reading material
I’m always looking out for new blogs to read (while simultaneously culling my somewhat out of control google reader). I am drawn to blogs that have a combination of lovely imagery and an intimate demeanor. I like to read about people’s personal journeys, but I can’t help loving some nice photography to go along with it.
These are some recent finds that I’m just getting into.
A Day With Kate
This blog about a girl in Pasadena (hi neighbor!) wins my heart as she writes about her life and adventures. It doesn’t hurt that she loves coffee and fresh vegetables.
I love her casual and yet beautifully composed photos. She also has a shop with amazing hand-painted cards, tags and more.
The Velvet Bird
I must admit I’m highly swayed by anything in the woods but Vanessa has much more going on than that. Besides a beautifully selected vintage store, she’s also started making her own line of dresses which are just stunning.
Her photos are just adorable and she has goats. Seriously, goats! What more could you want from a blog?
What are your favorite blogs right now?
wedding quilt in progress
I finally made some progress on our wedding quilt. Instead of a guestbook, we had our guests sign squares of fabric to be sewn together. While I am still very happy with this idea (I’d much rather have a quilt than a guestbook) it probably would have helped if I’d ever made a quilt before. Ever.
Not that it’s going badly, but it started out a bit rough. Mainly because a handful of squares, cut a the last moment before the wedding, were not only different sizes, they were not even really square. On top of that, without any guidelines for signing, some guest wrote all the way to the very edges of the fabric, leaving no seam allowance at all.
After arranging the swatches into their pattern, I traced new square guides onto each piece, so I would have a uniform size while trying not to cut off bits of what people wrote. I then basted each strip together and got to sewing, first making vertical strips and then sewing those together.
I knew from the beginning it would not be perfect, and I’m quite happy with how it’s coming along. Next I plan to put some edging fabric so its a bit larger and then I’ll have to choose a backing. I’m not sure how I’ll stitch the front to the back, since I don’t want to detract from the writing.
Any ideas from seasoned quilters out there? Actually an suggestions would be helpful really.
Shout outs
In light of the ridiculous news that VegNews is using stock photos of meat and trying to pass them off as vegan, I think today would be a lovely day to point you all in the direction of some other vegan blogs, sites and photographers.
I have a lot to say about what went down with VegNews but I think it’s pretty much been covered, so I’ll be brief. Using stock photos for completed recipes is just wrong in itself, let alone using images of non-vegan food. For that matter, I don’t know why anyone would want to read a magazine that uses stock photography on the cover under any circumstances. It just shows that the magazine doesn’t care about what they are publishing. I don’t know why they would then expect us to care enough to visit their site or buy a subscription. A magazine is not just about text, it’s a complete product.
But let’s move on…there are so many other vegan resources for you to check out besides this magazine, so here are a few of my favorites (in no particular order).
Quarry Girl – Have to give a major shout out to the blog that broke the news about this whole scandal. Go here for restaurant reviews and sass.
Post Punk Kitchen – The godmother of vegan recipe blogs brought to you by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Innovative takes on the classics and inspiring new recipes all rolled into one.
Vegansauraus – Vegan news and fun around the internet. Great writing and totally amusing.
Your Vegan Mom – Reliably good recipes that are uncomplicated and mouthwatering from Trina, accompanied by witty storytelling.
C’est la Vegan – Wonderful recipes especially for desserts and appetizers, with great ideas for entertaining guests.
Little Vegan Planet – I like this blog so much I married the guy. Seriously though, fun stuff and amazing photos.
These are just my top few of today. It’s always changing. Here’s a whole list of awesomeness.
Since the controversy really comes down to photos, I thought I’d share some talented vegan photographers as well. VEGNEWS, MAYBE YOU SHOULD CONTACT THESE GUYS:
Nicole from Bonus Round
Sara from Simply Stardust
Ryan of Suckatash Productions
Nora from Pride and Vegudice
Shawn of course (yes I’m listing him again, I’m totally allowed to do that).
Not to mention, when I asked for a vegan photographer on twitter, I had tons of responses, ranging from newbies willing to take photos for free to established working photographers.
I’m working on compiling a list for the future so if you’re a photographer that would like to be included, or have someone to add, please let me know.
terrariums
After the wedding* Shawn and I kept talking about how we wanted to put our wedding in a jar and keep it. Obviously, we couldn’t put the food, the cake and all the guests and everything in a jar, that’s crazy. We could on the other hand, take some of the decorations from our rehearsal party and a few from the wedding and make terrariums. (more…)
stuffed animals
Possibly the hardest secret to keep about our wedding was these little stuffed animals. These guys were our gifts to our guests, so I couldn’t share without ruining the surprise.
I started making them nearly as soon as we had set our date, spending any spare time I had sewing, embroidering and stuffing them. Not one is alike or from a pattern. While the task was daunting, and took several months, it was never unpleasant. Not to mention, I had a great deal of help from friends. I made them out of eco-felt and a good deal of scrap fabric we had at home. The faux fur is from a film Shawn made years ago. I think they were my favorite.
This is Bebop and Green Bean. We became a little too attached them, so they had to stay with us.
I really wanted to do something exceptional for our favors. I know it’s something that is last on the list for many weddings, but it is one of the few very memorable things for people. It’s the piece of the wedding guests get to take home with them. Ultimately we pinned little name tags on each and they became our escort cards.
With them living and multiplying in our apartment for so long, it was a bit sad to see them all off to the wedding. On the other hand, they were pretty excited to go on a ride in the car.
In the end, we ended up with a few more than we needed so a handful still live with us. The rest found new loving homes with our guests.
