Elizabeth’s B-Day Bonfire March 14, 2009

Well, due to some extenuating circumstances, it has been a while since we’ve posted anything to the site.  So, without further delay, here are some of the pictures from Elizabeth’s (dare I say) twenty-fifth birthday party:

 
Elizabeth and I were really happy that so many people came out for the bonfire.

(As you can see, the fire got a little ridiculous near the end of the night)

Hopefully we will be able to do something like this again very soon. For now, we must rely on our indoor dinner parties to carry us through this harsh Detroit winter. Those interested should hit up Dante’s place this coming Thursday.

The Most Successful Dinner Party Ever! February 21, 2009

Well, it took us a bit to get around to this but we are finally posting pictures from what has been called “The Most Successful Dinner Party Ever!” Those that attended know that this is likely fact. In any event, we had quite a few guests in our tiny home, some decent and not so decent drinks, and, of course, food:

Dante and the D Street Band

(Dante, Dustin, Dan, and Andrizzle)

(Mike brought some great sushi)

(Mark and Stacy showed up a little later and really kicked it out – Puss n’ Boots!)

As usual, there are so many pictures and not a whole lot of space on this blog. Either click below or on the flickr link to see more pictures.

Dinner Party + Karaoke February 14, 2009

First things first.  After a week long karaoke binge, Elizabeth and I hosted a relatively small and intimate dinner party (by small and intimate I mean that we had one guest). Dan brought over sushi of varying vegetable assortments, Elizabeth fixed up a killer salad and some cupcakes, and I made a vegetable soup and some steak roll-ups with feta, spinach, yellow and red peppers.  The meal was probably the most delicious one yet only to be topped, I’m sure, by next Thursday’s shin-dig:

(As you can see, I just got a hair cut. It’ll probably become a little more apparent in the photographs that follow)

(Dan cutting up the sushi rolls that he brought over)

(Dan and myself looking quite debonair)

After the party, we stopped briefly up at Izzy’s where Brandon used us as guinea pigs for his shot experiments:

(I’ve mastered the crazy eye)

(We weren’t quite sure how this lighting effect was created. We spent about five to ten minutes attempting to reenact. Looking at it now, it is likely that I was blocking the flash partially while taking the picture)

Finally, some gratuitous shots from back-to-back karaoke days at Izzy’s and Sneakers. The crowd was definitely bumping in Ferndale on Thursday:

For more, as usual, just go to the flickr pages listed at the right. Also, the next dinner party is officially scheduled for next Thursday.

Cool Finds and New Art February 12, 2009

Elizabeth is holding up this awesome Lion and Lioness table tray that we found at the thrift store. We were going to take a picture emulating the pose, but I just got my own mane cut off.

Regular wall clocks are so mundane. Elizabeth and I prefer watches that baller giants could wear. Also, please note that there is always time for one more quick drink.

This is really the gem of our collection. Who else can say that they own a Declaration of Independence lamp base? It goes great with the American flag that we hung up on the living room wall.

I’m sure that there are many more pieces that could be added to this collection, but we’ll get to those a little later. For now, it seems appropriate to document some of the newest crafty additions:

As you can see, I’m using some of the more ridiculous vinyl covers that I own to create wall ornaments. To see more of the art that we are currently creating click HERE.

Pins for Cosby Cardigans! February 6, 2009

To see more pictures of the pins that Elizabeth and I created follow this  LINK

Dinner Party Coming Up February 5, 2009

As Elizabeth and I are trying to get at least one dinner party rolling a month, we decided to get it going a little earlier this time.  Tenatively, the party will be held at our house next week Thursday (2-12).

(Gratuitous shot from the small dinner party we had a while ago…the girls love that pear wine shit. Personally, I’m a heavy beer fan)

This time it seems that there will be quite a few more guests and dishes. Dan’s bringing fresh sushi, I’m sure Gusho’s got something rolling, I’m going to tackle some of the side dishes and the eggplant parmesan (maybe I’ll just stick with the side dishes as I’m remembering that Dan might be doing the parmesan), and I’m sure Dante will add some flavor as well. We were thinking of making the dinner party themed after iconographic figures and their favorite dishes, but we’ll have to do that next time. I want to come as Biggie Smalls and bring a “t-bone steak, cheese, eggs, and Welch’s grape.”

Elizabeth’s top 4 Microbreweries February 4, 2009

In response to Derek’s post about his top five microbreweries, here are my top four(and also my first post!) :

1. Motor City Brewing Works

As I am drinking a glass of their Honey Porter right now, I can tell you that it’s one of my favorite beers.   The Nut Brown and Ghettoblaster are also slowly growing on me.  As Derek stated in his last post, the pizza is superb and the atmosphere is nice.  The bartenders are also a good time.  That sounded naughty.

2. Woodward Avenue Brewery (WAB)

Okay I may have lied.  I really cannot resist a Vanilla Porter!  Vanilla wins my vote for best flavor over honey any day.  It seriously tastes like chocolate cake mixed with vanilla frosting without being way too sweet, and it gets you good and buzzed.  Granted, it does not go well with food.  I used to love half off beer Sunday, but cannot attend because I bartend Sundays.  Although, half off food Mondays takes the cake ; )

3.  Dragon Mead

What can I say, I enjoyed the Final Absolution.  I believe I had an Oatmeal Stout.  It was probably good.  You can’t smoke inside which is a blessing and a burden for some folk.  They don’t offer food, but will allow you to bring in food from anywhere.  I say, go to Salvatore Scallopinnis’ first and Nine mile and Gratiot then swing over to Dragon Mead to get good and drunk.

4.   Great Baraboo

They only reason they are on this list is because I can only think of four local breweries I have been to, and this is one of them.  Shark’s Tooth ale?  Yuck.  I don’t even remember if that’s what it was really called.  Besides the beer sucking, I do have to say the long island pitchers are EXCELLENT!  Best long island I’ve ever had.  And all the little lemons on the side are cute.  You get your own lil pitcher!  Oh and the potato skins are root-tootin.

I want to add that while writing this I finally made the perfect channel on Pandora.com 

We’re off to do some karaoke soon.  Holla!

America, Freezer Snowmen, and Derek’s top five D-town Microbreweries February 3, 2009

We’ve been pretty busy lately.  Having decided that pictures are a fundamental part of this website, we’re in the process of purchasing some more space on Flickr.  As a result it seems that there might be some slight image problems until everything is resolved. 

In any event, Elizabeth and I have been really getting down with the American flag setup in the living room.  For those of you that haven’t been to the house in a while, Mike (our roomate and dirty moustache aficionado) managed to get his hands on a pretty large American flag.  Although we originally hung it up as a dividing curtain between the living room and kitchen, we recently decided on the living room wall as the most appropriate place of display.  I’m sure that we will catch some criticism for our affection for this piece of Americana but I assure you it is all in somewhat satirical fun.  As usual, we documented this new development:

(Elizabeth was a little bored with America at the onset, but she warmed up a little later)

(There is the patriot that I fell in love with)

In other news, we have another new friend in our fridge by the name of Ry Cooder, after my favorite obscure new bluesy ZZtop sounding obsession:

(Ry Cooder and Nasty Nas)

(Ry Cooder’s influential self-titled album with such influential songs as “One Meat Ball” and “Pig Meat”)

Also, we’ve been hitting up the WAB for turkey sandwiches every Monday (as it is half off), and Motor City for growler refills. I think, and I’m sure as to Elizabeth’s opinion on this, that my top five local microbrewery list might look something like this:

1) Kohnen’s (Chicago road and Mound – I’m sure I’m misspelling this):
I haven’t yet tried the food, but the brews are especially great. I’m particularly fond of their Dazed and Confused which I’m currently trying to emulate with Amarillo hops and partial grain. As an added benefit, I am also enamored with the new bar set up that will be going into place soon. The bar counter will be quite impressive when they are done with construction.

2). Motor City Brewing Works (Canfield, across from Traffic Jam): This place has become somewhat of an institution for me. The brew is excellent, especially the Nut Brown and Honey Porter, and the pizza is to die for. Also, during the summer, they open up the front doors and let that nice Detroit breeze in. The bar space is quite small, though I think this gives the space a nice and intimate feel.

3). Ye Olde Taproom (Charlevoix): I’m not even sure that the Taproom makes their own brew. What i am sure of is that they carry just about every make that you could want at a bar. I don’t go to this bar very often, but I am always quite impressed by the extensive list of brews that they maintain.

4). Dragonmead (696 service drive): I’m not particularly impressed with the atmosphere of this bar. The crowd is quite different from what you might encounter at other microbreweries and the theme is kind of ridiculous. These issues aside, this brewery is definitely worth noting. The brew, especially their triple Final Absolution, is what draws me back everytime. I’m not a huge fan of the Renaissance get-up that the bartender wears, but I don’t mind it so much after a few brews.

5) WAB (Woodward avenue): I’m not even sure that this brewery should make the list. The one thing that they do absolutely wrong is their brew. Their porters are absolutely sloppy (way too sweet), and it is easy to tire of their blondes. The only good brews that they carry are what they are able to get on their guest tap (i.e. Delirium tremens and nocturnum). The draw of this brewery is a younger and hipper vibe. The jukebox is loaded with classics, the food is pretty good, the specials are often pretty great for microbrewery standards, and the location is convenient. On Sundays brews are half off and on Mondays food is half off. Elizabeth and I go there mostly for their sandwiches, taco salad, and pizza. Plus, if you are going out on the town for a bar crawl the WAB is conveniently located in the heart of Ferndale.

Finally, here’s a picture of the steak and potatoes meal that I crafted the other night:

Freezer Snowmen January 29, 2009

A little while ago, Elizabeth and I were discussing how we have yet to really make anything relating to the winter season.  We drink darker beer, eat heartier meals and dress in thicker Cosby sweaters, but fail to make crafts that reflect the change in weather.  With this in mind, I began the first part of what I can only hope will be a yearly tradition….freezer snowmen (I was hoping for a more glamorous title, but alas I failed):

(As you can see, the snowman actually has little icicle feet)

This snowman was a little difficult to create considering that the snow outside isn’t quite packing material.  I had to add a little bit of water to the mix in order to get the consistency required.  This actually worked out quite nicely because as the water dripped from the snowman’s torso and froze, two legs were created. 

The plan is to make a whole family of snowmen that might inhabit the freezer year round.  Mind you, we’ll have to leave space for cookie mix and froozen meat. 

(As I write this Elizabeth and I are arguing over what type of snow dinosaurs we might create in the freezer.  Elizabeth wants to combine the features of two different species – Stegosaurus and Brontosaurus – whereas I am refusing to play snow god in this matter)

Burgers and Brews January 21, 2009

Yesterday, Elizabeth, Andrea, and I picked up some homebrew supplies and groceries from the local market.  We decided on some gourmet burgers, as its been a while since we enjoyed the utter simplicity of bread-meat-bread combinations, a wonderful salad that Elizabeth tossed up earlier that day, and some stuffed tomatoes that I made with feta, bacon, and cheddar.

The burgers turned out great.  I mixed some veggies into the meat before cooking, used a little butter and parmesan when I put them on the stove top, and added feta, yellow peppers, mushrooms and onions to the final product. 

I thought the tomatoes were great, but the girls didn’t end  up trying them.  Normally I would take offense, but I had to force myself to finish the third dish as the burgers were ridiculously filling.  Notice the bloated look in pictures taken later that evening (below). Also, sorry for the shitty picture quality. I don’t like to spend a lot of time obsessing over the pictures when the food is getting cold.

As I stated a little earlier, the rest of the night was spent transferring the beer from the bucket to the carboy. Sanitation is always such a fun process (look at how serious my expression is. I didn’t know that I was that determined).

We’ll probably get some more pictures up in the next few days. As for now, here are some gratuitous drinking shots.

(Jeramy ended up showing us “Dark Place,” perhaps one of the funniest hospital dramas I’ve ever seen)

(Elizabeth pretending to be a dork. I guess I have to give her credit for trying)