Liz Makes Ravioli

Well, I helped:

This was my second year at my boyfriend’s family’s annual Ravioli Day. In a few hours we churned out 28 pounds of ravioli, 2 pounds per helper so John and I scored 4 pounds for our little homestead! I love this kind of family tradition, it is such a lovely thing to see the oldest generation alongside the youngest working together. Three years old to ninety years young! I’d love to hear about everyone else’s little traditions like this, they mean so much to a family.

Bon Appetit!

February Photo A Day

I’ve been keeping with Fat Mum Slim‘s photo challenges and today marks the start of month 3! Here are my photos from February’s photo a day challenge.

Clearly I’m enjoying the new Instagram filter “Sierra”. For March I’m going to try to be more diverse in which filters I choose. As always, follow me @lizbiro on Instagram and over at Liz Takes Photos for my Project 365.

January Photo A Day

I’m a big fan of the iPhone app Instagram, and when I saw a photo-a-day challenge for the month of January I jumped in! Here are my 31 shots from Fat Mum Slim‘s January Photo A Day challenge.

Follow me on Instagram @lizbiro, or if you’re not on Instagram you can see all my Instagram photos here or check out Liz Takes Photos for my Project 365. Anyone else participating in the February Photo a Day Challenge?

Liz Takes Photos, Project 365

Happy New Year everybody! I decided to copy my good friend Dana and take a photo everyday in 2012, documenting whatever interesting and unusual (or in most cases, mundane) thing I do on that day.

Rather than clog up my blog feed I decided to create a separate account to stream my photos, so my Project 365 can be found at liztakesphotos.tumblr.com

I hope you check it out, if you have your own Project 365 link me up! I’d love to see.

Happy Holidays!

I have been making things to my heart’s content but unfortunately I can’t share them until all gifts have been given! No spoilers here. So I’ll leave you with this and I’ll be back in the New Year!

Our Charlie Brown Tree. John and I have been collecting yearly ornaments, this year we still have to pick one. One is still at his parents home in New Jersey so that left just one ornament for our tree! We bought some fillers at Walgreens and will add this year’s before the season is over, but for now Baruchatar is star of the show. (Baruchatar is the dinosaur we bought at the AMNH last year. He is inexplicably sporting a glitter yarmulke. John is good at coming up with fitting names for things.)

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy New Year, and Happy Festivus for the rest of us! If I left anyone out, consider yourself well-wished.

See you in 2012!

Essie Luxeffects

Essie luxeffects in “Shine of the Times” is my new go-to sparkle top coat for the season. I’ve tried it over all sorts of colors and it reflects differently on everything, adding a subtle opalescent glow to light colors and a more dramatic tinted sheen to dark colors. I will definitely be buying another bottle before they disappear in the spring!

22 Before 23

Going through my blog roll I read this post on Delightfully Tacky about being happy. Elizabeth writes, “Make a list of things you want to accomplish and do them. I find that lists like this work much better when they have a shorter time limit on them, such as 25 before 26 lists instead of bucket lists that you have your whole life to finish.” I think those are wise words, lady. I’m a little late in the year but I’m going to give myself 22 things to accomplish in the next 7 months, before I turn 23.

22 Before 23
1. Finish Yoga Teaching Certification
2. Blog regularly
3. Become employed. Pay Rent.
4. Become partially self-employed. Pay for other things.
5. Cook more often. Make dinner at home with whole ingredients once a week.
6. Work on draping skills
7. Make my apartment a home
8. Dye my hair blonde (!)
9. Make an effort to look nice at least 5 days a week
10. Take more pictures, carry around my DSLR.
11. Practice music again.
12. Visit Chicago (Hi Mike!)
13. Visit Montreal (Hi Kate!)
14. Learn more about wine.
15. Lower my cholesterol (lame, but important.)
16. Be more social
17. Work on sketching
18. Make a winter coat
19. Learn to meditate
20. Volunteer for Mighty Mutts
21. Get organized.
22. Throw a party

They’re not in any particular order, just how it all popped into my head. I am now accountable, internet. Hold me to it!

I guess I’ll check back in on this in July!

DOT COM

not that dotcom

I am officially located at lizmakesthings.com. Seriously movin’ up in the internet world. Stay tuned for my shop grand opening, should be any day now! Things are happening!

Wise Words from a Wise Pig

“First, remember that style comes in all sizes, so the bigger you are, the more style you have. And second, draw attention to your best features by pointing at them, and conceal your flaws by sucker punching anyone who mentions them.” -Miss Piggy

Temporary Art Installation

My apartment is still too fresh – too many things on the floor leaning against the walls, too many empty nails from the past tenants. I’m feeling kind of under the weather today so I decided to stay home and make some holes in the wall of my own.

These are just some things I’ve had hanging in past apartments: a warhol poster from college, a ascii snoopy from “Prudential’s Roseland Office, 1974” picked up at a flea market, the approval matrix from New York magazine in which I am “lowbrow and despicable”, a few photos including one of my grandmother in her prime, sent to my grandfather during WWII. A lot of little things that mean a lot to me! I know I’ll likely rearrange, or, you know, frame things instead of hanging things with paper clips. I hear adults frame their art?

Maybe one day.