july captured.

dillicious homemade pickles.

growing up, i spent a serious amount of time at my nonno & nonna's house, especially during the summer months. because they lived around the corner from us, and my nonna didn't work, my brother and i would spend all day everyday there. some of my oldest memories are of us sitting in the garage, 'doing the tomatoes' or peeling the skins from roasted red peppers (which i'm pretty sure is the reason why i don't have fingerprints on any of my right fingers) and jar everything you could think of; my favourite being the pickles --always was, always will be. if you have italian grandparents, i feel you know exactly what i'm talkin' bout.

having an endless supply of fresh, homemade pickles at my fingertips, is the number one reason i believe i am an addict to this day. so, to keep the tradition and addiction alive, i decided to make a batch of my own homemade dillicious dills.

 made with love of course.

how we do: dillicious homemade dills

using this recipe, i ended up with 8 medium sized mason jars packed to the tits with fresh baby cucumbers i purchased from the market yesterday morning. there is something so satisfying about shopping at the market -- for $5, i was able to buy 3 pounds of cucumbers from a local farmer, complete with dirt under his fingernails and weathered summer skin.

i think they taste better because he grew them.

*i couldn't think of a better pickling soundtrack than the civil wars.

ps-someone got me addicted. you know who you are.

how you choose to jar your cucumbers is entirely a preference thing. normally i prefer my pickles whole, with some girth (don't we all?), but because these babies were a bit too big for my jars whole, i sliced them quickly into quarters. i like that they are the perfect size to grab as a snack, the way they look in the jars, and how they get extra pickley because so much of the inside of the pickle is exposed to the brine. for the seasoning, i used a "pickle combo" of peppercorns, fennel, dill seed, mustard seed and fresh dill as well. for a few of the jars i added two whole cloves of nonno's garlic from the garden.

once my jars were ready to go, i got the brine mixture boiling and used a measuring cup to pour the mixture over the cucumbers, leaving about an inch of space from the top. leave the jars to cool to room temperature before putting the seal and lid on as tight as you can (tight enough that you need the boy to open them for you later on- makes him feel more like a man). because i plan on eating these quickly, i used a 'quick canning' method. the pickles need to be stored in the refrigerator, and are good for up to three months. they will be ready to eat as early as tomorrow, but the longer you leave them, the more pickley they become. eat them sooner rather than later for optimal crunch.

i love how beautiful they look, and can't wait to crack open the first jar over the next few days. i plan on having them with this recipe for the most ridiculously tasty tuna melts. and because i'm not a total gluten, i wrapped a few jars as gifts for my mom, paul's mom, and the crazy kids that made me fall for homemade pickles in the first place, my nonno and nonna.

some pretty patterned paper, twine and a tag later, they look good enough to eat.

learning to photograph & being my opa's granddaughter.

today i read the quote "your first 10,000 photographs are your worst", and it made me say 
'thank the good lord' and 'oh shit' at the same time.

through writing pretty things & potty mouths, my love of photography has grown to a whole new level. as far as i can remember, i have always loved taking pictures. growing up i would grab my parents kodak vr35 out of the junk drawer, and photograph the shit out of pretty well everything in our house -- oh look, there's a shoe, better get a pic of that, oh yeah, this tablecloth is interesting, better snap a quick one of that. roll after roll of film, i would have my dad take me to the grocery store to get it all developed, and then i would sit in my room and sort them into piles: my favourites, my not-so-favourites, blurry as all hell and then of course, the endless and inevitable photos 
of my left middle finger.

when i was 15 i received a kodak easyshare digital camera for christmas, and it was the cat's ass let me tell you. you mean i could take a picture of my middle finger and know it before getting the pictures developed? amazing.  i seriously thought i was annie leibowitz with that thing in my hands, and would shove it in everyone's face (including our family pooch 'baby', who was my number one victim model) before they had a chance to tell me to beat it. at a whopping 3.2 megapixels, almost every photo looked like it had been taken at night, underwater, while hammered, but i loved that camera and still have it locked up in a storage bin in the attic.

from 20-27 i moved through point and shoot after point and shoot. some i used so much they simply wore out, some ended up in pools, some were left outside in the rain all night, and others were dropped in the bathroom at the bar, or on the dance floor while doing the ol' awkward outstretched arm group shop while still dancing like a crazy person of course. with each camera i tried harder and harder to use it to it's full potential, reading through the manual, learning every setting off by heart, and taking more pictures than any normal non professional photographer should. when i started carrying it in my purse everywhere i went, paul began to loathe me it, refusing to let me take 'unnecessary photos' any chance i could get. from the time our animals were babies, they have been photographed almost cruelly. it's slightly embarrassing that they both know the routine if they see me coming at them with my camera or phone. lennon starts to purr like a maniac and rolls around like he's austin powers, india just stares at me,  lets me do my thang knowing full well she will be smothered in kisses and given lots of cookies for her patience and outrageous adorableness. my unborn children are going to be straight up fucked.

more than the final result, the process of taking a photograph is my favourite thing about having a camera in my hands. noting the light, what's in the background, moving the camera until the scene in the viewfinder is just right. i make a point of planning the photos i'm going to take and use in posts, and have come to realize the difference between using the best images i can take, over something not-so-good to fill the space. i'm working really hard at becoming as good of a photographer as i can, and am already researching the next camera to add to my collection, which won't happen until i learn all i can about the one i have now. as part of my 30 by 30 list, i attended an afternoon class on the basics of the camera i own now, my canon rebel 2ti. myself and an older gentlemen were the only students, which was great for me as i need as much one on one as i can get. i know i am the worst for reading and learning about the functions, because i  just want to be able to pick that bitch up and snap away like a pro, but clearly this isn't the way to learn, and i have made an effort to educate myself, 
which i feel is paying off slowly but surely.

the camera above and this amazing leather bag belonged to my opa who passed away a few years ago. when my family sorted through his personal items, they came across it tucked away in the closet, and asked if i wanted to have it -- of course i snatched that shit up right quick. photography was one of opa's favourite hobbies, and he's the reason our family has so many precious memories saved in albums and on slides. i think opa's passion was passed down on to his kids and onto my generation, as most of my family on my dad's side all love the camera as much as i do. sometimes when i miss him, i like to snoop through his camera bag, looking at all the receipts he saved for his lenses and accessories (he was an accountant, he couldn't help himself) and playing with the cameras. 

if i had to guess, i have taken well over 10,000 photos in my lifetime, but i know i'll never get where i want to be, unless i continue to harass the boy and animals i live with, and keep on snappin'. opa lived until he was 89, and i can't help but find myself wondering how many photographs he took over the span of his long, beautiful life. i feel i have some serious catching up to do.

summertime nails.

i have an addiction to nail polish. there. i friggen' said it.

i get all weird at the sight of my naked nails, and can't remember the last time they weren't painted for more than a day. i occasionally let them come up for air, but the itch to get some colour on them takes over, and i smother them in my new favourite shade, design or technique. this summer has been my favourite for nail trends, and i have loved taking the time to do my nails as best i can. because i am not the kind of girl that can sit and watch tv without doing something else at the same time -- go on the computer, knit, eat, but most often, i conveniently have lots of time to paint my nails.

these are a few of my favourite colour combo and designs as of late. i've been playing around with ombre, geometric designs and finishes -- matte is my favourite, and love how a little pop of colour can complete an outfit and make me feel just a bit more girlie.

what's your favourite summertime nail trend?

what? you're not as sick in the head as me?

that's cool. that's cool.

i have a girl crush. on marion cotillard's face.

{images found here and here}

it's only slightly disturbing that i have more crushes on female celebrities than i do male, but i'm ok with that if you're ok with that. you're ok with that right? i saw 'the dark knight rises' last night (yes, i missed the bachelorette season finale to see batman. yes, i am the best wife in welland. yes, my medal is in the mail). once over the joy of joseph gordon levitt being in the movie (i forgot he was until his adorable dimpled baby face flashed onto the screen), i was double whammied with an appearance 
by the always lovely marion cotillard.

without giving much away, she was her usual sweet, girly self. complete with that damn french accent, that is pleasantly not annoying and makes her even more darling than she already is. i first fell in love with her in 'big fish', another one of my faves, and she hasn't let me down since. i love her clean classic style, and get a serious 'audrey vibe' from her, that's the perfect combo of sexy and sweet. in writing about my girl crushes, i have come to the conclusion that i prefer brunettes, usually with 
biggish boobs and are just the right amount of fucked up.