Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Corner View ~ Motion

It has been quite awhile since I last participated in corner view, and I'm happy to be back in the swing of things. Corner view is a Wednesday weekly appointment hosted by Francesca, where bloggers from around the globe share their view on a pre-arranged theme.

When I heard the theme was motion I automatically thought of the ocean and the lull and pull of waves. The soothing sounds of water are one of my favorite zen acoustics. The video below is from a trip to Baker Beach, San Francisco, California. We went to celebrate my daughters 7th birthday by going to the zoo and capping off the day by enjoying our favorite beach in "The City".To bad you couldn't see the magnificent "Golden Gate Bridge" because the fog had already rolled in.










Friday, January 24, 2014

Grow Your Blog

Welcome travelers near and far, I have been waiting for some visitors for quite awhile. So where have I landed you may ask yourself? Well kick off your shoes and rest your bones, Gypsy Spirit Rising is a cozy place to be.


Stay at home mother and housewife are my occupations. Maybe you don't consider this a job but it is a lot of work. I get asked "what do you do all day" and I reply "oh nothing much". Wait, I do a multitude of miscellaneous daily! Thus brought on my urge to blog and put it out there. Gypsy Spirit Rising came from the feeling that surrounded my heart as I made the leap to become a part of the blogging community ( I was scared at first, silly now that I think about it)



So what will you find here if you drop by for a visit? We're a family of six  living off of a shoe string budget ,so creative ways to get by with what we got comes into play. Thriving off of thriftyness is one of my mantras. I like to share recipes that I cook for the whole family and personal ones I enjoy. It's hard being a vegetarian in a house full of carnivores. I've been embarking on a greener eco life style so homemade all natural products and ideas will be sprouting soon. I love to recycle and  re-purpose, crazy up-cycles will abound. And here's where my true Gypsy Spirit comes into play. You will find a touch of magic with herbal lotions and potions and a multitude of other workings under the sun and moon.Thanks for stopping by my little urban homestead. I look forward to traveling the blogosphere to visit you. 






Special thanks to Vicki of 2 Bags Full for creating this awesome event for bloggers to unite.

2 Bags Full

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Tepache anyone?

Even though it's winter and  cold outside, I've been craving this tropical iced drink. Tepache is a traditional Mexican fresca made by fermenting pineapple. The recipe and method is easy to do and the end result is a refreshing drink.


Ingredient List:
1 pineapple, 5-9 cloves, 1 cinnamon stick, 3/4 cups brown sugar, pitcher of water

Method
  1. cut the rind off of the pineapple, set aside
  2. chop the pineapple flesh into small cubes 
  3. add all rind , half of the pineapple chunks, cinnamon stick, cloves and brown sugar to the pitcher
  4. fill the pitcher with fresh water and cover
  5. let the Tepache ferment for 48 hrs 
  6. strain into a glass filled with ice and enjoy


Thursday, January 2, 2014

Upcycled Crayons

I came up with this recycled/upcycled idea for crayons while cleaning up the kids art supplies. Instead of throwing away all those small and broken pieces I converted them into new bright and colorful stars. My 3 year old  received these in his stocking, they are the perfect size for toddler dexterity.



Materials needed : crayons, mold, pot of water, baby jar or any glass jar, bamboo skewer 


  1. Gather all your old funky crayons and take of the paper wrappers . Go find your favorite shape molds


   2.  Fill a pot halfway with water and set to a boil. Put your crayons color selection in the jar and set in pot.


      3.  Stir the crayon with the skewer as it melts. Once the crayon is completely melted pour into your mold.(Be careful use tongs or a towel to take the jar out)


4.        Let the crayon cool completely and pop out, hand them over to the kids and watch them enjoy