Unearthly Moppets & Haunting Vapors

I stopped in at Rachel Girard's sculpture exhibit at Rogue Buddha. I actually hadn't been back to Rogue Buddha since we had our NYE event there about 8 years ago. I rather forgot what a little gem it is as I not only saw Rachel's incandescent creatures there was also: Micheal Thomsen mixed media pieces filled with symbolism worthy of a DaVinci inspired mystery, playful, candy-colored pieces by Rudy Fig, creepy fairy tales by Alex Kuno and Nicholas Harper's Neo-renaissance fem paintings that fill a tiny dark room floor to ceiling. A room for reading with a tea surrounded by peeping eyes and whispers. I am especially swooning over the red haired black wing fairy. I desperately want her to come haunt my house.

Rogue Buddha's hours are Wed.-Sat. 3-8 p.m. and the show is up until March 12th.

~Monkeys are Made of Chocolate. Hacienda Baru~

The first part of the tour started at a restored part of Costa Rica. 815 acres that used to be cattle grazing land as the government tried to figure out how to feed it's population. Eventually they realized that what they had was beyond important and let the jungle start to come back to life. (Turns out cows don't do so great in the jungle anyway) There was hiking and breathtaking views and critters everywhere. Most of the time you're not fast enough to capture photos of the animals but we got a few. There was a night spent sleeping in the jungle and I woke up to something sniffing my head. And bats. SO MANY HUGE BATS. The name of the reserve I stayed at is Hacienda Baru and the people that worked there were very passionate about the land. They took great care leading us through the jungle and were so knowledgeable about the area. I was blown away by the love put into the land. The first pictures are of a few stops on the way out to Hacienda Baru.

A note about the tour I took: We used Wilderness Inquiry. A not-for-profit organization that leads eco-tours. I will go into this more in later posts but they are absolutely worth looking up. They have big, medium and little adventures and provide accessibility for everyone. Amazing. 

Our guide, Matt was great: organized, knowledgeable and well-prepared with skills necessary for first aid emergencies(there were a few in the group) (not me, thankfully). He also is possessed of a few rare leadership skills in keeping people calm and giving information in a timely, matter-of-fact manner. I really adored him. I would tell anyone to go on a trip with him. 

See you soon!

Museo del Jade

Another great place to visit in San Jose is the Jade Museum. I did not get as much time here as I would've liked but I am glad that I got some time to look around. I had no idea that Pre-Columbian artifacts included South American Jade carving. There is a pretty extensive collection of beautiful artifacts that are displayed in bilingual arrangements. Some of the displays are quite creative lending a great deal to the atmosphere with lighting and backdrops including a map of Central America you can walk on to explore the routes of jade trade and mining. There is a HUGE collection of every shape and size of ocarina you can think of and a really cool Shamanism exhibit. I would suggest having at least 2-3 hours here if you like to read all the information. The building is so well-kept and adds a modern line to the older city. There is a charming little cafe inside as well. You can take photos too. (I always appreciate that!) Fair warning, some of the art has nudity. Actually, I found it both interesting and funny.

...We interrupt your regularly scheduled post.....

All the while I've been writing about my travels, which there's more to come because well, traveling is awesome. There have been plenty of things afoot here in good ole' Minneapolis. Starting with the opening of The Herbivorous Butcher. I've mentioned them before as America's first vegan butcher shop. They are getting lots of attention I am happy to say. I first had the food from their stalls at the Farmer's Market and then various pop-up shops they had around town. They now have their very own, nice shop in NE Minneapolis. I stopped in the other day to stock up. I think some of their items are quite delicious such as the Maple Sage Breakfast Sausage. You should give it a try. They ship now as well!

San Jose! Wandering and Vegan Food!

San Jose is a busy place. The weekends especially have the streets and parks filled with people. When I wasn't in museums (I'll post about the Jade museum tomorrow) I was wandering around looking at buildings and trying food. I managed to find churros to eat and plenty of fresh fruit smoothies. A lot of passionfruit things everywhere which is my favorite so I was pretty happy about that. I had lunch at a great little vegetarian place Vishnu Restaurante. There was a woman eating there who helped us pick out food and then treated us to pineapple chocolates. I seriously cannot say enough how kind people are in Costa Rica. A lot of meals consisted of a "typical" Costa Rican meal of cascados. Which is usually black beans, rice, grilled plantains and some grouping of other veggies. I had a grilled hearts of palm in the city with this meal and it was delicious. The food was healthy and usually cooked in palm oil as it is grown and harvested in the country. I especially liked french fries cooked in it. AND I can't even get started on the coffee. IT IS AMAZING. I brought home a decent amount of it. It smells divine.

Hotel Grano de Oro

There are two places out of the 6 places I stayed that stood out on the luxury end of my visit in Costa Rica. The first place was in San Jose by the name of Hotel Grano de Oro. This was a gorgeous place not unlike a hotel you would see in a movie where a well-dressed star sits elegantly waiting for some clandestine meeting. I found the staff to be helpful and kind. Not in a faux way. The bartender was quite good and answered all our questions about the drinks he was making and about what alcohol was produced in the country. I didn't take pictures of the rooftop jacuzzi(s)but I spent some time up there as well beneath the night sky drinking cocktails and relaxing after not sleeping for 38 hours. The room was well-kept with drinkable water (there are places in Costa Rica where you can't drink the water but those places are on the wilderness end of the traveling) and a hair dryer, mini-bar, laundry service-perfectly comfortable.

The room was situated off a courtyard in the beautiful restored building and I loved having the window open up to the glorious plants and birds. Having come from the freezing Midwest this was a nice break to say the least. I would most certainly recommend this hotel for a stay in the city. San Jose is a big, busy place and this hotel gave you a touch of an oasis away after a long day exploring. The only thing I cannot comment on is the food as I did not eat in the restaurant as I was not sure they could accommodate my vegan diet. They greeted us with a fresh juice drink upon arrival and gave us a map to navigate which can be a touch tricky in the city. I would most certainly stay here if I find myself in San Jose again.

The Search for El Dorado

People often have asked me the last few years especially, where I get my creative inspiration from. They frequently assume it's from television and movies. To be fair, I am sure I am influenced by both of those mediums but there really is nothing that sparks my imagination like a trip to a museum with a bit of history and a bit of science not to mention endless amounts of art. I recently spent 11 days in Costa Rica and will write about my experiences all through this week. It was an adventure to say the least. I should began with saying I did not spend the 11 days on the beaches like most people do. I was actually told multiple times that I visited places in Costa Rica most people, not even people who live there go to visit. Fair enough. Some of them were not particularly easy to get to and I may have even at times been in a little over my head. But I made it back with world-view widening experiences which is pretty much what I want most of all these days- and stories to tell with pictures, preferably. I did get to spend a little time on beaches as well as in the city of San Jose which is where this week's posts will start. 

The first place I visited was part of the inspiration for my second novel Armand El Dorado. If you can guess from the title the myth of the city of El Dorado plays a part in the story. Now this myth did not originate in Costa Rica but it's influence reaches across the lands of Central America. The Pre-Columbian tribes traded in this region to gain the gold that they had. One of the more ironic things I think I learned was that the legend of the Golden City was not even based on gold from the region. In fact, at the time many of the things were made, there was almost no mining happening in Costa Rica or Colombia. All the gold came from other parts of the world. And not in particularly large quantities. El Dorado was a constructed fantasy created to mislead those explorers looking to take advantage of the people. The golden king was a tribes leader who would lead a ceremony that included tossing small golden artifacts into a lake in Colombia. Lake Guatavita to be precise. 

The Pre-Columbian Gold Museum is a well-laid out time line of the history of the region. Using not only golden artifacts to walk you through Costa Rica's rich history but also quite a bit of musical instruments. I actually rather regret not buying a replica of an ocarina which plays such a role in the world of the indigenous people. It is the most comprehensive collection of gold artifacts outside of Colombia. 

Here are some pictures from my trip to the museum. I would suggest having at least 2-3 hours for a visit. Plus, the area outside the museum is lovely to walk around.

Thank you for visiting. I look forward to sharing more of my experiences.

Gunflint Lodge

I've been gone for a couple of weeks and I have so much to share. I'm gonna travel again this weekend as well and will hopefully have more! So this little post is about a great mini-adventure I took back in the middle of October last year up to the Gunflint Lodge. The furtherest north I've been in the states. I had been wanting to visit here for a while especially after reading Wonderstruck which is partially set on the Gunflint Trail. Even though I just missed the fall foliage there was still plenty of stark fall beauty to behold and enjoy. Staying at the lodge was a pleasant experience that included wine being left in the cabin with snacks. There was no cell service so there was a couple days break from that as well. There was plenty of hiking, climbing and picture taking followed by drinks in the main building and staring at ducks. Going into nature to do nothing is a big thing here in Minnesota and even though it's taking a while for me to get used to it, I am starting to find it very valuable to my creative process. Letting my mind wonder is making me have more ideas than anything ever. No wonder there are so many writers in Minnesota. And of course, there was a stop in Duluth, Minnesota(another great city) for a visit to Pizza Luce, the original one. I had the seasonal flat bread with mock duck, mushrooms and general yumminess. We brought along our own food makings for dinners and breakfasts in our cabin which had a full kitchen. It was cozy, warm and I drink wine in front of a fire till I fell asleep in my flannel pajamas.

See my review(s) on Trip Advisor. Happy Travels! 

The St. Paul Hotel

There is a beautiful, historical place in St. Paul, Minnesota by the name of the Saint Paul Hotel. It is a lovely place to stay and I've been lucky enough to be able to stay twice in the Park Suite. The most recent time was for New Year's Eve in which there was a small celebration and bubbly all through the night. The staff is very kind and the space is so gorgeous. It's in a great location for visiting famous spots in the city as well.

R.I.P. David Bowie

Yoshitako Amano, The White Duke

It has always been my estimation that the best way to honor someone like David Bowie, you know one of the giants of humankind, is to do something creative or compassionate in their honor. One big one for me was when Terry Pratchett died. I started writing a story called Adventures in Science Fiction Reality. It's filled with all the stories of things that have happened at Convergence (yeah, you and that thing you did are probably in it) that I am going to publish and share this year during the convention. Whatever it is you do better than anyone(jokes, songs, books, food, conversation, you know what it is..), you should share it with someone- today, tomorrow, very soon. You never think someone like David Bowie would die. As if death is too mundane for the likes of him. But in the end we're all just stardust. Just think though- someday your dust will be mixed with his dust and who knows what that will do?

David Bowie has a story written about him by Neil Gaiman, another one of the great artists. You should have a read.

Fangirl Friday: Cynthia Von Buhler

This particular edition of Fangirl is over someone I admire a great deal and wouldn't mind being a little more like her. She's a vegan artist who rescues animals. Her name is Cynthia Von Buhler. She's a gorgeous painter, writer, illustrator, producer, etc..seriously there's not much creatively she does not do. She's kind enough to have  added me to her Facebook page and has on occasion even commented to me on there. I would love for her to someday illustrate one of my story books. She travels the world and encourages people to be kind to one another. For her 50th birthday she wore a dress that was an actual cake! A CAKE! I mean honestly, how awesome. I might add her apartment and other home is gorgeous. She's very much a DIY person which I really love.

I have a Pinterest board dedicated to her. Her next venture after doing a show the last part of 2015 is to host The Illuminati Ball and oh how I wish I could go. 

Here are some pictures of her in her cake dress, her paintings and other projects. I encourage you to look her up, she's lovely.

*images from her blog, Amazon and Pinterest

Art, Sort of.

Massive house clean out which happens every January is underway. It never fails to lead to some funny rediscoveries. My 5th grade art project I made when I was bored. Won 1st place in the Art Fair at my school. Noah's Ark. The following year in 6th grade I was president of the dinosaur club and a library volunteer wherein I read every book in the library. Also, secretary of the Model Rocketry Club. Noah lost, Science won.

2015 Favorite Vegan Foods (Twin Cities)

One thing that certainly stands out about last year is a lot of really great things put into my face hole known as a mouth. Eating vegan has never been easier and the Twin Cities especially Minneapolis is turning into a haven for good vegan food. This is a picture heavy post because well, there's a lot of good stuff around now!

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My favorite breakfast in town is hands down at the Modern Times Cafe. It's kale, tempeh, tofu covered in garlic tahini sauce. They also have a solid soy mocha.

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My favorite new discovery is Nico's Taco Bar. I love the cactus tostada! Make sure to get salsa trios as well.

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A dish at my favorite fine dining restaurant, Jasmine 26. The Basil noodles are light and flavorful. Make sure you also start with the Salt-n-Pepper Tofu, you'll be glad you did.

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Truth be told, my love for Glam Doll Donuts has been tested this year. The maple vegan bar (shown above) is amazing but more than once I have gotten terrible vegan donuts there. Tiny, undercooked, dry. I am trying to cut them some slack as they learn to adapt because having a donut shop I like is fun.

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The mind-blowing food revelation in town this year was learning you can get vegan gelato at the Mall of America. Paciugo has a fabulous Limoncello gelato as well as many other soy and water based flavors. What a great surprise!

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This completely amazingly yummy waffle dessert comes from Kitty Corner Cafe. I can't decide whether I wish I lived closer to it or further away. I want to go here more often. I shouldn't. You should.

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I love veggie sushi and Japanese food but most places are terrible at the vegan versions. This year I found two places I liked. The first is Masu. This is the veggie caterpillar. It's cute, delicious and the wasabi is actually strong. Often it is not. I like it ass-kicking. I wouldn't say it's that strong but it's better than most.

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The second Japanese place I liked this year was Midori's Floating World Cafe. First, the name...lovely. Second, the food was fresh and perfect. Third, the service was pretty dreadful. It took forever to get our food and we didn't get to eat together. There are pretty decorations to look at as you grumpily wait so there's that.

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Honorable mention Japanese is Unideli at United Noodle. The tiny spot in the store has great Vegan Shoyu and there's tons of it.

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Favorite new fast dinner spot (or lunch) is Hot Indian Foods in the Midtown Global Market. The Vegan Channa is surprisingly delicious. I say surprising because Indian food is such an art and I don't expect too much from a tiny stand. My bad. You can get it in a fried bread wrap which is insanely decadent(or without like pictured here) but it melts in your mouth. The Indi-frites have a unique spice on them. The sauce they are served with is not vegan but ask for hot sauce with them instead, they make their own and it's out of this world.

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This thing of beauty is an artful vegan pizza from Pizza Nea. My newest pizza discovery lead me to a long time spot that is perfect for a date with wine and romantic lighting. They teamed up with local vegan butcher shop The Herbivorous Butcher to make most of their pizzas available in vegan versions. The faux mozzarella is the best I've ever had.

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I had two rediscoveries this year. The first being Harry Signh's. This simple rice and beans dish is so good and so hot you would not even believe it. There is a lot of vegan options here and I will warn you: my tolerance is very high and I find this food spicy as hell. It's really AWESOME.

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My second rediscovered spot is Sen Yai-Sen Lek. I love the Tofu Peanut Satay. They are a community minded place with a seasonal menu and lots of good intentions. The Tofu Basil dish is also worth having.

There are plenty of places I could add but these were the new stand-outs this year for the most part. 

As the new year starts and lots of people try out being vegan especially here: There's tons of places to go out.

2015

2015 was a very mixed year for me. I cannot say that everything went super great by any means. I know that blogs are supposed to be fantasy filled things but the truth of a fairy tale is there are plenty of challenging tasks before you get to the balls, pretty dresses and parties. You can walk through the magic garden but get stung by a bee or pricked by a rose. The fae forest is  beautiful but treacherous and filled with your tasks you need to survive to get to your happy ending for that chapter. That is what a real fairy tale is: filled with gorgeous gowns and difficult days. 

I lost both my cats in 2015. That had a big impact on me as they were both sick and one especially was unexpected. 

I did complete writing two novels including one during the November NaNoWriMo Challenge. 

I got to see the Grand Canyon for the first time and hike the Gunflint Trail in Northern Minnesota. I also visited the Wisconsin Dells which is a place I’ve always been curious about. We went close to the end of the season so it was not quite as lively as it gets but it sure was surrealistic while I was there. I spent a week living in non-reality in Las Vegas where I got to see three Cirque Du Soleil shows in one week and eat amazing food everyday. 

There were a lot of house projects. They were tiring and trying but now my kitchen is beautifully updated and it was not planned for it to be for some time yet. It’s such a pleasure to look at it now. All the exhaustive weeks of dealing with it have yielded a rich, warm place. 

I went out to a pizza farm in Northfield, MN. I liked doing that as well as visited a few more wineries around the state. 

A handsome black kitty broke into my house which was funny.

There were foxes overtaking the neighborhood much to my delight. 

I spent 30 days in a row giving something away every day. I ended up giving a way quite a lot of stuff this last year and starting in on my Wear What You Own project (more on that later). Car loads of things were given away. I don’t even know half the time where all this stuff comes from but it was nice to recycle and find good homes for things. 

I did start a couple of clothing consignment accounts as well. I gave away half my wardrobe before it occurred to me I would probably need things in the future so getting a little money back here and there wouldn’t be a bad thing. 

I had my first garden on my deck this year. It started off really well and then I left someone else to tend it. Well, it ended up ruined and I was pretty frustrated but I am going to try again this year with a bit of a better plan. I did see lots of bees, birds and butterflies out there so it succeeded for a while. 

I got in one round of snow tubing with friends. That is always fun plus, I adore my friend’s 9 year old daughter. She cracks me up and is quite the daredevil. 

I took lots of walks in the fall and attended NerdCon here in town with the Green brothers, Maureen Johnson, Stephanie Perkins and a lot of other great writers. It was so inspiring it got me to do the NaNoWriMo challenge. 

I had my second book release party in July at CONvergence and adopted three cats who are driving me nuts. So much so the kitten’s name has officially been changed to Trouble.

Those are a few of my notable moments. There was also lots of good food and books but those are separate posts!

New Year's Eve

For 7 years (at least) (maybe more) I have been putting on big (200-300 people) NYE events. This year it didn't work out to do so and I find that I am a little lost with what to do with my time. Anyway, as I miss it I also get to look back on some of our awesome events:

Thursday's Treasures

Love it or hate it, gifts are a huge part of the holidays. So here is my over the top wish list. I am not getting any of these things nor am I gifting much this year but it's fun to dream.

I hope Santa gets jolly on your naughty asses.

How to Decide

I am trying to fill out an application to hopefully do my first craft show this next year. I have had open house events three times in my home but I would really like to experience doing a show outside of my comfort zone. As such, I have been trying to pick photos of pieces I've made (I need to pick three) to be judged whether I can be in the show or not. This is incredibly nerve wrecking. 

Some of the ones I am considering: