Mod Mischief

Happy Canada Day! Yesterday Chris and I took in the Whalesbone 's  hipsterfest Oysterfest. The fish burgers and oysters were just as delicious as last year ! I didn't get any pictures of it, but my favourite part of the night was when the fire performers started doing their thing on the roof. All summer events are better with fire. 

We made cupcakes tonight. Can you tell which ones were decorated by Chris and which were done by me?

Sally glamour shot It's become a bit of a tradition for Chris and I to host a slideshow party after we return from Burning Man ( you can read about the last one here ). In addition to showing off the pictures from our travels, we try to give our guests a taste of what it was like to be there. This year that meant PBR, pickletinis and Indian tacos. We used The Pioneer Woman's fry bread recipe and the results were pretty tasty, although nothing we could make at home could really compare to food served out of a sketchy roadside trailer. Midway through the shots of scenery and roadside attractions, we stopped the slideshow to show a little video of what it was like to be stuck at the side of the road waiting out a tornado warning... It was a fun way to surprise our friends with the news that Chris and I are getting married! Clearly I didn't know which hand the ring is supposed to go on

Don't let the funny face fool you, Chris loved the oysters! Chris and I have been wanting to go to the Whalesbone's Oysterfest for years but we always seem to be out of town or busy. This year we finally made it! We love the  Whalesbone Sustainable Oyster and Fish Supply . Their brown bag lunches have the most delicious fish sandwiches you've ever tasted. For the Oysterfest they turn their parking lot into hipster central complete with local craft beer (Beau's and Kichesippi were both on tap) indie bands and a Sailor Jerry's Airstream.

Chris at the grill Our friend Charles has a great backyard that usually goes unused, so yesterday we teamed up with him to throw a garden party barbecue. We helped him bring home a grill from the Great Glebe Garage Sale so we could cook homemade burgers, sausage and grilled veggies. watermelon punch It was a great chance to make a watermelon keg ( full instructable ). We wanted something fun for the folks driving home, so instead of the usual vodka, we mixed fruit punch and sprite with the watermelon juice. homemade wine chilling on ice But there was no shortage of alcohol! We brought lots of homemade wine and beer which we served in mason jars. chocolate strawberry jello shots And I made chocolate strawberry jello shots ( full instructable ), always a huge hit at parties. Once it got dark we brought out the projector to screen Jaws . Movies, especially cheesy old movies, just seem more fun outside. citronella candles to keep the b...

On Saturday we joined 750 other darring diners for Harvest Noir , Ottawa's first pop-up picnic. The organizers were inspired by the famous Dîner en blanc events in Paris, New York and Montreal, and they wanted to prove Ottawa isn't always the stuffy government town it is made out to be. Guests were instructed to dress all in black and prepare local food for a fancy picnic in a secret location.   Chris, clearly thrilled to be without an umbrella Even the strong winds, cold weather and the occasional rain shower couldn't keep us away. After the picnic, everyone was able to warm up inside the Museum of Civilization with drinks and dancing. We'll definitely go if they do it again next year, but hopefully they'll pick a warmer date and a location on the Ottawa side of the river.

I recently downloaded a bunch of fun fonts and brushes for Photoshop (mostly to use on our Zombie Safe House project ). I wanted to play around a bit with them, so I offered to make a concert poster for a friend. poster inspired by this great tutorial If you've never been to Zuni Grill I highly recommend you go to taste their coconut shrimp. Yum!

We're going to an ice cream social tonight. I can't wait for the homemade ice cream and waffle cones! I'm bringing these yummy ice cream cone cake pops (made following bakerella's instructions ). Everything worth doing is worth overdoing, right?

Our friends hosted an awesome gingerbread building contest. With so much delicious gingerbread and candy, our team obviously went a little overboard.   Clearly the trouble started when the Mystery Machine ran over one of the undead. Watch out behind you Scooby!   Fred is so dead. We managed to tie for last place. Maybe the judges haven't seen the Threadless shirt .

When I first saw this diy tutorial , it sounded too good to be true. I immediately thought of Burning Man. Could we really bring the gift of ice cream to the playa without power and with little more than a few everyday ingredients and ice? It turns out we can! We tested it out tonight and were rewarded with a delicious treat. Step 1: Fill jar with coarse salt and ice. Put cream, sugar and vanilla in a ziploc bag in the jar. Step 2: Shake it like a polaroid picture! Step 3: Remove bag from the jar. Step 4: Enjoy delicious ice cream! Now we just need to collect a bunch of jars so we can share frozen dessert with the citizens of Black Rock City.  If we have enough time, I'd also like to decorate the jars so they are more likely to become useful containers and not moop .

Today I picked up our first Good Food Box . I wasn't really sure what we would get, so I ordered the smallest box. For $10, I'm pretty happy with what we got: onions, potatoes, carrots, apples, pears, bananas, strawberries, a cucumber and a tomato! Next month we'll try out the all organic local box.