Days of the Dead Convention Atlanta February 2014

This weekend I was with Cavitycolors.com as a vendor at the Days of the Dead Convention in Atlanta at the Sheraton hotel on International Boulevard. It was a blast! We met so many awesome folks, touched base with some old friends and even made new friends! John Kassir was my main celebrity highlight- he remembered us from Mad Monster Gras in New Orleans.

John Kassir and Me at Mad Monster Gras, New Orleans 2013 

For those of you who don't know, he is the voice of the Crypt Keeper from the 90s TV show Tales from the Crypt. It's nostalgic! Also, Chandler Riggs, also known as Carl from the Walking Dead was there, Cherie Curry from the Runaways (still super hot), and Butch Patrick who played Eddie Munster was a big highlight for me! Aaron was pretty excited about Tom Waites from The Thing who came by to take home some of The Thing inspired prints! We are honored! Also, Tara Reid was there and stopped by our booth too!

Aaron and Tom Waites from the 1982 The Thing

I think this convention had the most cosplayers of any horror convention I've been to yet. From a gang of Michael Meyers to Zombie Gumby, it was definitely entertaining!

We worked out a deal with some fellow vendors and are super happy with what we're taking home! 

Our friends from Atomic Cotton, were there and here is two of my favorite shirts inspired by two of my most favorite films- Pans Labyrinth and Rocky Horror Picture Show. I love Atomic Cotton and their style. It's super rad and the colors are always super bright and they pop! 

Erica and Zack from Atomic Cotton with Danny Trejo from the Machete movies!

Check out their store at http://www.atomicotton.com/Store !

Erica from Atomic Cotton also crochets! She spoke with Bill Mosley from The Devil's Rejects and found out he has a turtle which is in need of a sweater! I'll be sending her some hand spun yarn soon, and would be quite honored if my yarn could clothe Bill's turtle, Bob. 

Also we met another fellow artist, Casey J Hatley who makes amazing wood art pieces. Erica from Atomic Cotton and I both had our eyes on Casey's Zombie Unicorn piece (she has great taste and great minds think alike!). Aaron and I were ecstatic to work out a deal with him and take this baby home! I can't wait to put her on the wall! 

Here are a few other pieces of Casey's work - be sure to find him on Instagram as caseyjhatley. Beautiful pieces!

We had a blast and can't wait for the next convention. Here are some other photos and out takes from our weekend!

Our booth

Aaron and CHUD, our mascot for the weekend

This sweetheart, Wheels, cuddled with us all weekend! She is adorable and super photogenic. 

Aaron and I with our great friend DJ Dr. Bread, aka Robbie Phillips. He was a great host and showed us the best spots to eat in the City. We had a blaaaast! Can't wait to come back to Atlanta!

Cure your own salmon!

I know, I know. Cured salmon, so good! And I bet you didn't know how freaking easy it is to do yourself, and not so expensive! 

I recently tried this recipe curtesy of Chef Jacques Pepin for a Molasses Cured salmon. It takes roughly about 2 days, but it's so worth it. Great to take as a fancy hors d'oeuvre for a party with friends, or keep the deliciousness for yourself for salads or lox bagels (I highly suggest trying lox bagels with blueberry bagels, the salty pairs really well with the sweetness of the blueberry- aaaand it's full of antioxidant goodness).

Salmon: 

1 center cut salmon filet about 1lb to 1.5 lbs skin removed (I bought mine with skin and removed the skin myself)

1/4 cup koser salt (table salt is ok, I didn't have koser salt on hand so yes, I used iodine salt, it's good but if I had koser, I would have used it)

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon paprika (I used smoked paprika- mmm!)

1/4 teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg 

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I used chipotle pepper, just as good and gives it the extra smokiness I wanted)

1/4 cup molasses

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Salad:

Fennel bulb

Arugula lettuce (my favorite salad lettuce ever!)

Red onion 

Capers

Olive oil

Sesame oil (so good with anything)

Apple cider vinegar

Freshly cracked black pepper

Place the salmon in the middle of a large piece of plastic wrap (don't use aluminum foil, you could also use parchment paper layered by aluminum foil). Mix the salt, sugar, cumin, allspice, paprika, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper together in a bowl. Spread the mixture evenly on both sides of the salmon. 

Next, mix the molasses and soy sauce in a bowl and pour half of the mixture over the top of the salmon then flip and use the rest on the other side. Wrap it up nice and tight, it may take more wrap, for me, plastic wrap hates me so I used a lot. Place on a plate or tray and refrigerate for 24 hours.

After 24 hrs, take the salmon out the wrap, pat dry with papertowels, and place on a metal rack over a tray so it can get air all over. Keep in the fridge for another 24 hours.

Voila! When serving, you want to slice diagonally in thin slices. If you didn't want to serve it with salad or bagels and cream cheese, you can always find a nice artisan bread, the recipe suggest black bread but I'm sure it would be delicious with a fresh baguette. 

The salad is self explanatory. The fennel, I used some thin slices of the bulb, and sprigs from the top. Once the arugula, fennel bulb, and some chopped red onion is in the bowl, I placed thinly sliced salmon on top. Garnish with some sprigs of fennel top, capers and cracked pepper. Add a splash of olive oil, sesame oil and apple cider vinegar. C'est parfait! 

I don't have any pictures of the finished salad because Aaron and I dimolished it as soon as everything was in the bowl. I'll probably post a photo of our lox bagels we'll make later. Yum!!!

DIY Holiday Gifts

This year the holidays are coming up fast. I've decided instead of going out facing the crowds at the malls and the horrific traffic this holiday season, all my family and friends will be receiving DIY gifts this year. I've got time and I've got the skills. Plus, everyone loves hand knitted items. They have sentimental value!

Today I'm working on an Anthropologie inspired Pom-Pom beanie. It was featured in the 2012 holiday catalog. I remember falling in love with the hat then and was so lucky to come across a pattern. I've got two hanks of Lion Brand Hometown USA yarn, in Portland Wine. They are about 81 yards a skein and super bulky weight. Honestly, I loathe acrylic yarn, I really do. This stuff is really soft, and I need something quick and easy to knit with, this is it and it doesn't cut too deep in your wallet. I'm in love with the color and can't wait to see how it fits when it's done! 

Here's the link to the pattern: 

http://www.jessicaparsonstaylor.com/publicfiles/Anthropologie_Inspired_Pom-Pom_Hat.pdf

the kettle is whistling

Today is when I begin my journey, a 365 day journey inside the mind of Ricki Kelly. I will post a blog a day of knitting, hand spinning, paper gluing, painting, baking, cooking, sewing, and everything in between.

I've got a something inside me that begs to create things, and if I try to ignore it, my life falls apart. 

When all else fails, knit.