Friday Feature: Cotton Purr!!

Hello everyone, Friday is here once again! Even though for me this weekend is a busy one, given that I work two night shifts on a row, and I have the celebration of my younger nephew and my sis-in-law's birthdays on Saturday!

On today's Friday Feature I wanna share with you a seller that I already introduced in my blog a pair of years back here, when she made me a custom pouch for my phone back then. Since then, I kept Cotton Purr, JoJo's shop in my favourites, checking now and then what new products she was adding to her line, and what new fabrics she was using.

And when it came to the time to search for a replacement for my beloved Sanrio Hello Kitty wallet (which I adore and bought at the Delhi's Sanrio store, before it closed) which was getting seriously battered and which had always been a bit of a fight with the card slots (the tiniest wee bit too small, so it was always a bit of a fight to get cards in & out of some of them), I decided that I was going for a handmade wallet this time (of course!!) and that I needed a wallet with a cute fabric, with plenty of card slots, that they should be roomy enough, the wallet itself should be roomy enough to accommodate the many business cards from sellers I always carry, AND it needed to have a clear pocket so I could carry a photo of G & me there... a bit much, you say? Well, I began to think so till I saw the latest wallet that JoJo had introduced to her shop, the Ultimate Wallet Purse, and she can rightly call it that, cause it just had everything I was looking for in a wallet! It was just a question of choosing the right fabric, and when I saw this one, I knew it was the right one!

When buying from Cotton Purr you always get a convo to thank you for your purchase and to tell you the expected date of shipping taking into account her current production time, and then another when she actually ships the item, and when your package arrives, it's all lovingly wrapped like this:

I love the fabric I chose for my wallet; there were other very cute fabrics, a bit more bold and with lighter colours, but I had decided that I wanted a fabric that was cute, but could stand better about the dirt that could come to it through every day use, and this fabric is perfect!

And now it's time to take a lot inside... Did I say I wanted a roomy wallet with loads of roomy card slots? Well, I'd say I really got what I wanted! The accordion shape of the wallet makes it capable of holding loads of everything really, money, tons of cards, even your passport, and since you also have a coins zippered pocket, you can be sure your coins won't end up all over the place (unless you forget to zip it sometime...). It is roomy enough to hold my cell phone without its TARDIS case and still close without a struggle! And that way I can use it as a carry clutch, in case I don't want to carry a handbag.

And of course my last requirement that so many wallets I saw on Etsy lacked: the clear window/pocket, for ID or in my case, for photos! What can I say, I just have to have a photo of G & me in my wallet, it just makes me smile every time I open the wallet, and sometimes, when I need a smile, I open the wallet just to look at it!

As you can see I found the wallet I wanted, handmade with love and one that causes my co-workers to ask where I got it! I like it so much that I'm getting one for my sis-in-law for her b-day (she also inquired about it) and a slightly smaller model, the Mid Size Wallet Purse, for my friend Gema.

If you are looking for THE wallet, go check out Cotton Purr, it is quite likely that you might just find it waiting for you there!

Wearing Handmade Wednesday: Ink Me Up Designs!

Getting back into the regular blogging schedule, today is time to go for another Wearing Handmade Wednesday!

And as in the last one, it's also my little car the one that is sporting the handmade-ness!:

My little Ink Me Up Desings "Smelly Cat"

My little smelly cat by Ink Me Up designs is a very faithfull companion in all my trips, making sure my car smells nice and adding some extra cuteness to it!

If you want a kitty (or a doggie, or an owl, or a rabbit or even a seagull!) to make your car smell of lavender drop by her Etsy or Folksy shops, and you'll be sure to find something you'll like!

Monday Munchies: Honey Chicken with Veggies!

Well, well, well. Finally we're back to normal, back to work, and back to a normal blogging schedule.

And to kick start the week right, nothing better than a yummy recipe to get us to start the week right with today's Monday Munchies!

As usual, it's a recipe from the Easy Cooking magazine!

Even Gaurav liked it, and he's not big on veggies!

Honey Chicken With Veggies

Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 800 gr chicken breast

- 1 fairly big chive

- 1 leek

- 1 zucchini

- 2 carrots

- 200 gr green beans

- 1 garlic clove

- Juice of 1 lemon and its zest

- 1 tablespoon honey

- olive oil

- salt

- a few black peppercorns

Method:

- Clean and cut the chicken into thin stripes, marinate them for at least 30 min in the fridge with a marinade made with the lemon juice & zest, a bit of olive oil and the peppercorns. A word of advice, if you don't appreciate crunching on peppercorns while eating, I'd recommend you count them at this stage and also when getting the chicken out of the marinade.

- Scrape the carrots, cut the ends of the zucchini and clean the beans; wash and cut everything into thin stripes/sticks. Then boil the beans in salted water for 5 min and drain them. Clean the chive & leek and slice them.

- Saute the chive & leek in a pan with a little oil for about 5 min. Add the carrots and beans, and saute them on high heat and stirring them often for another 2 to 3 minutes, then add the zucchini. Add salt to taste, and after 2 more minutes, remove the veggies from the pan and reserve.

- Add a little more oil to the pan and brown the garlic clove, previously cleaned & minced. Add the chicken drained from the marinade (and if you're like me, without the peppercorns!) and saute it. Add what's left of the marinade and the honey. Finally add back the veggies, saute everything together for a minute and serve.

- Enjoy!

Friday Photos: Gaurav's Visit in 7 images!

Hello everyone!

After a break and a few scheduled posts so I could enjoy the bf's visit, and some issues with my old lappy, here I am, back on the blogging roll!

First of all, this is my first blog entry written in my new shiny Dell laptop! It's a new & awesome piece of technology that the bf chose for me, plenty of memory to keep all my photos, and a good processor to run Lightroom without issues!

And now, to the photos!

Gaurav's version of Tandoori chicken!

Gaurav, and my two besties's bfs figuring the BBQ

Miss Indy (Pilu's dog), ready to eat some BBQ

Gorgeous plant found around my parents' cottage

Gaurav loved the lavender fields around the cottage!

Taking a night deep in the pool of our suite

Gaurav really liked my seekh kebabs!

Friday Feature: Ametista Dark Decor!

Friday is here, and with it a new edition of Friday Feature!


This week I wanna show off my bloody brilliant MoNsTeR bOx by Ametista Dark Decor! I discovered this amazing Etsy shop via Deb Gassmann's favourites, when she hearted this very box (Deb is the very talented lady behind On Cupcake Moon and my taste twin!).


Ametista's shop is full of all sorts of amazing things, from MoNsTeR bOxEs to apothecary bottles, to treacherous tea sets, to amazing mirrors and wall hangings, everything with a touch of dark, pagan and even a bit of burtonesque for good measure!


MoNsTeR bOxEs come from deep within the dark jungles of la Isla de Ametista, and they're very fierce and tricky to catch! My own box, called Dorothy's Revenge due to an unfortunate accident, witch with striped socks... as described in the listing itself: "We were taken up in a twister whilst chasing this elusive MoNsTeR bOx and when we came back down to earth, (bOx in hand) we discovered that we had somehow landed on a witch and had unfortunately and much to our dismay, crushed her, leaving nothing to view but her striped socks...poor dear!" And it's quite a well behaved box, maybe cause the witch underneath it knows another witch when she sees one, but the box hasn't tried to snap my fingers off yet! ;)




My dear box arrived so well protected and packed! Great attention to detail from the Ametista ladies, and I even got my authenticity certificates! You don't want a MoNsTeR bOx without an authenticity certificate, it might be too wild and snap your fingers off!
















With great attention to detail in every swirl and stripe of paint, and the cutest blue fur inside, this box is a proper treasure, and I'm very much in love with it, I just can't wait to have a place of my own to display it!













If you want a MoNsTeR bOx of your own, hurry up, there are two on SALE at the Etsy shop now!

Wearing Handmade Wednesday: SandyGrafik!!

Hello everyone! Another scheduled post today, since this week I'm enjoying having the boyfriend around and not having to work!


For Wearing Handmade Wednesday this week, I'm having an unusual kinda model, my car!

My little C3 sporting his Sandygrafik Elphaba sticker

A close up of the sticker, shitty quality pic though, taken with my phone...

Yep, even my little C3 now "wears" handmade! I've already shared with you the talented Sandra Vargas and her SandyGrafik shop on Etsy (btw, she's having a SALE on her prints! go check it out!) on a previous blog entry, so today, I just wanted to show off my Elphaba sticker*! Great quality, it has withstood quite a few washes already and it looks good as new!


*In case you are wondering, Elphaba is the Wicked Witch of the West, from the Wizard of Oz, but more exactly, from the Wicked series by Gregory Maguire.

Mark This Book Monday: OMGcow, The First Year!

Hello there everyone!


I'm starting the week by telling you that this week I'm gonna be absent enjoying some off days with the boyfriend, so I've worked on scheduling some blog posts the past week, and here's the first one!


With some mind food and a new edition of Mark This Book Monday, I have the pleasure to share with you the very talented Sheika and her webcomic turned into book: OMGcow, the First Year!


I've been following Sheika's webcomic since she started it, and I've loved reading it, but for a bookworm like myself, having the possibility of reading them all (at least the ones that are part of the book) in one go, in book shape has made the experience even better!




Sheika has a very distinct style of drawing, that can vary from more comic-y to more realistic, but it's the kinda style you'd recognize everywhere & anywhere as hers. Her comic is autobiographic, so she takes us through her art classes, her relationship, getting herself a cat, to art exhibitions, dancing cows and even her car accident. The mood and tone of the comic is just as life itself, sometimes more light & fun, and sometimes darker, sadder and even inviting to reflecting on our lives, through the reflections she makes herself.




Reading it is a breeze, it's addictive, entertaining, even makes you think about life, the universe and everything, and once you finish it, you wish it was longer! But, the reader is in luck in this case, since you can pick up from where the book ends and continue reading on her webcomic.




It's not every day that you get to question why you do what you do, and if you are doing what you really want to do, all while going "awwww" at dancing cows!


And since I pre-ordered the book, I got it signed by Miss Sheikasaurus Rex herself! And along with it some mini-comics and some awesomely cute cards for all occasions, and also proof that Miss Sheika is terribly talented at what people would call "proper" art, a sketch of my lil Cinnamon that made me smile and cry at the same time.

















If you want to give a chance to comics for a change, and superheroes are not your thing, you can order OMGcow, the First Year here, and you can check the ongoing webcomic here!

Saturday Song: Always With Me, Always With You by Joe Satriani

Gaurav arrives today!


Since I'm gonna be spending all the time with him, and very little with the laptop these days, I'm gonna leave you all with a wonderful song, an instrumental amazing love song, by the uber talented and one of the best guitarists in the world, Joe Satriani.


Always With Me, Always With You!

Traveling Thursday: Italy!

Welcome everyone to my second edition of Traveling Thursday!


I've been to Italy twice, and I'd love to go back there at least once a year, and I'm sure my dear friend & bestie Náyade would love that! She moved there when we finished college/nursing school in 2002 cause she couldn't find work here, and she's been living there since, in the very gorgeous and amazing city of Firenze!


My visits to Italy have always been to visit my friend and also do a bit of sight seeing. On my first visit we saw Firenze, and did a few quick visits to Pisa, Lucca and Venice. I had a great time, and it was my first trip on my own, Náyade was picking me up on the airport, but I was doing the whole flying and layover in Nice on my own. Traveling on your own makes you realize how important it is to always bring a book with you, some music, and speaking English (and being able to understand & babble some Italian too ("Io capisco ma non parlo" is my fave phrase).

FIRENZE

Piazza de la Signoria with the fake David behind me

Ponte Vecchio and view of the Arno river

On top of the Duomo's dome, if there's a place with a few hundreds of stairs to claim, I'm all over it!

Piazza dei Miracoli (or where the leaning tower is) in Pisa

The leaning tower of Pisa was supposed to be just another Campanille...

VENICE

On top of the San Marco basilica

On Ponte Rialto

Any simple bridge has a beautiful view of the city really

On my second trip to Italy, I also visited my friend Sally in Milano. I have no pics of that trip on the lappy (either they were film and they're not scanned, or I lost the files on any of the previous deaths of laptops before I had my external HD back ups), but it was a fun trip. I landed at Firenze's airport, got the bus to the city, that stops at the train station (luckily for me) and had to run through it with my suitcase to catch the train to Milano. Shared a cabin with a stereotypical mamma and her sons, experienced the delays of the Italian regular trains, had a brilliant time in Milano, went out clubbing with Sally, had some vodka shots when we returned home, saw some Milano the next day and then went back to Firenze via the EuroStar (amazing fast train experience). Back in Firenze I waited for 3 to 4 bloody hours to see the Uffizi gallery (word of advice, always go with someone to queue for such a long time, it gets too bloody boring on your own!) and also managed to see the real Michelangelo's David.


After all the visits to Italy I always go back home with amazing photographs, some fun stories and a few extra pounds! But the amazing food (I love pasta!) and the even more amazing gelatos (that's ice cream, and the rest... well, can't compare!) are impossible to resist!

Monday Munchies: Sauteed Veggies With Turkey!

Monday has arrived, and this week it's the tummy's turn to be fed.


For this Monday Munchies I'm sharing yet another recipe from the Easy Cooking (Cocina Fácil) magazine.




Sauteed Veggies With Turkey
Serves 4

Ingredients:

- 800 gr thin breast turkey steaks
- 150 gr carrots
- 200 gr zucchini
- 1 red pepper
- 2 green peppers
- 50 gr soy sprouts
- shredded ginger
- 2 tbps soy sauce
- olive oil
- Half a lemon
- salt & pepper

Method:

- Wash & dry the lemon, grate the lemon peel and squeeze the juice. Wash & dry the turkey. Cut it into bite sized pieces and marinate them for at least half an hour with the shredded ginger, the grated peel & juice of the lemon, a pinch of pepper, the soy sauce and a drizzle of olive oil.

- Scrape the carrots and wash them. Cut the ends of the zucchini and wash them. Wash and clean the peppers, cutting out the seeds. Cut everything into thin stripes.

- Put a wok with a bit of oil at high heat, once the oil is very hot add the carrots and saute for 2 min, add the peppers and continue to saute, after 2 more min add the zucchini. Saute everything for 2 more min and reserve the veggies.

- Add some more oil to the wok if necessary and saute the turkey (with its marinade) for 3 to 4 min. Add the reserved veggies and the soy sprouts, previously washed and drained. Saute everything for another pair of minutes and serve.

- Enjoy!

Friday Feature: Bethtastic!

After a few weeks of sharing music on Saturdays, this week I'm back to sharing some of my handmade finds with you on Friday.


This week on our Friday Feature I wanna share Bethtastic with you all. Her Etsy shop is full of wonderful images of pin hole photography turned into great pieces of resin jewellry like bangles and pendants.




She's a full time teacher and does the resin casting on her spare time, so her bangles take a while to ship (according to her latest update, now it's two months), but they're absolutely gorgeous! If you have a photographer in your friends or family, I can assure you that any of her "Through The Viewfinder" bangles or pendants would be very well received!





I was lucky the turn around time for my bangle was shorter when I purchased it, just a month, and then shipping was pretty fast. It's a big bangle, and I have a small wrist, so I have to wear it slide up, but still looks great as a summer accessory!







I am completely in love with the photographs that compose this bangle, since they all have that old style pin hole with the distinct colours and the vignette.




All in all, if you're not in a hurry, and want a lovely piece of handmade jewellry, you should check her shop!