Experiment 01: No Poo

Two weeks ago, I woke up and decided to start an experiment. I took the "no poo" plunge. "What is 'no poo'?", you ask. It's a movement to not use shampoo (or conditioner). A Re-Nest article on the subject stuck with me for months, so I decided to take the plunge. 

Why? 1. Shampoo is expensive. 2. (Traditional) Shampoo is not good for the planet. 3. Organic & natural shampoo is even more expensive. 4. My hair is insane & really fickle about hair products. 

For the record, the thought is to start the switch by "shampooing" with baking soda and "conditioning" with apple cider vinegar. Eventually, this is supposed to be needed less frequently (or not at all). I used 1 TBSP baking soda + 1 cup water for washing and 1 TBSP apple cider vinegar + 1 cup water for conditioning.

The first day, my hair looked (and felt) swell!

Third day was maybe a tad grimy, but all was well.

By this Thursday (almost two weeks in), my face had decided it was absolutely pro-poo, and had the oil slick and breakouts to prove it. Headband to the rescue!

And soon after that, I decided to give it up. There was not enough of a light at the end of the tunnel to justify permanent gross-face. And so, this morning, I washed my hair.

Overall, I'm glad I tried it. I think I could still alternate the baking soda/acv routine with normal shampoo. And I got Brian started on that routine already, which means less shampoo between us.

And it's gotten me into the experimental spirit. I've already got plans for experiments for the next two months. Stay tuned!

(Part of) Today Via Hipstamatic Disposable

Flashback Friday: My Old Friend's a New Mama!

(With my friend Missy at Halloween Horror Nights on, you guessed it, 10/30/98)

My, what dorks we were! 

I mean, I'm wearing a (partially glow-in-the-dark) Cheshire Cat shirt and you can't tell, but she's wearing my old Paul Frank monkey shirt. And what's up with the giant, long pants?! We're both short, but seriously. For real, neither of us could've broken 100 lb soaking wet at this point, but we look twice that big. (And RIP, Kongfrontation, as seen in the first picture.)

And 13 years and 12 days later, she's a mama! (And she's going to be a great one!)

Daily Animal Doodles - Day 1

I've been excited to see results of people's participation in Paper Sparrow's Daily Animal Doodles over the past few months, but it was never a good time for me to join. But now, November is here and although I know I will be tremendously busy, I think this is the perfect project to encourage sketch breaks. It will also hopefully get me back into my silly anthropomorphic doodling.

And so, I present to you, day one:




Let me know if you're participating!!!

Flashback Friday: Halloween

(1987ish)

(2006)

(2007)

(2008)

(2009)

(2010)

Flashback Friday: Middle School

I have finally started making progress on my pile(s) of pictures to scan. A lot of them are pretty old, and therefore, pretty ridiculous. As such, I thought it only fair to share.

I present to you two of the results of a photo shoot I did with my best friends in middle school. (I'm the one in the stylin' orange shirt.)Yes, we paid someone to make us look like this and record it for history's sake. And believe me, there are more, but these were separated out for some reason (probably because they're so fantastic). 

Feel free to keep these images in your head to think about in case your day gets rough, I know I will!

Vegan Taco Salad

I've developed what some people would call an unhealthy obsession with books about food. I wouldn't call it unhealthy, but only because the books are about healthy food. (On my Kindle alone right now, I have The Vegan Girl's Guide to Life, Food Inc: A Participant Guide, 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart, and Forks Over Knives.) The most recent result of all of this has been to dive into the vegan kickstart. The only downside of this is that the husband is somewhat of a cheese-a-holic, so I've had to come up with some tasty food to, I won't say "trick" him, but to sneak away his cheese.

Last night, I hit it big!!! Vegan taco salad! Mr. isn't big on salads, so it's never something I'd thought of before. But I decided that I could certainly make something delicious enough for even him to enjoy, and - success!

 It was super easy to make as well, which is always a plus. I chopped up some lettuce and tomato, and then added some veg "ground beef" crumbles sauted with some enchilada sauce. The topping is toasted tortilla. The real magic is in the dressing...

Taco Ranch Dressing
1/2 cup Vegenaise
1/3 cup enchilada sauce
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon crushed, dried parsley

Mix and chill. Then chomp away!

Photography Apps

Yeah, yeah, I know, you're sick of lists of photography apps. Well, I am too, at least, I'm sick of lists that include the same apps over and over and over...As an admitted photography-app-hoarder, I am here to share with you some of my favorite lesser-known (or at least, lesser-shared) apps.

I have an iPod Touch and an Android phone, so I have apps on both. However, the iPod has an infinitely greater selection of photography apps (unless you count creepy porno apps, in which case the Android wins, hands down). So, here they are, in no particular order...

Plastic Bullet. ($1.99, App Store) I love this app because it creates random toy-camera, vignette, and light leak effects - perfect for those indecisive moments!

SwankoLab. ($1.99, App Store) It's like everything you love about darkrooms, minus the smell of developer! You get to mix developers, fixers, and additives to create different looks. You can also same formulas if you get a look you love.

ClassicINSTA. ($1.99, App Store) Everything you love about instant cameras, minus the expensive film! It even "ejects" the picture. You can change the cartridge to different effects or simulations of damaged cartridges. You can also change the instant film frame.

푸딩 카메라 (Pudding Camera). (Free! App Store and Android) This is a really versatile app. It's just that everything other than the camera and film names happen to be in Japanese. So, if you can read Japanese, great! If you're like me and you have no idea what the characters mean, you can absolutely manage. I actually have a few Japanese camera apps and can fumble my way through just fine! This one has a couple of motion camera settings and a fish-eye lens, plus some others. 

Are there any photography apps you enjoy???

Adventures in Couponing

If you're like (the old) me, the word "couponing" leaves you terrified. I don't even have cable, but I've gotten the picture of how Extreme Couponing has made coupons seem like paper madness.

Well, I too, was afraid. But I've started reading Money Smart Fashion this year, and I have been inspired by the way Grace tackles saving without making clothes out of burlap sacks or eating nothing but Ramen noodles. Plus, she coupons and doesn't seem like a lunatic!

So I started focusing on saving dough. 

And then, my new Kindle (with special offers) offered me How to Shop for Free for $1. Great savings on a book about savings? It was obviously a sign.

So I took to working the coupon world. I got a subscription to the Sunday paper (with a coupon code, of course). I became a BzzAgent (it's amazing - it's how I got the food below for free). I've printed stacks of coupons. I've nabbed any available coupons in my path. I've added a bunch of couponing blogs to my Google reader. 

I'm certainly not "extreme", but I have saved a good deal of money. And donated to the food/toiletries pantry at work. This couponing thing is pretty fantastic.

Everything in the picture (except Elvis) set me back $6.50. It's not free, but it will do!

Our Ceremony!

From Brian & Rachel Get Hitched!

From Brian & Rachel Get Hitched!

From Brian & Rachel Get Hitched!

From Brian & Rachel Get Hitched!

From Brian & Rachel Get Hitched!

Achoo!

I think it's official: I'm sick. The first couple of weeks of the semester = lots of people mulling about = lots of people at work sick...

My brain is mush, so instead of some kind of content, I present you with the following list of things that I think would help me (or others) feel better.

(source.)

(source.)

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(source.)

(source.)

Pre-Wedding

Since yesterday was our first monthiversary, I thought it was about time to post some more about the wedding.

There are far too many pictures to post at once, so I'm thinking some type of chronology is in order. We had a teeny wedding with about two dozen guests at Big Cat Rescue in Tampa. Lucky for me, my new aunt & uncle-in-law are professional photographers. Between their amazing pictures and our growing collection of toy cameras, it was quite the well photographed event!

Putting my bouquet together with my mom and Abby.

Abby making some doofy face amidst our getting-ready mess.

Brian's mom tying his tie.

I married this guy!

(Photos by Mark Suban)

The wedding, reception, and post-wedding mini-moon to come!

After Work Adventures in Food

(Disclaimer: August was super busy with getting married and work/school picking up, so I slept on the last half of the 30 Day Photo Challenge. D'oh. I'll post wedding posts and such soon! In the meantime...)

Brian's adventures in craigslist pickups this evening led to a short, but exciting adventures in food. 

Lucky for me, the person he was meeting led us to a coffee shop I had never tried: Downtown Credo. I had never heard of it before going, but the coffee is tasty, the atmosphere is swell, and although I'm either tired or their website is vague, it seems like they're doing good things.

On the way there, yours truly remembered it was Tuesday, meaning we could stop at the Lake Lily Food Truck Cafe on the way home! I hadn't been there in a while, and to my surprise, there were new food trucks! And at least one of them even had food I could eat!

While I was waiting for cupcakes (see below), Brian found The Gastro-Truck and ordered himself some mac & cheese and a grilled cheese for me. Tasty!

And last, but most certainly not least, cupcakes!!! The first part of the month is always very exciting as that's when The Yum Yum Truck  debuts their new flavor. This month, in honor of impending autumn, it's Hootenanny Harvest Apple! And it's scrumptious! So scrumptious in fact that I'm having a hard time not eating the one Brian was too full to eat. Must...not....steal...husband's...cupcake...

30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 19

Where I Slept.

30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 18

In My Bag.

(Bag - Some department store, years ago; fish eye camera, gum, Filofax, iPod touch, phone, amazing swan wallet, spare glasses, keys, umbrella)

30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 17

On the Shelf.

30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 16

What I Ate.

30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 15

My Shoes.

30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 14

Flowers.

30 Day Photo Challenge - Day 13

From a Distance.

Last Night's Dinner

During the summer, our hours at work are pretty brutal. While I'm not happy to be working on Fridays, I am thrilled to be home earlier (and less exhausted) in the evenings. Why? Well, other than the obvious (lack of exhaustion), because I'm awake enough to cook!!!

My dad and stepmom brought me a big box of veggies from their garden when they came down for the wedding. It was full of tomatoes, potatoes, onions, banana peppers, green peppers, squash, cucumbers, and homemade jam.

Last night I turned that box of deliciousness into this tortilla of deliciousness:

In accidental 30 Minute Meals fashion, I roasted peppers, squash, and onions, while I made fresh guacamole. I then heated up some Seeds of Change red beans and rice, and in less than 30 minutes, it was on our plates, topped with Tofutti Sour Supreme. 

It basically blew Brian's mind and definitely solidified his decision to marry me.