of movies.  Most of these are absolutely ridiculous, but they are fun, memorable, and I quote them all the time.



10..Tommy- I love this rock-opera.  I've blogged about it before.  I'm obsessed with Ann-Margaret, Roger Daltrey's hair, and, of course, the soundtrack.

9.  Purple Rain.  Prince has his own movie, I love Prince, therefore, his movie must make the list.

8.  The Legend of Billie Jean.  My parents kept trying to convince me to watch this movie, but being their child, I kept resisting.  When I finally watched it I understood the awesomeness, and bonus points, it also stars a young Christian Slater.

7.  The Labyrinth.  This is another one of my favourite movies held over from childhood.  Jim Henson is so over the top and ridiculous, and besides, Bowie is just so sexy in it.

6..Rocky Horror Picture Show. I went through a period of time in high-school where me and my girl friends watched this movie on repeat.  I've seen it in theaters, danced on stage to the time warp, and will only ever see Tim Curry as Dr. Frankenfurter (aside from his role in Fern Gully, but that's another story).

5. Willow.  Another one of my favourite topics.  It's fantasy, horrible CGI, and Val Kilmer.  How could it not make the list?

4. Pump Up the Volume.  You can put a young Christian Slater in any movie and I'll probably watch it.  Put him in a movie as a sexy-rebellious high schooler and I'm sold.  Also, the soundtrack to this movie is amazing.

3. The Goonies.  I grew up watching this movie on USA/TBS/ABC/etc. every weekend when I was a kid.  When I went to school in Canada, I met a slew of people that had never even seen it.  That simply won't do, if you haven't seen The Goonies, I'll probably pretend you don't exist.

2. The Warriors.  Walter Hill's gang epic is being remade in 2011.  I'm excited enough to see it, but it won't compare to the original.

1. Streets of Fire.  This movie rounds out the list of must-see ridiculous movies.  It stars Diane Lane and Willem Defoe when they were sprightly young things.  And it's sort of a musical. Bonus!


*We didn't break up because he hadn't seen those movies, I'm just being dramatic.

Delicious Dinner

Last week, I got laid off.  So, while I'm busy finding a new job, I've been working at cutting back in certain extravagant areas of my life, and the main culprit of that is eating out.

So Friday night, the boyfriend and I decided that we would spend the night in and whip up a great meal that would provide us with leftovers for days.  We decided to make a roasted pork tenderloin and tons of vegetables, but in true foodie style, JB couldn't seem to decide on just what we were going to have, so we also made a stuffed brook trout and some oysters for an appetizer.

JB prepping the tenderloin

And, as always, my job was to take care of the dessert.  I turned to my new favourite recipe book, French Women for All Seasons, and whipped up some pears and chocolate mousse.  It was surprisingly one of the easiest desserts I've made, and I still have tons of mousse leftover.  Yum!

Buttermilk Pancakes and Sweet Cinnamon Butter

A while ago, my roommate and I tried some amazing sweet cinnamon butter from Ronnybrook farms at our local market, and we haven't stopped thinking and talking about it ever since.

But, in true DIY fashion, I decided to try to make butter myself.  Surprisingly, it was super simple.  I simply took some heavy cream, a mason jar, and a marble, put it all together and shook it like crazy.  About 20 minutes later, I had butter!  Who knew it was so easy?!

But one of the best parts of doing this was that I had leftover buttermilk to use for pancakes.  Now, I didn't have a ton of buttermilk, so my pancake yield was small, but they made delicious fluffy pancakes that went amazing with the sweet cinnamon butter.

It'll be difficult to ever go back to regular butter now!  I think my next project will be roasted garlic butter.

Style Inspiration: The Exorcist

I think that when someone mentions The Exorcist, fashion is probably the last thing that comes to mind.  But last night I had the opportunity to watch The Exorcist on the big screen for the first time and my entire view of it changed.  Usually I cover my eyes throughout most of the movie, it is the only film that has ever been able to absolutely terrify me.  But this time, as I sat in a dark theater clutching JB's hand, there were certain times I had to keep my eyes uncovered...for the clothes.  At least Ellen Burstyn's clothes.

The 70s were kind of a mess.  I don't always find the wild prints and polyester to be flattering or attractive in the least bit, and home decor? Forget it, but something about the way Burstyn managed to pull together the iconic 70s style really got me.  Playing the mother of a possessed girl would leave anyone a total wreck, but Burstyn manages to look effortlessly chic the entire time, even when she looks as though she is about to come apart at the seams.  Heavy wool peacoats, chic button up dresses, scarves, oversized sunglasses, wide leg trousers, and heavy platforms are pure perfection for the fall months in DC.

I know that this fall I'll be on the lookout to steal some of the chic style from The Exorcist.*

*Ya know, minus the whole demonic possession thing.