Kitchen Companion Realness

Being broke and eating healthy doesn’t always go together. Good news is, it’s not as hard as it seems. You just have to be smart about it.

thugkitchen.com

I recently purchased a cookbook called Thug Kitchen: Eat Like You Give A F*ck. It completely breaks down how to do the most basic cooking techniques with great, cheap, HEALTHY recipes. Including vegetarian and vegan, and awesome drinks. Plus it has the funniest commentary, preferably not for younger readers.

thugkitchen.com

Last night I made one of the recipes I saw in the book, Roasted Beer and Lime Cauliflower Tacos. And it KICKED ASS. Cauliflower has all types of health benefits; it’s been shown to kill cancer stem cells, which slows down tumor growth, it’s great for your heart, is loaded full of  vitamins and antioxidants, and aids in digestive health, and the guys at Thug Kitchen found a way to make it taste great. And at $4, it was the most expensive ingredient I had to buy, if that tells you anything. (besides beer)

my "plating" isn't the prettiest.

The beer I used was the Illusive Traveler Shandy. Which went really great with it since it was made with grapefruit juice. It wasn’t heavy and it still tasted really fresh without an overbearing alcohol taste.

For being a complete kitchen noob, I was really proud with how this turned out and how inexpensive it was to make. Thug Kitchen is chock full of rad recipes and quick tricks, and I can’t wait to use it again. Happy cooking!

http://www.thugkitchen.com/

Kids or No Kids = A Great Woman

Ever since I've been able to comprehend the idea of children and having them, I have decided I do not want to be a mother.
Society says otherwise.
During this rant, I'll share some of my favorite reasons "WHY" I have to have a child.

Don't get me wrong, having a child can be the greatest thing that can happen to a person. Many friends of mine dream about the thought of one day raising their own son or daughter, lots are so glad that they had a baby. I know other friends of mine, including myself, wouldn't even consider having a child right now or in the future. There is no right or wrong answer. It is just a decision. And it is your decision.

"You'll change your mind one day." Heard that more times than I can count. I know plenty of women going into their forties still being told that their mind will change. Probably not. It's okay World, her life will be just as fulfilled as anyone else who does have children. Sure, a lot changes in your twenties, but you know yourself better than anyone. You've more than likely already thought to yourself what you would do if you ended up having a child. Something probably like, "Even if I don't really want one, if I have one, I'd still love it just the same." or something like, "Not an option, not going to happen." Either way, once again, your decision. 

"You'll miss out on the greatest part of life!" Not necessarily true. There are more than enough reasons why people would assume that children are the greatest part of your life. My mom would say that. She has said that. Why? Because she had children, and that is the best part of her life. I'm glad it is; where would I be if it wasn't? There are some things you will miss out on by not raising a child, but there are just as many great, beautiful things out there that are worth doing. For instance, I have a friend who moved to Chile for a year, next year she is moving to Norway for two years, then going to Liverpool for another two years. She isn't planning on having kids right now or in the future, traveling to as many places as possible is her dream. She is doing what makes her life feel whole and complete and did not need a child to do so.

by Carol Rossetti

 "That's not fair to your partner/family." Alrighty. Well.. I am assuming if you are in a serious relationship with someone this has already come up in conversation. Problem resolved. If it hasn't, it probably should at some point. Luckily for me, it wasn't an issue. He had his reasons why as well as I. We are content with our little Steve. (our dog that you will hear a lot about.) 

Now the family part. I hear from lots of my friends that their families, mine included as well, have always pressured them that they NEED to have children, that they want grandkids, that they have to carry on the family name, and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Basically, not important. If you did everything in life that your family wanted you to do, you'd be miserable and lost in life. It is your life, your decision.

Aaaaaand my personal favorite:

"You're a woman, it's your job!!" Don't even get me started. It is 2015. I have nothing else to say to this.

Really all that matters in life is that you are happy and content with the decisions you have made and the things you have learned about yourself and the world around you. The rest will fall into place.

bestinspire.com

There is nothing wrong with not wanting to have children.

There is nothing wrong with having children.

You are your own person.

You are a beautiful, fascinating being either way.

Water Color Tattoos, That's a Negative Ghostrider.

Water color tattoos are rad right?

Sure, until several years go by and it looks a little “bleh.” They look so bright and crazy when you first get them, but over a period of time, that changes. Every tattoo fades, I know that. But there are two main things that hold a tattoo together for longer that watercolor tattoos generally do not have: solid line work and BLACK.

When I was apprenticing I learned a lot about color theory and lighting and shading and all that good stuff you obviously need to know to be a good artist. One thing that has been burned into my brain is that, If you don’t have solid line work, you don’t have a solid tattoo. Although you may not think about it when you’re flipping through an artist’s portfolio, (at least I HOPE you’re looking through your artist’s work before you decide to let them mark your body permanently.)  Line work is a big deal! Although most watercolor tattoos usually have some guiding lines somewhere, stay away from those that don’t, it won’t be pretty forever. All those shades of blues and grays and purples you want will all look “bleh” at some point. Without any line work, your tattoo isn’t held together.

BLACK. It is so important. Ugh, SO IMPORTANT. Shading gives your tattoo dimension. Makes it come together.  Tattoos hold up so much better when they have some black in them. Promise. Black also makes the rest of the colors pop. I’m a black work nerd though, so I may be a little biased towards having lots of black involved. Some artists may completely disagree with me, everyone has a different opinion, and none of them are wrong. 

Basically my little biased rant is summed up into this: Watercolor tattoos are trendy and pretty to look at now, but I don’t believe they are something that will hold up in the long run. On the bright side, if you have one that you're not crazy about, watercolor is pretty easy to cover up with the right artist. (Also I didn’t post pictures because I think that’s an assy thing to do.) No one should regret their art. At some point you wanted what you got, and you have it. So love it. 

Also this, never do this. You know what I'm talking about.

"Cheap tattoos aren't good, and good tattoos aren't cheap." - Every artist ever, because it's true.

Bored&Broke

Being in your 20s and being broke isn't unheard of. There's plenty of things you want to do, but have no cash to throw around. Good news, there's a plethora of things that YOU CAN DO. School loans, insurance, rent, dog food, your food, and gas all really pile up, so you have to get a little creative. 

So here's a list.. 

• Go volunteer at your animal shelter! If you're not a cat person or a dog person, have fun with your boring life. All you have to do is walk in, let them know you just want to play and walk the dogs for a bit. They'll be happy to let you since it's less work for them to do. Plus, it gives the dogs/cats a good day, which should give you a good day. (and good karma)

• Plant things! It's fun, mostly inexpensive, and you can post pictures to your instagram of your trendy succulents.

.....there's mine.

• Just go outside.

• Get into your local music scene. No matter what you're into, it's pretty much guaranteed that there will be a little band doing it. Local shows are fun, You meet locals who are into the same things you are. Yay new friends! Also, local shows are usually pretty cheap, rarely over $10. So it's a fun night out without hurting your poor, poor wallet. 

• Start a blog..

• Pick up a little craft hobby. With only have $12 to my name, I got everything I needed to start cross-stitching. Needle felt is cool, and it's also pretty cheap. You can grab all these things at any craft store. Here's a couple links for some dope cross-stitch patterns:

http://www.tinymodernist.com/

http://subversivecrossstitch.com/blog/ (my favorite)

theluxuryspot.com

Short list, but it should give you a few ideas of what you can do with your four spare dollars.

Now, hopefully, you'll be happy&broke!

-Cat

No Tan Clan

Why not start this blog with the reason I named it? I have never been one to tan, I have never felt like I needed to. So to those who don't know me, I am usually referred to as, The Pale Girl. Flattering, I know.

 So enjoy my rant about why tanning is a no go..

Summer is here and the gym is swarming with girls doing outrageous numbers of squats and waiting in line for the tanning bed. Why? Because Coco Chanel accidentally got sunburned and somehow made it a trend that has lasted ages. Thanks, Coco. 

Living in the South, there's 40 year old leather baseball mitts walking around everywhere. That SHOULD be enough of a reason for young girls to reconsider baking themselves. Unfortunately, our media tells them otherwise. "Sun-kissed, bronze, golden," etc. Of course they want to look how those things sound. We just need to let girls know this isn't the only option for the summer.  

YOUR NATURAL COMPLEXION IS BEAUTIFUL. IF IT DIDN'T LOOK RIGHT ON YOU, THEN YOU WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN BORN WITH IT.

The cons outweigh the pros when it comes to tanning:

Tanning can do a number on your hair, if you're going to be in the sun a lot, get a sweet hat, or get a nice UV Protector Spray. Paul Mitchell's Sun Shield is amazing, and you'll smell like an orange orchard.

                                                    

• Yes, the amount of vitamin D you get from tanning is great for you. You can still get it from the REAL sun, in moderation. Also from vitamins and foods you eat. Your diet can drastically make a difference in your skin. You can have a healthy, natural glow just from eating the right foods.
• Skin Cancer. Enough said. According to the Mayo Clinic, Melanoma by tanning has increased 705% since 1970. Awful.
• Save some money! Tanning gets expensive.
• Wrinkles, wrinkles, and more wrinkles. Although there are some wrinkles that are good to have, like laugh lines and wrinkles from smiling big, no one wants the wrinkly bag wrinkles you get from tanning consistently over the years. My mother was never one to tan heavily, and she has a smoother complexion than most 30 year olds i know. GOALS.

                                     

• There are a lot self-tanners on the market that girl are using as well, and not usually with good results. Plus, most of those brands aren't made with a single natural ingredient, so you're lathering chemicals all over your skin to change its color. Weird right? Fortunately, Chocolate Sun makes a great self tanner with all natural botanicals, oils, and herbs.
• Tanning is boring. There's a million things I'd rather do during my days off in the summer than lay in a spaceship bed or melt in the sun. It doesn't last long, make the most of it! 

It's time to show people of all ages that the way they look is fine. Healthy skin beats tanned, wrinkled, possibly cancerous skin every time. Have fun this summer, and love the skin you have. (I wanted to say love the skin you're in, but I feel like that's trademarked by some company.)

I know it's cheesy.

Heyheyhey

Hi! I'm Cat. If you like dogs, coffee, music, or anything else in life, you'll enjoy this blog.