May Favorites

1) Green Necklace - At one of the antique stores I visit every so often, there is a booth with bunches and bunches of necklaces hanging. They're for low prices, but are also mostly plastic and such, so I'm usually not interested in them. But I always check just in case. Last time, I found this long, gold necklace with green accents. It was either $1 or $3, perfect for layering.

2) Pigeon - Doves are supposed to be so precious, and doves and pigeons are the same thing--and I happen to like pigeons. So when I found this (iron or metal) pigeon at The Hummingbird House in Sedona, he wanted to come home with me. He likes to hang out on top of my books.

3) Lancôme Hypnôse Drama Mascara - Around Christmas, I got Sephora's set of sample-sized mascaras--which are a great deal, especially since even the small sizes last me a long time. I'm currently using Lancôme's, which has a curvy brush that applies a good amount of mascara easily. Even when I'm trying to keep the look light, I still find that my lashes end up full and dark. I like the look this mascara gives--the only reason I wouldn't buy a full-sized version is that I'm trying to stick to Tarte makeup (and similar brands).

4) Frog & Mirror - At another antique store, I saw this Frog Prince sitting near some jewelry. He's holding a mirror to see if he's turned human again--but I find him quite cute as a frog. On the underside, he is labeled as pewter, titled as "A Wishing Frog," and signed. I've been keeping him by my perfumes.

5) Raw Shea Butter - Last year, I mentioned that I was using shea butter instead of lotion (and sunscreen, which I never used much, anyway). I wasn't using it as much in winter, but am using it more now that the weather has warmed up. I keep it in this little pink milkglass container.

6) Dinosaur Box - Even if I like dinosaurs, there aren't usually any I would put out around my house. But this box from ModCloth is wood (darker than in the picture), making it a subtle piece of dinosaur merch.

7) Almond Oil - Instead of makeup remover, I use almond oil each night. It's simple and natural, and you can store it in whatever container you like.

8) The Little Prince - At the same store where I found the frog, I picked up this copy of The Little Prince. It's an endearing book that I had been thinking of buying, anyway, so why not have a vintage copy?

9) Banana Republic Shorts - I guess it's becoming my habit to choose a couple of pairs of shorts from the Banana Republic Outlet each year when they're having a sale. One pair is green, and although I don't think I've ever had any khaki shorts before, I had to get these because they were in the petite section and therefore fit me better than the others.

10) Franco Sarto Shoes - I have my plain, flat sandals for everyday type wear during summer, but I was also wanting another pair. Something still casual, but a little prettier in case I go somewhere where I want to look nicer--maybe something with height. Then I found these at Famous Footwear; although I had never heard of the brand, Googling it at home showed that Nordstrom sells the label, so I think they were a good buy. They're a neutral color, but have a subtle design to them. They add quite a bit of height to my shortness without having a high heel. They almost make me "normal person height."

The Hillywood Show Strikes Again

I never got around to watching Warm Bodies, so the occasional circumstance happened that The Hillywood Show parodied a movie I hadn't yet watched. But I had seen the trailers and knew the basic plot . . . and their video portrays its own version of the unfolding plot line. It follows the story like a mini movie.

I confess that I haven't been posting on Hillywood as much because I haven't really liked a couple of their recent videos. I was getting worried that, after so many years, they were starting to go in a direction I wasn't interested in following. Yet, although I have no connection to Warm Bodies, I kind of liked this parody. The quirkiness is reminiscent of the early Hillywood Show episodes, the minor darkness of their video for The Dark Knight, the color palette of The Runaways, and the dance sequence of their Eclipse parody. All the pieces come together in that endearing way that also puts you into awe (they filmed in and around a plane?). And that final dance sequence--it's up there with their best work. 

Julia Baker Confections: Chocolate Ganache Cake Truffle

Biltmore Fashion Park is, as you can tell by its name, a more upscale shopping and dining area in Phoenix. After having dinner there last weekend, my group walked around outside the shops to enjoy the cooler weather. I saw a storefront that said something about chocolate and also had two saleswomen outside the door offering samples. Thus I entered Julia Baker Confections, with a free white chocolate raspberry ganache.

The front section is a shop where you can buy individual chocolates out of the glass case or boxed chocolates. In the back is a cafe area with tables for enjoying desserts, hot chocolate, and other drinks--including chocolate martinis. I may have to go back someday to try one. The entire shop is decorated with taste and luxury. I helped choose four of the Chocolate Ganache Cake Truffles, one for each of us. Although we chose from the glass case, it was a little disappointing to see the pretty truffles shoveled into a regular flat paper bag--for a place that poises itself around finery, it would be nicer for even the individual chocolates to have more delicate treatment.

Since the usual price for truffles hovers around $2 or $2.50, the $3 price for this rather large truffle isn't anything beyond the norm. Once I had cut the truffle in half, I discovered why it's called a cake truffle. The top half has a fluffier texture than the bottom, which appears to be a regular ganache. The line between them is nearly seamless because of their almost indistinguishable dark brown color. The outer shell looks more like a dark milk chocolate, speaking for the non-bitter qualities of this truffle.

What it is is more like a rich dessert than a cocoa powder-dipped truffle. You bite into it and think of brownies because of the cakey texture of the voluminous interior. But then you get a sense of the depth involved. I wouldn't call it bitter; it isn't so much like a flourless cake as that. Rather, it's moist. And sometimes that's the type of thing you want, after dinner or maybe in the afternoon. It's small for a dessert, but big for a truffle.

I just wish that, when reading about the company, I found less info about what TV shows Julia Baker has been on and what celebrities have eaten her chocolates and instead found more about what exactly she means by "all-natural chocolate" or where she sources her ingredients. I would imagine that she uses chocolate from another company, perhaps making her own blend of it--but I can't know for sure since her website offers none of this information. But I would like to know if she uses a Valrhona or Callebaut or Michel Cluizel base: that's more important than the celebrity angle to me. I don't want to be told a chocolate company is great; I want to be told why it's great. Otherwise, I feel like I'm just starting on an upgraded version of my Godiva experience--when I liked their chocolate because it was expensive and came in pretty gold boxes.

I also see why this is Julia Baker Confections. Pick up some chocolates for a gift or an afternoon craving, or stop in for a drink and dessert. Casual, culinary luxury--quite nice, but not necessarily centered around the cocoa bean.

Star Trek Into What Kind of Darkness?

I sort of grew up with Star Trek.

It was mainly The Next Generation and its accompanying movies that I was around so much--so much that I still have trouble saying whether or not I like them because they're simply familiar. During college (and after seeing the 2009 reboot movie), I watched the original series and its movies (most of which I had probably seen at some point or another). And while I enjoyed that 2009 movie, I have since heard the opposite opinion on it. The problem, according to this opinion, is that the Star Trek universe used to be so consistent. There were a few movies with the original show's cast, then they passed the torch on to the TNG cast and continued onwards. Always, new shows and movies added to the universe, but didn't change it. Then along came this movie to end all the consistency.

I can understand that perspective--but that still isn't even the reason why I was disappointed by Star Trek Into Darkness.

Sure, a good sprinkling of explosions, CGI, and action sequences can add to sci-fi, but I need there to be more than that. The movie had a similar kind of humor as the first one did, but it felt more at the center of each moment than before. I was missing the emotional connection and the reason to care about what was going on.

The characters felt more like ideas of characters than like people. Which, I suppose, works if what you're enjoying is the action combined with the one-liners. But for me, the plot line of Kirk needs to learn responsibility for his crew felt forced and shallow to me. Spock and Uhura in their lover's quarrel was sometimes funny, but otherwise just diminished what could be two great characters (plus the fact that I'm now able to miss Uhura's elegance in the original series).

I guess it was a very American movie. Resistance to authority combined with an ultimate need to remember when responsibility is necessary. Carelessness and recklessness resulting in all that slick, space CGI. Or should I say it's very much a Hollywood movie?

I'm just too weird: I say I grew up with Star Trek, but I can't go along with the glitziness of a summer blockbuster.

The Adventures of Connor & Abby: Part 14

Jenny, Connor, and Abby were sent to investigate a garden this week. 

The ARC had gotten a call about a strange growth on one of the plants. Since the plant appeared to be a giant sunflower, the team wondered if perhaps it had been infected by something from a future anomaly.

Fortunately, though, the plant proved not to be harmful--it wasn't even an early stage of the fungus from Episode 3.5. The team settled down for a break in one of the garden's chairs, relieved that it had turned out to be a false alarm.

Orion Skin Care: Chocolate Mint Bathing Bar

You may or may not have gathered that, post-graduation, I am no longer in the Phoenix area. I will possibly return there; I will possibly not return, either. But for now I am in slightly more northern regions of the state. This, in turn, brought me to New Frontiers, which is sort of the main natural food store in Sedona. Sedona, the land of beautiful Red Rocks and a helping of hippie and/or New Age mindsets. The soap that I picked up at the store is by a Sedona brand, Orion Skin Care. I figured that if it was a Sedona brand, it had to be truly a natural product and not a pretend natural product. And it was chocolate mint soap, so. 

In the spirit of Sedona, I photographed the soap on a backdrop of quartz crystals, which are currently resting on a prettily-tarnished silver plate where I'm also keeping my perfumes. The packaging is a simple white box, accented with green, gray, and black. It's distinctive, but not chaotic. Although this was one of the lower priced soaps at New Frontiers, it is 100% organic. All seven ingredients are organic, and the bar has its NSIO (New Standards in Organics) stamp. The chocolate part comes from cocoa powder, and the mint from peppermint essential oil--there is also vanilla powder. It isn't an overwhelming aroma of chocolate mint, but it's fresh and pleasing. 

The plain, unmarked bar is a rich brown color--it came with a slight white coating that disappeared after I wet the soap. The soap does go on with a slight brown coloring, but it washes off like normal. It has tiny grains almost like exfoliating ingredients; I'm not sure which ingredient gives it that. Whereas the occasional natural soap likes to fall apart in water, this one maintains its shape. I used it once or twice on my face and didn't notice it having any negative effects, though I'll probably keep it more for a hand or body soap. I would buy this soap again; I'm just not sure if I will buy it again. It's local and uses good ingredients and smells nice, which makes me like it. But if it had a richer chocolate scent, then I would love it. 

Out of Africa

You can call Out of Africa wild; you can call them crazy--but just don't call them a zoo. At least, that's what their ads say.

I first visited Out of Africa Wildlife Park when they were still in the Phoenix area, years ago. Then about eight years ago, they opened up a new (replacement) location closer to home, in Camp Verde, which I visited again last weekend. Out of Africa was founded by Dean and Prayeri Harrison--with complete respect for the animals, hence the "not a zoo" thing. The park is founded not only on giving people an opportunity to see these wonderful animals, but also to give them the care they need and to understand how to form relationships with them. You can see it in the way the animals respond to and interact with any of the park's team. They're not putting on a show; they're living their lives and letting us in to participate. 

When you visit the park, besides walking around, you get to take a "safari"--there are longer versions available for an additional purchase. You board a bus-like, open vehicle and your guide takes you inside the gates of the safari area. So you're right up against animals like this little zebra:

As you board the bus, they hand you a carrot, which you feed either to a giraffe or camel. Almost right away, our driver stopped us by a giraffe that was disinterestedly standing away by a tree. But he called out to Pilgrim, and sure enough, Pilgrim eventually sauntered over in hope of snacks. Standing up, pretty much everyone got to feed Pilgrim. While I've fed a giraffe in a different park, leaning over the edge of a lookout to pour feed onto a giraffe's tongue just isn't the same as feeding it this close up--the group dynamic helps, too. You watch as everyone else in the bus reaches their hands out, some getting more "tongue" than others and then giggling about the sliminess. 

What's great about this location, they say, is that certain of the plants and such are similar to the kinds in Africa. And the minimal amount of "manmade" scenery in the park means that you can get pictures that do look like you're out in the middle of nowhere. (Of course, it just looks like home to me, but you get the idea.)

This is an ostrich. Isn't she very pretty? But watch out--her beak is sharp. 

She, however, has no fear around the people she knows she can trust. Our guide got out and gave her a hug and helped her move around the bus so that everyone could see her up close. 

Another shot (I think) of Pilgrim later on, once we had gotten off the bus and were walking up toward the other animals (the safari area is closet to the park entrance; everything else is deeper in). You can take a tram if you don't want to walk, but walking is much nicer (unless you're from out of state and are finding the weather too hot).

While we were stopped out by the hyenas, Dean showed up and began speaking with the crowd about them. At one point, he pet (or should I say cuddled) one of the hyenas through the fence; it obviously enjoyed it. I know a dog with a similar hideously-ugly-in-a-cute-way look that makes the exact same smile. 

Here you can see how big the hyenas actually are--thick, too. In the afternoon, you can follow the feeding truck along the path. This is the time when the lazy cats decide to wake up and you have a chance to see animals that might have been hiding before. The hyenas are my favorite: they stand up against the gate sort of like they are in this picture and make their ridiculous laughing monkey sounds. They're vicious predators, perhaps, but they sound adorable. 

The park does have a main show, Tiger Splash. But it isn't about telling the tigers to sit and stand and jump through hoops. Dean is there, explaining part of his philosophy about building relationships and trust with animals and understanding how their minds work. He has a team with him who bring out different toys to play with the two tigers. Just picture a bigger version of your cat when you're waving its feather wand toy. Sometimes they jump in the water with the toy; sometimes the tigers follow and sometimes they don't. Always you can tell that the tigers are just playing and that they understand not to harm their people buddies. Accidents are of course still possible, but neither one wants that to happen. Here is Liberty relaxing after the show; she was getting full because guests always have the opportunity (for $5) to feed one of the tigers (two pieces of meat) using prongs through the gate. She gurgle-growled a little when I fed her.

It's a wildlife preserve; it's a habitat. It's privately-owned. It does great work for everyone involved. It's Out of Africa.