McDonald's: Ruining Photos Worldwide

Fast food chains. They embody so many of the things I hate. Animal cruelty; poison and chemicals disguised as food; convenience over quality; money over ethics; the almighty worldwide corporation; the loss of character in individual towns and cities in favor of generic strip mall sprawl; the ever more prevalent "they made me wait for more than a minute in my air-conditioned car for my lunch, so I deserve to get my $1 burger for free" attitude of entitlement. I could go on all day--but I won't. Why? Because these two photos from my trip to Mexico this past January say it pretty well for me.

La Casa del Whopper--it doesn't matter what city or even what country you're in--there is no escaping the King.




Or if you like irony in your photography--

It's hard to read the monument on this mini-sized photo, but it says:
"Los recursos naturales del pais deben servir para su propia prosperidad. Entregarlos a intereses extranjeros es traicionar a la patria."

Or in English:
"The natural resources of a land should serve for its own prosperity. To turn them over to foreign interests is to betray the country."

Whatever McDonald's wants, McDonald's gets though...

Check out what I have in store for you for April Fool's Day--

By my New Jersey time, it's only 12 minutes left til April Fool's Day! Excitement!

You know why I'm excited though? Not because I get to make my friends ice cream sundaes topped with shaving cream, although that is a bonus. No, it's because it's the first day of the Deepshade Creations Holiday Weekend Sale! Yes you heard me!

For four days (count 'em, four--Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday--that's FOUR glorious days), you get 15% off everything in my shop that your little heart desires. Everything! No limits! And this is in addition to the free US shipping I already offer! Madness!

But wait. I know what you're thinking-- "Is this a joke? Is she toying with our fragile emotions? I don't think I could handle such disappointment.."

Rest assured, this is no joke. Despite beginning on April Fool's Day, this is the big "Deepshade Creations Yes For Real Sale!" Want proof? Go shop til you can shop no more, check out, and within hours you will find an email stating you've received that 15% discount refunded back to you. Oh yes, it really is that simple.

The sale is happening at both my Etsy and Artfire shops:
Deepshade Creations on Etsy
Deepshade Creations on Artfire

Ready? Only 8 minutes to go...

Wordless Wednesday

It's like a fiesta in your mouth!

So I had a Spanish-themed potluck to go to last night, and totally forgot about it until the night before. And I had class from 9:30am to 6pm beforehand. Did I panic and fake sick? No. Did I flee to Taco Bell, discard the wrappers, and hope no one would notice? No. I thought to myself, "What's already in that kitchen and what would Marta, Martha's Spanish sister, whip up with it?"

I cannot wait til the day I can say, "Oh, I just whipped this up!" on a regular basis. Better, I need to learn to say it in Spanish.

Well, never mind. I just looked it up. There is no Spanish equivalent for "whip up." I am very disappointed.

But anyway.. eso es lo que preparé:


Spanish-Style Couscous

(by the way, if you've ever read one of my recipes before, you know I can't be bothered with measurements - just warning you)

-like a cup of uncooked couscous
-14.5 oz of vegetable broth (I only have a measurement for this because I used a can of it)
-a handful of green olives
-the other handful of black olives
-a single beautiful green bell pepper
-a clove of garlic
-a little bit of garlic powder in my life
-a little bit of cumin by my side
-a little bit of thyme is all I need
-a little bit of black pepper is all I see
-oh yeah, and some oregano

1) Boil the vegetable broth and throw the couscous in. You can literally throw it if you want, but I wouldn't recommend it.

2) Turn the heat down to about medium and let it cook for about two minutes. That's all it takes. That's why I love couscous.

3) Make sure you get those spices in there and mixed up during those two minutes. You can mix them in after it's done cooking, but it's way easier to stir broth than cooked couscous. Put it aside once it's done.

4) Chop the green pepper, the garlic clove, and the olives. Unfortunately, you will not be choppin' any broccolay.

5) Saute them up in some olive oil. Or mayo if you're Paula Deen.

6) Mix them up with the same spices as before.

7) Put it all together and sprinkle the oregano on top. Done! So freakin easy even I can do it. Y que sabroso!

Delicious Etsy Pet Peeves

I'd like to start with a disclaimer before I start ranting:

Yes, I know everything is subjective and that what one person hates the rest of the world may love. However, while you're on that one person's blog, you're going to be treated to that one person's thoughts, haha :)

Pet Peeve #1: Take a Peek!

Take a peek at my new necklace! I have a brand new design up, go ahead and take a peek! I'm having a sale in my shop, won't you take a peek? Ugh. I already have a hatred for cliched little phrases like this that you see everywhere and that show no sort of imagination on the writer's part. But this one, if you'll excuse my own use of unimaginative cliched phrase, takes the cake. Who wants someone to sneak around taking peeks at their stuff? Just come look at it! Is your shop really that big a secret that you require people to be so furtive about it? You can look, but only if you just peek!

The reason I really hate it though? Is because this is what it ALWAYS makes me think of:

Kilroy was here, taking a peek at your stuff.


Pet Peeve #2: Take a Peak!

I'm pretty sure I don't need to delve any further into this one.

Pet Peeve #3: Juicy

Vibrant, vivid, brilliant, sure. But if I can't bite into it and taste it, then I'm not buying that that bead is juicy. Watermelon is juicy. Hand-knit sweaters are not. (Or at least I hope they're not.)

Pet Peeve #4: Overuse of Emoticons

Particularly the wink ;) If you wouldn't wink at me for real after saying something, then why would you when you're typing? If you're not joking about something, there is no need to be winking. It gives the message an entirely different vibe than what you intended.

You should check out my treasury!

Okay cool, don't mind if I do.

You should check out my treasury ;)

Uh.. why? Just what kind of treasury is this, buddy? Are you trying to show me dirty pictures? Stop winking at me!


I only have four. Because I'm really not that negative of a person, haha. And I fully admit that I'm sure I do things that annoy other people to the point of blogging about them. So if you have any of your own to add, feel free to leave them in the comments, because I'd love to know! And with that, please go take a peak at the rest of my juicy blog ;)

Wordless Wednesday

Philadelphia International Flower Show

How is it that I've never lived more than 45 minutes from Philadelphia at any point in my entire life, yet somehow I've never heard of the Philadelphia International Flower Show before this week?

A friend invited me to go with her yesterday, and I thought it sounded fun, so I agreed, not realizing it was any kind of big deal. But then I tell my mom and my boyfriend about it, and apparently not only have they both heard of it, but they've both always wanted to go. Who knew? Not me!

It was amazing though. It was in the Convention Center, and as soon as you walked in, you were enveloped by the scent of flowers. Flowers in every direction and fancy displays everywhere. At one point we overheard someone remark that there should be arrows on the floor to direct you where to go- we mocked them at the time, but after while, we had to agree that we could see what they meant. Enormous elephant and giraffe sculptures made of flowers, an enclosed bamboo walking trail, crazy intricate bonzai trees.. we spent hours in there, and I'm still not sure we even saw everything.

The above picture of the orange flowers is what the giraffe sculpture was made from. Yeah seriously. Little glass vases filled with these beautiful blooming orchids hanging from an enormous constructed giraffe. They even had a little bird perched on top for good measure. Definitely one of my favorite parts of the show. The other favorite was the pressed flower exhibit. These things were works of art. I never imagined you could work flowers and pieces of plants into such intricate landscapes. One used hydrangea petals to make a sky that was so many shades of blue and purple with wispy white clouds; another was a clock tower constructed from all kinds of metallic leaves. It was amazing.

And of course I couldn't get out of there without checking out the vendor section. That part was hit or miss- I loved seeing all of the handmade work, and there was plenty of it. However, one of the most aggravating things to me is spotting something beautiful and different, then on closer examination, finding a "Made in China" sticker on it. And unfortunately, there was plenty of that too. I can't really complain much about it though, since it was a flower show and not an art show. I think getting critiquey about mass-produced just comes with the territory when you're a handmade artist. One thing I have to say though is that seeing the displays those vendors were using seriously got my mind working as far as my own display goes. I'm hoping eventually I'll be at the point where I can move up to doing shows on that level. Not anytime soon, but maybe next year will be my year for it!

Wordless Wednesday

Twitter Tips. Or... Twips.

I always wonder how so many people manage to keep their blogs going consistently when I struggle to post even just a few times a year. Where do they find the time? Where do they come up with topics to write about? Are their lives really that much more interesting than mine?

Or maybe it's just that everyone writes about the same stuff.

Like Twitter. Yes, that's right, I believe I've discovered the secret. You're not a real blogger until you've posted an "Awesome Tips for Succeeding on Twitter!" post. So here you have mine. Read and be enlightened.

Twips to Have You Tittering Like a Pro!

1. In order to be a success on Twitter, you must send each and every one of your new followers a direct message saying, "Thanks so much for following me, my special friend! I am so very looking forward to tweeting with you! :) You, only you ...and the 4587 other people I messaged immediately after you. Keep in touch and have a restful day!"


2. After you send said direct message, proceed to ignore all tweets from said new followers forevermore.


3. When said followers catch onto your little game and unfollow you, let them go. Unfollow them in return. But only for a week. Then add them back and hope they don't notice you're the same person they just deleted.


4. It's rude not to say good morning and good night to your Tweeple each and every day. We worry. Are you mad at us?


5. Don't you ever let your followers go a day without knowing you had three square meals and a fancy coffee. It's just cruel to leave people hanging like that.


6. If you're an Etsy seller tweeting about your new items, don't just post the link. Make sure you preface it with "Just sold and relisted!" It's vital that your followers know how lucky they are to be graced with the opportunity to purchase such hot-selling merchandise from you.


7. As long as I'm talking to you, Etsy sellers- if you're going to post your items on Twitter, then by George, do it right and post all 97 of them in a row.


8. Oh yeah, by the way Etsians? We don't care about your personal life. We only want to know what you have to sell us and how many hearts and sales you're up to. You know, the interesting stuff. Obviously.


9. Use as many abbreviations and omit as many vowels as possible in your tweets. The more indecipherable, the better. B Grg Im gn 2 mk dis twt ft if it kls m! Kn u stl rd dis? IDK I tnk Im spkng Grk! Kn sm1 trnsl8? Il py u!


10. If shorthand isn't your thing, it's okay to post multiple tweets one after the other to make sure you get in everything you wanted to say. Who needs a journal when you have Twitter to post your master's thesis on?

I think that about covers it for this class period. Please study the lesson, and if you have any of your own Twips to share with the class, please feel free to post them in the comments!

Wordless Wednesday