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  • Silvertree

    Mod post: No wishlist posts in blogs

    By Silvertree

    Please be aware that we do not permit swap-related content on profiles or in blogs. Please post this content only in the For Sale, Swaps, and Wanted forums, or in the Wishlists topic. ~from Swapping 101  Thanks!
    • 5 comments
    • 6,604 views
Fishnets and Frankincense
 

Sangria Love, Part I

If you do anything this 4th of July season, make sangria! I made some first thing this morning and put it in the refrigerator, and by this evening, I had a lovely, lovely brew. I was deeply proud of my efforts. I'm steeping some sangria blanco as I write this, and time will tell if it's as good as the red. If you make red sangria, try to get a nice, fruity Spanish wine. It makes all the difference. Here's the recipe that I used -- it's a modification of "Sunset Sangria" by Rachael Ray, and you can find it on the Foodnetwork web site.   3 tbs. sugar 6 tbs. dark spiced rum with citrus flavor 1 orange, sliced 1 lemon, sliced 2 ripe peaches, peeled and cut into wedges 3 ripe plums, cut into wedges 2 cinnamon sticks 1 bottle Rioja or a good fruity Spanish red wine Club soda, for topping off glasses of sangria   Combine everything but club soda in a large pitcher. Chill several hours. I ran the wine liquid through a strainer to catch the excess fruit pulp prior to serving. Serve over ice, topped off with club soda for some fizz.   This is not the equivalent of bottled Cruz Garcia Real Sangria -- Cruz Garcia needs vodka or rum added to it in order to make it seem like an alcoholic beverage. This is just a smidge stronger. Thus, adding a bit of club soda will not turn your sangria into the alcoholic equivalent of Welch's grape juice.   I am very tempted to make some Sangrita Margaritas, which entails combining a margarita with sangria. Tasty, tasty. Sangria blanco review to follow tomorrow night.
valentina

valentina

3
captain diana's log
 

SevenSins imp pack - Muses

Melpomene Wet: Neroli is most evident. Drydown: Oddly floral, with another note that kind of disrupts it. After a bit it smells like a floral-scented olive oil soap. Not to say it smells bad, but it's just unusual and unexpected. After a while, it does become more of a sweet floral, but not really my type of blend.   Calliope Wet: Lemon rinds. Something herbal lurking behind the bright citrus notes. Drydown: more of an herbal lemon, like verbena rather than lemon rinds. After a bit more time, it develops a greener type of herbal scent, probably the thyme. There's a slight coolness to the scent, but it dries down to almost pure thyme. It's an unusual blend, but a bit too heavy on the dry-herbal notes for my taste.   Urania Wet: sharp, bright floral note Drydown: a touch of ozone and there is also a hint of cool flowers. I stayed away from this, because I thought with the flower combination + ozone, it would be too cloying and really not my style. But I'm learning that anytime the description says "crystalline" or "glittering" it is worth a shot; these almost always work. And this time, I'm really loving it. It is cool, soft & amazingly beautiful. I think this might be my favorite of all the muses.   Erato Wet: soft, smooth roses & other flowers. Drydown: The other floral notes fade slightly and one of the other notes comes into play. I'm not sure which specific ingredient is doing this, but it has almost a clay-like scent to it now, which later adds a dryness to the scent (it must be the orris). I really do like this type of rose used in here, but I think in conjunction with the other floral notes it vascilates between really pretty and a bit too cloying. However, the longer this stays on, the more it seems to be growing on me. It smells like dried flowers and fresh flowers all put together in one bouquet. An interesting blend; if you're a fan of rose scents, this one is really worth a try.   Terpsichore Wet: Neroli, mostly. Drydown: Wild. I can't nail down a specific scent, but a combination of sweet, floral, and fruity. I thought neroli & carnation were the two most obvious, but now it seems to be apple blossom and some of the sweeter florals. Sometimes I really like it, sometimes I am more ambivalent; it changes with each sniff. I really can't tell if I like this one. After a bit more time passes, a vanilla-iris scent comes out. It is creamy-sweet-floral now, and gets better the longer it sits. I think I could wear this, even though it confuses me.   Clio Already own 5mL. Reviewed here. Gilded oranges & parchment blend.   Euterpe Already reviewed. Pretty creamy-floral.
Diana

Diana

0
Filling the Periodic Table
 

Giant veggie update!

I'm going to start with the seriously most spectacular thing in my rarden right now:     The runners on my strawberries are putting out runners!   My tomato is gi-normous!!!   Check out the little green tomatos!     And my peppers are looking petty awesome too:     Finally, my vines have made it well up and over the railing:
antimony

antimony

1
Fishnets and Frankincense
 

Heat-addled mutated thoughts

I have not been the chattiest blogger in the world, lately. Bad blogger, bad, bad, bad blogger! Try to type "bad blogger" a number of times that not turn "bad" into "blad." I did it twice. ("Blad Blogger" sounds like the emo nephew of Dracula.) It's been over 100 degrees here the last two days. Blame any weirdness below on the heat.   Well, I've been quiet because I've been kind of angsty lately and I really don't like to subject people to my angst. I'm semi-finished with my angst, and I've basically decided, what's better -- to be someone who has a few things that I'd like to have, but don't, but in order to get them you have to be positively glacial, or to be sort of person who animals, little kids and old people tend to like. I guess it's best to just accept my gifts in the form of a trusting animal, smiles from little kids and conversations with old folks. And everyone else in between. I not a cold bitch, so I don't get the cold bitch acoutroments. End of story.   I'm going to try to brew up a good batch or two or three of sangria tomorrow. I associate sangria with the 4th of July. Now, WTF? A Spanish wine for an American holiday? It's just a summertime thing.   And what is it when you go to the pool and you see the man with his bald head, bobbing just above the water, and then he emerges from the pool, it is revealed that his body is one of the hairiest things you've seen? As in, more hair on the guy's back than on most men's chests, not to mention all the hair on the legs and the chest and arms? I know it's testosterone doing its thing, but it always amazes me. Not that I have a thing against a nice hairy chest or hairy arms or legs, for I like secondary sexual characteristics, but when the back is almost solid hair, I do draw the line. I'd be getting out the waxing strips and using them on the fellow. But it would be like trying to wax a Grizzly! It would be like pulling carpet! Jeez, and guys like that would clog up your drains all the time, and no one would be able to figure it out, because they have a cue-ball head. Where is that hair coming from?   You can see what I was looking at and pondering at the pool today!
valentina

valentina

4
captain diana's log
 

SevenSins imp pack - RG, MT, S&S

The Queen of Hearts This is one I'm surprised I haven't tried yet. Then again, I rarely order imps, so I guess leaving it up to chance to smell a specific scent is taking a slim chance with fate. Wet: floral-cherry. This is mostly floral, but not overwhelmingly so. Drydown: Lily overload! The lilies smell a little like canned air freshner--that "floral garden escape" type of scent. I am just not a huge floral-scent lover. The cherry's appearance isn't very strong in this scent, which is unfortunate, because I love the note. After a bit of time, the flower notes become a little less cloying, but they are still a bit too sweet & soft & pretty for my tasts. This reminds me a bit of Titania, which I also found to be too light & floral. If you like flowers, this might be up your alley, though.   Death Cap I'm so excited to try this. I'm a nerd, I know. Wet: dirt, with almost a sweet chocolately-carob type of note to it. Drydown: slightly earthy, but it's really mild. There is still an incredibly nice sweetness to it, almost like a light musk. This is so very lovely! I might need a 10mL of this to roll around in. This is a bit lighter than what I usually go for, and it doesn't seem to be very long-lasting, but the combination of the soil notes with the sweetness is just too nice to pass up.   Bow & Crown of Conquest Already reviewed. This one is a really nice woodsy-vanilla-leather scent that I love and own a 5mL bottle of. <3!   Baneberry Wet: ozone. slightly greenish, but mostly the ozone is the main note here. Drydown: Wow, there's a change. Now it smells very sweet, berry like, and almost juicy like a pineapple. There's still a touch of the ozone note, but it's not as noticable anymore. After a bit longer, there's a sharper pine-like note that appears, but it is about equal in strength with the berry note, but doesn't stick around with as much intensity. This is an interesting and rather yummy blend!   Black Hellebore Wet: really light, but a really nice fresh herbal scent. this scent reminds me of something, but I cannot place what. actually, I think it's a bottle of expensive hair shine mist that I have from England. Drydown: This is like being hugged by a soft pink sweater. This is not something I'd typically pick out for myself, but the herbal + light notes are really pretty. This is a really nice, non-offensive, light blend. I think I might need some of this for those "I want to smell nice, but not really smell a lot" kind of days.   Opium Poppy Wet: bandaids + sharp perfume smell Drydown: I'm not a big fan of opium-type scents, and this one is pretty much straight opium. It's not my taste at all; it ends up smelling soapy, perfumey, and sharp. This reminds me a bit of Debauchery, without the civet. After a little while, some of the sharpness fades, and it smells more like poppy flowers, but it's still not really my taste.
Diana

Diana

0
circe_blue's Blog
 

Living Dead Dolls

Living Dead Dolls Wishlist!! In no particular order:   1. Elisa Day   2. Dottie Rose   3. Bride of Valentine   4. Lottie   5. Kitty   6. Posey   Have:   1. Sadie   2. Hollow   Cute, yes?
circe_blue

circe_blue

0
Diplomatka
 

Other bloggers hate Ariana too

I was reading Christina Lamb's blog and came across this.   My favorite quote is about the Ariana Airlines hijacking: A few years ago when a group of Afghans hijacked an Ariana plane and flew it to Stansted to demand asylum, I called the Ariana head office in Kabul for a reaction. The man I spoke to was stunned. “I didn’t think any of our planes could fly that far”, he said.   True.   If you don't know much about Afghanistan, especially under the Taliban, I suggest you pick up Lamb's book The Sewing Circles of Herat.
Confection

Confection

1
cranberry's Blog
 

Cordia 3 - shipped 7-5-06. All Reviewed.

Picked this up 6-30-06 from the PO.   Cordia 3 Rage** - reviewed Dirty** - reviewed Szepasszony** - reviewed Bloodlust - reviewed Grand Guignol - reviewed Nuit - reviewed Zombi - reviewed   I've got half of these, so it'll take me a bit longer to get through this pack but it should still be pretty quick. I'll leave this one for last to get the other 2 on their way though.   ETA 7-4-06: I've reviewed all the imps that I didn't have and have started in on my imps to test. This is ready to go.   ETA 7-5-06: this is off to spacekitty   ETA 7-10-06: all scents in this pack reviewed!
cranberry

cranberry

7
cranberry's Blog
 

Cordia 2 - shipped 7-1/3-06 - all reviewed

Picked this up 6-30-06, hopefully I can turn this one around really fast since it's been waiting in my PO for a while.   Cordia 2 Alice** - already reviewed the Coiled Serpent** - reviewed Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo** - reviewed Voodoo** - reviewed Libertine** - reviewed Lolita - reviewed Juliet - reviewed   I've got all the **ed ones, so I should be able to get this tested and reviewed this weekend.   7-1-06: shipped this out tonight, it was too late for the last mail pickup so it will go out with Monday's mail.   8-6-06: yay, all tried and reviewed!
cranberry

cranberry

7
cranberry's Blog
 

kakiphony 1 - shipped 7-1/3-06

Picked this up 6-30-06   Kakiphony 1 Ava Maria Gratia Plena** - reviewed Hymn to Prosperine** - reviewed Jazz Funeral** Jolly Roger** - reviewed Juke Joint - reviewed   I've got most, if not all of these, so I should be able to get this out within a day or two.   ETA 7-1-06: took this to the PO tonight, it was too late for the last mail pickup so it will travel with Monday's mail.
cranberry

cranberry

4
cranberry's Blog
 

June 30

A four day trip turned into an 11 day trip, so I have some catching up to do. Picked up 3 packages in the mail today so I have some catching up to do. Yikes!
cranberry

cranberry

0
circe_blue's Blog
 

Good day

Today has been a good day, so far. The annoying co-worker wasn't at work today, we got a half-day because of the upcoming holiday and I finally got my t-shirts I ordered off of Threadless.com. I got this one and this one   The first one I like a lot because it reminds me of Battle Royale, one of my favorite books ever. Guns + schoolgirl uniforms = awesome, for some reason. I still have a love/hate thing for Mitsuko. She's so evil, but yet so badass! I guess I like femme fatales because I am so not like that. I am really shy and I'd rather go read something or mix chemicals in beakers rather than start up a conversation with someone I don't know. Ah anyways, I must re-read that book one day. As it is, I have 5 other books I need to read before I get to the point where I'm re-reading for fun. I tried the shirt on (Guy's Size Small) and it seems it's a bit too large for me. I wish they were still selling girly sizes. The second I got mostly 'cause the girl on the shirt is reading, and uh.....I do that a lot. Oh, and pretty colors. I'm a sucker for pretty colors (and packaging, but that's a whole other thing...)   ********** ::Sigh:: The boy has started rotations this week and so he's tired a lot of the time and I don't get to see him as much Most of the free time he gets (and its very little) he wants to spend napping, which is understandable. I feel bad for him, but the selfish part of me misses hugs, kisses, and him calling me "banana-rama", lol.   We don't know whether he'll get the 4th off, but it's not likely. Most likely, some asshat will blow off his hand/leg/naughty bits with some illegal fireworks and the boy will have to stay at the hospital longer. Argh.   *********** I'm glad the weather isn't as bad anymore. This means I have no more excuses to not exercise. I started up running again last week and stopped because of the OMGRAINFLOOD!!111111 So I'm gonna go today. I love my run/walk routine. I crank up my cheesy rock (Queen, Pantera, White Zombie, Kiss), and Hooray for Eyeliner Emo (My Chemical Romance) with some ABBA (yes, ABBA, I admit it!) on my iPod. I always have to spray a bit of Off! Bugspray or else I get bitten. A lot. ************ One very last thing: I found a rather large spider in the downstairs bathroom last week. I haven't stepped foot in there since. I hate crawly things. They're all....crawly and stuff.   Have a nice (spider and bug-free) weekend, BPAL-ers!
circe_blue

circe_blue

0
Fishnets and Frankincense
 

Good night, sweet princess

A year ago, my Airedale Terrier named Karma turned 9 years old, and that very same the day, the vet came to the house to euthanize Karma. She had a very aggressive bone cancer in her spine and by the time it was diagnosed, there was no treatment recourse. She was such a wonderful dog, very much a proud, haughty terrier who could also be silly and goofy. But largely, she was Princess Karma, and about 3 years ago, I found a tiara during Halloween costume season and purchased it for Karma's use. While she had a "don't hate me because I'm beautiful" attitude, she was also a bit of a ruffian and preferred to have her hair long and shaggy. She wasn't one of those preening terriers who came home from grooming with an attitude. Well, she did have an attitude after grooming, but it out of annoyance and embarrassment -- she far preferred her "au natural" state. Thus, her official princess portrait properly shows her in a bit of a wooly-bully dishevel. I do so miss playing with those curls. Here she is in all her glory...
valentina

valentina

2
Eoywin's Blog
 

A tale of two kitties

I have a cat, his name is Star. When we bought our house in February, one of the first things we wanted to do was get pets.   I got Star from a shelter in early March, then Todd brought home a dog the day before my birthday, which is near the end of March. The dog didn't work out, because it ended up biting Todd in the face (and trying to bit me), so Star has been our only pet since March.   Well, in the last week or two, there has been the cutest grey kitten hanging around our house. We think it was someone's pet, and they just let the kitty out, and didn't go after it.   The grey kitty is very friendly, and nearly followed me in the house yesterday. I expressed to Todd last weekend that I would love to 'adopt' the grey kitty, since he needs a home.   Well, last night, I had a nightmare, so I got up to get the nintendo so I could play a bit of Mario before going back to sleep. In the process, I got to talk to Todd for a few minutes, and he said "If you want to bring the grey kitty in, you can".   This surprised me, because Todd isn't really a cat person (though he adores Star), and Star won't be happy in the least if we bring another cat (or pet in general) in the house.   So, I'm not sure what to do.
Eoywin

Eoywin

6
This Old Snark
 

Under Pressure

(After Snarky was schooled, she has always preferred the Queen song containing that famously ripped of Vanilla Ice lyric, though the sting of plagerism has faded over time to be replaced with a kind of dorky nostalgia too.)   The Mister collapsed at work yesterday. By the time the ambulance got there, he was awake, aware, and talking. He walked to the ambulance on his own steam. The ER doc couldn't positively pinpoint the cause, though stress and anxiety are likely candidates.   After a couple hours of observation (and another one waiting impatiently to be discharged) Snarky was able to take him home. They had cheesy Mexican food and wandered around Trader Joe's and bought up supplies for a near-future (possibly before the Fourth, as the Snarks are an impatient bunch) cookout on their newly discovered charcoal grill.   The Mister will take off of work today, but is already antsy about not keeping up with his landslide of work. Snarky tried (half-heartedly) to obtain something for him to work on when she stopped by his office yesterday to pick up the car.   His boss, hopefully finally Seeing the Light, refused to let her take anything, and strongly urged The Mister to stay at home and rest through the Fourth.   Snarky knows that this grand statement is partly spurned by genuine concern, but she also knows that The Mister will just get all the more agitated because now his boss's unable-to-delegate and/or assign-work-realistically "management style" will push all the pressure onto the other already loaded-down PMs in the office. Which gives him stress.   And Snarky is trying ever so hard to minimize the stress. Like some kind of frightened, over-protective mother hen. The Mister is a grown man, but Snarky can't help but remember seeing him with wires and tubes and bustling be-scrubbed attendants.   No matter how many episodes of "House" or "Gray's Anatomy" she'll see... nothing will inure her to that sight. Ever.
darkitysnark

darkitysnark

8
Do you have a flag?
 

Torture or Productivity?

I have been visiting my sister for the past five days, and in her house they go to bed at 9 p.m. on work nights -- I go to bed around 4 a.m. and sleep until noon. So since I had a bunch of free time where I was sitting around my sister's house by myself with none of the usual distractions at my own home, I decided to be productive. I tried to consolidate my BPAL reviews into one location.   And HERE is the humongous result. It took me roughly 20 hours, and it's still pretty crappy and incomplete. Man, there are a lot of different BPAL oils.
filigree_shadow

filigree_shadow

1
captain diana's log
 

SevenSins imp pack - various categories

Antony Wet: very light. slightly powdery & herbal Drydown: Sweet & amazing, but not much throw at all. I think I'm mostly getting the basil note, which smells so good. It's sweet, lightly green, and slightly herbal. I'm only slightly picking up any of the resins, but there is a hint of something powdery in the background, but the notes match well with the basil. I wish this was about 200% stronger; I'd bathe in it.   Thanatos Wet: murky, herbal, dark (mmm) Drydown: lightly spicy with a hint of softer ingredients. The rose note in this adds just the right amount of sweetness/lightness, without being super floral. The other notes maintain a deeper, almost woodsy-spiciness. I really like this a lot. It's really well balanced. It's soft without being very girly, and spicy without being uber heavy.   Hymn Wet: plastic, artificial flowers/floral air freshner Drydown: Painfully floral. The notes are fairly sharp, strong, and sweet. I generally like rose notes, but in this instance, it's just too much for me to handle. It's fairly cloying and overly flowery in this combination, in a way I can't stand. This is just not for me.   Greed Wet: earthy, heavy on the patchouli Drydown: smooth, silky earthiness. A powdery sweetness comes out--the copal, perhaps. This is so earthy and dirty, but sweet and awesome. The patchouli softens up quite a bit, and this rounds out to a nice, mellow fragrance. I think I need to find me a big ol' bottle of this.   Old Scratch (already reviewed) This in the bottle and on the skin immediately reminded me Villian, another fougere. Except this isn't as citrusy. Instead, it starts out with a very gentle lavender. This settles a bit and becomes less prominent. The rosewood warms up after a while and becomes noticable. I unfortunately didn't get much of the other notes (perhaps another time). While I did like this a lot, it didn't seem to last all day like a lot of other scents, and had weak-to-minimal throw. I loves me the throw. It's a nice, subtle scent; this would be amazing on girls who like something light and different, or on boys who want to smell very, very good.
Diana

Diana

0
Eoywin's Blog
 

3 years ago yesterday...

Todd asked me to be his girlfriend.   And I'm usually good about remembering stuff like that, but I didn't remember until about 5 minutes ago.   This is proof my brain is turning into mush.
Eoywin

Eoywin

0
Filling the Periodic Table
 

Garden pictures, a couple of days late.

I'm sure no one noticed that I'm late with my update this week... And to make it worse, some of the pictures are terribly out of focus.   I took these pictures of a bloom on my rose last week - The bloom is about 1.5 inches across: (There are a total of 7 unopened buds on the plants)   This are the plants again on sunday. It's blury, like I said, but you can see a bunch of buds opening:   See my strawberry plants putting out runners:   Although the picture is blury, you can see what a behemoth my tomato plant has become:   Finally, my morning glories/moonflowers have made it as high as the railing... I don't expect blooms for another month or so, but I hope once they grow into a space with more sunlight, they'll grow faster:
antimony

antimony

1
Is Anybody Out There?
 

Some shallowness

So, yesterday, one of the many people snapping zillions of pictures at my wedding brought over a collage style picture frame with the pictures in question in it... and it was sobering to see myself in a picture. Like, embarrassing. To the point where I've had enough. Eating habits must change this summer. Workouts must be performed regularly in the fall. I may be so drastic as to join a gym. I am tired of ze flab. It will be eradicated. I'm just not sure how I'll do this. It's all well and good to look at the pictures and resolve not to do it anymore, but I've got a serious addiction to combat. One day at a time? Should I try a twelve step program? Should I just cut it out of my life, cold turkey?   I really felt like I looked great at my wedding, but to see the photographs... appalling.
smallvoice

smallvoice

1
Eoywin's Blog
 

Wedding Planning Pictures

Since my brain is completely tuned to everything weddings, I thought I would post some pictures of the stuff for my upcoming wedding.   Our engagement picture     Pictures of my dress!     My cake topper     My University of Michigan garter     My guest book     The label I made to put on our bubbles     My invitations     This is what my flowers will look like     The start of my centerpieces     My favors  
Eoywin

Eoywin

1
Fishnets and Frankincense
 

In an Ani mood

Yeah, I read the Bronte sisters and Thomas Hardy, and I like to quote poetry every now and then, but I also listen to Ani DiFranco and I'm in an Ani mood these days. Not that Ani isn't poetic, in her own 20th/21st century way. And anyone who started their own recording label called Righteous Babe Records has to be alright.   Right now I'm listening to the "reckoning" disc of the "Reveling/Reckoning" double CD set. I was driving around last night singing along to "So What" and I looked over at the car in the lane next to me, and there was a teenaged girl, singing and doing upper body dancing as she drove. I thought, damn it, I miss the surly grunger days. In the town that I live in, there's way too many perky teenagers, but I was in suburbia and the closer I get to downtown, the closer I come to finding surly youth. However, a lot of them tend to sit around outside coffee houses and sing folk songs with people closer to my age, and I find it rather confusing.   Back to Ani. A few years ago in "Jazziz" magazine, in response to the question "What is your guilty pleasure?" Ani replied: "FUCK GUILT." That was my New Year's resolution that year. It worked. (I wasn't raised as a Catholic, so maybe it was easier for me.) Then a year later, I did a spin on that and made my New Year's resolution "FUCK 'WHAT-IF'S.'" I realized late last week just how well that one took, because I spent some time around someone who was spinning "what-if" scenarios, that to me, were no more than fantasies about something that was painfully impossible. I realized how I simply never go there, or if I do, I pull myself back. (Hell, I don't even fantasize about Bob Schneider, and that would be a sweet diversion!)   But as a result, I have a bit more of an Ani DiFranco attitude, which is to jam reality right back in my face. It makes for an interesting life, I'm not missing as much, except for when I'm so sulky that I'm not really paying attention. Better to be looking around than your head in the clouds or up your ass, right?   But even then, almost in spite of everything I've said above, I'm still a romantic. I've yet to figure that one out.
valentina

valentina

3
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