Vacation time

I've been waiting for this moment for the longest time ever and now it's here, all mine to savour and cherish - I'm going on vacation, a much needed vacation to the beautiful island of Rhodes, Greece.
I'll be sunning and tanning and reading, walking, learning, eating, recovering from hangovers and photographing with the company of my lovely best friend Sofi.

I'll see you all soon

Follow the yellow brick road - Things I like now

I feel that lately I've been walking on a different road than the one I used to take. both roads seem to look alike but somehow feel different. now, don't get me wrong, I always walk my own way as a strong opinionated individual that believes in its own strange, sometimes, convoluted way but it seems to lead me in a different direction this time around and I know that this is a good road to a better future with no bad witches just plain old me with the tiny addition of having Dorothy's ruby slippers that can take me anywhere I want.

In that spirit, things I like now:

• The wizard of oz - the 1939 movie
• The wizard of oz (BFI film classics) by Salman Rushdie - a different way to look at Dorothy, kansas and entourage
• VegNews magazine - for having a good mix of subjects on vegetarianism
• Chocolate chips cookies from VWAV
• The cheerfull thought of going on vacation to Rhodes, Greece in less than a week
• Morrissey, Siouxsie sioux & And one for coming to Israel on tour (and because I love their music)
• Sleazoid express by Bill Landis and Michelle Clifford - the most realistic and the closest I'll ever get to the grindhouses of NYC

Missing (memories of NYC)

I left NYC a little more than 3 years ago, full heartedly, having greatly missed my homeland, Israel. I left it so bruised and pained (from different reasons) that I truly believed that I would never look back.

After sobering from my return Israeli honeymoon, these little missing moments started creeping slowly inside my heart - small moments of happiness, habits, places and faces that didn't leave me alone.

I want to eat sushi at "east", browse books at Barnes and nobles, drink a caramel macchiato, walk through the streets of the east village, watch the birds at central park, dance at the albion batcave on saturdays, take the 6 train, get a tattoo on st. marks place, smell the stench of canal street and buy tons of art supplies at pearl paint, see concerts at jones beach or just feel the unbelievable power this city has on a human being.

I just find myself pondering and daydreaming about this city, knowing that a visit will have to be after more healing will be done - my heart is still badly bleeding from the whole 6 years experience this city and other events that occured while being there have supplied me with.

The bottom line is that this city have captured my heart so strongly that I find myself crying just from remembering tiny moments, flashes of memories and she will always be remembered in a special place in my heart, I just wish the memories will fade and give me some much needed rest from all my demons. I will always miss New York

Honey, I'm home...

Ladies and gentleman, after a long absence caused by a combination of many things that can happen in life, I'm officially back and in full force, might I say.

The weather here is extremly hot and dry this days, causing me to withdraw into some daydreams about beautiful islands adorned with coconut trees, turquoise beaches, cocktails with little colorful umbrellas (wishing Isaac from the love boat will be here :) and lots of moments of tranquility.

Untill that will happen, I'm still here, in reality land, working on a few new projects that you will start seeing soon, waiting for passover to actually pass so I can bake some chocolate cupcakes and reserving all my energy for the summertime.

See you soon

Sadness and revelations

I was quiet for a while as I needed to gather myself to my normal, happy self after my beloved grandfather passed away, but now I feel a little better and, as you know, life goes on even when our loved ones aren't with us anymore.
I was very saddened when my mother told me he passed away but knew in my heart that it was for the best as my grandfather was ill for a long time, just fading slowly into a state that made all of us deeply melancholic, knowing that this, once energetic, active, scholars man doesn't even recognise his own, 60 plus years of marrige, wife.

The up side of this regretful event was that I've found out, once again, how lucky I am to have such a kind, loving and supportive family that I will not take for granted ever again.

As I see it, life goes on and you have the choice of sinking into the depths of sorrow or keeping all the good memories that you have and move on through life with a smile. I choose to smile.

Vegan transition completed

If you read my post on transitioning into a complete vegan diet you probably know that I've struggled a bit with the how to manage on an everyday basis.

Well, I'm proud to say that, although it's not yet perfection at its best, I'm getting there fairly quickly. I guess it's true what people say, practice makes perfect. and I've been practicing alright - planning balanced menus, trying recipes from about a million vegan and raw cookbooks that I've insanely bought in bulk, reading vegan blogs and baking more than the needed amount of cupcakes, muffins and cookies (well, a girl needs her sugar).

So although the learning process is far from over, I'm at a good place and loving every moment of it, feeling much much better, physically and conscientiously and the best benefit of it all is that I spend much more time cooking, which is one of my long time loves that has been neglected for some time.

The next step for me is to try to have a raw day each week and actually try to act as the photographer that I am and take photos of all the good meals that I make but until this happens you can enjoy a photo (found here) of my lovely, king like, cat, Mishmish.

I'd love to hear how all you vegans out there went through the transition and get some ideas, so let me know.

A valentines song

Happy valentines day to all the lovers and seekers.
For all of you out there I wanted to dedicate some of the words of an uplifting song by "Liverpool Express". this song always makes my heart happy and my mood cheery.

You are my love - Liverpool express

You are my love
you are the one that I adore
You are my love
You are what I have waited for
Oh, you are my love

You are my day
You changed my Winter into spring
You came my way and then my heart began to sing
Oh, you are my love

Wishing you all the love in the world and lots of magical moments

Things I like now

My brain runs faster than the fastest athlete you know, always demanding stimulation to feed its hunger. as you know, feeding a hungry brain can be hard sometimes but I'm always up for the chalenge thus bringing new things of interest to my life. sometimes they're actually good for me but sometimes they're just plain fun.

So here are the good and just fun things I like now:

• Anne Frank: the diary of a young girl - the heartfelt story of Anne frank's 2 years of living in hiding from the nazis. told in her own words
  
• Pepi, Luci, Bom - the first released film of Almodovar, about three friends in Madrid's punk era. amusing and crude
• Blood ties - a vampiric P.I canadian T.V show
• Popculture heroines - a website dedicated to (in their own words) "strong female characters in popular culture"
• green tea cupcakes (from "Vegan cupcakes take over the world")
• honey scented candles
  

Till next time, au revoir

P.S - Photo is taken from the "vegan cupcakes" flicker group, posted by "vegan noodle"

Jerusalem

I'm trying to write this post for the last half hour but the words don't seem to come easy, connect or really describe the experience of being in Jerusalem. I'm not a religious person and almost always find myself disconnected from everything religious but there is just something undescribable, powerful and eerie in this city of all faiths that leavs me in awe.

except for its overwhelming beauty this city bares an uncomparable history, just from being what it is, the center of the three main religions and the residency of the holiest place for the jews, the wailing wall which is the only remnant of the holy temple.

Looking at the wailing wall made me think of all the things that it has seen in its many years of standing. all the love, hate, saddness and happiness, blood and war, births and deaths, people that arrive with the hope of a better life, of reaching god, people who just want to show their devotion and respect. people from all religions, color, sex and orientation and this wall stand here and welcomes everyone with the silent knowledge that deep down we are all the same.

I'm sure that this visit will not make me a religious person, but it did make me think about the history and the future of this country that I so dearly love and it definitely left me feeling that there is something out there that I might not understand but I absolutely feel and respect.

The wonders of Holga photography

When I first met my Holga she looked cheap and unable. it only took me one roll of film and I was in love.

At the price of about $30 (which beats my Nikon D100), an hour of taping all the potential light leaks and a nice stroll at the marvelous NYC central park I got myself a new love that will last a lifetime. believe me when I say that it's love, the holga might be a cheap crappy camera to the naked eye but she makes wonders on film if you're willing to invest in getting to know it. technology wise, she's not the sharpest tool in the shed but that's exactly what you want when buying it.

Holga photos turn out (if they do. yes she has the tendency to mess up sometimes) as the old times photos, with vignettes and an eerie feel to them, especially in black and white.

There are a lot of websites dedicated to her photography and how to work it and I absolutely recommend that you'll see what beautiful images have been created with it (the one here is mine and you can see more at my ETSY shop).

here are some places to get you started:

Toy camera - dedicated to different kinds of toy cameras, holga included

The verb - a great directory for everything holga

Lemonice photos - an holga trip in NYC

Transition time for the almost vegan girl

Time has decided to give me the disappearing act and just go by so fast that I don't feel it existing anymore. I know, everybody is busy and I'm not the first person to ask for the 25th hour to be added to their day but trying to go vegan is time consuming and a bit confusing - trying to figure out what is, ingredient wise, O.K to eat and what is actually a nutritious food or a balanced meal and all that combined with shopping and cooking is making my head spin more than it already is.

After that being said, I'm not complaining or backing up on my decision, I just wish that I would have more time to do things in a relaxed manner or just had better guidance, maybe someone who has already been there, done that - that would surely make the transition from vegetarian to vegan much easier.

The other side of transition is full of surprises, good surprises. discovering new fruits and vegetables, trying new recipes, seeing the happy and amazed faces of people when they've just discovered that the yummy muffin they just ate was completely vegan, feeling lighter and knowing that I didn't hurt anyone in the process is what makes it all worth it.

Concluding this episode is the fact that although it is hard sometimes, as all changes are, I love animals and myself enough to actually go through this phase and be happy about being able to follow my heart's desires without compromising my believes and feeling good from doing just that - veganism, here I come (with full force, might I say).

Things I like now

At this lovely and cold time of winter there's nothing left to do but surrender to heated rooms and some extra quality time with books, movies and good home cooking.
In that warmed up spirit, here are the things that I like now:

• Water for elephants by Sara Gruen - a great book, especially, if like me, you find the great depression, freak shows and carnivals to be romantic and intriguing.
• Sweeney Todd - directed by the one and only Tim Burton who, once again, cooperates with the dashing, Johnny Depp
• Acorn squash and sweet potato roasted with maple syrup, olive oil, garlic, ginger and hot pepper flakes
• Coupling reruns
• Saturday evenings under the blankets
• Big girl (you are beautiful) - Mika. It's not that I like Mika that much but this is a nice, catchy song and more than anything else I appreciate the fact that he celebrates "big girls" being beautiful. Amen to that

Till next time, have a nice and warm week