Walk Like an ...

Egyptian Theater. Lesser well known the The Grauman's Chinese Theater, but just as cool. Next month it will be celebrating its' 90th Anniversary and if you haven't gotten tickets yet there are still some left for this 90th Anniversary Ball on October 20th.

How could I not want to go after this season's opener to Boardwalk Empire.

Not sure if I will be wearing beads on my head but I am damn excited to get a 20's beaded dress.

Cabin in the Woods

Here's the close to being done cross stitch. I like the way it uses negative space and the blue cloth to define some of the areas. I just need to finish the backstitching, add the date of the wedding and then mail it. Better late than never! Then back to the epic Thomas Kincade Beauty and the Beast cross stitch, which I took a break on about 6 months into.

I use The Stitchery for my cross stitch supplies.

Revolution

Don't have anything new about books to offer but is anyone watching Revolution or Alphas? Revolution reminds me a ton of Jericho. Alphas is following in the footsteps of the 4400.

Where is my new television? Where is my Pushing Daisies type of shows? Everything feels the same. Thank goodness Boardwalk Empire rocked this week.

In a Pickle

I am a lover of all things pickled. In my fridge there are currently jars of olives, pickled garlic, regular pickles, pickled green beans and carrots... you get the idea.

This year I have really gotten into making my own. (Like the cherries) it is simpler than you think! We aren't talking end of the world, pickling for the masses or for long term storage. I am rather impatient and I want a quick turn around. These are the quick pickle variety, made to be enjoyed sooner rather than later, without all the fuss of immersion and vacuums sealing. (Though sterilized jars are still important.)

And as an old New Englander I am fond of pickled green beans. Whole Foods has a great recipe for cajun pickled green beans and carrots that's a great beginner recipe. Pickled Cajun Green Beans and Carrots

Instead of using all white vinegar I went ahead and did half apple cider vinegar, I think all white is too harsh and I didn't mind that it wasn't as clear. I cared more about the taste. And because of this I found I could use closer to 1/4 c sugar instead of 1/3 c. I also cheated by buying prepackaged pickling spices in the International Foods section. Each packet makes two jars and costs about $1.30. So I just threw that in with some cayenne powder.

The picture below is of the jar without any carrots. I also made one with baby carrots because I had those laying around a day I wanted to make them. I think the baby carrots work really well.

About three days is when I find they are at the perfect stage to be debuted.

Unhand Me Villain!

Friday led into a surprise visit to Disneyland to have dinner with my fiance's parents, and by proxy new Disneyland passes for the year. So I did not get a chance to post, on account of running around Disneyland all evening, trying out the new Carthay Circle lounge.

I enjoyed a really good Manhattan and Josh had the dill gin and tonic. The dill went really well with the tonic. I plan on experimenting with dill pickle brine now, and look forward to sharing that with you. I will also share the infusion tips for making garlic vodka (I am the geeky garlic girl!) with tomorrow as penance for having such a late Friday post.

But what I really want to share with you is my experience today at Villains.

After an afternoon fraught with crowds and insane temperatures, at Comikaze we abandoned any attempts to stick around and subject ourselves further to it we hightailed it to visit our friend in another part of downtown and experience the mythic Villains bar.

Between the gothic mirrors and stained glass windows we found one of the most thorough and precise bartenders I have ever had the pleasure of receiving a drink from.

There are drinks and theere are Drinks. They can't be described in flavors, but in memories and experiences. This is that kind of place.

I started with the Inigo Montoya, a wild blend of fruits, cucumber and jalepeno that jumped across the tongue, both cooling and firing at the same time. The drinks are on the pricier side between 12-15, but no other bar has ever seemed worthy of that kind of price, except for Seta in Whittier.

The second drink I had was the Belladona, a Whiskey, mint and blackberry preserves drink that was spicy and refreshing. Each drink has ice either hand crushed or shaved, depending on what the mixologist decided upon creating the drink.

Watching the bartender making the drinks was half the pleasure, each nuanced movement, from the peeling of a lemon and using the juice from the rind, to the shaking.

Since it was named one of the best bars in LA recently I would recommend going during the day like we did, or be prepared to wait quite while for a drink, but it is worth both the price and the wait.

Come One Comikaze All!

This week is the second annual Comikaze event here in los Angeles. The inaugural event was last November. It had some really great aspects and some not very good aspects.

Comikaze

Pros: Really neat vendors, great guests, really neat panels. Great cosplayers.

Cons: All the panels were in tiny curtained off areas, with barely any chairs. The All That Cast Reunion turned into a nightmare mosh pit of people. Most chairs seemed to have been dumped in the ghostly gaming area.

I am hoping with Stan Lee's name attached they will have more space, and some actual rooms for panels this year. I am excited for the Quidditch Tournament and the indie spirit involved in this one. I am a little disappointed that they raised the prices, even though they tout it as being so cheap, the prices were comprable to Anaheim Comic Con, run with Wizard.

I definitely think it warrants a second chance. So if you are around Los Angeles this weekend and want to have a nerdy adventure come to Comikaze. I will be sporting my Captain Hammer shirt (Like usual.) The Hammer is My Boobies.

Naturally Wednesday is Thursday

I can't seem to get these days right.

Last night I found out that my best friend Teri and I are Lucy and Ethel when it comes to making smoothies. A leaking blender, an overfull food processor resulted in a shiny clean kitchen (thanks honey!) turning into a sticky mess. We made beautiful passionfruit-strawberry-dragonfruit seed water. Yup.

I did finish the bracelet I was working on that I wanted to share with you. I have recently gotten back into chainmaille. Been messing with it using jump loops from Michael's for now until I order some online. Forgot how bad the blisters can be in weird places! Made some jump loops as well but I need better wire cutters. The ones I got cut at a weird angle, so I won't be showing you that.
It's not the best picture, but you get the idea.

Here's a better picture.

This one is called Inverted Round using the great tutorial on CG Maille. (Which is the link) It's a great pattern to start with and makes a great bracelet. I used a standard clasp with a larger jump ring on each end to close it.

I started a second project last night, it remains to be seen if it is going to be a smart idea or not.

I am hoping to finish the much belated cross stitch for my cousin's wedding back in July to show you next week.