Apparently I'm Just Super Into Flowers Right Now?

Apparently I'm just super into flowers right now?

Editing the brown spots outta these orchids was probably way more fun for me than it shoulda been.

...Is it my imagination or does the shadow on the yellow-faced orchid look like a man in a fedora? I'm getting serious Dick Tracy vibes here.

I can't seem to make myself do anything productive or even vaguely interesting... I'm so bored.

This is how I roll now, I watch Awkward. and Girl Code while I paint my nails.

(Laziest gradient nail EVER. I didn't even stipple both colors, just painted a couple layers of the base color and stippled the accent on top. They're gorgeous in person, but I had trouble getting the camera to pick up the color variation.)

I love Dairy Free Ice Cream, it’s such an awesome and useful book, but I was so disappointed when I made the Classic Vanilla Ice Cream. I used cheap Vanilla Extract, so it was probably my own fault, but the whole batch tasted strongly of alcohol from the first bite to the last! The mark of a good batch of Vanilla Ice Cream is something that doesn’t require toppings to be palatable, and honestly I don’t mind going artificial to get there, and that is how I got here. Is propylene glycol safe to ingest? No idea, and honestly I don’t really care at this point, because this ice cream is DELICIOUS!

Ingredients: 1 can (13.5oz) Whole Foods 365 Coconut Cream 1 ½ cups Homemade Cashew Cream (approx 1:3-ish cashews to water) ½ cup Wholesome Granulated Allulose 1 Tbsp LorAnn Butter Vanilla Bakery Emulsion ½ tsp Xanthan Gum (optional)

Directions: 1) Place Coconut Cream in a sauce pan and heat until steam begins to rise, stirring constantly. 2) Add Allulose and continue stirring until fully dissolved. (I usually take it to a light boil, just to be sure) 3) Add cream/sugar mixture to a blender with all other ingredients and blend to mix. 4) Chill in refrigerator until cold (or overnight, which is what I usually do) and then process in your ice cream machine.

Gradient Nails, EASY

All of the gradient nail tutorials on youtube were way too labor intensive for me, until I finally found one that was just two stripes of color on a makeup sponge, stipple & repeat until you get the desired coverage. FINALLY! Something I could see myself spending a few minutes on!

I grabbed a packet pf makeup sponges today, months later, and tried it out. AMAZING! But now I can't find the video that taught me. This one comes closest.

    P.S. Right hand included for posterity, even though it looks shit. The left hand looks fantastic in person, though! More so than it does in the photo. I should have switched to the other side of the sponge when I started on the right.

Love my Omelete Ease, one of the best kitchen utensils I've ever bought.

Think it's time for a new one, though! Whisky, the egg on the handle, has lost almost all the color from his beak.

I’ve been fiddling with this recipe quite a bit this year, trying to keep it dairy free but similar in taste and texture to the orignal, and it’s my absolute favorite bread for sandwiches. Even when the results come out a bit wonky!

(P.S. - This bread machine cost me $5 at the thrift store and it’s probably the best $5 I’ve ever spent. If you can’t afford a bread machine but really want one, go thrifting! Who knows, you might luck out like I did.)

Sour Cream Bread - 1½ lb Loaf page 53 of The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook by Beth Hensperger [amazon link]

Ingredients: ½ cup + 1 Tbsp Water 1 cup Sour Cream* 3 ½ cups Bread Flour 1 Tbsp Light Brown Sugar 2 tsp Gluten (no offence to author, but definitely optional) 1 ¼ tsp Salt 2 tsp SAF Yeast OR 2 ½ tsp Bread Machine Yeast

*Vegan Variation for Sour Cream: 8 oz Kite Hill Cream Cheese ½ tsp Lemon Juice ¼ tsp Apple Cidar Vinegar 1 Tbsp Water

Instructions: 1.) To create “sour cream,” in a medium sized bowl mix together Cream Cheese, Lemon Juice, Apple Cidar Vinegar, and 1 tablespoon Water until consistency is smooth 2.) Place all ingredients in the pan according to the order in the manufacturer’s instructions, with the water and “sour cream” put in first, and adding the dry ingredients in on top. 3.) Set crust on Medium and program for the Basic cycle; press Start. 4.) When the baking cycle ends, immediately remove the bread from the pan and place it on a rack. Let cool to room temperature before slicing.

Notes: The cream cheese concoction used in this recipe is drier and thicker than normal Sour Cream, so you will almost certainly have to add another tablespoon of Water while the bread is mixing, and scrape the sides down to help the dough come together. I also like to center the bread after the last Punch Down to help prevent over-rising, which this variation of the bread is prone to. If it does over-rise, don’t be afraid to gently press back the dome a bit right before baking begins. I promise, even though the recipe sounds a little finicky, the results are well worth it.