When life gives you lemons..Make Bows and draw an Eye!

    I have been wanting to learn how to make cute bow ties for a while now, and since i had nothing to do with my life tonight, i drew an eye from Kat Von D and finally made bow ties. At least I'm not going insane.. Pretty proud of myself with the results that i might even want to make this a hobby and also go back into drawing.

       Bises,
          Amanda

Arepas.. Arepitas Sabrositas!

        Isn't it wonderful to wake up and fill your tummy full of deliciousness, i believe so. I am those kind of people that if in the morning they don't start with a great breakfast, their day is bound to be terrible.
  Coming from a country where the food is pretty damn delish (Venezuela), i can't help but keep the tradition of eating Arepas almost every morning of the week. It's the best breakfast ever!
  Arepas are a very traditional you could say bread, i don't really know how else to explain it, in South America. It is made out of corn flour though not wheat, so you can kind of say they are a fatter version of tortillas since they are both made out of corn. Of course corn was a very well used grain that a lot of Indigenas or Indians used in Central and South America. Colombia and Venezuela from what i know are very big with the whole Arepa thing, it is used for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's dirt cheap too. Arepas vary from size to how they make it. When i went to Colombia i saw a completely different kind of Arepa though, it was more whole because you could still see the little kernel, nevertheless it was delicious. It all depends on the region or family, my cousins do Arepas completely different than how i do mine. My aunt makes hers more delicious by adding butter and cheese to the dough, it all depends on you.
  Any way, i am going to share with you guys my easy recipe for Arepas . Not vegan, well you can go ahead and fill it up with what ever you like! Its like a sandwich! I like to fill mine up with my tofu scramble! My Arepas a la vegan.

 Arepa Dough for 1 person:
       1/2-3/4 Cup of Arina PAN*.
        1/2 Teaspoon of salt.
        1/2 Teaspoon of sugar.
        3/4- 1 Cup of water.
        1/2 Tablespoon of oil.

1.   In a bowl mix the Arina PAN, salt, and sugar. Then slowly add the water till its doughy but controllable enough to make a ball. MAKE SURE that there are no lumps!

 

 2.Once you have the dough into a ball, moisten your hands and start to flatten it, but not too much you don't want a tortilla! Make sure to keep your hands moist and the dough.

3. Once you have flatten it a little, heat a pan to a medium temperature with oil and little it sizzle for   5 minutes on each side until its lightly toasted or if you're like me, more than lightly toasted.

                           4. Turn on your oven and bake at 345F for 15-20 minutes.
                                                                                                                                  

5. Let it cool a little, open the middle with a knife and stuff that baby up with what ever you please! Enjoy!

 * Arina PAN is the flour that is mostly used in Venezuela and Colombia to make Arepas and Empanadas, it can be found in latin based supermarkets or carnicerias.

   Bises,
     Amanda

Beyond Wonderland..!!!

    Almost a month has passed since i went to the incredible rave of Beyond Wonderland! May i say that i had the time of my life..even if it was cold as a mother and super wet, it was an amazing experience to share with my friends.

The decor and the music was great, Hardwell was my favorite he did Ah-mazing.






 I encountered a lot of weird things i have never seen before like light-shows and other stuff, weird but awesome. Felt good that i didn't have to take any substances to stay awake or enjoy my time too, hopefully i can keep that up.

     A lot of nice people to meet and a great place where everyone is just happy and helpful to each other. I helped this girl who was on a whole nother level with her corset since it was revealing a little too much, and it seemed that her group of friends weren't helping either. The food was pretty tasty, i has a bean burrito that i was craving for ever and a banana. So if you're planning to go, its a great place, with great people, amazing vibe, and great food!

   I liked the fact that we were all united because of the music and it was just beautiful. Hopefully i will get to go next year before my leave.
Here is a little video of my amazing experience! Sorry for the sound quality, i promise it sounded better than that.

                          Bises,
                             Amanda

Kony 2012

I don't know how many of you guys have heard about Joseph Kony, or about the movement going on. If you don't know who is Kony, i suggest to watch the video before talking here in Youtube. I seriously did not know who Kony was until this video, and i do admit that i knew what was going on in Africa but i really did not know how to help, until now. I don't know if its because i am older and acknowledge more about what i can do to help these children get back there childhood, but i am angry that i couldn't start earlier. Its been 26 years of suffering and child abuse, and we are just starting to help, it is sad, but at least we are starting now. So please join the movement to help end the abductions and abuse of the children in Africa and to help capture Kony. All you have to do is make him known. Pass the word. We cannot let anymore children down. Kony 2012.

Bad Wax Day..

   Last night was the worst time of my life..i don't ever want to repeat it again!! And i don't quite understand why now if i have done my own wax a billion times before! My mom wasn't very helpful, and it was latte so i could not go any where. So i had to stay up late to try to take it of. thank goodness my friend Liz is off today and can finish of the job.
   To any of the ladies that want a Brazilian/playboy wax, do try to go do it by someone else. I had lost my practice since i didn't do it for a while, or else i wouldn't have been in this situation. Now its time to go suffer a little more. By the way i am a licensed cosmetologist so its not like i have never done this, it was just this time that wasn't the right time.

   Bises,
     Amanda

Julie & Julia Movie..Wow!

  Yes i loved the movie so what! It was amazing in my opinion,  i do wish that Julia and Julie would of met in real life, and that Julia would of had children because she would of been a superb mother.

   The movie just had a mixture of love, passion, comedy, frustration, but most of all support. Love and passion for, of coarse, the food that Julia cooked with all of her heart. And the love that Julia and Julie had for there husbands is just inspiring, its hard to see love like that now a days from my point of view. But it wasn't only the love coming from the wives but both husbands, can you say incredible? Even through there up and downs, the breakdowns, and the craziness, they were still there and still in love. It was cute. Obviously you can tell that I've never been in love.

   All the characters were absolutely amazing. No wonder Meryl Streep keeps winning Oscars. Her roll as Julia was so funny, she was so scandalous but so adorable. The way she leaned over to take a closer look at the food and the way she reacted once in her mouth like it was the best thing ever, almost an over reaction. So me. I love, love, love food. I think that's why i loved this movie, i understood them. Even if i have a passion for hair and psychology, food is always on my mind and i love every second I'm around it. Amy Adams, i liked her here than in any other movie i have seen, she was great! And she reminded me a lot of a friend of mine (Staci), physically. Have you guys noticed that Stanley Tucci and Meryl Streep always seem to be in the same movies?..or is it just me..


    The scenery well, i love Paris. It is one of my favorite cities i have visited. And i would love to move there sometime in my life, hopefully soon, very soon. The city, the people, the food, the desserts all great. Did i mention the food? Yum.

  Oh and how can i forget the blogging..well don't we all wish that kind of happened. Just kind of. I believe that a blog is like an online public diary where you can get advice and help from other bloggers,and to just share your thoughts. To vent everything out in a healthy way.

 I would love to one day try one of Julias recipes, but veganise it. Maybe the stew. So to anyone out there, what do you think?

    Bon Appetite,
     Amanda

Just one of those Mac & Cheese days.

     I was never a real big M&C person when i became vegan..but lately i have been craving it like crazy! So i just decided to be brave and make a vegan version combining ideas i got from Vegweb.com and the Native Foods cookbook. It surprisingly came out pretty delicious, not so cheesy flavored but still good. You guys be the judge..or if you have any suggestions, let me know!
 
  Things you need:

• 1/2 a cup Cashews
• 1 cup of Rice Milk Unsweetened
• 1 Garlic tooth
• A dash of pepper
• 1/3 cup of Nutritional Yeast
• 1 teaspoon of Braggs Amino acid
• 3/4 cup of Brown rice spaghetti (or any other spaghetti that you would like)
• 1 cup Broccoli
• 1 cup Summer squash 
• 1/4 cup of any kind of flour ( i used soy flour, only thing i had around)

1. Soak cashews and rice milk for 5 minutes in blender.
2. Add nutritional yeast, garlic, pepper, Bragg, and flour.
3.  Blend till creamy
4. Mean while steam broccoli and squash and cook the spaghetti.
5. When ready just combine everything together and viola!

You can also use the "cheese" for dressings for salads or potato salads. I used it once with out the nutritional yeast for a Christmas potato salad, which tasted real good with a Seitan stew i made. Enjoy!

     Bises,
       Amanda

College, College, and more College...

    I love college. Yes, its stressing and there are so many essays to write, but all in all you meet people and have an amazing experience. I got the opportunity to meet so many cool people and learned so much. I'm still kind of angry i haven't gotten the classes i need to graduate since its fairly hard to get the classes when they are so full by the time you sign up. I need them to graduate in time for me to move to Scotland in time, which is one of my goals.
  Any who i was glad to see my friend Mitzi, haven't seen her in a while now which makes me sad. I'm fairly grateful to have her in my life, we have had great times full of fun and laughter. Not to say that we are going to Beyond Wonderland rave this March..which will be lots of fun! Can't wait to go shopping for our costumes=) I'll keep you guys on top with the pics and our adventures.

         Bises,
            Amanda

Jobless..again.

   It's very frustrating, specially because I'm saving up for college and my mom is jobless also. We'll be jobless together. 

  I was expecting something different after i graduated beauty school, like to have a job in a salon and be earning enough money to travel more. I've learned, though in my young age, that life, or God, will put you through hell to see how much you can resist, and at the right time give you what you truly deserve. Life cant really be easy anyways or we would all be bored as hell!

   I know at the end my mom and I will be fine. Any who my first blog and it's pretty depressing, sorry! Wasn't sure what to write about today but of my frustrations. Next time i promise will be more positive. By the way i hope my writing skills get better.

                   Bises,

                   Amanda