Willa Monday style OR "Beauty cannot be eaten with a spoon"

 So, today I'm going to talk about Willa Monday- a character on The Finder. The very first time I saw this show (the short mini-pilot in a Bones episode) I liked the overall idea. It's cool: this brain-damaged guy can find stuff because he "follows the vibrations" of the Earth, I guess. Then when the show finally came out to stand on its own, I totally fell girl-crush hard for Willa Monday- a teenage American Gypsy parolee who lives in a trailer and works in a bar owned by Walter (aka: the guy who finds stuff). Sometimes I feel like the show is a little heavy in Gypsy stereotypes, but I think it manages to do it somehow inoffensively. Willa is a badass Romani girl with a chip on her shoulder and an awesome sense of style.

I am in love with her messy braided hair styles and eclectic ("bohemian" though I hate to say it) tops and jewelry. She also wears these very utilitarian boots and crochet berets. I weirdly relate to her, too. I'm not a juvenile delinquent or anything, but I can relate to a part-Romani girl who enjoys braids more than the average person.


When I had long hair I was always experimenting with crazy braids. I'd sit in class and be French braiding my hair upside-down and putting fishtails and twists and whatnot. I chopped my LONG hair to my shoulders for its health, but I still like to braid it, just not as complex as my old braids.

 This is a waterfall braid. I LOVE these braids! Here is a tutorial. I do these on either side of my head. It's one of the few complicated braids I can still do with my hair shorter. When it's long again I'll do it like the picture. I don't want to seem like I don't like my hair short, I do!

Robin Calhoun was a pro surfer in the 60s and 70s. She inspires me immensely, especially this picture. Anyway, the point is: I like my hair short because it reminds me of awesome female pro surfers.

 But I'd also love to have it long again, because then I could do my hair like a cool fictitious bar-working Gypsy girl with awesome shirts.

   I have this shirt in two colors: ivory and turquoise.

 Willa's also got loads of great jewelry.

 Oh yeah, and in case you're wondering, "Beauty cannot be eaten with a spoon" is an old Romani (Gypsy) proverb, according to "special-dictionary.com". I don't know what it means but I like it.

This hat is from the Etsy shop Softspoken. Click on the picture to go to the shop.

 This ^ is the life I want, exactly.

I'd better stop. I could just keep going! 

Love,

Belle

Horchata

Today is my brother's birthday- he's 21 today!... It's also my sister's birthday! They aren't twins, they just happened to both be born on May 9, different years. I'm not sure how my sister is celebrating, but we're having a party for my brother. I made carrot cake cupcakes and horchata. I just wanted to stop by and share the horchata recipe!
And if you don't know what horchata is, here's the wikipedia page.

Hope it's sunny wherever you are!

Love,

Belle

Cinco De Mayo 2012

 Cinco de Mayo (the 5th of May, of course) is not Mexican Independence Day.

 It's the celebration of 4,000 ragtag Mexican soldiers kicking the shit out of 8,000 well-trained French soldiers. It's also significant because it was the very last time a European force invaded the Americas. Not counting the continuing occupation by the descendants of European colonists, but that's another story for another day.

 I haven't had a Jarritos in a hella long time. It sounds really good today though. In case you aren't familiar with them, Jarritos are lovely, colorful Mexican fruit-flavored soda beverages.

 I'm going to have to make these quesadillas soon, they look so good! Tonight we're having Chile Rellenos! If I couldn't have Mexican food, I would die. I might move to Mexico, for the sole reason that "Mexican food" would then be simply "food". I would be so happy if all food were Mexican food. If I could only eat one kind of food for the rest of my life... it would be Mexican food. Are you getting how much I love and adore it?

I love this taco trailer (I found the pic on Google, I've never been here). There are a lot of taco trailers here in Idaho. I'm not sure why, we don't really have a lot of diversity. But Idahoans sure do love Mexican food. And Mexican beer. And margaritas. 

Mmmm, Happy Cinco de Mayo everybody!!

(PS: Interestingly enough Cinco de Mayo is celebrated most heavily in the US, and only regionally in Mexico. Also, people in the Mediterranean drink Mexican beer on May 5th and Australia celebrates Latin American culture. There are Cinco de Mayo air guitar competitions in the Caribbean and Cinco de Mayo skydiving in Canada!)

Gracias,

Belle

Paleolithic

So, I've been reading about this awesome thing called "The Paleolithic Diet"- it's the idea that people were healthier in Paleolithic times and therefore we should only eat foods they would have eaten. It's true! It makes sense! Pretty much all of our modern health problems didn't exist back then; people were healthy. And at the root of this health crisis is food. And the environment, but mostly food. An amazing thing that I learned this week from Quanah Matheson- Coeur d'Alene tribal historian- is that European peoples during the Paleolithic were tall, healthy, beautiful people. Then they started eating wheat. And they became short and unhealthy and disgusting (they kept eating it! Most likely for economic/political reasons, I'd say). The average height for a fully grown man was 5' 4''! It took 2,000 years for people's bodies to adapt to the process of digesting wheat. I was blown away by this information. 2,ooo years!!! Today, Native American folks are burdened with a host of health problems- the worst being diabetes. We can thank the U.S. government for that. When the government placed tribes on reservations they agreed to provide them with food. "Commodity food" is what they call it. It's Crisco, bleached white flour with absolutely no nutritional benefit, hot dogs, and canned chili. Pretty much. Native people were used to eating very healthy, very natural diets, high in protein and fiber. Commodity food it most certainly was not. Hence, diabetes.
Anyway, the Paleo-diet consists of *real* meat, non-starchy vegetables, and moderate amounts of fruits and nuts/seeds. I thought it was funny that, on the website I saw, the Paleolithic diet foods list considers tomatoes, potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, beans, and quinoa to be no-nos as they weren't eaten during the Paleolithic era (so if they were involved it wouldn't be a strictly "Paleolithic diet"), but these foods are all native to the Americas. So, they should be included, especially if you have Native ancestry because then your body would likely be adapted to many of these foods:)
Dairy, soy, and wheat are basically the downfall of human health. Seriously, our bodies aren't meant to consume these things. Our bodies actually had to adapt to be able to process lactose, and many nomadic groups today (that have never consumed dairy) are lactose-intolerant. So, being lactose -intolerant isn't a strange mutation, being lactose-tolerant is a mutation. One that never should have happened.
Scientists agree, farming ruined everything.
Health, population, the chill 3-hour-workday hunter-gatherer lifestyle, everything. Basically, we have ipods now. And that's our redemption- our compensation, meant to make up for the autism, Alzheimer's, diabetes, candida, depression, over-population, pollution,...
You get the point, right?
I love being an archaeology major, I learn the best things:)
Love,
Belle

Here's another inspiration post. I'm finally on Spring Break- and tomorrow I'm leaving for Moscow (Idaho, not Russia, sadly) to stay 'til Sunday. I'm gonna go down and check out the condo before I move in (which will be in August), which seems like a good idea. Anyway, the inspiration is kind of what's inspiring me when it comes to possible future decoration in my room and maybe parts of the rest of the place. I'm starting a collection:)
So here goes:
Wait! Tropical Mango Smoothie- I found this recipe and HAVE to try it! I'm obsessed with mango! Okay, now here goes:
Driftwood spice rack- I'm going to steal this idea! But you can buy the real deal here.Merida, Mexico- I'll be applying to a year-long study abroad program here this time next year! Remember how I'm obsessed with mangoes? I'm going to paint 1 wall this color (if I can paint at the condo...?), one wall would be darker teal/turquoise/aqua, and the two remaining would be medium-to-light turquoise/aqua. Can you picture it? I think it sounds boss, just captain:) My current inspiration is bright, colorful row houses like you would see in South/Central America and the Caribbean. I also love mermaid figurines that look like they came right out of the sea... I just became the proud purchaser of this beautiful burlap coffee sack (click on the pic to go to the Etsy shop) and I'm really quite pleased:) Surfing in Ecuador- my dream. The movie Colombiana. A new favorite, for obvious reasons. One being Michael Vartan. Another being the hottie Zoe Saldana kicking some serious crime lord ass. I have a weird fascination with women who kill people.

Ukuleles that look like fruit. I don't really think I have to explain why that's awesome.

So, there ya go. Colorful, beachy vibe. I've been thinking about how much I'd love to live in a house made out of an old bus or VW van and driftwood, etc. It could be rustic in the Winter and beachy in the Summer. I'd be quite happy. Especially if it was built around a big tree...
Love,
Belle

"I Have Gathered a Posie of Other Men's Flowers, and Nothing But the Threads That Binds Them Is My Own"

Quote (used as title)- Michel de Montaigne

Wow, I haven't posted in a really LONG time! I've just been so busy with school- online classes are the worst. I have two hybrid classes and it seems like the workload in classes with online portions is way worse than normal classes.

So in this post I'm just gonna post some inspirational pictures:) I'm super into surfing right now. And I think female surfers are badass. I really love this buffalo ring! I've been considering making a driftwood windchime-dreamcatcher hybrid. This is Rick O'Connell's tattoo from The Mummy Returns. I just got it on my right inner forearm like 10 days ago! It's the movie that made me realize my love for archaeology (when I was 7). I want to collect quirky plates like this. I like Day of the Dead skulls, but only if they're pretty and not tacky and weird. This shirt is awesome. I want this! Placerville is my hometown. I like this yarn. It's reminiscent of driftwood and grey days at the beach. It would make a nice chunky hat, or a cozy scarf. Another kickass animal ring! It's supposed to be a wolf, but it looks more like a fox to me.I found this pic on GoogleImages like 2 years ago. It's Kiera Knightley bottle-feeding a baby elephant. And I think that's one of the coolest sentences I've ever written.
Well, that's what I've got today. I really should clean my room, but I feel almost terrified. Then again, I'm already rather terrified to be in there- it's disastrous.
Love,
Belle