#weverb12

[kalynlord]

New Post has been published on Canadian Beauty Blogger - Beauty Subscriptions Makeup Reviews Hair and Nails

New Post has been published on http://www.kalynlord.com/urban-outfitters-stole-my-shit-and-i-want-it-back/

Urban Outfitters Stole My Shit, And I Want It Back.

[kalynlord]

New Post has been published on Beauty Blogger Canada - The Scenic Route - Canadian Beauty Subscriptions Makeup Reviews Hair and Nails

New Post has been published on http://www.kalynlord.com/indie-nail-polish-primer/

Indie Nail Polish Primer

[annforstie]

#weverb12 Dec. 18: What have you soaked in this year (baths, sun, ideas)? How did it affect your mentality?

This is a tricky one. What did I soak in? What did I absorb? What moved into my pores like liquid into a porous thing?

Well, the sun, sort of. I was in Orlando for a week in April and sat on a deck looking at Lake Superior for a week in July, and I walked around outside in Seattle in August. That said, I wore a large-brimmed hat and a LOT of sunblock most of the time because I burn really easily, and I stayed in the shade because I hate warm weather and feeling sunlight on my skin is basically like being on fire.

I don't take baths, so there wasn't that kind of soaking, although I did Plunge this year (in both Minneapolis and Duluth), and I put my feet in Tupperware containers of warm water and epsom salts for a few nights. Does that count? And I spent some time soaking in the sights and sounds of NYC, which was fun, and in depression, which wasn't. 

Ooh, here's something: I started thinking seriously about how I feel about money and buying things. I've come to no conclusions yet, but it's really affected the way I watch ads on TV and in magazines, and I'm reconsidering my approach to gift-giving.

I recently saw a commercial about a woman driving home in her van, the bottom of which was scraping against the ground and creating sparks, and when she got into her driveway she opened the back to reveal that it was packed with Christmas presents. The point was: Look at all this great stuff this woman bought for her family at low, low prices!

And I thought, Really? Is this something to which I should aspire? Something that we should be teaching kids? Should I really work to introduce so much more stuff into my life? I mean, I value gifts — they're meaningful and an important part of any relationship — but...isn't there a better way to do it than throwing money at paraphernalia?

I feel like this is going to become a major theme of 2013 for me. There's a lot wrapped up in the commodification of one's life, and it'll take some effort to unravel it.

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[annforstie]

#weverb12 Dec. 17: Write that thank-you note that you've been meaning to send this year or would like to send next year.

There are so many people and things I'd love to thank this year — Jesse, friends, family, coworkers, the Internet, Nyquil, public transit, etc., etc. They all deserve a multi-page thank-you note and a big cake and a lot of money.

That said, I'm going in a different direction for my thank-you blog post. So:

Thank you, brain.

Thank you for being curious, and smiley, and a good mix of smart and not-so-smart that keeps me from feeling either superior or inferior.

Thank you for wanting to try new things, but not all new things: I think we both know where you stand on seafood and scary roller coasters.

Thank you for having good ideas, and for never being bored, and for coming up with funny things even if you didn't technically intend for them to be funny at the time.

Thank you for being amenable to drugs that help turn Bad Days into Tolerable Days.

Thank you for the guilt and doubt and self-hatred in which you occasionally indulge, because without them the happy moments wouldn't feel quite so good, and I would never want to move forward. (But actually you could, you know, avoid those emotions a bit more. Just a little. I'm just saying.)

Thank you for liking people enough to want to understand and empathize with and support them.

Thank you for the system of beliefs at which you've arrived after nearly 35 years of experience. It's very comfortable and I like it a lot.

Thank you for being open to criticism and change, and for knowing when the former is valid and when it's hogwash.

Thank you for your nonsense, and your giddiness, and your profanity, and your crankiness, and your love of balloons, because balloons are awesome. Especially the helium kind.

Thank you for being absolutely average and absolutely unique, and for not exploding from holding those two concepts simultaneously.

I could go on, brain, but you know what I mean. All of it.

We've been together a long time, brain. We've had a lot of really great times together, and we still have much work to do. I'm glad I'm doing it with you instead of some other brain that doesn't fit right in my head and wants to eat weird squishy things like mushrooms and raisins.

You're the best, brain. Thanks for being you.

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[annforstie]

#weverb12 Dec. 16: What were you inspired to create/make this year based on something else? (i.e., a pin from Pinterest, recipe from a friend, etc.)

Um? These #weverb12 blog posts? I didn't create or make a whole lot this year, which I hope to rectify next year. 

BUT. I have a number of Pinterest boards that came in very handy as I was working with pottery: Ceramics - Handles and Ceramics - Feet and Ceramics - Surface and Ceramics To Try.

While I didn't specifically replicate any of the gorgeous pieces pinned therein, I did take some of the ideas and apply them to my own work. A church key design inspired this bowl (alas, the indentations largely disappeared with the glaze I used), and lots of pictures of handles with thumb rests lead to my Heidi mug.

And that's all I have for this question. I'll leave you with photos of three of my favorite pots I made this year.

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[annforstie]

#weverb12 Dec. 15: What inspirational quote would you associate with this past year for you?

"Be curious, not judgmental." - Walt Whitman

"I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, 'If this isn't nice, I don't know what is.'" - Kurt Vonnegut

"HATERS GONNA HATE" - awesome people

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[annforstie]

#weverb12 Dec. 14: Describe the path to a favorite place of yours to walk in 2012. What's meaningful about the place or the journey?

Although I know I should take the train — it's cheaper, less stressful, better for the environment, and requires more physical exertion on my part — I drove to work for most of 2012. I park in a ramp a couple blocks from my office, which requires me to walk through Gateway Park, a small space with an interesting history that's now just a pretty, tree-lined corridor between an apartment complex and the beautiful ING building with some benches and flowers and a lovely fountain.

I love this walk. I love to stop by the fountain and watch it shoot up into the air; I even like its chlorinated smell. I love the squirrels that hang out along the path and the "Do Not Feed Animals" sign that appeared a couple years back in response, I suspect, to someone who used to dump corn and seeds in a pile on the grass. I love the strange and beautiful ground-level things that show up along my walk. I love it when it rains and the water collects in puddles on the concrete. In the spring it's bright green and fresh with flowers growing in pots, and they open the fountain for the first time for the year. In the summer it's shady and cool; I avoid the spots where the sun gets through. In the autumn I walk through the fallen leaves that collect on the sides of the path ("shuffle through leaf piles" is on my annual Autumn Bucket List). In the winter it's cold and invigorating and feels like traveling through a different world.

Sometimes in the mornings I meet up with coworkers also coming from the parking ramp, and we chat our way to the office together. I learn about their lives, and I like that a lot. But I think I enjoy the walk more when I'm alone, when I'm not distracted and can follow my own thoughts and notice how beautiful it all is (hence the million or so photos I've snapped of the same location over and over again). There are never very many people there, so it's quiet and peaceful and sometimes there are bikers and folks walking their dogs. It's space for a transition from life to work, where I can take quick stock of How Things Are Going before I arrive at work and let some of the stress go when I leave.

The walk from the train, which I plan to take more often in 2013 (in no small part because the parking rate was increased over 50%), isn't quite as nice: There are stoplights and streets with which to contend, and people to avoid, and traffic noises to ignore. So I'll miss traveling through little park in the middle of downtown Minneapolis. I may have to drive to work once in a while just to experience it and take a few more pictures to add to my collection.

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[nicholemagoon]

December 6th, 2012: Cook

6. Cook [LIVE]: What was your best recipe/dish of the year? Share it!

Sorry, I'm still catching up, things have been crazy. Also probably why I never finish the entire month (like, ever) because I'm always so busy around the holidays.

ANYWAY...Cooking for me has always been more of a necessity rather than a hobby. I come home, throw some stuff in a pan, woof it down, and keep going with everything i have to do. Learning to cook for me is still...a work in progress. Luckily, thanks to the help of Pinterest, I've been able to easily collect different recipes and give some of them a whirl. I do occasionally Instagram some of my better dishes, but its usually some seasoned meat, a starch, and a veggie. However, this recipe did stand out for me: 

Zucchini Gratin.

You guys, not only is it good, but it comes out looking damn close to the picture, too! 

I'm always skeptical of these Pinterest recipes because most times they never come out like the photo (all the "Pinterest Fail" blogs can attest to that), so I had my reservations when I found this one. But I like zucchini and I like cheese, so I had to try it!

Zucchini Gratin Recipe

Yield: 2

ingredients:

2 medium zucchinis, sliced thin about 1/4 inch 1 1/2 Tablespoon unsalted butter (and extra butter for greasing the baking dishes) 2 Tablespoons all-purpose unbleached flour 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup milk (I used 2% milk) 1 teaspoon Kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/3 cup sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

breadcrumb topping

1/2 cup Japanese panko breadcrumbs 1 1/2 Tablespoon sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded 1 1/2 Tablespoon parmesan cheese, shredded salt & pepper 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Add flour and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Cook butter-flour mixture while stirring for 3-4 minutes. Whisk milk and heavy cream in slowly. Continue whisking and cooking on medium heat for about 3-5 minutes until thickened. Add salt and pepper and turn off heat. Add cheese, whisk until the cheese melts.

Mix panko breadcrumbs with cheese and add a dash of kosher salt and black pepper. Add cheese sauce to a large measuring cup.

Prep baking dishes (I used 2 5"x5" baking dishes that are about 2 cup capacity), grease with butter. Layer zucchini in each baking dish, overlapping is good. On top of each layer pour about 2 Tablespoons of cheese sauce and spread out with a spoon. Continue layering zucchini and cheese sauce until you run out of space or zucchini (about 3 to 4 layers).

On top of the last layer of cheese, top with panko breadcrumb mixture and then drizzle melted butter on top.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees. Then turn on the broiler to brown the breadcrumb mixture for about 5 minutes.

This little gratin stores well in the fridge. To reheat, put baking dish in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until heated through.

Happy Gratin'n!