The Snarky Stylist Steps In: Studded Shorts

Possibly due, at least in part, to the punk-rock fashion leanings of celebrities like Rihanna and Miley Cyrus, studs are appearing on everything. Studded shoes, bracelets, and so on have been popular for a while, but designers aren't stopping there.

Studs + summer = studded shorts!

It's really not as intimidating a fashion trend as it might appear to be and it's not as hard to pull off, either!

Here's an example of a cute way to wear studded shorts.

Studded Shorts by lle-schreiber featuring a lip gloss

Chiffon blouse
$15 - fashionunion.com

Mink pink
$20 - spoiledbrat.co.uk

White flat
modcloth.com

Forever New charm bracelet
$19 - forevernew.com.au

Carolina Bucci rose gold earrings
$375 - avenue32.com

Cat eye makeup
etsy.com

Lip gloss
eyeslipsface.com

Anyone can wear them, you don't have to be a punk rocker or look like the kid you cross the street to avoid! 

Can you tell that I love stacked bracelets? They're in most of my outfit combos! 

Also, those shoes? So adorable.

Do you have studded shorts?

Would you wear studded shorts?

What trend do you hope will happen next?

Saturday silliness: Astrology & Abuse.

Now there's a curious mixture of subjects.

Piss-keys or Pie-sees?

John Cassis said:- "It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice."

I'm Piscean and Pisceans don't believe in astrology ;-) My logical brain tells me that it's a load of cobblers, but when I read an astrological assessment for my birth date, my mind was blown by how it had my personality down to a T. I asked a friend to read a print-out. When she'd finished reading, I asked her what she thought. She said that it was accurate in terms of personality and likes. How does that work?

A Piscean trait manifested itself last Wednesday. A blogger (who I'm not going to name) posted a status on his blog's Facebook page, calling a female science blogger a fat c*nt, along with a link to an edited sound file of an interview she did years ago in which she was nervous, lampooning her.

I commented, saying that he wasn't qualified to judge people on matters of science and that the woman's physical characteristics were irrelevant to science (the ad hominem fallacy). He commented, telling me to f*ck off. I commented, saying that he was funny when he was drunk. A while later, he blocked me from leaving further comments on his Facebook page. Hmph!

To cut a long story short, I de-liked his Facebook page, blocked him personally on Facebook, blocked all email addresses containing his website name or surname on my ISP's email server and blocked him from leaving comments here. I removed him from my life.

This time, it's forever. No hard feelings, it's how I roll.

Update: The offending post has been removed. If you ever read this, thank you for doing that.

Snarky Stylist: Sweet Summer Look!

It's approximately mid-summer (at least for those of us who count seasons by academic breaks) and the perfect time to asses whether you're getting everything out of your summer that you want.

But it's also Saturday - so use at least part of the day to relax and enjoy a DIY pedicure and fun summer fashion!

summer by lle-schreiber featuring a cross-body

Desigual
$140 - zalando.co.uk

Wedge shoes
$750 - thenandnowshop.com

Forever 21 cross body
forever21.com

Aldo
aldoshoes.com

Brooch
topshop.com

Necklace
modcloth.com

Philosophy body moisturizer
philosophy.com

Philosophy beauty product
drugstore.com

ULTA beauty product
ulta.com

I think that should be on everyone's summer to-do list, anyway.

What are you doing this summer?

How do you determine seasons?

What is your favorite Saturday tradition?

Just Pure Foods Kale-Nola Review + GIVEAWAY!

I love granola and have recently discovered that kalenolas are a fun way to mix things up.

Just Pure Foods sent me both of their Kale-Nola to try! They have a Maple Cranberry Kale-Nola and a Chocolate Kale-Nola.

I was happy to see that, while there was a good handful or so of crumbly stuff in the bottom of the bag, the kale-nola actually came in mostly big pieces - really big ones!

I love when there are big chunks of kale-nola or granola, because then it's great for eating out of the bag when you want a handy snack.

And they're a very healthy snack, too! Plenty of healthy fats from the seeds, whole grains from the sprouted buckwheat, and natural sugars from agave and coconut palm sugar.



Since they're low-temperature dried, I think they probably work for most raw foodists, too.

The Maple Cranberry Kale-Nola was delicious.



There were plenty of dried cranberries and the granola was sweet enough without having an overwhelming maple flavor.

But my favorite was the Chocolate Kale-Nola - of course!

It was like Kalenola with chocolate melted over and solidified - so good. A super chocolatey trail mix-reminiscent treat!

You can eat the Kale-Nola by itself, with yogurt, on ice cream (especially the Chocolate Kale-Nola, it really is dessert-worthy), or with any type of milk.

Do you want to try the Kale-Nolas yourself (or any of Just Pure Foods other healthy snacks, like Onion Rings, Kale Chips, and Zucchini Chips)? Just Pure Foods will send one lucky Living, Learning, Eating reader 5 free products of their choice!

The giveaway stays open for two weeks, US readers enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Men who develop heart disease eat less saturated fat

This study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1978 Jul;31(7):1270-9

 

Study title and authors:

Dietary intake and the risk of coronary heart disease in Japanese men living in Hawaii.

Yano K, Rhoads GG, Kagan A, Tillotson J.

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/665576

This study investigated the relationship of dietary intakes to subsequent development of coronary heart disease. The study lasted for six years and included 7,705 men, aged 45 to 68.

Regarding saturated fat consumption, the study found:
(a) Men who died from heart disease consumed 3.1% less saturated fat compared to men who remained free from heart disease.
(b) Men who developed coronary insufficiency consumed 6.2% less saturated fat compared to men who remained free from heart disease. (Coronary insufficiency is an inadequate blood flow to the heart muscles).
(c) Men who developed angina consumed 3.1% less saturated fat compared to men who remained free from heart disease.

Food Reward Friday

This week's lucky "winner"... beer!!

Read more »

Peanut Butter Ice Cream - Vegan and Dairy-Free

The richest, creamiest vegan ice cream I've ever made.

It is hot and steamy here in New England. And I am not cooking. I am not even boiling water for my habitual ritual of afternoon tea. I am sitting in front of a petite blue desk-top fan. Eating ice cream. Homemade ice cream, to be exact. With nary a trace of dairy or gluten. And apparently, it is the best homemade ice cream I have ever made (so says my ever willing, taste-testing husband).

Who am I to argue?

It is indeed fabulous.

The inspiration came via one of our favorite Los Angeles restaurants- Akasha, in Culver City. At Akasha you can always find a lovely gluten-free choice on the menu- as well as something vegan, which by default, is dairy-free. A sigh-of-relief option for those of us saddled not only with celiac disease, but a dairy intolerance as well. (As a side note, I have found it harder to dine out dairy-free than gluten-free-- chefs love their butter, cream and cheese. And because they pre-prepare so many items on the menu, it is often impossible to find a dairy-free choice.) One of the gluten-free dessert choices at Akasha is vegan peanut butter ice cream.

It. Is. Simply. Divine.

So I decided to try my hand at re-creating it.

Read more + get the recipe >>

It's not Friday the 13th, but... Part 2

In It's not Friday the 13th, but..., I had a picture of my then new Solar PV installation.

1.35kWp Solar PV using Kyocera 135W panels + 2kWp Solar thermal using 100W Thermomax tubes.

As the Solar thermal tubes were no longer heating the hot water much (they were installed in 1991), I decided to upgrade my system. It now looks like this...

3.5kWp Solar PV, using Hyundai 250W panels.

Of the twenty 100W Thermomax evacuated heat-pipe solar collector tubes, only one still worked.

The limescale-coated bulb at the bottom is very hot!

Hot water is now heated by the immersion heater in the tank in the airing cupboard, using spare electricity that's been generated but not used. This is controlled by a gizmo called an immerSUN. See below. The immerSUN is at top left. The inverter is at bottom right.

The current-sensing transformer is the black thing around the red wire, sitting on the black fuse.

The water from the hot tap is now hot enough to make instant coffee!

As the company that installed the upgrade had previously only installed systems to properties previous without Solar PV, they thought that I would receive the current Feed-In Tariff rate, which is 16.56p/kWh, including 50% export Tariff. This is much lower than the Feed-In Tariff rate that I was receiving for my 1.35kWp installation, which was 47p/kWh, including 50% export Tariff. They suggested that I phone ScottishPower (my energy supplier) for clarification.

The good news is that I will receive 47p/kWh for 1.35kW and 16.56p/kWh for the additional 2.15kW, making a net Feed-In Tariff of 28.3p/kWh, including 50% export Tariff. That's 71% more than I thought I'd get.

Based on PVGIS data (postcode-dependent), the system should generate 3,210kWh/annum. That's £908/annum in Tariffs + ~£240/annum in saved electricity consumption + ~£50/annum in saved gas consumption = ~£1,198/annum. The system cost £7,700 including VAT, so ROI is 15.6%. Feed-In Tariffs increase by ~5%/annum and energy prices increase by ~14%/annum, so the system should pay for itself in ~5 years.

Vegan Cuts Subscription Box Review!

I love subscription boxes.

Trying new things is always really fun and subscription boxes take some of the financial risk out of trying new things. For a set price ($19.95 per month, in the case of Vegan Cuts)  you get to try a variety of new products without having to pay as much as it would cost to buy full size boxes of each snack.

Vegan Cuts is specially developed for vegans, but is great for anyone - the snacks are wholesome and healthy, but not at the cost of taste!

This is what the June box consisted of:

Vegan Cuts had a great mix of snacks - there's something for everyone! That's one of the things that makes a well-chosen subscription box a great gift option (hint hint, haha).

For the salty snack lovers, these Beanfields chips are a real treat! With lots of fiber and protein, they're a healthy snack that satisfies much better than the standard potato chip alternative.

Though the Sweet Cinnamon Good Bean roasted chickpeas aren't exactly a 'salty' treat, they're crunchy in a way that'll help satisfy that craving.

I love apple chips and the Snapz - made of just apples, cinnamon, and a squeeze of lemon juice - didn't disappoint!

 They were crisp and sweet and delightful.

I also love baked goods, so these vegan treats were great! The Earnest Eats baked whole food bar isn't quite a brownie - it's more like a super chocolatey oat cake. Yum! 

The Michy's Vegan Cran Rustica cookie also was very flavorful and moist, you wouldn't guess that it was vegan, and hearty from the whole oats.

I haven't tried this vegan parmesan style-topping from Go Veggie yet, but it's intriguing. It's made with coconut oil and soy and is shelf-stable until opened (then you should store it in the fridge). It's also a great example of what I like about these boxes. I don't think I would have tried something like the on my own, since I hadn't heard of it before!

I was pleased to see a packet of MacroGreens drink mix, as I've tried mixes from the company before and really enjoyed them.

There was also a flavored water mix, Ultima, that tasted great and was sweetened with stevia and enriched with vitamins and electrolytes. I enjoyed it and would pick up more if I saw it in a store!

The Salba Chia Seeds have more nutrients than regular chia seeds (I don't know how, but I'm sure you could check out their website). A one serving packet to try it is great and it came with a coupon for more, in case you enjoy it!

There was multiple coupons, including one for a free jug of almond milk! Coupons are great and completely free ones are the best.

I really enjoyed the mix of treats in the June Vegan Cuts Snackbox and the best part is that you can cancel at any time, so there's no risk!

Do you use a subscription snack service?

Which of the snacks looks best to you?

Have you tried any of the products above?

Resistance is useless!

...said the Vogon guard. If that means nothing to you, watch this...


You probably know all about Insulin Resistance (IR) if you've read my blog for some time, as I may have mentioned it once or twice ;-) There's also Leptin Resistance (LR) in the brain, which reduces the amount of appetite suppression that leptin is supposed to produce. Robb Wolf's just written about Adrenaline Resistance (AR?) and chronically-high serum cortisol seems to induce Cortisol Resistance (CR?) in the hippocampus, resulting in poor short-term memory.

When the level of "X" in the blood is low most of the time, "X" receptors in the body up-regulate, so when the level of "X" in the blood goes high, it has an effect. When the level of "X" in the blood is high all of the time, "X" receptors in the body down-regulate, so when the level of "X" in the blood goes higher, it has a reduced effect.

The above suggests that regularly "grazing" on food is not a good idea, as this results in a fairly constant slightly elevated serum insulin level. Eating a meal, not eating for a few hours then eating another meal results in high serum insulin while the meal is being absorbed and low serum insulin for the rest of the time.

WIAW #95

I can hardly believe it - before the end of this summer, I'll have my centennial WIAW!

Speaking of the end of the summer - can anyone else believe that summer is already halfway over? This is the last WIAW of June!

I wonder what next month's theme will be? Not that I'm actually all that great at sticking to the themes, but this month's theme was really easy for me.

Who doesn't love snacking?

Especially when it involves cereal.



Or ice cream.



Or cereal and ice cream.



Yes, that's the best.



But veggies get their love, too.



And since it's summer, so do green smoothies.



I seriously love green smoothies.


I almost have one every day now that it's summer and (super) hot!

Why can't it just be 70 (or even a nice 75) every day all summer? 80s? 90s? No thanks.



But even hot weather doesn't stop me from enjoying baked Quest brownie bars - so good with peanut sauce.



And kabocha with chocolate, granola, cereal, and nut butter is an all-year round WIN.

Do you snack a lot?

What are your favorite things to snack on?

What's on your summer bucket list?