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Recipe #1: Strawberry Delight

Hey lovies!

I've been meaning to post recipes for a few weeks now, but we keep eating everything I make before I remember that I should maybe take pictures of them. This time I remembered, granted while we were eating this delicious treat, but nevertheless, it happened and i'd like to share it with you! I decided to call it a Strawberry Delight because I couldn't think of anything, but it's a frozen tart and I love it. It's not too sweet, perfectly creamy, and utterly irresistible :) Here's a pic of mine (being devoured), which I made over the weekend.

This tasty treat is one I got from allrecipes.com, which is my favourite go-to site for all things yummy when I need fresh ideas, or to perhaps expound upon an idea I already have. Lately I've been experimenting with new recipes that I've never personally tried, and this one is probably going to be a favourite for summers to come. So, without further ado, on to the recipe!

 

          (courtesy of allrecipes.com- doesn't it look wonderful?)

Strawberry Delight
1 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup melted butter
2 egg whites
1 cup white sugar
2 cups sliced strawberries
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup whipped cream (or heavy whipping cream)  

* Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
*Stir together the flour, brown sugar, walnuts, and melted butter. Spread out evenly on a baking pan and bake 20 mins. or until golden brown.
* Beat the egg whites until they hold a peak (NOTE: I did this by hand and I must say, I do not recommend this. I didn't get my egg whites to be stiff enough, and it still worked out fine) Gradually add sugar, continuing to beat the egg whites. Add the lemon juice, strawberries, and whipped cream until evenly mixed and slightly pink. Be sure to dip your finger in and take clandestine tastes of the mixture for optimal results :)
*Crumble your lovely walnut crust, and spread 2/3 of this mixture on to the bottom a 9x13 dish, or any plate or bowl of this approximate size. Your choice. Spoon your strawberry mixture on top of your crust. Take the remainder of your crust and sprinkle it over top of the strawberry mixture. Pop it in the freezer for 6 hours or overnight.
          That's all! enjoy your new favourite summer treat!

I'm already thinking of new ways to modify this recipe, especially with lavender. I think honey would be a great substitute for the sugars also. Different kinds of nuts for the crumble, and especially different kinds of berries. This dessert would be great for summer wedding receptions, baby showers, and even a unique alternative to birthday cake. I hope you love it!

Refashioning Fashion and the World With It

Hi dolls!

Lately I've been having trouble getting inspired to make some things I definitely want to finish, mostly because there are things I think I need in order to finish them, but also because I've been dealing with the issue of whether or not I should really open a shop. It's not necessarily a question of whether or not I should do so, it's a much larger matter of what that will mean for my place in our current economic structure, the pros and cons of accepting money for things I have no desire to exploit, and how long it will take before I get tired of having to promote and advertise, in order to make a decent income., because I have no real desire to make money.

See, my problem is economic and spiritual in nature, because what I want and how I want to go about it seem so completely unfathomable in our current condition. I am at odds with the idea that we live in a society that worships money, and not creativity. I do not like that as a result of this false idolatry, only certain people have access to certain things. I am disappointed that, as a whole, we, as the propagators of this society, have failed to take action and break down this system, which only perpetuates poverty, a social hierarchy that cares only for material resources, and the continuous destruction of our environment. What I want is to create a world where beautiful things are all around and free for the taking. Where I don't have to consider the money I spent in order to create something wonderful, because there was no money involved in the process. I want to see people wearing amazing, stylish, eco-friendly clothes, because they enjoy how it makes them feel, and not because it's a status symbol. 

I HATE that clothing is a status symbol. I HATE that high fashion labels dictate to us what we should wear, what we should look like, how we should present ourselves, when behind all of that, their factories are filled with men, women, and children, who don't make enough to feed themselves, let alone wear these clothes themselves. I HATE that we allow these so called "clothing designers" even have a place in society, when half of what they make is uninspired, stolen ideas, boxed-in, and most of the time, downright ugly. These clothes only serve to give us false ideas about who we are supposed to be when we wear them. They lock us into false gender roles, stratify us in a false hierarchy based on labels, and undermine our ability to be ourselves. 

I am passionate about so many facets of what needs to be changed in our world, and none of it will come without the complete destruction of our current one. When I started making clothes, I had no idea that I was capable of making such beautiful things. I was so excited to have found this talent, because it's something I truly enjoy. All day everyday, I have visions of gorgeous clothes, I'm always playing dress up in my head. But it goes beyond dress up for me, because dress up implies that you are wearing something in order to pretend to be someone you aren't, and that's not what I want my clothes to do. My clothes to me are a reflection of who I actually am, and are for others who are like me and want to be themselves. It's not just about clothes either, it's about my place in a world where money is god, and everything down to human life can be bought and sold. My wife and I make all sorts of things, and want to share them with anyone who will enjoy them. It seems so simple, and makes so much sense to us, to just make things and give them away. The profit is the enjoyment of having done it, and knowing other people will enjoy it, and find uses for these things. 

The reality is that this is a hard thing to do when we're currently relying on a system that does nothing for us. I choose to live a life that is radical for some, but works for me, and that is being free of money. I'll talk about that in another post, but suffice to say that this means that I have to be pretty creative when it comes to finding things for free to use and produce. Finding free things isn't necessarily all that hard either, but doesn't negate that there are things I still need and must buy if I'm going to get them, which leaves me in a state of limbo more often than not, and is very frustrating. Because I refuse to make excuses for our system, I prefer not to immediately jump back into the world of money. It's doing us more bad than good, and won't do me any good to rely on it to do what I love. That taints my creativity, kills my vision, and leaves me feeling hopeless when I know that I, and everyone on our planet, deserves to be able to have what they need and want when they need and want it. 

Beauty, creativity, and love should not come at a price. And I do believe that we inherently understand this. What we're missing is the inspiration and hope that we can create a world where LIFE is free. We're missing the motivation to stop the madness that is our world. As long as we continue to believe we need money, we will remain selfish and destructive. War will not end, poverty will only get worse, and we will ruin our planet to the point where we will not be able to survive on it. I have all the hope in the world, and no idea where to start, but I don't think the "regular" way of doing things is the right way. What I need is help, and lots of it, and it must come from the hearts of those who want to change the world with me. Perhaps it is you?

My Newest Anime Addiction

Hello hello!

First of all, I want to say HAPPY SPRING!!!!! I know it's not technically spring yet, especially if you live in the midwest, but as a kinda observer of May Day, I consider it the start of a new season. Also, since I'm in the Carolinas right now, the weather is quite spring like, the daffodils out front started blooming , and I've been thinking up some sweet springy skirts to make in the very near future. In the meantime, I actually wanted to talk about ANIME!!!! Yaaaaayyyyyy!!!! I adore anime. Well, good, anime, if I may amend that statement. My wife and I don't own a television, so we count on the interwebs for our daily entertainment needs. American TV bores us, so we tend to watch a lot of documentaries, foreign films (when we can find 'em anyway), and loads of anime series. We've watched some pretty damn good ones lately, but I have to take this time to gush about my new addiction "Michiko e Hatchin". If you're not watching this series, you need to quit reading this blog, right now, and go watch the first episode. 

First of all, this is the first series I've ever seen where every character is one of colour. The series is set in Brazil, which, to my knowledge, is unheard of. The plot line, in my opinion, leaves a bit to be desired, only because I think it's far too simple, but the production is great, and I just adore the illustration. Not only that, I adore the main characters, obviously Michiko and Hana "Hatchin", a super bad ass, not to mention HAWT, escaped convict, and the kid she kidnaps to go looking for her ex-boyfriend (yeah, exactly  :/). I think maybe the fact that I'm watching this dubbed might be why I'm having serious issues following the story, but for the most part, I sorta don't care because it's so addictive. It has tons of flavor, whatwith being set in Brazil, however, it doesn't portray that postcard, "let's have a vacation there" side of the city. It shows the very real reality of daily life for the impoverished peoples of the city, run by dirty cops, gangs,swindlers, and child traffickers. On the other hand, I think it's a beautiful portrayal of the ugly side of life there, even if there are children shooting adults in the streets. I think the thing I love the most is how dynamic the series is. I haven't gotten to the last episode yet, but so far, I can say that not one episode has left anything to be desired. The development of the characters is saddening, hilarious, and even relatable, as you come to realize just how lonely they ALL must be, having grown up in this very harsh world. Each one, even the villain, is someone you can have true empathy for, as they weren't given much choice in the way they have to live. Michiko might be an immature, lazy brat, but you can totally understand why.

I'm mostly looking forward to seeing how Hatchin's character develops though. She's a 10 year old with a huge personality, and as the series progresses, you get to watch her struggle with growing up way too fast while trying to retain some iota of her innocence.

Since I dunno where the story is going quite yet, I won't try to give a synopsis on it. It's fun and daring, dangerous and superbly sexy, and I highly recommend it, so go, now. Here's a link:

 http://www.animehere.com/michiko-to-hatchin-episode-1.html

Enjoy it and tell me what ya think!

Baby Deer and Bad Days

Hi hi!

I haven't written in a few days, mostly because I haven't been having the best...few days. I'm experiencing a stall in my projects because I need more things, someone I considered my best friend, is being the absolute worst friend, and I feel a general sense of malaise. I don't like it very much, but life is going to do what it will, so I must roll with the punches, as it were. In the interim though, I want to tell you about this, read on!

I found a baby deer on Friday afternoon, down at the beach, hidden in the grass. Of course, me being the woodland creature that I am, had to bring her back home to show to the kiddies we babysit, and also to make sure she hadn't been abandoned. After google magicking, I learned something! Isn't google amazing? Did you know that mama deer "park" their babies after they are born? They leave them in a spot for a day, alone, to go find food in order to make milk, and don't come back until dusk, to feed their fawn. Fawns are unafraid of humans, and will (obviously) let you pick them up and carry them to your house where your dogs and crazy cat will inspect it, try to hump it, and make it generally uncomfortable. After allowing you to gush all over it about how absolutely adorable it is, it will give you sad eyes, telling you how much it misses it's mother, and plead with you to please take it back to it's spot in the tall grass by the beach, just like google says to do. Just look at that face.

    (She was so tiny! I succumbed to cute baby animal weakness ><)

             (who can resist a baby and a baby deer?)

Seeing as how I am definitely not a deer, and I definitely do not have the time or the means (or the desire), to care for a fawn, I promptly took her back to her parking spot, where, I am happy to report, her mother found her, and they have gone on to wherever they are out here in the woods of South Carolina.To that end, I just want to say how much I adore being out in "nature" ( I hate calling it that, it's as if being outside is something separate, something other, when in reality, it's where we always are). Friday was not a good day, and it was a strange day indeed, to stumble upon a fawn. But I learned something more than what the parks and recreation site told me. I learned a little bit more humility, a little more grace, and a little more love for the creatures we share this planet with. Our earth always has surprises for us, in the most unexpected of moments, to give our hearts and souls a little warmth when we need it the most. <3

Circle Lens Care!

Why 'ello there beautiful!

It's a stormy kinda night, and I was thinking about circle lenses, because I'm starting a new job soon and I want to buy more (duh!), so in light of that, I thought I'd share my tips on contact lens care, for all you dolly eyed beauties out there! (And those of you who want an organic/natural alternative to the store bought stuff.)

I am an avid lover of all things organic and natural, especially if I can make it myself. I just love making everything I possibly can, including my contact solution, which doubles as eye drops, and triples as an antiseptic wound wash! I mean who doesn't love a product that multi-tasks? The reason I decided to start making my own lens solution is actually pretty crappy. Ready for a story? 

When I ordered my first pair of lenses, I decided to do it by the book, because I wasn't quite sure what i was getting into. I soaked my lenses in the store bought solution (I won't name the brand here, but I am so angry with them), and proceeded to try sticking my lenses in my eyes for the first time, ever in my life. I also used store bought eye drops to lubricate my eyes to assist with the process. Guess what happened? After at least 3 hours of struggling, and failing miserably I might add, to get my lenses in my eyes, my right eye became really red and sore. My wife, who HAS worn contacts in the past, told me I should give my eyes a rest and try again the next day. Upon waking the next day, I found that my right eye was infected. Badly. Yellow goo was leaking from it, my vision was blurry, it was extremely sore, and needless to say I was upset. There I was with a brand new pair of lovely circle lenses, and I couldn't even think about trying to put them on. I spent a decent portion of that day in pain, beating myself up for attempting to use solutions with words I can't even pronounce in them. I'd had a feeling it was gonna be a bad idea, and it was. My theory is that eyes are made up of salt and water, so that's probably the only thing they need to be safe and sterile. So, I took it upon myself to look up different home-made solutions, made one, and pretty much as soon as I put it in my eye, my infection cleared up. Great, is the power of nature, and boiling water  :p

 Here's my ridiculously simple recipe for a contact solution that is cheap to make, and wonderfully useful:

Ingredients & Things You'll Need
1 cup filtered water (or bottled water, or even tap water)
1 tsp. Sea Salt (NOT the iodized kind, that's a no-no)
1 bag of chamomile tea (or green tea if you prefer)
  And/Or 
1/2 tsp Organic Honey
a plastic container (to store your solution)
an eye dropper 
Contact lens case

Step 1- Boil your container, lens case, and eye dropper for about 30 minutes to get them clean and sterile. I tend not to use any soaps or bleaches of any kind, but if you'd like to, I love Dr. Bronner's Castille Soap. It rocks out loud.

Step 2- Clean the pot you just used, fill it with the cup of water (I use tap water for the most part, it doesn't seem to make any difference, but I've seen that many folks prefer filtered or distilled water), add your sea salt, and your bag of tea and/or honey. Again, boil for about 30 minutes.

Step 3- Take your newly created solution, and put it in your sterile container and some in your lens case, store it in your fridge along with your eye dropper, and that's it!

I like to change my solution every few days, and when I forget or haven't worn my lenses in a bit, I use vinegar instead of tea to make an extra clean environment for my lenses and cases (NOTE: DO NOT put the lenses in your eye with a vinegar solution! IT WILL BURN! Rinse them first with a regular tea, honey, and/or saltwater solution first). I'd also like to note that tea will stain your lenses a light brownish colour over time, and if that happens, just eliminate the tea bag the next few times you make a solution. The staining will come off if you don't use tea too often. Chamomile is a wonderful anti septic and astringent, which is the solution I used for that nasty infection I got. Honey is a natural antibacterial. I generally just do the sea salt and water solution and call it a day, but the tea or honey is very refreshing in the eyes, for those with sensitive peepers. Hope you find this useful, and enjoy!

Fun with Circle Lenses!

Hey Dollfaces!
For my first post, I wanted to share my pure adoration of Circle Lenses, and how I care for them, naturally! first, for those of you who have no idea what the heck circle lenses are, they are specially made contacts, popular among the fashionistas in Korea and Japan, and usually worn to make the eye look larger, glossier, and DOLLIER! 

I currently have one pair (at one time I had 2, but I lost them, so I reordered my favourite colour), which I ordered from kawaiilovebeauty.com, with whom I am completely in love. They are U.S based, and offer a lovely selection of lenses, lashes, and various accessories, and discounts! And who doesn't adore discounts? Anywho, I ordered mine from the Princess Mimi Series in Sesame Grey, have a look!

  Aren't they darling? I had them in Apple Green also, which I lost, here's what those look like:

This is my first experience wearing lenses, ever, even though I technically need vision correction. I don't wear glasses, cause, well, I dunno I don't like prescriptions and stuff. More on that in a future blog. I love these lenses, and plan to own many more. There are a billion colours and styles! They are so comfy and wearable, and most of all, GORGEOUS! In my next post, I'll be showing you how to make your own lens solutions and eye drops! Hope you check out all the various lenses out there, and see you soon!