Spring Photography

Time for some #photography therapy. Spring really ramps up the shutterbug in me. Visit my gallery at #DeviantArtdesiab.deviantart.com

— Desia (@DesiaDesigns) March 8, 2013

Soap Making It Yourself

Soap making it yourself - Smashwords Edition

Amazon Kindle Editionn

 Soap Making It Yourself is the first book in the  "MIY, Making It Yourself, Naturally" series of how-to books with a focus on natural products. You can preview sample section of this  new book.

Soap making it yourself

strength

Super Storm Sandy Historical Devatastion

11:48 pm

The New York Times "By the Numbers"

NATION

8 Million+	Left without power.
18,000+	Flights canceled.
139	Miles per hour of top wind gust recorded (Mount Washington in New Hampshire).

NEW YORK CITY

22	Number of deaths attributed to the storm so far.
6,400	New Yorkers in emergency shelters as of Tuesday night.
300	Number of patients evacuated from NYU Langone Medical Center, whose backup power system failed.
3	Vehicle tunnels still closed Tuesday evening.
3 or 4	Estimated days until nearly all power is restored.
13.88	Height in feet of the storm surge at the Battery in Lower Manhattan.
7,000	Number of reports of downed trees received by the city’s parks department.

NEW YORK STATE

2.3 Million

Customers without power as of Tuesday afternoon.

NEW JERSEY

2.6 Million	Households without power on Tuesday morning.
4,500	Residents in shelters on Tuesday.
24	Number of small rail cars carried by a tidal surge onto a roadway of the New Jersey Turnpike.
29	Hospitals that lost power (most had backup generators).
11.91	Inches of rain recorded in Wildwood Crest, N.J., as of Tuesday afternoon.
7 to 10	Estimated number of days until PATH trains are back in service.

Living on an ARC: A Caribbean Memoir

Lighthouses and Life Saving Along ...Coast (Google Ad)

Life is Calling

facebook.com/SeedsOfTheSoul

Rain Rock Studio

Dressing is a way of life.

Le Fashion Rage ~dBatiste

"Fashions fade, style is eternal."
— Yves Saint-Laurent



ever wonder what the style makers – fashion designers and others industry influentials think and say about their creations. about the source of their philosophy + inspiration. i do. i found the designers i’ve been influenced by most have a philosophy + way of seeing the world that resonates with me.



Yves Saint Laurent
"Over the years I have learned that what is important in a dress is the woman who is wearing it.
We must never confuse elegance with snobbery.
Dressing is a way of life.
I wish I had invented blue jeans. They have expression, modesty, sex appeal, simplicity -- all I hope for in my clothes."

"Eye of Beauty" Rain Rock Studio SoapBox Cards

Zest is the secret of all beauty. There is no beauty that is attractive without zest. 

-Christian Dior

Ready, Aim "Glam" ~dBatiste

Coco Chanel

• I like fashion to go down to the street, but I can't accept that it should originate there.

• Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky; in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.

• Fashion is architecture. It is a matter of proportions.

• Don't spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door.

creativity = philosophy + inspiration. where does it come from. began. start? inside. deep inside i think. i do. i found that creative people have a very unique way of seeing the world (as do most people in general). which is why i believe we are all creative. however artist are just regular people who have found their voice + vision + unafraid to express + show + share it. They live out loud. on purpose. they have a zest for life and see creative inspiration and possibilities everywhere around them.  

Giorgio Armani

• The difference between style and fashion is quality.

•  I've always thought of the T-shirt as the Alpha and Omega of the fashion alphabet.

• The goal I seek is to have people refine their style through my clothing without having them become victims of fashion. 

more from other style makers + icons  

"The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. True beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It’s the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows & the beauty of a woman only grows with passing years." — Audrey Hepburn 

Shoes for the Journey ~dBatiste (SoapBox Cards)

Elsa Schiaparelli
In difficult times fashion is always outrageous.
Women dress alike all over the world: they dress to be annoying to other women

Oleg Cassini
Fashion anticipates, and elegance is a state of mind... a mirror of the time in which we live, a translation of the future, and should never be static.

Quentin Crisp
Fashion is what you adopt when you don't know who you are.

Lord Chesterfield
If you are not in fashion, you are nobody.

Geoffrey Chaucer
There's never a new fashion but it's old.

George Bernard Shaw
A fashion is nothing but an induced epidemic.

William Shakespeare
What a deformed thief this fashion is.

Ralph Lauren
I don't design clothes. I design dreams.

Edith Head
A designer is only as good as the star who wears her clothes.

Bill Blass
When in doubt, wear red.

Stendal
Only great minds can afford a simple style.

Jean-Paul Gaultier
Elegance is a question of personality, more than one's clothing.

"Strike a Pose"

"High Heel Nights" ~dBatiste

Rain Rock Studio

source for famousfashionquotes: tumblr and: about.com

embracing change

I use a Digital SLR Camera

 
my first blog post almost a year ago

i've always been fascinated by butterflies. when i was 5 yrs old i heard about the concept of reincarnation when loving family tried to explain the concept of death to me because my grandfather had to "put-down" our dog.  i latched onto that idea and secretly hoped i'd come back as a butterfly.  probably because to me they were the most interesting beautiful creatures on earth, at least that i was aware of and now well into adulthood my opinion hasn't really changed.

there's something mystical about their journey that encapsulates the mystery and awe of our human existence and universe in general and the ability +  the necessity for us both to adapt and change in order to survive. yes, we all go through a type of metamorphose.  a metamorphose that allows more and more of our beauty and uniqueness to be revealed + shine. why then are we afraid of change. i've learned to embrace it more and more.  to revile in the process and the interesting journey it paves.

one of my favorite icons, Oprah,  has this very topic on the cover of her magazine's September Issue.
"Transformation"  i believe Oprah to very insightful and enjoy reading her letter to her readers. what she knows for sure about transformation "is that it happens when you dare to be awakened to greater heights. when you stay open no matter what. each experience strengthens you and adds depth and wisdom."

to me that's a beautiful thing and i believe Oprah is absolutely spot on.  whatever you call it metamorphose + transformation + change is what leads to the good stuff + your true awesomeness.
don't be afraid.

my beauty confession... Lashes

my sexy lashes...
 

I finally got the courage to try false lashes. Yes, I have some vanity issues and I’m not ashamed to admit it. I just recently had another birthday and while it was joyous to see another.

Now that I’m in the over fifty club , I want to try some new things. When I was a young girl, I thought fake lashes were ridiculous. I’ve always believed that real beauty begins on the inside and that we should work with what God has given us. But, I still like to do whatever I can to look my best to enhance that natural beauty radiating on the inside. As the birthdays, come and go, the more enhancements I seek. I’m not going to go into plastic surgery and all the other endless possibilities that exist for women to enhance their beauty (at least not in this post).

No this post is about a $5 drugstore item that can really restore and enhance the beauty of your eyes. As we age, it’s natural to do whatever we can to hold on to our youthful looks. Because I know doesn’t mean we can’t put some pretty window dressing on the outside too.

Inspired to try “fake” lashes by my son’s girlfriend and Gayle King (Oprah’s friend, +News Channel 5 Morning Show host). Both of these ladies are in the entertainment industry so the lashes are a must for them. And yes, back in the day I had my little time and stent in the industry and wore them then too. But I’ve long since been out of that field with no desires to return, but I still want to look good.

I wanted to bring back a little sparkle to my eyes.

I miss the compliments I once received on them (and must admit kind of took them for granted at the time. And while I do still have the same eyes pretty much; they have indeed lost a little sparkle over the years and gained a few wrinkles and crows-feet in the process. The lashes just don’t pop like they once did, even when I pile on the mascara. I battle redness, dark circles, and puffiness more than most because of severe allergies. So if a pair of lashes could give my eyes a little added humph, I'm game (a pretty cheap vanity fix).

The results….

First time I tried them was on vacation in Miami. I would be around new people and had less fear of judgment. I really liked the look. It was not easy putting them on and I must admit I still was totally comfortable enough with them to do it too often.

Second time, Valentine’s Date. I was starting to like them more and more. They made my eyes look very sultry and sexy. I can live with that. But it was still challenging to apply them.

Third time, my most recent birthday. Third time is a charm. I’ve got the knack of applying them down to a fine little science now. I remember the tips Gayle gave and found a few more tricks myself.

Gayle King’s tip: suggested cutting them in half before applying them. That really helped, not having to work with the entire lash positioning and gluing all at once.

The tip I discovered for myself: a Q-tip. Very useful aide in positioning the lashes, smoothing and help to remove excess glue easily.

girls put your lashes on +get your sexy back;-)

why blog "lifestyle"

Why blog?  why a Lifestyle blog?  because it works for me.  it's a good fit. i'm creative with many varied interest and activities.  i've always felt "trapped", boxed-in, with previous blogs I started, and there have been many.  sadly, they all eventually died a slow painful neglectful death.


i found that whatever project, hobby or activity was occupying my mind and time was what i like to blog about so when i moved onto to something else, as I "always" do; the blog died.  i didn't want to write about it anymore and my current work or interest didn't seem to fit blog's theme or focus very well.  i even tried keeping multiple blogs so that i could have one for each area of interest but that was too overwhelming and impossible to keep current.


so i dropped out of the blogs-a-spere altogether for a while.  actually i kinda left cyberspace altogether, except for work related activity.  i was busying trying to keep my real-life going.  although i wasn't actively on the web i was always thinking about it, it's the "geek" in me, can't help it.


during my cyberspace hiatus i discovered some things that eventually brought me back, with more clarity of purpose.  i came to understand the importance of branding.  and once i figured out who i was and want to be, in order to articulate that uniqueness to ; distinction separates and differentiates me from others. 

the "eyes" have IT

My Jazzed-up Luscious Lashes.

I like them.

putting the lashes on gets a little easier each time.
they add a little sexy, pizzazz to a woman's looks.
 The French say, 'Les yeux sont le miroir de l'dme
(The eyes are the mirror of the soul)

learn how to put your own lashes on here

Homemade Yoghurt

Now that it’s officially the hottest summer on record, I’ve declared it an ice cream summer; my chosen method of relief.  I love ice cream, I mean really, who doesn’t?  It’s like manna in the sweltering days of summer heat and relentless humidity.  When it becomes just too unbearable, I reach for relief:  my ice cream (actually, frozen yoghurt).
I’ve recently discovered the joy of making my own yoghurt.  It was a natural, organic leap to frozen yoghurt.  I’ve tried it a few times now and feel confident with the process enough to add personal tweaks. 

Four Simple steps:

1. Heat Milk
2. Stir in  Culture (plain yoghurt with live cultures)
3. Let it sit overnight (8 hours)
4. Strain//refrigerate

 
Yoghurt Recipe

Overview:

Making yogurt is about allowing bacteria to ferment in milk. You need a live yogurt culture to start the process, any plain whole-milk yogurt from your local grocery store will work.
Just make sure the yogurt does not contain starch or modified starch.
The final product may be rather thin yogurt, initially. You can add powdered milk, gelatin, or xanthan gum to thicken. Add one (1) tablespoon of powered milk (or gelatin) per 1 cup of milk, as a general rule for a thicker, creamier yogurt.
The yogurt needs to sit at room temperature overnight (7-8 hours). The finished yogurt can be refrigerated for up to five days.

The yogurt needs to sit at room temperature overnight (7-8 hours). The finished yogurt can be refrigerated for up to five days. Makes about 2 cups ( you can double or half the recipe) 

Ingredients:
2 cups milk
2 tablespoon plain whole-milk yogurt

Directions:

• Heat the milk to 110 degrees (lukewarm) in a saucepan or crockpot (low setting for about 1-2 hours). 
• Pour it into a large bowl, then stir in the yogurt.

If you choose to use a thickener, you may add it now or wait until just before it’s ready to refrigerate (after 7-8 hrs of fermentation). I’ve done it both ways and it doesn’t seem to matter. 

• Cover mixture with a clean kitchen towel. Let it sit at room temperature overnight. I usually put my mine in the oven (which is off) because it’s out of the way and I feel the temperature is more even and constant.

After the yogurt has sat overnight, it is ready. But if you want it to be even better, refrigerate it for at least 2-3 hours and it will become thicker and creamier. The yogurt can be refrigerated for five days