[Friday Link Round Up] Child Brides, Dresses, Salads, and YouTube

1. Please read this amazing article on child brides from National Geographic. I would have liked interviews with the husbands, but still a fascinating read.

2. Refinery29 showcases the best summer dresses for under $100. I should have paged through this before buying two pairs of unwearable heels.

3. Yes salad season! Check out Shutterbean's amazing collection of recipes here.

4. Interesting guide from Corporette on skirt lengths. Agh. I'm going to have to start thinking about these things.

5. Also just watch this. So entertaining.

[Green Thursdays] Grow an Indoor Herb Garden

If you're a little scared of gardening, then start with the basics: Indoor herb gardening. You can create a garden on your windowsill or a hanging garden in a sunny spot. I've always loved to grow my own basil (Thai and Italian). That way, I can go grab some to flavor up a salad, pizza, stir fry, fried rice, and so on. Plus, herb babies are insanely cheap. Find them at your local farmer's market for about one dollar or at a gardening store near you.

The best herbs for indoor gardening are: mint, rosemary, basil, thyme, and sage


Read about which containers work best, and go to some pretty pictures for inspiration!

via the Telegraph

via Slipsters Blog

via sfgirlbybay

[Food + Drink Wednesday] Radish and Mango Salad

So, I am kind of too tired all the time to cook. I admit it. I'll bake for days, but cooking is another story entirely. Basically, when it comes to my own kitchen, I'm all about raw food. Mostly because it involves no fire, no frying pans, and very little cleanup. Outside my kitchen, I'm all about the cooked stuff.

My latest strangely tasty invention: mango radish salad, made with radishes and heirloom lettuce from my friend's garden. I made this salad with a mustard-lime dressing and then ate alongside an artichoke. I would say it was a healthy dinner, but I proceeded to eat a pint of Samoa ice cream afterwards. So... yeah.

Started with 3 Types of Heirloom Lettuce

Added some radishes, which are my new favorite vegetable

Made the dressing with some mustard, olive oil, and lime juice

Threw some cut-up mango on top, then I ATES IT

So, yeah, nothing too complicated. Just lots of raw, sweet, deliciousness. I'm too easy.

[Get Involved Tuesdays] La Cocina Kitchen Incubator

via Truck Food Nation

Obviously, I've been doing a lot of research on starting a food-related business. I don't intend to quit my day job anytime soon after seeing the astronomical fees associated with starting such a business plan. There are insurance bills, business license fees, rent for a commercial kitchen space, and so on.

Enter La Cocina. In a city like San Francisco, so rich with diverse ethnic foods, La Cocina is one of the prime players in incubating new and interesting culinary talent. In fact, a La Cocina participant just opened up a piroshki shop down the street, called Anda Piroshki.

Want to get involved? Whether you want to volunteer at events, be a mentor, just donate money, or even participate in the program yourself, find all the infos at their beautiful website.  Next up on their calendar? This weekend they are publicizing an event by the non-profit group Fresh Approach. Fresh Approach offers free nutrition and cooking classes to low-income families, and they're hosting a big farmer's market-style brunch for only $10 per person at Jack London Square in Oakland. So go out and eat for a good cause!

[Music Monday] Work-Out Music

The gym can be sooooooo boring, but I'm addicted to 4Music and TMF, two channels in the UK with great music videos... here the highest ranking ones that I'm liking:

[Things We Adore Sunday] Movies, Hair, Bows and Coachella!

1. The trailers and hopefully, the movies that go along with them:

2. Anything with bows. Like I'm actually addicted.

Source: shopnastygal.com via

Amber on Pinterest

Source: bhldn.com via Amber on Pinterest

Source: tumblr.com via Amber on Pinterest

Source: tenscenicdrive.blogspot.com via Amber on Pinterest

Source: bhldn.com via Amber on Pinterest

3. Hair ideas - they are motivating me not to cut off all my hair.

Source: lifeaccordingtocelia.blogspot.com via Amber on Pinterest

Source: thebeautydepartment.com via Amber on Pinterest

4. That I'm going to Ibiza in two weeks and I'll be home in three!!! Plus, being in the same time zone as Carrie makes me happy :-) Oh, did we tell you we are going to COACHELLA 2012??? OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG

Source: toobusylovingmylife.tumblr.com via Alli on Pinterest

[Travel Saturdays] Maldives

I was watching Secret Diary of a Call Girl in an effort to avoid studying, which, believe me, I should not be doing right now. In this season, Belle vacations in the Maldives. They don't show it, but I was curious as to what the audience was missing. And we are missing a lot. Can you tell I'm in a full escapist mode? P.S. Watch Secret Diary - so good.

Source: dhigu-maldives.anantara.com via Sara on Pinterest

Source: justpaste.it via Erin on Pinterest

Source: freshome.com via Nicole on Pinterest

[Friday Link Round Up] N.E.E.T., Rihanna, A Beautiful Mess Wedding, & Articles

1. Automatism had some great links this week that I am now relaying to y'all. I've never typed y'all before or ever used it... Weird. Anyways, the first one is on the science between al fresco dining and why food tastes better. Agh, I am so pining for summer. Also she featured a NY Times article on aging and changing social norms. This doesn't just apply to "older women," but women of our generation who are apparently starting cosmetic interventions "early and often." I mean I used night cream and eye cream like the next girl, but Botox? Hmmm, the jury's out/I don't think I would ever do it... But then again, I just found another grey hair, so yeah. Check in with me in like two years.

Source: jongenandmeisje.tumblr.com via Amadea on Pinterest

2. Rihanna's new video takes a stance on sexual violence and people are reacting... Here it is plus some interesting media tidbits:

Rihanna's twitter where she has been responding to critics.

A Though Catalog Essay on misogyny in hip-hop

Jezebel's take on the video.

4. Elsie's wedding video is here! I'm in love with love. Elsie is so gorgeous and Jeremy is so adorbz. And I cried. A lot. I mean, like a lot.



3. The new N.E.E.T. Magazinee is out - more inspiration including the gorgeous "Through the Ages Spread."

[Green Thursdays] GreenIsSexy.org

I stumbled upon this blog a few weeks ago while looking for ways to save water in my house, and now I keep coming back for all the practical, energy-saving tips. GreenIsSexy.org is run by three women, one of whom just so happens to be the lovely Rachel McAdams.

Check out all the interesting articles about things like how much water goes into making one pair of jeans (now you might think twice about buying yet another pair of Rock & Republics), the gross stuff in our air fresheners, and which fonts save the most ink.

[Food + Drink Wednesday] Baby Pecan Pies

A sneak preview of my latest loves: the miniature pecan pie, or as my southern mother refers to them, Pecan Tassies. These pack the pecan pie crunch and gooey sweetness but won't have the same jittery, sugar-high effect because they're portion-controlled. To be fair, I don't really know anything about dieting and self-control myself, but I imagine these won't throw off your entire day like a whole big slice of pecan pie would (with heavy whipping cream on top, and maybe some buttermilk baked into the pie mix, and possibly even a stick of butter and cream cheese in the crust). 

My recipe is simple and only contains the following ingredients: White Lily flour from Tennessee (only the best for my babies), a bit of shortening, a bit of butter, an egg, raw pecans, not too much brown sugar, and some salt. That's it.

Of course, I tried more than one recipe to get this adorable end result. Also, I fully intend to make a whole wheat version that may not work out so well. Though, most notably, I tried a recipe with a cream cheese crust, a la Paula Deen. I almost suffocated while eating them. So good, but so so wrong. Gotta balance the sweetness of the middle with the saltiness of the crust, my friend. Life - and baking - are all about equilibrium. They also just looked funny. Too much fat in the dough made them too flaky.

Epic Fail... I gave these away at work. Hey, they still tasted good!

More to come on my southern baking adventures. Next up: mini seasonal cobblers and individual banana puddings. I'll be launching a new blog soon (yes, my third since coming home from NZ. leave me alone.).