Crazy Times are When I Drink Tea and Make Origami Turkeys

Hello friends,

Crazy Times

Sorry for the absences in the past week.  Things have been a bit rough as my husband lost his job a little over a week ago, went on a job search, found a new job, and is now waiting to start that job on Monday.  He's back to working in Raleigh again, though this time the commute is a tolerable half hour rather than something more crazy.  We thought he'd be working in Durham for a long time when we decided to move here, but we at least moved to an area that's close to the research triangle and not too bad for getting to north Raleigh, where his new job is at.

We've been through the wringer emotionally this past week and in some ways are glad he'll have some time off.  But we're using a lot of the time to take care of doctor's visits and things before we have to figure out what we'll do for health care next year since we'll have to buy our own plan under the contract position Bryan has landed.  But I won't bore you with the details, on to the fun!

Matcha Green Tea

Culinary Grade

So I tried cooking with matcha green tea powder for the first time about a month ago.  I'd had pastries and other great green tea items at restaurants, but hadn't really found a great green tea to enjoy at home until then.  I used a recipe for making a matcha glaze, which was intended for use on brownies, but I used on cinnamon rolls instead.  The results were a bit ugly, but tasted wonderful.

Drinking Matcha

The logical next step after using culinary grade matcha powder in cooking was to try the better ceremonial grade varieties that are the type made for drinking.  I got a little help from Midori Spring and Kenko brands (affiliate link) who let me try some of their products for free in exchange for an honest review.  I even bought a little whisk and scoop set made for making the matcha with.  Here's what I did:

I heated up a mixture of milk and water knowing the tea might be a little bitter at first, but the milk would help with that.  While I had the liquid heating up in the microwave I took one scoop of the powder and added it to my little tea bowl.  Once the water and milk was hot I added a teacup amount, with a touch of space for the whisk to move.  Here are photographs of both brands:

The Midori Spring was more finely sifted, but they both performed about as well as the other.  I really enjoyed them both.  I think I ended up with a slight preference for the Kenko tea, but they were both fantastic.

A peek at the powder inside the tins.

The Kenko looks a bit darker, but it's really not, between the photo's exposure and the slight difference in heat since my first cup was probably not as hot as it needed to be I had to stir it a little more after the picture was taken.  The trick is you pour the for water over the scoop of powder and whisk it until it froths.  I found that with the milk added in I didn't even need to add sugar.  But if you're more sensitive to bitter tastes you might want to try that too.  Overall I find tea is one of my favorite things about cooler weather.  I'm really glad to add green tea as a new option.   At this point I have a whole drawer dedicated to tea, plus a bunch more looseleaf teas I keep in a section of the cupboards.  Here's a shot of my tea drawer, just because.

As you can see I really enjoy Stash brand teas too.  If you'd like to try them out they make a really great herbal sampler box you can find here, which has the Cinnamon Apple Chamomile Tea or their Breakfast in Paris blend if you'd like a more traditional black tea that's similar to earl grey with a hint of lavender (both links are affiliates).

Origami

Another fun thing I was given to try by a company was this origami paper by Orchid.  With a value pack this size I don't think I'm going to run out anytime soon.  There are 10 fun colors, which work well for most projects.  You can buy a pack here (affiliate link).  I found it to be a pretty great deal for a 500 pack, and the paper itself it pretty good quality, holding up well to what I put it through for each of the three projects I tried.

I had fun creating some fun seasonal things, and plan to work on some more to make things festive.  I might even make some Christmas ornaments!

I tried my hand at a pumpkin, turkey, and Christmas tree.  The links go to instructions for each so you can try making them too.  I think the pumpkin is actually a really versatile shape.  You could turn it into an apple or a beach ball easily for various occasions.  It was really fun to make because once all the folds were done you have to blow into the hole on top to inflate it!  None of these were too hard, though the turkey and perhaps the pumpkin could be frustrating for younger kids.  The tree is a really easy one that it would be simple to make a large set of for decorating.

Well, here's hoping I'll be around more this week than last week.  Thanks for reading!

Love,

Lydia

October Beauty and Swap Unboxings!

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Hi folks,

So today I've got a big October unboxing post because I just got behind and haven't gotten around to posting what I got last month yet.  Unboxings are the term a lot of bloggers and YouTubers use for giving folks a peek at what they get inside a subscription box they like.  I subscribe to a couple myself and love trying new boxes in a lot of categories.  Since I know it's not everyone's thing I'll be condensing the beauty centered boxes into one post from now on.  Which is rather nice because it's easier to compare them that way.  So let's get started!

October Birchbox

When I first opened this I was a little disappointed in it and expected to like my Glossybox a lot better since they were making a big deal about their Parisian themed boxes.  I ended up liking the Birchbox better overall than the Glossybox once I really looked at what was inside each box.  I think part of what made me feel less enthused about this one was the size of everything.  The bottles just seemed smaller than usual.  Overall it was an okay box for October, but not the best I've had from them.  If you'd like to try out Birchbox please follow my link here to find out more.

I got:

Acure Cell Stimulating Facial Mask - I almost never use this kind of product, it gets a no

Well People Mascara - I like mascara and this one is all natural, it gets a yes

Dr Jart + Ceramidin - more skin treatment type stuff and even the description is kind of vague as to what it's supposed to do, no

Exo All Natural Nail Polish Remover - I always have my nails done, yes (I tested it yesterday and it feels more oily and doesn't absorb into skin or dry up as easily while you're using it.  One wipe was just barely enough to take of my Tardis blue nail polish left from Halloween.  I think it's better for lighter colors.  It takes a little getting used to the difference in feel, but I'd consider using this in the future since normally it comes from a bottle like most nail polish removers.

amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo - Sometimes these dry shampoos help my super oily second day hair, though I've yet to find one I love I'm happy to try this one, yes
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October Glossybox

This box has beautiful artistic designs on every side of its surface and I'd been seeing its excellence touted everywhere between emails and Instagram.  I was pretty excited about it, and at first I thought it might live up to the hype.  But it too had a couple things I just wasn't interested in.  I think a lot of people loved this box though.  It's great for people who like a balanced variety of products, which can be tougher for me to find pleasing.  If you'd like to find out more just go here to visit Glossybox's site.

And here's a second shot of the products that had a bit of packaging obscuring what they really look like.

I got:

De Bruyere Paris Red lipgloss - I love lip products and this is a pretty good color, yes

Lollipops nail polish - I love nail polish, but I hardly ever wear red and as such have plenty of it already, no

Phyto Phytokeratine Repairing Thermal Protectant (hair) spray - I thought this was another skin product until I went to look at the survey regarding how I liked my items.  It was there I found out it was a hair spray.  I don't use hair spray much, but I'm up for trying it, so tentatively, yes

Sabe Masson Le Soft Perfume - I don't like most perfumes, though the title for this scent excited me until I smelled it since it's Artist.  Unfortunately it was way too strong for me, and smells very spicy/musky, no

Vichy Idealia Skin Sleep moisturizer - I never use anything like this so, no
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Sweater Weather Swap

I'm part of a fabulous group called Geeks & Beauties (Join here!) that allows bloggers and YouTubers to network and encourage each other as they learn and grow in what they do.  One of the more fun things we get to do is hold swaps.  This swap was fall themed and had us pair off and send a partner a box of goodies that includes some of your favorites!  This is my box, sent to me by Cassandra Morgan.  She's a fantastic Youtuber who immediately welcomed me to the group when I joined back in September.

She sent:

Iced Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes from Tastykake - these things are great and I don't think I could have found them easily here in the south!

A set of 3 Whish Body Butters - As soon as it starts getting cooler my hand and feet get dry, so this is perfect for me!   The scents that came in this pack are Pomegranate, Lavender, and Coconut, all of which I really enjoy!

The next logical item Socks! - And not just any socks the two pairs have moisturizer in them.  There's the zebra print pair, plus a black pair too.  My feet are the first part of me to get cold, so these will be excellent for keeping me toasty.

Pocky - If you've never tried it Pocky is a wonderful Japanese snack that consisted of a cracker stick dipped in some kind of flavoring.  These are chocolate ones, which is the most common.  There are so many great kinds to try though, I think my all time favorite was a seasonal one with chocolate dipped in cocoa powder.

Speaking of Cocoa that was the last item in my box, Land O Lakes Mint Cocoa - I've never tried this flavor before, but I'm excited to curl up with a nice warm cup before bed some night this week.

I didn't bother rating these because it should be pretty obvious that they would all be yeses.  Yeses....what a strange form of the word.

If you're curious what I sent to Cassandra stay tuned and I'll post a link here soon!

Thanks for reading.  If there's a box you think I should try let me know in the comments.  I'd love to try some new ones!

Love,
Lydia

Suspense, Dystopian Worlds, and Gaming for Charity!

Hi folks,

I've had a rough week, but I'm going to be writing 3 posts before I go to bed Saturday.  This is post one!

So I've had the pleasure of reading two books recently that were given to me by the authors for review.  I'm excite to get to do this sometimes because it allows me to try some things that I might not normally see otherwise.  I find these books through reviewer partnership sites like Tomoson or Net Galley and occasionally even get some compensation for spreading news about them online (as I would most of the books I review).  But, on to the reviews....

The Torment of Rachel Ames

The Torment of Rachel Ames is a novella by Jeff Gunhus.  I'm normally not so interested in horror or thrillers, but I noticed the blurb for this book put emphasis on how a lot of what is happening is simply the character trying to figure out what parts of her life are reality and which are her mind playing tricks on her.  All of this takes place at a lake house, which could be anywhere, but seems to have a bit of Maine flavor to me.  As the story progresses the reader thinks they know what's happening, but the truth really doesn't come out until the last few chapters.  And even then it left me with unanswered questions.  Luckily it was in a way I didn't mind!  I liked this book and it's a quick read, though I will warn it is more graphic than most I read, but I read pretty tame books overall too.  You can pre-order the book on Amazon here◊ (it comes out November 10th!) and read more about the author at www.jeffgunhus.com

Alice in No Mans Land

Alice in No Mans Land by James Knapp◊ is a dystopian fiction that sticks to a lot of the trends I've seen lately in the genre.  It's not uncommon since so many of the trends are universals, some part, usually a large chunk of it is left to some horrible fate, in this case blocs of desolation where squatters live.  One of the country's largest businessmen decided to go out and look at bloc he wants to convert.  He brings his kids and second wife along for the ride, and then things get crazy as his daughter Alice finds herself crash landed in the middle of the bloc.  What ensues next is the typical kind of exploration that opens the privileged girl's eyes and earns her friends along the way.  It's not entirely predictable, but it's a little more predictable than I'd like.  The writing is pretty good and kept me reading to know the ending.  It's a reasonable choice if you're looking for more in the genre, though I admit I might be getting a bit jaded towards it myself.

Extra Life

Lastly, today Bryan, his brother DJ and I are participating in Extra Life - a 24 hour game marathon for charity.  We're playing several different games from Season 2 of the Walking Dead to Street Fighter 4, Arkham Knight, and more.  All proceeds are going to the Children's Miracle Nework, so if you feel like you're interested in watching you can watch a livestream of us playing at http://www.twitch.tv/fatubuu8990 and if you feel moved to support us you can visit our donation page at http://www.extra-life.org/.  

Otherwise I'm going to attempt to write more later today because I have too many things to catch up on!  Have a great day everyone.

Love,

Lydia

16 Knits For Geeks

Hey everyone,

So being sick last week caused me to neglect writing, but I'm excited to be feeling better (finally!)  And to make up for it I'm going to be sharing an extra post with you all this week, in which I'll be doing an unboxing comparison of October's beauty and lifestyle subscription boxes.  My new format for reviewing them will be all together in one post, in a more simplified form.  That way if you like hearing about beauty it'll be together in one place, and if it's not your thing it'll be easier to avoid.

Announcement!

Another more exciting development this week, that you may have already noticed, is that my blog now has it's own domain!  So you can find me just by typing in LydiaDickson.com into your toolbar!  I'm very excited for this development because it will open new doors for partnerships, since it's seen as a signifier of a serious blogger versus someone who blogs as a hobby.  I hope you all will enjoy the journey with me as I make Lydia's Designs, soon to be Love, Lydia Dickson my full time job.  If you're wondering what to expect, know that it will be more of the same great content with graphics and overall quality that I'm dedicating to constantly improving.  Now, on to today's subject:

16 Knits For Geeks

I've picked 8 categories and and am sharing both an easy and a hard pattern in each.  For those of you thinking ahead, you should be able to complete any of these knits in time for Christmas!  There're no blankets or other huge projects in this post, though if you're set on one scroll all the way down.

Hats

1. Jayne Hat

image from Firefly Wiki

Everyone who loves Firefly knows and loves this iconic hat.  And what's great is it's a fairly easy one to knit.  What you need to know: knitting in the round, basic colorwork
Find the pattern here on Ravelry.

2. Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit - Gimli Inspired Dwarven Helmet and Beard

This hearty dwarven covering will make your look battle ready, or just keep your face warm during the winter.  Either way you'll look awesome.  This pattern isn't free, but it's too beautifully detailed for me not to include.  It's a little more complex requiring: knitting in the round, snap closures, tapestry crochet, and what looks like either color work or double knitting.
You can see more information here on Ravelry.

Stuffed Animals Creations

3. Pocket Sized BMO

This guy is adorable.  This pattern only costs $3, or if you feel adventurous you could even try making your own pattern since BMO is essentially a box with noodle limbs.  Techniques required: i-cord, seaming, cutting and gluing felt, and maybe a touch of colorwork.
Found here on Ravelry.

4. Little Cthulhu

This little guy is crocheted, so it's perfect for branching out from knitting to something new.  He's adorably scary and while complex, not that difficult overall.  Making him requires: crocheting in the round, single crochet stitch, increasing single crochet stitch, decreasing single crochet stitch, double crochet stitch, and chain stitch.
Found here on Ravelry.

Scarves

5. Doctor Who

Another great iconic piece of knitwear, and one that's perfect for the beginner with a bit of patience.  The scarf manages to keep a tediously long strip on knitting interesting with changing colors and widths as you work each stripe.  Requires: changing colors, fringe.
Find it here on Ravelry.

6. Katniss' Cowl

I've been eyeballing this beautiful cowl for a long time, but I think I need to practice more before I'm ready to tackle it.  It's not terribly hard though, and could be modified for a beginner fairly easily so long as close attention is paid to the various sections.  Requires: crochet details, learning interesting stitches like herringbone, and seaming.
Here's a link to the Ravelry page.

Cosplay Items

7. Companion Cube

This little companion cube is perfect for cosplay or your desk.  You could easily size it up too.  The pattern is very simple, but does take: some sewing and seaming by hand to finish.
Find it here on Ravelry.

8. Walking Dead Inspired Zombie Head

I know this pattern isn't intended to be specific to The Walking Dead, but is would work great as a decapitated zombie head, just make the skin green and add blood.  There are lots of different versions of this shown on the pattern page including one modeled after Jack Sparrow.  And the head doubles as a bag, so it's perfect for conventions.  To make this you'll want to know: knitting in the round, i-cord, a bit of hand sewing, and felting.
Take a peek at the pictures here on Ravelry.

Bags

9.  D4 Dice Bag

If you play tabletop games or card games like Magic the Gathering having dice is essential.  This bag is the perfect storage solution that's easy to make.  It requires: hand sewing, seaming, and recommends a zipper closure.
Details here on Ravelry.

10.  Space Invaders Tote

This fun bag takes you back to arcade fun.  You could even alter the pattern a bit to make the bag wider so it could be used for groceries.  Requires: colorwork, reading a chart, and stranding.
It's here on Ravelry.

Kids Items

11. Ninja Turtle Mittens

Wear your favorite Ninja Turtles on your hands, or make them for your friend's kids.  Either way they're perfect for cold weather!  Requires: shaping, hand sewing, and knitting in the round.
Pattern found on Ravelry.

12. Star Wars Knitsabers

These lightsabers are perfect for kids (or grownups) who love to swordfight, but don't want to get in trouble for getting too rough about it.  I love how detailed this pattern is, showing you how to make 4 different authentic lightsabers.  The pattern as written makes 10" lightsabers but you could easily make a longer version to suit your tastes.  Requires: knitting in the round, sewn details, and decreasing.
Find it on Ravelry.

Accessories

13. Iron Man Gauntlets

I love these gauntlets, I'm sure if I had a pair I'd be pretending I could fly all the time!  Perfect for a Tony Stark or Pepper Potts cosplay, or just cooler weather.  Requires: stranding, embroidered details, and seaming.
Find it here on Ravelry.

14. Star Trek Socks

These socks are a more complex project, but perfect for keeping your toes toasty.  It looks like the creator has put a lot of love into making sure everyone can understand their pattern too.  Requires: shaping, stranding, and probably working in the round.
Found on Ravelry.

Sweaters

15. Weasley Monogram Sweater

After reading Harry Potter if you were like me you wanted to wake up to one of these sweaters at the foot of your bed Christmas morning.  It may be a bit more work, but if you get started now you can make this dream a reality for someone you love.  It's not too hard either, I promise!  Requires: intarsia, seaming, duplicate stitch, taking body measurements.
Find it on Ravelry.

16. Wonder Woman Sweater

This pattern takes some dedication to chartwork, but the end product is beautiful.  If you want to feel like an Amazonian warrior just put on this sweater.  Requires: taking body measurements, seaming, colorwork, stranding, and reading charts.
Found here on Ravelry.

Honorary Mention

Afghan Squares

So you really want to make a blanket?  Ok then try this Geek-A-Long with science, math, and many more fandom themed squares too.  Requires: seaming and colorwork.
Science patterns can be found through Ravelry, click through for other patterns.

If you read through this post and don't know what Ravelry is, it's a site to keep track of your past, current, and future knitting projects.  It's been around for quite a while and had built up a great database of patterns found on the internet as well as from books.  They also allow you to give feedback if a project was difficult and in some cases you can even get help from a pattern's creator if you get stumped.  It's a great resource for a beginning or advanced knitter.

If you have a hankering for projects that are less involved or need to get rid of some small bits of yarn you may want to check out my post from last year featuring 70 different no knit/crochet yarn crafts.  There are some great little gifts plus ideas for holiday decor!

That's all for this post, I'll see you again soon.

Love,
Lydia

Book Reviews and Geekyloot

Hi folks,

Today I've got two book reviews for you plus a great featured store.  Let's get started!

Book Reviews

Top 12 Places to Visit in Texas by Jody Rookstool

I was given this book to review by the author after seeking some guidance to planning the Texas trip I thought I'd be going on.  I've also been writing a series on travel planning that started around the same time, which you can find here.  Texas is an amazing place that as Rookstool says, has a lot more diversity that people often assume beyond just cowboys.  I loved my last visit as I helped my friend Holly move there a couple years back, and am sad I won't be able to make it there for her wedding.  But, I was excited about all the possibilities the state could offer for a visit.  Rookstool's book highlights some of the best, and while the book is small she gives a great overview of both big name destinations such us the Space Center in Houston to less well known gems like Enchanted Rock.  I'm just sorry I didn't get to explore some of them.  But if you're planning a trip to Texas and want to choose a couple great spots this little guide is a great way to pick a few out.  You can find it here and visit the author's site here.

Battling Boy: The Rise of Aurora West

The Rise of Aurora West◊ by Paul Pope, JT Petty, and David Rubin is a great read that can be approached by kids or adults easily.  It's a graphic novel that follows a coming of age type story, and is a prequel to Battling Boy, though you needn't read them in order.  This is the first book in the series I've picked up, and I just happened to spot it at my local comic books store.  In some ways Aurora's family reminds me of Jonny Quest and the Venture brothers, which I love.  Finally we get a girl adventurer in a similar situation!  She helps her dad fight monsters each night, and is tutored in fighting each day.  She begins to find clues that explain some parts of her past she wondered about for years, and as events unfold she takes initiative to investigating exactly what happened in her past.  This is a great little read, I just wish it had color.  The art is great though, and I look forward to reading other books in the series.

The Master of Formalities

The Master of Formalities◊ by Scott Meyer is a book that came up in my Amazon recommendations a while back and intrigued me.  At the time I hadn't yet read any of Meyer's other books (which you can find some of my reviews of here and here) and I just thought the premise sounded good.  About a week ago it went on sale as a Kindle daily deal and I snapped it up.  I feel like this is where Meyer shines, sure his other books were good, but this one is great.  The characters have of depth, and there are many fantastic females in the cast.  The premise involves a large cast in the home of the royal family of the planet Apios.  They're at war with the Hahn of the Hahn Homeworld and through each step of the way have their master of formalities, Wollard, to smooth everything and keep them from losing face.  He advises them in every situation and when things change in the house he begins losing the respect of the royal family as things don't go as smoothly as usual.  Who knew a grumpy, adopted Hahn teenager would be such a problem?  But even Wollard isn't perfect, and there are surprises in store for him as he performs his job as the master of formalities.

Geekyloot

Now it's time for a bit of a review.  You may remember the guest post from last week (Dean Winchester - A Pumpkin Pie Kinda Guy), which was penned Geekyloot's owner Christina Clawson.  Her site is host to a blog, but it's also a great deal destination site too!  Each week the site has 3 deals that are only good for a week, similar to sites like Groupon and Pick Your Plum.  The great part about Geekyloot is it has all kinds of fandom friendly items that are picked with female geeks in mind!

Geekyloot was kind enough to send me a sampler pack with some of the recent deals they've had when I made my first order from them, so I can share it with you all.

Fun stuff, there's the two Baymax keychains from Disney's Big Hero 6, a Hobbit Locket(!!!!), a Marauder's Map (Harry Potter) necklace, a Mockingjay necklace (Hunger games), plus some Simpsons inspired socks.  Bryan was happy to receive the white Baymax keychain, and honestly who doesn't love Baymax!  The Hobbit locket was what made me order from them, I love things that open up have secret compartments and such.

Here's a closer look at the necklaces fronts, and below a second shot of the ones with more detail to them.  They're all costume quality, which is great for everyday wear and cosplay on a budget.

The socks are super comfy, and though I've personally never been a huge fan of the Simpsons I loooove donuts!  And I collect socks too!  I put them on to take a picture while we had Scarlet out for exercise and she came over and starting investigating them and finally marking them.  (Rabbits mark items similarly to cats by rubbing their face against them.)  So these socks have the bunny seal of approval.

A big thanks goes out to Geekyloot for providing me with some awesome items to review.  If you like these go check out the store at www.geekyloot.com/store!  This week they've got the Simpsons socks, a beautiful little Game of Thrones Pin, and a Black Widow necklace.  But hurry, new items will be up Saturday!  Thanks for reading, I'll see you all again soon.

Love,
Lydia