Henrietta Fahrenheit

It’s unusually hot here for October and I’m sweating. Oh heck, what’s new? I’m a sweater. Nerves, heat, humidity, the cold, hell, waking up - they all make me sweat. I suppose it can be a little embarrassing to sweat for no reason. My hands and feet can be gross if it’s too humid. And my armpits seem to have sweat-generating super-powers.

Honestly, I don’t mind the wetness. It’s the stink that concerns me. I’m absolutely mortified at the thought that friends, coworkers, strangers may be able to smell my stinking pits. Oh, hell no.

And herein lies the conundrum. As much as I don’t like stinking pits, I also don’t like antiperspirants. To me, there is something wrong with clogging up your natural plumbing and stopping a body from sweating. Never mind all the scare pieces written about them and their aluminums, parabens, etc.

Because of my anti-antiperspirant feelings, I’m always on the lookout for working deodorants. I’ve tried everything. The crystal rock, regular deodorants, deodorants with cotton pieces baked in (to help with absorption), health-nut deodorants, even alcohol wipes (since odor is caused by bacteria) - none of them really worked to cut the smell the way I had hoped. Still stinky.

Then I happened upon a recommendation for Oyin Handmade’s Funk Butter. I hopped on over to their website, promptly ordered some, and two weeks later, was funking it up all under my arms.

Oyin Handmade’s Funk Butter begins as a paste that you “warm up” in your fingers before spreading it on. As you spread it underneath your arms, it turns into a powder then stays put all day long. Funk Butter is made with essential oils (for nice smells), baking soda (for neutralizing odors), and clay particles (for water absorption).

I first tried their unscented flavor, as my skin can be sensitive, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. It worked! Yep, I still sweated. Yep, I still had wetness under my arms. But nope, there was no smell! In fact, my underarms smelled like nothing. Maybe water? Does water smell? I’ve since expanded my underarm options by adding their Coco-mango flavor to my Funk Butter repertoire for days when smelling like water just won’t do it for me.

One tin lasted me about three months. Since I just placed my third order, I’ve been testing and have been satisfied with this product for just over six months. An armpit miracle! Thank you Oyin Handmade. Me, my armpits, and those I encounter love you for what you’ve done for me!

Helpful Hint: Oyin Handmade makes the product after you’ve ordered it, so delivery is usually about two weeks - be prepared. Also the shipping charges are the same if you order one or four tins, so team up to minimize your shipping costs.

It does take effort, y’all! But, that doesn’t mean I don’t get help from a few reliable sources. Apologies to those of you nowhere near my home-base, but I must share these incredible places and service providers. They’re just too good to keep as my own little secrets.

Pedicure - Crazily inexpensive, clean, and excellent service. Walk-in or by appointment.

Natural Nails

3378 Washtenaw Ave.

Ann Arbor, Michigan

734-477-9922

Mon - Sat 10:00am - 7:00pm

Eyebrow Waxing - Anyone can rip the hair off a lip, leg, or wherever, but it takes an artist to wax your brows without ruining them. Believe me! Having been born with nicely-shaped brows, I’m probably the pickiest eyebrow waxing patient there is, so it’s rare that I let just any ol’ anyone touch these babies. But this lady is AWESOME!

Ali @ Beauty First

3597 Washtenaw Ave.

Ann Arbor, Michigan

734-973-1119

Hair (cuts and color) - There isn’t a stylist at Orbit Hair Design & Massage that I wouldn’t recommend. They’re all professional, easy-going, energetic, creative, reasonably priced, and best of all, they know their stuff. Without hesitation, get your tail over to Orbit to re-do your -do.

Massage - Speaking of Orbit Hair Design & Massage, let’s talk about the “& Massage” part. Stacee might be tiny, but she’s damn strong. She’s constantly educating herself on the latest techniques and has expanded her services to show off her new abilities. My favorite is the hot stone massage that she offers all winter long. But any of her massages are wonderfully relaxing.  Bonus, she plays the coolest music in the background.

That’s what I’ve got for you my little pretties.  Now go stay beautiful!

Could it take me any longer to finish writing about Toronto? Sorry.  I’m on it!  I am!

So there’s this awfully cool store that sells quality-made items - REALLY quality-made - from retooled t-shirts, bed sheets, and sweaters.   The store is called Preloved, but I’m thinkin’ it should be called MeLoved, because that’s about what I did back in January and again just a couple weeks ago.

Here are three of my purchases.  You can see that the first two incorporate pretty cool slogan tees (Nitrous Oxide, it’s a gas! and Street or Strip, Chevy Rules).  The third is a wrap-around dress made of a bedsheet.

My unpictured purchases are just as cool.  A zip-up sweater made from a combination of about three other sweaters and a blue-jean jacket made from, well, blue jeans.  The sleeves are the waistband, so the belt loops are at the wrist.  Genius.

Boys, there are some things for you at Preloved, but it’s mainly a store for the ladies in the room.  Y’all go and have fun trying everything on.  Seriously.  Try EVERYTHING on.  Due to the handmade, retooled nature of the items, they all fit differently and have a different look “on”.  Okay?

Damn. I should’ve taken a picture of my Hunan-style Fake Chicken before I gobbled it down like a starving wolf.

Meh. I’ll be returning to The Golden Wall soon enough. Seriously. I went there about 4 times in one week not long ago. Next visit, I’ll try to remember to stop, get camera, take picture, thaay-un dig in.

They make their fake chicken from okara, which is high in protein and fiber and low in fat. The texture is similar to seitan and I suppose that the taste is similar to seitan, too, but there’s a sweet-hereafter that makes it like no other fake meat I’ve ever had. In fact, Melissa and I believe it’s much better than tofu; and we love tofu!

Every dish from The Golden Wall I’ve had with the fake chicken in it has been fantastic! The fake chicken makes it, but so do the vegetables and the sauces (made from vegetable stock, they’ve assured me).

You know what else I love about The Golden Wall? Their service. I’m a food manipulator, always have been. And they take it so well! Now they know me. They know my love for celery, my dislike for pea pods, and they accommodate my silly requests, like no peanuts in the fake chicken with chili sauce and peanuts. Substitute celery.

So there my little pretties. Try a new place; try some fake chicken.

Living only 4-5 hours from Toronto makes visiting the city easy. So a couple months ago Molly, Melissa, and I decided to take a January-is-so-depressing roadtrip to Toronto - half as something to do and something to look forward to, half as our attempt to get some creative inspiration by visiting another place, and more than half to plain-ol’ shop.

I’ve decided to post about our Toronto finds in reverse order, which is why I’m starting with our nighttime activity and the bar that kept us cozy until the wee hours.

I’m not usually a hang-out-in-a-bar kind of girl. Honestly, I did all that in college, and I’m getting too old to relive my 20’s. But, ya know, when I’m with other people I get a go-with-the-flow attitude and I’m usually up for whatever. So hanging out in a bar seemed like something to do, especially if we found the right one.

We were looking for a bar that was more like a comfy, cozy coffee shop, but with alcohol. We even had a long discussion about the kind of place we wanted to park it for the evening. Our requirements: couches, chairs, cushions - basically a dark place to keep warm, drink, and talk or hang-out without getting bothered by others.

Our first idea was to ask Kingi of Peach Berserk. We more than had a feeling that she’d send us to the right place. We were SO right! Not only was she flattered, but she got downright inspired and ended up giving us at least five different places to try, all within easy walking distance. She even insisted on supplying us with a hand-drawn map that we carried with us and referred to at each stop along the way.

We knew that Melissa would have to give Kingi an update the next day at her screenprinting workshop, so the pressure to cover all of Kingi’s suggestions was pretty intense. We tried them all. Essentially. Even if “try” meant just walking past and looking in the window, too steamed up to make us want to enter. Or “try” by walking alongside a long line of people inching their way slooowly to the front door. No thanks.

But we were tough. Frozen skin cells, 12 degree weather, and one lost mitten couldn’t stop us from hitting the last place on Kingi’s list.  After a good 10-block walk from the second-to-last place on the list, we were relieved and excited to turn the corner and find Sweaty Betty’s. It was perfect. Exactly what we had in mind.

This was “our room”. See how it met our requirements with its cozy and inviting ambience? We just hung out. No worries. I’m not sure how many hours we sat here talking, but the bar didn’t care. The bar-man didn’t even try to take our money until the very end. And he looked like he could’ve kicked anyone’s tail if he wanted. I like a place that just let’s you stay - no hangups about when or if you’ll even pay up.

I can’t say much more about Sweaty Betty’s other than it’s simplicity makes it perfect. I mean, hell. They list CheezWhiz on toast as one of their snack items. Genius! Oh, and the bathroom was clean.

In Toronto? Go park it at Sweaty Betty’s, then go thank Kingi for being so cool.

Can you tell I’ve been shopping? I’ve been meaning to post about my latest food find, but have been working so damn hard - even weekends - that I haven’t wanted to be in front of my computer at home until today. I’ll tell you, though, when you’re working your tail off and have no time to cook from fresh, this jar of Trader Joe’s Marinara Sauce will make you cry it’s so ef’n good.

I’m quite picky when it comes to a tomato-based sauce. I don’t like sweet; I don’t like spicy-hot (spicy-hot in my tomato sauces - talk to me later about the beauty of Tabasco, Tony Chachere’s, and cayenne pepper). I like my marinaras tomato-y, I like them flavorful, I like them flavor-spiced (as opposed to heat-spiced). This one is the best I’ve had for the price!

It sticks to the pasta nicely, comes in a reasonably sized jar (not a super-sized, mondo-jar), and bageezum, it’s only 99 cents!

People, get your tails out to TJ’s and grab yourself a jar of this and some lavender dryer baggies and go home and nest.

Let’s face it. I live in a house with two shtanky dogitos, one kittenlicious, and someone who is burning-up hot when it’s 30 degrees outside. I need as much help as I can when it comes to keeping the house, and more importantly the laundry, smelling fresh and clean. I don’t need to flaunt my cohabitation conditions to my friends, coworkers, or the random person on the street through some messed-up aroma mash-up. I would like to, at the very least, remain aroma neutral. But my preference is to have my clothes smelling fresh, clean, and pleasant despite the forces working against it.

Several months ago, I discovered something wonderful in the Trader Joe’s cleaning products department. A package of Trader Joe’s Lavender Dryer Bags. Each cloth bag - four per package - is filled with lavender florets, which is a natural moth repellent, an insect repellent, a love attractor, and a mood enhancer and calmer. Plus it smells fresh and clean. I tried them out.

Each bag lasts about four drying cycles* (for me) before their potency runs out. Because their use extends beyond the dryer, I love these little baggies even more!

The package suggests that after a bag has fizzled, opening it up and sprinkling the florets onto carpet for vacuuming. Done it. Loved it! Not only did the carpet smell great, but my vacuum cleaner bag smelled nicely, too. What about sprinkling one on your car mats before vacuuming, especially after a long, wet winter season when the insides of cars get so nasty and smelly. And here’s something else I do with mine. After four-five dryer uses, I throw the little bugger into my gym bag. Talk about turning rank into delicious!

I’m sure you’ll be able to think of a thousand uses for these. If so, do share. I’ve pointed you in the right direction, now it’s up to you to experiment with your new product.

*By the way, these bags don’t have any fabric softening or static electricity elimination properties, so you’ll have to use another product in conjunction with them.

I love my baked goods. Cookies, in particular, are my favorites in the baked goods category. I think I love cookies, because they’re nibbley and you eat them with your hands/fingers.

Remember how I said the Zagreb cheese situation was a pivot-point for me? Once pivoted, I have to tell you, I was nervous about getting my delicious, baked goods needs fixed properly. I want some down-home goodness to my baked goods. And I demand such quality even from vegan baked goods.

Lesson 1: You can get good vegan cookies that are exactly what you want a cookie to be. Example, (most, if not all) Oreos are vegan. Surprise! Whew! That was easy. See how far we’ve come already? And that was just the first lessson. Before you know it, we’ll be doing post-graduate, vegan cookie work.

Lesson 2: You can bake your own good vegan cookies that are exactly what you want a cookie to be.

I’ve found some that I love to make (super-easy, quick, and readily-available ingredients). I’ve learned that I crave these things, so I’ve made it a point to have the ingredients in the house at all times. I can whip up a batch quickly, bake what I want, refridgerate the rest of the dough (if there’s any leftover), and be on my way to cookie wonderland in a matter of minutes.

This recipe is Isa Moskowitz’s, from her book, Vegan with a Vengeance. She even says that she proved to a coworker that her cookies rivaled non-vegan chocolate chippers. And, yes. They do!

Isa’s Vegan with a Vengeance Chocolate Chip Cookies:

• 1 c. nonhydrogenated margarine, at room temperature
• 1-1/4 c. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. molasses
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1-1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips (check ingredients for vegan-worthy chips)
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cream together the margarine and sugar until fluffy. Add the molasses and vanilla. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well. Fold in the chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoonfuls spaced a little over 2″ apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until ever so slightly browned. Let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.

My own notes/additions/comments:

First, don’t be alarmed that the dough after mixing all ingredients together seems a bit undoughy and more like crumbles. When you spoon the dough (or pick it up with your hands) to put on the baking sheet, press it together, it’ll stick.

Second, don’t expect the cookies to really spread during baking. They’ll actually hold their form as you’ve put them onto the cookie sheet. Yep, this is why there are only three cookies in my picture. The others weren’t photograph-pretty, so I ate them.

Third, these cookies taste best after they’ve cooled. In fact, eat all the dough you want, eat all the cooled cookies you want. But eating them warm, right out of the oven. Meh. Didn’t do it for me.

Finally, I don’t like my chocolate chip cookies to be overcrowded with chips. I reduce my chips to 1 cup.

Okay, playgroup! Go have some fun.

Those of you who know me, know that I’m a travel-monger. You know that I’m an explorer. Hell, the purpose of this blog is to share some of my findings during such explorations and excursions. Well, during October 2006, we were in Croatia tooling around the capital city, Zagreb.

Zagreb is a wonderful, laid-back, low-key city. Still a tad war-torn, but beautiful, hip, bustling with people, and pleasantly friendly. It won my heart instantly.

My stomach was also in the middle of a full, 100% love-conversion to Zagreb: Croatian gelato, Croatian coffee, Croatian food and drink in general. But something happened one night between me and a cheese sandwich (one I made myself from grocery store bought products). It wasn’t good; it wasn’t pretty; and it took several days before I could respond positively to food intake. (To be honest, this incident was the pivot point from vegetarianism to veganism, as I’ve been unable to eat cheese since.)

After the cheese-event recovery process, which involved living off of bananas, water, and the Croatian version of Tums/Pepto-Bismol, I needed to eat. I even wanted to eat. But, I was very afraid to eat.

So, I was thumbing through the booklet I picked up at the TourInform in Zagreb’s central square and I noticed that the city was teaming with vegetarian, even vegan restaurants. One in particular stood out; Restoran Nova, a macrobiotic restaurant.

When I was younger, my mother practiced a macrobiotic diet, so I was very familiar with it. I suggested the choice to my husband and off we went.

Boy, I only wish my stomach hadn’t shrunken to pea-size, so I could’ve eaten more. I LOVED Restoran Nova!

The decor wasn’t hippie-dippy, tofu-lovin’, granola-eatin’, beads everywhere, like I imagined it would be. It was modern with a clean design: round windows; plain, straight chairs; wood and white.

The service: impeccable

The food: absolutely delicious, easy on a recovering tummy, and substantial.

If you’re in Zagreb (which I recommend without hesitation), you MUST visit this restaurant! It was so wonderful, so delicious, so beautiful that I cannot capture its essence in words. The best I can do for you is present you with a visual fieldtrip. Now, be on your way!

Main website

Pics of food

Menu of the day

Entire menu (in Croatian)

Dessert menu (pics)

I was in a band. Once we had the pleasure of opening for The Butchies. The Butchies have since gone on “hiatus” (as has our band).

Luckily for us (the you-and-me, us), the drummer from The Butchies, Melissa York, has moved on to another project: The Ex Members. The first time I checked out their myspace, I was completely groovin’.

People, this is some damn good music! None of that sissy, oh-I-wish-I-had-a-boy/girlfriend, why-doesn’t-anyone-love-me junk that’s so pervasive in today’s alterna-youth scene (even though we’re in a freakin’ war). Yep, leave it up to the old-timers (i.e. those who were born before 1982) to be more punk and more beat than twee. But, I digress.

So, what I love about The Ex Members. It’s sexy! I don’t know how else to explain it. It’s just plain and simple sexy. Like when people say “Deetroit”, that’s sexy (even though that has nothing to do with this sexy). When there are male/female double vocals, that’s sexy. When there’s poppy music, mixed with a punk attitude, that’s sexy. When there’s happiness mixed with darkness, that’s sexy. People, The Ex Members’ music is efin’ sexy.

See you at the show (please, The Ex Members, go on tour)!