Another Day, Another Shirt!

Here's another shirt design for Threadless. If you have a second, I'd love for you to take a look at my design and give it a score!

Thanks!

"It's only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves, in finding themselves."
-Andre Gide

"Get back to that place you were in as a child, when "limitation" was a word grown-ups said."

Threadless T-Shirt Design

Hi everyone! Please take a look at and score my t-shirt design for Threadless.com. If you haven't heard of Threadless, you should check it out because it's awesome! It's a place where designers can submit t-shirt designs for critique and scoring. Shirts will go to print from the pool of designs based on the score that the design is given by those who check it out and comments. Please leave some feedback at the link below and take a minute to score my design (I hope you give me a 5!) The design is called "hairphabet' and it's an alphabetical catalog of hairstyles from all walks of life. I hope you like it!! Thanks :-)

Vegetarianism is delicious!

I've been toying with the idea of becoming a vegetarian for a while now. Over the past two years I have had the pleasure of living with a vegetarian and a vegan - one in a college apartment and one on an RV. I replaced milk with soy milk during my sophomore year of college and cut red meat and pork out of my diet shortly after. Recently I have "become a vegetarian" on a trial basis twice, only to return to my meat eating ways. A few days ago I decided that it's time for me to make the decision to be a vegetarian and stick with it. For moral reasons. For health reasons. There are just too many positive reasons for me to become a vegetarian that right now it's not an option for me to do anything else.

So, in honor of my decision, I set out to bake a vegetarian cookie that would be both delicious and animal friendly. I found an amazing recipe on ChooseVeg.com that I will definitely make again! It was easy to make and the cookies came out GREAT. I didn't have egg replacer, but I found a great video about egg substitutes on YouTube. I opted for the flax seed and water combination for my batch of cookies.


INGREDIENTS:

• 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup Earth Balance*, softened (although Earth Balance is the best, you may use any other non-dairy butter/margarine)
• 3/4 cup granulated [white] sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Egg Replacer for 2 eggs**
• 2 cups (12-ounce package) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

*Earth Balance can be found at Whole Foods, Lakeshore Natural Foods, and other natural health food stores.

**ENER-G Egg Replacer is a brand-name powder mixture of vegetable starches that simulates eggs in baking. It can be used in recipes calling for unbeaten eggs, egg whites beaten stiff, and egg yolks. It can be found at Whole Foods as well as natural health food stores.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.

2. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in large mixer bowl.

3. Add egg replacer one at a time, beating well after each addition; gradually beat in flour mixture.

4. Stir in chips and nuts.

5. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets.

6. Bake in preheated 375-degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.

7. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

If you make them, let me know or if you have any tips on becoming a vegetarian, please let me know!!

“One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.”
--Lucille Ball

"I see my path, but I don't know where it leads. Not knowing where I'm going is what inspires me to travel it."
--Rosalia de Castro

My best friend Sarah and I recently embarked on a pedal to the metal road trip from California to Minnesota. The experience was especially epic because it marked our last big adventure together before she leaves to do year-long missions work in Lithuania. We both agreed that it would be a good way to get sick of one another in order to make the approaching separation easier. We did have our tense moments - the most memorable being a livid "discussion" about where to sleep. I argued the car, she pleaded a hotel. I broke and we settled into an Econolodge at 2am on our second night of the trip. Looking back, I'm glad that I got to shower, but will still argue that the Econolodge's continental breakfast left something to be desired.

Road tripping has become such a big part of my life over the past year. Even so, as I sit in my room back on the East coast reflecting on all of the amazing traveling I have been blessed to do and writing this blog post, I still feel the passion and freedom of the open road surging through my veins and an itch to get out there again and explore. I love having a friend like Sarah to talk travel with. She's going to do amazing things in Lithuania and I can't wait to hear about everything that God is teaching her there.

I'm going to miss that girl...

"We have a powerful potential in our youth, and we must have the courage to change old ideas and practices so that we may direct their power toward good ends."
--Mary McLeod Bethune

“This is a time for bold measures. This is the country, and you are the generation.”
--Bono

"The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible, and achieve it, generation after generation."
--Pearl S. Buck

$5 Fisheye

I just spent a week and a half in Minnesota with my best friend, Sarah. My goals while there included relaxing by the lake, reading something other than a magazine or blog, journaling, and spending time with Sarah before she leaves for her next adventure - missions work in Lithuania. An unexpected addition to my list was taking photos. These days, taking photos has become one of my favorite hobbies, so why was the notion of taking photos so unexpected? The answer - because I don't have a camera at the moment. BUT as soon as I realized that Sarah had a digital camera that she was willing to let me use I got to work.

I learned about the fisheye lens from my cousin a few years ago, but always thought that they were a bit too rich for my blood (some of them can be expensive!) so I never invested in one. Then, while en route to Minnesota from California, Sarah and I stopped at an Apple store to get her phone fixed. While she chatted with a nice Australian saleswoman, I started googling whatever was on my mind. "How to make a fisheye lens" came up along with driving directions to the nearest Michael's and some other randrom thoughts. Within seconds I was flooded with page upon page of fisheye instructions. The most economical solution I came across called for a peephole for a door.

Borrowed digital camera + $5 peephole = the photos below.

I like long walks on the beach and learning new things...

Since graduating from college my mind has become decreasingly academic and increasingly social. Books have been replaced by friends and homework by movie nights and dinners. I must admit, I feel extremely blessed to have the social life that I do, but social gatherings usually require one key element - conversation. At a recent social gathering I found myself having nothing to contribute to a discussion the subject of 2012. I've even noticed that the creative part of my mind that used to sit and ponder thing like the infinite size of space and possibility of life on other planets has settled down since college has come to an ending. All I can do is sit back and ask myself, "What is going on?!" Have I really already started to lose what I no longer use?

In an effort to bring new knowledge into my mind and, on a broader spectrum, better myself, I am embarking on an academic adventure, on an intellectual inquisition, on a wisdom walk, on a comprehension course, on a... you get the idea.

I'm creating a YouTube playlist with videos on different topics that I am interested in learning about... because, hey, you can get an answer to pretty much anything on the Internet.

Here's the link:
Nicole's Informative and Inquisitive Playlist

Let me know if you know of any interesting topics that I should add!

When We Last Left Our Heroes...

Our days in Austin are far behind us and we have since passed through Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and are now back in our home state of California. We've gone from weather extreme to weather extreme - blizzards in Oklahoma and record breaking heat in San Francisco, faced two breakdowns on the road, and made countless memories (aww...). Here are some pictures from the journey between Texas and California (in no particular order).

I'd Love Your Feedback!

Hallmark Contest Blog

About two months ago I entered a contest with Hallmark Cards called YourBloopers.  About a month ago I found out that I was one of sixty finalists!  Hallmark has been announcing finalists for the contest every day on the Hallmark Contest Blog and today they announced my card!  Please check it out at the link above and let me know what you think.  I would LOVE your feedback on the contest blog and on Pass the Mustard Seed.  Thank you!

Oh, Interviews!

On our team's Indie Trip we had the chance to interview a lot of amazing people, the majority of them musicians. We didn't set out for our trip to be music themed, but with SXSW going on during our time in Austin, it was sort of hard for it not to be. Here are the musicians that we met and interviewed in no particular order. They are all amazing musicians and are worth giving a listen to!

Loney, dear - Emil Svanängen

DJ Jester The Filipino Fist

Headligths

The Deep Vibration

Sonny Legaspi

..and...we didn't get to interview these two artists, but we met them in Marfa and spent time with them in Austin.

Krista Muir

Lederhosen Lucil

SXSW - A Photo Adventure

Inspired by Mariana's photo blog post about South by Southwest, I have decided to create a photo post of my own about the events of our week in Austin. We spent a week in Austin interviewing bands for our Indie Trip. The experience was amazing (even though our RV had broken down and we spent a good portion of our time in the original Whole Foods because it was easy to walk to and had free internet access). I've learned a lot on this road trip already... one thing being that I am much more passionate about photography than I realized before leaving. So, please enjoy these photos and let me know if you were at SXSW!

Mermaid Kisses,

Nicole