Hello Kitty Con 2014 Media and VIP Event

11/04/2014

Well… although I had just had a major surgery I felt that it was important for me to push myself out of the nest aka laying in bed in pain because, hey, it had been long enough. It’s time to force myself to be myself again and stop wasting away on the occasional apple slice. So I figured I’d heal with a bang and off I went to LA!

I must say the airport customer service was amazing to wheel me to the plane, THANKS DELTA. I would have been extremely slow moving and in considerable pain but would still have made myself walk had they not offered to wheel me around. I was so shocked at the amount of customer service I received just because my stomach was stapled!

So I arrived in LAX and felt a bit sad my best friend Kimi would not be waiting for me as she is every other flight (it was a super quick business day week trip and I couldn’t stay through the weekend) but I was still extremely happy to be back in the California sun and air and meet up with my Indy friend who arrived a couple days earlier.

I slept decently in a lovely home overlooking LA being watched over by the Hollywood sign and the next day we were off to the beach and to explore areas we hadn’t explored before. I never get to go to LA for tourist attractions so we went to Venice, Little Tokyo and other assorted neighborhoods. Her brother Danny Detox lives there and is in the band The Ex-Gentlemen so we also ended up a few other places to meet him.

The last evening there was the HELLO KITTY CON 2014 aka the first Hello Kitty Convention ever in the United States. Miseducated was invited to the Press Event and VIP Opening Party so off I went to snap a huge stack of photos and gather goodies to feature!

I must say I filled up my SLR as well as my phone camera with many more photos to take! I did get tired early due to my surgery but I met some new and old friends (was very impressed with Stephiee’s work on the fashion installation, it made my eyes bleed holographic glitter and several of the outfits glittered back begging to come home in my suitcase), filled up all of my cameras, got media packs and enjoyed connecting with Christina of California Focus Magazine.

As I said above, Lovely Kitty Wonder: A Hello Kitty Fashion Installation, was a very-impressive eye-candy-filled feature curated by Stephiee Nguyen of JapanLA Clothing. With shockingly sweet creations carbonated with cute couture by 13 designers including Ophelia Overdose, Abigail Greydanus, a-morir, Fiori Couture and Doll Eyes, it was a no-miss.

Did you know there was even a FREE tattoo parlor? Not enough to inspire this non-tattoo kind of girl to get a tattoo but such a wonderful idea! I genuinely thought about getting a Kitty holding Colette’s name. Sadly I was not able to take advantage of the amazing, free ink artists due to my indecisive and tattoo-less nature.

I couldn’t help but take quite a lot of photos of these amazing paintings (and ceramics not pictured!) by Dabs Myla because my Mister is a contemporary realism artist that paints still lifes and creates ceramics so I felt it would be the utmost importance for him to see a Hello Kitty still life and tea set in all of their glory.

I must also say the place that gave me the biggest heart throbs was the vintage shop with actual vintage items for sale and a lot of old Sanrio photos. I also almost gagged on glory as I tried on the Hello Kitty x Chan Luu Kitty Con limited rainbow crystal jewelry finding myself unable to leave without them. As when I went to Puroland, a few tears came out for my childhood superstar. They even had my 80s Kitty TV! Sadly I did not get a chance to look at the price. I was trying to get a good collection of photos and explore everything before everyone else showed up and started crowding in. So please enjoy! I can’t very well explain it well enough to do justice, this was all for the photographs baby! It was just the event to push me out of my pain induced coma to go into a happy induced daze that reminds me what I’m doing and why.

Near the end of the VIP party (and after my backpack was filled to the brim with Kitty White goodies) off I went to have dinner in Little Tokyo with my dear friend Emma.

Did you get to go and what was your favorite part if so?? Maybe next time we can meet for a rainbow donut and a cup of blooming tea!

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Diary

How Soon is Now? Surprise! Surgery.

11/04/2014

So a thing happened. Many things happened. Most of all I survived them. Even the one that was out of my hands. The universe must have some more plans for me, what can I say.

Upon doing yoga with a friend (Emma) I must have twisted a unknowingly deformed small intestine in my inner scar tissue from my cesarian. I didn’t feel it. We went to work and eat from the comfort of my dining room. I ate a delicious burger that Mister Educated made for me. Then.. pain. Immense pain. Is this food poisoning? It doesn’t feel that way. I’ll lay down and take a nap. No, no I won’t. I begin breaking out in sweats and chills, losing consciousness. Is this for real? I have a high pain tolerance but this is insanity. Emma? She takes me to the dr. My blood pressure is so low they think the machine is broken. Emma rushes me to the ER. They think I’m lying. I must be some sort of person wanting pain medicine because there is no visible injury. No, please no. No pain medicine. I won’t take it. Just right the wrong in my body.

The nurses, they tell me to put on a mask. They assume I just have a stomach bug. Ebola perhaps. But no. No this is not a virus. This is my body shutting down.

This is probably appendicitis. Your gallbladder is probably acting up. You must have food poisoning. This will clear up tonight. Tomorrow you’ll be fine. Really? Thank you! This will all go away! But it feels so much worse already? *violent retching*

The next morning. The surgeon. This could clear up on it’s own. The tests seem like it’s hopeful. Or we can take a look surgically. WHAT? It hurts.. but I want to go with Mister.. What do you think? It’s up to me? I feel like something could be very wrong. I think you should take a look. I will then.

Stomach sick, in a daze, can’t stop vomiting on the operating table. Everyone is telling me it’s going to be ok. My husband is here and I will see him soon. It will all be ok. Everything is probably just fine. It will just be a small incision for our camera. Breathe in the anesthesia. Relax. Go to sleep…

Yes, we removed a foot of her small intestine. It had died. It was caught in scar tissue. She had a cyst. If we had’t operated she’d have died. She’s very lucky. Yes, here’s your husband. He’s here.

Tears of joy. Then. The pain. A new pain. Three stab wounds? A large cut along my midsection? Staples? It’s ok, you have a man that loves you. No one will even notice in a few years. You would have died if you’d have waited. You were very sick.

I know. I know I should trust my intuition more strongly. Thank you for saving my life, dr. Thank you for being the one surgeon who believed me.

Life is limited, treat it with love.

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DIY Recipes

King Rabbit Carrot Cupcakes & Frosting

10/09/2014

Yesterday (Oct 8th) was my best friend and soul mate David’s 40th birthday so guess what I decided to do? Use the frozen carrot mush we had leftover from juicing earlier and make him some birthday cupcakes! He told me I had hoarded way too much carrot mush and would never use it and so VIOLA I’m going to make it delicious. Our family name means land of the rabbits so what better way to celebrate his life than with CARROTS!? I know.. there really isn’t one. This recipe is catered to him but you could substitute all sorts of things such as adding crushed walnuts, raisins, etc.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LOVE!

King Rabbit Carrot Cupcakes

1 1/3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butterscotch chips

2 large eggs

2/3 cup granulated white sugar

2/3 cup melted coconut oil

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2/3 cup grated apples

1 1/3 cups grated raw carrots

Queen Bunny’s Cream Cheese Frosting

1/4 cup butter

4 ounces cream cheese

2 1/4 cups confectioners sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

King Rabbit Carrot Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease 12 muffin cups or fill 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix. I like to use my clean hands so that I permeate my heart into whatever I’m making and I can feel that everything is adequately mixes. This is how I make all baked goods, bread, desserts, etc. Love it or leave it.

Evenly fill the greased muffin cups or muffin liners and bake at 350 degrees for around 18-22 minutes. Check around 18 minutes depending on how quickly your oven bakes, your tins etc. I like to check early as opposed to cooking things too dry. If a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean then remove the muffin tins and let cool before frosting.

Queen Bunny’s Cream Cheese Frosting

In a bowl use your mixer to beat the butter and cream cheese until very smooth and creamy while slowly adding the powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Pipe the frosting on the top of the tops of the cupcakes. For quick piping I like to add the icing to a ziplock with the corner cut off and pipe on top of the cupcakes.

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Event Features

Sanrio’s First Hello Kitty Con 2014 in Los Angeles

10/07/2014

Miseducated was invited to a media preview and opening party of the 2014 Hello Kitty Convention for Hello Kitty’s 40th Anniversary located at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA (The Museum of Contemporary Art) in Downtown Los Angeles on October 30th – November 2nd. I was a little hush hush about this because I wasn’t sure if I would be able to make it but it ended up being right time, right place, free flight. So alas we are very excited to feature this event because, as you know, Kitty is my absolute favorite character! I can hardly read the below information without going into a whirlwind of heart-pounding glee. See you there?

This milestone event will place Hello Kitty fans at the center of the ultimate interactive experience, inviting them to immerse themselves in a never-before-seen environment where the world of Hello Kitty is celebrated, explored and experienced. Tickets for the highly anticipated Hello Kitty Con 2014 are available to purchase now at Sanrio.com.

Designed for enthusiasts from around the world to come together and celebrate all things Hello Kitty, Hello Kitty Con 2014 will present a full lineup of activations ranging from integrated workshops, lectures and panel discussions; special appearances and signings with Hello Kitty head designer from Tokyo Yuko Yamaguchi and more special guests from Japan; to interactive art installations and daily artist signings; the Hello Kitty Friendship Station Pop-up Shop offering convention exclusives; the Hello Kitty Super Supermarket featuring a curated selection of vendors offering products and experiences available only at the convention; a Hello Kitty retrospective and vintage shop selling rare collectibles from the past; product and collaboration previews; a tattoo shop; photo opportunities, and much more. Hello Kitty will be on hand for special appearances and to hug fans as part of her global Share a Hug with Hello Kitty! campaign throughout the four day extravaganza. The Hello Kitty Con ticket also includes free same-day admission ($20 value) to Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty, the Hello Kitty exhibition at the Japanese American National Museum, as well as many more free activities and goodies. “Hello Kitty Con 2014 is a testament to Hello Kitty’s remarkable ability to connect with people of all ages and backgrounds in many ways, on many levels,” said Janet Hsu, President and COO of Sanrio, Inc. “It is a celebration of community and a labor of love for Sanrio, and we are thrilled to share this experience with fans.” Celebrating more than 15 years of partnership, Target is teaming up with Sanrio to offer fun, interactive and immersive activations at Hello Kitty Con 2014. To kick-off the convention, Target will co-host the VIP preview event on October 29th, where attendees can take photos with Bullseye and have exclusive access to game stations and prizes. Passionate Hello Kitty fans can visit “Hello Kitty & Bullseye Adventures presented by Target” during the convention to experience a visual and physical narrative that follows Hello Kitty and Bullseye through a series of fun activation areas.

Sanrio and Target will offer limited-edition, co-branded product available only at the convention. A further offering of exclusive Hello Kitty 40th Anniversary product – from apparel and cosmetics, to accessories and toys – will be available beginning September 14th at Target stores nationwide and at Target.com. Hello Kitty Con 2014 will also offer fans the following:

DISCOVERY: Hello Kitty-fy your life by participating in workshops on Hello Kitty scrapbooking, flower arranging, nail art, DIY jewelry making and more; panel discussions on topics ranging from Hello Kitty super fans, Japanese pop culture, Lolita culture, Hello Kitty as muse and more; and lectures featuring a first time Q&A with Hello Kitty head designer from Tokyo Yuko Yamaguchi, Simone Legno, artist and creator of the tokidoki brand; and Dr. Christine Yano, co-curator of Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty; among others. Tickets for workshops are on sale now at Sanrio.com. Panels, lectures and signings will be handled on a first come, first served basis.

EXPLORATION: Stroll down memory lane in the Hello Kitty Product Retrospective showcasing classic vintage products — including the first Hello Kitty product ever created, the original Hello Kitty coin purse (on display for the first time in the U.S.)! Stroll through Hello Kitty’s Friendship Village and visit the Hello Kitty House to discover a life-size home decorated in Hello Kitty inside & out and wander through various Hello Kitty photo opps.

SHOPPING: Pick up limited edition Hello Kitty Con exclusives, special items from around the world and collaboration products in the Hello Kitty Friendship Station Pop-Up Shop; sift through authentic, rare, collectible Hello Kitty products in the Sanrio Vintage Shoppe and visit the Super Supermarket for exclusives, limited edition products, gifts and goodies from special Sanrio partners & collaborators including SEPHORA, JapanLA, Loungefly, Dylan’s Candy Bar, SPAM® Brand, Major League Baseball, Chan Luu, Perfect Square/VIZ Media, Upper Deck, and many more.

ART: Enjoy interactive art installations and photo ops created by artists POSE and Dabs Myla; and instruction from artists Camilla d’Errico, Esther Kim, Dabs Myla, and Martin Hsu, who will be on hand throughout the four days to lecture & teach Hello Kitty Art Classes. Five leading tattoo artists have created custom flash artwork & will offer FREE (real!) tattoos at the Hello

Kitty Tattoo Shop – throughout the convention, on a first come, first served basis. Sanrio Tokyo’s resident nail artist and Hello Kitty Nail Art book author Masako Kojima will be on hand giving fans a chance to Hello Kitty-fy their nails. The JapanLA Art + Fashion Shop will feature super limited art prints, figures and artist tees from favorite artists including 64 Colors, Buff Monster, Crowded Teeth, Joe Ledbetter, Miss Kika, and more.

FASHION: Check out super fantastical Hello Kitty fashion on display at Lovely Kitty Wonder: A Hello Kitty Fashion Installation curated by Stephiee Nguyen of JapanLA Clothing. See one-of-a-kind creations by 13 designers from all over the globe including Ophelia Overdose, Abigail Greydanus, amorir, Fiori Couture and dolleyes.

FOOD: From Hello Kitty sweet treats to L.A.’s yummiest food trucks, there is no need to leave Hello Kitty Con when your stomach is rumbling.

FUN: Ticket holders can enjoy free activities including crafts, games, giveaways, a Hello Kitty pumpkin patch, photo booths, special sneak peeks at upcoming Hello Kitty projects, and many more superfun surprises throughout.

SOCIAL (#HelloKittyCon): Fans can stay connected with all things Hello Kitty Con through a variety of social elements aimed at both convention goers and those not attending the event. Hello Kitty’s millions of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram friends can share photos and access contests and behind-the-scenes footage to connect with their Hello Kitty fan community.

Sanrio will also host a contest giving fans a chance to win a VIP trip to Hello Kitty Con 2014. Hello Kitty Con 2014 will run concurrently with Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty, the first ever Hello Kitty museum exhibition in North America, taking place across the street at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) from October 11th through April 2015. Hello Kitty Con ticket holders will have access to the museum exhibition, where they can explore a retrospective of rare and unique pieces from Sanrio’s archives and an art exhibit featuring 40 mixed-media works by contemporary artists, throughout the duration of Hello Kitty Con.

Tickets for Hello Kitty Con 2014 are available for purchase now on Sanrio.com. Further details and updates on Hello Kitty’s 40th Anniversary celebration can be found here, where fans can visit throughout the year to stay connected and informed about Hello Kitty Con 2014, Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty at JANM, exclusive products and more.

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Business Features Self Decoration

Miseducated Hearts DOLLS KILL

09/12/2014

Update: DOLLS KILL apparently steals designs from artists for their original items but they are good at finding cute brands~ just use their website to find what you like and buy it somewhere else.

I’m feeling like a kitten lost in a carnival of catnip tea and door mice on parade so today I’d like to just enjoy gazing things that would appear to make my closet happier. If you’ve ever visited DOLLS KILL you know just what I mean.

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Business Features Crafts

MADE WITH CODE: 3D Print a Free Bracelet ala Google

09/10/2014

I am really into the MADE WITH CODE project. It’s gorgeous and positive. As a once very young coder (11 years old) I would have exploded confetti to see such a movement on or offline. Have you heard? Shapeways (D printing marketplace and community) and Google (you know.. Google) have teamed up to promote the successful design and innovations (AND CODING!) of girls and women around the globe.

Design & Print a Free 3D Bracelet

Not only is this a gorgeous project but you can also make a 3D bracelet on your computer that Shapeways will print (FOR FREE) with their 3D printer (if you live in the US).

Join the Code Community

“Today, less than 1% of girls are majoring in CS. Tomorrow, we can make that number go up.” – Made With Code

Get Future Female Coders Involved

Maybe your daughter will be the next big designer? Let her try these adorable projects and have fun together being creative.

Learn More

Made with Code is an initiative to champion creativity, girls, and code, all at once. The movement is designed to do three things: To inspire girls by celebrating women and girls who are using code to do great things; to engage girls to try coding through introductory projects and resources; and to sustain their interest by creating alliances and community around girls and coding.

Join the movement and have fun. We sure are.

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Le Game

Le Game: Cuisines Around the World

09/09/2014

Something we wish we covered more often here at Miseducated is how the many technological aids that surround us daily can make our lives much easier and our brains more knowledgable.

Exploring cuisines from around the world may sound a little unattainable but with the help of the sheer enormity of apps available now to everyone who is in the possession of a smart phone, it is possible from the comfort of your own home. These days we don’t have to travel to Asia or South America to experience a wealth of varying cuisines nor do we have to shell out large sums of money for a hefty and non-interactive cook book. The advent of innovative apps has meant that we can access large portal chockfull of resources a touch of a button.

Many leading chefs have also had the foresight to launch their own apps to try and grab a stranglehold on a very lucrative market. It has been reported by Statista that in June of this year that the amount of app downloads since 2008 has surpassed the 75 billion mark. This is in correlation with the rise in smartphone usage, with the gaming developer behind online portal PocketFruity claims that smartphone usage is up to 16%. It is statistics like this that have seen an increase in the amount of apps that hit both Google Play and the App Store on a daily basis. And the amount of apps catering for recipes is also on the rise.

Over the years, we have brought you many recipes on Miseducated, however we’ve never brought you a list of the cuisine-related apps that we recommend to our readers. So, without further ado, here are some of the apps you can download and revel in many of the world’s varying cuisines.

I’m Hungry: Vegetarian Recipes
You are spoiled with choice with this app as it has recipes from the following cuisines: Chinese, Indian, Italian, French, Spanish, American, Middle Eastern, Mexican and much more. It has a huge database with instructions and how-to prepare guides for each individual recipe.

Sweet n’ Spicy: Indian Recipes
It professes to have the largest amount of recipes out of all the Indian food apps. The app is powered by Full Meals with more than 10,000 recipes and 1,500 video tutorials.

Jamaican Cuisine
One of the hardest cuisines to master, Jamaican food has a sort of mystique surrounding it. This app gives the user a series of step-by-step guides, an assortment of video tutorials to follow and many recipes to try.

Japanese Recipes
You’ll know from reading this blog, that this list wouldn’t be complete unless it had a useful Japanese food app on it. The apps will help you learn how to cook Teryaki and sushi as well as other authentic Japanese dishes.

So enjoy learning about the many possibilities of cuisine, start cooking new dishes and invite us over for a dinner party (with tea!).. we’ll be having more of our own recipes published in the coming weeks so stay tuned!

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Recipes

Effervescent Embers: How to Make Kombucha

08/28/2014

I decided to add a new category to Miseducated based on the wonderfully fulfilling and helpful work one of my best friends and I do together on an almost daily basis. Not only do we get together on weekdays to work (we both have jobs that rely on laptops, coffee and a strong WIFI connection) and encourage each other but we also do extra life-enhancing things like discussing hardships to find the positive hidden within, practicing yoga (she is an excellently encouraging yoga instructor so stay tuned for information about her business as the website is in the works) and connecting with our animals while incense swirls in the air and the music hums.

Lately we’ve began cooking together as we shared a home for a time and especially because Emma makes kombucha. I wasn’t even scared to try the drink because I was staying with her for a week and I figured I’d give it a shot. In one of my worst times I honestly felt good health-wise, which is not usually the case for me. I had been having a stomach ache and had been unable to eat much until I began drinking the drink and my stomach worries went away. I had issues with digestion and other women’s woes as well that seemed to clear up shockingly quick after enjoying kombucha daily. It wasn’t until later when I saw what went into this delicious vinegar soda I began to get skeptical. Extensive amounts of reading others experiences and recipes showed me that this is an ancient health elixir that has been made nearly everywhere and is only fairly new to our culture. So yes, I began to craft my own and we will teach you to do the same. All it takes is a SCOBY, tea (start with black or green) and sugar. Real sugar, not the chemical kind.

As always this is my experience, you are free to have your own and either dispose the taste or the entire idea behind the drink and that’s totally fine! I do not claim any magical healing benefits nor do I expect everyone to enjoy the taste. However I think trying new things is many times a good idea unless you have strong truth-based reservations about them.

So kombucha tastes nothing like tea or juice or regular soda or sugar. I figured I’d first throw that out there. To describe it at all, depending on what you add to it, it tastes like a carbonated vinegar. The carbonation and flavor depend on the amount of fermentation it does and what sort of juice you add after you bottle it. We have chosen to add mango lemonade but next time I believe I’ll try something new. I’ve heard of people adding ginger and that entices me.

Why kombucha though? Other than my own experience? Kombucha contains probiotics and multiple species of yeast and bacteria along with the organic acids, active enzymes, amino acids, and polyphenols produced by these microbes. The precise quantities vary between samples, but may contain: Acetic acid, Ethanol, Gluconic acid, Glucuronic acid, Glycerol, Lactic acid, Usnic acid and B-vitamins. It was also found that Kombucha contains about 1.51 mg/mL of vitamin C. The acidity of kombucha resists contamination by most airborne molds or bacterial spores. It was shown that Kombucha inhibits growth of harmful microorganisms such as E. coli, Sal. enteritidis, Sal. typhimurium, and Sh. Sonnei. As a result, kombucha is relatively easy to maintain as a culture outside of sterile conditions. – Wikipedia on Kombucha

EMBER’S KOMBUCHA

by Emma & Amber Renee

Ingredients

3.5 quarts water

1 cup white sugar

12 bags green or black tea / 6 tbsp loose green or black tea

2 cups starter tea from last batch of kombucha

1 healthy SCOBY per fermentation jar

Optional: when time for bottling add 1 cup fruit juice to bottle

Equipment

saucepan
1 gallon glass jar
jars or bottles: 8 16-oz mason jars or soda bottles (with lids)
funnel
strainer

Instructions

1. Make a batch of sweet tea: Fill saucepan with approx 1-2 quarts of water and add the bags when boiling. Add sugar and allow tea to steep until water has cooled. Add ice if impatient.

2. Add tea to 1-gallon jar. If still warm add cold water and leave only around 15% of jar unfilled.

3. Gently add your SCOBY and 2 cups of previous batch (without juice) being careful not to use metal to touch the SCOBY — we used bamboo tongs. Cover the mouth of the jar with a coffee filter and secure with a rubber band or tape if necessary (my jar was an oblong shape).

4. Ferment for 7 to 10 Days: Keep the jar in a cabinet by it’s lonesome. Store at room temperature, out of direct sunlight and safe from being shaken or moved. Ferment for 7 to 10 days, checking it periodically to make sure the SCOBY is fermenting the tea and not succumbing to mold or ailments. (I like to check it and take a sniff to make sure it smells like vinegar and not anything rotten.)

You will notice the SCOBY may position itself anywhere around the bottle but usually a new SCOBY baby will form towards the top of the jar (in the liquid). You will also see brown strings settling on the bottom and around the SCOBY. These are signs of good fermentation. Feel free after 7 days to taste the kombucha with a teaspoon. If the tartness and sweetness are to your taste feel free to bottle, if not let it ferment up to 14 days (you can do a second ferment for 3 days in the bottles flavors added if you so decide).

5. Remove the SCOBY and prepare another saucepan with the tea recipe listed above. Without using metal transfer the SCOBY to a clean plate and remove extra layers if it has gotten too thick.

6. Now that you have your jar filled with only the kombucha, get out the stranger and funnel so you can pour it into the bottles/jars you prepared. Feel free to add fruit, fruit juices, flavors such as ginger, etc. We’ll add a feature on more kombucha uses and flavors in the future!

7. After the kombucha is bottle, store it at room-temperature out of direct sunlight and allow 1 to 3 days for the kombucha to carbonate and ferment further with the flavor you have added. Keep in mind that if you’re not familiar with the ingredients and time needed for carbonation the bottles could explore or pop open so keep checking and burping them everyday. After ready place them in the refrigerator to stop the fermentation and store for up to a month.

8. Use your tea, water and SCOBY to make another batch of kombucha as outlined above ready to continue the cycle.

* Too many extra SCOBYs? Put them in a jar filled with kombucha and feed them a cup of sugar every 2 weeks while waiting in the fridge. You can also donate them to a friend and teach them how to make kombucha OR you can start making multiple batches at once and experiment with flavors.

Also view this recipe and how it relates to a yoga lifestyle at Emma’s ashtanga, fire and growth blog The Buddhi Blog and check out if your scoby has gone bad and other similar questions at Holistic Squid.

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Design Your Life

Time Heals Nothing, Waiting Makes it Worse

08/20/2014

I read recently in a book that time does not heal anything, it’s what you do with that time. That is so accurately true and yet so opposite of what most others say (who are trying to be helpful) it scares me. So many people like to tell you that if you just get through it, time will heal your wounds. Time does nothing but prolong the issue if you’re not actively working on it. In fact time can even make the issue worse if you’re not working towards repair.

So.. write, read, talk, experience, explore, adventure, find people and things that are awesome and worthy of your precious time. Do that. I’m making it a point to knit more. I never really WANT anything I knit but I do want the meditative experience that comes with that. I think I may even go back to crocheting amigurumi for awhile and see what bears live inside my brain.

Another good idea? Make your home your castle.. so you can do all these things in your pretty kingdom and invite the special people over to feel and appreciate the magical energy you radiated into your walls. You may even share some tea and laughs that will permeate your home with even more of a sugar aura.

Inspired to knit away your time?

Amigurumi & Yarn

Pop-Out Cake Rings by EnnaDesign

Bamboo Wool Pastel Rainbow by LaFiabaRussa

I’ve been knitting with a magic yarn ball a penpal made me years ago that I never got to use… It has made the whole act of knitting that more exciting as I unwrap little gifts that fall out every 5 or so rows. Want to make one for a dear friend? Tiny Purrs has a feature on magic yarn balls here!

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Design Your Life

Cats Are Good for your Health

06/27/2014

For those who don’t know, my life mascot and furry soul mate, Hobbes, passed away in early June. He was 17. It was completely heart shattering. I felt closer to him than anyone, having him near me for 17 years, a constant in my life and losing him was very tough.

I allowed myself time to mourn and fall apart for several days and then began to pick myself up the following. In the midst of this was my daughter’s birthday and other activities so to be a good mother I took maybe one to two days to completely grieve (alone) and nothing else.. the next few days I maintained a positive outlook for our children before they arrived back home.

The days following that we began to speak about whether we would want another pet and if it would be a dog or a cat.. David was eventually open that he would want another cat because his bond with Hobbes turned him into a full blown cat person. We waited until we could have a family meeting about the passing of Hobbes and if we would want another pet. We looked online the next whole night for babies to adopt and found a little Manx which looked like a relative of Hobbes. We adopted the next weekend and David named him Calvin in honor of his big brother. It took him maybe one eve before he was completely obsessed with David and I. He is crazy, kittenish and hyper half the time while snuggly, cuddly and a nap lover the other half. He is officially our new baby boy.

So what is it about cats that steal our hearts and soothe our souls? We all know petting our cats helps us relax and feel comforted like no one else, unconditional love and admiration for every pat, but did you know they can also detect your feelings and even medical emergencies such as seizures? That they lower blood pressure and instill a feeling of safety and security?

I’ve read about quite a few cats detecting seizures on the web these days and I know my own cat always knew when I was upset or sad as he would meow to me and lay on me for hours if needed. I read up about this and scientists don’t really understand much about it other than the cats are able to detect biochemical scents. Many cats even alert family if an owner is beginning to have a seizure. Did you know cat purrs encourage the mending of broken bones? Cats have also been known to wake and alert families of house fires while they sleep. Yes, cats can save lives AND improve your health and happiness. In fact, read 8 Benefits of Being a Cat Owner by Mental Floss.

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