Lana Del Rey

I love Lana Del Rey. Her look and sound is just so different that I'm constantly drawn to her. I decided to cover one of her songs after a friend told me about her.

I need to look into getting a better recording mic so it doesnt sound so terrible when I go louder, but this is all I have for now, and it does the trick.
Enjoy the video!
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPjWBpUFaBw .

Also here's the full outfit I have on today <3

School update

As many of you know I've been talking a lot about going back to school recently. I am proud to announce that I've been accepted to a Digital Animation program, and start in a couple weeks. This last month has been very busy getting everything together for school and working as much as I can before I leave, hence why I haven't posted in a while.

So let's see what's new.. I've given my leave of absence at my job, which means I have a full year to decided whether or not I'll be returning. Always good to have a backup plan. I have also been drawing more then usual to prep for school.

(I have to take a second to let you know that due to the fact that I haven't written anything in so long, my mind is drawing complete blanks right now. Which is unfortunate because so much has happened recently. I suppose it serves me right, taking so much time to blog about it. )

Alright back to whats new.. I have a singing recital coming up in a few weeks, where I'll be singing "Bluebird - Sara Bareilles." I have also been working on "On My Own - Les Miserables." Which has been a nice change because singing classical music is much more structured, and it's showing me a different way of singing.

I suppose I should stop myself here and leave you with a new drawing. I'll write more when my minds a bit clearer.

New Painting FOR SALE!!

I've been keeping myself quite busy these past few weeks, mostly trying to put together a portfolio for school. With that being said I have new paintings and luckily for you, they are up for sale! Starting with the newest addition 'Squishee the Squid.' Since this is the first time I've listed a painting online before, I've only listed one and will continue to list more once I get an idea of what people are looking for.

So here is the listing, take a look and who knows maybe you'll fall in love and want to take him home.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/95086467/vivid-squid

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.