live simply.

as i said in my last post, i of course realize that turning over a new leaf can happen at any time of the year, i don't really "believe" in new years resolutions generally, but this year i am embarking on an exercise in restraint that just so happens to coincide with the new year. in an effort to life more simply and sustainably, i am refraining from any new clothing/shoe/accessory purchases this year.

anybody who knows me knows i love clothes...a LOT. i can't deny that at times making fashion purchases is a sort of twisted therapy....all the more reason to fast from it. now, it isn't as though i spend more than i have, or impulse buy things i don't wear, i love all my clothes, i wear them all, and my closet isn't insanely over bloated or something. however, more and more i see the need to live simply, and make do with less and make decisions conscious of the effect they have on me/other people/the world at large....the consumerism of our throw away, outsourced, self focused culture depresses me to no end...and this year i am going to practice what i preach in a very tangible and personal way. i have no intention of, after this year's end, to go back to my previous purchasing habits, and every intention of making more conscious clothing purchases and buying secondhand as much as possible. this is more or less to kickstart that sort of lifestyle. and to practice self control.

things might get a bit dicey towards the end of the year as all my jeans happen to be getting old and wearing in certain places...but i'll patch 'em. or wear my skirts or shorts with tights. or whatever. i'm not buying anything new for a year. i need the break from consumerism and let's be honest, i have plenty to wear....even if i have to get a bit inventive to make it work out. everybody i have told this plan to has voiced a certain level of skepticism, because as aforementioned, i freaking love clothes. fashion is one of my favorite things. but it's not like i'm throwing my love of style away. this is a perfect time for me to reacquaint myself with all the things in my closet i already have that i love. so there it is. i'm making a "new years resolution".

christmas

had a really nice christmas, very relaxing and pleasant. it snowed all day, and although i'm not a big fan of snow in general, i have to admit it's very pretty....it's really the dirty, wet, soggy aftermath i don't care for. but it's been warm enough and sunny enough that it's melting fairly fast, and that's all i can really ask for. it's funny because all december it hasn't felt like christmas to me at all, and now that it's over, it actually kind of does. weird. but i guess that happens a lot for me...the week between christmas and new years feels more like "the holiday season" or whatever, than the weeks leading up to it. and this really always is one of my favorite weeks of the year. i love new years. not because i do anything so very exciting or special to celebrate it, i mean, sometimes i do, but sometimes i don't, but that isn't really the point...for me, the excitement isn't so much that minute between new years eve and new years day when the year changes over....i mean...who cares. but the exciting part is the start of a new year....january is cold...and i hate the cold....it's sort of awful, but it also feels like the beginning of a time of renewal. the days start to get longer rather than shorter, and a new year begins. of course you can start over any time, you can turn over a new leaf whenever you want, but in january, it feels right. and although i'm not one to make "new years resolutions" exactly, who doesn't want to make some changes for the better when a new year begins?

pumpkin + oatmeal = delicious

vegan oatmeal pumpkin cookies

dry ingredients:

2 cups flour

1 1/3 cups rolled oats

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

wet ingredients:

1 cup pumpkin puree

2/3 cup olive oil

1 2/3 cup sugar

2 tbs molasses

1 tsp vanilla extract

combine the two kinds of ingredients, drop by tablespoon on a lightly greased cookie sheet, bake about 15 minutes at 350, and enjoy the most delicious cookies possible.

since oatmeal cookies and pumpkin flavored things happen to be two of my very favorites, i went in search of a pumpkin oatmeal cookie recipe to quench the longing for something sweet and spicy and holiday-ish to make.

i stumbled upon this recipe either on a vegan cooking blog or a vegan recipe website, i can't remember. i subbed gluten free flour, so i could eat them, and added white chocolate chips to half the recipe(so half of them were not vegan) but otherwise followed this recipe pretty exactly. they are SO good.

something like peppermint bark

i wanted some peppermint bark but i didn't have any peppermint so i made do with what i did have. i used melted dark chocolate chips, melted white chocolate chips, these andes mint pieces i had and red sprinkles, because i like sprinkles, and because i wanted it to look festive. it came out SO delicious. more delicious than any peppermint bark i've ever made. i love andes mints.

Lost

this week i finished watching the last episode of lost.....i began watching the series in the summer, and finally finished season six this fall. and what an awesome six seasons it was. i really loved being able to watch episodes back to back, and all in such a short time span, and i think i would have been frustrated watching it while it aired, but as it was, it was just so enjoyable. a lot of people were dissatisfied with the end, but i felt pretty content with it. more than anything, the show was about the six seasons for me, and how good it was while it lasted, i wasn't waiting for some big mystery to be revealed at the end, so i wasn't disappointed. and i definitely think lost was the best television series i have ever watched, hands down. so entertaining and so well done and richly detailed. i can't wait to go back and watch the whole series again, honestly.

mmm cookies

check out these delicious cookies....they are both gluten free and vegan, and also, besides the chocolate chips, they are free of refined sugar as well. they are also pretty yum, if i do say so myself. i was pleased with them. i sort of combined a couple of recipes and subbed some stuff, and came up with:

dry ingredients:

3/4 cup gluten free flour

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

combined with:

1/2 of a very ripe mushed banana

1/4 cup demerara sugar

1/4 cup honey (or maple if you want them truly vegan)

1 tsp blackstrap molasses

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup dairy free chocolate chips

drop by the tsp full on a lightly greased cookie sheet, bake at 350 for about 10 minutes, don't wait until they are golden, they'll be burned, they might look slightly underdone if you aren't used to baking without butter and eggs, but i assure you, they should be done by 11 minutes at most. cool, and enjoy!

so cute

i want that bike, and that dress, and those shoes. pleaseandthankyou.

new iron & wine...

so excited for iron & wine's new album in january, and so excited to get the new single, walking far from home, on black friday

coconut milk ice cream

i've been experimenting a lot lately with making coconut milk ice cream. this particular time, i basically just made a smoothy, with coconut milk, and strawberries, and bananas, blended it until it was very smooth, and threw it in my ice cream maker for a half hour. it came out pretty delicious, i must say.

first friday indie market

tonight was the first friday indie market downtown. my second month at the market, i shared a booth with my friend ginny, the jewelry is hers, the scarves and hair accessories are mine. it was a cold night, and kind of slow, but a good time nonetheless. there were tons of vendors this month, which was awesome to see.

flowers in her hair

handmade flower hairpins & headbands

happy halloween!

lost in the trees

so good. check them out. http://www.lostinthetrees.com/

ok, fine, actually everything zooey wears is pretty on point.

summer

i don't tend to feel any fashion kinship with characters in movies, my own style probably deviates quite a bit from the typical hollywood look, but one of my favorite things about watching the movie the 500 days of summer was that everything zooey deschanel's characater wore was pretty much on point with my own taste, i'd love to have summer's wardrobe!

marvelous miniature cakes

the only thing better than cake is cake miniaturized. cupcakes are one of my favorite things. for good reason. they are wonderful.