Let Them Eat Cake!

Seriously, I LOVE cake... I love all sweet treats. Say what you want about fat kids and Italians but really, cake comes in so many magnificent forms that there has got to be a cake for everyone out there.


I am not normally a TV junkie but the more pregnant I become, the less active I find myself. With six weeks to go, I have been doing a lot of couch surfing. This weekend I must have watched 20 episodes of Cake Boss. The reality cake show based in Hobokin, New Jersey.


These people are cake experts and besides creating some of the most elaborate works of art I have ever seen using cake as a medium, their recipes are unique.


My favorite from the Tulips, Taxes and Take it Easy episode... The Brown Derby!

This cake is made as follows... Fresh strawberries and bananas, and succulent peach slices fill this delicious two-layer chocolate cake. It's adorned with vanilla whipped topping, chocolate cake crumbs, and a dusting of powdered sugar for a dramatic finish.

But the above picture is not the Cake Boss' creation. He actually made a life size Accountant Cake!

One of the coolest cakes I saw yesterday was the Flower Show cake, from the same episode. This cake was to be showcased with several varieties of flowers, all made from sugar!

I want some CAKE!!

Art in Unexpected Places...

I love it when you walk into a store or a coffee shop and get hit with art. Like you were not expecting it and BAM! there it is.


My favorite little coffee shop here in Galveston is MOD Cafe. They have a real family vibe and are extremely community oriented. The baristas are great and the atmosphere is cozy. MOD normally has art on the walls from  a different artist each time I go in. I never know when it changes or rotates, I just get hit with the new stuff. 


Here is what I saw last week!

I didn't catch the artist's name or info (too bad) but know you can check out MOD's website or call and get more information!


I love the use of pastels, it reminds me of Carter T's work. BEAUTIFUL!


MOD Coffeehouse
Galveston, TX
http://www.modcoffeehouse.com/

Paul Stamets on 6 ways mushrooms can save the world!

Some may say that this is not art or music based, but loving your world and enhancing your life is an art!


Enjoy...


Paul Stamets believes that mushrooms can save our lives, restore our ecosystems and transform other worlds.

Entrepreneurial mycologist Paul Stamets seeks to rescue the study of mushrooms from forest gourmets and psychedelic warlords. The focus of Stamets' research is the Northwest's native fungal genome, mycelium, but along the way he has filed 22 patents for mushroom-related technologies, including pesticidal fungi that trick insects into eating them, and mushrooms that can break down the neurotoxins used in nerve gas.

There are cosmic implications as well. Stamets believes we could terraform other worlds in our galaxy by sowing a mix of fungal spores and other seeds to create an ecological footprint on a new planet.

"Once you’ve heard 'renaissance mycologist' Paul Stamets talk about mushrooms, you'll never look at the world -- not to mention your backyard -- in the same way again."

Linda Baker, Salon.com

Birth Art - Birthing From Within

As many of you know, I am pregnant... Birth Art is new to me and a very interesting concept. I think I will try!!

"One kind of learning comes from books. But the learning necessary for you to participate  completely in your birth must come from you. In making birth art or journaling, just bringing an image to light can be surprisingly revealing (and sometimes healing). Listening to it speak to you can tell you even more. Dreams, reverie and art all carry messages from the unconscious…

An active, gentle exploration process not only brings overlooked resources and strengths to conscious awareness, but identifies obstacles and inhibitions that might prevent you from using them.

Birth art doesn't have to be pretty, colorful or carefully planned. It is as raw, honest and spontaneous as birth itself. 

It is important to notice how you approach making art, because it is a metaphor for how you approach doing things in your life, especially things you are unfamiliar with, such as birthing. Do you say, "I don't know how to do this!" and hesitate, or give up altogether (leaving it up to "the professionals")? Do you find yourself comparing yourself and competing with others? Or can you be curious and say, "Let's see what I can do!"?

Your art, like your labor, doesn't have to be perfect. Just give it your best effort. "

Excerpted from the book, Birthing  From  Within