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Thursday, August 21, 2008

Carlos is napping and I should be working...

...but instead I think I'll play this little game that Hannah at bittersweet came up with. :-)

The Vegan's Hundred

Your mission, should you choose to accept it:

1) Copy this list into your own blog, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating. *
4) Post a comment here once you’ve finished and link your post back to this one.
5) Pass it on!

* I can't figure out how to cross words out in Bloglines so I'll make notes in blue instead.

1. Natto
2. Green Smoothie
3. Tofu Scramble
4. Haggis
5. Mangosteen
6. Creme Brulee
7. Fondue
8. Marmite/Vegemite
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Nachos
12. Authentic soba noodles (soba noodles are a favorite at our house)
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Taco from a street cart (I've had burritos from a street cart, does that count?)
16. Boba Tea
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (I doubt I'll try it; I really don't drink alcohol.)
19. Gyoza
20. Vanilla ice cream (mmm... that new coconut milk kind is SO yummy.)
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Ceviche
24. Rice and beans
25. Knish
26. Raw scotch bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Caviar (I have no desire to try this, even if it's vegan. sounds barfy)
29. Baklava
30. Pate
31. Wasabi peas (meh.)
32. Chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Mango lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Mulled cider
37. Scones with buttery spread and jam
38. Vodka jelly (again with the alcohol... not so much.)
39. Gumbo
40. Fast food french fries (no thanks, although I do like the thicker, non-fast food kind.)
41. Raw Brownies
42. Fresh Garbanzo Beans
43. Dahl
44. Homemade Soymilk
45. Wine from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more (not to be repetitive, but no, I don't think so.)
46. Stroopwafle (I'm totally intrigued...)
47. Samosas
48. Vegetable Sushi (mmm...sushi.)
49. Glazed doughnut
50. Seaweed
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Tofurkey
54. Sheese
55. Cotton candy (Is regular old cotton candy vegan? I had no idea.)
56. Gnocchi
57. PiƱa colada (maybe a virgin one?) :-)
58. Birch beer (nope)
59. Scrapple
60. Carob chips (not a carob fan)
61. S’mores
62. Soy curls
63. Chickpea cutlets
64. Curry
65. Durian
66. Homemade Sausages
67. Churros, elephant ears, or funnel cake (Are traditional churros vegan? If so, I'm in trouble.)
68. Smoked tofu
69. Fried plantain
70. Mochi
71. Gazpacho
72. Warm chocolate chip cookies
73. Absinthe (sounds yucky)
74. Corn on the cob
75. Whipped cream, straight from the can
76. Pomegranate
77. Fauxstess Cupcake
78. Mashed potatoes with gravy
79. Jerky
80. Croissants
81. French onion soup
82. Savory crepes
83. Tings
84. A meal at Candle 79
85. Moussaka
86. Sprouted grains or seeds
87. Macaroni and “cheese”
88. Flowers
89. Matzoh ball soup
90. White chocolate
91. Seitan
92. Kimchi
93. Butterscotch chips
94. Yellow watermelon
95. Chili with chocolate
96. Bagel and Tofutti
97. Potato milk
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Raw cookie dough

Well, I can see I have a lot of work to do! So many foods, so little time. I feel very sheltered and unworldly when I see how many things I haven't tried yet!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Shopping trip part two - faceted gemstones

In addition to the cabs I bought yesterday, I also had fun buying lots of faceted stones. Again, most of these are available for custom orders, so email me if you see something you need. :-)

oregon sunstoneOregon sunstone, 5mm

green tourmalineCalifornia golden green tourmaline, 5.5mm

blue tourmalineAfghan blue tourmaline, 5.5mm

green tourmaline gemstoneCalifornia green tourmaline, 5.5mm

pink tourmalineCalifornia pink tourmaline, 6.5mm

pink tourmaline gemstoneCalifornia pink tourmaline, 5mm

spessartine garnet gemstoneTiny little spessartine garnets, 2.5mm

champagne quartzCalifornia champagne quartz, 7mm

afghan tourmaline gemstoneAfghan blue-green tourmaline, 5mm

andradite garnet gemstoneTeeny-weeny andradite garnets, 2.5mm

gary peterson gemstoneThis one is really special - a gorgeous African garnet cut by expert US gem cutter Gary Peterson. It's pretty big too - 2.59 carats (8mm).

gemstone garnetThis is the back view of that same garnet.

arizona amethystArizona amethyst, 7mm

amethyst gemstoneArizona amethyst, 5mm

amethystArizona amethyst, 6.5mm

amethyst faceted gemstoneArizona amethyst, 5.5mm

aquamarine gemstoneNigerian aquamarine, 5mm

Shopping trip part one - cabochons

I went shopping with one of my local suppliers yesterday and got all kinds of fun things. I'll start with cabs and do a separate post for the faceted stones. Most of these stones are available for custom orders; get in touch if you see something you like!

pink tourmaline cabsCalifornia pink tourmaline

aquamarine cabochonsAquamarine (Nigeria)

chrysoverde chalcedonyChrysoverde chalcedony

green tourmaline cabochonsCalifornia green tourmaline

purple chalcedony cabsHolley chalcedony

afghan blue tourmalineAfghan blue tourmaline

I also decided to try re-selling some of this vendor's cabs in my bead shop. I'll be listing these soon...

aquamarine cabs for saleAquamarine, 5mm x 7mm

chrysoverde chalcedony cabsChrysoverde chalcedony, 5mm

hessonite garnet cabsHessonite garnet, 5mm

pink tourmaline for saleCalifornia pink tourmaline, 6mm


Ooh, the cool kids like me!


I feel like I just got accepted into some kind of popular clique... I'm on Trunkt! I have applied a few times in the past and been rejected, but yesterday I re-applied using my new moissanite and recycled metal designs, and they let me in. Yay! Now I have to figure out how to get my portfolio all tricked out... anyone who is a current member, feel free to advise me. :-)

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

More Moissanite

I'll be listing these soon in my shop...

moissanite ringMoissanite, recycled sterling silver, recycled 14k gold, and 21k gold solder, size 7
{ more pics here }

moissanite wedding ringMoissanite, recycled sterling silver, and recycled 14k gold, size 7
{ more pics here }

Monday, August 18, 2008

New Stuff

labradorite ringAn oldie but a goodie - square cushion cut labradorite set diagonally, recycled sterling silver
{ custom order; sold }

fire opal ringMexican fire opal, recycled sterling silver
{ custom order; sold }

blue labradorite ringAnother oldie but goodie - square cushion cut labradorite, recycled sterling silver
{ custom order; sold }

moonstone ringFaceted grey moonstone, recycled sterling silver
peridot ringPeridot, sterling silver
{ custom order; sold }

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Beady Goodness

The latest additions to my ever-growing bead stash... well, I guess it's not technically my stash since they are going to be up for sale in my shop. Right???

smoky quartz beadsSmoky quartz step-cut 'rice' briolettes

faceted carnelian cabochonFaceted square cushion cut carnelian cabochons, 10mm

lapis lazuli cabochonLapis lazuli cabochons, 8mm

smoky quartz cabochonEnormous faceted smoky quartz cabochons
(I may keep one or more of these... not sure yet.)

carnelian beadsCarnelian briolettes

faceted labradorite beadsFaceted labradorite twister rondelles

I was also able to re-stock a few things I've been out of for a while...

melanite garnet cabochonFaceted melanite garnet cabochons, 12mm

square amethyst cabochonSquare cushion cut amethyst cabochons, 1omm

prehnite cabRound prehnite cabochons, 8mm