Game of Thrones

Easturd Weekend

~ ghostfaceknitter ~ Leave a comment
this photo is everywhere – BIG thanks to whom ever created it. i ❤ you.

Happy belated Easter! (if you're into that sort of thing) It was just a plain old Sunday for me since I have no family here to celebrate with, but with a rocking gym work out, candy, Ethiopian food, and Game of Thrones and lovely weather in Chicago it was a splendid day.

I had an unusual weekend. It was quite busy yet oddly relaxing when I needed it to be. I took a practice GMAT test on Saturday and well…. I should not have. Why you ask? Well, I ran so many errands and literally ran 5.5 miles prior so that when I sat down to take my exam my brain was just ‘mush.’ I could feel it as soon as I read the first question. I should have stopped and said ‘Not today.’ But of course being stubborn I decided just to power through and did better than my first GMAT but I did not increase my score as I was hoping to this time. Alas, I’m motivated to continue to study more effectively and to plan differently from here on out about taking the practice tests. ONWARD!

To ‘wind down’ I worked on a little tote-bag project of an alien babe. Verdict? WAY CUTE. I just love SUBLIME STITCHING’s embroidery patterns. I’m think of doing a 101 post here would any readers be interested?

Then, I went to a co-worker’s ‘going-away party’ Saturday evening and I had some of the best brisket of my life. Seriously. It was so amazing. It made me remember that on Saturday April 26th I will be entered into a raffle (of only 300 other tickets) to win a ‘BIG GREEN EGG.’ I am beyond excited I bought 2 tickets so that’s a 1/150 chance! (haha. hey someone’s gotta win it)

From that little shin-dig I went with my lovely co-worker to see Ghost BC. Now, I hadn’t ever listened to Ghost aside from a song or too. It’s not really ‘my style’ of music, but I had heard they are great showmen and was very curious. Well, they were incredibly THEATRICAL. Almost to the point of laughter – seriously it was supposed to be so ‘evil’ and ‘occult’ it was most often humorous. The fans were hysterical also – it seemed me and my friend were the only ones not in GHOST apparel and vehemently and vigorously singing along to every song while playing air guitar/drums. There were grown-ass men next to us hugging it out in sheer joy to have seen them live. Like ‘OH MY GOD MAN – GHOST!’ We got lots of funny looks and sneers over the shoulder, because we were giggling and chatting quite a bit. Oops…

plague doctor outfits + inverted cardinals robes = 1970s unicorn rock.

Sunday, I deep cleaned my house and it felt great! Re-energized and ready to dominate for the week on the home front. I started working on a little crochet project too since I hope to hit 1000 followers on IG this week and will thus host a giveaway! 🙂

Sunday night, I met up with my homie and had Ethiopian food (traditional Easter you know? teehee) and then binged on loads of candy/left over cupcakes while watching GAME OF THRONES! I have to say, things are becoming deviated from some of the book plot so I’m way excited to see what comes next.

carrot cake cupcakes. nom.

Working that Grind.
XXX
GFK

Denver April 2014

~ ghostfaceknitter ~ 2 Comments

Home Sweet Home. Well sweet old home. I flew into Denver for a quick visit Friday through Monday and boy was it fun! I got to see my family, go for a wonderful hike, eat some delicious food, finish my fantasy sleeve, hung with my badass super babe crew, visited Allegro Coffee headquarters, and attended a Game of Thrones premiere party! I will do a separate post on the Allegro visit and the Game of Thrones party in the next few days. Let’s roll the footage!

first stop! The Curve for some effing good green chili.
first stop! The Curve for some effing good green chili.
Alisha Rice finished my sleeve! Guess it's time to work on something else!
Alisha Rice finished my sleeve! Guess it’s time to work on something else!
my homie TWINKIELOVE24/7 painted this super super adorable portrait of me and my ugly tribe. xoxoxo
my homie TWINKIELOVE 24/7 painted this super super adorable portrait of me and my ugly tribe. xoxoxo

CHECK OUT HER WORK HERE 🙂

the artist known at twinkielove24/7 and I hiked dinosaur ridge in morrison.
the artist known as twinkielove24/7 and I hiked dinosaur ridge in morrison.
it was pretty muddy on the downslope.
it was pretty muddy on the downslope.
but worth it. gorgeous view of red rocks/the hogback. le sigh i miss mountains.
but worth it. gorgeous view of red rocks/the hogback. le sigh i miss mountains.
i made this amigurume dragon for out GoT party hostess Alisha Rice.
i made this amigurume dragon for out GoT party hostess Alisha Rice.
the Allegro Cafe - super amazing there.
the Allegro Cafe – super amazing there.
BEST VISIT EVER.
BEST VISIT EVER.

Throwback Thursday Game of Thrones PARTY.

~ ghostfaceknitter ~ Leave a comment

Today’s challenge was to go back in time and re-surface a blog for you to re-read. I first had to scroll back through the crafts, the move, the metal, the doom, the naked cats, and the pug – but I found the post I’d like to re-share.

Let’s venture back to Spring 2012 – Game of Thrones was in Season 2 on HBO and I had just acquired a crew of BADASS B*s to get GoT rowdy with. My throwback is from one of me and my gals’ Game of Thrones viewing parties.

This one was especially fun, because one badass b*s brought her camera and made us take silly photos with props.

Anyways take a look here by clicking on the picture:


I’m stoked to say I WILL be in Denver for the 2014 GoT premiere so we will party down r.r.martinstyle.

Secret Obsession

Television

~ ghostfaceknitter ~ 1 Comment
Even though I try to be an interesting and well-rounded individual I spend a lot of time in front of theTV.  Don’t get me wrong – I read a lot and do lots of crafts, but sometimes I just need to watch TV and be entertained that way.  Here is a list of the top 10 shows that are always on my Netflix, Amazon and DVR queues.

1.  Arrested Development

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By now the cult notoriety of this show has permeated lots of markets and there is a good reason.  This show is so funny and meticulously intertwined it’s insane.  The humor is sometimes dark – the characters selfish and brooding, but overall the story is about family.  Tobias’s one-liners (I think I blue myself) would be enough to keep the show afloat even if the rest of the characters stunk – but they don’t.  Each one has been cast and developed so perfectly it’s like watching the most well-planned train wreck ever to happen. (Netflix – new season began May 26th on Netflix)

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2.  Bob’s Burgers

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I started watching this show at the beginning of the 3rd season and I’m bummed I didn’t know about it sooner.  Bob’s is hilarious.  It doesn’t have a consistent plot, but the reoccurring characters and miss guided situations always crack me up.  Plus Tina, Bob’s oldest daughter, is the awkward highly sexual female version of Napoleon Dynamite complete with the strange deep voice and socially unacceptable noises. His wife Linda’s enthusiasm mirrors my own and I’ll start singing one of her spoken words songs without skipping a beat. (Fox, Sundays)

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3.  Metalocolypse

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I just started watching this Adult Swim show on Netflix.  It’s amazing – being a metal poser as The Dude describes me – it really plays off great metal band/fan stereotypes.  The riffs and metal scores of Dethklok are really catchy – and it’s embarrassing to admit, but they are.  Make sure your closed captioning is turned on or else you’ll miss great lyrics like:

“They’ll have their:
Shiv, check
Pipe, check
Hammer, check
Axe, check
Subject, check
Location, check
Desire, check
Vengeance, check

Hold your breath
And swim and strain
Smell the death
Can’t escape
Blood will cloud
And drift away
Attract the
Murders of mermaids”

Netflix and new season in the works on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim
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One name: Phil Dunphy.  The clueless dad in this show really has the best quotable lines and it’s easy to relate to his good-hearted, yet so misguided parenting approach.  The gay couple Cam and Mitch are the best example of modern day relationships – supporting, regretting, but in the end loving your partner no matter how insane/weird/embarrassing they really are.  Sofia Vargara’s voice is sometimes like nails on a chalkboard, but her accent-based misunderstandings are pretty comical. ABC Tuesdays
When I like to spend hours ripping my own heart out and weeping like an uncontrollable baby I love watching Downton Abbey.  The cast is great – the story is unique. I love that it uses historical dates to coincide with the Downton events and calendar.  It is always heart-breaking and the grandmother figure takes the cake with her snide and evil quips. Sunday PBS, Amazon Instant Video
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Pretty….pretty….pretty good.  Larry David makes any situation so awkward and between Curb Your Enthusiasm and Seinfeld I cannot get enough.  It’s hysterical to see just how many people hate Larry on Curb, and how his own wife (then ex-wife) have to deal with the tidal wave that is David.  Seinfeld of course speaks for itself and it will never ever get old hearing the words “yada, yada, yada…..” or “FESTIVUS FOR THE REST OF US!”
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Seth Green, that tiny wise-cracking red head, has the best skit show on TV.  Using stop animation and thousands of clay and plastic doll pieces he creates hilarious short skits that fill a 15 minute spot on Adult Swim.  There are countless inside and current jokes being fired off rapidly.  Often times we have to rewind a clip to hear and see something because it almost squeaked by unnoticed.
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No Reservations, The Layover, Parts Unknown, and other CNN segments staring Bourdain are always entertaining.  I’ve tried countless of his recommendations when traveling to new cities and I 100% agree that Chicago is the only real city in the US aside from NYC.  Although towards the end of NR he became more of a suck-up, giving kudos to the ‘best of the best,’ his smart alleck humor and ‘no-regrets’ decision making habits always make me wish I was his girl-friend from Chicago.  Also kudos to the random Zymir episodes.
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You know what go ahead – think UGH! “Brianna how could you?!”  I love Dog and Beth and Leland and Baby Lyssa.  I love that it takes place in Denver and most often in the neighborhoods I grew up in.  I love his terrible extension blonde mullet (and Beth’s), but most of all I love when they really do get through to someone who has finally hit rock bottom and signed the camera disclosure documents.
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Absolutely the best show, because it is an amazing story.  Think of Lord of the Rings as a TV show where Frodo is hot and there’s a lot more backstabbing and gold.  Each house trying to claim the Iron Throne as their own has power players that make the hair on your skin rise and your blood boil.  My favorite character is ‘the half man’ Tyrion Lanister – because he is the only character to repeatedly slap Geoffery across his face and pride and live to tell about it.  It also ensures HBO will continue to make money off me for the foreseeable future.
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What are your favorite shows?  Do you have any recommendations for me?

Game of Thrones Food & Friends

~ ghostfaceknitter ~ 1 Comment

It’s been a few days since my last post, but I have been so busy!  I have actually been working on my thesis (no really I have – I can’t believe it either!), started Crossfit, and it was my turn to host a weekly Game of Thrones viewing party.  Let me just say, the GoT party was by far the most enjoyable.  I was also lucky enough to have a friend take photos of the party you can check out Akane Photography and like her Facebook page here! 

Usually the menu we choose for the party is medieval inspired and the food is always beyond tasty – the bar had been set very high for me from the nature of the last parties I’ve been to.  I went to my old faithful for some recipes the goddess Martha Stewart.  Her website is beyond phenomenal and there are thousands of free recipes that will impress anyone.  

I decided to go for a hand pie for starters that is in Martha’s ‘Pies & Tarts‘ book.  I LOVE that book – never in my life have I used a cookbook so much even though it is only pies and tarts.  I don’t like being a ‘fan-boy’, but Martha really knows EVERYTHING about baking/cooking/cleaning/folding the list obviously goes on. 

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So the hand pies – this version included roasted cauliflower, menchango cheese, hazelnuts, olive oil, and garlic.  The crust came together nicely in my food processor and rolled out nicely with my Kuhn mini roller.  

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Mini Cauliflower/Mangeno Cheese Hand Pies. Photo from Akane Photography 

They were good, but I wish I had put more spices in the mixture itself. It also needed a sauce because the texture was all the same.  Next time I’ll leave the cauliflower in little pieces like Martha said instead of pureeing it all together- I don’t know what I was thinking defying her!  Plus this hand pie would be really easy to customize – I would try it with broccoli, squash, asparagus, zucchini … etc.  

I had an extra sheet of pastry puff left over from Easter in the freezer so I decided to use it up.  The Pepperidge Farm website has some cute, easy, and fun recipes for all their products (including Goldfish!).  This recipe included a small cube of smoked gouda, apple, scallions and some lemon juice. So easy! 

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Smoked Gouda Apple Puff Pastry. Photo from Akane Photography 

Next up – tea sandwiches!  I’ve been craving these little puppies since my family went to High Tea over the holidays.  I decided to try a Mango Chutney Egg Salad Sandwich and a Cucumber Onion Sandwich.  Both were super tasty and beyond easy.

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Assorted Tea Sandwiches. Photo from Akane Photography 

Look at those little carrot flowers! Since discovering the whole Bento world I have made a few small purchases.  I purchased a carrot cutter and some adorable mini cutters (I used those on the hand pies above).  I am sure I’ll be buying more small pieces, because Bento is so much fun.  If you’re interested, Happy Little Bento is my favorite Bento blog. Be warned though – it’s so cute you can’t look away. 

There were miscellaneous dips and cheeses as well – those are always a great standby, because all you have to do is set them out!  I finished, of course with some ‘box’ cupcakes and got fancy and made some delicious frosting from scratch if you can believe it.

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Dothraki Vanilla Cupcakes with Neufchâtel Frosting. Photo from Akane Photography 

The frosting was 3-4 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 a stick of softened butter, 4oz of Neufchâtel cheese and 1/4 Cup Milk.  The flavor was very good and a unique alternative to the ‘too sweet’ buttercream.  I had a few people ask me here how I get the frosting so smooth – I stopped and realized I use a huge spatula to ice cupcakes and it just naturally leaves large smooth marks. I topped the cakes off with some sliced almonds (dragon scales) and I used those mini cutters to cut out cherry blossoms from fruit leathers! 

All in all the food was very tasty, GoT was super good, and we finished the party off by doing a hilarious photo op. There are a ton of other funny photos on Akane Photography‘s Facebook page, but this was just too priceless not to share here.

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 “You can dress us up, but you can’t take us out.” Photo from Akane Photography