Cake Balls, Anyone?

So, apparently the new cool thing is cake balls… had you heard?  If not, you don’t spend nearly enough time on Pinterest and the Internet at large—but not to worry.  That’s where Internet addicts like me come in.  We teach you things.  ;)

I’d been wanting to try Austin Cake Ball, so it seemed the perfect place to meet up with Ruthie and Mallorie.  To be honest with you, I can now truthfully say that cake balls aren’t my thing.  They’re a bit too dense for me, and weren’t what I was expecting.  But it was still a fun outing, and one thing cake balls certainly have going for them is how danged cute they are!  Worth a try, at least.

these two are adorable, no?

The chicken on top was “red velvet crusted.”  Meaning actual red velvet cake! So weird!

* * * * *

On another note, Mallorie’s husband Dave Owens is a musician making his way here in Austin, and I am LOVING his music.  I’m a little obsessed with the song below… give it a listen. It’s short!

A song for your Saturday

I can’t stop listening to this song…

(the words are weird, but the tune is just so beautiful)

Happy weekending!

Aloe vera products kutoka Forever living ambazo zinapunguza kitambi na uzito

Yes, ni muhimu kufurahia ujana kwa kupunguza kitambi au tumbo.

Weight management please to enjoy life including sex.

Kuna aloe vera gel, Forever lean kupunguza unene

Tumia Forever garcinia plus kupunguza tumbo na kitambi

VACATION HOLIDAYS TANZANIA, OUTDOOR TRAVEL SPECIALIST

It feels so GOOD!

This song makes me happy, and I thought maybe it would do the same for you.

It’s just kind of a feel-good song, and a great way to kick off a weekend.

Also, how is Steven Tyler still so cool, even though he’s, like, 90?

Watch it. Love it. Be happy.

(more) Saturday Tunes.

I choose my favorite music based on how it makes me feel.

Sometimes that’s happy, sometimes that’s sad (as evidenced in the following playlist).

Enjoy the lovely lady artists today.  Happy Saturday!

A few more of my favorites…

Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.  ~Berthold Auerbach

 

A Playlist for Your Saturday.

Thought I’d share some of my very favorite songs with you this fine Saturday.  And maybe every Saturday.  We shall see.

I hope you enjoy them.  Maybe you can just hit play and keep it going quietly in the background as you do what you’re doin’. 

Sidenote: “You Make It Real” was our first dance song.  Happy memories. <3

It's a Yum-Yummy World Made with Sweethearts! (And It's My Birthday)

Today is my birthday.  I am now 24. 

And for my birthday, I am giving you a little gift that is sure to make you smile.  I've been hearing this song all over the place lately, and a couple days ago I discovered this video. 

Oh, what I'd give to be alive during the reign of Martin and Sinatra! Please watch this.  It's only 2 minutes long, and I PROMISE you'll be bouncing all around your room or house or office and humming this funny little tune all day long. It will seriously brighten your day! :) :) :)

Enjoy!

Ethiopian bread and coffee

Pete, Nicola, Lola and Nell love to travel with the lightest of carbon footprints. Here's one way to get to Ethiopia. Post by Nicola (for more of her writing also see http://www.homemadekids.co.uk/)


Bread and coffee are my staples. But if I tweak the ingredients so it's a flat bread - injera - and add a bit of ceremony to the coffee, maybe with frankincense then it's easy to be transported to Ethiopia. It certainly helps if you add in the wonderful music of singer Honey Solomon at the 24th Gillespie Festival (held the 2nd Sunday every September) Ethiopia came to a pocket park in the shadow of Arsenal's football stadium.



The Gillespie Festival is a large fete with a cultural spin that reflects the area's unique mix of peoples. While the stalls are piled with secondhand or homemade creations. There's usually also a fast trade in homecooked or home grown produce (I bought rhubarb and plum tomatoes from the Quill Street Allotments and damson jam from Olden Community Garden's stall). Defying categories - a pedal bike that powered up a fruit smoothie maker being run by Finsbury Park Transition Town.



But the real pleasure of attending Gillespie Festival is its amazing multicultural mix of music and people.



Get up and dance
Honey Solomon specialises in Ethiopian songs - and during her set a tower block version of the flatbread injera was passed around for sharing to everyone in the audience. This bread was delicious tasting (and is ideally eaten with the right hand).



To one side of the stage a coffee ceremony had been set up, beans roasted, frankincense flavoured the air. The hypnotic effect of Honey's music, food and scented smoke soon had the crowd dancing.



Today I was back in this little park walking my dog and there's barely a trace of the Magic Carpet trip the people of London, N4 and N5 took yesterday to Ethiopia. But it's not one I'm likely to forget if I can turn my coffee love into something with more ceremony and less addictive-behaviour.

Tribute: Ronnie James Dio on Travel

SIBERIAN INTERVIEW, 2005
During my first crossing of Siberia, in 2005, I was smitten by the kindness of Russians on trains, the beauty of Lake Baikal and Kamchatka and -- even more so -- the flood of 'Dio' posters plastered on street signs in places like Vladivostok and Petropavlovsk. It left me to wonder, maybe heavy metal didn't die when Kurt Cobain donned his flannel -- maybe it just moved to Eastern Europe?

Turns out, Ronnie James Dio -- who died Sunday from cancer -- was beginning his 2005 tour in, of all places, Khabarovsk's Theater of Musical Comedy (above), a five-plus day train ride east of Moscow. I was blogging about my trip for Lonely Planet and just had to ask about this, and talk with the man who invented the heavy-metal 'devil horns' salute about travel in general.

After relentless efforts, he agreed.

In tribute to Dio, here's his take on travel, grunge and that famous salute, from my interview in 2005.

RR: How do Russians 'rock' in comparison with fans in other countries -- say Belgium or Canada?

DIO: Russian rock fans are like good rock fans everywhere. They're loyal, knowledgeable, and they live for the music. We found them to be great in every way.

RR: Do you travel much?

DIO: I travel enough while touring so I don't need anymore. Home is a very welcome sight.

RR: If you got a couple tickets and a week or two to go anywhere you haven't been, where would you go?

DIO: I'd go where ever they don't have phones, so I guess it would be some where in the wilderness, if there's any left.

[Note: The Far East of Russia is a very good place to look for it.]

RR: Some might say that 1991 was a bad year for communism and heavy metal. The USSR collapsed, and Nirvana brought on a decade of grunge and flannel shirts. Is the 1990s something the heavy-metal world would like to forget?

DIO: I think if you forget about the bad things in your past you can never correct them, because music and life travel in cycles and it just wasn't our time any more. A new generation of fans wanted their music, and not their brother's or sister's songs or bands, so they embraced Grunge because they could make what they heard and liked their own. Luckily metal never went away and now enjoys somewhat of a renaissance.

RR: And how is the state of heavy metal in 2005?

DIO: Metal in 2005 is thriving, as judged by the huge turnouts at festivals, and can actually be heard on the radio again. It looks good.

RR: The new tour starts at the Theatre of Musical Comedy in Khabarovsk in the Russian Far East. The Theatre of Musical-Comedy? Is there something we don't know about this tour?

DIO: I guess it means our drummer Simon, is going to rehearse his stand up comedy act in Khabarovsk, but the band will still play the show!

RR: I listened to some of your first and last solo albums recently and am impressed at how much you've stayed with the same type of music (ie no duets with Phil Collins) -- dark, hard, fast, titles like 'Dream Evil,' 'Evilution' and 'God Hates Heavy Metal.' Why so dark all the time?

DIO: Dark themes are generally about things we can never see, so you must use your imagination. After all, who has ever seen a dragon. They are also a great match to the heavy, almost always minor keys that we write around, and who wants to talk about love and relationships when you have these dark vehicles to use.

RR: What's the most surprising CD in your collection?

DIO: Sergio Mendes' 'Equinox' and 'Brazil 66.'

RR: One of your more recent albums is 'Killing the Dragon.' Is the dragon anyone we know?

DIO: The dragon represents bad government, brutal rulers, and technology. Bad governments and harsh rulers speak for themselves, and if we let technology get out of control, we may end up controlled by it.

RR: Many of your photos shows you giving 'the sign' -- pinky and forefringer raised, middle fingers curled under your thumb. Is that really a 'devil sign' or what?

DIO: The "sign" is a superstitious symbol used by many older cultures. It's meant to intercept the evil-eye and other curses, and what better place to use it than at a metal show?

--> If you haven't heard Ronnie, 'Rainbow in the Dark' from Holy Diver (1983) is a famed solo single. 'Man on the Silver Mountain' from Rainbow's first album (1975) is another enduring song.

The Amazing Bottle Musician of Torino, Italy

You can get it if you really want

Pete, Nicola, Lola, 10, and Nell, 7, like travelling around Britain on public transport (don’t laugh). We spent three happy months exploring during summer of 2007 but now we’re home, you can still join us for the occasional sightseeing - plus tips on how to shrink your carbon footprint. This post is from Nicola

Loud music, picnics and sunshine is what makes a party in most places. We’ve been lucky enough to live on the doorstep of Finsbury Park where the anti-racism festival (until Boris Johnson scrapped that bit of it) is held each year with fabulous acts and all for free (see pic from 2008).

This year’s star was Jimmy Cliff. He’s a legend everywhere that values Reggae, and of course that includes Jamaica - and for a bit longer, London's West End where they are showing The Harder They Come as a stage play at the Playhouse.