Poppy Pods

At the bottom of Poppies and Paperbacks, there is sometimes an advertisement to buy poppy pods. In my naive curiosity, I researched why anyone would want to buy a poppy pod. They're pretty when in a vase and fresh next to blooming Icelandics...but besides prettiness, why all the fuss?

I found all kinds of things. Professed cures for cancer, bed time tea, DIY projects and crafting uses and then I came upon this...

"I woke up avalanched under a junkyard of pain, my body a trap of torn nerves and trashed organs. An oily rash of sweat had soaked through my pillow and into the mattress. I was coughing, confused and crazy with anger. A throbbing, deep-pink chemical sunburn covered my face; my bowels were spitting hot mercury. I slid out of bed and dropped to the floor, the weight of a snarling mountain gorilla bearing down on me. I saw myself in the mirror as I fell. I looked puffy."

I suggest reading the entire article because, mostly, it's written so well. But also because it's a very unusual story. Just click on any word in the above excerpt.

Source for this and the following...

Knife and Saw

I wasn't sure if I should start this post with Frabjous Find or label it under Art and Design. Well, it's both!

Knife and Saw is a design house begun by a guy named Mike Brigham. I found him while visiting Dwell recently because I was trying to get ideas for our "shop," "man cave," "basement," what have you. We are trying to shape the joint up so we can use it as a functional space instead of simply stowing camping gear.

I think most any space can have design elements included to make it uniquely yours, adding comfort and aesthetic.

Brigham hit the nail on the head or in this case hit the bike on a bookshelf!

Bring Your A Game

It's a music mix today. Enjoy! Yup...all the song titles begin with the letter A!

Bring Your A Game from poppiesandpaperbacks on 8tracks.

1. Across the Sky - Emilie Autumn
2. Any Second Now - Depeche Mode
3. Another Sky - Scenic
4. Alfie - Lily Allen
5. Animal - Miike Snow
6. Actor Out of Work - St. Vincent
7. Adult Education - Hall and Oates
8. Additcted - Amy Winehouse
9. All I Believe In - The Magic Number + Amadou & Miriam
10. Aha! - Imogen Heap
11. Australia - The Shins
12. April In Paris - Count Basie

Peanut Butter and Jelly Protein Bars

This recipe has been adapted from the Dashing Dish. I love to visit Katie there. She is so inspirational and when in doubt I consult her beautiful site which offers guidance from her, exercise methods and routines and health conscious recipes that include Weight Watchers points. Although I do not personally know her, she is my friend.

As most of you know, I have been weight watching since February and have been successful in losing a substantial amount of weight. The trick is keeping it off which takes fastidious constancy, commitment and consistency - the 3 C's! When I feel weak, I say a wee prayer and seek the help of this sweet girl. Sometimes I look for specifics and sometimes I just seek her good spirit.

Anyway, as I said, I've adapted her recipe, not because it wasn't perfect before, it was. It just so happens though that I wanted a bit more protein per serving than her original recipe provided. It's still her recipe, just a bit tweaked.

Katie recommends freezing these for longevity and pulling them out of the freezer whenever you need a snack on the go which is great because they are jam packed with protein. The protein will stave off your hunger until you sit down to a proper meal.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Protein Bars

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cups Protein Powder (I use Bob's Red Mill Whey Protein Concentrate)
• 1/2 Cup PB2 (Peanut Flour - you can get this at most natural food stores)
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3 Tbs unsweetened apple butter (less carbs than apple sauce - weird)
• 1/2 Cup skim milk
• 3 egg whites
• 4-5 packets of artificial sweetener of your choice
• 3 Tbs strawberry jam (Katie called for no sugar added - I only had regular in the fridge)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Spray 8x8 baking pan with cooking spray.
3. Mix all ingredients together except strawberry jam.
4. Pour batter into pan.
5. Mix Jam with a tiny bit of water and drizzle on top of batter.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Nutrition Facts:

9 Servings

Calories per serving 116, Fat 1.4 Grams, Carbs 12.6, Protein 15 Grams

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

A Big Hit! Trix Krispies...

It's been a big food week here at P&P. A dinner party on Tuesday and Book Club on Thursday warranted yummy food.

I made these special little delicacies (a treat I found on Pinterest - go figure) on both Tuesday and Thursday.

Trix Krispies: I'll be adding pics soon!

Trix Krispies

A fun twist on a classic!

Ingredients

• 1 1lb bag of mini marshmallows
• 1 box Trix cereal
• 1/4 cup butter

Instructions

1. Place the butter and marshmallows in a large pot on medium heat and stir to melt.
2. Turn off heat.
3. Mix in your trix and stir making sure the cereal is well coated
4. Spray a 9x13 in pan with cooking spray.
5. Pour into greased pan and press down with a spoon.
6. Cut into squares.
7. Serve to a cheerful crowd with a twinkle of moxie and mirth.

Notes

You can use wax paper to press down Krispies or spray cooking spray on the back of the spoon you are using. It's a handy trick. Also, I use a 1lb bag of marshmallow (I am brand loyal to Jet Puffed) because I like a marshmallowie treat - feel free to adjust!

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

This little recipe I made up because I was tired of my low carb lifestyle being un-fun! And let's face it, any kind of food that requires assembly is pretty fun. For instance, when you get yogurt, places like Big Spoon and Yogurt A Go Go let you choose your toppings and apply them yourselves. At Rice Noodles they have rice wraps that come with a host of ingredients and a bowl of hot water all for your assembly.

My Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps are the same: assembly required!

Ingredients:

1 pkg. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (you can use breasts but the results are very dry and gritty)
1 diced whole yellow onion
4 Tbs sesame oil
2 Tbs soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 can water chestnuts, diced
3 Tbs roasted sesame seeds
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp white sugar
1 Tbs brown sugar (I know this sounds weird, but it's the key to the addictive nature of these!)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 head of iceberg lettuce
1 bunch cilantro
Bottle Mae Ploy chili sauce

Directions:

Put chicken thighs in a food processor and pulse several times until ground. In a large frying pan, heat 2 Tbs sesame oil on medium heat. Add onions, garlic and salt and pepper and sweat until opaque, 7-10 min. Add chicken and stir together until meat and onions are combined. Add water chestnuts, soy sauce, sesame seeds, ginger and brown sugar. Stir and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes stirring constantly. Add the remainder of the sesame oil. Remove from heat, cool and serve with lettuce, cilantro and chili sauce.