7 Deadly Rings

So I was browsing the web, and stumbled across an amazing concept for the 7 deadly sins turned into rings. Now Stephen Webster released only 7 rings in each of their respected category, wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy and gluttony. I could tell you all about how beautifully crafted each one is, or I could show you...



Let's start with Envy.

With a 360 view you can see
that there are four eyes to be seen
glaring at you. And of course this ring is green with envy. How fitting.

Greed.

As you can see this ring is piled
high with stacks of what seems to be gold coins.
Which is perfectly fitting for Greed.

Lust.

There is no better way to convey
this sin than with arms tangled around a brilliant stone, encrusted with diamonds.

Wrath.

The hands on this ring
rope themselves around a
stunning ruby as if they are
choking the life out of this stone.

Gluttony.

Now this ring is fat with jewels.
It's almost as though it has
consumed precious stones and
is looking for more.

Sloth.

A blue gem rests itself
atop a cushion fit for a
queen. Sleeping beauty
herself would not awake
from such a bed.

Pride.

This is by far my favorite
of the seven rings. Maybe it's
the color that draws you in. Or
maybe it's the setting of the jewels.
Either way I would be more than proud to be seen wearing this ring.






Stephen Webster did a beautiful job designing these rings. Be sure to take a look at his website to see more great pieces. http://www.stephenwebster.com/collections.asp

Ooh Baby Fudge Me

After finishing up a long day of work I decided I would attempt to make some fudge. Now this is my first time ever making any form of fudge and let me tell you, it was super easy. I can fully understand why it's so expensive in store though, the chocolate alone cost me $15! But a small sacrifice to bring joy in the form of fudge.


So here's the recipe, remember to keep a low heat when melting chocolate.

• 3 (170 g) packages bakers white chocolate baking squares
• 1 (300 ml) can regular eagle brand sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups crushed Oreo cookies
  
  

  Directions:

  1. In a pot on medium heat melt the chocolate in the milk.
  2. Remove from heat and stir in the crushed cookies.
  3. Spread evenly in a parchment lined 8x8 square pan.
  4. Chill 2 hours or until firm.
  5. Cut into small squares
     
     
     http://www.food.com/recipe/oreo-cookie-fudge-149026
     

Happy Valentines Day

Well it certainly has been a while since I've had an update. So here I am, better late then never.
In most recent news I've decided to go back to school. I'm going to be applying for a Digital Animation program, and hoping to be accepted for this April! It's all coming together quite fast, but why waste anymore time right? I'm hoping to eventually end up working for Pixar but of course that's going to take a lot of time and dedication to get to that level.

It's going to be a big change going from working full time, to studying full time. But I'm excited for something new, and something I'm actually passionate about.

Also I recorded a cover of Taylor Swifts new song 'Safe & Sound' from the Hunger Games movie. It's not exactly how I wanted it to sound. It was my first time recording with Adobe Audition and I had to use a youtube tutorial on how to master the song. So I'll leave you with the band camp link for you to check it out.

http://love-squid.bandcamp.com/

and the original

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFEDTtKaFzU

I hope all of you had a wonderful Valentines Day, and that it was filled with love and happiness.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

Found this AMAZING recipe from
http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2010/09/caramel-apple-cheesecake-bars.html

I highly recommend it




Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

Cheesecake Filling:

3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided

3 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Apples:

3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Streusel topping, recipe follows

1/2 cup caramel topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender (or 2 forks) until mixture is crumbly. Press evenly into a 9x13 baking pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 3/4 cup sugar in an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Then add eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust.

In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle evenly with Streusel topping. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until filling is set. Drizzle with caramel topping and let cool. Serve cold and enjoy!

Streusel Topping:

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. I like to really combine it by using my clean hands to thoroughly combine the butter into the mixture.

Pineapple Upside-down Cake

Mmm I love pineapples especially in cake form! So when I came across this recipe from 'My Kitchen Snippets' I had to try it out..



Ingredients for topping :

6 slices of can pineapple (drain)
6 maraschino cherries
4 tbsp of butter
4 tbsp of brown sugar

Ingredients for cake :

3/4 cup of sugar
1 1/2 stick of butter (3/4 cup)
3 eggs
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of vanilla
1/4 cup of pineapple juice (from the can pineapple)


1. Pre-heat to over to 350 degree F. Grease an 8" round cake pan. Prepare the topping by melting the butter in the microwave oven and pour it into the baking pan.
2. Sprinkle the brown sugar on top of the butter and then arrange the pineapple slices over the brown sugar. Place the cherry in the center of each pineapple slice. Set aside.
3. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
4. Cream the butter with the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.
5. Add the flour mixture in three parts alternately with the pineapple juice, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat well after each addition. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
6. Bake cake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edge, and invert the cake onto a plate. Serve the cake warm or at room temperature.

Hayao Miyazaki

I love Hayao Miyazaki. I am almost satisfied leaving this blog entry with only saying that one statement. Does it really need to be explained? His work is tremendous. Every story he creates is just so beautiful. With his artwork accompanying his tales it really gives you a glimpse into his world. Can you imagine the dreams he has? Or having the privilege to peer into his sketch book? One could only dream.

I recently watched a movie directed by "Makoto Shinkai" who has been referred to as "The New Miyazaki." It must be such an honor to be given such a title. But I must agree that his films do carry that same emotion and art that Miyazaki films have.


I highly recommend the film "Hoshi o Ou Kodomo" also known as "Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below." It reminded me of a mix between 'Spirited Away' and 'Atlantis : The Lost Empire.'

You can check out the movie trailer for "Hoshi o Ou Kodomo" here

Citra Photography

I must say that a new post is long over due. I got my photos back from my recent photo shoot of "Trash the Dress" with Citra Photography, be sure to check them out http://www.site.citraphotography.com/ . Turns out we did close to 400 pictures that day! Which is pretty great but does make it hard to pick out the best ones to show you.


I have been asked to do another photo shoot next Monday with a different photographer. It seems as though I have opened a door to modeling again, and I'm pretty excited to see what it will bring me.

I also ended up doing a recording of "Somebody I used to know" with a friend of mine, so be sure to come back when it gets posted.

So it's a new year, almost February wow! Time sure does fly. I've decided to give myself a new look this year. It was actually very spur of the moment decision making but I'm quite pleased with the result. I went into the salon to get a trim and came out 3 hours later with rich red hair. It's always nice to change it up, and I love how bold this color is.