TishChambers.com

Flashback Friday // La Photo Cabine

2012-02-24T15:46:00.000-05:00

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

2012-02-18T14:02:00.000-05:00

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

2012-02-16T19:06:00.001-05:00

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

2012-02-15T19:37:00.003-05:00

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

2012-02-14T14:19:00.000-05:00

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

2012-02-12T09:36:00.000-05:00

More Handmade Valentines: Playful, Psychic and Sweet by Mr. Kate on Hello Giggles

Nine Questionable Fashion Choices from Parenthood's Amber on Vulture

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.

Buy a Ticket: Sleepless in Seattle on I Love Wildfox

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. ;)

Literally the Best Thing Ever: Degrassi on Rookie

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.

Scott Pilgrim vs. Reality on Torontoist

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!

Let's all Watch Dawson's Creek! Episode 8: "The Ex-Boyfriend" on Hello Giggles

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

2012-02-11T12:34:00.000-05:00

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

2012-02-10T10:58:00.000-05:00

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...

[Sex and the City Season 4, Episode 4]

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

The Bakestress on Facebook

2012-02-06T15:11:00.002-05:00

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

2012-02-02T17:34:00.002-05:00

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

2012-02-01T15:50:00.001-05:00

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.

Read: Love & Sequins by Gala Darling

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?

5th - Superbowl Sunday

Yay! Football! Just kidding- I don't care about sports.

13th - International Condom Day

"No glove, no love." "Pack your meat before the heat." "Wrap your attacker before you tap her." But seriously, guys. Safe sex.

14th - St. Valentine's Day

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

2012-01-30T21:41:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-21T12:21:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-20T12:34:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-18T15:04:00.000-05:00

...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.

IMDb // You, Me & Charlie // Tumblr // Twitter

Why I Don't Miss Having TV

2012-01-17T12:34:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-16T14:59:00.002-05:00

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.

Links + Likes // 01.15.12

2012-01-15T12:34:00.000-05:00

The Wildfox Showroom is gorgeous!

Girls on TV Sleep in Bras, and Other Pet Peeves on Hello Giggles

Dance Like Nobody's Watching on Hello Giggles

Literally the Best Thing Ever: Infomercials on Rookie

25 of the Most Beautiful College Libraries in the World on Because I'm Addicted

China's Deserted Fake Disneyland on Reuters

Are These the Sickest Stuffed Animals Ever? on The Daily Mail

Star Wars Movie Marathon Party

2012-01-12T14:47:00.001-05:00

Maybe it's just me, as a movie nerd/cinephile/loser who lives vicariously through movies, but I am sometimes struck with the overwhelming urge to watch an entire series of movies. (Like that time I saw the trailer for Fast Five and decided that I had to watch the entire Fast & Furious series, despite never having shown any interest in that type of movie before.)

A while ago, Star Wars just popped into my head and I just decided it was time to watch the entire series, in order, in one day. I've seen all the movies, probably a few times each, but I don't think I've ever attempted to watch them all one after another.

And, so, tomorrow in an apartment far, far away (from you, probably, wherever you are) I shall embark on an epic movie marathon. Over twelve hours straight of Jedis, Sith, aliens, and both really good and good-for-that-time special effects.

I'm embarking on this journey alone because, well, I do everything alone. But if I had friends, I would invite them all over to join me in an epic Star Wars Movie Marathon Party which would include the following.

Activities
- watch all the movies (duh)

- grab anything resembling light sabers and fight!

- have a brother & sister kiss

- encase someone in carbonite
- reveal the results of a paternity test

Food

Cinnamon Buns (Leia's hair)

Popsicles and/or freezies (Light sabers)

Pizza (Jabba/Pizza the Hut)

Easy Costumes

Jedi- Snuggie/bath robe/blanket/poncho

Han Solo- white shirt and vest

Chewbaca- don't shave

C3P0- gold body paint

Yoda- green facial mask

Storm Trooper- all white

Darth Vader or any Sith- all black

Amidala- something big & crazy

Leia- ear muffs

Clearly, it's a shame I am friendless because I could throw the best theme parties ever!

If you wish you could join me for this epic Star Wars fest, but can't (because I'm not inviting you), you can follow my epic journey to a galaxy far, far away on Twitter. Because as much as I love Star Wars, I have seen them all before, so I won't be so wrapped up in the story that I won't have time to make funny comments like how cute the Ewoks are or take a photo of my droid watch to prove my big nerd of an older brother was an influence on me as a kid.

May the Force be with you!

Girl I Love // Marissa A. Ross

2012-01-11T12:34:00.000-05:00

I first discovered Marissa A. Ross and her unique comedy stylings through the website Hello Giggles for which Marissa writes and did a web series called Wine Time "in which a girl who knows nothing about wine, aside from the fact that she drinks it everyday, reviews wine."

After watching all of her Wine Time videos, I couldn't decide how I felt about her. On the one hand, I found her somewhat annoying but, on the other, I found her to be very cleverly funny and pretty much awesome.

I forgot about her for a while, until something reminded me to look her up again. I found her blog, Tangents and the Times and spent hours hitting the "random-ass tangent" button, reading her articles.

Marissa is one of those comedic writers who can write about mundane, everyday, happens-to-everyone situations but somehow make it sound hilarious by describing the situation with her creative metaphors and adding in her clever commentary.

If reading is too difficult for you, why not check out her web series, Tangents &the Times? Because Marissa isn't just a writer, she's "a writer who graduated from acting school to make a living as a blogger." Marissa plays herself, an LA girl trying to make it as a writer despite her inability to get out of bed in the morning without a bong hit. I've watched the three short episodes at least three times already. Something about it is so addictive!

Marissa A. Ross is a Girl I Love because she rocks the blunt bangs, refers to her boyfriend as "Dudefriend", drinks copiously, strives for a life of perpetual Summer, once "Captain Morgan-ed" a toilet, writes hilariously about it all on her blog and works her ass off making her web series and getting other projects off the ground.

Twitter // Blog // Web Series // Hello Giggles // Website

Reasons Why I Would Be a Good Housewife

2012-01-10T12:34:00.000-05:00

1. I won't make you go through the insanity of actually getting engaged, planning an expensive wedding, and all that newlywed annoying nonsense. We can happily live in sin, playing house.

2. I don't cook, but I do bake. I will fatten you up like you're Hansel (or Gretel) and I'm a wicked witch living in a gingerbread house. In fact, I may even bake us a gingerbread house to live in.

3. Correction: I'll cook, if you'll clean up.

4. I will do all this cooking and baking in a cute apron and a sexy outfit.

5. I can sew your buttons back on when they fall off and patch up the holes in your favorite jeans.

6. I will not bother you or try to talk about important matters while you are watching the game or playing Portal 2. I will, however, make you and your friends treats, keep the beers coming, and decorate the house in theme for Superbowl Sunday or your Call of Duty tournament.

7. I will not ask when we will be ready to have kids, because I've already decided the answer: Never.

8. We do not have to visit my family for Christmas. Or yours, if you don't want to. We can stay home alone, go to Fiji, whatever we want.

I expect the fellas to come flocking, now. ;)

Love Story is Really a Love Story for Winter

2012-01-09T12:34:00.000-05:00

I watched Love Story again the other day and realized half of the movie is actually just montages of them being in love and enjoying Winter. I hate Winter and the cold and the snow, but apparently when you're in love, you love Winter, too. Well, someday when I'm in love and it's Wintertime, at least I'll know what to do.

Things You Can Do in the Winter When You're in Love

Go to a hockey game.

Picnic on the bleachers.

Walk in the rain.

Fall in the snow.

Make a snowman.

Play football.

Roll around in the snow.

Drive a really old car to your parents' house.

Go skating on a crowded outdoor rink while your dying wife watches.

Have a romantic walk in the snow on your way to the hospital.

SPOILER ALERT: She dies in the end.

P.S. It's not actually a spoiler because the opening line is

"What can you say about a twenty-five-year-old girl who died?"

P.P.S. I think the answer is "She had a lot of fun in the snow."

January Project // Super Mario World Felt Mural

2012-01-03T12:34:00.000-05:00

My first project of 2012 is something that I've been planning on doing for probably almost a year. At least since May, because that's when I bought all the felt. It's about time I get this done! I will be making an interactive felt wall mural of a Super Mario World level.

The idea started out as an idea of what to put on my fridge. I thought of making Super Mario World characters, blocks, etc. out of foam sheets on magnets to have fun moving them around. That idea transformed into felt, since my fridge is small but I have a nice, big blank wall with lots of room for a long Super Mario World level.

The idea is that since felt will cling to felt, I can have fun moving the characters, blocks and bits around on the background without any damage. So, not only will I have a beautifully felt-recreated Super Mario World level mural on my wall, but I'll get to play with it! It's like, instead of a computer screen, it's felt and instead of a controller, you use your hands!

Now, this project will not take me an entire month of work to put together. It's only felt and glue. However, it requires a lot of planning and design before I actually get to the glue and felt. I'll have to do a lot of research (aka Google image search) of Super Mario World levels. Super Nintendo version, of course. I'm not going to recreate any specific level. What's the fun in that, when I can pick and choose backgrounds, hills, obstacles and pipes from any of the levels?

The background (sky, ground, hills) will be glued in place while the blocks, pipes, enemies, mushrooms and other collectables, and characters will be moveable. My originally planned size was 6' x 1.5', but that may change as my furniture arrangement has changed.

Stay tuned to my Twitter and Instagram this month to see my progress as I work on it. At the end of the month I'll have plenty of photos of the finished product to share on the blog, and, perhaps, a bit of a DIY and a short stop-motion animation made with it.

2012. 12 Months. 12 Projects.

2012-01-02T12:34:00.000-05:00

It just came to me one day... It's going to be 2012. I'll do 12 things. There are 12 months. I'll do one awesome thing every month.

I have a very bad track record at going through with plans (if you've read my blog, you'll know this by all the blog features I've started and not kept up with). I love making plans, it's the doing that I don't have a firm grasp on.

So, once again, I have come up with a system of getting things done. This one might just actually make enough sense to work for me... I hope.

I always have a million projects on the go, or that I want to start. Blog posts, crafts, videos, art, music, etc. Which, for my short attention span, means that nothing actually ever gets done because I can never choose from the long list of things to do. And if I decide to focus on one project, I feel like I'm ignoring everything else I need to do.

My solution to this problem of everything-at-once is to assign myself one major project a month. I have the entire month to work on one project that will be done by the end of the month.

I haven't decided on every project for the year (the other reason I can't follow through with long-term plans is that I change my mind so often), but I have a few ideas.

Super Mario World felt mural, learn the banjo, write & draw a comic story, make graphic t-shirts, learn French, doodle journals, short film, make an amazing Halloween costume, record Christmas songs.

Some of those will require explanation for you when that month comes. Some are projects that will have a definite finished product at the end of the month, while some are more that I'm going to take a month to focus working on one thing.

I'll still be doing more than one crafty thing a month, but this will help me keep my focus. Hopefully, I'll be able to let go of all my other ideas, knowing that I will get to them another month, and just focus (most of) my free time on one main project.

I'm excited to get long-awaited ideas done this year. I hope you'll enjoy reading about my projects and experiences along the way.

January // A Fresh Start

2012-01-01T17:50:00.001-05:00

January's all about fresh starts, making plans, starting new activities, letting go of the old and making room for the new. In that spirit, here's what I recommend for you this month.

Watch: Yes Man

I can't think of a better movie to inspire you to make a fresh start for the new year and make some positive changes. This movie is incredibly funny and cute, thanks to stars Jim Carrey and Zooey Deschanel, as well as inspiring. I don't recommend trying to take the "YES" lifestyle as far as Carl does, but I definitely think we could all use a little more "yes" in our lives. While you can make a change in your life at any time, why not go with the cliché and start something new at the beginning of the year.

Read: Eat, Pray, Love

You cannot cheat and watch the movie instead. The movie does not even begin to cover the amazing experiences and insights this book delivers. This is definitely a must-read if you want to make some positive changes in your life this year. You don't have to travel to Italy, India and Indonesia to find yourself, like Elizabeth did. By reading the book, you will certainly learn a lot from her experiences about what changes you need to make in your life, what answers you seek, and what makes you truly happy.

Listen: Florence + The Machine

Okay, this recommendation may be heavily influenced by the fact that I just downloaded her new album, Ceremonials, and am currently listening to it. But that's not the only reason. Florence's music is intense and epic and takes me to another place when I listen to it. Get your hands on both of her albums, put on some heavy-duty headphones (or blast your stereo, if you don't have annoyed neighbors) and just let the music swallow you up. Let it make you sad, make you happy, get you pumped up, or comfort you. It really can do all that.

Entertainment

The second season of Shameless premieres Jan. 8th. If you didn't watch season one, you have a week to get a hold of it and watch it. Based on the British series about a -pardon my language- fucked up family headed by an alcoholic father. It may make you sad at first to see a family so "down on their luck" with such a pathetic excuse of a parent, but soon you'll learn to love each of the kids and see they aren't so bad-off, after all. (This is the one time I will advocate an American remake of a British show. By some miracle, I think the American version is better. You will never hear me say that again.)

The new series, Apartment 23 (aka The Bitch in Apartment 23) premieres this month (I've read Jan. 3rd, but it's not definite). Kristen Ritter finally gets the starring role she deserves as a bitch out to ruin her small town roommate's life. And her best friend is James van der Beek, as a ladies man version of himself. It looks hilarious.

The incredible BBC series, Sherlock, begins it's second season today. It is an incredibly smart series with a unique format. Each season consists of three two-hour episodes, which makes it something between a movie trilogy and a mini-series. It stars the very talented Benedict Cumberbatch (best name ever) and Martin Freeman. Sherlock will blow you away with his brilliance and social incompetence. My fellow Doctor Who fans better check this out as it is created & written by Steven Moffat, the genius behind Doctor Who, and Sherlock will remind you a lot of The Doctor.

And, don't forget, most of your favorite network shows that started in September will be returning from their Winter breaks this month.

Days of Note

4th- Jacob Grimm was born 1785
The Grimm brothers are responsible for many of our favorite fairy tales. Today, you could read some of their fairy tales, watch the movie versions, The Brothers Grimm, or check out the new fairy tale series Once Upon a Time or Grimm.

5th- The Twelfth Night

The twelfth day after Christmas was known as the Twelfth Night. Get your Shakespeare on and read the play, or if you'd rather have a laugh, watch She's the Man, which is inspired by the Shakespeare play.

8th- Elvis Presley's Birthday

His music's all well and good, but, of course, I'm more interested in his movies. I recently watched my first Elvis movie, Viva Las Vegas. I loved it. I'll be watching the next Elvis movie on my list, Blue Hawaii, on his birthday. And then looking up more of his movies to get, I'm sure.

23rd- Chinese New Year

The year of the Dragon begins.

23rd- National Pie Day

I hope "learn to make pie" was one of your New Year's resolutions. Well, even if it wasn't, what would be a better day to learn to make a pie? Or, if you're already a seasoned piestress, use this day as an excuse try making a new kind of pie! At the very least, eat some pie.

25th- Burns' Night

To celebrate the life and work of Scottish poet, Robert Burns. I realize this probably means nothing to you if you're not from the UK, but you can always use it as an excuse to eat and drink like a Scot.

January art from 2011 calender by Abby Orsow for Seablanket

Christmas Music: Playlist

2011-12-19T22:55:00.000-05:00

I've thrown a lot of Christmas music at your the past few weeks. I don't expect you to go look into all of those albums, so I've put together a playlist of my Christmas favorites for you to enjoy.

Christmas 2011 by Tish on Grooveshark

And two last songs that weren't available on Grooveshark:
Little Drummer Boy by Sumo Cyco

Blue Christmas by Gift Horse (Katie of Skunkboy Creatures)

Christmas Movies: Love & Family

2011-12-17T20:15:00.000-05:00

Christmas is a time for family, friends, and, if you're a character in a movie, probably falling in love. We're not all so lucky to have hilarious families or epic love stories this time of year. But, that's what movies are for: to live vicariously through.

Four Christmases

My favorite part of this movie is the very beginning. Their relationship is my idea of my perfect relationship. They're just really happy with their lives, they like trying new things together, they don't want to get married and they don't want kids. Although, I don't think I'll ever want to avoid my family so badly that I would rather go to Fiji on Christmas than see them. Their flight gets cancelled on Christmas and they have to go to each of their parent's houses and deal with their insane families.

Mixed Nuts

First of all- Steve Martin without white hair really freaked me out. Prepare yourself. This movie contains just about every comedic actor popular at that time. And some that weren't that popular then, but we know now. It's the one-calamity-after-another story of three people working at a non-profit suicide help line and some crazy friends and neighbors on Christmas eve. Everyone's upset about being alone and/or miserable for the Holidays and then some ridiculous things start happening.

The Family Stone
I watch this movie even when it isn't Christmas. It's just one of those ensemble cast, light-hearted dramedies that's sweet and cheerful but still has some guts. Each character is funny in their own way. The story is about a close-knit family welcoming a son's new girlfriend into their home for Christmas. She is an extremely uptight workaholic just trying to get everyone to like her, but they don't accept her.

Love Actually
Everyone's seen this, right? Before ensemble cast, separate-but-connected-plot-lines type movies like He's Just Not That Into You, Valentine's Day and New Year's Eve, there was Love Actually. What's better than a movie chock-full of American movie stars? A movie chock-full of British movie stars! Everybody learns a lesson and gets an ending they deserve.

Noel
This is another interconnected plots movie, but with many less characters and much more serious things going on. A cop with jealousy issues, his beautiful fiance, a woman with no one to spend Christmas with but her catatonic mother and a crazy guilt-ridden old man's lives all come together in different ways on Christmas Eve. Everyone learns their lesson and we're left pondering the miracles of Christmas.

The Holiday
"Where do I want to go on holiday at Christmas, alone?" Well, Cameron Diaz wants to go to Surrey, which means Kate Winslet gets to go to LA. Lonely women finding love and self-respect at Christmas. What a heart-warming Christmas tale. Or mildly depressing if, like these women, you are alone for Christmas. But, unlike them, you don't get to go on a nice holiday, fall in love and end it with a New Year's party. So, depending on your situation, you may or may not love this romantic comedy.

Christmas Music: Indie

2011-12-15T17:07:00.000-05:00

Okay, not every artist on this list is "Indie" but that was a shorter title than "Songs and Artists You May Not Have Heard of, or At Least Haven't Heard Their Christmas Albums." So, here we are. While my last Christmas Music post was about popular artists, these are some not-so-popular artists who have made some definitely-awesome Christmas music.

Hey! It's Christmas - Vol. 1 & 2

I was introduced to this Christmas album, featuring a slew of indie (see, there it is) artists on some blog or another last Christmastime. And, fortunately when you download an album from Bandcamp, you have to give them your email, so a few weeks ago I got an email to let me know that there was a Hey! It's Christmas - Vol. 2 this year! Each artist offers their own unique musical take on Christmas classics, new classics and original songs. You may be introduced to some new bands to enjoy, or, like me, you may just have some more awesome Christmas music to add to your playlist. Enjoy your free download of Vol. 1 here and Vol. 2 here.

Pomplamoose

You might have seen a Pomplamoose video song at some point. Quite popular on YouTube, this duo creates a video to go with each of their songs, which shows them recording each instrument and vocals for the song. Their songs are very quirky and sometimes even funny, as are their videos. Their unique, delightful musical style is perfect for Christmas music. And their original Christmas song, Always is Season, will become one of your favorites, for sure.

She & Him

Everyone loves Zooey Deschanel, but not everyone loves her band. Or is that just me? Sorry, Zooey. I love your voice and I love your adorable music videos, but your music just isn't exactly my taste. Their Christmas album, however, is a different story. I could listen Zooey's deep, smooth voice sing the Christmas classics all day. Her voice is perfect for the slow, moody songs like Blue Christmas and their music goes perfectly with some of the more cheerful songs like Little Saint Nick.

Kristin Chenoweth

You may not recognize the name, but I'm sure you've seen this adorable actress woman in something. Pushing Daisies, Glee, Bewitched, Running with Scissors, Deck the Halls? If you saw her in Pushing Daisies or Glee, you'll know this girl can sing! This tiny woman is a trained opera singer, has starred on Broadway in Wicked and now has a Christmas album. She covers all the Christmas classics with her beautiful voice and delightful musical accompaniment.

Emmy Rossum

Oh, look, another actress who happens to be an opera singer. You may remember Emmy and her angelic voice from The Phantom of the Opera, or maybe you've been watching her on the small screen, starring, but not singing, in the US remake of Shameless. Emmy only put out a 3 song Christmas EP, but they're all beautiful. One of my favorite Christmas songs is O Holy Night, for it's powerful epic-ness, and her voice does it justice.

Halloween Cake Pop Tree

2011-12-12T00:24:00.000-05:00

This is what I spent my 22nd birthday doing...

THE CAKE POPS My first attempt at cake pops. Chocolate cake & icing. Dipped in dark chocolate. Sprinkled with Halloween sprinkles. The bats and ghosties are fondant. That eyeball is not edible. I used a big needle and twine to thread the cake pops. I tied a knot, threaded through a fake leave to create a base they couldn't slip off of, and threaded through the cake pops.

THE TREE I gathered up some branches. Secured with hot glue and twine. Decorated with real and fake leaves. There is a cardboard base beneath the leaves. The bats and ghosties have jewelry wire through them to create loops on top to tie twine to.

Christmas Movies: A Christmas Carol

2011-12-11T10:59:00.000-05:00

It's not a Christmas season without a visit from the three spirits of Christmas past, present and future. I mean, how will you be able to properly appreciate your Christmas until you've learned your lesson of greed, selfishness and hum-buggery from our old friend Scrooge? Lucky for you, there are several movie versions of this classic story for you to choose from. (Unless, like me, you can watch several versions of the same story within one month. Then, by all means, enjoy them all!)

Scrooge

This is widely considered the best version of A Christmas Carol. It's one of the first films based on the Dickens novel and, until recently, was one of the few versions to stay true to the story without the addition of musical numbers or beloved children's characters. While you may find this version dull compared to today's movies, a little black and white is good for you. You may even get good Christmas spook from the scary ghost scenes. I swear, the shot of Marley's face appearing in Scrooge's doorknocker gave me nightmares as a child.

Mickey's Christmas Carol

Disney somehow managed to take the epic story of A Christmas Carol and condense it into a half hour. How did they manage that? By skimming over the gruesome details, kid-translating it, and just hitting all the major plot points. But if you love yourself some classic Disney characters and the childish humor that comes with them, then enjoy your half hour show.

The Muppet Christmas Carol

Thankfully, despite being aimed towards children (I mean, it's the Muppets, right?) they managed to stay true to the original story, including those specific details and dialogues we all know. However, to accomadate their original and beloved characters, they changed a few details of the story. Gonzo and Rizzo are the narrators and they gave Jacob Marley a brother, Robert, (Get it?) so the character could be shared by those two old guys that make cheesey jokes to each other. (Sorry, I'm not a Muppet connoisseur, I don't know all of their names.) Along with some more jokes and a few musical numbers, the Muppets deliver a real Christmas Carol.

A Christmas Carol

Although it stars comedian Jim Carrey, this movie is not a bundle of laughs. It stays very close to the original story, which is not a cheery Christmas tale, but a serious, scary, dramatic journey through time. Carrey plays Scrooge (at every age) and each of the spirits. Each spirit is extreme in it's own way, which was always my favorite part of the story. Actually, my very favorite is the giant and jolly (but also strangely dark and twisted) Ghost of Christmas Present. If you have to choose only one A Christmas Carol movie to watch this Christmas season, go with this one. It's the real story without any gimmicks, but thoroughly enjoyable.

Christmas Music: Pop Stars

2011-12-01T23:20:00.000-05:00

Most pop-stars will put out a Christmas album, or at least single, at some point in their career. And most of those are horrible. Just because you're singing a Christmas song doesn't mean it sounds like a Christmas song. When it comes to contemporary artists attempting Christmas music, there needs to be the perfect balance of their musical style and what we consider traditional Christmas music style.

While browsing the iTunes store for Christmas music, I found a lot of Christmas albums by our favorite 90's pop stars. N*SYNC, Destiny's Child, 98*, and Mariah Carey have all put out Christmas albums. However, they're really just their same style of pop music with familiar Christmas melodies and lyrics. Jingle Bells doesn't need a phat beat, it needs jingle bells.

Luckily, I found some Christmas albums from some well known pop artists that have managed to bring their musical style to my favorite Christmas classics, jingle bells and all.

Taylor Swift
This girl is as close to country music I'll get. She brings her unique pop-tinged-with-country-twang style to Christmas songs on her 6 song EP. While none of her Christmas covers are my favorite version of the song, I do enjoy hearing her twist on a Christmas classic when it comes up in my Christmas playlist.

Aly & AJ
Before you start mocking me for including Disney stars in any music list... Actually, go ahead. There's nothing to defend these girls against the Disney stereotype. They're blonde and cute and make delightful pop music. You've got to give them some credit, though. They've managed to put out a pop music Christmas album that actually sounds like Christmas, not just a pop album. Even better- the songs are mainly acoustic (or at least feature an acoustic guitar), hence the lovely album title; Acoustic Hearts of Winter.

NOW! Christmas 3
Uh oh, another music faux-pas. Collection albums. There are several artists on here that I'm not a fan of, and some I've never even heard of, but it also contains a few gems. Joss Stone, KT Tunstall, Serena Ryder, Colbie Callait and Jewel all have songs on this album. And they all sound like Christmas songs, not just pop songs.

Glee
Whether you watch the show or not, you've probably heard a few Glee songs in your time. Some of their covers are just okay, but once in a while they do something really amazing. (I know you all heard and loved the Rumor Has It/Someone Like You mash-up.) I loved the Glee Christmas album last year, and this year's album has even more amazing Christmas songs. They cover all the classics as well as a few new songs that you'll love. From fun and dancey to beautiful classics, Glee's got your Christmas music covered.

Sarah McLachlan
She's not what we'd call a "pop star" but she is quite popular. Sarah McLachlan has one of those unique voices and musical styles that you just know will work well with Christmas music.

Note: All of these albums can be found in the iTunes store.

Another Note: I'm not trying to promote iTunes. I just find it the easiest way to browse for music and

then purchase, if you're so inclined. Or in my case, if you can't find it elsewhere for free. ;)

Christmas Movies: Santa is Real!

2011-12-01T16:04:00.000-05:00

There are two types of (good) Christmas movies. There are movies that warm your heart with stories of people, family, lovers at Christmastime. And, then, there are the Christmas movies that make you want to believe in Santa again. They're filled with elves, Santa, the North Pole, reindeer, and Christmas wishes coming true. These are my favorite Christmas movies in which Santa is real.

The Santa Clause (The Santa Clause 2, The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause)

These are ultimate Santa-Is-Real movies. Is there any other movie with this much Santa magic, Santa's workshop, Santa belief?Why did they spell Santa Clause with an "e"? Well, as we discover, when Santa falls off your roof, and you then put on his suit, you have to become Santa. As outlined in the fine print of Santa's business card, that's the Santa Clause.Some may disagree, but I think the original movie's sequels are just as enjoyable. The stories get a little more ridiculous with each one, but they're still all fun Christmas adventures, full of Santa fun.

Santa Baby (Santa Baby 2)

This Santa-filled movie is closer to falling under the made-for-TV-movie category. It's also a coming home to spend the holidays with your family movie. However, in this case, home is the North Pole and family is Santa Claus. Mary is a high-powered advertising exec. (How many times have you heard that character description?) who is determined to have a little as possible to do with her family, and the family business. That is until her dad, Santa, has a heart attack and she travels home to visit and help out with the pre-Christmas rush. Her workaholic ways take over and she takes over the elves' workshop. Her big city business style doesn't work with the childish elves and Christmas production turns into a disaster. But, don't worry, it's a Christmas movie, so it has a happy ending. Oh, and she ends up having to choose between her high school sweetheart and her New York City big shot boyfriend.

Fred Claus

Here's another movie in which Santa is not only real, but family. Imagine how ugly sibling rivalry would be if your brother was Santa Claus. I mean, he has devoted his life to making the children of the world happy and oversees the production of millions of toys every year and then delivers them all in one night. And, you're just trying to get yet another business venture off the ground. Santa agrees to lend Fred money, only if he comes to visit for a few days and help with the Christmas rush. It turns out Santa's workshop is having money troubles of its own. From there, the story is pretty standard. Fred first makes things worse, but saves the day in the end.

Elf

Is this not everyone's favorite not-just-for-kids Christmas movie? I've heard that somewhere out there, there are people who don't enjoy Will Ferrell movies, but that can't really be true, can it? And there certainly can't be anyone out there who doesn't love the adorable Zooey Deschanel.(Although, I think we all agree blonde is not her best look.) Who couldn't love a movie about a 6-foot tall "elf"? You can imagine the shenanigans a man, who grew up as an elf in Santa's workshop, would get up to trying to navigate the mean streets of New York City. Don't forget to answer your phone this holiday season with "Buddy the Elf! What's your favorite color?"

Christmas Music: The Oldies

2011-11-25T11:16:00.000-05:00

The best way to get into the Christmas spirit (and who doesn't love getting into the Christmas spirit?) is to listen to Christmas music. I love my Christmas music. Not just because it gets me feelin' Christmassy, but because of the albums my family has listened to every Christmas for as long as I can remember. They wouldn't be music I would pick out now, but they're become a part of my Christmas tradition.

This year I went a little crazy on Christmas music. I searched "Christmas" in iTunes and perused through hundreds of Christmas albums from new releases (Justin Beiber, She & Him, Glee) to 90's popstars (Destiny's Child, N*SYNC), even bands that should never release Christmas albums (Twisted Sister?). I stocked up on oldies, oddies, and anything else that tickled my Christmas ear.And, because Christmas is all about sharing & caring, I'm going to share my favorite Christmas music with you.

Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start...

The Oldies

Boney M

This is one of the albums from my childhood. However, I don't like this album only for the childhood memories, it's a great Christmas album! It's like a 70's disco Christmas! Okay, so, disco doesn't sound like a genre that goes with Christmas music but, unlike when some pop stars try to make Christmas albums and just end up making a pop album with Christmas lyrics, this album manages that elusive and very sought-after musical accomplishment of combining a genre of music with Christmas music that results in a Christmas album that gives you good Christmas vibes, and also kind of makes you want to get down and boogie. Their version of Feliz Navidad is one of my all-time favorite Christmas songs.

Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley

I never would have thought to look for Christmas albums from these guys, but when I saw them in the iTunes list, it just made sense to me. They both have amazing, smooth, deep voices that I love and go perfectly with those slow, moody Christmas songs like Blue Christmas.

The Nutcracker

What's Christmas without The Nutcracker? I know Tchaikovsky may not be the type of music you expect to be recommended by a blogger, but it's The Nutcracker! Everyone knows some of The Nutcracker suite, even if you think you don't. You saw Fantasia as a kid, right? Then I'm sure you have some fond childhood memories and Disney visuals to go with Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. It's like listening to a movie soundtrack. The music reminds you of scenes of the movie and those feelings. Maybe it's just me, but listening to The Nutcrack suite makes me feel all Christmassy and brings visions of giant Christmas trees, dancing soldiers and sugar plum fairies.

Note: I found all of these albums in the iTunes store.

Maybe I Don't Hate Wes Anderson, Afterall...

2011-11-22T12:57:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time my friends convinced me to watch The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, saying that it was hilarious. It wasn't hilarious. To be honest, I don't know what it was because it was so boring that I stopped paying attention and remember nothing about it, except that it was one of the rare times I've actually regretting wasting my life watching a movie. (The other would be Clerks. Thanks so much for making us watch that gem, Addie.)

Since that time, I've had a hate-on for filmmaker Wes Anderson. I decided to give him another try after seeing the trailer for The Darjeeling Limited. I didn't hate the movie, but it was on the border of that "I could have done without this" feeling.

I have this need to see movies that everyone else has seen, because it makes me feel left out when people are constantly referencing things I don't know. So, Anderson's Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums made it to my list of movies to see.

Rushmore was another strange, not-sure-if-I-like-this kind of movie. But after watching The Royal Tenenbaums, I understand people's love of it. It has the same odd characters and almost non-plot plot lines as his other films, but something about these characters really pulls you into their strange world. They're all angry and miserable and there's a brother-sister love-thing going on that somehow does not disgust you like incestuous feelings should.

And so, Wes Anderson, was redeemed in my eyes.

Now, I can't leave out Anderson's most recent, and (I think) most loved, film, Fantastic Mr. Fox. It's very different from Anderson's previous films, and not just because it's stop-motion animation. The biggest difference would be that it's based on the Roald Dahl book, not written by Anderson himself. It had that charming strangeness of a Wes Anderson movie, but mixed with a loveable children's book.

So, even though I will never get those two hours of my life back that I wasted on The Life Aquatic, Wes Anderson, I won't hold it against you. The time spent enjoying your other films has made up for that time. And, I look forward to your next film.

(P.S. Kevin Smith fans who were appalled by my hatred of Clerks- I could write the same article for Kevin Smith. I despised Clerks with every fiber of my movie-loving being, but I absolutely loved Dogma, Chasing Amy wasn't so bad, I even watched Jersey Girl and Red State is on my to-watch list.)

Under the Tuscan Sun

2011-11-17T13:28:00.000-05:00

This post is actually left over from my Week of Italia. (I am so bad at following through with plans/completing things!) Which is silly, because of all the movies set in Italy, this is by far my favorite. I defy you to watch this movie and not want to movie to Tuscany and buy a villa. It's so beautiful.

The story reminds me a lot of Eat Pray Love, in that a woman fresh from divorce goes to Italy to "find herself" and what-not. She enjoys the country, has some adventures, has some love, has some heartbreak, and in the end lives happily ever after. In Tuscany. Jealous, much?

I watched this again last night (I'm home sick with a throat infection, unable to speak, so I thought watching some beautiful Italy movies would cheer me up) and it genuinely makes me want to move to Italy and just... hang out. I mean, as long as I have high-speed internet, I could live very happily in a run-down villa in the middle of nowhere Tuscany.

Coming Attractions

2011-11-09T12:14:00.000-05:00

It's time for another round-up of movies to make sure you go see!

Chronicle

It's like Misfits, if one of them went bad...

Sleeping Beauty

This is definitely not another retelling of a fairy tale...

New Year's Eve

This one makes a good, quick drinking game. Drink every time you see someone famous.

Et, voila! You're shitfaced!

Carnage

I love when movies can be just about people. Nothing really has to happen, just stick four parents in a room and see what shit gets stirred up.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1

Make fun of me all you want, but I am looking forward to this. The last book is the best, in my opinion. I mean, don't you want to see Edward rip open Bella's womb with his teeth?

Janie Jones

Another reluctant father story (been there, seen that), but this one has Abigail Breslin singing, so it might be worth seeing.

Like Crazy

I like British people. I like tragic love stories. Like, crazy.

It's My Birthday

2011-10-31T10:01:00.000-04:00

Twenty two years ago today, I pushed my way out of my mother's vagina.

In other news... I dyed my hair!

It has a long explanation of how this came about. When I dyed my hair from bleached blonde back to brown in the Spring, I still had three containers of red Manic Panic. So, I thought, well, someday when my hair is longer I'll do a red chunk/streak/piece somewhere that looks cool. But then for a while I was torn between the idea of never having to dye my hair ever again and not wasting hair dye.

When thinking of how/where to put red in my hair, I looked to Knives Chau for inspiration, since I also had a short bob with bangs. About a week ago, I Googled Knives Chau to check out her hair to decide if that's what I wanted to do, and I saw that, although she dyed it blue in the movie, all the comic and fan art of Knives had a red streak. And then I remembered that I have a black and white striped scarf and it hit me- I could be Knives Chau for Halloween. So that pretty much cemented the idea of dying my hair.

I didn't have time to do a proper photo shoot, but I snapped this shot quickly...

"Steal my boyfriend, taste my steel!"

Another birthday tradition, other than changing my hair (remember last year? Big mistake) is to make a list of things to do that year (aka 20 Before 21, 21 Before 22).

I've learned my lesson that I am no good at living up to amibitous goals like that, so this year I decided to make some goals I'm sure I can keep. And to make it more fun for all of us, I turned that list into a lovely poem. Let me present...

Things I'm Going to Do When I'm Twenty-Two

I make these goals
Most every year
To make the most
Of my time here

I'm ashamed to say
That every time
I don't complete
The list of mine

This year will be different
This year I'll pull through
This year I'll get it done
That's why I'm telling you

These are some things
That I plan to do
This year starting now
While I'm twenty two

Soon it will be winter
A season that I hate
But this year I want to have fun
So I'm going to go skate

Snow can be pretty
As it falls from the sky
I'll use it to make a fort
Several stories high

I've always loved music
I can play the piano, guitar and flute
This year I've got a banjo
I want to learn to play, too.

I took some French in school
But I wish I'd taken more
This year I'm going to learn
The language I adore

This year I'll finally do it
I'm going to stick it out
I'll watch the entire Godfather series
That I've heard so much about

For two years I've wanted to visit
Ripley, my hometown
Last time my plans fell through
But this year I'll go down

I'll continue to do what I love
Making videos for YouTube
But this year I want to
Make videos with other people, too

This year I'm sure

I'll go through with it

I'll accomplish all these goals

And have fun doing it!

Alright, that's it. I'm twenty-two years old, now. However, I have yet to "grow up"...

Double Feature // THANKSGIVING

2011-10-11T21:31:00.002-04:00

This weekend was Thanksgiving here in Canada. So, I got some Thanksgiving movies for you!
Spoiler Alert: Pocahontas and Avatar are the same story.

Tuesdays with Tish // APPLESAUCE MUFFINS

2011-10-04T12:29:00.001-04:00

The easiest non-recipe recipe ever. Three ingredients. No measurements. They're mini. They're delicious. They're easy and quick for lazy bakers like me. ;)

Flashback Friday // That Time I Was Blonde

2011-10-03T19:57:00.000-04:00

It's time for another photoshoot flashback! This was April 2008. I had had red hair for 8 months and decided that I should bleach all the red out to lighten my hair even more, to make the red brighter. When I saw it just bleached, I decided I liked it, even though it was so different for me. So for couple months I was a blonde before going back to red.

Double Feature // END OF THE WORLD

2011-10-01T11:05:00.000-04:00

I find myself very amusing in this one. So, I hope you do, too. And watch these movies because they're amazing.

Tuesdays with Tish // I READ BOOKS

2011-09-27T12:04:00.000-04:00

TEASER: It ends with "Fuck, I love Arthur!"

My Birthday Wishlist

2011-09-25T21:18:00.000-04:00

I'm not actually expecting any of these presents from anyone, it's just a wishlist. ;)

But these are three things I would really love. And I might just get for myself someday.

Massage Gift Certificate

I blame my lame cashier job. I spend all day standing, hunched over the cash register and counter, scanning and bagging. Sore shoulders everyday. :(

N64

I think this might be my favorite game console. I've never owned one, but I always loved when I got to play it. I've got a Super NES and PS2 now, but Super NES is quite limited and PS2 doesn't have Nintendo games, like my favorite; Mario Party.

Grey Wolf Spirit Hood

I just love it. And it will keep me warm. I love anything that will liven up my dull Winter.

P.S. My birthday is October 31st, so remember to wish me a Happy Birthday then. :)

The Late Night Double Feature Picture Show

2011-09-24T18:35:00.001-04:00

Movie lovers, you can now look forward to The Late Night Double Feature Picture Show in which I talk about two movies with something in common that I think you should watch, basically.

Passions

2011-09-21T12:40:00.000-04:00

This post is part my own self-realizations and part advice for you, so you might find it interesting. If not, well, I just need to write this for myself...

Do I Know What's Really Important to Me?

I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do in my life. (Notice how I didn't phrase it "What do I want to do for the rest of my life"? Eek- I hate when people ask that question. It's impossible to answer!) I've always been a creative person, working on some sort of project at any given time. So, when I talk about what I want to do in my life, I'm referring to my creative loves; video/filmmaking, cakes/baking, graphic/web design, etc.

I was thinking about current projects I have going on, future plans for them, and new projects I want to start. I quickly came to the realization that one project I have going, that I claim to be important to me, has been almost completely neglected by me. I think about it quite a bit, but I haven't actually done anything for it lately to move it forward, keep it going, or promote it.

I might as well say it; I'm talking about my cake "business", Skullcakes.

I say I love it. I have lots of ideas for it, yet I've had no motivation to make any cakes! This made me realize that I need to re-evaluate my priorities when it comes to my creative projects and what's really important to me.

Realizing My Passions...

I can say with certainty that I loved working on the website for Skullcakes. It consumed my free time for about a week. I genuinely loved putting in the work to make it look awesome and I'm so proud of it.

My best friend, Addie, has recently started her own business, Nature Mama. She asked me for help with her logo and website, etc. I believe this is what would be a big sign pointing out what I'm good at and what I like to do. If your friends come to you for help with something, that something must be what you're good at and they know you'd like to help with. I started brainstorming ideas for her business, with my other friend, Kelsey, who drew her logo. We quickly came to the conclusion that we were marketing geniuses and appointed ourselves Addie's branding and marketing team. (Another big sign that this is what I love to do.)

And, so, these realizations led me to face up to something I've really known for years; I often enjoy the imaging/branding/marketing of a project/idea more than actually having to do that project.

I've always loved creating an image and brand for my own projects. But, now that I've realized maybe those projects aren't so important to me, I can try to find other ways to put those skills & passion to use, like helping Addie with her business.

The first step is figuring out what you love doing. The next step is figuring out how to use those skills & passion for something practical (and, if possible, how to use them to earn money).

What You Want vs. What You Think You Want...

Sometimes not wanting to work hard at something isn't just laziness. It's just not what you want to do. For me, realizing that it's not my laziness stopping me from working on a project, but my lack of passion, has freed up a lot of guilt and creative depression I've had over projects. If you find yourself uninspired and unmotivated to work on something you think you want, it's time to take a step back a re-evaluate what it is you really want and love.

A lot like cleaning out and organizing your home/workspace, I think we need to do some life cleaning once in a while. Just like all that useless stuff you hang onto in your closet, it's time to let go of what you don't need, want or love, so you have more room for the things you really love and want to work on.

I guess the conclusion of all this realization is that I may be letting go of my cake business. (I'm not letting go of the Skullcakes name & logo, though. I'll use it for something, someday.) I still enjoy baking occasionally, and would be willing to make a cake for anyone. I'm still considering making "The Bakestress" instructional videos. But, I think it's time to stop fooling myself and let go of things that I'm not giving my full attention.

Tuesday is Going to Become Your Favorite Day of the Week...

2011-09-20T11:40:00.001-04:00

...because you get to watch ME!

I also have Saturday video plans, so watch out for that! Maybe Saturday will become your favorite day of the week...

Links & Likes

2011-09-18T12:34:00.000-04:00

Strawberry Freckleface - I've been going through her blog pinning just about every outfit.

Beautiful Bohemian Wedding

Tattooed Disney Princesses

Blood Milk Jewelry
Vogue Disney Princesses

The Copper Etiquette blog wrote about my duct tape dress form videos!

Hardware in Your Hair

Frances Bean Cobain

I want to make this for my birthday, except with cake pops. :)

My friend Jason is amazing. He spins fire and he edits like a pro. ;)

Tish.TV DIY // Duct Tape Dress Form

2011-09-12T19:20:00.000-04:00

As I recently mentioned, my friend Kim and I made a video of how to make a dress form out of duct tape. We had made one two years ago, but after being asked to write the instructions for BUST magazine, I wanted to make one again. I wanted to make it better than last time so I could actually use it and make a better video for it.

So, we finally did it! It took us/me three different days over two weeks, but I finally finished it off. We had some disasters (insulation foam is the devil), but I've decided my slogan will have to be "Welcome to Tish.TV DIY where I make mistakes, so you don't have to!"

See for yourself how you can make a dress form your exact size with duct tape, newspaper and a very helpful friend!

And just yesterday I got a message from Copper Etiquitte, saying that they featured both Duct Tape Dress Form videos on their blog. That's pretty cool. Take a look.

Oh, for reference, here is our first video. Hopefully you find my new video much more helpful.

"The Bakestress" Photoshoot

2011-09-04T20:38:00.000-04:00

I showed you some of the awkward outtakes from this photoshoot, but here are the few that I deemed acceptable enough to edit & share with you.

I Wrote an Article for BUST Magazine...

2011-09-03T19:59:00.000-04:00

I've been dying to share this exciting news since May! I was contacted by an editor at BUST magazine to write a DIY article of how to make a duct tape dress form for the August/September issue. She had seen my video (P.S. A new & improved video is on its way!) and then checked out my blog, and I guess liked them both enough to think I was the girl for the job!

It was such an exciting experience to be contacted by a real-life publication to write for them! Even though it's just a short instructions article, it's such a big deal for me. I can say I've been published!

If you're interested in making your own dress form using duct tape, you can watch my video to see how it's done. But- stay tuned for my new & improved video, which will be much more helpful than the first video and the article. It should be up in a few weeks. :)

There's Something About Mondays Five Year Reunion

2011-09-02T21:01:00.000-04:00

Okay, so you ~~probably~~ definitely haven't seen the YouTube show my friends and I made in high school called There's Something About Mondays. So, let me get you up to speed: three girls (with nicknames, LC, BB and Lo) sit in front of a computer (iSight) and talk about stuff, all silly and funny-like, and then dance at the end.

That was when we were 17. I now present us at 22. Not acting as silly, plus one baby, minus one iMac.

There are links at the end of that video to these videos, but if you can't manage to make it through that one, I've put them here for your viewing pleasure.

And then I went through our old footage from our original episodes and found even more goodies that never made it into our shows.

If you're actually interested in seeing the original show, I present our first of ten (well, really seven) episodes.

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Okay, so aside from really not caring about me and my friends five years ago, or even now, what did you think?

I know the content's probably not that appealing to you, but this is my first video in a YEAR and my first video edited with Final Cut Express (used to use iMovie). So I'm pretty excited and proud of it/them.

I'm working on editing a DIY video now, so that should be ready in a couple weeks! And then I'm going to start doing Tuesdays with Tish and trying to get some cool people let me interview them!

I'm really shifting my focus to videos, so I apologize for the lack of blogging. I'm still trying to fit it in, but when I get excited about a new creative project, it consumes my life!

Tish.TV

2011-08-31T15:08:00.000-04:00

You may have noticed that I've had a link to Tish.TV in my sidebar for a while now, which links to my YouTube channel. But there's nothing about "Tish.TV" on my channel. In fact, I haven't posted a video in nearly a year! So, what's going on?

I'm getting back to making videos! *applause* I can't believe I haven't posted a video since September! That's craziness! I had such a creative slump of a Winter, but over the past few months I've been overflowing with ideas for all sorts of creative projects. I decided to get over my embarrassment of my really old, poor quality camcorder and just go ahead and start making videos. I'm not going to be able to afford a new camera any time soon, so I'm not going to let that stop me from having fun!

I'm sort of "re-inventing" my YouTube channel as Tish.TV. (Clever- I know.) I'm going to be doing interviews with interesting & creative people (artists, musicians, etc), DIY projects, Style videos, baking & cake decorating videos (as The Bakestress), covering Ottawa events & places, and a weekly video called Tuesdays with Tish.

I've got endless video ideas organized in my Evernote that I will hopefully get to eventually, but I do have a few that I'm currently working on...

What you can look forward to from Tish.TV in September...

There's Something About Mondays 5 Year Reunion!!!

What am I talking about, you ask? Back in grade 12, my two best friends and I started making a weekly YouTube show after school. It was basically just us being silly and whatnot, but we (and some friends) found it amusing. I've been wanting to do a reunion episode for a few years now, but for a while we weren't all friends. But now we're all friends again! Yay! And, perfect timing, it's been 5 years! Even if you don't care about the original TSAM, this will be a cute and funny video about us.

Tish.TV DIY // Duct Tape Dress Form (v.2)

Kim and I made a video of how to make a duct tape dress form before, but we never finished them properly and since then, I've been answering so many questions in the video's comments about what it's for and how to improve it. After writing an improved version of the instructions for BUST magazine, I realized it was time that we did it properly on video. We're going to take everything we've learned from the first experience, from watching other videos and our own good ideas to create a more comprehensive and helpful DIY video.

Tuesdays with Tish

I probably will start off doing one every other week, until I get back into the swing of frequent filming & editing and/or I get some viewers who want more of me. ;) I have a very long list of silly things to do for these videos from getting to know me, answering questions & comments, silly how-tos, reviewing, and hopefully the occasional guest! We'll see where this one goes depending on the response I get from people. But with all the crazy ideas I have, I think I'll be happy making these videos whether they get 100 views or 100,000.

I hope you're all excited for some videos! Video has been my main creative outlet since I started when I was 13. I really feel good about this new chapter in my life/YouTube career. I'm getting really serious about creating original content that will attract viewers other than my friends. Up until this point I've almost exclusively made videos by myself, with no help. I'm ready to put myself out there and work with other people on videos. I'm hoping that I'll be able to create a lot of different video content for you and maybe even make some friends for myself along the way. (Did I mention I have no friends?) These are just the beginning of my video ideas and plans, so stay tuned! Good things are coming!

Photoshoot Outtakes

2011-08-25T23:05:00.009-04:00

I did a photo shoot the other day to have cute "Bakestress" photos. I wanted a baking-themed photo for my Skullcakes site, and also for "The Bakestress" videos I'm planning. I've just started going through the photos, choosing the best ones to edit and use, but some of them were so hilariously awkward, I had to share.

I'm walking away now...                                                            Oh... My bowl is empty.

What am I doing with this?                                                            Welcome to Baking with Crazies

It's so bright!                                                            Uh... How do I use this thing?

Tish, you're facing the wrong way.                                                            Wrong hand...

And now you know... For every good photo, there are about 10 awkward ones like these. I'm no supermodel. ;)

Flashback Friday // Perfectly Imperfect

2011-08-12T23:38:00.007-04:00

I was looking through old photos (longing for my long hair- sigh) and I came across this little photoshoot I did circa October 2009, just before my 20th birthday. I love it because I didn't do my hair or makeup, I just put on my badass wayfarers and leather jacket and rocked out! I just wanted to share these cool photos.

Links & Likes

2011-08-11T18:00:00.000-04:00

Audrey Kitching has started doing Video Diaries, showing us her fabulous, fashionable life.

I don't really understand tumblr, it seems like lame alternative to proper blogging, but this tumblr, Fuck Yeah the Universe, has some amazing images...

I love this girl. And I have totally hair envy for her in this video. That's my dream hair.

These boys are too pretty to be in such a cool band. It's usually nerd boys in cool bands, but these guys look like pretty boy models. Where did they find them? An Ambercrombie & Fitch ad? A Cosmo centerfold?

I love these Live the Language videos. Learn some words, see some pretty people and pretty cities. This is Paris. The others can be found here.

Skullcakes

2011-08-09T14:10:00.000-04:00

This is what I've been busy working on for the past few weeks! I'm launching a new cake biz! I previously had one with my friend, Kim, but now that's she's moving away, I'm going solo!

Even if you're not a potential customer, please check out the site! I worked really hard on the design and graphics. Not to mention, the cakes!

You could also help me out by liking my Skullcakes Facebook page. I need 25 likes to be able to get a username!

Go Tubing!

2011-07-28T19:49:00.004-04:00

I've discovered some great YouTubers recently! Let me take you on a journey of discovery...

It all started with this lovely lady, Marie Forleo. She runs a blog designed the help women entreprenuers be Rich, Happy & Hot. She does a Q & A Tuesday video every week. I had just discovered Marie's website thanks to Gala Darling, and was going back through her videos watching any that peaked my interest. I watched one in which she talked with Michelle Vargas, the young video producer/director/DP/editor who makes all of Marie's videos.

So, I heard Michelle's story and went to check out her YouTube channel(s). One of her channels is Grace n Michelle, made with her hilarious friend, Grace. They had some pretty funny, cute videos.

I went on from that channel, to check out Grace's other channel, Daily Grace. Jackpot! This girl is so hilarious and cute, I watched all of her daily vlogs within a few days. I'm addicted! Grace has the best job in the world. She vlogs for a living. She has been working for MyDamnChannel.com for about three years, vlogging every weekday. I find it amazing that this girl can make so many videos and manage to be original and hilarious every single day.

[This video is hilarious if you pay attention and watch it through to the end. Seriously. You'll get it.]

Also from Grace n Michelle, I found Michelle's boyfriend's channel, idointernet. He's got some pretty hilarious, silly videos as well.

So, I really suggest checking out all of these lovely ladies' (and gentleman's) channels. They're all extremely talented and have something different to offer. But, most of all- check out Daily Grace. It will just make your life better, I guarantee it.

Marie Forelo
Michelle
Grace n Michelle
Daily Grace
idointernet

Cowboy Anniversary Cake

2011-07-22T11:57:00.000-04:00

Coming Attractions: Pirates, Detectives and a Virus

2011-07-16T15:10:00.001-04:00

Glee: The 3D Concert Movie
I love Glee, but do they really need a 3D concert movie?
a) Live action 3D just looks weird. It's real life, you don't need to 3D-ify it. It's real.
b) When did concerts become movies? Concerts are concerts, movies are movies.
I'm with Sue on this one.

The Pirates! Band of Misfits
First look: Oh, another funny kids' animated movie. Oh, more pirates.
Second look: It's claymation! And David Tennant (Oh, you don't know/care who that is? You're not all Doctor Who geeks like me? Sorry.) is listed in the cast! (Although, unfortunately you only catch one line of his sexy Scottish accent in this trailer.)

Hugo
Martin Scorcese does a kid's adventure movie? A change for him, and what looks like a treat for us.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
It's weird to see Noomi Rapace as not-Lizbeth Salander. But I love me some Robert Downey Jr. Don't we all?

Brave
Because we all know all Scots are redheads. In plaid.

Girlfriend
Just because I love Jackson Rathbone. Okay, also, it looks quite interesting.

The Sleeping Beauty
You know my thing for fairy tales. This just looks so badass, crazy and French!

Lucky
I'm not quite sure what to think of this. It's a "dark comedy", I guess. I love Ari Graynor, so it looks strange and delightful.

Contagion
A whole bunch of famous people and a virus. That's really all I got from this.

S'mores Cake

2011-06-29T15:48:00.000-04:00

Film Fashion: Lying

2011-06-22T21:45:00.000-04:00

This is one of those movies that, just by seeing the trailer, I knew I would want to watch for the visuals alone. It looked so dreamy, light and pretty. The girls all wear light, flowing, loose, pretty, girly, fun clothes all weekend. The whole movie just makes me want to go away to the country for the weekend, wear pretty clothes, and have some fun. Even though the movie's plot is quite sinister, at least the girls look pretty.

Links & Likes

2011-06-20T12:34:00.002-04:00

Bueno Bueno's latest photoshoot. Here, here, here, and here.

This very pretty video featuring some very pretty lingerie.

Gala Darling wrote a great article about those of us who choose to not have children.

I love this belt worn on 5 Inch and Up.

And her photoshoot featuring a headdress.

Srsly Liz gathered a bunch of subtle animated GIFs like this one.

The Garden of Cosmic Speculation is beyond description. Just take a look.

The Marie Antoinette trend is still going.

These hair product commercials from the 60's are hilarious!

Such a beautiful recipe video! I wish I had a pretty kitchen and pretty kitchen things so I could make a pretty video like this.

I love Tavi's visual inspiration posts, especially this summer witch baby vibe.

I don't care what anyone else thinks. I like Lindsay Lohan.

New Hair, No Pants.

2011-06-18T12:34:00.002-04:00

These photos are from a while ago, after I dyed my hair back to dark brown. Except that one container of dye was not enough for my short, yet massive amount of thick hair, so I had some lighter bits that I had to try to hide. I've since dyed it again, so it's back to a nice dark brown. Oh, and that's my new favorite sweater.

Atomic County

2011-06-16T12:34:00.002-04:00

Remember the good old days, when the lives of rich kids in Orange County were the coolest thing ever? Yes, I'm talking about the glory days of The O.C. Oh, the drama! But I'm not going to talk about the show, I just want to talk about Seth's comic, Atomic County. It was based on his friends and their lives. He turned the people in his life into super heroes.

I was wish Atomic County was a real comic, because I would totally love it. Googling Atomic County led me to this. They actually made it into an animated series. Which totally sucks. They changed the artwork, which was the best part. And it's totally cheesey.

Heather Snow

2011-06-14T12:34:00.008-04:00

Meet one of my favorite artists, Heather Snow. She also happens to be my best friend Addie's mother, but I would love her art anyway. I'm just lucky enough to have seen her beautiful home full of her artwork, as well.

Heather considers herself a mixed media assemblage artist. She uses found objects and materials and techniques not usually intended for art.

Her pieces all have a beautifully dark, twisted feel. I love it. I don't know what else I can really say about it, you can see it all here for yourself at her website. Or pick up a piece for yourself at her Etsy shop.

[My iPhone photos from Heather's space at the Kemptville Dandelion Festival Art Show.]

UPDATE: I forgot to mention her YouTube where you can watch her create her art.

Links & Likes

2011-06-12T12:34:00.004-04:00

I'm going to try to do one of these Links & Likes posts every week. There are so many great things I find all over the internet everyday, but they don't all warrant their own post. So this is my way to share some great blog posts, videos, photos, etc. that deserve your attention.

I discovered the amazing note-taking, organization tool Evernote [I Just Might Explode]

Some Springtime eye candy. Tulip Belt of the Netherlands! [Doe Deere Blogazine]

A beautiful fashion video, The Curve of Forgotten Things for Rodarte starring Elle Fanning.
(I actually like the visuals of the video as a whole, more than the actual clothes.)

I've got to get these molds! Fight Club Chocolate Bars! [A Beautiful Mess]

I'm in love with Anna Sui Spring 2011, Wildfox White Label Spring 2011, and Wildfox Fall 2011.

I've got to try this DIY: Lace Sunnies [Audrey Kitching]

This beautiful animation...

I love the photos and video for 31 Bits New Line "Haven" [Promise Tangeman]

Emily Browning is so beautiful it pains me to look at her because I'm so jealous. Also, she makes me want a bowler hat.

Lost Tales of the Brothers Grimm

2011-06-10T12:34:00.001-04:00

Once upon a New Year's Eve, my friend Kelsey and I were watching telly, waiting for midnight when we stumbled upon a most unusual show. It was one of those strange low-budget shows that you're not sure if it's supposed to be funny, or it's just so bad it's hilarious. It was mainly fairy tales being reenacted by puppets. Between the stories, was two children and their Oma, telling them these stories, and life lessons, often involving God. It felt like such a contradicting show. The puppet stories were so hilarious, and often the jokes were quite "adult", if only subtly, and then it turned into this after school special/childrens Christian program.

We've been somewhat obsessed (okay, probably I am more than Kelsey) with the show ever since the show marathon that night. We haven't seen it on TV since. However, I did find the official website, and from there found some clips and previews of their episodes and even feature films. They even have some hilarious clips on their YouTube channel, which is where I get my fix for the show every so often.

I once emailed the production company about how I could possibly get the show on DVD, but I got no response. I'm seriously considering phoning or mailing the company begging for some way to get my hands on all of the episodes. What can I say, I'm obsessed! If it was as easy to download as any other show, I wouldn't be so crazy about it. I would just be happy to have the show. But, because it's so elusive, I'm desperate for it!

If anyone has seen Lost Tales of the Brothers Grimm, or knows anything about it, tell me! As far as I know it only aired December 31st, 2006 on OMNI, a Canadian station. It's just such a gem, they need to air this show more often and make more!

Fuzzy Apple

2011-06-08T23:15:00.001-04:00

Back in grade 9, I got into zines. I'm not sure how, but I think it must have been the book Please Don't Kill the Freshman, and later Hard Love that introduced me to that world. I subscribed to the magazine Broken Pencil, which was all about zines. And, of course, I started making my own.

I named it Fuzzy Apple and made one every month for the last few months of grade nine and a few months in grade 10. It was mostly my horrible teen-angst poetry, old journal entries, ramblings, and the occasional properly written article. The most fun was assembling the zines. I would go through all my magazines cutting out letters and interesting pictures. I would print out all my writing in cool fonts, cut it all up and reassemble it on the pages.

I would give copies to all my friends at school, and occasionally some would get passed around to other people. One very controversial article got passed around and photocopied a lot. Ya, I was a little teenage rebel who enjoyed pissing people off.

Well, despite being thoroughly embarrassed by most of the contents, I went to the trouble of scanning them all into my computer, assembling the pages in the right order and uploaded them to my flickr. So, if you fancy, you can check out some of my very old work.

Here are some pages that I'm not too embarrassed by...

(Remember, I was only 14...)

A Peek At My Work Outfit...

2011-04-15T23:06:00.004-04:00

The dress code at work is beige & black only and top & bottom have to be opposite (if top beige, bottom black, vice versa.) So, this is what I've come up with. It just occurred to me that this adorable jumper I made would be acceptable at work. I don't know why I didn't think of it before! It's so much cute than the skirt I usually wear or dress pants. Not pictured is the black apron that I have to wear, which I'm pretty sure looks silly, but I can pretend I still look cute like this at work.

Week of Italia: Stealing Beauty

2011-04-15T19:27:00.001-04:00

For a break from the mainstream romantic comedies, here's something very different, Stealing Beauty.

A beautiful movie written and directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, the Italian director famous for his graphically sexual, provocative films. This movie is no exception. However, it's not as obscene as The Dreamers, which I tried to watch once. There is nudity and a few strange sexual encounters, but it's never crude. The story is about 19-yr-old Lucy (Liv Tyler) trying to solve the mystery of her mother's suicide, her diary, and who her real father is. She also came to her mother's friend's Italian estate to reconnect with the boy she fell in love with last time she visited and have her likeness sculpted by another family friend. Lucy is trying to discover who she is by learning more about her mother, writing poetry, and struggling with her unrequited love.
Overall, it's a very serious, intriguing, odd feeling movie. It gave me a feeling of being out of place amongst these people who let it all hang out. But, in the end you get a beautiful story of self discovery. The trailer should give you an idea of how the film feels.

Besides the beautiful story, there is, of course, beautiful Italy...

Week of Italia: Letters to Juliet

2011-04-12T20:30:00.003-04:00

Something about Italy must inspire sappy romantic comedies. Although, it also inspired Shakespeare, which led to this combination of the two.

Another case of a young woman about to marry the wrong man going off on an adventure, discovering her true love. And, sigh. This time it's Amanda Seyfried (Sophie) about to marry Gael García Bernal (Victor), but instead falls in love with Christopher Egan (Charlie).

Yes, it's a very formulaic story, but as with all generic romantic movies, it has its little details to try to make it special. While visiting Verona with her fiancé, Sophie discovers the Secretaries of Juliet; the women who answer the letters women write to Shakespeare's character with their heartbreaks. Sophie discovers a very old, unanswered letter and responds. The now very old woman, Claire, takes her advice and comes to Italy to find her long lost love, Lorenzo. Sophie, Claire and Claire's grandson, Charlie, set off driving around Italy to find the right Lorenzo. It's silly, it's sweet, it's romantic and they all live happily ever after.

Of course, it wouldn't be so romantic if it wasn't Italy they were traveling around. I mean, who could not fall in love in Italy?

I'm about ready to fall in love just looking at Italy...

Week of Italia: Only You

2011-04-11T21:54:00.001-04:00

Take a trip with me back to 1994. Unflattering haircuts, shoulder pads, Chicago accents and a young Robert Downey Jr. Sounds fun, doesn't it?

Marisa Tomei (Faith) and Bonnie Hunt (Kate) head to Italy in search of Damon Bradley. As a girl, Faith asked for the name of her soul mate and got the name "Damon Bradley" from a Ouija board and then a fortune teller. Faith is about to get married, but gets a call from a man named Damon Bradley, who is heading to Venice. On a leap of faith (pun!), Faith runs off to Italy to find her soul mate. However, instead of Damon Bradley, she finds the adorable RDJ (Peter), who at first pretends to be Damon Bradley, and then helps her to find the real Damon Bradley. You get the point- misunderstandings lead to hijinks, lead to our two main characters falling in love.

Let's get to the real reason I want you to watch this movie; Italy. Faith and Kate travel to Venice, Rome, Positano and all over the Italian countryside tracking down the elusive Damon Bradley.

Aside from the beautiful shots of Italy, Only You is a cute romantic comedy. If you can get past the horrible 90's hair and clothes, there's a sweet story and an adorably young Robert Downey Jr.

Downloading Detox

2011-04-10T17:28:00.004-04:00

A Downloading Detox: Can I do it?

I am constantly downloading movies and TV. Constantly. I have a constant need for new, new, new. I'm a Downloadaholic. It's a form of Shopaholic, which I also am.

The general idea of this need for detox is that I download too much. I'm usually pretty good at staying under my 60GB/month internet limit. However, last month I was completely addicted to Doctor Who Confidential and knowingly went over my limit because I did not want to wait a week for the new month to start. My sudden Doctor Who obsession is part of the reason I think I need a download break. (I downloaded all 5 seasons, watched them twice, then downloaded and watched the corresponding 5 seasons of Confidential within the past two months.) I'm starting to feel like a junkie who is going into debt to feed their habit. Doctor Who (and Confidential) is my crack.

My detox has a few rules and contingencies because it's not as simple as ceasing to download anything.

First of all, my downloading will not completely stop. I will continue to download all the shows that I watch that are currently airing. (I don't watch any TV on the actual TV, I download it all.) And, near the end of the month, I can download movies & TV to fill up my leftover download space. (I'm paying for 60GB/month, I'm not going to waste it!) So, it's not really even a detox from downloading, it's more the mentality of more, more, more! I need to stop myself from using up all my download GBs in the first week of the month!

The other reason for this detox is the fact that my 'Unseen' (movies and tv seasons) list stands at 87 (out of 968). I think 87 is quite a large number of movies and shows to have downloaded and not watched yet. It gives me this guilt akin to buying a pretty dress or shoes that I liked in the store, but months/years later, have never actually worn.

Therefor, the other part of the detox is replacing watching new movies & TV with watching all the unwatched movies & TV I already have. I download a lot of things thinking that I want to watch them, but then I seem to just not be in the mood and they sit there for a long time until I make myself watch them. A lot of my unseen movies are 'classics' that I downloaded just because they are famous movies that people reference all the time, that I felt I needed to see. However, I've never actually wanted to watch them.

Breakdown of 'Unseen':
Movies: 60
Christmas Movies: 10
TV Seasons: 5
Airing TV: 6
Incomplete TV Seasons: 6

So, my goal will be to watch all movies and completed TV seasons before downloading any more. I'll save Christmas movies for Christmas. Incomplete TV shows will have to stay incomplete until my detox is over and I can starting downloading again to complete them.

So, I have 60 movies and 5 TV show seasons to watch before I can download any more. Looks like I'm going to be forcing myself to watch at least one movie and one episode a day for a couple months...

Wish me luck!

P.S. The program I use to organize my movies & tv shows is called Delicious Library. You can download it for free, or buy the full version for $25. It's an amazing program. I absolutely cannot imagine my life without it.
P.P.S. I use Torrentz.com to search for movies & TV and I use Transmission to download the torrents.

Be Italian!

2011-04-10T12:34:00.000-04:00

I'm so excited to be doing another theme week! This time it's all about movies. I coincidentally watched several movies set in beautiful Italy recently, which made me lust for my own Tuscan villa or, in lieu of that, more movies showing me Italy's gorgeous landscapes and seasides. Commence sighing and swooning...

I hope you'll join me in this Week of Italia, watching all these great Italian-set movies. I may even find some time to share some other posts about Italy!

I'm starting this Week of Italia with a musical. While it doesn't show off those beautiful Italian landscapes I was talking about, it is quite Italian.

I'm rubbish at writing summaries (I never know what to include, what's a spoiler, what's to much detail), so I'll leave that up to IMDb.com:

Arrogant, self-centered movie director Guido Contini finds himself struggling to find meaning, purpose, and a script for his latest film endeavor. With only a week left before shooting begins, he desperately searches for answers and inspiration from his wife, his mistress, his muse, and his mother. As his chaotic profession steadily destroys his personal life, Guido must find a balance between creating art and succumbing to its obsessive demands.

To be honest, this isn't one of my favorite films, but I do love a few of the songs, so if the movie as a whole doesn't appeal to you, at least check out these musical numbers. Good times, hot girls, and great music.

I'll be back tomorrow and every day this week with a movie featuring Italy, as well as other posts about Italy!

Happy Two-Year Anniversary, Blog!

2011-04-09T12:34:00.004-04:00

I've been posting on this blog for two years! That's a pretty big accomplishment for me, who has had countless blogs over the years and never blogs consistently. So, I'd like to share my blog story...

I've had many, many blogs over the years, but this one officially started April 9th, 2009. It started as tishcakes.blogspot.com, and I believe I was calling it "tishcakes" or maybe just "TISH". At the time, I was living in my parents' basement (college dropout cliche, I know) and only had dial-up internet! My first post was a review of The Butterfly Effect DVD. My intention of the blog was to share the things I like (movies, telly, websites, people, fashion, etc.) and interesting parts of my life. Amazingly, that remains my intention with this blog. Perhaps that's why I've managed to keep this one for so long.

For that first summer, my blog was mostly movie reviews. And then I moved into Ottawa to go to college, and changed my blog to Tish in the City. I started posting more about my life; my fashion, my adventures, my baking classes. I continued to share what I love, including the videos I was making. I was making a video for almost every week, so I wasn't blogging as much.

I think it was some point in early '10 that I changed the blog name to sugar + razor blades and my URL to tishchambers.blogspot.com. "Sugar and razor blades" comes from the lyrics of Babydoll Gone Wrong by Skye Sweetnam. It's just a phrase that I liked, and then I thought it actually works with my blog since I post about baking (sugar) and crafts (razor blades/scissors) and film (film was originally spliced/edited with razor blades- but that's a bit of an obscure reference).

Although I still can't manage to blog daily, or keep to a schedule, I really enjoy blogging as a way to share the things that I love and my opinions. And just for fun, a bit about me.

When I saw that I was approaching my two year anniverary, I started looking back on my posts, seeing what I've done.

Features that I've tried...
Friday's Fave Five
Fashion Fridays
10 Things I Love Sunday
Music Mondays
Let Them Eat Cake!
La Photo Cabine of the Day
Monthly Movie Marathon
Pretty Sunday
12 Delicious Days of Christmas
None of them lasted very long, as I'm not so good with a strict blogging schedule.

One of my favorite blog ideas was Batman Week! It was fun to take something I was temporarily really into and incorporate it into my blog in different types of posts. I'm planning on a Week of Italia soon, reviewing movies set in Italy. I'm looking forward to doing more theme weeks!

Some common posts I tried...

I did a lot of groups of mini-reviews (Pretty useless, right?)
I shared some of my celebrity look-alikes. (One of my odd collections.)
I shared some pieces I wrote for the book I wanted to write, The Little Pink Book.
I shared some of the odd words I like to use with Tish Vocabulary.

As well as blogging, I've also been making videos since I was 13. I had a few video series over the past couple years...

Tuesdays with Tish was a series I did in the fall of '09. I talked about new stuff I liked, etc.

Buzz Video Blog Ne t was a video blogging group I joined at the beginning of '10. We did a question and challenge each week.

Runaway Girls was the video girl group I started after I get fed up with BVBN and wanted to start my own video group. We all did videos with questions and challenges every week. It lasted an amazing 16 weeks before we decided to take a summer break. And then we never really got started again...

What I've learned from all this is that I'm no good with schedules. Heck, I already new that, really. But I learned not to try to force myself to stick to a schedule with this blog. If I restrict myself too much, or force myself to do posts I'm not really inspired to do, then I'm just posting for the sake of posting. And that results in uninspired, poor quality posts. Instead, I've started to just go wherever my inspiration takes me. I write what I feel like writing when I'm inspired to do so.

I love using my blog as a way to share things I discover, love, and am passionate about. I hope you'll continue to read my blog to see what new things I discover, and what's new with me.

xoxo
.tish

My Week...

2011-03-18T23:45:00.004-04:00

Bleaching my roots · Freshly bleached · What I do when I get home from work
Cheezburger · Bookshelf · Snack at work
Post-it notes I wrote myself and stuck around my iMac

Versatile Blogger Award

2011-03-15T20:02:00.004-04:00

I just wanted to thank Bee for awarding me with this Versatile Blogger Award!

The rules are to share 7 facts about yourself and then award up to 10 other blogs. But, since I just shared 8 facts for the last award someone gave me, I won't bother with 7 more useless things about me.

Most of the blogs I follow are very popular, so they probably wouldn't care or notice if I "awarded" them with this. However, I would like to award Mandy from Chocolate & Cream Cake with The Versatile Blogger award. She covers a lot of topics on her blog from Nerd News to her latest obsessions. Not to mention she's very sweet and we like to talk British telly on my Facebook group I made for my friends and I to discuss our favorite British tv shows.

So, please check out Mandy's and Bee's blogs. They're both great girls. :)

Coming Attractions: Fairy Tales

2011-03-09T12:34:00.001-05:00

This is one film trend that I am all for. Out with the vampires and werewolves, in with the fairy tales! Ever since grade eight, when we studied fairy tales, I've been fascinated with them. We read the original, gruesome, lesser-known versions of fairy tales and I loved it. I guess I have a thing for uncovering 'the seedy underbelly' of old stories that have been 'sugar-coated'. (I have the same feelings towards religions, particularly Bible stories.)
I've read various versions of many fairy tales and read lots of research about when they were written, what they were inspired by, and their history since then. Although I'm a sucker for the Disney versions, I love other interpretations even more. I love these 'untold stories' of fairy tales and other classic stories*.

Some fairy tale/classic story film interpretations that I love:
Return to Oz (1985) A much darker sequel to The Wizard of Oz based on the first few Oz books, starring a young Fairuza Balk.
Ever After (1998) A perfect example of telling the 'real' story behind a fairy tale.
Alice in Wonderland (1999) A live-action version of the story, which includes many parts from both books which aren't usually included in other versions.
Hoodwinked (2005) Red Riding Hood is turned into a silly murder-mystery in this animated film.
Tin Man (2007) A Sci-Fi channel mini-series that reinterprets the story of Dorothy in Oz in a modern/futuristic way, starring the adorable Zooey Deschanel.
Alice in Wonderland (2010) Alice returns to a destroyed Wonderland in this Tim Burton film.

But this post is about coming attractions, so here are some fairy tale movies coming up that I am looking forward to...

Beastly (in theaters March 4)

Beastly just opened and the reviews I've been seeing are saying it's dreadful. I'm so disappointed because I was really looking forward to it. I've really enjoyed movies that the critics have ripped apart before, so I'll probably still enjoy this one at least because it's a fairytale remake.

Red Riding Hood (in theaters March 11)

I'm curious to see how far they go with this big-bad-wolf, forbidden love story. I feel there's a big mystery there, and I want to find out!

These films are still in pre-production, but all the rumors I'm reading about them are getting me excited! (The IMDb.com pages might not have much information, but check out the news article links on the side for more info and photos.)

Oz: The Great and Powerful (2013) Not so happy about James Franco being cast. Not a fan of his. At all.

Dorothy of Oz (2012) Yup, I think it's about time for a animated musical in which Dorothy returns to Oz with the talented Lea Michele voicing Dorothy.

The Brothers Grimm: Snow White (2012) It's described as 'a dark twist' on the fairy tale, which is always good in my books. Julia Roberts is attached as the evil queen.

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) I'm not a Kristen Stewart fan. She better not ruin one of my favorite fairy tales.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2012) Now this is what I'm talking about! Fairy tales gone bad ass!

With all these fairy tale based movies coming out, I don't think I'll be the only one interested in the original fairy tales. I see a major trend coming on...

*On the note of fairy tales, I would like to make it clear that the classic stories (that I also love) Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz are not fairy tales. I understand why they are often lumped together, but it's one of my pet peeves when people call them fairy tales. Fairy tales were written hundreds of years ago. They are quite literally tales that were passed down generations and have many different written versions, usually with one most popular version that gets retold and reinterpreted over and over. Alice 's Adventures in Wonderland was a children's novel written by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (under the pseudonym Lewis Carroll) in 1865. It was followed by Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There in 1871. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was written by Frank L. Baum in 1900, and was followed by fourteen other books of adventures in Oz. Original novels, not fairy tales.There's a little history lesson for you.

Eight Facts About Me...

2011-03-08T12:34:00.002-05:00

Oh, look what my new blog buddy, Mandy has awarded me with. This is one of those "tagging" things going around, and, as I've never been tagged with anything, I figured I better honor this one. Not to mention, I'm flattered Mandy chose me.

Since I've been tagged, I'm supposed to share eight things about myself with you. While I just updated me About Me page with lots of random facts about me, I thought for this I'd do even more random, possibly even embarrassing, little-known things about yours truly.

I rarely sleep through the night. I usually can only sleep for a few hours at a time and I wake up remembering very disturbing dreams. I never have nice dreams. Only unsettling ones. Common themes include; cigarettes (never smoked in my life), teeth falling out, being late, being chased, not having privacy in the bathroom, not being able to open my eyes.
I played the flute in school grades 6-11. I'm no prodigy, but I do have a natural talent for music (thanks, Mom) so I wasn't bad. Recently, I've been missing it and I'm planning on buying my own as soon as I can afford it to start playing again. (Specifically, I've always wanted to be able to play this song.)
I've lived in Ottawa for 18 months and only recently took the bus all by myself for the first time. I've always walked everywhere. I lived in Thunder Bay for 8 months and never once took the bus there, either. (And Thunder Bay winters are no fun to walk around in.) The major reason was my social anxiety about being by myself in crowds, especially when I don't know what I'm doing. But, as with most things I'm scared of, once I did it, it was no big deal.
I used to collect pictures of Paris Hilton. It started out ironic because I didn't like her, and then I grew to really love her. But collecting the pictures wasn't a creepy obsessive thing, it was more like a habit. I had an entire wall of my bedroom covered in pictures of her.
I really regret cutting off all my hair! I miss it so much! Thinking about the next three years of awkward, unflattering hairstyles while it grows back makes me so depressed!
I can quote nearly every line from Gilmore Girls. I've watched the entire series so many times that I can't even remember. I thought about starting a Gilmore Girls video series with my best friend Addie where we discuss Gilmore Girls because we are both experts.
I'm very interested in religions. I was raised Christian, my dad was a Presbyterian minister. But I was never into it. When I was 13-15 I was really into Wicca. I still really like a lot of aspects of it, but I don't consider myself any religion. I have my beliefs, and I think it's fine that other people have beliefs and organized religions, I just wish they would keep it to themselves.
I've never done any illegal drugs, and proud of it! I do drink alcohol, but I don't get drunk. I've only been truly drunk a couple times, and it's just embarrassing and not worth it.

My Week

2011-03-07T14:20:00.001-05:00

What I've been working on (more photos here) is keychains made with these cute erasers that we sell at Michaels. I thought they were so cute, but so pointless because they wouldn't make good erasers and, being erasers, they're not tough enough to just be little toys.

My first idea was to coat them in Mod Podge to protect them from being erasable. But that wasn't as "gloss" and thick as I thought it would be, and it left brush strokes. So, I asked one of my co-workers (who actually works on the floor and knows all the products, unlike me) what I should use and she showed me the Triple Thick gloss glaze pictured below. It's awesome! Just what I had wanted! It makes them nice and shiny and makes them tough. I've had the cute hippie one on my bag for a couple days to test it out and it survived pouring rain and being shoved in my locker, so I think it's safe to say these erasers can now handle being keychains.

In other news...

I won a second giveaway! I can't believe it! This time I get a beautiful wood ring from Ian Gill thanks to Moorea Seal. (The first giveaway I won was the calendar from Seablanket.)
Awkward moment at work: A girl came in to return two boxes of wedding invitations and said "I bought these a few weeks ago, but then my fiancé broke up with me on Tuesday, so I don't need them anymore."
I'm taking the online course Indie Business. It's only been a week and already it's helping me so much with planning products and branding for my Etsy shop and a lot of other ideas. These girls really know what they're talking about!
I'm back on Twitter! I'm trying to be interesting, but after giving up Twitter in favor of Facebook almost a year ago, it's hard coming up with short quips to say in under 140 characters. I can tell people a whole story on Facebook!

Nicholas Sparks Movie Posters

2011-03-02T23:01:00.000-05:00

Dear Nicholas Sparks,

While we all love your tragic, sappy, romantic, epic stories, they are all pretty much the same. Including the movie posters. There appears to be only two romantic movie template poses to choose from.

The Cuddle-from-Behind

The About-to-Kiss

Could you try to change it up a bit for your next one?

What I've Been Working On...

2011-02-17T22:06:00.002-05:00

Valentine

2011-02-14T20:54:00.004-05:00

I just wanted to share something sweet with you on this Valentine's Day.

And then, since it is Valentine's Day, here are a couple funny scenes from one of my favorite movies, MirrorMask, starring the character Valentine.

Well, I Got a Brand New Pair of Roller Skates

2011-02-12T12:34:00.000-05:00

I kept hearing this song over the speakers at work, and I thought it sounded familiar, but I didn't know it. And I couldn't hear it well enough to make out any lyrics that I could later Google. But, one day after trying many different combinations I finally figured out the lyrics and found the song.

Brand New Key by Melanie

I then looked it up on YouTube to give it a listen. One of the first videos that came up was this one. The description reads: "A 8mm film done by my sister while in high school for a class project in the 70's with music by Melanie that finally got edited to tape"

I just love that it really is a home movie from the 70's! It looks like it could have been made today to look 70's and kitchy, but it's authentic.

You know how some people like thrifting? They like finding housewares or clothes from a long time ago. It's neat to have something that was made and used and loved so long ago and now you get to love it again. That's how I feel about old movies, or even better, vintage home videos like this. It's such a gem! Someone worked hard to make this little video for this song, and over 30 years later I can watch it and enjoy it, too!
I just really wanted to share this song and video with you.

Retro Music Videos from She & Him

2011-02-11T18:10:00.000-05:00

She & Him have some of the most adorable music videos out there. Adorable and retro.

Zooey shows off her dance moves.

Straight out of the 60's.

Zooey plays dress-up.

Black & white.

I'm more a fan of the videos than I am of the music, to be honest.

Film Fashion: Gidget

2011-02-10T14:20:00.000-05:00

It's the
ULTIMATE!

Remember in Grease, when Rizzo, making fun of Sandy, sings "Look at me, I'm Sandra Dee." Well, this is who she was referring to. Adorable "good-girl" actress Sandra Dee, most well known for playing tomboy surfer Gidget.

Gidget is a feisty little 16 year old girl who, unlike her friends, doesn't want to go on "man-hunts" at the beach. She just wants to have fun, and after checking out some of the boys surfing, she decides she wants to try it for herself. Gidget's a "good girl" and a rebel at the same time.

While she makes friends with the rough n' tumble surf bums, she wears the most adorable swimming costumes. I've always loved 50's-60's style swimming costumes because they create beautiful, sexy silhouettes without revealing too much skin. They often look like little dresses or rompers. You don't have to show off your lady bits to look sexy in a swimsuit!

Film Fashion: Cracks

2011-02-09T23:15:00.001-05:00

The year is 1932, and Juno Temple is attending an all girls British boarding school yet again. (As she did in St. Trinian's, Wild Child, and St. Trinian's II.) However, this time she isn't the timid blonde cutie in the corner, she's the brunette bitch leader of the pack.

The real star of this movie for me was Eva Green's wardrobe. Beautiful, and often androgynous. The 30's may now be my second favorite fashion decade (after the 60's, of course).

Video Love: What's Up Elle?

2011-02-09T13:30:00.001-05:00

Let me introduce you to one of my favorite YouTubers. Elle. She is a dancer, choreographer, singer, producer, green screen genius, and all-around insanely creative video master (or should that be mistress?)

I don't know if as a reader you care about how I came across the things that I share with you, but for me, how I discovered a movie, person, video, song, artist, blog, etc. is important because that memory/emotion/experience is always attached to that thing.

So, how did I discover the wonderful Elle?

As with all good stories, it begins with TaB Energy. (Have I mentioned my obsession lately? I feel like I need an explanation page on my blog to link to every time I mention it so people can truly understand the obsession). I was searching YouTube for TaB Energy videos, like commercial parodies like I did, etc. And I found a TaB commercial by this group of girls called Whatever Hollywood. I liked their TaB video, so I checked out their other videos (which I highly recommend you do as well) and loved them. Later on, one of the girls from Whatever Hollywood linked to her personal new YouTube channel, What's Up Elle. And, well, that's the story.

This girl is the definition of charisma and charm. She's perky and fun without being fake and annoying. She's an awesome dancer. I don't even watch dance videos, but I watch hers. And she almost always does a behind-the-scenes/making-of video for each of her videos, which is my favorite. I'm a total behind-the-scenes girl.
Elle is insanely talented with her green screen editing, it blows my mind. All of her video ideas are so original and very entertaining. Every new video has me laughing and awing over her ability to play three people at once, with her timing and then editing.
Okay, so I'll stop gushing over this girl, and just leave it with: She's amazingly talented. Her videos are awesome, hilarious, and very good quality. Just check them out, okay?

These are some of my favorites, which I think will give you an idea of what Elle is like. Be sure to go to her YouTube page and check out the rest of her videos.

Micky Green's Retro Music Videos

2011-02-09T13:00:00.000-05:00

I recently came across this amazing artist, Micky Green, an Australian living in Paris. She's got a totally retro sound to her music and her music videos reflect that. Check out the different decades Micky channels to go with her groovy music.

This Gidget inspired video for Micky's song Ouba makes me long for summer and cute swimming costumes. Even just listening to the song while walking home from work in the cold and snow makes me feel like it's already Summer. Sigh. Well, until the weather warms up we can all enjoy this adorable music video.

Micky channels an undercover spy in this 70's inspired video for T.L. The 70's aren't my favorite fashion decade, but she makes them look sophisticated and cool for this video. I think the song is a bit 70's, as well. It feels like a slowed down, more soulful disco. If that even makes sense...

The 80's are probably my least favorite fashion decade, so this video isn't my favorite, but some of you may think it's awesome. Micky gets bright and crazy 80's style in this video for Shoulda. She sports several different bright obnoxious outfits that match her animated backgrounds. The song, however, is not 80's (thank goodness), it's more mellow & groovy like T.L.

Under the Sea...

2011-01-13T23:15:00.002-05:00

Recently I've realized I have a thing for tentacled oceanic invertebrates. Jellyfish, squid, octopus. I don't know why, I just love 'em. Oh wait, I do know why. They're so pretty! They have pretty colors and they're all flowing in the water and they can make so many positions. I just love 'em.

And my favorite under the sea creature... the sock squid Addie made for me. <3

Interior Inspiration

2011-01-07T12:34:00.000-05:00

My lease is up at the end of March and I am soooo excited to move into a new apartment! One reason being that I've been told this place is really overpriced, so finding something cheaper would be great. Another reason is that I love to redecorate! I'm so excited to go through all my stuff, throw out junk, pack it all up and then get to reorganize it all in a new space. Also, right now I'm in a basement with one tiny window and my new place will probably be in a real apartment building and have actual windows. I'm so excited for sunlight!

I definitely can't afford new furniture and décor (frankly, I love all my colorful furniture and I have more than enough stuff to decorate a small apartment) but I love to look at beautiful interior spaces. My ideal space would be white walls, so all my colorful stuff stands out.

So, here's some pretty, and mostly not-so-practical, interior inspiration.

Some Mac Shopping

2011-01-07T01:00:00.005-05:00

One of my January goals is "No extraneous spending. Not even craft supplies."

This is so hard for me because I am a major shopaholic. And I work at Michaels, where I see so much cute stuff and craft supplies that I want. Not to mention I see all the great deals that make shopping even more tempting.

So, I think I've already broken this goal by purchasing a new Mac OS, mouse and remote for my iMac.
The remote was actually needed because the back button stopped working.
And the mouse is half-necessity since the scroll ball hasn't been working for years. (It stopped working after only a few months, I got a new one, and it stopped working again, so I just kept it.) And since they don't sell the wireless mighty mouse anymore, and I wasn't going to downgrade to a wired mouse (with a scroll ball that would probably stop working.) I went for the (expensive) new magic mouse. It's all fancy touch click and scroll; no buttons. It better last forever.

So, really, the only completely unnecessary thing was the new Snow Leopard OS. I'm perfectly happy with my OS (10.4) except that some new applications and updates (and the new mouse) will only work with 10.6. I'm just a little nervous about losing all my files, applications and system settings when I install the new OS.

I think mostly I'm looking forward to being able to scroll without dragging the scroll bar. And not being able to use the back button on the remote has gotten pretty annoying.

P.S. I enjoyed my Christmas break but catching up on all that sleep and having all the time to just chillax got me in a sleepy, lazy funk which then turned into a cold. =( So basically, I've been in bed since Christmas (with the exception of work- which has been way less since the crazy pre-Christmas season has ended). But finally today I wasn't completely exhausted or completely sick and actually got some stuff done. I'll be back to blogging regularly soon.

Delcious Day 8: Paper Snowflakes

2010-12-20T12:00:00.002-05:00

Oh, wait. These aren't edible. Oh, well. They're simply delicious to look at. Eye candy, if you will.

If you've somehow missed learning how to make a paper snowflake, check out Mandi's post The Art of Making a Paper Snowflake.

These are all the supplies you will need. I also ended up using some silver origami paper and some tissue paper.

Here are a couple of examples of patterns to show how they look folded and then opened.

I put a couple heavy books on top of the snowflakes after I unfolded them, to keep them nice and flat. I also suggest that, as you unfold each fold, fold it way back, so that each layer gets unbent.

And then I made some out of tissue paper.

And then it's time to get your glitter on! Last year I used white glue and poured glitter on it, which was extremely messy. So this year I opted for glitter glue.

Then just hang them up with some white thread and scotch tape.

So pretty and festive! Not just for Christmas, but for all Winter long.

Delicious Day 7: Apple Crisp

2010-12-19T21:14:00.002-05:00

This was originally meant to be Raspberry Apple Crisp (recipe from La Dolce Vegan) but the raspberries didn't last long enough to make it into the crisp. AKA I ate them all. Gawd, I love raspberries! But that's okay, because I could still make a delightful apple crisp!

Start by chopping up some apples. (The recipe called for 3 large granny smith apples and 1 cup of raspberries, so instead I used 4 apples.)

Stir them up with 1 tbsp flour, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon. And put that into a glass baking dish.

For the topping, stir up 1 cup oats, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 margarine (cubed), 1 tsp cinnamon. (I added way more cinnamon to every part, though.) Put the topping on top of the fruit and bake at 350*C for 50-55 minutes, until the apples are mush and the top is brown.

Nothing like baked apples to warm your tummy and your heart during the cold winter!