Is it Soap Yet????

So I have a new little endeavor, I have taken up soap making.  I must say, they are darn cute too.  I am taking a class which has been really fun and have made some really cute holiday soaps (Pictures below).  If you are out of ideas for what to get a certain someone maybe this will work.  They also make great housewarming gifts especially for those hosting the holiday get togethers.  The soaps are naturally made and very skin healthy (in spite of being so cute)  If you have any questions shoot me an email.

Xmas tree soap.  It has the wonderful aroma of hot cider, it reminds me of sitting near a warm fire with family and friends - besides check out that snow on the branches!  That was all done by hand!

Christmas cookies and holiday hearts.  These little cuties are small and smell delicious.  They are baby rose scented.  Great as a guest soap.

No two snowflakes are alike just like in nature.  But what is the scent of snow?  This was a toughie.  But nothing a couple glasses of wine and some highly scientific analyzing could not solve.  I think we nailed it, the scent i ended up going with is a mixture of something to remind you of cold but refreshing and sweet and pure.

 More delightful little snowflakes, same scent, different look.

Aren't these the cutest!!!!  Of course they smell just like gingerbread cookies too!

I will be making more so stay tuned, I am in the process of building a web site too, it started out as a little personal challenge and turned into this really cute and functional thing - your input would be welcome and greatly appreciated too :)  Just click on the title above to be transported.

TaTa

~A Very Christmas-y City Mouse

Our Arizona Trip - Please enjoy the photos

Sedona, AZ

 

Jerome, Az - a very cool mountain town which used to be a copper mining town and have the reputation of being the "baddest town in the west" it's now a sweet artist colony.  This um....building is actually a glass blower's studio - those views could inspire me any day.

 

Sunset (obviously)

 

We went to a wine tasting in Jerome.  The 4 horsemen was a nice blended red that we ended up purchasing to enjoy with dinner later that evening.  The label was designed for the owner by a tattoo artist.

 

I took myself on a scenic drive one fine day.

 

....and apparently I found god????

 

This is sunset about 30 seconds from our condo - the views and weather were just great.

 

We went to bell rock and took a little walk.  There are vortex's there which are supposed to have healing powers.  We read that juniper trees will become twisted and gnarly the closer they are to the vortex, there were definitely juniper trees there and some were definitely twisted, it was pretty cool. 

 

Cathedral Rock Church

 

The inside of the church.

 

Pretty cool huh?  

 

Views from the church.

 

Our big fishing day at the trout farm.  We caught 3 fishes (I caught the two big ones;) and they were cleaned and cooked up for dinner.

 

Ok- this beer was awesome!  It was a flavorful beer but not sweet like some fruit beers can be and it was also very light.  We got it in a sampler pack and this one came out the winner.

 

This was my trip down memory lane beer.  I had this beer once on a trip to Montana and thought it was just the bees knees (of course i was still drinking coor's light back then)  I was correct about one thing, the beer was and is very good.  It is a dark beer but not a heavy one and it does not have a real strong bite, almost a bitter chocolate finish.  It was a nice blast from the past.  The beer is called Moose Drool and it is made in Misoula, Montana.

 

Frank Lloyd Wright's winter home.  Taliesen West in Scottdale, AZ (for more info, read post below this one).

 

It had just rained so the sky was alive with colors.

 

Sunset in Scottdale, AZ.

 

Cool Cacti.

 

Good Morning NYC - us being driven home after our red eye flight, this is sunrise on the Williamsburg Bridge.

Talking About Honesty

We are on the last leg of our trip in Arizona, before hitting the airport and heading east we stopped at Taliesin West the winter home and architectural school of Frank Lloyd Wright, the American architect.  It was really neat being there, the buildings and land surrounding are very beautiful and fit well together. 


We had a really nice tour guide who was um....very informative about certain aspects of FLW's life and had the beautiful ability to be able to glaze over other aspects in order to make the man look like a saint.  If you have never had the rare pleasure of knowing an architect personally let me clue you in on a few things.  First, architects are artists and as anyone can guess like all artists they are needy and can be extremely difficult.  This is not a negative personality trait, after all, without the ability to think outside (and live outside) of the proverbial box, there would be no art.  Living outside of the box regardless of whether it is a foot or a mile, is a challenge, you are automatically different and noted as such.  BUT once you become an icon, an American icon especially I have noticed your story is retold as if you have never even thought to set a pinkie toe outside the box and were still able to thrive and create and manipulate your surroundings in ways that no one else ever thought of.


A perfect example is that FLW was married 3 times, this was mentioned during the tour, however our lovely guide merely mentioned that his second marriage was "not good" and nothing more.  What she really meant to say was that the second wife was the wife of a client originally and they ran off to Europe together, later in his summer home located in Wisconsin and also called Taliesin, a fire was set (supposedly by a servant) and anyone who tried to escape the building was killed with an axe by same said servant.  Seven people died in that fire, FLW walked away clean as a whistle and lived to marry again. 


I ask myself, why was this part skipped?  There were many other parts that were conveniently skipped but I am not here to drag all of this man's skeleton's out of the closet I wanted merely to give an example so that I can once more post the question.  Why not embrace the fact that he was different?  It may actually make him more interesting and worth knowing about.  To keep repeating that he was "difficult" really does not cut it for me.  After all I am a Van Gogh fan so I get and appreciate extreme.


We got some phenomenal photos, saw some really cool places and met some interesting people too.  Once I get home and find my camera cord I will get some items posted for all to enjoy.


Till then.........
~CM
 

totally off the topic

The below is a post from me that i have posted on facebook and am now throwing on this site because it is important.  

 Based on information from a reliable resource- 

I am very rarely this serious but the below email sent to me totally pissed me off. As many of you know i am not in Pgh at the moment - but as someone that was born and raised there, it does not matter where i am at - Pittsburgh is still my home. The below information was sent out to CMU alumni, is deplorable and we ...need to take action. It is unacceptable that students are going to be charged a tax just to be students in the city limits. It is expensive enough to go to school - our young mayor (who should remember the expense clearly) can choose another group of people to charge.


Hey Luke - go pick on someone your own size! Or is it that you are just trying to drive every young person out of the city? if you are unclear about what it means to be a servant of the people feel free to contact me - i will help you to remember - jerk!


Please join me in eliminating this ridiculous tax and driving our young people away from such a great city!






Dear Fellow Alumni,


As some of you who still live here in the Pittsburgh region may already be aware, the mayor of Pittsburgh has proposed imposing a tuition tax on all college, university and trade school students in Pittsburgh in an effort to raise funds for the city, closing a deficit gap. Student Government leaders, as well as the administrations of Pittsburgh's education institutions, are organizing to oppose this effort.


Below is a message from President Cohon to the campus community explaining the university's position. In the message, he references a previous email from the Student Government leaders, a copy of which can be found online.


Please take a moment to review this information and, if you are willing, share your thoughts with city leaders through the links provided.


Jay E. Price (S'66)
Interim Associate Vice President for University Advancement,
Director of Alumni Relations


Dear Members of the University Community:


I'm sure most of you have read about recent efforts to impose a tuition tax on college, university and trade school students in Pittsburgh. The university is opposed to this tax, and we are working with other member institutions of the Pittsburgh Council of Higher Education to stop this from being implemented.


You received an email recently from our Student Government leaders opposing the tax, and I applaud and support their efforts. They have helped to create a website, www.stoptuitiontax.org, where their fellow Pittsburgh students can make their voices heard. I commend Student Body President Rotimi Abimbola, Undergraduate Student Senate Chair Aaron Gross and Graduate Student Assembly President Patrick Gage Kelley for their leadership.


Some in city government say non-profits consume services and give nothing back. That could not be further from the truth. Being tax-exempt does not mean that universities do not pay taxes. In fact, Carnegie Mellon pays more than $1.4 million in taxes, fees and services to the city annually. The university also has supported the city through voluntary participation in the Pittsburgh Public Service Fund (PPSF).


But taxes and the PPSF represent a small portion of what we contribute to Pittsburgh. Carnegie Mellon is an economic engine, spinning off more than 200 companies and creating more than 9,000 jobs in the past 15 years. Through the results of our research programs, we've attracted numerous Fortune 500 companies to the region, including Google, Intel, Apple, Disney, Microsoft and Caterpillar, creating hundreds of jobs in the city. Carnegie Mellon also is one of the region's largest employers with nearly 5,000 employees, many of whom reside in Pittsburgh and pay city taxes. We raise money for Pittsburgh community efforts and support the city through community outreach - last year students, faculty and staff contributed more than 117,000 hours of community service. Carnegie Mellon also positively impacts Pittsburgh's culture through many of our fine arts performances.


Non-profit tax exemption took years to legislate thoroughly and thoughtfully, providing an environment in which Pittsburgh's educational institutions have thrived, creating new ideas, jobs, industries, and a new generation of skilled, well-educated workers. It has fostered Pittsburgh's transformation and we must do everything to keep the city moving forward, not backward.


At a time when Pittsburgh is trying to attract and retain young people, it should not become known as the only city in the U.S. to impose what is being called a "privilege tax" on its students. If you wish to let your views on this proposal be known, you can write to the Mayor at askpgh@city.pittsburgh.pa.us or www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/main/html/feedback.html and the City Council.


Sincerely,


Jared L. Cohon, President
Carnegie Mellon University

Pumpkin Soap

Hello all you ghosties and ghouls.  I hope everyone has fun times planned for this devilish evening.  To kick off my Halloween celebration I reinvented one (my first and only so far) of my home made soaps into another soap.  This is a process called re-batching, literally remaking the batch.  I wanted to do this because the soap is made with all-natural oils, has a great lather and leaves my hands feeling "silky and smooth" but it was uglier than a goblin's big toe.  

To make a re-batch, I surfed around the net and came up with sort of a hybrid recipe which I will list below.


6.2 oz. ugly soap, I chopped it up in the food processor
2 oz frozen goats milk (yes i keep frozen goats milk in my freezer because, you never know when you will have a goating emergency)
1 oz avocado oil
.5 oz beeswax, I have seen that many experienced soapers like to add this to their recipes so I thought what the heck

Directions:
Place all the above ingredients in a double boiler and let it go slow and low for approximately 2 hours I used a 4C Pyrex measuring cup and a pot, I had to replenish the water twice, stir regurarly to help remove the lumps.  Because i have never done this before I was not sure what to expect and look for or wait for so once the consistency stopped developing (after about 2 hours in this case) I removed the Pyrex cup from the pot and added the below ingredients.


 12 drops of liquid orange (it is as bright as a hazmat suit I swear)
6 ml Pumpkin Spice essential oil
1 ml Cinnamon Sugar essential oil

I tried to use my hand blender but it was pretty ineffective so I went back to stirring by hand with a spatula.  The soap started to harden so I put it back into the pot and let it re-soften.  While that was going on I lightly sprayed my pumpkin molds with some olive oil, I thought it would help to get them out when they were ready.  With the Pyrex cup still in the pot and the flame still on low I started to scoop the soap out and into the pumpkin molds, I did this slowly and tried to push as much soap into the molds to help with getting the air bubbles out and to get the soap into the cracks and crevices of the little molds.  once that was all done, I scraped the top to remove any excess (which I formed into a little ball, no sense in wasting) and then popped them into the freezer. 


I left them in the freezer for about 45 minutes and just pulled them out, I may not have needed the olive oil I found that simply squeezing the sides worked great, they just popped out.  While they are not perfect little pumpkins, they are  my little pumpkins and totally usable, besides now my whole kitchen smells like pumpkin pie!

The finished product!  So they are a little deformed, they are pumpkins!

Have a SPOOKTACULAR evening!!!!

~CM