MUSIC, CULTURE AND PEACE TO AMY.

Hello Everyone,
Pictures were taken at the Donald M. Kendal sculpture Gardens at the Pepsico Company.
I was oversees watching the music channel when I saw the premier of "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse. I was drawn instantly to her voice but disturbed over the subject of the song. I saw in her eyes, she was struggling with drugs. I prayed for her to overcome her challenge. It is sad to loose a gifted artist to the darkness of drugs or alcohol . When we loose a precious gift like Amy, we need to continue to find a healthier path to go on.


Look who greeted me - A Yellow Monarch Butterfly. Nice way to be reminded of how precious life is.












JEAN DUBUFFET " Kiosque L "Evide


















MAX ERNST "Capricorn"










This is what I think about music and culture..............................If people are living with feelings of resignation or feelings of defeat , the music or culture may produce sad or troubled melancholy sounds. This can guide people toward pessimism and hopelessness. A healthy culture that appeals to beautiful human emotion and elevates the mind, creates qualities of wonderful sounds. It inspires trust and hope within people.
Just food for thought about Music.

Art, culture and eating well is so needed in our daily lives. Living healthy is our human right. Viewing art and visiting nature refreshes our spirit. Our bodies are made to be rejuvenated from the energies of the earth. Our five senses are not energize by the technology. No matter how much the advertizements say we can't live without the internet in the palm of our hands, We need fresh air and the grass underneath our feet.

HENRY MOORE "Locking Piece"

















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Thank You for Reading
Peace and Light to You.

Drink Good Water

Hello Every one,
Hope you enjoyed your weekend. I took my mini trip upstate to hang out with my heart-mate and relax by the river. Nice to sit under the shade and breath in some fresh air. The river gives off a positive energy, great to take it in.
Thinking of water - Do your best to drink a PH balance water. Kangen water is the best so far. When you drink this water, it works as a powerful antioxidant and also alkalizes, detoxifies and hydrates the body. Our bodies need support to stay balanced and healthy. Here's to drinking good water . With all the health information out there - there are people not aware of healthy eating habits? I would like to see more people become aware of what goes into their bodies.









Made a quick Banana , Blueberry and Papaya Soup. Spiced with a touch a ginger. Nice to serve cold.










I found a new soup from the Alissa Cohen's "Raw Food for Everyone"
This soup is great for this hot weather.


AVOCADO - CUCUMBER SOUP

2 avocados, peeled and pitted
2 cucumbers, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup of fresh dill
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Put all the ingredients in a blender or Vita-mix, Blend until the soup is smooth and creamy.
Serve at room temperature or refrigerate for 1 hour. Stir before serving.
You can garnish this with some chopped cucumber and avocado.
Enjoy!

Touching the Spirit

Hello Every one,

Question of the week : When was the last time your spirit got touched ? How long has it been since some one or some thing inspired your spirit ? Was it a long time friend or a movie or maybe an art piece ? Have you notice how little or no effort is made in touching people's spirit these days ? Being touched spiritually doesn't have to be a big event. It can be any situation that others take for granted. For example............... Today, I was in the Metro North Station saying good bye to my heartmate. In the entrance, resides a news/magazine stand where half of New York stops to buy water, gum or get a $1.00 coffee. What made this business special was the vendor taking the time to say" bless you" to every customer. He was reaching out to them and saying a simple blessing. Would you believe a few people cursed at him. He was not stopped at all. He kept giving the verbal blessings to every customer. I was very touched by his loving open heart. What a sweet and courageous act. How genuine and pure. I responded with a gracious thank you.
Another question how many of you would have continue to give a blessing after you got cursed out ? (I would back off for a minute or two, then continue) It takes courage to show your humanity to others.

The presence of a beautiful human being.



Today was the strawberry, apple, pineapple and grape fruit drink. I spiked it with a little fresh ginger, agave and lemon. That's all I wanted for the day. I'm getting lazy, lazy, lazy with preparing big raw food dishes. Soups are the easiest to make. Salads can have all the nuts, fruit and vegetables. A jar of raw nut butter is easy to use in most dishes. Yes, eventually I will break the laziness and prepare a dish. But for now I am loving this fruit drink I made in the "Living Well Montel" blender. Note to all - Remember to add enough water when making your own fruit drinks. Nothing is extracted.
Here is an exciting fruit appetizer dish I haven't made yet. My mango isn't ripe. Tropical Fruit salsa from Alissa Cohen's," Raw Food for Everyone"

TROPICAL FRUIT SALSA

1 Ripe Mango, peeled, pitted, and diced
1 red bell peeper, seeded and diced
1/2 cup diced pineapple
1/2 cup diced coconut meat
pinch of sea salt
5 to 6 torn basil leaves.

1. Put the mango, bell pepper, pineapple, coconut, and salt in a bowl and toss. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour before serving.
2. Just before serving toss again with basil. Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Enjoy !

purple cami - Made in America Outlet
cotton pink wrap skirt- vintage 70's
white leather wrist bag - vintage 70's
fishnet shoes - any bargain outlet store

Thank You for Reading
Peace and Light to You.

Summer's Most Wanted

Hello Every one,

Only two days before Summer and I'm inspired to make more dresses. I love the asymmetric flower design dress from Polyvore. I love how the bag is soft and bold at the same time. The Aqua flower shades are pretty. These prints are great against Leopard. Leopard Prints build a strong foundation in your wardrobe - you can never have enough accessories.

Summer's Most Wanted by Flowerheart featuring leopard print accessories

As you can see I love flower prints. Flower print decorations make me feel happy.
The asymmetric flower dress has inspired me to cut this navy blue dress. But, I have to do some thinking before I approach this dress with the scissors. Some garments are complete, perfect and whole as they are.
















I made a quick beet and carrot soup. When you are not following a Raw Food recipe it will take careful planning creating a balance of the five taste. (Sweet, sour, salty, spicy and bitter) This time I balanced salty, sour and sweet. I took a Raw Food Level 1 chef training class. Knowledge of preparing Raw Foods will help.










The highlight of the day was creating this Raw Food Apple pie !!. IT came out AWESOME.
I used cashews and coconut to make the crust. Dehydrated for two hours. Then I made the Apple filling with lemon, Cinnamon and Agave. Placed back into the Dehydrator for another hour. In a regular recipe , there would be another ingredient added to the filler to make the Apples stick or stand firmer.



Looks like the real baked Apple Pie.
Enjoy !


Happy Father's Day Everyone. My idea of the Father role, is a Man who Cultivates his child or children's unique qualities.

Thank You for Reading
Peace and Light to You.

Spring is Back

Hello Everyone,
Spring weather came back to the city this weekend. It was a nice break from the past few days of 92-97 degree heat. The sudden drop in the temperature was chilly for me. I had to put on a wool sweater and a scarf. Plus a slip under my lined skirt. Yes, I am one of those women who do where slips. I 'm not crazy about the new thin stretchy fabrics that show every lump, bump and underwear. I truly don't know how women can show every personal thing they got. Can't we leave something to the imagination ? The worse I have seen when the weather hit 97....... an obese woman in white leggins. The fabric was so thin you can see the white and red polka dot bikini panties. Cellulite was bulging every where. People were making comments and a few men where laughing at her. This woman had the attitude of "I don't care what you think". I couldn't laugh or make a remark. I just felt sad that this fashion has become acceptable for women. It is not for me to judge, but how did we get this bad? Honestly, where is the pride?
The return of practical clothing is needed.

I'm on the first chapter of the Appetizer section in Alissa Cohen's book. The nut section is fun. How much torture it is to smell the aroma from the Candied Nuts stands downtown and can't treat yourself to a bag because you are a raw foodist.
Here is a fun way of having all the candied nuts you want. The thing is, it will take two days in the dehydrator. I followed the written advice and double the recipe.



makes 2 cups
2 cups of nuts, any type and soaked them in water for 8 hours and then dehydrate overnight.
1/4 cup of agave nectar
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt.
- put the nuts in a bowl and toss with the agave, cayenne, and salt. Arrange the spiced nuts on Teflex-lined dehydrator racks and dehydrate for 24 hours.
- Store the nuts in a sealed container until ready to use.

There are other variety of nut recopies in the Alissa Cohen's book. If you are interested in Raw Foods, I encourage you to purchase the book. You will gain valuable education about Raw Foods.
Enjoy !


I'm hoping this skirt is from the 80's. It has a made is America label and the lining is good quality. There is slight aging to it. A treasure found at the Salvation Army. Every once a blue moon you will find a treasure. The skirt has a small yoke detail in the front that you can't see because I'm bundled up with layers. I'm not sure about my size when I'm shopping for vintage garments. It helps to carry along a tape measure. My waist measures 27 inches. The skirt was a the same.




The wool Scarf is over 20 years. The denim jacket/sweater is thrifted. The M.J. shoes are John Fluevog. The bag is brand new from Massey's.

Thank You for Reading
Peace and light to You.

Heart and the Home

Hello Everyone,

The saying goes "Home is where the heart is". Home is an extension of the heart. A large part of your home is the heart. It is important to come into the heart. Running away from the heart creates distance and coldness. Think of your heart as a beautiful furnace that needs fuel to keep it burning. The heart muscle creates heat. This heat is love. It warms the whole chest and makes you feel cozy inside. You stand within the heart and watch it grow and the love gets bigger. This love makes you feel whole inside. Your able to listen to your heart with all the love it is generating. The heart never lies to you , it is you inner guidance. This is what it means to be fully present in the heart. The world can be a cold place at times. But the harshness does not effect your heart at all. Because you have come into your truth. You have come home into the heart. One can not live without the other. After saying this , It doesn't matter if you live in a mansion or a shack, you are not truly happy if you are separated from the heart. Just think of the famous people you know who are not happy. They seldom live in the many homes they own. Beautiful palaces but cold as ice to live in.
I am doing my best not to get pulled towards the coldness or negativity in the world. There is so much beauty out there to find and discover. I do take time to meditate on the warmth of my heart. I'm learning to maintain a warm loving temperature , so that nothing in the outside can change it. Generating love that blocks out the negativity VS. walking around cold, not feeling or placing a shell around you.





Alissa Cohen New book adds newer light on Raw Foods. I can see the personal growth and transition she has made. Her life has expanded.
I just finished reading the first 63 pages. By next week I will try a new recipe.
I encourage you to buy this book. Very wonderful for first time Raw Foodist and inspiring for long timers.









My favorite vintage online shop dandelion Vintage clothing had this beautiful hand painted porcelain pin from the 1800's I feel in love with . Also the 1950's rhinestone choker. I promise you, These are the only two items of jewelery I will purchase this year. Can't afford any more. It was worth it. I trust this online shop. Dandelion Vintage has integrity and very reasonable with the prices.

vintage 70's blue jeans - Rags A Go Go
top - made in America outlet store
sandals - john fluevog

Thank you for reading
Peace and light to You.

I'm Back !

Hello Everyone, I'm Back !

I've been overcoming a little illness. My job has a huge air conditioner that blast freezing air into the atmosphere and I developed a cough. A week later, I got chest congestion . My Doctor told me that the air conditioner was causing dryness in my lungs. The constant cough was the result. He suggested I sleep at night with a humidifier to add moister back into my lungs. I feel like I'm sleeping in the Amazon Jungle at night but I'm not coughing as much. I added deep breathing exercises to help. My condition is improving. Still can't turn on the air conditioner in my apartment. Every day a thermos of hot tea or water is with me. I'm going to research for herbs or holistic treatment to build up my lung organs. I'm grateful it wasn't an infection or a cold.

Other things are happening to me to keep me on my toes. My old food allergies are surfacing. Back in 2000 I took an Food-Reaction IgG test. It a test to find out what foods are causing allergies or how the combination of food react when mixed together. My immune system was so weak at the time. I was placed on a rotation diet. Every thing I ate, including the spices and condiments were designed for how my body digest them. Whether you have food allergies or not, a rotation diet has many benefits. The top four are - preventing food addictions and allergies. Adding a variety of fresh nutrients and unprocessed foods. The saturated and trans fatty acids, sodium and refined sugars are cut down. Lastly, It can prevent and often correct digestive problems.
I'm converting this Rotation Diet into Raw Foods. It is taking a little work to balance what I need to eat. I'm giving my body a chance to balance itself out. I'm ready to take on the New for the next four weeks.

I made a Raw Food Spinach and Yellow Squash soup. The taste was not bad , I ate three bowls of it then remembered I didn't add any salt.






What else I've been up to ..............I got the new Alissa Cohen Book . By next month I'll be able to handle preparing two or three recipes a week. I will take a peek at a few recipes this month. Her book is easy to read and so much fun to follow. The ends results are always best for the body.













I felt like pink and teal today. I added a Leopard print sash with the outfit. Every thing is vintage
I wish I could wear vintage shoes but my width is too wide.


Thank You for Reading
Peace and light to You.