Friday, I’m in love: 6.27.14

I’m a big fan of pugs and Game of Thrones so this has to be one of the best mash-ups I’ve ever seen. We’re really hoping to get a dog once we move in September and it’s very possible I might make costumes and dress them up just like this. (My hope is to name our pug Frodo Puggins because WHY NOT!)

Get those tissues you ready. A kid was asked to throw out the first pitch at a Kansas City Royals game which would be awesome enough for anyone. But what he doesn’t know is that his father who’s been away on active duty for a year is disguised as the pitcher. I’m a sucker for videos of military families being reunited.

A Comprehensive Guide to Everyone Kanye West Has Ever Compared Himself To is pretty fantastic. I hope we have many more years of Kanye thinking he’s better than everyone because, let’s face it, he is.

I’m thinking about signing up for the Belmont Street Fair in September to sell some of my Bacon & Glitter goodies. I got some great advice last night about what I’m in for and I think this summer I’m going to spend a lot of time trying to expand the products I’m offering and hopefully start showcasing some of my favorite fandoms. I’ll also be introducing brooches and some embroidered hoops for your home. Be sure to check out the shop regularly to see what I have to offer. And as always I would love to work with you on creating a custom piece!

This teaser for Mockingjay is so wonderful and sad at the same time.

Two years ago today Nate & I arrived in PDX to start our new life. It’s been nothing short of an adventure and I’m so glad we took the plunge. If you ever have the opportunity to pack up your life and move to the city of your dreams I suggest you do it. You won’t regret it.

I’m very excited for this weekend because it’s the first Do-Over of the summer. I hope the rain lets up so we can enjoy being outside. But I still plan on dancing my butt off even if it’s pouring. I need to just dance and let go of everything for an afternoon. Also drinking really expensive drinks and listening to world class DJ’s won’t hurt. Plus if Elijah Wood shows up like he did in LA I might scream. Hell, I know I’ll scream and probably try to hug him. And show him my LOTR tattoo.

Hey, a girl can dream.

How to bring all the boys to the yard

This weekend I caught a nasty cold but that didn’t stop me from craving something sweet. For some reason a milkshake sounded AMAZING but I don’t usually eat a lot of dairy (besides cheese) so I needed to come up with an alternative. I started to search the internet for inspiration and ran across this yummy looking recipe over at A Beautiful Mess.

I made a few adjustments to get the consistency I wanted and it totally hit the spot. Plus I can rest assured that even though I’m sick I’m still putting some healthy items into my body. Plus is tastes better than the Theraflu I’ve been drinking the past few days.

Chocolate/Banana/P.B. Milkshake

• 1/2 cup of almond milk
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons cocoa powder
• 1 frozen ripe banana
• 1 1/2-2 Tablespoons nut butter (I used Adam’s 100% Natural Peanut Butter)

1. Break up the frozen banana into chunks and place in your blender.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and blend.
3. Add extra almond milk to adjust consistency if your milkshake is too thick.

I hope you enjoy this sweet treat! It’s definitely helping my sore throat feel better.

Playing catch up

Whoa kids, it’s been a few weeks! The end of the school year happened, I started going back to barre3, and I ate a quesarito. Yeah, that quesarito wasn’t such a great idea, but I wanted to try gluten since my doctor put me on a new probiotic. To my dismay it did not go over well and I ended up with an unhappy tummy all day yesterday. So I’m sticking with this gluten free thing. My goal for next week is to buy all the fancy flours and put together my own GF flour blend. I’m hoping this will get me baking again. I miss making cupcakes and sharing them with people. I need that part of my life back!

For the past few weeks I’ve really been trying to figure out what my next steps are. I’m approaching my 29th birthday in 3 months and while I’m happy to be living in Portland with Nate I feel like there are certain aspects of my life that I’m not so happy with. So I’m starting with small things like maintaining a work out routine. This week I started going to barre3 again. My plan is to go at least 4 times a week and especially going on days I feel down. There’s nothing like working on yourself for 60 minutes to really make you feel like you’ve accomplished something.

I’m also trying to figure out what the next step in my career should be. I’ve worked in education for over 8 years now, and while I do enjoy it, I feel like something is missing. It might be the lack of baking in my life, it might be just wanting to be more creative. So I’m keeping my eyes open for new and exciting opportunities. I’m also hoping to put in some more work on my etsy shop this summer. I’d like to sign up for a street fair or two in Portland since they have about 20 different ones throughout the summer.

So I apologize for my absence these past few weeks. Sometimes you just have to step back and get your head on straight. But I’m ready to conquer this summer and make the most of the beautiful weather we’ve been having lately. I’m ready for a few rain free months, tubing down the Sandy River, day drinking on patios, and riding my bike all over Portland.

Next week we will return to this blogs regularly scheduled program of recipes, books, and Portland. Enjoy your weekend lovelies!

xx

Candice

Dear… LCD Soundsystem,

Tonight I’ve listened to “Home” about 10 times. Tonight is like many nights where I throw on my headphones and submerge myself into this amazing song. This is the last song of your last album. This song makes me think about home and how sometimes it’s a place that’s safe and comforting but sometimes it can be the last place you want to be.

Back in 2010 when I saw you guys play at the Hollywood Bowl I didn’t think it would be my last opportunity to see you. I remember vividly dancing out of the concert to this song. Hundreds of us just poured into the aisles, letting the music roll over us. I felt high. I felt alive. We all did.

Years later I’m in a very different place but this song still takes me back to that moment.

Thank you for giving me that moment in time. I didn’t realize it would be the last opportunity to see you. No one except you knew that you’d be disbanding soon. I swear I would have spent money on better seats if I had known! But it was still an amazing experience. One I’ll tell my phantom children about someday.

Home is a very interesting concept. It doesn’t always mean four walls and solid ground beneath your feet. Sometimes it means being around the people you love. Sometimes it’s about listening to an album that makes you feel alive and grounded. And sometimes it’s just holding someones hand after a long and hard day.

Yeah no one ever knows what you’re talking about
So i guess you’re already there
No one opens up when you scream and shout
But it’s time to make a couple things clear

If you’re afraid of what you need
If you’re afraid of what you need
Look around you, you’re surrounded
It won’t get any better

Thanks for helping me feel like I’m home whenever I listen to you.

What I’m Reading Wednesday – Bad Blood

Vampire stories have been pretty hot for around the past 5 years. Twilight had a lot to do with that. I admit I was never a huge vampire fan. I’ve read Twilight and I think it ruined things for me. But last year my friend started bragging about True Blood and I figured I would check it out. Holy hell! That show is fantastic. It showed me a different type of vampire story, one that was entertaining, and something I could relate to. I started to see why people are so hooked on the whole vampire thing.

So when Dark Horse decided to release a comic book series called Bad Blood, a story about a kid with cancer who’s blood is poisonous to vampires, I decided to check it out. I thought this was such an interesting concept, and something I hadn’t seen in any of the other vampire stories I’d read before.

Bad Blood touches on a lot of subjects relating to health and our environment. Are the things we’re putting into our bodies really good for us in the long run? How does the government try to control what goes in our bodies, and if this is a good or bad thing? This comic had me thinking about how different the world is now compared to even 40 or 50 years ago when food was processed differently and medication was not as easily accessible.

This is a pretty short series with only 5 issues, and I’m not saying I love the way it ended (actually I downright hated the ending), but I believe it is worth checking out. It’s sometimes nice to get an unexpected lesson when reading a book; to have someone make you think and challenge your opinion.

What’s your favorite vampire series?