Best Music of 2013

I’ve been catching up on a year’s worth of music listening and couldn’t resist adding to all of the Best Of lists out there. Here’s my favorite albums of the year, in no particular order.

Atoms For Peace – Amok (Ingenue) ….and it was even better live.

The Civil Wars – The Civil Wars (Eavesdrop)

James Blake – Overgrown (Retrograde)

Lorde – Pure Heroine (Royals)

Sigur Ros – Kveikur

Son Lux – Lanterns (Lost it to Trying)

Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires of the City (Hudson)

Honorable mentions:

Bonobo – Cirrus

Daft Punk – Get Lucky

Kanye West – Blood on the Leaves

Rhye – Open

Intrducing Caracol Wellness!

 

Hello friends! I have finally made a website that will entirely focused on whole food recipes, yoga, and general snaily wellness including classes and one-on-one consultations. Click on over to Caracol Wellness to check it out. I’ll slowly be reposting all the recipes from here as well as adding lots of great new stuff from my CNE class. Expect to still see some art and music stuff here once and a while!

Fiona Apple – Pure Imagination

 

Chipotle has launched a genius marketing campaign to promote their sustainable food choices and set themselves apart from other fast food. First, they released a cute little video emphasizing the importance of developing a sustainable food system. Now, they’re promoting a new app of a scarecrow on a quest for sustainable food.

Mostly, I’m posting this because I love Fiona Apple’s haunting cover of Pure Imagination from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. And it’s a pretty great animation.

Chipotle is an interesting company. They are voluntarily labeling the GMO products they use, and working to eliminate them from the menu. Chiptole manages to greenwash and “healthwash” (as Meghan Telpner would say) at the same time. It’s also interesting that Fiona Apple is vegan and the video seems to condemn all meat eating, while most of Chipotle’s offerings include meat. Good for them for promoting sustainable meat production, but at that scale just because it’s healthier, doesn’t mean it’s healthy– for you or the planet.

The Civil Wars – The One That Got Away

 

It’s been a while since I posted any music! The Civil Wars’ new self-titled album just came out and it is AMAZING. This song, The One That Got Away, isn’t my favorite (that would be either Evesdrop or Sacred Heart), but the video certainly sums up the bittersweet album – and Joy and John Paul’s rift. They had better get it together because I must. see. them. live.

I posted about their last album when it came out a couple of years ago. I also just discovered this song by them, which might be my favorite yet. Listen.

Artwork up at Spoon Revolution!

From the Mnemosyne Series, 2009
Acrylic

My artwork is now up at Spoon Revolution, a great little vegan bistro in Concord, NH. The show includes prints, photographs and paintings, like this landscape I did as part of my Mnemosyne Series in college. As always, more artwork can be seen at Caracol Studio on Etsy.

Art at The Big Bean!

My artwork is still up at The Big Bean in Newmarket (my all-time favorite breakfast place) and will be there through Friday! Paintings, prints, and photographs. More artwork (and jewelry!) at Caracol Studio on Etsy.

Custom Birch Tree Paintings on Etsy

Caracol Studio now has custom birch tree paintings! Great as wedding or anniversary gifts, these birch trees are painted to order with initials carved in a heart in one of the trees and can be done in any color you like.

Birthday Birds

 

My friend, Jonah, had me paint these for his parents for their birthdays, which are just a few days apart in May. His mom’s favorite bird is a Cardinals, and dad’s is a Red-tailed hawk. It was a really fun and challenging project.

I’ve got some artwork going up at The Big Bean in Newmarket on Friday, and there will be new stuff in my Etsy shop soon (which is now officially called Caracol Studio!).

Healthy Homemade Samoas

Samoas were always my favorite Girl Scout cookie. Despite years of hating coconut after an unfortunate coconut pudding incident, they always won out over the close second, Thin Mints. When Ben came home with a box of each the other day I was excited until I saw what was in them… a quick look at the ingredients in Samoas (ahem, I should say Caramel deLites- what a terrible name!) reveals this:

Literally the only thing I’m comfortable eating in there is coconut. So I was psyched when I came across this recipe from cooking ala mel on Pinterest. No hydrogenated oils, no high fructose corn syrup, not even any wheat or dairy. I took it a step farther by making my own chocolate (mostly because I didn’t have enough chocolate chips, but why not go ahead and make them completely raw while I’m at it?). They are DELICIOUS and, dare I say, better than the originals.

These are comprised of three basic layers that are pressed into a parchment-lined 9″ x 9″ pan. I actually used a slightly smaller pan, so mine came out a bit thicker.

“Shortbread” Base

2 cups walnuts
1 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup raw honey

1 t vanilla extract

1/4 t sea salt

Pulse the walnuts and coconut in a food processor. Add the other ingredients and continue to pulse until it forms a dough. Press into your lined pan.

Coconut “Caramel”

1 1/2 cups dates

1/2 cup coconut milk

1 t vanilla

1/8 t salt

1 1/2 cups shredded coconut

Put the dates in hot water to soak. In the meantime, toast the coconut at 350° until golden brown (about 5 to 8 minutes). Drain the dates, and pulse in a food processor until it forms a paste. Mix in the coconut milk, vanilla, and salt, and then add the  coconut and pulse until combined. Spread this evenly over the “shortbread” and place in the freezer to firm up.

Raw Chocolate
Based on this recipe from Empowered Sustanence
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup coconut oil
3 Tbs. maple syrup
Pinch salt
If your coconut oil is solid, scoop out 1/4 cup and melt on the stovetop (or just throw it in the toaster oven for a few minutes after toasting the coconut until it melts). Mix in the cocoa powder, maple syrup, and salt. If you want it a bit sweeter add maple syrup to taste. If your coconut oil got really warm let the mixture sit in the fridge for a few minutes to let it thicken. Take the pan with the other layers out of the freezer and cut into squares. Dip the bottom of each square in the chocolate and set on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Finally, drizzle chocolate over the cookies and place back in the freezer.

These do need to be stored in the freezer, but they won’t harden up too much. You won’t be storing them long though, good luck not eating them all right away!

The Finestkind of Beard

Introducing… the hop beard!

I painted this hop beard for Portsmouth Craft Beer Week. It sold right away but I hope to have more up in my Etsy shop soon. I’m even thinking about making greeting cards (“Hoppy Beardthday” anyone?).