Pearls of Wisdom

While we are in Turkey, let me leave you with this morsel of goodness that keeps me going through the trials and tribulations of trying to be a blogger...

It's so difficult not to compare ourselves with others we perceive as more successful, more knowledgeable or better off. The key word there is perceive.

I know a woman who has a very successful blog (no names to protect the innocent) but she also has a sister who is very sick. I know another man (again no names) who has a wickedly famous design blog but he just found out his wife has been unfaithful. And, I know a woman who has 27, 000 followers on Pinterest, a prolific Etsy store and a sponsored art site but she just lost her house.

I am certainly not trying to focus on the negative. I'm just saying that though P and P is not sponsored (yet), and I don't have tons of readers and I'm no authority in blogging, my sister is healthy, my husband is faithful and we have a sweet little cottage to call our own. When we put things in perspective and couple that perspective with hard work and patience, I think anything can happen!

Original photo by Tennesee Bunny finished artwork by me.

On that note, please tell your friends about Poppies and Paperbacks, follow me on Pinterest, follow me on twitter and come visit me anytime on Facebook (although, I'm not terribly consistent on "the book").

Card Tricks and Illusionists

Magic is alluring. It's a talent like dancing or singing It's extremely appealing and most people wish they could do it.

I love cards. I love the art on vintage playing cards. I love the feel and texture of a deck of cards and perhaps because of all this admiration I love card tricks too.

The following film I realize is an ad campagin but I challenge you to follow his hands to see what he does and how to do it. I love it so much it gets me a little crazy. Like Elvis. Ellusionist is a pretty awesome website if you, like me, love a card trick and slight of hand. It's quite sexy. Check out Theory 11...their creativity is whimsically malicious. Like I said, I wish I could dance, sing, act and do magic!

The videos are pro quality and bonus, they have great music.

Look closely here, lest you miss the fascination....

Gala Darling

I was fishing around on Twitter and noticed that I consistently check on a woman named Gala. She has a blog called Gala Darling: A Radical Self Love Project and is she ever a darling. She is like a gum drop or a gingerbread house; clever and complicated and sweet. Gala Darling is sometimes witty and always charming and when she has a link on her Twitter feed I cant help but want to experience what Gala finds so appealing. I've never been disappointed. And I'm feeling the love...the neighbor love that is! Gala was recently in San Francisco.

This lovely displaced Kiwi has created a home for herself in New York City and has incurred a passion of teaching women how to love themselves. I have learned so much from her. Mostly that I love her. I love her style, her kindness and her undying love for her dogs! I especially love how she teaches us as ladies, that we can love ourselves. She is pink and lavender and tangerine. She is sequins and shine in the summertime. She is a cupcake and red licorice. She is enthusiasm and beauty and art. I love her. I wish I knew her. For now, I'll keep her close to my heart and visit her with at least weekly frequency!

Look at this....

Print by Kevin Dart

Gala Darling: Gorgeous but never takes herself too seriously.

Frabjous Finds - Metrode

I never tire of excellent leather goods. for that matter, I never tire of excellent. And, I ask who does? Yeah, well, cruising the internet one day I came across a Seattle based company called Metrode that sells amazing leather bags and such. In perusing their media, I came to notice they have all kinds of amazing things. Since I'm eyeing this grey tote, I thought I should share.

Of course you need a new wallet to go with your new satchel.

If you know me, you know I love love love a clutch!

It's a woven leather basket.

Sweden

After the US, I have the highest readership in Sweden. Ironically Sweden is at the top of the travel list. I wish the husband was on that page with me. He's quite interested in Spain. I could take it or leave it.

We are leaving for Turkey on the 11th of July and I am in full on travel mode. Trips to Marshall's for little gifts for everyone. Travel size everything. Stocking up on sunscreen because in Bodrum it's $50 for a 6oz. bottle and washing the clothes figuring out what wont wrinkle and deciding whether I care if it does or not.

So next year, for our 5 year anniversary...Do we do Spain? I would much prefer Sweden. In fact, an entire Scandinavia trip would be exceptional. Romantic fantasies of vikings and the sound of a sweetly touched Swedish language and tall blonde men are a real draw for me.

I would love to stay at Treehotel and bask in the summer sunshine with a good Swedish drink.

I want to see Sarek National Park. The naturalist in me finds sanctuary in open spaces and peaceful environments. This is one of the natural wonders of the world I would venture to guess.

Photo: Johannes Jannson

Photo: Johan Assarsson

When I was small, my mother would take me to a wonderful store. It always smelled like spiced tang and had an air of wood nymphs and a spirit of Gnomes (although Gnomes are actually of Swiss origination). In any case this store was called The Orange Horse. It was a little proprietorship of all things Swedish especially the beloved Dala Horses. I want to bring back several of the little orange horses as treasures. 

Simple Virtues

And let's face it. The Nordic cultures are ancient and creative. They've had to be since they have survived harsh winters for millennia but these elements have provided for great art and antiques. I would love to go to a Swedish art and antiques auction at their famous (and very old) Auktionsverket.

Sweden sounds very appealing, doesn't it? Perhaps we can cross our fingers in hopes that the husband will concede to a trip to Scandinavia!

Cinnamon Seed Protein Bars

As most of you know, I have been dieting since February. My low carb lifestyle can be daunting and boring even when I am extremely fortified. As boredom sets in, I seek out new foods and this is where a diet in the past has always caused me to run into trouble. I think I've devised some save tactics and this is one of them.

I really like foods on the go because I, myself, am always on the go. For instance, it is 11:30 AM right now and we have already been to a tire store, a garage door store and Home Depot. I drank a protein mocha for breakfast and now I'm off to Marshall's and Ross in preparation for our trip to Turkey. I know I'll get hungry but I'll want a snack not a full on meal. For busy run around days like today, I like a protein bar. The problem is that I have yet to find a protein bar that is both low in carbs/sugar and calories and high in protein.

My usual is a Kind + Protein bar. Very tasty but clocks in at 210 calories and 15 grams of fat. I keep them handy though because they are also only 11 grams of carbs and have a good punch of protein at 10 grams. I thought I might be able to do a little better without sacrificing taste so I invented the Cinnamon Seed Protein Bar.

Despite the fact that this is not a food blog, I have yet another recipe to share with you.

Cinnamon Seed Protein Bars

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup rolled oats
• 1/4 Cup currants
• 1 Cup Protein powder of your choice (I use Bob's Red Mill Whey Protein Concentrate)
• 1/2 Cup puffed Quinoa
• 2 Tbs Pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 Cup sunflower seeds
• 3 Tbs flax seeds
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 egg white 
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp poppy seeds

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Prepare an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray
3. Mix all ingredients together except cinnamon and poppy seeds.
4. Pour batter into baking dish and smooth flat.
5. Sprinkle top with cinnamon and poppy seeds.
6. Bake 10-15 minutes.
7. Let cool and cut into 10 bars.
8. Enjoy!

Notes

10 Servings

150 Calories, 5 gms fat, 15 gms carbohydrate, 11 gms protein

Frabjous Finds - Wood Camera App

Sooooo.....

Everybody knows about Instagram. And heck, I am guilty of loving that thing. But sometimes I like to keep my photos breasted as I don't always want to share everything. for instance, if I take 7 pics of the same thing sometimes I like using them in a montage. If I have to adjust them using filters and tilt-shifts, then they have to be doctored and why would anyone want to see the junk in between?

Enter Wood Camera app for the iPhone. I learned about the Wood Camera app on Instagram because I follow it's creator, John Barnett. You can do nearly everything on this one app and when the final stage of awesome appears then you can share it on Instagram sans all the goopy errors before the final product.

Wood Camera has tons of lenses and fx to choose from and it's surprisingly user friendly. You can import several photos at a time and choose a number of frames and papers. My only criticism is that I wish there were more light effects. Big deal. Not much of a criticism really and I can use another app for that. With Wood camera, anyone can be a photo pro! It blows Hipstamatic out of the water and includes all the fx that I would usually do using two separate apps, PicFx and BeFunky.

Photos using the Wood Camera app for iPhone....

All photos by John Barnett and can be found @ John Barnett