homemade halloween caramel popcorn

[image via pinterest]

there's nothing really "Halloween" about this vegan caramel popcorn besides the fact that i made it on Halloween and ate it out of Halloween treat bags! the recipe is super simple and easy to make, even the little kids i nanny for enjoyed helping me make it. i got the recipe from vegan cooking blog, Hell Yeah It's Vegan! I found on pinterest. i encourage you to check out this blog, even if you aren't a vegan. Claryn offers a variety of traditional/family recipes that she then "veganizes" into healthier and extra delicious vegan friendly food!

what you need:

• 3-4 quarts popped corn
• 1 c brown sugar
• ½ c vegan margarine (i used soy free Earth Balance)
• ¼ c corn syrup
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• 1 brown paper grocery bag

do it:
1. Combine sugar, margarine, corn syrup, and salt in a covered microwavable dish. Bring to a boil, and continue cooking for an additional 2 minutes. 
If you don’t have a clear glass dish and a microwave with a door that you can see through, you can check by pulling the dish out quickly: if it’s bubbling rapidly, it’s boiling; start timing the additional minutes now. If it’s not doing anything, microwave it a bit longer and check again (before starting the timer). Err on the side of boiling too long; this is a candy that everyone expects to be crunchy, and if it hasn’t boiled long enough, the caramel will never set as hard as you want. 
2. Once complete, remove dish from microwave and stir in baking soda; the mixture will darken. 
3. Put popped corn in brown grocery bag and pour mixture on top. Close bag tightly and shake to distribute caramel. 
4. Microwave entire bag for 1½ minutes. Shake again and cook for another 1½ minutes. 
5. Pour onto a clean cookie sheet to cool. Store in an air-tight container.


Easy peasy! Just POP, POUR, and SHAKE your way to yum caramel popcorn! Happy Halloween everyone! 

halloweenie 2011

[shane as the white swan and me as the black swan]

[hoover as wildred and sarah as an indian]

this year I decided to dress up as Black Swan for Halloween! to complete the look, i needed to find someone to be my alter ego, the white swan. luckily, one of my best guy friends jumped on being the White Swan and called dibs less than one minute after making a request on Facebook. gotta love Shane Gallas. 

before hitting the dance floor ballerina style friday night, we needed to make and put together our costumes. shane wore white tights, a white tutu, a SUPER deep white v-neck shirt from american apparel. and a feather head piece i made for him (basically icing on top of the swan cake)! i wore pink tights, ballet shoes, a black leotard and tutu, a crown i spray painted black, and a black bra over the tutu i covered with feathers using a hot glue gun. to finish the look, i used water proof eye liner and gold eyeliner for my black swan eye decals. 

...and voila! the swans are born!

other stand-outs i saw friday night night: Hoover as Wildred from the FX show "Wildred, a guy dressed up as a mammogram (wish I had a picture), a group of my guy friends dressed up as robots (full on robot suits), Mike Masenga as a Ghost Buster, and plethora of zombie brides. 

on actual Halloween I'm planning on keeping it mellow by playing board games at Alex Curry's house and passing out candy. Happy Halloween ya'll! What are you dressing up as? Are their aspects of your costume you made?

black cat superstitions

When we think of Halloween, visions of ghosts, goblins, jack o' lanterns, cob webs, zombies, and witches and their cat companions swirl in our heads and haunt us in our sleep (or at Knott's Scary Farm like the other night!).

We can all thank Halloween lore and religious persecution for leading people to be overly superstitious of black cats. Take this tale from British feline lore for example:

In Lincolnshire in the 1560s, a father and his son were frightened one moonless night when a small creature darted across their path into a crawl space. Hurling stones into the opening, they saw an injured black cat scurry out and limp into the adjacent home of a woman suspected by the town of being a witch. Next day, the father and son encountered the woman on the street. Her face was bruised, her arm bandaged. And she now walked with a limp. From that day on in Lincolnshire, all black cats were suspected of being witches in night disguise. The lore persisted. The notion of witches transforming themselves into black cats in order to prowl streets unobserved became a central belief in America during the Salem witch hunts. Thus, an animal once looked on with approbation became a creature dreaded and despised. 

Read more black cat superstitions here.

Dreaded and despised??! Eek! Does this little guy resemble anything having to do with evil?....

Yeah, I thought not. Rasta does not have an evil bone in his body! In fact, three words to describe Rasta would be skittish (he's extremely terrified of the sound of tin foil), intelligent (he can open doors), and spacey (he does a good job at leaving food residue all over his face post meal time). Even though Rasta is the farthest thing from evil, we still gotta protect the little bugger from psychos and potential harm on and around Halloween!

appreciate what you have

really puts things into perspective...

43 live without basic sanitation. 

[whoa] 

14 are hungry or malnourished.

 [unacceptable]

the village spends $1.24 trillion on military expenditures 

and only $100 billion on development aid. 

[not right]

if you sleep in a bed and live with a roof over your head, 

you are richer than 75% of the entire world population. 

[unreal]

there are more than 6.71 billion people in the world. let's mess with these statistics and do something good to better our world. please make a small contribution by visiting the following websites:

makepovertyhistory.org 

unmillenniumproject.org

un.org/millenniumgoals

water for elephants - a book review

For the past two days I have been pleasantly preoccupied reading Water for Elephants, a dazzling and beautifully written historical novel by Sara Gruen. The imagery and the way Gruen writes is mesmerizing; I actually felt like I was getting pulled into the life of the circus!

Without giving away too much, Water for Elephants explores the "pathetic grandeur" of the Depression-era train circus. The book is about Jacob Jankowski, a veterinary sciences major at Cornell University who, due to depressing circumstances, is lead to run off and join a train circus. Jacob meets and falls in love with Marlena, a star performer in their circus and also wife to monster and paranoid schizophrenic, August. Can anyone say plot conflict??! Resolution? You'll have you read it yourself ;)

This book is absolutely amazing! Even my guys friends, who normally read eight pagers (If you've read the book already, you know what I'm saying here haha) say Gruen's novel is a "goooooooood read." That says a lot! Its a fast read I promise!

I can't wait to see the film adaptation of this book! I've heard that the film is also amazing and that the changes made in the film are GOOD changes! Good changes??! Thats rare so hooray! Check out the official movie trailer below...

Ooooo, Robert Pattinson is dreamy in this, no?

so many colors

[color block and sparkle nail art inspired by cupcakesandcashmere, martha steward fine glitter for holiday craft making, heart garland I made out of paint swatches, macaroons from bottega louie, crayola heart, incense from whole foods]

While rummaging through the collection of photographs I took last week, I was struck by the beauty and range of colors captured in my photos. I don't know what it was about last week, but for some reason, I had the urge to make crafts, take pictures, and buy and eat things with lots of color! There was no escaping the visible spectrum! It was ubiquitous and I just couldn't get enough!

*Side note: Not my macaroons. They are definitely not vegan (bummer). My boss sure enjoyed them though!

true that

[photo for one life in stills]

Love has its ups and downs

but its always there. 

-anonymous 

pumpkin pie bites and pumpkin spiced lattes

[pumpkin pie bite and pumpkin spiced latte in a festival holiday mug]

In the mood for a fall flavored explosion in your mouth? Have yet to bake or make anything using fall flavored spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves? Sick of the normal coffee and bagel routine? Feeling frisky and want to try a couple easy peasy vegan recipes?

If you answered YES to at least ONE of the questions then, my dear, you are in luck because I am going to share with you two (because two is better than one!) falltastic recipes to help spruce up your fall mornings and really get you feeling all warm and giddy inside (inspired by Angela Liddon's version you can find here and here).

Pumpkin Pie Bites (makes ~12 bites)


Crust Ingredients:
* 1/4 cup Earth Balance butter (I use the soy-free version)
* 1/4 cup maple sugar (brown sugar works fine)
* 1 cup spelt flour (you can get this from the bulk bins at Whole Foods)
* 1/4 c milled flax (If you have whole flax seeds, you can mill it yourself using a mortar and pestle or a food processor) 
* 1 t cinnamon
* 1-2 tablespoon non-dairy milk (I used vanilla flavored almond milk. any form of nondairy milk will work fine too)


Filling: 
* ½ t baking powder
* 1 t pure vanilla extract
* 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
* pinch nutmeg
* ¼ cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (regular pastry flour works fine)
* ¼ cup cane sugar (or regular white)
* ½ cup canned pumpkin
* ½ cup non-dairy milk


Do It:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a muffin tin. Mix crust together with a hand blender in a medium sized bowl.


2. Place approx 1 tablespoon of crust in a regular muffin tin. Press down to create a mini crust making sure 
the crust comes up on the sides a bit.


3. Mix filling in a bowl and then pour approximately 2 teaspoons of filling (I used more like 3) on top of the crust


4. Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes. Makes approx. 12 bites depending on how thick you make the crust. 

[ingredients for the crust]

[ingredients for the filling]

Pumpkin Spiced Latte (serves 2)


You'll need:
* 3 cups almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
* 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
* 1-2 tbsp sugar, to taste 
* 1 1/2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
* 3/4 tsp cinnamon
* 1/4 tsp ground ginger
* 1/4 tsp nutmeg
* 1/3 cup freshly brewed espresso OR 1 cup strong coffee (I used 1 1/2 cups coffee)


Do It:
1. In a saucepan combine milk, pumpkin and sugar and cook on medium heat, stirring, until steaming.


2. Now bring to a boil and stir in vanilla and spice. Whisk the mixture really well with a wire whisk.


3. Pour in espresso or coffee. Add on cinnamon or vegan whip cream on top if desired. 


4. Sit back, watch Regis and Kelly or Sports Center, enjoy your pumpkin bite and latte, and smile because life is good. 


Side note: The following recipes are vegan friendly because I am a vegan, a happy, friendly vegan. You can easily make these recipes non-vegan by substituting in regular butter and condensed milk for the pumpkin pie bites and regular milk for the latte.


Bon Appétit!

BOO! grams

What in the world is a BOO! gram? A BOO! gram is an annual tradition and friendly way to celebrate the Halloween holiday by doorbell-ditching and leaving a sweet treat for your friends!

What do you include in a BOO! gram? In our BOO! gram, we included 4 things: 1) A boo bag full of Halloween themed goodies (The boys and I filled 3 baggies with glow in the dark bracelets, a skull egg filled with skittles, Starburst and Hersey's chocolate candies, and fruit snacks...my way to include a touch of health haha), 2) The actual BOO! gram which is usually a picture of a ghost that says "Boo! We Got You!" It could look something like this or this, 3) A Halloween poem, and 4) Instructions for BOO! gramming other people. Below is a picture of our final BOO! gram.

[boo bag of goodies, boo gram with halloween poem and instructions (behind)]

How does it work? We'll there are a few steps involved in BOO! gram making. First, create your boo bag of goodies (something like this), BOO! gram picture, Halloween poem, and instructions. Next, assemble the BOO! gram. Once assembled, its time to pick a few unsuspecting friends to BOO. The boys chose to boo a few of their closest friends. Finally, make the drop, ring the doorbell, and RUN FOR IT!!

[making the drop]

[running for it!!]

Funny story on our bag drop excursion: The boys and I were dropping off the last bag at their friend Ryan's house. As Christian was running up the path to Ryan's house, Ryan's mom comes running out of the house telling Christian not to BOO! them because they had already been boo'ed twice. I politely shouted "Who cares? It's all fun and games!" She wasn't having any of it, so instead of pushing it further (even though I really wanted to) I lassoed Christian back into the car, bummed and confused. On my toes, I had to quickly come up with a game plan for the last bag. I suggested that we BOO! one of my best friends. Christian loved the idea and before we knew it, we were back in the game and Christian was on the edge of his seat anxiously waiting to make the last drop at one of MY friends houses. We were successful. Alex texted me a shortly after with a simple "BOO!" I showed Christian the text and with a smile from ear to ear he said, "We got her!" Ahh, the simple joy of boyhood pranks :) 

"we're going to disneyland?! are you joking?"

This video is just precious. Little Lily reminds me of myself and how excited I used to get (and still do) over going to Disneyland. Whenever I do get the chance to visit Disneyland, the little girl in me rushes to the present and feels oh so very happy!

artist spotlight: yuken teruya

Yuken Teruya, born in Okinawa, Japan, is a New York based artist that is known for his intricate craft techniques using ordinary objects such as shopping bags, toilet paper rolls, cereal boxes, newspapers, and cardboard boxes. Teruya cautiously carves natural designs, such as trees, from real urban landscapes he observes before carefully pushing the designs through. Poppy Talk sums up Teruya's art and what it encompasses perfectly by saying that "a tree makes a bag, the bag makes a tree; turning an ordinary object into something so captivating; looking beyond traditional materials for art-making."

[louis vuitton bag. image via Saatchi Gallery]

[mcdonald's bag. image via Saatchi Gallery]

[cereal boxes. image via Poppy Talk]

[pizza boxes]

[newspaper sprouts]

[designer bags and fast food bags]

Teruya definitely personifies the saying, "One's man trash is another man's treasure." His ability to transform items, that would normally be labeled as trash, into beautiful and delicate works of art is a reminder that beauty can be found and made from essentially anything. I personally love his toilet paper roll art and would totally mount some on my wall!

[toilet paper roll woodpecker]

[toilet paper roll corner forest]

Images via Yuken Teruya

If you're ever in the New York area, I urge you to look up and check out Yuken Teruya's artwork. 

weekend wonderments [2]: I left my heart in...

Stills highlighting my lovely weekend in the city by the bay:

[photo for one life in stills]

[eliza's initials artistically painted on a rock, kaia the doggie, 

sweet little bebe blowing a dandalion, kale-hummus-cucumber-onion-tomato sammy, 

love art (made by miss eliza goodman and yours truly. "LOVE" design at the top trademarked by Carly Roberts as seen here), and alta plaza park in pacific heights]

[after sushi at Naked Fish]

[post dinner pleasures, aka alcohol, lead to pre-race fatigue. whoops. it was fun at the time though!]

[inside the nwm expo at union square, outside nwm tent, henry the curious, making pre-race carb load dinner with the girls, my pledge to choose skin health, anti wall street protest rally through union square]

[eliza, me, emily, alec, and morrigan]

[after crossing the finish line with pride in our hearts and custom designed tiffany's necklaces around our necks! left to right: katie, nicole, me, alec, megan, christina, and justine. proud of you all!]

[after we ran the half marathon, eliza, emily and I drove down the coast to half moon bay
 for the 41st annual art and pumpkin festival] 

[love the "puss n boots" carved one!] 

 

[PUMPKINS GALORE!! check out the humongous pumpkins on the left!] 

[we drank/ate: mimosas in a decorative champagne flute (through red vines of course), grilled artechoke hearts, garlic fries...before and after, and eliza and emily had pumpkin ice cream]

[radiant sunset as we were leaving half moon bay. beautiful end to a beautiful weekend!] 

Until next time, San Francisco, I bid you adieu.

i'm baaaaack!

"One day if I do go to heaven, I'll look around and say, 'It ain't bad, but it ain't San Francisco." 

- Herb Caen

Scenes from previous adventures in what I like to call one of the happiest places on Earth, or what others call, San Fran:

[wire web]

[view from eliza's rooftop. oct. 2010]

[academie of sciences in sf. may, 2010]

[point reyes, just north of sf. may, 2010]

Presently in San Francisco to run the Nike Women's Half Marathon on Sunday as posted about here. I am truly at my happiest when I spend time here. Why do I love San Francisco so much you say? Well, for one, the food is stellar and the people are some of the craziest in the world. The ocean, bay, and hills are beautiful to look at. Everything about it is wonderful. 

[playing around with photo booth in eliza's sweet room in the Marina]

Have you been to San Francisco? If so, what makes the city so special for you? What's your favorite thing about San Fran?