Stuff for the Soul

Today has been a very fulfilling soul-nourishing kind of day.

Went to study over a cup of “bowl of soul” (fig and cinnamon steamed tea, soy milk, and honey with lots of delicious froth… I’ve died and gone to heaven) at Verve for several hours, sang this song out loud (very, very loud) about four times, eating lots of delicious chocolate tea cookies, drinking more tea out of my favorite mug, and it’s raining. Thank GOD for the rain. Oh yeah, and dreaming about Portland. Yeah. There’s always that, though. Check this out:

As I quickly scanned the list, I realized I’ve been to about 40% of these places (and some more than once).

Not bad for just 3 visits.

I know what shit’s good.

So yeah, I imagine this is going to be a pretty rad book that I will never need but of course will pick up and thumb through every time I see it at the bookstore.

Oh hey! And a rad illustrated guide to mixing your own cocktails.

Oh yes, and here’s some Etsy drool.

Oregon State print. NEEED.

These are a few of my favorite words: douglas fir, NO SALES TAX, microbrews, mountains, PORTLAND, loggers, runners, mushrooms. Love it.

Always sound advice…

Some gold grillz.

(But not for $1,200, thanks.)

Speakin’ of teeth, my summer anesthesia class is going quite well.

I started off with this:

and progressed to a real human yesterday and ROCKED IT.

Gave an infiltration and ASA injection all in less than 5 minutes.

I wasn’t nervous ONE BIT. I didn’t shake. I didn’t pull blood.

Have I done this in my past life already or something?

Oh and let me introduce you to my new loves:

I haven’t owned a pair of Campers since FOREVER.

Yay for being able to switch up my shoe routine and not having to wear Dankos every single day.

New favorite blog: What Should I Eat For Breakfast Today?

Yummy foodz, pretty photography.

WANT.

More beautiful food porn here and here.

New favorite cutie girl blog alert.

Oh yeah and I made ghee on the full moon two weeks ago. And NAAN! For the first time!

Nothing better than making deliciously spiced indian flatbread and straining butter in the middle of the night with good company.

If you haven’t heard about all of the benefits of making ghee on the full moon, allow me enlighten you. In the Vedic culture of India, ghee is made on the full or waxing moons, which is known as “shukla paksh”, the “white part of the moon”. All of the qualities the moon represents increase to their maximum during this phase of the moon cycle, and since the moon is considered to rule/control “soma” (the juice or essence of life and plants) and the Vedas speak of milk as the essence of grass or plants and consider ghee to be an essence of milk, this apparently plays an essential role in producing the very best possible ghee with all of it’s encompassing properties. Yeah, call me crazy, but at least it encourages me to make sure I get my ghee-making time in once a month.

I’ve been wanting to devote and entire post about ghee and how to make it, but for now I’ll leave you with this. And if you’re just so inspired to make some naan along with it, here ya go. The next full moon is July 15. Mark your calendars 😉

SF Renegade Craft Fair 2009

Man oh man, have I been meaning to talk about this forever! The Renegade Craft Fair happened back in July (18th and 19th)! And although it’s four months later, I still have to mention it, because it’s pretty much one of the best things on earth I have ever experienced. So, yes, I was quite excited and so happy to have made it there!

This was the second year the event occurred, and they only come to select cities. Yeah, it’s a pretty special thing. Hundreds upon hundreds of indie craftsters, artists, bloggers, and other lovely people participate and line up in rows in the Costco-sized Fort Mason Center in San Francisco (here is/was the artist lineup). Tons of Etsy sellers were there, and I recognized more than half of what was sold just from online popularity and purchasing that I have done myself. It was so wonderful to meet all of these famous artists in person! I was dying in happiness! Everyone was so, so sweet and personable and cheerful. I loved everyone I met. The best part is that their mascot is an owl. Yeah, I know, I was going crazy. Not only that, but owls were everywhere. Almost everyone had something owl-related to sell, it was overwhelming. I bought so many great things, it was quite an owl hay-day.

The official poster for this years West Coast event, done by the very talented Mat Daly.
When I first walked in, there was a booth of all things made up of the “Renegade Craft Fair owl” and there were tons of Mat Daly posters. I wanted all of them. Notice the owlage…

Ummhmm.

Very crafty and creative journals made out of old book covers.You can find similar ones here: Ivy Lane Designs.
Hm, wonder which poster I bought…
I love all of this.
You can find tons of these on Etsy.
Pretty much the cutest wedding cake topper I have ever seen in my life!Mosey Handmade.
This lady rocks the planet.
I Heart Guts.

Art Goodies.I was so tempted to buy that owl block print. SO TEMPTED.The cupcake and fawn are pretty darn cute, too!
The infamous Renegade owl. Unfortunately, I spent too much time looking around and the face painting booth (yes, and they had a cupcake booth in the beginning, too!) closed down = major bummer. But at least I got to snap a photo of this cute girl that had it done…
Almost got one of these but had to control myself…
Okay, this guy is definitely one of my favorites. I talked to him for quite a while about owls and going out owling at night, and we could have gone on for hours. He gave me an extra special amazing deal on three owl prints! I purchased the first print on the top left, and the bottom two on the left. He rocks! Please support him!


My favorite famous beard lady, Erin Dollar, who, of course, happens to be from Portland (because everything great comes from Portland). She is incredible. I so admire her and her creativity. I haven’t purchased a beard yet, but one of these days… in the meantime, the 48 beardy stickers will suffice. Etsy shop here.


Arcane Arts. I first encountered this artist in Portland at the Doug Fir Lounge’s Crafty Wonderland. (I purchased the two owl prints next to each other in the center.) It was so cool to encounter her again!






I also met the wonderful Cakespy! That was quite a lovely surprise, since I have been a fan of her blog for years now. She’s rad and makes awesome cupcake art!
Laura George was also a pleasure to meet. I had just seen her art a few days before coming to the fair, and it was awesome to buy her art directly from her instead of through Etsy! Her prints are very clever and cute, such as the one I purchased below:

The aftermath of loot all over my bed.


I love you, Renegade Craft Fair! You made my craft-loving, owl-obsessing, Etsy-fan-admiring dreams come true! And it turns out I won’t have to wait an entire you for you to return: they’re putting on a holiday fair this December! I am SO there!