the Sunday Special - Mochi

Always up for trying new foods, especially healthy-er ones.

Found this in the refrigerated section of my favorite grocery store. It's called Mochi, pronounced Mo' Chee. It's a Japanese food made from organic whole grain sweet brown rice, filtered water, raisins, cinnamon, and sea salt. Five ingredients I can pronounce and identify, woohoo!






Step 1: Must be cut into 1 to 2 inch squares to bake properly.




Step 2: Place pieces atleast 1 inch apart on a non-stick baking pan (I used a stone and they stuck). Bake 8-10 minutes at 450 degrees until pieces puff up and brown.




Step 3: Let cool for a minute. Then use a sharp knife to cut a slit in the top and slide in a piece of dark chocolate. Let that get nice and melty then add other fillings: Honey, Figs, Ginger, Peanut butter and Mint.




3 ways:
1. Dark Chocolate, PB, (a drop of Honey if both of the previous two ingredients are unsweetened), Figs
2.Dark Chocolate, PB, (a drop of Honey if both of the previous two ingredients are unsweetened), Ginger
3.Dark Chocolate, PB, (a drop of Honey if both of the previous two ingredients are unsweetened), Mint

(The package suggested Cream Cheese, Nuts and Honey.)


Eat them right away while they're warm.

the Sunday Special - Banana Milk

Chocolate hemp milk is sooo good. To take it a step healthier, I started buying the unsweetened original hemp milk and making chocolate, as well as other flavors, at home.




So far, I have tried Banana, Chocolate Banana, and Strawberry Chocolate Banana.

Just throw all the ingredients in a blender and enjoy!

Play Treehouse

Like a bunch of other cities and even other countries, Wichita has a maker space called MakeICT. It was formed about a year ago and is going strong. I have gone to a few of the workshops and really dug into the foam cutting one.

My first tiny prototype. It's a treehouse!

I added a few more pieces.

Then built it full size.

Made a few adjustments and built another. This time out of pink...

hehe. It's like his and hers.

Although seeing my creation be cut out of foam and pieced together to make a 3 dimensional object is pretty darn cool in itself, I was dreaming of it made out of wood... though had no idea how.

Most of the machines in the space are built by fellow makers. This is Tom, the creator of the foam cutter. He's a super nice guy.



Looking around the maker space, I thought maybe I could use one of the wood mills to cut the pieces for the treehouse. Well, long story short, that really wasn't going to work. But... Tom informed me that he has access to a laser cutter and offered to cut it for me.

I wasn't able to be there in person, so he made this little video for me.

And it turned out beautiful!! Better than I ever expected.

the Sunday Special - Rainbow Salad

I love color. Every color. It should be no surprise that I combine this love with another love... healthy eating.




Rainbow Salad
Green: Spinach and Brocoli
Yellow: Bell Peppers
Orange: Carrots
Red: Tomatoes
Purple: Cabbage
(No. No blueberries. I haven't found anything else naturally blue. Have you?)

Topped with: Sunflower Seeds, Homemade Dressing, and Pepper


Homemade Dressing
(rough estimates on measurements)
1/4 cup Greek Yogurt
3 tsp Tahani
2 tsp Olive Oil
3 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp Honey
1/2 tsp Mint Flakes or 2-4 fresh Mint Leaves

Dready Friends

7 months ago, a friendship emerged through the love of dreadlocks. We actually met at this very coffee shop to discuss their every detail. I shared my experience and he soaked it all in. 7 months later, he finally got them!









They look rad my friend!

Tuesday Travels - Adventures in Bicycle Thrift Shopping

Riding past a thrift store the other day, I was drawn in to see if there were any treasures to be found. I ended up finding more treasures than 1. I have the money for and 2. arms to carry them home.

It didn't stop me from pushing the limits. I had to do some major rearranging to fit everything. I actually sat outside the store and ate a snack that went from being carried in my backpack to being carried in my belly. It took quite a bit of concentration to balance the very full suitcase on the handlebars and my backpack not only couldn't zip closed, but I'm pretty sure this was the cause of one of the straps tearing.



Aaaah. it was worth it. I and my treasures made it home in one piece. (Funny Fact: Someone sitting on their porch saw me riding by and asked if I wanted to take a break and have a glass of water. I politely declined. I wonder how far they thought I was traveling.)

If I get reincarnated as a children's book character, it will likely be The Cat in the Hat.


Among the treasures were...







matching green vintage luggage





with this rad Bahamas sticker





cool vintage glasses and a brand new donut shaped stone (that I have used to warm up tortilla chips and then sat the salsa in the middle...the best part, the stone stays warm and therefore keeps the chips warm longer!!)





and it looks like I'm going to be painting some more mushrooms (don't tell me you forget about the mushroom shoes). Check out this line up!



Treasures I drooled over, but did not take home...

This very colorful throw





A whole row of super sweet vintage chairs in pristine condition

And this amazing ?game? that had all my favorite retro colors and beautiful illustrations.

I should have just bought it. Really it was a steal for $80 because to me, its a piece of art. If I was driving a car, it probably would have come home with me.