Potato Chip Sammich

Okay I realize this harkens back to a childhood filled with food that could be reheated, popped from a can or toasted and truly does not offer anything nutritionally....but...sometimes a good old fashioned potato chip 'sammich' is the perfect food.

How do you make one you ask?
Well let me tell you, there is a right way and wrong way. The wrong way involves harder bread, margarine and flavoured chips. * shudders* just wrong on every level.

Here is the correct way.

1st -start with the freshest, squishiest, softest bread you can get. Nothing too crusty like a baguette. It should be at room temperature
(As I rarely eat bread I go for the Sesame White spongey bread and totally indulge.)

2nd -take out 2 pieces of said spongey bread and lay them down on a clean counter  and  butter them right to the edges
*real butter is necessary, chilled but not hard, don't skimp, this is the 'glue'

3rd -start the laying of the chips.   :)
(I recommend Lays Classic Potato Chips, no trans-fats, no sulfites and nice and salty. )
overlap the flattest and biggest chips you can find, like laying tile on a roof, on one piece of bread only.
Lay chips right to the edge of the bread until you have about an inch of chips stacked
You don't want to rush this step, the integrity of the sammich depends on it

4th, and this is tricky!
- take other piece of bread and cover the chips gently creating a sammich.
 Once in place with all corners lined up, SQUISH, without wiggling, with the palm of your hand, then SQUISH again.
This is where that soft bread and butter become glue and hold those slippery chips in place. Your sammich will have decreased in height by about 2/3 of an inch.

5th- carefully lift without tilting onto your plate and using a serrated knife, gently cut sammich in half.
( Do not cut before placing on plate..trust me, you will be sorry, especialy if those were the last chips in the bag.)

6th-Lift 1/2 sammich to your mouth, don't worry, some chips will fall it takes practice...... and take a big bite.....Noms!

Enjoy.

Dear world, we need your help with votes

I am lucky enough to work with some amazing youth. Currently one of these groups http://www.mosaiclearning.org/ is in the running for some huge funding. But, it is based on using social media to drum up support and votes.

We are in the final 8 days to vote and you can vote everyday. No need for a big sign up, just an email addy and your vote can help these youth who are also Autism Spectrum,  continue to express themselves artistically, for arts sake.

Come see them in A Midsummer Night's Dream this June.

Vote through the AvivaCommuntyFund.org for the Calling All Characters theatre program.

You can vote from anywhere in the world, so please help spread the word.
Thank you.

It is time

Here is your chance after many requests for family, pet and individual sessions,  and in time for the holidays.

I will be setting up mini sessions for families, pets and individual portraits.
I can go to you in your home environment or have you come to my studio set up.
Please email me for more details: seachild@shaw.ca

Mini session includes an 8X10 and 5X7 print plus a cd of 10 images. All for under $75.00.
Book before Dec 5th and have prints in time for gift giving

email: seachild@shaw.ca
examples of my style in this Facebbok public album, ofcourse I can customize anyway you like..
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150471356455664.413825.671140663&type=3

a new chapeaux

I don't remember a time when hats were not a part of my life.
Big ones ( and my goodness there really were some ginormously brimmed hats ) leather ones, straw, felt, cloched, new, vintage, you name it. I have an extensive hat and hat box collection and I am very proud of it.

When I try on hats, I am always transported to images of women in days of yore, hands flitting to adjust their chapeau, adornments of ribbon, birds, feathers, hat stand brimming with possibilities.
Leaving the store with hat box in tow, how can one not adjust their gait,stand a little taller  and walk in the footsteps of so many who have shared this tradition. Roberta's Hats is my Milliner of choice in town.

I love hats for all these reasons and because they keep my glasses from getting rain drops on them :)

A new hat..... an old custom.......timeless.

* hat stand art pic seen here  by artist

It's the little things..

It started innocently enough. A little powder to even out my skin, a light translucent powder that matches my skin tone..that is all I really wear daily, that and lipgloss.

 I find a product I love. Stila Illuminating Powder. Seriously, I have weird coloured skin it seems because matching my tones without looking green, orange or yellow seems near impossible. I am sure I should have stock in cosmetic companies.

So I buy the powder from a little store on Johnson st.
 I go back for more as it is the only place in town that sells.....really...THE ONLY PLACE.
I use it for a year or so and go back for a replacement but.........

The store is no more!!!!!!!!

I try so many powders and potions, counter ladies all over Victoria have my picture on their boards saying 'watch out...she is difficult' I have tried on so many. I settle on one.
I look sickly however in daylight, a yellow cast to my skin, people ask if I am feeling alright. I tell them it is just my make up.
I breakdown and find Stila online, but shipping is as much as it costs and it takes 5 weeks to get here ...sigh! I order it.

A couple of years pass...I hear that Sephora, who do indeed carry Stila, is opening in town..... I wait.
I get excited...

it opens....after a year of waiting.
I am there day 2...
Stila????

Hello......Stila????

" Oh I am sorry, we are not carrying Stila at this location"

WHAT???????????
I try not to breakdown....it is only powder right?

I try their offerings for a replacement..

I get asked if I am feeling alright that evening........sigh!
I order online....AGAIN......

A year passes again...
Sephora whispers they may be bringing Stila this fall.
 I try not to get excited.
I wait, let them get all their fall/winter stock...and then today.... I call.
I ask THE question " Do you carry Stila illuminating powder?"

I wait while they look......





YESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!

I am so excited.

I know it may seem ridiculous to some and vain to others, and in the grand scheme of things it will not change the world, but I am sooooo excited and heading to the mall to pick up my makeup.

Stila......... Sephora......yay!

Saffron Monsoon speaks out for beagles everywhere

Saffron would like everyone to know a little bit about beagle rescue. Something we all hold very close to our hearts. This is Saffi doing what beagles should be doing, sniffing, running, being free.

Did you know that beagles are the most popular dog to use in labs and experiment on?
Did you know that some are bred solely for this purpose, in captivity and never see a garden, or even a human who is not wearing a mask?

There are organizations that are now working with these labs to try and rescue dogs who have been retired from testing and need homes, instead of euthenasia.
Working tirelessly, one step at a  time until no dogs are being tested on.
The Beagle Freedom Project is one I support.

This video is beautiful, 2 dogs fresh out of their crate, their jail for the past years of their lives, taste freedom and grass for the first time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXcL_gt7L-A

let's work to end lab animal testing, beagles in particular from ever living in a crate for human experimentation again. It is a shameful, disgusting practice and is not necessary.