Life in the month of March

I have decided to add another aspect to this blog. I want to talk about some of the major elements that have surrounded my life during each month. There will be five categories  for each of these monthly post and they will be: food, fashion/makeup, travel/cultural, art, and life. For each of these categories  I will present one thing that has either caught my eye or has become increasingly important. So without anymore explanation I will get on with my life in the month of March.



Food: Kashi Fruit and Nut Bars-  These bars have been one of my favorite things to snack on or eat during breakfast. They have been really helpful in curving my cravings during Lent. This year I decided to give up sweets because I tend to gravitate towards them after a meal, throughout the day and especially while cooking. These Kashi fruit and nut bars give just the right amount of sweetness to get me through the day without wanting to jump out of the window from my cravings. With the combination of fruits, nuts and honey giving up sweets became less of a struggle.

 



Fashion/Makeup: Bold Lip Stick- Over the past three years I have increasingly become a fan of lip stick in general but wearing bold bright colors that stand out is something fairly new. As my confidence with lip stick becomes greater, I have found colors that look great on me and compliment my complexion. From reds to purples I am wearing them all.





Travel/Culture: French Grammar- I have loved the French language ever since  was a little girl watching Beauty and the Beast. I still sing along to the song "Bonjour"; there was just something about Belle walking through the quaint French village with her nose in her book saying hello to all the townspeople. I then went on to French as my foreign language course in High School. The only problem is that I have forgotten most of what I was taught and although my love for the language still existed, I did not continue French courses in college; instead I took Spanish. So I decided to brush up by borrowing a couple of French grammar books from the library. Some of them are old but I am learning nonetheless.

 



Art: Bastille-  I listen to so many different genres of music. Its something that can evoke specific emotions within you and where you can feel what someone else was feeling while they were writing or singing. I am not the type of person who only listens to Indy or underground artists; if it is something that I particularly like then  I will listen to it. This month I have loved hearing Bastille's "Pompeii" on the radio but I also like their songs "Bad Blood" and "Things We lost in the Fire". The lead singer's voice is just so smooth and effortless with a bit of a British accent thrown in the mix. I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to them not just this month but over the past year.



Life: Lent- Lent is the Christian preparation period before Easter. It last for forty days and begins on what is observed as Ash Wednesday; this period continues until Easter (Sundays are not included). This is a time of fasting, repentance, and moderation. It is meant for you to remember and focus on Jesus Christ and his sacrifice. So, in many Christian denominations it is custom to give up something which you tend to over indulge in. As stated above I gave up sweets. I always have something sweet after dinner or anytime throughout the day. It doesn't help that I love to cook and am trying to improve my baking skills. That means I am constantly tasting and testing out new recipes. It has been a struggle because without being aware of what I am doing sometimes I automatically reach for something sweet and unhealthy. I work at a café and I have an employee discount; to work around all of those delicious items and not being able to eat them seems like torture but I have found ways to get through it and it is truly rewiring my brain. I love all types of foods including fruits, vegetable, and nuts, so addition to my regular meals I have been snacking more on these items. I am also trying to eat regularly throughout my day instead of eating a big dinner and then craving unhealthy foods after. Overall I am not just becoming more spiritually conscious but also conscious of what goes into my body to create an overall balanced.


Peace and Love,

Natural_istic

MoonChild

 

 

Art is my escape. It transcends me to another world and all of my thoughts travel from my head to my hands. It is a way for me to visualize the mess that I call a brain. Even when I am making a piece for someone else a part of me lingers on with the creation. That is my favorite thing about creating. I am able to share myself with others in a way that for me is stronger than any words can express. Expression through colors, shapes, and movement that is what I live for. It is how I know that God is within and around me constantly, because without him I wouldn't be able to do it. The piece MoonChild embodies a very vital part of myself, the mysterious but curious side. My sun sign is in Cancer and although I do not use the zodiac as an important way of life, I do have strong characteristics commonly used when describing someone of this sign. This chalk creation is an ode to this side of myself. I come alive in the nighttime and when the moon is out you can find me up doing whatever most people do during the day. I've always been a night owl, loving the silence of the night and the beauty of he sky when lit up by the stars and moon. I try to appreciate the whole day but there is just something about the night and its not sinister at all but beautiful. Now if you mix in water you have me sold. The constant movement of it and how it just flows with the tide. This piece of art means to me that light doesn't just shine in the daytime but the real challenge is shining when everything is dark.

 

 

 

Peace and Love,

Natural_istic



Six Inexpensive Ways to Look Fashionable for Spring (Spring Look Book)

Spring is here!!! This season is by far my favorite for so many reasons. There are the beautiful colors from the flowers, the sounds from the birds chirping and the weather is…well maybe it will warm up in a couple of weeks. Despite dealing with the last ends of this long brisk winter this should stop you from exploring new spring fashions. Expression through fashion is something that crosses from comfort to artsy in my wardrobe and being someone who is in a transitioning stage in my life affordability is also a key factor in being fashionable. I have composed a list of ideas that could help you piece together outfits for any occasion in a way that won’t send your budget flying like a kite. While reading this keep in mind that some of these items were purchased at an earlier date and I may not have all of the prices listed but most are here. With the steals that I have found over the years I’m sure you can find some that will be beneficial to your closet.

1.       Shop at off priced retailers: Those smaller stores such as TJ Maxx, Nordstrom Rack, and Marshalls are just a few of the many stores that sell items normally found at department stores for a much higher price. This is a result of order cancelations over production and other factors that gives these stores the opportunity to sell items at a fraction of the price.

 

 

 

 

Dress: Ross- $10

Shoes: Rack Room- $25

Belt: Reused from another dress- $0

Earrings: Found at a street corner stand- $5

The ethnic printed dress and the gold heels were found at stores similar to the ones listed above. I recently bought the dress because of the print and the color but the structure made me look like a box. To fix that problem I took a belt from one of my older dresses and tied a corner of the dress in a knot. I then paired gold heels that I purchased last year and earrings from a street vendor.

2.       Go to thrift stores: Thrifting has become the trendy thing to do but I have been going to the thrift store with my mom for years. Some of the longest lasting items that I have were purchased at a thrift store. You can pay almost nothing for something that will add spice to your closet. It may take a while to find what you are looking for but once you do you will not be disappointed.

 

 

 

Skirt: Thrift store- $3.99

Camisole: JC Penney’s- $5.99

No sleeve cover: Borrowed from sister

Shoes:???

Earrings: Forever 21- $3.80

Necklace: Forever 21- $6.80

 

       I am in love with maxi skirts that have a flow to them and when I saw this skirt it was a no brainer to buy it. The price was also very pleasing. I just paired it with a camisole that I’ve had for many years and a sleeveless cover that I borrowed from my sister. Forever 21 has a great collection of fun inexpensive jewelry and whenever I’m there I tend to gravitate to that section to see what they have to accompany items in my closet. The shoes are also an item that I have had for many years but, for the life of me I can’t remember where they came from.

 

 

3.       Use items from other seasons: Because Spring comes after Winter I’m sure that you may still have your boots hanging around. The weather may be a little bipolar depending on where you live so it shouldn’t be a problem to mix pieces form other seasons. Boots with short dress or sweaters with skirts. It’s not only convenient but also fashionable.

 

 

Dress: Nordstrom Rack- $25

Boots: Rack Room- $40

Purse: LoveClothing.com-$12

 

This collection of items may seem a little pricey for a blog on extremely inexpensive fashion but because I am pairing items from different seasons, I am purchasing them all at different times. So if your budget is low, look in the back of your wardrobe and find those bits and pieces that you may have forgotten about. The black dress was somewhat of an impulse buy for me but the detailing in the front was what lured me to it. I feel that this dress can be casual or formal, for Winter or Summer it all depends on how you style. Combining it with the boots without tights is a great way to dress it down for Spring. The purse has more of a fall appeal but who cares if it’s look cute.

 

4.       Buy out of season: This may seem similar to the previous point but the best time to find cheap clothes for a season is when it’s out of season. Buy Spring/Summer clothes in the Fall/Winter, the stores are trying to sell what’s in season so in order to gain more room in the store they place the out of season items on the sale racks. That is a great time for you to take advantage of products that may be more expensive later.

 

Shirt: Rainbow- $4

Camisole: JC Penney’s- $5.99

Pants: Old Navy- $19.99

Shoes: Forever 21- $13

Purse: LoveClothing.com- $12

It was the end of Summer and I was with my sister helping her to find outfits for the upcoming school year. I spotted the leftover Summer clothes on the sale rack and I gravitated toward a denim shoulder cut off shirt with a tie in the front. I knew that it would be getting cold soon so it wouldn’t be useful for about seven months but I didn’t care because it was $4 which is a steal. In the picture I paired it with a camisole under and bright red jeans. The shoes are cheetah print sneakers and I am wearing the black purse from LoveColthing.com which was also on sale when I bought it. This ensemble has a very casual artsy feel for a day when you’re strolling in and out of galleries in your downtown area.

 

5.       Buy clothes that you can wear all year: When shopping for clothes I like to find items that will work for multiple seasons and for various occasions. This is how I get the most out of my purchases. As much as I love shopping sometimes it is just not in my finances to do so. There are certain colors and textures that are unique to seasons but there are ways to get around those social norms.

 

 

 

Shirt: Forever21- $12

Pants: Old Navy- $14.99

Sandals: Forever21- $9

Earrings: Homemade- $0
 

The shirt and pants in the collection are both made from textures that would be considered for Fall/Winter. The sweater texture from the shirt may seem to be a little warm for Spring but because it is short sleeved and is light in color, this makes for a perfect Spring item. Corduroy pants are usually seen in the colder seasons as well but these pants come in beautiful lavender color which is highly acceptable for this time of the year. Cute sandals and button earrings accompany this look well to pull off an outfit that you can wear any day.

 

6.       Wear what makes you happy:  In my opinion one of the reasons many people over spend while shopping is because they are trying to keep up with fashion trends. Trends come and go but your personal style is forever, said someone. If you dress the way you want to see yourself and not how everyone else wants to see you, happiness in how you feel about yourself will exude and spread to everyone else. Wearing whatever with confidence is the key.

 

 

 

 

Blazer: Forever 21- $24

Dress: Rue 21- $20

Boots: DTLR- $35

Necklace: Forever 21- $1.80

Ring: Forever 21- $3.80

Earrings: Homemade- $0

 

I’m wearing lace, boots with spikes, a cobalt blazer and girly jewelry but for me it all goes together and I feel free in this outfit. It’s me in every way imaginable, so find your own style and you will start to see that you don’t have to sell an arm and a leg to be fashionable.


Peace and Love

Natural_istic

http://expressivedelights.blogspot.com/2014/02/Fashion.html



 

Red Boots With Everything

 

So I bought these maroon and gold boots about seven months ago thinking that they would be the best thing for the freezing winter that was to come. These were my first pair of combat boots and for this winter they were the last that I bought. My initial thought was that I would wear these rocker style boots with mostly jeans and leggings but because of my current obsession with long skirts and dresses that was not the case. I am continuing to wear these boots with just about everything and almost everyday. Here are a few ways that I have been wearing them this winter.

 

 

 

 

Boots with classic light denim skinny jeans

 

Boots with a short black skirt and patterned leggings

Boots with electric red skinny pants

The boots with a long tribal printed dress

 

 

I purchased these gems from a store that I rarely go into but my sister happens to have an edgier style and I was school shopping with her. We dropped into the urban store Downtown Locker Room (DTLR). The store was filled from wall to wall with sneakers, boots, denim, t-shirts, and snapbacks. I have an ability to appreciate any style and that is why I have been able incorporate these boots into my wardrobe with ease. They have become my favorite go to shoes but maybe I'll slow down the usage by the time summer rolls around.

 

Peace and Love

Natural_istic

The Art of the French Macaron (A failed battle but the war isn't over)

Such a tiny treat with such a huge reputation, the French macaron is a sweet confection that has to be mastered. They have become very popular or maybe just well-known to me over the past five years or so. I have seen photos of the colorful disked shaped sandwich sweets all over social media websites. So I figured that as a future chef I should try my hand at it. Mind you, I have undergone minimal culinary training and most of what I have learned is from watching others and testing it out. So that is what I did, Byron Talbott, a YouTube Culinarian provided his subscribers with about four different variations of the macaron through his videos. They were colorful and looked quite delicious; the only problem was that I couldn’t taste them through my computer screen. I had never tasted this dessert but I was so anxious to experiment that I bypassed that logic and proceeded to make them. I seceded to try the chocolate macaroon with a caramel filling. This is the recipe I used from the YouTuber Byron Talbott.

 

Ingredients

65g (2/3 cup) Powdered Sugar

50g (1/2 cup) Almond Flour

15g (2tbsp) Cocoa Powder

1 Egg White

20g (2tbsp) Granulated Sugar

2 drops brown gel food coloring (optional)

 

Caramel

1 can sweetened condensed milk boiled for 2 ½ hours

Because I bake quite often I had most of these ingredients but I had never come across almond flour. I was sure that it was possible to grind almonds fine enough to make a powder on my own but because it was my first time making macarons I didn’t want to chance it, so I decided to try and find it at the supermarket. My first option was Walmart Super center, because I am in my early twenties I do not have boatloads of money, so rollback prices are usually what I gravitate towards. As I am looking down the baking aisle I see all-purpose flour, cornmeal, bread flour and every other basic baking product that you could ever need. As things go, I was unsuccessful with that trip. My next two stops were smaller regional grocery stores; Kroger and Martins. I was sure that I would find it in one of those places; Heck, Martins even has an all-natural and specialty section.  To my dismay I had no luck at either of those places. Now some of you may be thinking, “Well why didn’t you try a Whole Foods?” I thought deeply about driving thirty minutes away from town to find this little bag of almond flour that would probably shoot my budget to the moon so I decided to throw that idea out of my little black Ford Focus’ window. Hope wasn’t fully lost as it may seem, I found a little all-natural market about a week before and I remembered that it was right across the street from where I already was. Lucky me! I walked down the baking aisle again but this time I wasn’t surprised by the lack of almond flour, my eyes widened at the price; $12.99 for a bag of flour! I understand that it’s not like the bleached flour that you will find at your local supermarket and I also know that I said my budget would basically sky rocket but I was trying to throw the pessimism out of the window with the Whole Foods idea. The only way that I could rationalize my purchase was to think of it as an investment, which it was because I plan on trying out more macaron recipes. Now that I have all of the ingredients I can get started with the real fun or so I thought.

 

 

In order to make macarons time is something that you need plenty of. With all of my travels around town, some of that time had slipped past me. The most time consuming piece of this project was definitely making the caramel, which was also new a technique to me. I had never seen anyone use sweetened condensed milk to make caramel. The only issue was that it would take 2 ½ hours to transform and then another 1 ½ hours to cool. I put the condensed milk in the boiling water as soon as I got home which was around 5:30pm. So this meant that the caramel wouldn’t be fully done until about 9:30pm, I truly felt like a mad scientist who works in his lad at all times of the night.

 

While the milk was boiling away, I sifted the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and set it aside.

  

Next I whisked the egg white and flour until it had soft peaks, or so I tried.

 

I have whipped egg whites a few times before and have come out with nice peaks in the end, but this time it just wouldn’t work. I just bought a new hand mixer that had a whisk attachment but it didn’t get the job done. I tried to fold my weak peaks in with the dry ingredients and all I got was a lumpy mess. My first thought was that I didn’t beat the egg enough, but because my arm, back and ears from the movement and sound of the mixer; were starting to hurt I knew that it couldn’t be so. My sister suggested that I just use the regular mixer attachment which worked after having to start all over with new everything. After that was all sorted out I was finally able to reach the soft peaks with triumph.

 

My victory was short lived after I realized that I did not sift the dry ingredients the second time, which resulted in my batter not being as smooth as it should have been. At this point I was over perfection and just wanted to get them inside of the oven and assemble, so I put my semi lumpy batter in a plastic zip bag and cut off the tip. I then formed round circles on parchment paper with the bag. To release any air bubbles I tapped the circles on the counter a few time and waited for them to dry. It should have taken about 10 to 15 minutes but mine never dried completely and I’m not sure why, so I just placed them in the oven for 15 minutes at 300 degrees Fahrenheit.  

 

 

After the macarons came out of the oven I immediately saw they did not look like the ones that I saw on Byron’s videos. I tasted one of the disks and it taste just fine but how would I know how they are supposed to taste, it was my first time trying them. I was slightly disappointed but not discouraged enough to discontinue the process, I had gotten so far and there was no turning back now. As I waited for them to cool the caramel had been sitting in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes and I still had an hour to go. By this time I am worn out from the trial and error game so I just waited until I regained my excitement and could not wait any longer. Thirty minutes into my waiting session I decide to open the can of condensed milk knowing that I should wait until it’s fully cooled. Besides my impatience, something else had gone wrong, the mixture had thickened and changed in color but it still wasn’t the way it looked in the video. I didn’t care I put some of the iffy caramel into the plastic zip bag and piped it in the center of the chocolate rounds. This was my result.

 

So in conclusion of my battle with French macarons, I did not get the outcome I expected and there is much room for improvement but this will not be my last fight with these delicious treats. They were quite scrumptious but I will have to taste some from a professional before I try to take them on again.

Peace and Love

Natural_istic