Free Sensory Stimulators!

I can remember back in the day when I not only knew the name of the song and what album it was on, but for certain fave groups (Motley Crue and the like), I even knew the birth dates of the band members! Well, at least the hot ones. I can't say that my level of interest in music has wained, but my time certainly has. Here are three websites that I use to get my new music / films / reads whenever I can.


Tune Glue music map is a one way for you to discover new music. It works almost like 6 degrees of separation in that you type in an artist you like, click expand and it selects similar artists. You can keep expanding on any artist it selects and even see what albums they've released. There is also a delete feature so you can really create quite the "tree" of artists.


Pandora Radio from the Music Genome Project is basically a radio station where you choose the music it plays. To use Pandora it does require that you sign in but no worries, I've been using it for at least 6 months and have yet to receive any emails or spam. To create a new station, just type in an artist you like and Pandora does the rest by playing songs by the selected artist, as well as other similar artists that it finds in its extensive database. While the artist is playing, you can give it a thumb up or down. Thumb up means you like it (duh) and thumb down means you'd like to move on. Because Pandora is free, you can only skip so many songs but if you do give it a thumb down, it won't play it again. Personally, I just let it play and don't even bother with the thumbs unless I really dislike something.


I discovered both of the wonderful sites through Very Short List. VSL is a free daily email that I subscribe to in order to feed my eyes and ears new pleasures that I may not find elsewhere. In their words: Each weekday, we tell our subscribers about a single recommended gem from among the vast pile of feature films and documentaries (in theatres and on DVD), television shows, novels, nonfiction books, magazine articles, Websites and services, CDs, radio programs, and more. The focus is on products that really deserve attention but haven’t already been subject to giant media pile-ons.

Enjoy!

Makes Me Happy #2

As an Interior Designer, I am always on the look out for new and unique design ideas. Wall Graphics are a fun and inexpensive way to accomplish this without much commitment making them great for rentals too. Some of them even offer the flexibility of changing the color, size or going completely custom. And don't forget that you could even use them together so just imagine, and go crazy! Here are just a few of my faves.From the top left clockwise: ferm LIVING - Love Birds, Surface Collective - Pussy Willows, dVider - Nature 23, Wonderful Graffiti - Rules of Dining.

Mom's Day - Last Minute Gift

Since this gift is sent via email, you last minute folks can still impress Mom! Go too www.kintera.org to send your eCard today. You can select from many different eCards and write whatever suits you. Here's an example of the eCard for my mom.

A generous contribution
In Honor of
Mom
has been made by Tawnia

In honor of you and mothers worldwide, I've made a donation to FINCA. FINCA focuses on women clients because they are the least able to access credit, and because women with children are typically the poorest segment of the poor. In the developing world, a woman's chances of receiving credit are markedly lower than a man's, and yet, in an increasing number of families, the woman provides a substantial portion—or all—of the family's income. Moreover, as FINCA founder John Hatch said, "It has been proven time after time that increasing the incomes of poor mothers results in an almost immediate improvement in the diet of their children. The greatest benefit is that, when a woman's income grows, the first thing she does is to send her children to school. And when a child is educated, he or she has better opportunities to live outside of poverty." Happy Mother's Day Mom! May 2008

Dessert Alert - Fool Proof

I promise to write soon about delicious vegan desserts completely from scratch, but for now here's an organic vegetarian dessert I try to keep in the cupboard for those "I want chocolate NOW" emergencies. I buy it at Henry's, it's inexpensive AND the best part is that you only add oil and water. I've accidentally over cooked them before and they were still pretty darned yummy! With such a small amount of liquid added to it, it can take a bit to mix up. I've found that adding more water helps without compromising the end result. I really don't think you can mess these up.

Nature's Path also offers a brownie mix that I have yet to try. The only hemp product I've ever eaten was a hemp tortilla and well, it was not yummy - at all. But I do love brownies so I'll have to give these a chance and let you all know.

Makes Me Happy #1

Welcome to the first weekly Makes Me Happy post! It will include just about anything that, you guessed it - puts a smile on my face, inspires me, gets me giddy etc. Hopefully it will provide you with some nice eye or even mind candy. What a fun little lesson to always be on the look out for something that makes me happy.

I came across this fun vintage furnishings shop recently - Refab:clinic. An online and a brick and mortar store are in the works so for now if you have to have something you see on the site, just shoot an email to contact@refabclinic.com. They have an ever changing inventory so check back often.

Buying vintage = buying Green!

A Bloomin' Good Time

The plants in my home must have had a party last night and a few had too much punch. Bloomin' Punch that is! One of the orchids and a bromeliad are really showing off their colors.

Don't ya just love spring!

It's ALIVE!

Ben and I started planning our garden about a month ago. We were lucky enough to stumble on City Farmers . A visit to City Farmers is akin to stepping into an alternate universe. Not only is it a little piece of green paradise right on Home Avenue in San Diego, but each person that works there is a pretty interesting character! In order to figure out what we needed to start out, we took a bag of our dirt in for inspection. Bill, the owner actually took a chunk out of the bag and TASTED it! Maybe you seasoned gardeners out there think this is completely normal behavior, but it certainly shocked us and we both struggled to suppress a giggle. I asked him what it tasted like and with a straight face he replied "salty". After this extensive taste analysis he recommended a mix of compost, gypsum, sulfur and fertilizer. Next, onto what to plant or what we want to eat (we hope). They offer a pretty good selection of vegetable plants and and huge variety of seeds. I was excited to see that City Farmers offers Seeds of Change, a certified organic seed company that I remembered reading about. To give you an idea of why they're special, here is their mission statement:

Many of our varieties represent decades, even centuries, of cultures from around the world who have saved their favorite, most flavorful and nutritious plants. Conserving this invaluable genetic resource, while contributing to the knowledge of sustainable organic agriculture and gardening techniques, is central to the mission of Seeds of Change.

So back home we go and Ben attacks the rocky dirt with a pick axe and a vengeance. After a few days of tearing it apart, and then lovingly blending all of the proper elements for superior growth and flavor, we commence with the planting. Zucchini, Yellow Crook Neck Squash, Sugar Snap Peas, Dragon Carrots, Habanero Peppers, Jalapeño Peppers, 6 different Herbs and Ben's babies, Oaxacan Pink and Heirloom Bradywine Tomatoes.


Ben started the tomatoes from seed in little pots and waited until they were about 3 inches tall to plant. I started the peas and carrots from seed directly in the garden and after almost 2 weeks Ta Da! These are the sugar snap peas that have struggled their way up through the soil to seek out the glorious sun! A few carrots have made it through as well so I'm very excited. I tried growing carrots in my first garden back in the day but sadly, they never saw the light. Now I feel as though my gardening karma has been restored!

* Since I know you are wondering, the fabulous yellow suspenders that Farmer Bill is wearing can be purchased just by visiting City Farmers in person.