21st Birthday: Gluten-Free Vegan Style!

Over the summer, two of my friends semi-spontaneously asked me to attend their 21st birthdays.  Me, being the derp I am, totally forgets when these events actually are to occur and do not have the foresight to look into buying a present.   But everyone loves home-made things, so of course I decided to be all kitchy and bake cakes.  I got semi-good at making letters, but not having proper lettering equipment does not help.  Never the less, here are the two creations that happened.

Raspberry-filled chocolate cake with chocolate syrup and vegan icing.

Cinnabun cake with non-vegan frosting and semi-sweet chocolate chips. (Good thing I'm not actually vegan, because then I feel like too many people would call bs).

My hair staying up after a morning of swimming.

You're wondering why there's no actual outfit attached to this.  Well, I wanted to showcase my hair.  Whenever I go to a concert, I like doing some kind of an updo because, let's face it, you don't want your hair in your face and then your bangs getting all groady because of sweating.  Plus, I swam during one of the birthdays and needed my hair to look nice for the evening.

How do I achieve this?  I use about 5-10 bobby pins (not kidding, my hair is really thick) and then Bumble and Bumble Classic Hairspray after applying copious amounts of Bumble and Bumble Tonic Spray.  I know these are pricey, but I don't style my hair too often, so it's okay to splurge a little bit.  I mean, if you're only going to do it once every so often, make it count, right?

Keep it yummy,
Jo

Renaissance Fare

I have been into fantasy and medieval things like Lord of the Rings and King Arthur for as long as I can remember (see also why I am a terrible blogger who watched such movies instead of writing the promised blog post).  It's just so mystical and the fashions are gorgeous.  So I was super excited when the vague plans to go to the Sterling Renaissance Festival became a concrete trip.  Andrew, Andrea, Jil, Steve, Marissa and I got into Jil's buggy and went for a what-should-have-been 1.5 hour drive to the fair.  It was set up in forest-y area where people rode decorated horses and dressed up in period pieces.

Look at this horse, this horse is amazing

Medieval royal fair has generally been associated with rich meals, while peasants have been generally associated with slop.  Well, I associate more with the peasants than with royalty (I am a rather simple girl, to be quite honest).  So, knowing about out-dated norms that exposed ankles were scandalous, as were pants, I decided to opt for a maxi skirt.

Hat (bought at the fair), shirt (Urban Outfitters), skirt (PacSun), purse (Urban Outfitters), glasses (Urban Outfitters)

Now for the food?  Of course, being the meat eater that I tend to be, I got a massive turkey leg, and, given the spice-lover that I tend to be, I got the thing slathered in hot sauce.

Is it the size of my face?  I think so.

Sheesh, I don't think I've ever ate a piece of meat that good.  I looked up online some fact about it and apparently it is a 1000 calories and you need to walk 5 and a half hours to burn that off.  Well, good thing that that's how long we were at the fair and the duration of afterwards shenanigans.  Plus, I really hate all this talk about how festival food is totally bad for you (it is, oh, it definitely is) but at the same time, how often do people actually attend these things?  I eat pretty clean most of my life and if I want to enjoy a day out with my friends, I should be able to eat whatever I please.  That is my rant.

Overall, the festival was so much fun.  Highlights included swinging a swords, watching a joust, and witnessing the Highland Games.  I can't wait to do it again next year.

Keep it yummy,
Jo

Chinese Food Pt. 4: Meals Served in Fruit

Hong Kong, which is a special region of China with its own laws and people, was one of my favorite places. It was the most westernized and beautifully laid out on a island with greenery a midst skyscrapers.  The nightlife was especially awesome, with certain areas just lined with bars and restaurants.  One restaurant we went to, you could actually watch as they prepared your food, which made me pretty excited.

He was making an egg-roll type thing except wrapped in greens instead of noodle sheets.

Now, I have never been a fan of mixing fruit with dinner items or meal items in general (don't ask, I'm just weird like that).  But the pictures of this fried rice with prawns inside a pineapple just looked so beautiful that I just had to try it.  Plus, I'm in a foreign land where I've been trying many new things, like various kinds of ice cream, duck feet, and regional drinks.  So I ate it.  And it was gloriously delicious.

Pineapple fried rice with prawns in a pineapple.

Since I was going out and doing some sight-seeing during the day, of course I wanted to look chic, but also comfortable.  Doubling up on slips is a great idea for this.  In addition, wearing muted colors compliments the brightness of the dish.

Along the Hong Kong skyline.  Purse (urbanoutfitters), dress and slip (free people), necklace (Chinatown, NYC)

And with that I conclude the 4-part series on China.  I will continue posting about twice a week, seeing as I have two entries backed up anyway.

Keep it yummy,
Jo