Learning to crochet

I'm an avid knitter, but I've always been curious about the art of crochet. My grandma is a master and has given us many blankets over the years. She tried to teach me, but I never really caught on. Over Christmas break I picked up some yarn that I got for my birthday and consulted YouTube. I'm half way done with a purple dish cloth. I want to try a phone case next. Any tips for a beginner crocheter? Which yarn craft is your favorite? (Knitting is still mine)

P.S. As you can see in the photo, I'm reading 1984. My respect for George Orwell has quadrupled. I'm also reading the true story of Downton Abbey (YAY SEASON 3 STARTS SUNDAY!), Lady Almina and Highclere Castle. And I'm also reading Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight (yes it's grammatically incorrect), which is a heart wrenching autobiographical look at growing up in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) during their civil war. So now you've got enough to read for a while! Grab a cuppa tea. :)

pie pop recipe and please vote!

remember how I entered in a Thanksgiving photo contest? now it's time to VOTE for my picture!

today I bring you the recipe for those adorable pie pops I sneak-peaked a few days ago! thanks to Hannah for asking about it. :)

Apple Pie Pops
orignal source/inspiration: Bakerella (step-by-step) and Luxirare (beautiful photography and packaging) 

Ingredients
2 nine inch pie crusts (I used store bought for speed and convenience)
1 cup apple pie filling*
20 lollipop sticks (Mine made between 15 and 20 pie pops) 
1 egg
cinnamon to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. 
2. Sprinkle a bit of flour on the pie unrolled pie crust and flip it over. Cut shapes with cookie cutters (round shape=higher filling-to-crust ration, heart shape=lower filling-to-crust ratio). 

2. Place half of the cut-out shapes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Stick lollipop sticks on top of the shapes.

3. Put a small spoonful or so of pie filling on each shape in the center (put less than you think they need so they don't overflow)
4. Place each remaining crust cut-out on top of its corresponding pie-filling-covered shape. Use a lollipop to seal the edges, lightly pressing down and creating indents. (If extra juice squirts out, wipe it away for clean pops. If you don't mind a little oozing of gooey goodness, let it be.)

5. Crack the egg into a bowl and separate the whites. Brush pie pops with egg whites (for glisten). Sprinkle on cinnamon to taste. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the tops look golden brown.

*you could easily do another flavor of pie filling. I again used store bought for time's sake, but this would be amazing made from scratch... just make sure it's more gel-like than chunky.

mmmmm

a cluster to give to friends + family! though this recipe was intended for Thanksgiving (didn't post it when I wanted to!), it would be perfect for a variety of holidays... the heart cookie cutter would make cute pie pops for Valentine's Day, for example. have fun with the recipe and let me know what you think! 
~Monica

P.S. sorry for the low quality pictures during the baking process (all the dated pictures)... I didn't have my camera, so I was using a sad little one that doesn't even have optical zoom. :'(  poor little point-n-shoot!

apple pie pops pic (for Thanksgiving photo contest)

hey blogosphere, just wanted to tease you with a quick pic of some "pie pops" I made for Friendsgiving... a.k.a. Thanksgiving, a few days before the real deal, with your friends! it was our inaugural attempt at it, and it was rather delicious + fun. we watched the Gilmore Girls Thanksgiving episode. I brought sweet potato casserole, besides these apple pie pops.... which are essentially bites of pie on lollipop sticks.

also entering Katherine's Thanksgiving photo contest with this picture^

ooey gooey goodness!

I meant to give you all the recipe before Thanksgiving, but alas, life got busy and I did not. if you're still interested in the recipe, comment below and I'll post it... it's an easier recipe than you might think! :)

and I would also like to take this moment to thank our very gracious God for all He has given me... to scratch the surface... family, friends, food, clean water, an excellent school, a healthy body with the ability to run + walk + dance + jump, rain, sunshine, hard times, good times, smiles, tears, laughs, music, yarn, skills like knitting, passions like photography, hugs, fireplaces, tea, trees, poetry, computers, seasons, and the list goes on and on and on.... concluding with you, my dear followers! thanks for being there for me and listening to what I have to say (sometimes ;). love ya! 
~Monica

vegan challenge.

going vegan for a month has been one of my goals since this summer. I am happy to say that I'm going to achieve it in the last month of the year (procrastinator? no!).



graphic designed by me in photoshop... love using the photo-through-text trick I just learned :)

my reasoning is threefold... I want a healthier life for myself, a more pleasant life for all animals, and cleaner life for the Earth.

I am already a pescatarian, a.k.a. a vegetarian who eats fish (or maybe just a pesky vegetarian ;). however, I have drifted away from eating really healthy... I used to have a salad every day at lunch, and a full breakfast of oatmeal, a smoothie, or quality cereal. now I throw together something quick and unhealthy... some random protein or cereal bars for breakfast or lunch. So I want to focus on choosing whole, healthy foods, and veganism will encourage me--no, require me--to do that. (Also eggs, milk, yogurt, etc. are high in saturated fat and cholesterol).

and the animals.... wow, once I found out how much they are tortured, how bad their living conditions are... I could not settle for eating things produced by means of their suffering. calves are taken away from their mothers at birth, so we can drink their mothers' milk... then the mothers are artificially impregnated over and over again so they continue to produce milk. if the cows have male calves, they are often killed for veal. it's just as bad on the factory farms in other industries... chickens crowded together, never seeing the light of day, etc. If you go on youtube or watch a documentary, you will be ASTOUNDED by the horrors you see.

not only do the animals suffer, but the environment in general suffers. by now many of you have probably heard that cows produce more methane than cars... it also take thousands of gallons of clean water to produce a pound of beef... clean water that could be used to sustain ecosystems in danger and people without clean drinking water.

I am not trying to be preachy; I don't want to force my beliefs down your throat. I just want everyone to be aware of the choices they make with what they put in their mouths. ignorance, to me, is not bliss.

so I encourage you to try something... go vegan, go vegetarian... for a day, a week, a month. try meatless Mondays or try a month long challenge with me.



via

hopefully that infographic answered a few questions nutritionally... for more inspiration, visit my Pinterest board Vegan Challenge.

I hope that you support me in this journey and maybe even join in!

Forks over knives,
Monica

doing things I haven't done in a while

finally got my braces off!

eating apples// I've eaten apples over the past two years, but not a whole one, straight off the core... it was a great feeling to sink my teeth into the skin of a crisp apple and feel the fresh juice run down my arm... so much more rewarding than gently nibbling on slices. 

driving at night// a weird one, to be sure, but I miss it. to put it Romantically, on the way to school I saw "moths dancing in my headlights". it seemed more beautiful and surreal, like the world wasn't awake yet either. like the night was hugging me, a big black blanket. with the time change (Daylights Savings Time), the world greets me stark and bright, expecting me to be ready and not willing to hide my speedy driving or quickly donned winter gear. and I feel like I'm supposed to go to bed at 5:30 at night, when it's pitch black and I haven't even eaten dinner... but I had the pleasure of driving in the dark again recently, and it made me smile at the memories.

playing Mexican Train// the domino game in which you build trains with matching dominoes in order to use all of your own before anyone else. it's a Thanksgiving tradition in my family, complete with all twelve rounds, prizes, and teams with little kids on their laps. but this year we didn't get to travel and see the relatives. so playing this game was a good way to connect with the past and feel a bit of that warm tingly feeling (from family and food) that I miss so much.