My favorite finds online this week, starting with Pinterest.

Lately, I’m set on backpacks over bags. I love my fancy bags but after so many years of carrying leather that weighs more than my contents, my poor shoulder is too young to progress to a high level of pain. I have my eye on a few including this one

I have the black Fjallraven but how about just a whole rainbow of them? Sure.

I’m not sure how silly I’d look with this, but it’s so fancy!

Have you ever been told you suck? I could take the critics if I’m striving for excellence but when I don’t have a goal, I wouldn’t pay much attention to it. This article puts things in perspective.

Lauren Moffat’s Fall ’12 line is inspired by women in academics. Brains and beauty.

Did you know Gadchick was having a fabulous giveaway this week? You have until the end of the weekend to enter here

This weekend I’ll be going through the archives of this blog, planning my trip to Paris next month (yep, Paris!), discovering Pete Yorn (seriously, why didn’t anyone tell me how amazing musicforthemorningafter was?) and going to try to veganize this pink heaven.

Enjoy your weekend and this cute vid from Field Notes

Bespoke Magazine is a grass roots publication for the crafty at heart. It supports indie artists, and is self publishing. Knowing what it takes to make a business grow, I have much respect for how *bespoke* works.

*bespoke* is a quarterly Australian Zine (with both print and digital versions available) made by the handmade community, for the handmade community.
It is full of stories, interviews, features, tutorials, recipes, and much more! Topics covered include craft/handmade, vintage, art, photography, and all things creative.

The magazine is available in print or digital, but it did feel great to sit down by the fire place on a gloomy day and read from cover to cover. It’s inspiring, and makes me wish I had more time to craft and create like I did before, but it does make me appreciate the handmade community on a new level.

Check out *bespoke* here!

*bespoke* is a current endorsement.

Do you ever watch Good Eats? That show is so dated, in Apple Family Values episode, they mentioned Apple computers as a dead computer company, along with calling corn syrup the “future” and I lost interest. My DVR kept recording and before I erased all the recordings, I watched “Tofu World”. Then another episode and another. Now, it’s one of my favorite shows on the Cooking Channel. Sure, I could do without the irrelevant commentary, but the recipes and advice on classic kitchen gadgets are as true now as they were then.

Here is the original recipe, but here is my version;
For these you just need a double boiler (I love this one ), a food processor or blender, a spatula and a pie tin.

13 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pound silken tofu, drained
1 tsp agave
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 pie crust (I used this recipe)

Melt the chocolate chips in the double boiler and stir with the spatula. Combine the tofu, chocolate mixture and agave in a blender or food processor and spin until smooth, about 2 minutes. While spinning, add the vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon. Pour the filling into the crust and refrigerate for 2 hours, or until the filling sets firm.

Moo-Less Chocolate Pie recipe is a gem. It’s one of the best, fastest things I’ve made and I can’t wait to trick my friends when I tell them “boom, you’re eating a tofu pie”. I just hope they don’t return the same surprise with a soy allergy.

To learn more about Much Love Monday, read about it here.

Fridays are my Mondays but I still love sharing what I find and love online…

I have to start with Dani Hampton’s open letter. When I read the original article, I didn’t know whether I should roll my eyes, laugh, or just be really angry. Either way, it made me appreciate the tattoos I have, and where I am in my life, and the adversity I dealt with had nothing to do with my tattoos and everything to do with overcoming ignorant views.

I was featured on Kyla’s series, A Creative Start to a New Year. Going vegan this year is a huge impact on my personal goals, and I loved sharing. Even if you’re not vegan, I highly recommend the read for extra motivation.

If you want an epic book to read, or even the great review, Sam’s post is for you.

Anna had a chance to visit her brother in Tokyo and we get to see it through analogue.

These amazing matches from Badder Homes and Gardens (I know they weren’t a fan, but hearts?? I’m so predictable.)

A quick reminder- there’s always money in the banana stand.

Have you even been plagiarized? Here’s how to deal.

Oh My Goodness

These beautiful mirror from Trend Hunter.

Are you participating in #massmentions? It’s a great way to participate with other geeky girls, designers, gamers or other gadget lovers. Watch out for it every Friday on Gadchick’s twitter page.

This video is a bit long, but worth a share, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore.

This weekend I’m catching up on work, trolling this beautiful blog, giving Merry a bath, and bike riding downtown for Indian food. Enjoy your weekend!

In 2011, I purchased 272 books on my Kindle, Barnes and Noble, Borders (before they closed), Nook and iBooks. Some were free, 99¢ in the Kindle store, on sale, and some I paid full price for. They were cookbooks, fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels, technical books, vintage books, children’s books, you name it, I (thought) I’d read them as soon as I purchased them. This doesn’t include what I actually owned prior. My husband is a librarian and with our marriage came a documented certificate, a wedding, and a houseful of books. There’s nothing wrong with books, the more the merrier by all means. I love books in any form. Well, after looking back at the year and how I’ve spent my money, I decided to stop buying books for just 2012.

For 2012, I will borrow from my bookshelves, and my digi library. I won’t be buying any books for 2012. I know it’s almost impossible for some of us, but I think I can do it! This crazy idea (well, crazy for me) was prompted after unpacking books after my move and looking at my online collection. Part of our home was specifically made into a home library, and I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t even read half of what’s on my shelf. I realized I had so many books, it’s inexcusable to keep adding to the shelves and storage if I don’t really read them. Sure, there are some I’ve actually read and loved, but it’s not enough to merit spending and storing so many books that are going unloved. It doesn’t matter what the topic of the book is, I will read it. My girl scout Cadette handbook? Reading. My favorite Bukowski I’ve read a few times? Reading that, too. A children’s book from the thrift store? Add it to the list. Am I eyeing another vegan cookbook to my kitchen? Nope, instead I’ll use the collection I already have. That explicit fantasy book I got as a white elephant gift? Reading.

It was the romance of reading, not actually owning the books, that swayed me to purchase them. So why not stop buying books, save some money, and visit some old favorites and new adventures through reading? I want to do this project to test my love for consumerism. Really, I love shopping for books. I love clicking on that “add to cart” button, walking out of the book store with a ton of used books. There’s nothing wrong with it, but for myself, it’s a habit closer to hoarding. Scary.

Are you with me on this? Is there anything you’ve vowed to stop buying for 2012?

{Just to clarify, if a book is required for a book club or a work, I’ll be going to the public library, friends or neighbors to check it out rather than purchasing and still be able to keep my no-buying books for 2012 project consistent}

I have a pink kitchen but my dining room is a little plain. It has a white table, clear chairs, and a couple pink frames. I needed that extra pop of something that requires more less time, money and effort. I’m not afraid of color (I mean, my office has a lime green door on it) and I’m willing to get a little dirty if it means saving some money!

I’ve seen a ton of black chalkboard all over Pinterest, but pink? It wasn’t available at a general craft store. I found Pink Chalkboard Paint on Amazon. I bought two small jars and ended up using one, with about 4 coats on the door. A little goes a long way with this brand!

I wasn’t sure how to prep the door, but I found this amazing, AMAZING tip on Pinterest!!

I’m not very good at painting, and I was a little messy. Apparently you have to pay attention to these things.

I use it mostly not for the color but honestly for organization. It’s a meal planner, a shopping list, a to-do list, or just for love notes.

and I can practice my bad doodles

Overall, I’m really really happy with it, the color from this brand is HOT pink, but that’s exactly what I wanted.

I always see cool projects online but I feel I’m either not talented enough, or I won’t love it enough to devote time and effort to it. Now I can say I’ve tried the chalkboard trend and I absolutely love it!

Every Friday night, Scott and I would walk down to the donut shop down our street to pick up a dozen donuts. Yes, one box of donuts for two people. It’s as disgusting as it sounds. On Saturday mornings, I would wake up in pain and groggy from the wild night my body experienced with the calorie-filled donuts. I know those donuts are horrible for me, but I still miss them. After trying all kinds of vegan pies, cupcakes, muffins and tarts, it could never replace the donut for me. Thankfully I came across VeganYumYum’s Mini Donut recipe. I changed a few things around the recipe, to make it a bit healthier for my family. Here is my version:

First, I used a non-stick heart shaped donut pan . I wouldn’t recommend using a KitchenAid mixer for this, all you need is a whisk, a couple large and mini mixing bowls, and a saucepan.

Mix all the dry ingredients together:
1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 Cup Coconut Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/4 tsp Cinnamon

Add wet ingredients to saucepan and warm ’till the butter melts
1/2 Cup nut milk
1/2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
Egg Replacer for 1 Egg (I used Ener-G )
4 Tbs Earth Balance Vegan Butter

Add dry ingredients to saucepan and mix. It’ll have a wet-dough consistency but don’t overcook it or you’ll ruin it (like I did the first time I tried this).

Add to pan. Just a little warning- don’t overfill and smooth out. The original recipe warns about this or you’ll come out with a muffin top. I see this daily, I don’t need to see it in my actual donuts.

Bake for 12 min, let ‘em cool and mix the toppings
1/2 cup powered sugar
1 tbs nut milk
now, dip them in the glaze, sit for a quick second and then dip them into sprinkles!

That was my favorite part other than eating them. You can also find a cream cheese glaze here but alternate the dairy cream cheese with Tofutti’s.

So there you have it, mini vegan donuts. Mine are a lot darker because of the ingredients I used, but I recommend checking out the original from VeganYumYum.

and remember- the more dishes you have to clean, the tastier it will be!

To learn more about Much Love Monday, read about it here.

It feels GOOD being on a regular blogging schedule. Here are some links to entertain you for the weekend!

Suitcases as planters on English Muse.

Cinemagraphs on your iPhone? Yep, they finally made an app for that.

Diana Mini vs Holga 135bc? You be the judge

Did you know Nan Lawson is doing the cover for the second issue of Gadchick cover? Sam does a great interview with her here!

I used to hate the color pink, I can go on and on how the gender specification is crammed down women’s throats as young girls, but now it’s my favorite color. It’s associated with femininity, but I think it’s empowering, sexy and fun. Nicolette shares here thoughts (and awesome pics) here.

I’ve been wanting to visit Salvation Mountain for years, and Natalie was lucky enough to capture some amazing pictures of it here.

Up and coming blogs deemed by Alt Summit. There goes your weekend.

Imagine a world without reading? No, thank you.

What are you doing for the weekend? One of the perks of being a gadget hog is being able to giveaway some old gadgets. I’ll be tearing up my garage and office looking for an old netbook for a friend in need of a computer. It feels good to put them to good use.

Remember this post? Well, I’ve been on the lookout for a Rilakkuma iPad 2 case since and after searching the web, I found it in the last place I thought would carry it- Amazon ! Yep, it’s $13, and that’s with Prime free-shipping. Most iPad 2 cases cost twice as much, and are not as cute. I use my iPad mostly in the kitchen, and this will get dirty quickly but it’s easy to wipe off. I also love that it’s customized to the iPad 2. The speaker, camera, and each function of the gadget is enhanced rather than hidden or awkwardly placed like some cheap covers.

iPad 2 has a horrible camera but this is what it looks like. Excuse the dirty mirror and closet. It’s perfect and I can’t wait to show it off! Although, it wouldn’t really be showing it off when you’re 30, right? You can buy it here for $12.99

Yes, there is a first part here.

Limited edition, pink, and from Anabela? Christmas was last December, right? Ok, just checking, because it felt like Christmas morning opening this package.

Thank you, Anabela. I love it!!