Intro to Russian Pop

I like Russian pop music. I have been trying to learn Russian, but I have not really gotten past dah, nyet, and spaseebo. I have been working on the alphabet more, but man... languages are not my strong suit.  Here are a few of my favorites. Most of them are in English, so don't worry if you are language impaired like me. 

I discovered Glucoza through GTA. Her voice is so sexy. I looked up some her lyrics in English, though, and they came off as way too lovey-dovey for me, but luckily they are in another language so it's not that bad to listen to.

Two from Sergey Lazarev. The first one is from 2005, the next on 2010. I think he is the king of cheesy pop. I have never heard such cheesy, catchy songs. I love to dance to these late at night and drive my down-stair's neighbor nuts.

Everyone knows tATu, but maybe not this song. There is a version in English, too, if you can find it. So pretty.

Dyed Buzz Cuts for All ft. Jessie J, Winston, Dennis Rodman...

One of the shows I like to watch is New Girl. During a flashback, in the episode called "Basketball", Winston shows off a dyed leopard buzz cut. I couldn't stop thinking how much cooler it made him look, even though it was obviously sprayed on.

Winston before and after leopard hair by kmfern on Polyvore

Dyed buzz cuts look rocking on both guys and girls. I considered dying my hair but I am sure that the upkeep can be pretty ridiculous. I bet you need to dye it quite often unless you're okay with showing your roots.

Here are some more awesome buzz cuts:

Jessie J pink and blue buzz cuts by kmfern featuring a comic book

Amber Rose
Hair accessory (clipped to polyvore.com)

Willow Smith
SalonAddict.ie Dramatic Celebrity Hairstyles (clipped to polyvore.com)

Flea
... (clipped to polyvore.com)

Dennis Rodman - King of the dyed buzz cut
Haircare (clipped to polyvore.com)

Tempted? I love the blue on Jessie J. It would be great if you could just try it out for a day and then have all of your hair back the next. I know there's always wigs, weaves and extensions but I have a low tolerance for uncomfortable hair styles so I don't think I could handle those either.

Later Lovelies!

<3KM

Basil Chick'n of Seitan

One of my favorite Thai dishes is chicken basil, but unfortunately ground meats creep me out. Nothing is grosser to me than feeling a bit of gristle between my teeth. Because of that I prefer seitan, a wheat-gluten meat substitute. A bonus with seitan is that it is more filling, too!

 This recipe is not vegetarian because it has oyster sauce and fish sauce, but you can use vegetarian substitutes for that, if you wish. And if you can handle ground chicken you can use that instead of the seitan. 

Ingredients:

coconut oil

2 shallots

3 cloves garlic

2 tsp rice wine

pinch of sugar

1/2 tsp oyster sauce

1lb Seitan (or ground chicken)

1 tbs fish sauce

1 hot chilli (preferably Thai, but Serrano works fine)

1 hand-full of Thai basil

juice from 1/2 lime

coat bottom of wok with coconut oil

add shallots and garlic when oil is hot

fry until aromatic

add seitan, sugar, oyster sauce and rice wine

stir-fry until seitan is thoroughly warm and a little browned

turn off heat and add basil, chili, lime, and fish sauce

Serve over rice and cabbage or rice and sprouts

Gold and Garnets

Gold and Garnets by kmfern featuring yellow gold rings

Lately I have been craving vintage, ancient looking gold and garnet jewelry. Red garnet is just gorgeous and it happens to be this month's birth stone. According to Crystal Vaults garnet is known to calm emotions and repel bad dreams, among other things. These rings look like they really could give you super powers.

The bracelet in the upper right hand corner is made by the 19th century goldsmith Francois-Desire Froment-Meurice. The band is actually made of human hair which sounds kind of creepy but it is still so pretty. I actually heard about Froment-Meurice from an episode of Pawn Stars. <3 his work.

Happy birthday to all the January babies!

<3KM

Sweet Winter Lolita

I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm not usually one for pink and frills, but I am loving Sweet Lolita. In case you don't know, Lolita is a subculture from Japan in which girls dress like children from Victorian times or Rococo dolls. There are many variations, but I especially like the "sweet" one, which mainly focuses on pinks and other pastels. 

Who doesn't love a soft, pink muff?

When I was little I used to collect miniature teddy-bears and build them towns out of old shoe boxes. I am totally digging the idea of turning old stuffed animals into accessories. I have a stuffed pink elephant I want to turn into a purse!

Do you think this fashion is just silly? Or do you want to put on excessive amounts of lace and turn your favorite stuffed animal into a backpack?

In Love with... Tiny foods - Kracie Popin Cookin Happy Kitchen kits

Kracie Happy Kitchen Ice Cream Kit

One day I was browsing Youtube and I came across these awesome, Japanese candy kits. I love mini food things so I knew I needed to try one for myself but I couldn't decide which one to try. Thankfully they are available in variety packs on Amazon so I ordered this lot of 9 for my kids and I for Christmas. They are so fun and they actually taste better than I anticipated.

The instructions for these are in Japanese so that made it a challenge at first but then I just went ahead and searched the Internet for the English instructions.  There are lots of Youtube videos out there that show you how to make them but I prefer written instructions. The videos helped me figure out what to expect though, and they are pretty entertaining!

Kracie Happy Kitchen Sushi kit

The first kit that my kids and I made was the hamburger kit. It was the most challenging because I wasn't sure what the consistency was supposed to be like and it actually needed to be microwaved at certain points. Once I got the hang of it I became more comfortable with trying to decipher the instructions on my own.

The English instructions help a lot but beware - sometimes the colors of the packet inside your kit may vary from the color of the packet in the tutorials or instructions. If this is the case it helps to try to compare the writing on the packages. If the writing looks identical but the colors are different than you may just have different packaging. Smelling the powder can help you figure out what component it actually is if this happens to you.

If you purchased a kit and you'd like to read some English instructions check these out:

• Sushi Kit English Instructions
• http://whiterabbitexpress.com/popin-cookin-english-instructions/
• Doughnut Kit
• http://whiterabbitexpress.com/happy-kitchen-donuts-english-instructions/
• Hamburger Kit
• http://japanesecandykit.com/Cheeseburger.php
• http://fhauling4you.blogspot.com/2012/11/japanese-candy-making-kit-happy-kitchen.html
• Ice cream Kit
• http://createeathappy.blogspot.com/2013/05/how-to-make-kracie-popin-cookin-diy-fun.html
• Bento Kit
• http://twinebirds.com/lets-make-obentou-instructions/
• Gummy Land Kit
• http://createeathappy.blogspot.com/2013/05/how-to-make-kracie-popin-cookin-diy.html

I can't find any written instructions for the waffle kit or the cake decorating kit so Youtube is your best bet for those. I still wonder if I made the blueberries right in the waffle kit because mine turned out squishy. The play dough kit seems to be pretty self explanatory but I still haven't opened it.

Assembly Hints:

• Open the packaging very carefully.
• Sometimes the wrapper is used in the final product either as a place mat or as decoration, such as the fry holder and drink wrap in the hamburger kit. 
• It is recommended to cut the top and bottom of the plastic wrapper with scissors. 
• Sometimes the box is used for display too like in the ice cream kit.
• Less water is better than too much water. 
• You can always add a little more if it is too thick. 
• Have little dishes ready. 
• Little pitcher, teapot or dish to hold the water. 
• Kids love to use their own play kitchen dishes - just make sure they are clean! 
• Little plate for your treats. 
• Use filtered or bottled water.

Have you tried any of these? I think they are so fun! 

Later Lovelies, 

<3KM

Impractical Sweaters

I'm usually for function over fashion when it comes to clothes. These sweaters will not keep you warm, but I really want to lean how to make one. They are just so... post-apocalyptic somehow. 

This one would probably be easy to make - just the right yarn and some giant knitting needles

And this one just make holes in the sweater above and tie them off.

I have no idea who made any of these, so if you know, give me a heads up.