new Book galore - Not for under 18

I've been buying books more often than I should, but I can honestly say that I'm much more money conscious.
if I pay close attention to my expenditures I can actually get more out of my money rather than making loads of impulse buys.
this makes me happy, because I love me some books!

*Deviant Desires - book fair/ HR Giger - book fair/ The Art of Taxidermy - Birthday present from my Skav*

 

although I mainly buy books exclusively to read, I have recently broad my search options to these type of imagery books, but they tend to be a bit more pricey due to the type of paper required for the images.

fortunately my saving tactics have allowed me to acquire books of this sort.

there's a really big one about Dalí that I have my eye on... 

soon.

here are some images of HR Giger:

*these are actually sketches and prototypes for the movie "Kondom des Grauens" I recommend watching this awfully good horror comedy*

this book is chock-full of paintings, sketches, and even photos of his bar.

too bad it doesn't have a drawing I replicated when I was in high school in Arts.

next we have The Art of Taxidermy:

*I want a cabinet just like that!*

 

 *contemporary taxidermy art*

*more contemporary taxidermy art*

*photo from the 50's of a class of taxidermy bunnies*

*even more taxidermy contemporary art*

next we have Deviant Desires:

this is the pony play fetish, I just became *in love* with this fetish, because you have so many little props you can use in order to find your inner Equus!

*I am so in love with these shoes*

I think the whole ambiance surrounding these girls and boys that are an inter-breed between man and horse are just magical and beautiful.

and this is the Crush fetish.

this is the federism fetish.

I find this fetish one of the cutest;

the Furry fetish.

I find interesting that a person can look beyond the one dimension where cartoons live and see them in adult situations, even having all kinds of different sexual events.

everything on this planet has sex in order to continue it's species; hell even my cute guinea pigs had loads of cute fluffy sex in order to have their little babies (see older post for Davey Jones family picture).

so why can't these cartoons have the same?

my Skav is an artist that will make your furry dreams came true on paper.

he draws your every want if you commission it, he even made my own furry! (see older posts).

now, for something completely different and yet very close to my heart;

cookery books!

*1000 Sabore do Mundo - book fair/ DK Sushi - Fnac/ DK Chinese Classic Cuisine - Fnac*

 

I guess that by now, if you've been reading my blog for a while you have already noticed that I'm a sucker for all things food.

my Skav even says that I'm a certified Foodie.

buying cookery books is one of the most pleasurable things for me, because it's such an interactive purchase.

I earn to do things with my hands, and I can honestly say that cooking for me is very therapeutic.

every time I feel a bit under the weather, unnerved, mentally exhausted or just plain bored, all I have to do is grab a wooden spoon and a pot, and my mind just floats into bliss.

this is the DK Sushi, it's part of a collection I would love to complete.

thank to this pretty I can now to gorgeous looking sushi and sashimi.

the bad news is that it's very time consuming for someone who isn't a 57 year old japanese man with his own sushi bar.

meaning; practice makes perfect!

and this is the DK Chinese Classic Cuisine (also part of the collection):

*the first recipe of this book I made: Sweet & Sour pork*

for a bit of light reading I got these cute books:

*The Brothers Grimm - Complete Fairy Tales - Christmas present from my Skav/ Mulheres do Outro Mundo - Fnac/ The Political History of the Devil - book fair*

I'm a huge fan of the Grimm tales, they were such a big part of my childhood without me even knowing.
my grandmother had these really old books from when she was a child, with many drawings and little writing, that I would read compulsively.
many years later I used the awesome powers of the interwebs to try and find out the stories I once loved dearly:
"how was it again...? a donkey that spat out golden coins... a man saying he killed 7 in one blow..."

they were Grimm's Stories.

the one with the mermaid on the cover is from a scholar of my university and it's a collection as well, he basically studies and analyses the old fairy tales in order to discover stuff about ourselves as individuals, collective fears and our cultural beliefs.

and finally, the Devil.
I haven't yet started on that one, because I'm currently reading 4 books at the same time, and a recent purchase in Spanish has taken up the last slot.
I'll make a post about that later on, with some very scholarly news!

ah, books.
how I love them.

p.s - all the books are presented in their original names (I much prefer to read them in their original language when possible) for your searching pleasure!

xoxo

I know, let's have a Dinner party!

some of the best parts of being a young adult is that you can throw dinner parties but still get shit faced.
I'm so sad I completely forgot to take pictures of the table when it was set with all the goodies.
I guess you'll have to settle with the dessert table.
oh well!

*after a lovely dinner made by yours truly*

I really hope that in Norway people will like to do this type of stuff.

actually my books talk about this and it seems that if (and that's a big if) a norwegian couple invites you to their home, it's because they really, really like you, otherwise you'll never see their new kitchen set!

*one of the desserts, vanilla cream pie with strawberries & kiwi*

I must say I thoroughly enjoy being a hostess.

I just love seeing everyone happy enjoying a good homemade meal and knowing that I could give them that happiness.

it's a warm feeling indeed.

the menu was:
prosciutto filled palmier, green olives stuffed with peppers, goat cheeses and pickled cornichons for starters
classic Italian lasagna for the main course
and strawberry salad, vanilla cream pie with strawberries & kiwi, and coffee cake for dessert

all of the above (to the exception of the coffee cake brought by lovely Raquel) was made from scratch by me, including doughs and sauces that people usually like to buy already made, but I enjoy it much more when I do everything!
yes, you got me... I love cooking!!

it was a lovely night spent with lovely people.
I can't wait for a repeat.

xoxo

cute little sprinkles of Stardust in my eyes

these photos were taken during long walks after classes.

you can see I have a thing about display windows...

we not be able to buy it all, but we can sure as rain see it all.

 

 

xoxo

a Scholar's privilege

one of the best days of my life.

you know, when you worked hard your whole life in order to see results, you basically earned the right to be proud of your achievements.

go on, there's no shame in that!

 

 *Blessing of the Cape*

in universities up and down my country, you can see young men and women dressed in this exact attire, with personalized patches telling their entire academic path (and these alter from one university to another) and there's a air of pride and contentment in their faces. 

even people around you seem to treat you with more respect.

 *after blessing of the cape you cannot wash it EVER again*

I live in a country where appearances matter immensely.

the word best to describe this feeling is "Backwater".

dressing the way I do doesn't exactly gather me the most compassionate of looks.

but when I put on my Traje...

people react completely differently to me. but that does not make me want to dress like those muggles.

it just pulls me towards hating even more this type of "society".

 *my pretty patches on my pretty cape!*

we can't put on any makeup, piercings sometimes have to be left at home and nails must be presented with a clear nail polish.

 *me and my sweet Godmother after the Folding of the Cape, one fold for each academic year*

I love this photo above.

my smile is so real, so honest. it seems to have given birth to a thousand suns.

and you can tell when I'm faking it ´cause I look terrible on the photos afterwards!

*suck it baby, I'm a star, see? a weird star with no makeup...*

life is taking its course, I gather.

four months from now I'll be finishing my Degree and moving to Norway with the person I love the most in my life.

people spend their whole lives ruminating about what went wrong, but what happens when everything starts to work out for you?what then?

 *know thy enemy? more like love thy neighbor!*

oddly enough, it can be quite scary.

to have so much to lose.

but it's a good scary.

but I guess that's when you know you're truly living.

xoxo

OOTD - dinner & a show

I dislike covering my face, but goodness gracious... I looked weird.

here's a little OOTD for a lovely night with friends.

homemade dinner, compliments to Raquel (you are amazing, girl!) and night entertainment fit for kings,

 thanks to David!

hug u guys.

*poncho - thrift store/ coat - H&M/ vinyl purse - ebay/ lace skirt - Blacklist/ platform shoes - Demonia*

the host and hostess of the dinner party were most engaging, always asking if everything was to our taste, and delighting us with stories of them doing somewhat extreme sports. they invited me and Skav to go rock climbing... I want to. but I'm really scared. ugh

they cooked us the most amazing melted cheese we ate with breadsticks as a starter, and for the main course... gorgeous South American Picanha, cooked on a hot stone!

in case you're not familiar with Picanha:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picanha

*Raquel & me*

here's the very talented cook!

she made us all, these precious roasted baby potatoes, that we devoured while downing bottle after bottle of red and white wine. yum...

then on dessert, they killed it with hot, tasty pancakes with chocolate and ice cream.

*nham*

*in the Lair*

the night was blissfully spent, talking, laughing, listening to music and nurturing friendships for years to come.

this weekend is my turn to play the hostess, and I plan to blow them away with my cooking skills!

I feel blessed.

<3

little Sis

once in a while we feel like running.

the need for blue skies and green trees overpowers everything else.

we feel it calling.

we abandon our path to find a new one.

because we need air.

 we feel suffocating, breathless.

these are the times one must forget to truly remember.

to be relieved of mundane thoughts and concerns.

and turn the eye to the real beauty gathered all around you.

things we didn't recall anymore.

and we breathe deep.

we feel ourselves tuning out the world and experiencing nature.

and you once more feel so much life engulfing you. 

the silent spirits curiously watching you, the woodland creatures skipping about...

that's when you realise...

... someone else went running.

- Sara Dartmoor

this one is for you little one.

xoxo

chiLLing with Skav at Hard Rock Cafe in Lisbon

 *SLURRRRRRRP*

the other day I had a tough situation happen to me.

I felt like I couldn't cope. 

I would've probably deal with it, as the "grown" woman I'm supposed to be.

but it was so much easier thanks to this gorgeous bearded man:

 *Skav*

he's always there for me.

as simple as that.

I go through life with so much more happiness since he walked in it.

<3

 *nothing better than a Guinness. on a Sagres glass, go figure*

 but don't let me fool you with my sweet talk about him.

he's a devil-spawn sometimes. but then again, my own head isn't quite all there too, so.

the cool thing is that we complement each other, we each have various different strengths that are magically something that the other is lacking a bit. we have plenty in common, and for us, that was the most important, but I had never realised the power of the yin and yang we have going on.

 *trippy right?*

I love him.

he loves me

I love that he loves me.

but it's good that life has ups and downs, otherwise it wouldn't be much exciting, and we would never push ourselves to the limit because there wouldn't be a reason too.

and that just saddens me, because the most pleasure I take of doing something is looking at my hard work and saying "perfect!" 

so, whenever I'm feeling super sad for something that happened, Skav always saves the day by brightening my cloudy mood with cute little surprises. I always love to eat, so we went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Lisbon!

now, keep in mind, we are only university students right now, so we don't get to this very often.

how do they say? a starving young translator?

 *Hickory-Smoked Barbecue Duo Combo: barbecue ribs & smoked pulled pork with seasoned fries, ranch beans, scratch corn muffin, and homemade day pickles *

 *Hickory-Smoked Barbecue Trio Combo: barbecue ribs, barbecue chicken & smoked pulled pork with seasoned fries, ranch beans, scratch corn muffin, and homemade day pickles*

 Should thank him more often for being such a good better-half.

<3