I went to this museum about a month ago to see the exhibit they had on Cats & Dogs. The Blanton Museum of Art is not a big museum which worked out well for me since I did not have a lot of time. Sadly, I was not allowed to take pictures of the Cats & Dogs exhibit but I did capture some snap shots only to go through them and realize so many of my favorite paintings contain the soft, curves of a naked lady. But of course. I mean we look nice. Don't get me wrong I also like naked men. Naked people. Anyway. The coolest thing to me was that I didn't get a lot of time to capture information about all the works but this awesome place has a database in which you can return time and again to read and enjoy the works. Thank you internet!
New Things
I have been crafting like mad and I am starting to list the many new pieces I've created in my shop. I'd love it if you had a moment to stop by.
Morning at the Arboretum
I went out to see a beautiful large glass art exhibit at the MN Landscape Arboretum. I went in the early part of the morning when it was quiet and deserted. It was a really nice way to start the day.
Fall is coming and the Arboretum is probably a great place to go experience it. Minnesota is never more beautiful than when the leaves change.
What To Eat Wednesday, New India
I recently visited Austin, Texas. It's a very vegan friendly town. The first night there I had dinner at a place called New India. It's a little place with great food. My favorite was the 5 Star Thali Platter that had a bowl of every vegan thing to sample on it. I eat a lot of Indian food and I was pleasantly surprised to find things on the platter I had never had before. Fragrant and unusual. Sprouted lentils, yellow dahl-all quite delicious. I am learning to really love sprouted bits of legumes. The staff was friendly and the menu was clearly labeled vegan. It sits amidst all the many food trucks in the Austin City Proper. Austin is a pretty cool town. I'll write more about it soon. Those of you in the Midwest will know what I mean when I say it's similar to Madison, Wisconsin.
What To Eat Wednesday, Triple Rock Social Club
A long time favorite place of mine for breakfast. Especially if you made a few bad decisions the night before. As it's usually cool inside and dimly lit. Triple Rock has an extensive vegan menu that includes vegan Kalhua pancakes and a glorious dish known as the Mother Biker. Tofu scramble covered in spicy vegan nacho cheese. They also have plenty for dinner such as a Vegan Po-Boy. Quite Tasty. It's a punk bar so don't expect it to be fancy. But you can expect very good service and excellent food. They also offer the Mug Mimosa which is a coffee cup full of champagne and oj. What more could you ask for on a morning with a slight headache?
Hungry Hungry Hungry
Fire Noodles at Namaste Cafe.
I recently saw a big poster that said EAT WELL TRAVEL OFTEN and I thought-YES! I have taken on the very big task of truly organizing my photos and it's taking a long time but it's also showing me things I've long forgotten about. One thing I have been trying to get better at is my photos of food. As someone who tries to share what is important to me about my diet i.e. meat-free, healthy and adventurous, I think having terrible food photos would most certainly not communicate that and they would possibly end up in places such as Somebody Ate That and completely defeat the purpose of taking food photos. Here are a few that I came across recently that I thought looked pretty yummy.
Homemade Coconut Curry-recipe soon!
Homemade Green Beans-SO EASY! Wash, snap off ends, heat wok up pretty hot, flash fry them with tamari and chopped garlic. Takes about 10 minutes total and most of that time is washing.
Instagram snap of vegan donuts from Glam Doll Donuts.
Epic salad bar at Q Cumbers. Very Veg Friendly.
Homegrown basil on top of Victoria Vegan Alfredo Sauce. Served with bow tie pasta(my favorite) with soy chicken strips and pine nuts. YUM YUM YUM.
I'll be making these tonight: Tofu Fajitas loosely based on this recipe: Tofu Fajitas. I make mine more spicy and use all vegan products. NO sour cream cuts the fat intake.
Potatoes from Mill City Farmer's Market, homegrown rosemary with herbs from Penzey's Spices (Bavarian Seasoning is the name of the blend), olive oil, all chopped and placed in foil then cooked on the grill. Easy and very tasty.
My favorite pizza from Punch Pizza. The Gigi: olive oil, garlic, basil, cherry tomatoes. Simple and perfect.
Have a tasty day!
Minnesota Monday, Minnehaha Falls
A visit to Minnehaha Falls, a favorite place.
Things I've Made.
Listing new pieces, going through photos of past pieces, I love making jewelry.
Thursday's Times Past, Seattle
OK-the title is silly but it occurred to me that I do not like the phrase Throwback Thursday. But I do like the idea of sharing past experiences. San Diego Comic Con is happening this weekend and I am not at it. I have never been in attendance despite the fact that I have been a geek for quite some time now. It did get me thinking on some of my favorite Geeky Experiences and I was reminded of how much fun I had at the EMP Museum in Seattle some years ago. I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside but WOW it's a cool place(though at the time was notably lacking in Firefly pieces). I also ate tons of great vegan food such as at Cyber Dogs. Seattle is quite beautiful and I was there in December. It was funny how many of the residents were complaining about the 50 degree weather and back in Minnesota it was below freezing most days. It was a nice break for me to say the least. Also happy making=the amazing number of used bookstores.
I mean seriously, the museum was filled with stuff from Bladerunner. It was awesome.
What to Eat Wednesday, Galactic Pizza
I have been reintoduced to a pizza place here in Minneapolis the last couple of months. When Galactic Pizza first opened, I was pretty excited about having another vegan pizza option. I went there three times before giving up on it. I would have terrible experiences all three times. Bad service, long wait times, undercooked pizzas. It was a shame really, they have a great mission of making high quality pizzas, using electric cars for delivery and quite charmingly having their delivery people dress like superheroes. Including at one point some years ago one of the delivery people famously stopping a thief in their superhero outfit. Fast forward about 5 years and a friend wants to go eat there. I hesitate but then go with it and I am so glad I did. Whatever problems they had in the past, Galactic Pizza is AWESOME now.
They have great, unique vegan pizza options, the whole space has been redone and is very nice. I didn't get a picture of the outside but the patio they have set up is cute. The service is ten times better and the food was to-die-for. Especially the vegan bianca pizza. Also, 3-D pizza menus. I can't recommend it enough now. And save room for vegan strawberry cheesecake. YUM.
Matisse on a Monday
I actually saw this exhibit of Matisse about two months ago. But with working on my book and launch party, I've been unable to share it. The exhibit was at the M.I.A. and I went on the same day to see the The Art in Bloom exhibit for 2014(which I love). I knew a little about Matisse and I do like some of his work. It's a bit out of the realm of art I favour as I tend to be more in love with the romantic and fantastical. There are pieces in his fauvism work I do enjoy and of course, like so many-his paper-cuts. Here are some snaps from the exhibit.
Ella Cerulean, Book 1 of The Connective
I have been one very busy lady. But I am so happy and proud of what I've been doing. Over the last 8-9 years I've been slowly putting together ideas for a new young adult science-fiction series of books. I never really sat down too much to write a whole lot till the last year. I've had notes on scraps of paper, napkins and even a chapter written on my iPhone. I finally was given the opportunity to work full-time on getting the first book out and well, I leapt in with excitement. My first book Ella Cerulean, Book 1 of The Connective is now out and available on multiple websites. I will note that these currently available editions will change a bit as we wanted to get the story up and out in time for a party we hosted at the local convention CONvergence (separate post to come). The party we had was based on the last three chapters of my book. It is so amazing to me how much work several people in my life put into making this happen. We worked countless hours to make this come to life and I couldn't possibly be happier. The paperback version is available on Lulu.com and the digital versions are on Apple (this version is free and includes a mini-movie) and Amazon (which is currently .99 but will go up in price). The book is also available internationally. I am so pleased to tell you that the first week it was out it sat in the top 100 of Young Adult Sci-Fi books for a week. I couldn't believe it! It was on the list with The Hunger Games and Divergent! Allow me to share with you photos of the book cover and of the party we created and hosted for three nights in a row based on the book!
We served homemade blue champagne!
What to Eat Wednesday but on Thursday, Mad Mex
Mad Mex was a place I ate at twice in Pittsburgh and it was so good! Very vegan friendly, nice staff and the portions were CRAZY. I loved the tofu tacos. Go here if you can. Some pics from my phone. They're not great but you get the idea.
Papercuts. The Pretty Kind.
I didn't know too much about papercuts. I've seen smaller ones and have always thought they were cool. Of course, when we are kids we try our hand at making paper snowflakes. Recently, I went to one of my favorite places in Minneapolis, the American Swedish Institute. I love going here because I see art I've not experienced anywhere else. On this particular visit it was not very crowded for once and I was able to examine details in the mansion I haven't been able to see before. I only wish the cafe was a bit vegan friendly. The gift shop is very cute and I have bought many gifts for people from it for various holidays.
In Summation Part 3 or I'm good at putting my foot in my mouth.
Part of this post is a little bit cheating as I wrote the encounter with Keanu Reeves several years ago. I have realized recently how relevant it is at the moment to my nerves about hosting a party for the launch of my first young adult novel. It will be a three night long affair and since my book goes live that weekend very few people will have read it yet. I'll be explaining over and over about it. At least -I hope I will, some people will really not care. The party part is very exciting but I am one of those people that has a terrible time keeping my foot out of my mouth. Often I am just trying to make a joke about something but that can go horribly wrong sometimes. In this particular case as you can read in a minute, I simply ran out of patience. Which I do not want to happen as I am truly grateful for each and every person who gives my creative endeavors a glance. My anxiety is at an all time high and I'll be writing more soon about an experience that will tell you why I probably should not worry too much about it. But if you care to read it: The first time I was rude to a celebrity. By accident. I swear.
I have no shame (okay, maybe a little shame) in admitting that roughly fourteen years ago I had a crush on Keanu Reeves. (Tall, dark, moody-what can I say? I have a type.) This little fact came out on a night I was out with my new roommates and as you can imagine: it delighted them to no end.
Thinking I had escaped reproach a few days went by when I came home from work one night to find a pair of tickets to a show for a band called “Dogstar” taped to my bedroom door.
Not entirely realizing what I was doing I went to Cheap-o and asked about the c.d. The entirely adorable, tattooed hipster boy working at the counter was none too thrilled to show me that it was in fact, the band Keanu Reeves played bass in. He informed me that playing bass meant that you were the guy with the money to foot the bill. Not that he was bitter.
I took the c.d. home and gave it a listen. Yes, so it was dreadful. I didn’t think twice about the tickets and went over to visit a friend. I laughingly told her about the tickets and the c.d. thinking she too, would laugh at my terrible decision making. She didn’t. In fact, she had the exact opposite reaction, “Let’s go to the show.”
“Whatever, but I want to go to Bryant Lake Bowl first,” was my response(I was in my big wine drinking phase and oh yeah, all-the-guys-that-work-there-are-hot phase). She agreed to pick me up from work the next night.
I shall now include the fact that at the time I was working in Calhoun Square and yes she was going to pick me up in her mini-van. This is a pertinent piece of information otherwise, I would’ve just walked you know the three blocks or whatever. The reason this is important to my little tale is because I changed clothes in the van on the way to the bar and brushed my hair. That’s it. Five minutes. Maybe.
(A fun little fact about this van is that it was basically a garbage truck. Crap everywhere. Including a dog dish that my friend driving said van once peed in when she was drunk, yep.)
We get to the BLB and sit at the bar. It’s not super busy but there are a of couple guys at the bar. The bartender and I were friendly at this point. He always had something new for me to try so he and I started chatting. Kay (said friend) sits down next to me putting a space between me and the guy closest to me. She turns to me and tells me I look great. I laugh, because you know, I changed in the van.
The guy next to her says, “She should look great because I’m sure she spent hours getting ready.” It was go figure, not said in a particularly nice tone.
Kay turns to him, “What did you say?”
“I said she should look great because I’m sure she spent hours getting ready.”
“Mind your fucking business.”
“Just ignore him Kay.” I really had no interest in getting into it with some random guy. Who had clearly just been dumped.
“Yeah, women think it’s really great to ignore men don’t they?” He leans towards me, “You look like someone I know.”
“Lucky me. Kay, let’s go sit somewhere else.”
“No, fuck him. He can move.” See, Kay liked fights. Especially if there was some sort of perceived threat to women’s rights. There wasn’t, he was just a jerk. I can’t imagine why he got dumped. Plus, I really wanted to have a nice night. Sadly, my idea of a nice night and Kay’s idea of a nice night are different.
I think you can get the idea what the next three hours between them was like. I myself enjoyed wondering things like, “What would make a better pet; a gila monster or Komodo dragon?” and “Belly button lint: friend or foe?” It was far, far more interesting.
The up side was the bartender took pity on me and picked out a great many glasses of wine for me to drink which somewhat helped soften the blow to my wasted evening. My point is: I was drunk.
Kay suddenly jumps up from her seat, “We’re late. The show is already started.”
“Yeah, I mentioned that two hours ago,” I shrugged and kept drinking wine.
Kay’s “date” had wandered off -FINALLY.
“Well, hurry up, I want to go.” Kay started getting it together to leave.
I’m mildly annoyed at this point as it had occurred to me that perhaps I might want to continue to get drunk and insulted by random strangers but, whatever.
As we’re leaving Prince Charming returns and shakes Kay’s hand as if they had some well-thought out spirited debate about something that mattered. Not actually just hurling grade school insults at each other to represent the “honor of the sexes.”
He then turns to me and holds out his hand, “Good Night, beautiful.”
Yep.
::blink blink::
I turn and walk away only to hear my traitorous friend say, “She’s drunk never mind her being rude.”
Bitch.
We get to the club(The Quest, as you Minnesotans know is now gone) and lo and behold the show is over. Imagine that.
People are leaving. O.K. *not* many people and the bouncers are blocking the door not letting anyone in.
So, this of course means Kay goes up to the bouncer and asks if she can go in to use the bathroom. I bet you can guess what his answer was and multiple times at that since she didn’t stop asking.
He finally doesn’t say anything else and just holds up his finger, turns around and goes back into the club and locks the door.
“Fine, I’m gonna go pee in the alley.” Not an unusual occurrence, I might add.
I follow somewhat behind her as she hurries up ahead of me for our classy rendezvous.
I turn a corner to see Kay talking to a girl who looks about 18. In fact, there’s about a dozen women from 18 to about 40 hanging out in the alley. Waiting for the band they inform us.
Kay loves this idea and keeps telling all the girls how much she loves, “Lonestar.”
“Dogstar, Kay.”
“Right, I love them.”
This goes on for a while. I’m completely irritated as we wait and wait and wait.
“Kay, can’t we go? I’m tired of this.” I realize that drinking would ACTUALLY be more productive.
“Just a few more minutes.”
They slip right on by.
“OK,” I step in front of her and I’m so annoyed at this point my voice is a bit raised.
“Kay, let’s go. This is stupid. The c.d. sucks and I’m sick of this and what in the hell has Keanu Reeves ever done that is worth a shit? Which, I know is the only reason you want to hang out here and it’s pathetic. He’s the star of a bunch of crappy movies.”
Can you just feel how quiet it was when I turned around and the members of the band we’re standing behind me, Mr. Keanu right in the front.
I think, “Wow, he’s really tall.”
He says, “So, you didn’t like the show?”
I shrug my shoulders.
Kay pushed past me and wouldn’t you know, “I love your band Lonestar.”
No one says anything.
“We didn’t make it to the show.” Common decency would mean I felt awkward and bad at this point. I didn’t. I was still annoyed.
One band member was talking to other girls who, I have no doubt, we’re a lot nicer than the two of us. The other had already gotten in the car.
Kay asks him for an autograph and he just looks at me and laughs.
Keanu points out that Kay has nothing for him to sign or to sign with so he hugs her.
He smiles real big at me and asks if I’ll hug him.
Nope, I didn’t think twice about it. Bad actor or not he’s still really hot and really tall.
And a lot of nicer than I deserve.
He gets in the car and as they’re pulling away he waves to me.
A few days later there’s a review in the City Pages about the show. The first couple of lines contain the phrase “after the band’s putrid set.”
I've added this cat picture to alleviate the idiocy.
Girly Geek Chic Shop Update!
It's been a while since I let you know that I had new things up in my shop! It was a busy month in May. Sold things off line, made my official 200th sale in my ETSY shop and worked on editing my book. I have made bunches more things and I'm slowly listing them. I'm on a big deadline with my book and launch party so my shop is not at the front of my list right now. It will be more after the book is out in July. Thanks for stopping by!
~~You can find some of these things and many others at GirlyGeekChic~~
~Beauty on a Monday~
Last month's trip to Pittsburgh took me to the Carnegie Museum of Art. It's not a large place but it is a lovely place. I found several new pieces to add to my favorites list.
What To Eat Wednesday, Square Cafe
As with most places I've been, the hardest meal of the day to find vegan was breakfast. Often when traveling we'll just go to a grocery store and get breakfast things since this is made easier by the prevalence of kitchens in hotels and through airbnb. But there's usually one or two places that offer an option or two. In Pittsburgh, the one place we found was Square Cafe. They had one vegan breakfast that you could customize a bit. The food was good and the place was really busy. Obviously a locals place. One big downfall was the price. Two meals and just water was $35. That's pretty spendy.
They had a vegan scramble with asparagus. You could also get it in a chorizo version.
Carousel Jewelry Holder: A How-To Post
I meant to put this up a couple of months ago but did not for some reason. I put up my Ferris Wheel Jewelry Holder How-To. Well this goes along with that post and it is also an easy alteration. I made this to go on my dresser to display part of my somewhat big handmade jewelry collection.
You'll start with buying the cupcake holder on Amazon. Once you get it-put it together per the instructions.
Other things you need:
-glue
-felt
-marker
-empty cereal box
-something to measure your circles( I used a roll of tape)
-scissors
Step 1: Put the cupcake holder together
As you can see from the picture, after I put it together I was measuring the holder trays to figure out what I could use to measure what material I was deciding to use. I started with cupcake liners. Too flimsy. I tried paper and plain material. Fell through the bottom. Then I thought of felt. I realized I needed something to make it more sturdy but not too thick. And that's where the cereal box comes in:
Step 2: Draw circles with whatever size you decide to make your pieces.
Step 3: Draw the circles on the felt too.
Step 4: Cut them out. Cardboard and felt. This is pretty hard for me. I am terrible at cutting circles. But I trimmed them down and got pretty close.
Step 5: Glue them together.
Step 6: Love yourself. (I wrote myself notes on the bottom when they were dry)
Step 7: Put your circles into the trays.
Step 8: Fill with Pretties
A few months later and I still love my little set-up!
Art in Bloom 2014 Edition
I think this may be the 4th time I've been to the Art in Bloom event at the M.I.A. I have to admit that I really like it. Most of the crowd is older. And I do mean much older. I imagine women who have more free time in their lives to garden and really appreciate flowers. I drag my boyfriend there. I'm not always sure if he likes it or not but he does go without complaint which I appreciate. Here of some of my favorites from the exhibit this year. None of them really blew me away as they have in the past but they are still quite lovely.
