ehrynska.......

On a side note The Heavy Metal Bearded Boyfriend and I did have a lot of fun at the show, and here’s what we look like so you can get a better picture in your head when I’m rambling on and on about all of our adventures etc. 

WE’RE HOT NERDS

A long time ago, in a land far far away I lived a different life. I went on tour with bands and was a regular “Music Photographer”. It was my profession for a while and it’s what I was good at, for the most part. Occasionally when the mood is right, I still photograph bands to my liking instead of the Bicycles and other documentary stuff I work on now. About a month or so ago, The Heavy Metal Bearded Boyfriend and I were laying in bed after a long day of all the things we usually do (Work, Octostache, School, Dance in our underwear, masturbation etc.) when he put on some music. To my surprise it was something I actually liked. We do not share music tastes to say the least, He enjoys music that makes you want to punch pillows and I enjoy music with a melody, pop punk shit. I asked him who we were listening to and he said It was his two coworkers Adam and Kyle’s new band Typesetter. Based here out of Chicago illinois they have serious influences of bands like The Lawrence Arms ( My all time favorite), Alkaline Trio, Hot water Music and Tuesday. I of course noticed these influences right away and made a note of it, the boyfriend had no idea what I was talking about, like usual. I had met Kyle at a Lawrence Arms show in early december I drug Shea to, and told Shea to let him know I dug his band. He relayed back how excited he was and insisted I came to their very first show last week at Township. 

We started our night with my roommate and our three friends Bradley (Who is in the Boyfriends band “Hawaiian Punch”) Tyler and Marissa at The Boiler Room for PB&J’s (Pizza Beer and a shot of Jameson, Naturally). I of course was pretty drunk off of that PBR and Shot of Jameson, because I suck and a total light weight. Typesetter played first and I was blown away with how great they were! I usually watch a band for a few songs to kinda get a feel for how they move on stage, interact with each other etc. but since I was a little “tipsy” as you gangsters call it I didn’t have a good advantage this time around. I’d love to shoot them again sometime, which I should be getting my chance in Feb. sometime. I’d also like to shoot some “Promo” photos for them etc. I’m not really a “band” photographer anymore, granted at one point a legend in my field, I find myself more into other types of photography. Kinda growing up and all that junk. 

If you get a chance, go to their FB page (thats the link thats attached to their name throughout this post) So here are some of the photographs, Im super picky on what I end up editing etc. Struggles of being a hipster. ENJOY!

LATER NERDS

So, I might mention my Heavy Metal Bearded Boyfriend a lot in some of my posts. The reason is because I kinda like him a lot. Like someday I would get down on one knee and ask that cutie to be my wife. THIS LOVE IS SERIOUS BUSINESS DUDES, but don’t think I’m going to get all super mushy on here and gush about his gallant Manly Beard or his sweet apple bottom shaped ass. I like making fun of him most days, so expect snarky cute comments and references to the best thing to ever happen to my life. What I’m going to discuss in later paragraphs of this post is what he unknowingly did for my company two saturdays ago. So I just talked about him for a few sentences to run around the fact I’m trying to publicly thank him for doing something super special for me without even trying. SO THANKS DUDE. YOU’RE SUPER COOL.

So, Like I was saying, the SUPER Heavy Metal Bearded Boyfriend did a rad thing two saturday’s ago. We, naturally being the best couple in the world, take each other on very interesting fun surprise dates sometimes. He knows I have this huge thing for cute little vintage shops and well he found one right up my alley. He took me to this amazing store called ANCHOR & EVE. Its address is 657 W. Lake St. in the West Loop of Downtown Chicago. They are brand new here in Chicago, just opening up shop in December so if you have the time, GO CHECK IT OUT. If you are a hip person like myself and coming from Logan Square or Wicker Park, you can take the Blue line to grand and walk up two blocks. I of course walk in and am completely in love. The Heavy Metal Bearded Boyfriend being the rad dude he is, found himself in a conversation with the owner Collin Martin. After a few minutes of talking, they both come to the conclusion they had mutual friends in the Roller Blading scene. (It never fails, the boyfriend knows everyone). I’m just humming along looking for things to purchase with the 30 dollar spending limit I was given (I get spoiled occasionally) when the boyfriend some how lands my business OCTOSTACHE a deal with ANCHOR & EVE. Next thing I knew I was showing the owner my etsy store and a few minutes later I was on board to SELL MY STUFF IN HIS AMAZING STORE. Could that be any more of a perfect day? FOR SERIOUS! The boy sure knows how to give me sweet unexpected surprises. 

When we finally left the store, I left with a new jean vest (Lined with fur!) and some fancy black evening gloves. The boyfriend isn’t sure where I would wear such gloves, but I assured him there is a place for everything I own in my closet. Someday, they will be worn and it will be a fabulous adventure.

We were invited back to the store later that night for a sweet artist collaboration party. The boyfriend even had a few of his animations shown in the artist reel that night (HOW EXCITING). We invited a few of our friends to come along, Jack and Joe to join in on the fun and free beer. 

How did I only get photographs of Joe Aquilina (Lead Singer of SLAG and Bassist for HAWAIIAN PUNCH) doing rad things with a Sunglasses shaped cookie and neato light up globes???? (WORST PHOTO JOURNALIST EVER).

This is what I love about this city so much, you never know where the day will take you. I never thought only a year into my business I would be having an ENTIRE Glass Case in a sweet shop in Chicago filled with OCTOSTACHE stuff. Its crazy how life can change like that, it makes everything else so much more worth it in the end. It’s the little things in life that make the shitty things seem less, shitty. 

I went tonight to put everything in the case, and couldn’t be more excited to say that OCTOSTACHE is officially being sold in ANCHOR & EVE. Please stay tuned for more news on this exciting new adventure I get to embark on, the new places it could hopefully someday take me, and more more more and more parties I plan to help throw at this awesome place.

Like I said, if you get a chance go check out the shop ANCHOR AND EVE, if not for my stuff for the rest of the neat things they have in there, and at super awesome prices. They aren’t one of those super over priced obnoxious Vintage stores, no pretentiousness here ladies and gents! Just good old awesome Vintage stuff!

So thank you SUPER Heavy Metal Bearded Boyfriend, you’ve out done yourself again. You are the sexy Fur Coat Wearing Pimp of my dreams. 

Later hotties.

On Saturday, The Heavy Metal Bearded Boyfriend and I ventured out into the world to see our friend Marco Miller’s  artwork displayed and up for sale at Challenger Comics.

The event was a 3 hours and for charity. It was run by two different organizations, AG47 and Atomic Sketch.

SEE BELOW FOR MORE INFO ON THESE TWO AWESOME ORGANIZATIONS. 

AG47 

Ag47 is an arts mentorship program serving pre-teen and teenage girls in Chicago. We meet regularly from October to April to create and share art together.

(Taken from their “About Us” section on their website! CHECK IT OUT)

Atomic Sketch 

Atomic Sketch Event is a monthly live art event entering its third year of awesome nights of art-making and drink-drinking. Atomic Sketch happens monthly at the Green Eye Lounge in Chicago’s Bucktown from 6-10 pm.

(Taken from their “About” Section on their website CHECK IT OUT)

The Boyfriend and I arrived around 4, running into our friend Marco as we got off the train. There was already a good handful of people there when we arrived. Marco was stoked to know he was the first artist to sell a print from the wall. HOW EXCITING. Shea and I were dummies and forgot our cash so I was stuck salivating over cans of PBR and Soda just out of my grasp for the half hour or so we were there. As I was walking around, snapping some shots of art and human interactions I was intrigued by this thing called ” Live Art”. Pretty much Girls from AG47 were paired up with Talented Chicago Artists to create art based on requests from the crowd. It was really cool to just kinda stand there and stare at them. FINALLY I could stare at people for long periods of time and not creep anyone out. YUUUSSS. 

To my knowledge, the night was a great success and money was raised for a good cause. 

Bummed you missed out on this rad event? Head over to the Challenger Comics page on FB to see what they have coming up next! They had a star wars event the next day, and I must say I am super bummed I missed it!

You wanna get ahold of Marco Miller? Wanna get some of his art? Ask his royal cuteness on a date? Follow the link on his name at the beginning of this post and all your wild dreams will come true.

Later gator. 

Ok, So yesterday (January 12th 2013) I stepped outside of my “Im just going to “Grub Hub” something or eat a bag of reese cups for dinner” bubble and took a stab at cooking from a recipe I found online.

This is my experience…chronicled with photographs and witty sarcasm

Ok, so, If any of you out there reading this actually know me in real life, I wasn’t kidding when I said I’d eat a bag of reese cups for dinner. I have been pretty known for my bad unhealthy eating habits, even more so because I have a really rare Bladder condition called PBS/IC that I really don’t even remotely take proper care of. There is a very long list of things I cannot eat, and still do (PBR, PIZZA, CHOCOLATE, ANYTHING WITH ACID IN IT I CRAVE). So 12 days into the new year and still trying to stick to that resolution of “eating better” I started looking for easy, idiot proof recipes that will be the solution to the “BEER, REESE CUP, DONUTS AND PIZZA” Diet I have been living off of. 

I came across this awesome website called Brit.co . It’s filled with great tutorials, to really great recipes like “12 healthy hardy hangover meals”. How can anyone beat that?. So cool. I tried their recipe called Healthy Easy Mini Mushroom Burgers . I followed the recipe for the most part, but added a few things I liked better, and subtracted a few things (there were some spices in the original recipe I cannot have at all, so they had to hit the pavement). If you want to do the original recipe please check out the link above, it’s great. If you want to try my attempt/version lets get started!

Ingredients:

-2 cups of White Mushrooms (Chopped Fine)

-2 Green Onion Stalks (Chopped Fine)

- 1 Cup of Bread Crumbs

(This is really important to remember. Do not be like me and space out over the 50 million different types of cheese they have at Trader Joe’s and completely forget to purchase Bread Crumbs. They are part of the bonding agent for the burgers. I of course in my hour of need improvised and used Crackers I had in my pantry instead. They weren’t as great as actual bread crumbs, so please do not forget)

If you want to be really crafty you can take the advice of the Heavy Metal Bearded Boyfriend and just toast slices of bread, put them in a ziplock bag and mash away. INSTANT BREAD CRUMBS BITCHES.

- 1 1/2 Cups of Grated Cheese ( I bought Monterey Jack and it was great)

NOTE: If you want more of a “cheesier” Burger try 2 cups of grated cheese.

-2 Eggs 

- 2 tbsp. of Olive Oil

Garnishes

- Toasted Wheat English Muffins (they come in a 6 pack)

- Baby Spinach Leaves

- Crumbled Feta Cheese

- Italian Dressing

Now the original recipe says theres a prep time of about 15 minutes. If you are like me and not the brightest crayon in the box and have no idea how to properly “Dice” mushrooms/Onion Stalks or Grate Cheese this is going to take you about 30 minutes. Warn your roommates, boyfriends, girlfriends, friends etc. , there might be some random swear words thrown about loudly such as SHIT, FUCK, DAMNIT, OH FUCK THIS. 

It would also be wise to have a Boston Terrier present to vacuum up any loose bits that get away from you while you are “Dicing”. Mine was eager and willing. She’s always a great Hoover Vacuum. 

So, You want to dice up the mushrooms very fine, it will be easier to mash them together with the other ingredients when its time to form the burgers. Same thing with the onion stalks. I personally just started ripping up the stalks because “Dicing” wasn’t even remotely working for me. 

You want to combine both the mushrooms, cut up stalks with the bread crumbs in a big mixing bowl. 

Next you want to crack your two eggs into a separate small bowl and add the 2 tbsp.’s of olive oil. Now, you want to beat those bitches til its all mixed rather well. Once that is done, you want to add the beaten eggs and olive oil to the Crumbs, Shrooms and stalks.

You’ll want to use some sort of larger cooking spoon to mix everything up as best as you can.

Once that is done, its time to turn your stove on to a medium heat and use a little olive oil to grease the pan. Now, I would suggest that you used a griddle if you have one. These burgers take a bit to cook and the boyfriend and I found ourselves putting our burgers together while the others were still cooking. It was too much going on at one time for me. A griddle will give you the room to cook all of your burgers at the same time WOO.

While the pan is heating up you want to use your hands to form your ingredients into burger patties. Because I used Crackers instead of real bread crumbs it was harder to get my burgers to stay together at first. So please DONT FORGET THE BREAD CRUMBS AT THE STORE. The original recipe said it should make 8?, well I only got 5. 

Ok so put those tasty ladies in the pan, or on your griddle. Every 4 minutes or so flip their hotnesses over. BE CAREFUL the first time you flip them, the cheese isn’t all the way melted yet helping things bond together. It took about 20 minutes of cooking for them to be done. You want them to be a really rich golden brown, on the sides along with the top. It helped me to press down on them with the spatula (that is such a weird word when it’s spelled out, gosh.) 

Once cooked set them on one side of your toasted english bagel, Add a few leaves of spinach, Crumble up some feta cheese and drizzle a little italian dressing and BAM YOU’RE DONE.

DELICIOUS BITCHES!

This meal has been boyfriend approved for quality and deliciousness. I survived my first attempt at being a cook. It turned out pretty well. Im actually rather proud of myself. 

Alright Im out of here….New season of SHAMELESS and GIRLS start in a half hour and I have a Grub Hub order to eat……wait, what?

I’ve had this Tumblr for several years and never really used it properly. One of my “New Years Resolutions” is to make a “Crafting and Adventures” Blog and keep up with it. So here I am revamping my Tumblr to scratch that Resolution off my list.

……….You still reading?……Ok good…..LETS DO THIS.

Hi. I’m Ehrynska. (pronounced ERIN-SKA for those not hip with the times). I’m 26. I am a Photographer and Graphic Designer on some days. Other days I find myself glued in front of a sewing machine making things for my business OCTOSTACHE . (Check out the link, you won’t be disappointed). Sometimes I glue my fingers together on accident, but thats really all in a days work. I ride a bike, I make cool shit, I have a sweet Boston Terrier, Heavy Metal Bearded Boyfriend and some pretty sweet best friends. I hail from the great city of Detroit but now reside happily in Chicago IL. MIDWEST FOR LIFE BITCHES.

Like I said I have my own business called OCTOSTACHE (Really see the link above REALLY). I started it in 2010 with My two best friends Kristen and Shea Hardacre (AKA Heavy Metal bearded Boyfriend). Granted Shea does all the hard labor, we crack the whip and he does whatever we say, its a great system really. KIDDING KIDDING. Last year (2012) was our best year yet! We have really started to get business rolling with our crafting ideas and keep expanding every week! Octostache is really the reason for this blog. I’m always trying new things, and getting inspired so why not share! Get prepared for some sweet step by step instructions/tutorials on some sweet crafting ideas. Or just progress shots on things Im working on.

Another part of my Resolution List for 2013 is to start taking better care of myself. ETC. - Eating better - Exercising more - Brushing my hair. So get prepared for some sweet new recipes popping up on here as well.

I don’t know if you heard or not, but I like to think of myself as an “Adventurer”. Im sure you’re thinking “oh yeah great! another crazy jumping out of airplanes person”. Yeah, No, Never happening. My feet will always be on the ground, I don’t fuck around with shit like Jumping out of airplanes. I usually have to be coaxed onto a regular air plane. I plan to share all of my REGULAR NON JUMPING OUT OF PLANES adventures on here. Sometimes I get lucky and travel rad places that don’t involve my fear of heights or I get to do some cool shit I’d want to share with you. 

So to sum this very long probably not needed INTRO Post, I plan on sharing Crafting Tutorials, Sweet Recipes I have success at, and recaps with photos of SWEET Adventures I have the chance to go on!

LIKE OMG.