Sharpen Those Elbows - Bitch

Only 2 days to go before the H&M x Lanvin collection goes on show on the website *eeek!*
Until then, enjoy this wee video of what's going to hit the shops on 20th November. There was no way I was gonna camp out for Take That tickets, but you may see me sharpening my elbows outside the Buchanan Street store on the evening of the 19th. The mustard one shouldered number would go great with my VW bag (AND my spiked shoes...)




From nitrolicious

Spots Or Spikes?

If I can only have one of these items in my life, which should it be??

The bARBARA I gONGINI rubber spiked shoes... OR...

The Vivienne Westwood Dots Bag??

Incy Wincy Spider And Pumpkin Puke

My handmade spider costume: 2 pairs of tights, 6 newspapers, fishing line and tinfoil. The droopy leg on my right hand side is due to an early evening accident. I dipped it in the loo before I even left the house...

'Pumpkin Puke': idea stolen from Tumblr, handcarved by me.

Bucket of 'Trick or Treat' sweets. Lollipops, chocolate limes and fruity boiled sweets mixed with blue mouth, fishy and soapy sweets. Still there at the end of the night.

Happy Halloween!

Well, here you go ladies and gents - the final outcome! White and milk chocolate apples with hundreds and thousands and toffee caramel apples with a splash of vanilla - time to get stuck in!!

Trick Or Treat, My Sweet?

This is the plan for tomorrow afternoon. Dipping Granny Smiths into all kinds of delicious, gooey smotherings with the equally delicious Miss Lou. Doubt our efforts will look as good as the ones here, but bet they taste supa-dupa - lashings of caramelised sugar and bowls of hot melted chocolate just can't go wrong - or can it?? Glad we won't be doing it in my kitchen *eek*

What are your plans for this weekend? Lou and I will be dishing out our treats to some unsuspecting gals and ghouls at a party tomorrow night. I will (hopefully) be a spider *bleeuurrrgh*

Old-Fashioned Red Candy Apples
8 medium sized apples
8 wooden sticks
3 cups white sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1/4 teaspoon red food coloring (optional)

Wash and dry the apples. Remove any stems or leaves and insert a wooden stick into the end of each apple. Set apples aside.

Heat and stir sugar, corn syrup and water in a saucepan until sugar has dissolved. Boil until the syrup reaches 300 degrees on a candy thermometer, or until a little syrup dropped into cold water separates into breakable threads.

Remove from heat and stir in cinnamon and food coloring, if using.

Dip one apple completely in the syrup and swirl it around a little with the stick to coat. Hold the apple above the saucepan to drain off excess. Place apple, with the stick facing up, on a well greased pan.

Repeat with remaining apples. If syrup thickens or cools too much, simply reheat briefly before proceeding. Let cool completely before serving.

Caramel Apples
1 cup butter
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
8-10 wooden sticks
8-10 medium tart apples

Wash and dry the apples, removing any stems. Insert a wooden stick into the end of each apple.

Combine butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and milk in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 30 to 40 minutes, or until syrup reaches 248 degrees (firm ball stage) on a candy thermometer.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Dip each apple into the caramel mixture, swirling to coat. Set apples on wax paper to cool completely before serving.

Recipes taken from here.

Hells Angels MC Sue McQueen

Gone are the days of settling disagreements with bare knuckles. Apparently today's Hells Angels Motorcycle Club along with their signature emblem, the winged skull, are registered trademarks and have been since 1982. The newest lawsuit to be filed by the Club's intellectual property attorney, Fritz Clapp, is against none other than our very own King of the Skull, Alexander McQueen. Clapp (a rather unfortunate name?) states that “There’s no doubt in my mind the designer had seen the death head mark,” and he has opted to file a suit because “it has a certain instructive quality in the public and in the market: Advertisers and businesses and lawyers are reminded that the Hells Angels name and logo are protected marks, commercially as well as on the street.”


I doubt McQueen, one of the most unique and inspirational designers of our time, felt he had to 'steal' a logo from the MC. All art is referential and perhaps the MC should view it as a homage rather than a trademark infringement. It'll be interesting to see what the outcome is.

In the meantime, all McQueen products which make reference to the Club or the insignia are to be removed from stores. Can you believe how much they'll be worth in the future now?!

You can read the whole story here.

Anyway, the main reason for me posting this story is as an excuse to post lots of photos of SAMCRO. Anyone else obsessed with Sons of Anarchy right now?

NEIN!

These fantastic nostalgic prints appeared on Creep Machine the other week. I'm posting them today because they reflect my mood - AAAAAARRRRRGGHHHHH!!!!
Work is a pain in the backside at the moment and I'm a total grouch. All I want to do is bash tiny humans with sticks and munch my way through hundreds of jars of chocolate chip cookies. Jump on over here to buy or read the slightly amusing story behind the prints.

Oscarvorus Grouchamaximus, Animalus Wyldapsychosis and Monsterous Cookiebanditous by Rhys Cooper

On my way home I'll mostly be listening to some germanic industrialists. Here's a small sample: