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 😉

Beet Cake, Mixes, & Clever Cards

Lately I’ve been addicted to making 8 track mixes on this website 8tracks.com.

Have any of you heard of this/been listening/created mixes?

Let me know… I’d love to hear some new stuff!

Here are all of mine so far…

Second of all, I was browsing the local bookshop today looking for a birthday card for my friend and came across this awesome one and couldn’t resist… I wish I would have bought the entire stack to give out to hygiene friends/teachers/cohorts!

Too awesome.

And here are some more great ones… I love this company!

I can’t remember the last time a greeting card actually made me laugh!

So clever.

The most beautiful cooking/baking video documentation I have ever seen.

How to make a beet cake.

I’m gonna do it.

Oh yeah and to keep up with this ice cream trend I seem to have been going on (on average, about every other day this past month? NEWS FLASH: ice cream is a health food!), here is something you need to be aware of (if you are not already):

Ben & Jerry’s “Late Night Snack“.

More like “Late Night Crack“.

CHOCOLATE COVERED POTATO CHIPS.

Enough said.

It’s okay.

You’re totally allowed to make a mid-night trip to Safeway in your PJ’s and slippers just to acquire a pint of this. I won’t tell anyone… the secret’s safe with me.

You probably wear cute PJ’s too, so that’s totally allowed.

Just don’t run over your neighbors cat as you frantically pull out of the driveway…

I know you’re on a mission now.

Between homemade ice cream sandwiches, late night post-bar nothing-is-open-“I reluctantly have to resort to Cold Stone” runs, Humphry Slocombe in the city pre-Iron & Wine show going (peanut butter curry and cinnamon brittle, anyone?), and the new local Penny Ice Creamery (pistachio cardamom chocolate chip, balsamic cherry), I have been on the longest ice cream kick of MY LIFE! No joke, folks. I swear I’m not pregnant. But my hormones have been pretty whacko lately and all I have been wanting is cold creamy goodness. A little salt and sugar mixed in don’t hurt either. Oh lovely hormones… you make the world go ’round.

Oh yeah, and because ice cream and beer go so well together and one without the other on a warm summer evening would just be a sin, here is a new seasonal one out by New Belgium: Somersault ale. Being a fan of all things limited edition and seasonal, I bought a 6-pack today and must say it’s quite delicious. Looks like it is temporarily replacing the past summers of Skinny Dip. As it’s described on the label:

“Somersault Ale is a fun roll around on the tongue and a perfect, summer lounge-around beer that is easy to drink. Color is blonde with a suggestion of amber. Somersault tumbles out with citrus aroma from Centennial hops, a tuck of soft apricot fruitiness, completed by a smooth, upright finish with oats that were fermented in a long, slow mash. Somersaults all around!”

Yum! At least some beer descriptors don’t sound as pretentious and ludicrous as most wine labels… I can handle talkers like this. I’m glad I just now discovered their website! I’m diggin’ the food pairings and un-recipe “recipes”. The peach goat cheese arugula candied walnut salad may be the next to-do on the list…

And a lovely new Vetiver song (that I just can’t get enough of) to leave you with for now…

Cake Inspiration, New Music, & Lovely Things

After taking a cake decorating class last Spring, I can appreciate the hard work that goes into something like this even more…

The Royal Wedding Cake

Crazy, eh?

And even more gorgeous cakes…

These inspire me to further my cake decorating education/skill.

This lovely-sounding Elderflower Lemon Cake, spotted on the Kitchn. I’m in love with elderflower anything and this seems fitting with a hot cup of tea on a Spring afternoon. Here’s also a recipe for Elderflower Jam Tassies (meaning “small cup” in Scottish). Looks like I need to purchase some of this sometime soon…

YUM!

The Great Food Series.

“Throughout the history of civilization, food has been more than simple necessity. In countless cultures, it has been livelihood, status symbol, entertainment – and passion. In the GREAT FOOD series, Penguin brings you the finest food writing from the last 400 years, and opens the door to the wonders of every kitchen.”

I would like to collect and read all of these, please. Thanks.

The cover artist is a genius. So in love with her reinvention of covers for classics. Gorgeous!

(She’s the woman that’s been making these also, if they look familiar to you…)

A few are already available on Amazon but some will take awhile to be printed here as they are from the UK.

A few I’m particularly excited for:

Buffalo Cake & Indian Pudding

The Well-Kept Kitchen

Everlasting Syllabub and the Art of Carving

Love in a Dish and Other Pieces

The Campaign for Domestic Happiness

Ahh I’m dying to read them all!

Also now lusting after this F. Scott Fitzgerald collection:

Music I’m really enjoying lately…

Ok, back to studying for midterms.

More Portland food porn soon.

Currently.

Currently baking: a persimmon cream pie with a graham cracker gingersnap crust.

Currently wishing: I could stay in my pajamas all day. And that I had an ice cream maker to enable me to make this.

Currently hoping: I’m not getting this sicky bug floating around.

Currently curing: an herbal apple cider vinegar with basil and mint.

Currently loving and devouring: this persian rose petal cardamom tea concoction.

And streaming the new Iron & Wine, Kiss Each Other Clean.

Currently waiting on: a few pairs (5) of these glasses to arrive in the mail to try on (for free!)

This company rocks. All frames are no more than $95, free shipping, lenses included, and they give a pair to someone in need whenever a pair is purchased (similar to the Tom’s thing…). I’m sold.

Currently intrigued by: these goat milk caramels. Flavors like vanilla bean, coconut & lime, honey, and chocolate sea salt. Genius.

Currently reading: these inspiring words. Daily.

Currently craving: these gluten-free cherry walnut oatmeal cookies.

Currently inspired: by this Food Swap! Another reason why Portland is genius. I want in on this next time… more of the inside scoop here.

Currently digging: these nesting, feather, and musician calendars by the Wild Unknown.

Currently enjoying: my new Keep Calm posters. Unfortunately it seems I somehow skipped the “floss on” and “curry on” posters… too bad, I’ll have to make another order.

Currently curious about: Root, an organic Pennsylvanian made spirit consisting of some wonderfully-sounding herbs and spices–birch bark, smoked black tea, sugarcane, sassafras, orange & lemon peel, allspice, anise, clove, cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. Holy moly.

A few recipes that caught my eye: autumn leaves (the name in itself, obviously), making caramels, raisin creme brulee, willow (one of my favorite names ever), mango lassi (!), ginger root sling, etc. I just might have to get me some of this.

More later.

Two of my Favorite Things: Owls + PB

So I’ve realized that I’ve started posting on here more often, regardless of the fact that I’ve been busier with school than ever. I’m a bit surprised, myself, that I’ve been able to do so, on top of all the baking I’ve managed to squeeze in. But I’ve realized something. It’s what I have to do to stay sane. I need a creative outlet. Something to get my mind off of TEETH, for goodness sake. Something to help me recognize myself. It’s an identity crisis of sorts, really. My entire lifestyle and schedule and just life in general has completely changed, 180 degrees. And this is what makes me happy. I just want to bake and obsess over finding awesome recipes and cute owl things and waste my time a little. So, with that being said, I’m just trying to not feel guilty about it. It’s a distraction, I’ll admit. But I feel as though I can’t focus on the stuff I do need to do otherwise. Yadda yadda yadda. On with the show.

Yeah, so, before I eat my breakfast and head out the door in the morning, my vice is looking at my favorite blogs. And then I somehow manage to open up about twenty five million tabs within 10 minutes before I leave (or rather, I realize I’m running a few minutes late…). Like this morning for instance, I found this super awesome owl pillow:

Cost Plus also has some of the cutest owl stuff available known to man.

I have to stay out of that store.

And these chocolate peanut butter monster brownies from the CPB Gallery!!!

They remind me of Ugly Dolls.

And how cute is this idea?!?

Peanut butter pumpkin cookies!

Speaking of peanut butter, I currently have a batch of vegan peanut butter banana bread baking, experimenting with this new peanut flour stuff from Trader Joe’s. I’m totally curious. It smells pretty darn good, but we’ll see. Trying to figure out what else to use this stuff for. I’m sure the possibilities are endless… perhaps also try out this peanut butter dutch baby recipe with this in place of regular flour?

Oh yeah, and I wanna make this. Except with pumpkin instead of mango.

I have visions.

Gold Digger Chocolate, Mad Men, DIY Log Cabin, & other Nifty Things…

Just discovered this awesome chocolate company that lets you customize your own chocolate bar combinations! You can add up to five ingredients (spices, nuts, candy, herbs, even 23 karat GOLD flecks!) to a dark, milk, or white chocolate base. All starting at around $3.85 a bar (not including extras), it ain’t cheap. This particular combination I made up would end up costing me $15. FOR ONE BAR.

But hey, great idea to rip off and maybe do on my own at home? They even do bulk orders for parties or weddings, allowing you to put your own photo in the middle of the dang chocolate bar!

Crazy, huh?

“Tropical Island Bar”

-dark chocolate

-banana chips

-coconut flakes

-mango dices

-pineapple dices

Pure chocolate bling aka “Rizzoli & Isles” bar.

-dark chocolate

-23 karat gold flakes

“Fresh Face Forward Bar”

-dark chocolate

-dried cantaloupe melon

-blueberries

-goji berries

-roasted sunflower seeds

-organic flax seeds

“Trick or Treat Bar”

-milk chocolate

-candy corn

-fall leaves

-candy bats

HOW CUTE IS THIS?!?

Also happened to stumble upon these great black and white photos from the set scenes of Mad Men. I love this show, although I am ashamed to say I am behind by like 2 seasons, practically. Saving them all up for a crazy Mad Men marathon weekend party, I suppose?

Joan is my idol.

-Also just discovered this really awesome artsy design blog that has sucked me in a bit these past few days: Lox Papers.

-Instructions for how to build your own log cabin. So freaking rad. Ever since I was little and had a log cabin building doll-house set, I have had dreams of living in one some day. This might just be what I need to make that dream come true!

–Design Squish, a blog about all things I adore: nature, trees, art, design, sustainable living.

-Eight sweet lavender recipes from the Kitchn, in addition to sweet potato cakelets and jack o’lantern cocktails.

-Also completely in love with this wallpaper over at ModCloth (that is temporarily out of stock). That website is dangerous.

I actually DO need some wall hooks and these might be a winner…

Now as far as food goes, here are some recipes that have me excited:

–Sugar Pumpkin Lasagna

–Lavender Dark-Honey Chocolate Tart with Cardamom-Lemon Crust

–Rosewater and Pistachio M’Hencha

–Cornbread Pudding Baked in Acorn Squash

–Spiced Pumpkin Butter Pancakes

–How to make your own pumpkin syrup

–Mexicali Sliders with Mango Sauce, Guacamole, and Yam Fries

–“Killer” Halloween Desserts

–Creamy Pumpkin Penne with Crispy Sage & Toasted Pecans

Holy moley. I just need some extra time, money, and energy. I WANT TO MAKE EVERYTHING!

"Back To School Shopping"

School starts in less than 5 days.

I’ll be taking 15 units = full time to the max.

I quit my job (of 5 years) in less than 3 days.

Which means… cash flow? Non existent, pretty much.

Big changes.

But that isn’t stopping me at all from splurging on “back to school” items that will help get me through the year.

Seriously. It’s ridiculous. I need to stop. There are times when I can go a little crazy, I’ll admit, but I’m good 99.9% the rest of the time. I swear I’ve been to every office supply store in town (and out of town) just to stock up on notebooks, pens, highlighters, organizing boxes, and binders (why are these stupid pieces of plastic $10 a piece?!? it’s just PLASTIC for crying out loud… these corporations are getting away with MURDER!) and then of course I take myself to the locally owned bookstore to see all the cute supplies they have available and I end up with this:

Yes. OWL TEA.

I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Organic classic bergamot Earl Grey with fragrant Jasmine floral notes.

Yep.

And that’s not all…

A retro inspired blue diamond tea tumbler.

Doubled glass walls.

For owl tea to take with me and get me through dental hygiene school.

I needed it, really…

BlueQ, you are extremely dangerous and threatening the life of my check book.

But I love you.

They even have teas to help you be a better parent, erase your past, and live forever…

Sounds good to me.

Check out the rest of their (genius) tea collection here.

Let’s see, I also picked up the Indie Rock Coloring Book.

And Urban Outfitters taunted me with this new cupcake book.

Because I am so into making weird cupcakes.

Rosewater Champagne, Surly Temple, Lemongrass, Tandoori, Curry Cardamom, Pancakes and Bacon, Avocado and Black Pepper, Thanksgiving, and the Punkin Donut are all flavors I can’t wait to try.

I will need to bust this out for the fundraising bake sales, I know it…

And then I figured a few motivational mantra magnets would be needed to look at in my locker on a daily basis to get me through the next 2 years (and the rest of my life, for that matter) whenever I have weak moments and tend to doubt myself…

Winston Churchill.

Alexandra Stoddard.

That is all. For now.

And Never Resign To a Typical Life

It’s a wonderful rainy Tuesday as I’m sitting here dreaming and wishing I were in Portland, listening to the wonderful jazz of Bill Evans and Duke Ellington and I finally feel as though I have a little luxury free time now that the school semester is one week away from being over! Thank goodness. I still have to draw up a design for my cake decorating final and I have no idea where to start but I’ll get to that eventually. I’m finding way too many great things all over the net that are getting me inspired, like some of this stuff, for example…

-These great prints by Eva Juliet (Art Culinaire & Parsley) and her amazing beet chip snack bag art that is absolutely genius

(Photo and recipe for Beet Chips from Sunday Suppers)

plus this is really cute

-These wonderful watercolors by unitedthread on Etsy

-This owl music mobile on Ferm Living

-DesignSponge’s Orlando, FL city guide is pretty comprehensive compiled list of great sounding boutiques and shops, restaurants, and places that make me want to book a ticket to go there right now! These places especially: Stardust, Blue Bird Bake Shop, Ethos Vegan Kitchen, Etoile Boutique, Pom Pom’s Tea House, Raphsodic Coop Company, etc, etc. WOW. I could go on and on! Who knew Orlando was such a hoppin’ place?

-All of these products from Fine Little Day have made me fall in love…

-This cast iron bathtub couch on Etsy is pretty genius

–Ferm Living pretty much has all of my dream home decor

–Indian “indie” music = my new favorite

-And I’ve also discovered some pretty great photographers lately that make me want to drop everything and enroll in the Brooks Institute ASAP. One of these days.

*Kristina Gill

*Carlie Statsky

*Karen Mordechai

*Margaret & Joy

*Marcus Nilsson

*Seth Smoot

*Mikkel Vang

*Janne Peters

*Jennie Love

*Line Klein

–THXTHXTHX, a genius blog that posts a ‘thank you’ note a day. A wonderful reminder to be grateful for the small and quirky things in life.

-This cupcake (and cookie) website with great cupcake recipes and photos… I love getting new ideas! Flourless Beet Chocolate Cupcakes, Sour Cream Fig Cupcakes, Parsnip Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting?!? I am in love.

-This great Australian mag, Frankie, has quite a lovely blog that I will now frequent very often

-Shutterbean’s Peanut Butter Bacon cookies! WHATT?! Yes. Oh yes. I do think I will have to make these soon.

-And I ordered used copies of each of these (both for under $20) although I rarely EVER buy movies on DVD after I see them but this is a special case because they are two of my favorite movies EVER and I will never get sick of their awe factor

-Oh yes, and I saw Broken Bells (and the Morning Benders) last Friday. Okay show–James wasn’t as cool as he used to be back in the day, 6 years ago, in The Shins age. He seemed a bit PO’ed but I would’ve been too if my microphone wasn’t working 10 seconds into the first song after a 45 MINUTE SOUND CHECK. Idiots. They sounded great though and Brian Burton’s fro was distractingly beautiful.

Check out this video by the Morning Benders. It’s my current favorite song and this version of it just gives me the chills and I love it a million times more. How I would give my left foot to have been in that orchestra. Holy moley.

-Aaaand I will also see She & Him this Friday! I’m way more excited for M. Ward than Zooey although it will definitely be a treat regardless. I’m glad I liked their 2nd volume better because the 1st didn’t do much for me. And the best part is that they will be playing at a venue less than 5 minutes away from my house. It’s a little mind blowing.

That’s all for now.

Migration to a Town Where Tree, Swallows, Houses

Golden delicious apples on California black bread,

crunchy almond butter, drizzled with avocado honey on top.

Saturday simplicity:

-waking up to rain

-yoga

-abhyanga self-massage

-meditation

-writing

-preparing the above with a cup of peppermint tea

-the forest and the outdoors

So easy to make and quite delicious. Putting it under the broiler for about 3 minutes partially cooks the apples so they’re all nice and soft and crisps up the bread a little. I found the avocado honey a few weeks ago at this great little fruit and vegetable stand on my way home from Ayurveda school one evening. The adorable pea green label caught my eye at first, and then I saw that it said avocado. AVOCADO HONEY?!? You’ve got to be kidding me. Genius. The avocado is very subtle but I’d like to say it rounds out the honey with a little more of a creaminess and nutty flavor. There are tons more of honey flavored infusions too, like orange blossom, or sage, for example. I can’t wait to sample some of the others once I finish this one.

Went for a trail run in the forest when the rain took a break and it was invigorating and delightful. It was almost like an obstacle course. Tree trunks to hop over and under, puddles to jump around. The ground was soft and moist and muddy and dirt was splattered all over the backs of my legs and the bottom tracks of my shoes are completely saturated but oh it was so much fun. Laughing at myself and smiling whenever I was close to slipping and falling on my ass and/or down the cliff. No one around. The crisp and dewy smell of fresh rain oxygenating my blood. Sixty minutes of solitude, sweat, and good music. And the icing on the cake was washing it all off in the new outdoor shower.

Today has felt like a DIY retreat. Putting health and well-being first I believe is crucial for everything else falling into place. It’s good to take care of yourself. Now off to the kitchen to do a spin off of a ReadyMade recipe to make some sweet potato and beet pancakes with a thyme and lemon zest sour cream sauce.

I’m loving life.

(And the fact that James Mercer is coming back to my music library with some awesome new tunes with Danger Mouse in about a week and a half. YES! Is it just me or is he looking more and more like Kevin Spacey these days?)

**EDIT: Full album now available for streaming here! Thank you NPR!**

A Few Things That’ve Been Keeping Me Going

Where I wish to be someday, this time of year, when the leaves change: Vermont.

Just the very thought of it makes my heart full of delight.

It’s on my list of things to do.

Adventure into the forests and backwoods, photographing the rich hues of fall foliage.

Ahhh, I can’t wait!

While I’m at it, I’d also go to Acadia.

Ever since I saw a feature in National Geographic years ago, I’ve had dreams about this mystical place.

I’m also getting very excited about Fantastic Mr. Fox!

I absolutely loved this book as a youngster.

Turns out there’s a character named Kylie! Random! Haha, maybe in my next life I’ll come back as a hamster/mole/rodent (I’m not really sure what it is) and be George Clooney’s (Mr. Fox’s) loyal accomplice.

Yay, Wes Anderson!

I’m also really digging this band I’ve just discovered, Plants and Animals.

Check out this Blogotheque video.

(I’m a sucker for whistling.)

Also, I’ve had this as my cell phone wallpaper for the past week or so and it has been a very helpful reminder.