RubyBows

Why I Love Tea

2012-01-28T19:12:00.000-05:00

What I screwed up in art school

2012-01-27T18:40:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I never actually went to "art school", but I did go to a small liberal arts college for Studio Art. Close enough. I graduated with my B.A. in Studio Art in 2009, after the typical 4-year program of study.

College was fun! I made friends, met my boyfriend of 5 years, got relatively good grades, and graduated. But looking back on my 4 years, I was stupid about a lot of things and messed up some things I can now see were pretty important.

photo of a black & white still life setup in the studio
1. Doing the bare minimum.
2. Skipping class.
3. Procrastinating.
+ Advice for current art students to read

1. Doing the bare minimum. In my art program, I remember working on a lot of art projects. Drawing, design, sculpture, bookmaking, etc. But I don't remember creating a whole lot of extra. My professors would say how important it is to keep a sketchbook. Okay, sounds great. Actually, the idea of keeping a sketchbook is a good one. But you have to do it. I kept a sketchbook because it was assigned. I finished drawings because they were assigned. I made books because they were assigned. But rarely did I experiment. Rarely did I create something that WASN'T assigned. I did what I had to do to get a good grade and that's it.

Doing projects and focusing on school work is important, I know. Plus, college students are busy. Would I really have had time to spend drawing in my sketchbook for NON-school work? I don't know, because I never tried it.

my final white-on-black egg still life drawing
The problem with spending 4 years working only on assigned projects is that your artistic and creative output is somewhat limited. You're confined to the assignment, and you probably won't deviate from it. There's no experimentation. You won't "waste time" trying something new when you can just finish and be done with it. I've found that now, I have a creative block: I think that everything I make should be perfect. It's like my brain thinks I'm still working against the clock and trying to get a good grade. No time to waste on a new technique! You can't afford to do that over again! No ugly things - somebody's going to see that! Art school meant that classmates and professors always saw everything I handed in, and everything I worked on in class. Now it's like I am filtering my creative process because "someone might see it!"

the problem with student loans is you never see the cash
2. Skipping class. I get why people skip class once in awhile: you stayed up too late studying and now you're super tired, you know you won't be doing anything important in class today, etc. But here's a thought for you: CLASS COSTS MONEY. It's easy to forget that when you pay tuition you're paying for each class session, too. You're paying your teacher to show up and lecture. You are paying to sit in that classroom for the 2 hours or whatever, even if you don't show up.

Lemme break it down with some math.

My very first semester of college (fall 2005), my cost for tuition for 13 credits was $3,555. That's $273 per credit. So a 4-credit class (like College Writing) cost $1,094. College Writing class happened 3 times per week, so each class session cost me about $23. This doesn't include student fees, course materials, etc. If I factor in my TOTAL bill (tuition + fees) for fall semester - what college ACTUALLY cost me - each session of College Writing cost about $50. Don't even get me started with factoring in paying my bill with a student loan. Actually, I paid with a private, high-interest loan, so school (and College Writing) ended up costing me a heck of a lot more.

I don't remember how often I skipped College Writing in particular, but you get the point. Pay $50 per class period. Still okay to skip? Is sleeping in worth $50? Is sleeping in but missing class material and making it up worth $50? Yikes.

I wish I would have learned this in high school. Or I wish I could have taken a class about "Welcome to College!" that broke it down for me. But now I know.

don't skip class!
3. Procrastinating. I'm really bad about procrastinating, and there have been times when I've paid for it. In my art program, there were a lot of projects that were half-assed and half-finished. There were projects, drawings, assignments that I never got to. It's not that I didn't have time; I procrastinated getting started or felt overwhelmed and didn't seek help.

My absolute worst and most embarrassing, shameful story of how my procrastination kicked me in the ass: I was taking Modern Art History. I hated the teacher, but went to class and kept up with assignments throughout the semester. Our final project was this big research paper that I kept putting off because it sounded hard and like a ton of work. It was due on the last day of class. The NIGHT BEFORE our final class period, I planned on staying up all night and finishing it. But I hadn't read the requirements close enough, and it was way too much work to do in one night. I panicked. I couldn't do it. For once, I couldn't beat my procrastination. Instead of "working better under pressure," this time I was going to fail.

I couldn't afford to fail this project, else I would fail the class. So I dropped the class. I dropped a course on the night before the final class because I procrastinated finishing my final project. I paid for this class, got up early every morning to go to it, and sat through an entire semester of a teacher that I hated. To get what in return? Absolutely nothing. I had to retake my art history credit. I felt so ashamed. I let myself down big time.

Overall, these were the worst screw-ups I made while going to school for art.

In January 2011, I was asked by my former art professor to answer some questions about college. Here are my answers and advice:

In hindsight given your own experience, what advice do you think is critical for the students to hear?
It's so important to never stop working while you're in school. You'll get so much more out of your Art education if you commit to working as hard as you can for your 4 years in college. Of course you always need to take time for yourself so you don't get burned out, but if you start to feel exhausted or overwhelmed, seek advice and guidance from your peers and professors instead of retreating into yourself and into solitude.

Professors are smart people, and they have lots more experience than you. Utilize their knowledge while you are there! (But always ask for a second opinion :)

Also, I firmly believe in the importance of keeping a sketchbook journal. It will do nothing but help you.

What should they do, what should they avoid?
Go to class, don't skip class. Make time to learn about other types of art, learn art's history, be in touch with what's happening right now. Get outside your college bubble whenever you can and expose your mind and your eyes to current exhibits in museums, art in galleries, and just other places in general.

Don't procrastinate! Don't ever think you've learned it all or that you've become an expert at something. Keep trying, keep pushing to your limits.

What was one of the most valuable things you've done for yourself since graduating (that has fueled your work)--how has it helped you make the right connections, stay on track in the studio, allowed you the means to make work, or to continue your education?
Right now I'm working in a graphic design-type position, but I do get to contribute sketches, drawings, and art for t-shirt designs and catalog graphic designs. In my case, it helped me immensely to get a job in graphic design as soon as I moved to a bigger city before my senior year of college. Because I've continually been employed, I've had the means to continue my education in the arts (I took another printmaking class, a bookbinding class, and a pottery class).

Are there resources you feel they need to know about?
If you're interested in more classes or continuing your education either after graduating or during the summer, check out local work shops, studios, or centers for art. Almost every community of a specific practice of art offers classes!

Is there something you know now that you wish you had known before graduating?
Student loans are the worst. Live like a student while you're a student, and do everything you can to avoid debt.

Also, not everything you make for your art classes is going to be a masterpiece. So don't get too attached to anything. Every project you make is just a stepping stone. So keep creating projects and more stepping stones for yourself so you continually progress. The mediums you focus on in your undergraduate career don't have to be the ones you stick with for the rest of your life.

5 Vegan Alternatives: Don't do nothing just because you can't do everything

2012-01-23T10:03:00.001-05:00

Colleen Patrick-Goudreau has said in her podcast:

Don't do nothing just because you can't do everything. Do something. Anything.

I agree.

So you're not planning to commit to being vegetarian, or vegan. Even though you know it's better for you. Why not do what you can? Reduce your meat consumption - do Meatless Mondays! Eat less cheese by just not buying it unless it's on sale. Try soy milk just to see if you like it. Choose a baking recipe that doesn't call for eggs.

I've been making some specifically vegan choices for awhile now. Because now that I know the truth about how these animal products are produced. AND I know of animal-friendly alternatives, so transitioning is easy! And some normally-animal-product things have amazing alternatives that are arguably even BETTER than their animal-based versions.

Case in point:

Soy milk > cow's milk
...or some other non-dairy milk like almond or coconut milk. I only really like milk in my coffee, and I prefer soy milk over cow's milk. It just has a nutty, warmer flavor and makes for a great latte!
Soy butter > cow butter
OK so I grew up eating margarine. Er, vegetable spread.... whatever the heck it's called that comes in a tub, not in sticks. So since the taste I acquired for "butter" wasn't really real butter, making the switch from a dairy-based butter to soy was pretty much the easiest thing ever.
Tempeh > beef or any other meat
Tempeh is this amazing fermented-soybean product that is delicious. It's similar to tofu in that they're both made from soy, but tempeh has a much firmer texture, and is chewy, nutty, and super easy to cook. We love to eat tempeh on buns as a burger, or chopped into cubes on salads or in any other dish that might have meat.
Nutritional yeast flakes > Buttery/cheesy popcorn topping
We mostly use nutritional yeast flakes (aka "nooch") to make this amazing queso dip, but it also rocks on popcorn. Pop up some popcorn in an air popper, melt a little soy butter to drizzle on, then top with nutrition yeast flakes and salt. SO good.
Vegetables > processed shit
If you've ever had simple roasted vegetables, you'll know what I mean. Potatoes, carrots and sweet potatoes are amazing just roasted in the oven and topped with a little salt and pepper. Steaming broccoli and cauliflower is the best and most delicious way to eat those veggies. If you're used to eating processed from-the-box or from-the-can veggies and food, you might be surprised at how good just plain, fresh veggies are. Even if you're not vegetarian, you should be eating vegetables!

I've also discovered dozens of recipes that are vegan, and full of delicious veggies and flavors. But that's for another post. Try a non-animal alternative today; you might just like it more!

Harry Potter 1 screen caps

2012-01-19T18:16:00.000-05:00

Just for fun, here are some screenshots from Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone (2001). This movie always makes me feel at home; there's just something so comforting about it. And the actors look so young! These are just a handful of shots that caught my eye. I especially love the close-up of Hermione's hand on Nicholas Flamel in the book.

Sweet Potato Stew Recipe

2012-01-15T15:25:00.000-05:00

This recipe is from the article Recipes for the Semi-Vegan by Mark Bittman for the New York Times. His recipe is really open; there aren't really any measurements for anything. Meant to inspire improvisation, I suppose!

This vegan sweet potato stew is delicious. It's a wonderful mix of sweet and spicy. It has apples and sweet potatoes in it, which makes it sweet. But then the curry powder and chili makes it warm & spicy. So good. So here's how I did it (with measurements)!

Sweet Potato Stew Recipe

- pour about 1 Tbsp olive oil in your soup pot

Chop these veggies & put them in the pot:

2 large sweet potatoes, chop into cubes
1 firm apple (I used Fuji I think), peeled and diced into small cubes
1 whole onion (any color), chopped
1 whole chili (I think mine was a green Anaheim chili, but anything except bell peppers would probably work), finely chopped

- on top of your pot of veggies add 3 tsp curry powder and 1 tsp ground ginger powder

Saute this mixture about 10 minutes until the onion is soft & translucent.

While it's sauteing, open up a 13.5 oz. can of coconut milk. I've always heard you should use "light", so mine was Lite Coconut Milk.

Mix up your veggie stock if it's not already. 2 cups of hot/boiling water + 1 vegetable stock bouillon cube.

Add coconut milk & veggie stock to the pot. Simmer and cook until the potatoes are soft. It takes about 30 minutes. When the potatoes are soft, mash up about half the mixture. I used a potato masher and did it right in the pot. This makes the soup thicker and creamier.

Garnish with cilantro and chow down!

Here's the segment of the Today Show with Mark Bittman's vegan recipes, where this sweet potato stew makes a short appearance.

Inspiration: Candy Land

2012-01-12T08:39:00.000-05:00

Candy Land. I grew up with this game. It's a rainbow of bright colors - something I always love! I have this old board but no pieces, so I've been planning on repurposing it for something. Before I chop it up, here are some photos documenting its color explosion glory.

This version is from 1984. I don't remember owning Candy Land as a kid, but I do remember playing with my grandpa's 1955 version, which looked like this:

The oldest one I found online was this, from 1949. So simple!

1978 was a little more creepy, but still without characters:

Since my 1984 version, the characters have been (unsurprisingly) jacked up:

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The newest version is sufficiently on crack:

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Oh, the good old days. At least it's still colorful!

National Clean Off Your Desk Day

2012-01-10T19:05:00.000-05:00

So I guess yesterday was "National Clean Off Your Desk Day."

My desk isn't super messy today, but to examine all the unnecessary stuff cluttering up my desk that doesn't need to be there, let's make a list.

Everything on my desk:

laptop computer
webcam
monitor
Reach flosser
bluetooth headset
cellphone
spiral shell from the beach in Florida
bobby pin (I'm surprised there's only 1 bobbin pin... usually there are several)
toothpick
SD card reader
2 GB SD memory card
2 speakers
stack of note paper
black headband
twisty tie
point&shoot digital camera
a kleenex that should go in the garbage
hair clip
Precise V5 black pen
mechanical pencil
string of garden lights
Gladware container full of cookie dough bites (3 weeks old...)
4 postcard stamps
gray putty eraser shaped into a martini glass (sorta)
tile coaster
rubber coaster
empty water glass that's actually a tea tumbler
Hello Kitty mouse pad
HP mouse
sketchbook
blue ballpoint pen
lined notebook
10 sheets of printer paper, printed on one side, drawings on the other
Soul Flower catalog
ceramic bowl
- Carmex lip balm
- Burt's Bees lemon butter cuticle cream in a tin
- Soul Flower hemp lip balm
- SanDisk flash drive
- pair of ear plugs
scanner cord (half on the desk, half off)
external hard drive cord (half on the desk, half off)
keyboard

Speaking of decluttering and organizing, which seems to be a popular topic this time of year... if you need inspiration, watch some videos & get inspired to clean up your clutter!

Free Clutterfat Challenge Webinar by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits.
FlyLady TV by Marla Cilley of the Fly Lady.

Patterns from my Christmas package

2012-01-04T22:34:00.000-05:00

Received my much-anticipated Christmas package today from my family back home. Inspired by all the colors and patterns!

Ballpoint pen doodle

2012-01-03T20:00:00.000-05:00

This blue Bic pen was a little dry and sticky, but I still managed a whole page of doodles. Drawing pointless shapes and lines reminds me of doodling in class - I miss that!

Done is better than perfect

2012-01-02T18:17:00.000-05:00

inspired by this by Ben Barry

Christmas in Florida

2012-01-01T23:19:00.000-05:00

We took a trip to Hollywood, Florida right before Christmas. This trip plus my trip home to Minnesota a week earlier - all happening in December - really threw me off! The whole month felt busy, busy, busy, like the whole holiday season just flashed before my eyes in an instant. No time to savor any of it. Hopefully next year is calmer. But for now, here are a few snapshots from the trip:

DCA

palm trees everywhere

peaceful beach

high-rises on the beach

weathered

reppin' soul flower:)

collected shells

museum of art fort lauderdale

fort lauderdale fountain

joe's tiki bar

holocaust memorial, miami beach

miami beach botanical garden

weird shell umbrellas on south beach, miami

Beginning Drawing projects

2011-12-02T09:53:00.000-05:00

A few more still life drawings from my Beginning Drawing class.

See more of my drawings from this class: Flower Drawings.

Thankful for...

2011-11-24T17:19:00.000-05:00

Flower Drawings

2011-11-16T10:23:00.000-05:00

For the past few weeks, I've been taking a Beginning Drawing class. It's a little bit strange since I've taken several drawing classes in the past, including Beginning and Advanced Drawing at the college level. But it has been a great refresher for me.

We drew flowers. Here's the original photo I found on flickr:

and mine:

I've never been great at drawing, but one of the best things I've learned by taking this class is that I can start and finish a pretty darn good drawing if I just take the time to look, pay attention, draw what I see, and be patient.

It's nice to get back into drawing again. I feel like it's a little piece of my soul that longs to get out more, but is extremely shy. She just needs some patience and a lot of gently coaxing.

Good things happen every day

2011-11-12T12:37:00.000-05:00

When each day is the same as the next, it's because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises.
~Paul Coelho in "The Alchemist"

More Lisa Frank goodies from my childhood

2011-11-07T16:04:00.001-05:00

My mom is so awesome. Last week she sent me an envelope with a few Lisa Frank things from home... she wrote, "Found these 'Lisa Frank' items... & thought you might like to add them to your collection!"

It's true, I do have a sweet collection. See: Part 1 and Part 2.

Let's take a look at what my mom found!
1. Panda Painter lunch bag
2. Stackers pen/marker
3. Dolphins stamp

This lunch bag is sweet. And now I have two!

They're so colorful and vibrant still, even after all these years. Love 'em.

This "Stackers" pen consists of 3 colored pen cartridges that pop off the top and slide back in to the back. They're all dried up and squished, but it's still cool. This pen is riddled with Rainbow Unicorns, stars, and Ballerina Bunnies.

And the Dancing Dolphins in Top Hats stamp is still crusted with my childhood paint and glitter :)

5 Lessons from a 1-year Vegetarian

2011-11-06T21:28:00.001-05:00

Happy 1-year vegetarian anniversary to me!

It's been one year since I decided to eat a vegetarian diet! It has been great, and actually pretty easy. Cutting meat out of my diet was easy, and the only time I've ever felt "deprived" is if we end up eating out somewhere and their vegetarian options are limited. But Burger King has a veggie burger on their menu, and it's not bad! Olive Garden has delicious pastas that are meat-free. I happily discovered Indian food, and how delicious it is!

I've learned a few things within the past year. Here are 5.

1. Learn to Cook. Since going vegetarian, my cooking skills have drastically improved. Instead of repeating the same old boring meat-filled dishes, I've really made an effort to try new recipes. Now it's just a habit to try something new about once a week. We've discovered through trial and error a handful of recipes that we really love, and have even started compiling them into our own cookbook, The Dirty Stove Cookbook.

We discovered tempeh, and love it. It's a wonderful animal-free meat. Sure, I still love the smell of grilled burgers, of bacon, and breakfast sausages. Those meats were of course delicious when I used to eat them, and just because I now choose NOT to eat them does not mean I stopped liking their flavor. But I've been learning how to identify the REAL craving behind desiring animal products. It's not the animal flesh, but the salt and the texture and the fat. Juicy double-cheeseburgers used to be my norm, but now I love me an easy pan-fried block of tempeh on a bun. Load up the pickles and I'm golden. I get the texture, the salt, and still a bit of fat.

2. Remind yourself why you do it. I highly recommend the Vegetarian Food for Thought podcast. Educating yourself on the truth about animal cruelty, nutrition of meat and vegetables (and nutrition in general), and other vegetarian lifestyle-related issues will help remind you why you've chosen to avoid meat. I love learning about all of this, and it helps to have smart comebacks to naysayers.

If you think choosing meatless options won't make a difference, consider this. Have you ever seen the show Unwrapped on Food Network? On the show, they go behind the scenes in factories making candy, snack foods, and other packaged and processed foods. When you watch that show and see them making HUGE batches of food that includes animal products, you get a sense of how much is actually consumed. If you choose NOT to eat that product, then you choose NOT to fund that company that uses animal products by the truckloads. It makes a difference.

3. Be Healthy. Have you heard of "junk food vegetarians"?

Simply because a food is vegetarian does not mean it's healthy. After all, a person can eat donuts, bagels, potato chips, candy, and French fries and be a vegetarian, but obviously this is not a healthy diet. ~Suzanne Dixon, MPH, MS, RD

Eat whole foods. Eat ingredients. Don't buy processed foods, convenience foods, or products with a massive ingredients list. Choosing to eat vegetarian is a step to a healthier lifestyle, but only if you replace the meat with healthier choices like vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, and nuts. There's no lack of healthy-eating pep talks these days, so you don't need one from me. I'm not perfect (nobody is!) but I do my best!

4. Consider Veganism. In the past couple months, I've been making a sure & steady effort at avoiding other animal products: cow's milk, cheese, and eggs. The cruelty of meat slaughter extends to production of milk, cheese, eggs, and other animal parts like gelatin. I'm not cool with dead animal flesh on my plate, so why should I let their other secretions slide? Plus, cheese is addictive, and the protein in milk and cheese (casein) is a carcinogen (and one that many people are exposed to on a daily basis - not good).

Going vegetarian can be a pretty easy transition, but I think going completely vegan is more difficult. You have to know what to look for to avoid. You have to be comfortable eating copious amounts of vegetables (but they're good for you!). The biggest hurdle for me is flexibility: I feel like not eating meat is no big deal, but if I can at least eat cheese I know I'll have something to choose from when eating out at a restaurant. But really, this should be a non-issue. If my beliefs and my values include keeping ALL animal parts off my plate, then who should judge me? It might be a little more of a hassle, but if it's what I believe in, then no one can argue.

5. Avoid Consumerism. Here's an idea: kill your TV! Just kidding. But seriously, though - we are marketed to by companies with such fervor, every minute of every day (if you let them). My boyfriend and I don't have cable, so I don't see commercials. Imagine if you never watched any commercials! That's like 15 minutes of advertising for every hour spent watching TV cut out of your life. How many commercials can they fit in 15 minutes? If every one is 30 seconds, that's 30 commercials every hour. 30 products you don't need, 30 fast food restaurants you don't want, 30 messages of "you're not quite good enough, but TRY THIS!"

When you deliberately sever commercialism from your life, you won't miss it. And if you're ever exposed to it for a short period of time (at a friend's house, at the doctor's office, etc) you will be taken aback at how hard they try and sell it. Those commercials are so flashy, so direct, and so fake. You can't see it when you're in it, but take a break and all those lies will become crystal clear. Try to avoid being sold to. When you don't see commercials for gooey-hot-from-the-oven-300-calorie-chocolate-chip-cookies or crispy-fried-in-lard-legs-torn-from-chickens-that'll-melt-in-your-mouth-only-$2.99 ...you'll have an easier time making healthy choices. This is all about healthy choices.

Read this!

Decorating spice containers

2011-11-03T22:54:00.000-04:00

Please enlighten me if you know, but I don't know the difference between "oriental curry powder" and "Indian curry powder." The first few times I bought curry powder, I bought a tiny little 3-ounce tin of "oriental curry powder." But then one day we found amazingly inexpensive bags of Indian spices in the international aisle at our local Cub Foods. Spices like curry powder, turmeric, ground ginger, cumin, and garam masala. All spices necessary to cook up some delicious Indian food. And in the midst of all those bulk spices, they were selling an entire BAG of what looked like the exact same orangey-colored curry powder for about half the cost of the teeny tin.

I checked online, and found the same thing:

The curry powder from ishopindian is only 28 cents per ounce, while Amazon (and grocery stores) sell "oriental curry powder" for almost $2 per ounce! What gives? I've tasted both and couldn't tell a difference.

Anyway, the point of this story is that we've had all these bags of Indian spices now for awhile. We still use them, but the bags are big and we don't cook Indian food every single day. So I was looking for a way to store the spices in more sturdy, airtight containers. And decided to use an empty peanut jar and an empty coffee can.

I decorated the tops the sides with a little Indian flair. And there you have it! Spices by the can - easier to dispense than pouring from a floppy bag, easier to store, and a lot cuter to look at :)

Edit 11/9/2011:
We emptied another coffee canister, so I was able to transfer my turmeric to it!

Perfect Vegan Double-Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe

2011-10-26T09:57:00.000-04:00

I'm calling these "Perfect" because on my first attempt at making these, they came out looking professional and tasting amazing! They are so delicious and rich, you can't help but be happy after nomming.

If you follow the recipe and use dairy-free chocolate chips, these double chocolate chip cookies are vegan! Vegan means no animal products: no eggs, no cow's milk. And while a lot of baked goods have some sort of egg replacer (like Ener-G Egg Replacer, applesauce, banana, flax seeds, etc), this recipe has no egg substitute so they are super easy and you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry!

Perfect Vegan Double-Chocolate Chip Cookies
Preheat oven to 350° F.

2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. white sugar (or raw sugar)
1/3 c. cocoa powder
pinch of cinnamon (optional)

1/2 c. canola or vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. non-dairy milk (like soy milk) or water
2/3 c. chocolate chips*

Mix it all up and form into balls using your hands. The dough was a bit clumpy for me, so rolling with my hands was the best way to get smooth, even cookies.

Bake for about 10 minutes at 350°. Let the cookies rest a couple minutes on the pan before removing them so they don't fall apart.

Enjoy!

---

*Make sure your chocolate chips are vegan. It's easy to just grab chocolate chips that are made with cow's milk. Avoid ingredients with the word milk in them (milk chocolate, milk powder, milk, milkfat). Also avoid casein and whey.

Cocoa butter is not from animals, and neither is soy lecithin, so don't worry about those!

There are a lot of specifically vegan brands out there, but a brand that I know is carried in many grocery stores and superstores like Wal-Mart and Target is Ghirardelli.

Ghirardelli Chocolate Semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Chips appear to be vegan, although the label does say "Manufactured on the same equipment that also makes products containing milk" but personally I would still buy these despite the warning. To each his own.

Another option is to just grab one of those fancy chocolate bars with a high cocoa (or cacao) percentage. The higher percentage, the less likely it is to have milk (but double-check). Chop up your fancy chocolate bar and use it as chocolate chips!

This recipe is based off of Happy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Collecting Autumn Leaves

2011-10-24T18:30:00.000-04:00

How Rules Foster Creativity

2011-10-18T07:32:00.000-04:00

Somehow, having boundaries seems to encourage people to be creative; whereas having unlimited options paralyzes and results in complete inaction. There must be some law of psychology* about being overwhelmed by options: I know I'm not the only one who has observed this.

Seth Godin writes in Small is the new big:

We resort to tradition. If you have too many clothes, you have too many choices of what to wear. Instead of rummaging through your piles and closets full of clothes to put together a new and creative outfit, you stick with your tried&true favorites. There are too many options so you pick something you've picked before. Your creativity is paralyzed from the unlimited possibilities so you choose something safe.

But sometimes it's rewarding to choose the non-traditional, not-so-safe option. Give yourself guidelines, rules, and boundaries, and you'll find a way to thrive.

In the 30 for 30 Style Remix Challenge, bloggers choose 30 items from their existing wardrobe and, for 30 days, mix & match those items to creatively put together outfits every day. I participated once and found it to be an enjoyable challenge. Instead of staring down a closet filled with choices, I could only pick from my 30 items. It forced me to be creative. Having an unlimited closet to pick from sounds like it would be the perfect palette for a creative masterpiece of an outfit, but it's too much. Without rules, it's like walking into a huge art supply store and being told, "make something."

In school, teachers seem to have this idea of boundaries figured out. Assignments are created to teach you something specific, of course, but the rules outlined in a project foster creativity, too. Students love a challenge; they love to find ways to bend the rules, even if it's just the 'rules' of the assignment. Studying art in college, some of my most successful art projects were the ones where I didn't follow the rules.

Example: figure drawing from a live model. Professor was likely expecting our results to look like this:

...instead mine looked like this, the model crowded out by doodles of still life, cats, and cat food.

Although we are bombarded with thousands of options pretty much everywhere we go, limiting your options can make decision-making a whole lot easier and fun. When you're working within a set of rules, you force yourself to be creative with what you have. Accept the challenge!

*Edit (10/27/2011): turns out this whole concept IS studied in psychology! This TED talk by psychologist Barry Schwartz gives a good intro: Barry Schwartz on the paradox of choice.

Pinterest Addiction

2011-10-16T13:34:00.001-04:00

Pinterest: Pinterest is an vision board-styled social photo sharing website where users can create and manage theme-based image collections. (wikipedia)

When I first joined Pinterest, it was boring to me. I'm not sure why. But after I started pinning to multiple boards and the Pinterest community as a whole became more active, it became quite addictive. As of October 14th, I have 46 different boards and have pinned almost 2,000 images.

I like the design and layout of Pinterest boards, and the fact that you can have multiple boards makes organizing easy. I used to do the same thing I do on Pinterest -- collecting and posting themed images -- but I used different Tumblr blogs. It's not as easy to make an entire new tumblr blog as it is to create a new board on Pinterest. Plus all your boards are attributed to you, and users can easily browse through everything you've pinned. Themed tumblr blogs are totally separate from one another and scattered.

Wasting time on the internet and certain websites is not a good thing. I'm a little bit embarrassed to admit how much Pinterest is able to suck me in and keep me clicking and pinning for hours. It's bad news. But in the end, I like looking at my boards and being inspired by the images I've collected there. There's always some good with the bad, right?

Minimizing: 5 coats streamlined to 1

2011-10-14T19:54:00.001-04:00

In addition to still having too much stuff, I really had TOO many coats. Living in Minnesota my whole live seemed to justify my "need" for multiple jackets and coats. It's true, the weather in Minnesota can change on you in an instant. It gets pretty hot and really cold, and everywhere in between.

I've yet to experience winter on the east coast, but I hear winters are milder. And no matter where I live, I have no good reason for having 5 different coats. I decided to streamline down to one.

First of all, each coat that I owned had its good and bad qualities. I realized I was keeping each one for a specific purpose. So I figured out what those purposes were and used them as my Requirements list while shopping for ONE new coat.

1. Red & Black Winter Coat
Its best quality: warm

2. Green Furry Coat
Its best quality: cute

3. Leather Jacket
Its best quality: water resistant

4. Pink Fleece Jacket (reversible)
Its best quality: lightweight

5. Peacoat
Its best qualities: dressy and long

So, my new perfect coat should be:

warm
cute
water resistant
lightweight
dressy and long

So what did I find? THE ONE COAT TO RULE THEM ALL

I chose this coat: Columbia Sportswear Aravis II Long Interchange Parka - Waterproof, 3-in-1. As the name implies, it is waterproof and long. It is a 3-in-1 coat so the inside lightweight fleece layer zips out of the waterproof outer layer, or you can wear them together for a nice warm winter coat. I got it in all black, so that fulfills my dressy requirement, and it is a parka - so the length is long.

It's not as cute as a fashion jacket, but I don't care about that. I could go ga-ga over fashionable jackets all day, but they're not as good at multi-tasking as this coat is, and that's what is most important to me now. It was difficult to find the perfect all-in-one coat that met all my requirements. I have high standards. But spending hours shopping online for this coat made me really think about what mattered most to me. Of course I was concerned with price, but also value and quality. And I think that's something so many consumers often overlook. We're so captured by that cute frilly mustard-colored jacket that's on sale at the store, we just HAVE to have it. NOW. It's not until we get home that we realize it doesn't match with anything, it's not warm enough, it's too short, too tight, etc, etc. I enjoy taking the time to search out a product that I really want and being picky. I'd rather spend more money and time finding that perfect coat that I'm happy with and will last for years than impulsively buying something that I wear only a few times and then have to worry about finding something new.

We're such a throw-away culture. Here's a new idea: how about we buy stuff that we LOVE? Only buy what we NEED, and make it LAST. You'd do it with a car-- you probably would only buy a car if you NEEDED it since they're expensive, you'd only say yes to one that you LOVE, and you'd try hard to make it LAST. Let's treat all our stuff that way!

Basil Lemonade & How to preserve basil

2011-09-29T19:52:00.000-04:00

Last time we went to the grocery store, I found hydroponic basil plants. I had been wanting to grow my own basil for awhile, but never got around to getting seeds, soil, pots, etc. (I hear it's quite easy to grow your own at home.) I got the plant, brought it home, and put it in a can of water. I wanted to see how long it would last.

But by the very next morning, my basil plant was wilting. It was looking sad. I put it near the window to get some sun, but it didn't seem to help. I read online that you should store it in a moist environment, like a plastic bag with holes poked in it.

That didn't help either. As the day went on, my basil plant wilted more and more. I didn't want my fresh basil to go to waste! So I looked online and found that you can preserve basil in salt.

So I picked off all the leaves that had already started to decay and wilt, and put the rest in a plastic container between layers of salt.

Stuck it in the fridge, and we'll see how they keep! They're supposed to last 6-9 months packed in salt in the refrigerator.

With my already-wilted leaves, I decided to make a quick basil lemonade recipe.

Since I had about 1 cup of basil leaves instead of the recipe's called-for 1/2 cup, I doubled the recipe.

Basil Lemonade Double-Batch Recipe
makes about 2 quarts
You'll need:

1 cup of lightly packed fresh basil leaves
6 tablespoons sugar
8 cups water (or about one of those 64 oz / 2 qt pitchers filled with water)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used the juice of a lemon supplemented with ReaLemon juice)

In a bowl or measuring cup, combine basil leaves and sugar. Crush leaves and sugar with a wooden spoon until leaves are fully shredded and incorporated into the sugar (sugar will turn green).

In your pitcher, add basily sugar to the water. Add lemon juice. Stir until the sugar dissolves.

Strain through pitcher lid and serve over ice.

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I thought the chunks of basil were kind of big in my lemonade, so I tried to blend it in a blender to chop them up. It didn't really work. The strainer on the pitcher helps to keep some out of your drink, but if you just let the drink sit a few minutes, the big chunks of basil will sink to the bottom.

It might help to make this as a slushy, with ground up ice, to mask the basil chunks. The taste of this lemonade is quite refreshing, and is best cold. I imagine it would be fantastic in the middle of summer.

Since it reminded me of a mojito, this basil lemonade would probably also go well with vodka or rum :)

Interview with a Pixologist

2011-09-27T14:59:00.000-04:00

I was interviewed for Soul Flower (by the lovely Jacqueline Lee) over on the Soul Flower Blog.

Check it out!