So....as I have said, I have champagne taste and beer money :) I love four basic things in life. I love to write, I love learning how to cook, I love to eat and I love to eat well. One thing I do not love is going to the local grocery store with a recipe in my hand looking for some type of exotic food like passion fruit, not finding it and then having to scramble around to find a substitute. (This royally sucks) Another loathsome activity is walking around the meat section or the seafood section of my local supermarket and noticing that the items in the case do not look that appetizing...they don't look bad...just not "that" good. This could be my uppity taste in food and my high brow opinion of good food quality but I usually leave my local supermarket a little disappointed.
This was my blue period. Picture this, a young eager, enthusiastic woman off to the food store with reusable bags, Vera Bradley purse, and a smile only to find a place that did not match my bright attitude about food. Every week I would trudge to go food shopping and dread the experience. So redundant, so boring..............
and then I discovered Whole Foods.
(Now I still go to my local food store from time to time but my main food shopping is now done at Whole Foods :)
Whole Foods is a wonderful store that has all the good stuff, good fish, good meat, great variety of groceries from exotic to the ordinary. I fell in love! Even their beer selection is awesome!!! (which keeps Mr. Wallace happy) I love food shopping now and look forward to my weekly Whole Foods visits.
Now, you may ask..."if you have no money, girl, what are you doing shopping at Whole Foods"??? The answer to this question is simple. I know that Whole Foods is jokingly referred to as "Whole Paycheck" but I have gotten around this with my savvy intellect and now I have not resulted in bank robbery, or pawning precious jewelry (costume or not my stuff is all precious to me). I have found a way to shop for my groceries at Whole Foods and spend $130 maximum a week, which, anyone could easily spend at any local grocery store. It is sad but true....food is flipping expensive and eating well is ridiculously expensive!!! I have a few rules for shopping and these can work anywhere but I absolutely love what I buy at my grocery store choice. I love how I feel after I eat their food, I love the selection, I love the friendly, knowledgeable staff, and I love that the seafood market does not smell fishy which is a good sign :) My shopping rules are simple :)
1. Go to the store with a list. Having a list with you keeps you organized and helps you refrain from just dumping things in the cart because they look interesting. After I finish shopping for what I need, I then have a clear head while shopping for a few luxurious extras. If I start to get too luxurious, I walk up to the checkout line. Since I have what I need already, I can afford to leave now without embarrassing myself looking for lint filled change at the bottom of my Vera trying to scrape up money for a larger than life grocery bill.
2. I plan my meals ahead of time for the week. I know that I will make spaghetti and red sauce and meatballs one day and another day I want to have beef stew. I know what my meats for the week are and I buy enough for a meal, not enough for leftovers. I have found that when I plan for leftovers, they rarely get eaten and I end up wasting more money on tossed food. Budgeting by planning my meals always saves me money.
3. I LOVE chicken, not only for its taste but also for the price. There are so many meat choices at whole foods and they are all tasty but I cannot always buy the really tasty meats because it would blow my budget but that doesn't get me down. Never underestimate the power of chicken. You can buy a whole chicken (I like the free range or the kosher chickens) and cut it in half yourself at home. You can then use one half for a chicken soup which you can make the stock on your own by boiling the chicken, and then you can use the other half for chicken pot pie, or a delicious, exotic, and surprisingly inexpensive curried chicken dinner. It's great for people who are on a budget but want to eat a good, wholesome meal at home. Also, chicken thighs are SUPER tasty but no one really talks about the thighs. I always hear so much about chicken breasts but the thigh is just as good and, in my opinion, even better!! I use thighs for curried chicken, chicken fricassee, roasted garlic clove chicken and many other chicken delights. :) I would love to be able to cook duck like a french chef at home but my budget doesn't allow for me to do that but I have found recipes online that substitute duck with chicken! Now I can have my bourgeois meal at home! Chicken = yummy, affordable dinner
4. Try one cool, new thing every time I go. It could just be a new fruit that I haven't had but I try to get new things to keep cooking fun and interesting. I bring that new item home and say okay now what the heck can I do with this, and that's when google and my mom's library of cookbooks become my buddies :)
Certain things I know I have to buy at Whole foods are:
1. Milk (preferably in a glass bottle which you bring back to Whole Foods to recycle and get a money ticket that you use for your groceries. It's only a couple of dollars but a couple of bucks is something)
2. Butter (the one with the highest butterfat content that I can afford, cooking with the good stuff makes my food taste better)
3. Eggs
4. Beef (I buy lots of ground beef but you can always experiment with other really yummy cuts they offer. Ask the butcher about how much to buy according to how many people you are feeding and what you are making)
5. Fish
6. Fruit (remember in season is the most affordable way to go)
7. Veggies
8. Bread (if I don't feel like making my own)
9. Chicken (After seeing lots of documentaries on how large corporate chain farms treat their chickens, I have decided to eat only truly organic, free range, local as I can get chicken. Chicken is my main meat in the kitchen because it is the most affordable and I want to make sure that I buy the best I can afford since I consume so much of it)
Sometimes I get my fruit and veggies from local farms during the spring and summer. Most people forget that there are farms that sell really great stuff but I like to keep my shopping local in order to help local businesses and because it is very convenient and affordable. Shopping local allows me to stay in tune with what is in season which is usually the most inexpensive choice.
And that's how a girl can shop at Whole Foods, eat well, and not break the bank. The best way to save money as a young couple is eating at home! Learning how to cook is so much fun, even when you make mistakes. The best is having fun in the kitchen with people you love and then eating what you have made together. So, open up a bottle of wine, or beer (again, whole foods has an AWESOME selection of beer) and expand your curious minds with culinary experimentation. Curiousity never hurt anyone, except the cat. Where are Merlin and Cleo anyway......
xoxo,
Mrs. Wallace
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Monday, June 11, 2012
A silly, childish poem for a little black cat
Merlin oh Merlin what a cute little cat
I brought you home simply because
I never wanted to see a rat. Snuggly,
social, black fluffy fur all over. I felt
like you were a good sign, my feline
four leaf clover. You cast a spell on anyone
who looks in your eyes. They fall in love
with you Merlin, and this is their demise.
Trouble oh trouble finds you wherever
you go. You scratch up the sofa, you
knock the good vase over and claw
at the window. Jumping on the table
is your favorite feat, for you always find
good food that the humans must
have left for you to eat. You chew on the
bagels even if they are wrapped in plastic.
You find the puddles in the shower
nothing short of fantastic. You knock all
my nice trinkets onto the floor,
then you meow and trill as if you just
scored. You chase my orange tabby,
Cleo, like you are in heat. You are not
gentlemanly, not very discreet. You
cause quite a fuss, you make everyone
mad but you are also quite funny and that's
not so bad. You love to play tag, you chew
on my hair. You jump out of dark places
and do the crazy cat stare. If I had to do it all
over, would I still take you in? Merlin oh
Merlin, thinking of life without you
would be a mortal sin.
xoxo,
mrs. wallace
(aka the crazy cat lady)
I brought you home simply because
I never wanted to see a rat. Snuggly,
social, black fluffy fur all over. I felt
like you were a good sign, my feline
four leaf clover. You cast a spell on anyone
who looks in your eyes. They fall in love
with you Merlin, and this is their demise.
Trouble oh trouble finds you wherever
you go. You scratch up the sofa, you
knock the good vase over and claw
at the window. Jumping on the table
is your favorite feat, for you always find
good food that the humans must
have left for you to eat. You chew on the
bagels even if they are wrapped in plastic.
You find the puddles in the shower
nothing short of fantastic. You knock all
my nice trinkets onto the floor,
then you meow and trill as if you just
scored. You chase my orange tabby,
Cleo, like you are in heat. You are not
gentlemanly, not very discreet. You
cause quite a fuss, you make everyone
mad but you are also quite funny and that's
not so bad. You love to play tag, you chew
on my hair. You jump out of dark places
and do the crazy cat stare. If I had to do it all
over, would I still take you in? Merlin oh
Merlin, thinking of life without you
would be a mortal sin.
xoxo,
mrs. wallace
(aka the crazy cat lady)
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Bread and coffee in the morning just like mom
There are some things in life that are so enjoyable, no matter how small they may be, that you look forward to them and the thought brings a smile to your face. One of those things in my life is nice fresh baked Italian bread smothered with butter and strawberry jelly washed down with a good cup of coffee in the morning. I developed the taste for this from my mom who got it from her grandmother Bella. Every time I sit down to this for breakfast early in the morning I feel just like my mom, which gives me a fuzzy, warm feeling inside. It is the best when the bread is sliced and toasted. The crunchiness is divine and still holds up even if you tend to dip the slice in the coffee like we do.
Now, we do not have a good Italian bakery very close to us and I can't stand large chain store supermarket Italian bread because it just never tastes right to me. Also, supermarket Italian bread tends to get hard and stale so much faster than the bread that I make from scratch at home. So, a few months ago I was searching on YouTube for recipes and I came across a little older woman named Clara who posted videos of recipes that were from the depression. Me being on a serious budget noticed a kindred spirit in this woman. If you go to the store and buy a loaf of bread you can spend like $5.00 for one loaf alone! Eating is expensive and eating well is even more of a challenge for my little (but sweet) Vera Bradley wallet so any time I can save a few extra bucks without the result being an unhealthy one, I grab that chance right up! This bread recipe makes three loaves for me and the result is so delicious for toasting slices for breakfast or using for sandwiches for lunch, even for a large piece to be served with a nice soup or spaghetti with red sauce for dinner. I also put sesame seeds on my bread loaves because I love the toasted sesame taste they add to my bread. I altered Clara's Sunday bread recipe from her cookbook "Clara's Kitchen", and substituted half semolina pasta flour and half all purpose flour. My result came out of the oven toasty, warm, perfect sponginess on the inside, crispy, crunchy, crusty outside and.....delicious :)
***Warning - take off all your jewelry before starting this recipe as you will be kneading with your hands and you do not want any of your diamonds (real or fake, i won't tell ;) ) to be full of dough because it is sooo hard to get clean after this. ***
Semolina Italian Bread
5 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
4 cups semolina pasta flour
3 1/2 cups warm water, approximately
8 tablespoons olive oil (buy the best one you can afford and make sure it is Italian, the Mediterranean one will change the taste and it is Italian bread that you want to bake, you will be able to taste the difference)
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1. Pour the flour into a large mixing bowl (and I mean large, this baby is going to have to rise in this bowl and it gets big). Dig out a well in the middle of the pile.
2. Add the yeast, 1 cup of water, and olive oil to the well. Break up the yeast with your hands and let it melt into the mixture. (It feels clumpy and kinda slimy like lake water but trust me the end result is worth it. Another added bonus by doing this part by hand is that the olive oil really softens up your hands...no need for expensive lotions and creams when you can do it all naturally :) ) After the yeast becomes incorporated with the flour, slowly mix everything together. Gradually add in 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt.
3. Wash your hands, knead the ingredients together, adding more water as you go along. Make sure the mass is doughy, not too mushy and not too dry. If it does get mushy that just means you added too much water and is easily fixed by adding a little bit more flour to it. In all you will add at least 3 1/2 cups of warm water (must be warm, not hot) This should take about 20 minutes of kneading. Clara's advice is to pretend like you're mad at someone because this makes the time go by faster. I laughed hysterically when I heard that and it does work. I also turn up the music, making sure that it is upbeat and that helps the time go by as well.
4. When your dough mass becomes springy in texture, cover it with a clean, damp dish towel. Let it sit on the counter and rise for about an hour to an hour and a half. Let it sit out, don't put it in the refrigerator.
5. After the dough rises, punch it down and divide it equally (or as equally as possible) to three regular sized loaf pans. Flatten each out into individual loaves to fit the pans.
6. Use your trusty dish towel again and cover the loaf pans. Let them sit on the counter for another 30 minutes while you preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
7. Once the loaves have risen for the second time, brush each loaf with a bit of water and sprinkle the sesame seeds on them. Pop them in the oven for about 40 minutes, when they are done the wonderful aroma of fresh baked bread will fill your kitchen and their crusts will be golden brown.
8. Carefully remove them from the oven and cool first in the in their pan for 30 minutes and then on a rack for another 30-40 minutes.
9. Enjoy :)
***You can freeze these loaves in a Ziploc if you want to keep them out one at a time or bake them ahead of time. Take them out whenever you want to use them and pop them back into the oven at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10-15 minutes, all ovens are different so just watch the loaf to keep it from burning.***
Now, we do not have a good Italian bakery very close to us and I can't stand large chain store supermarket Italian bread because it just never tastes right to me. Also, supermarket Italian bread tends to get hard and stale so much faster than the bread that I make from scratch at home. So, a few months ago I was searching on YouTube for recipes and I came across a little older woman named Clara who posted videos of recipes that were from the depression. Me being on a serious budget noticed a kindred spirit in this woman. If you go to the store and buy a loaf of bread you can spend like $5.00 for one loaf alone! Eating is expensive and eating well is even more of a challenge for my little (but sweet) Vera Bradley wallet so any time I can save a few extra bucks without the result being an unhealthy one, I grab that chance right up! This bread recipe makes three loaves for me and the result is so delicious for toasting slices for breakfast or using for sandwiches for lunch, even for a large piece to be served with a nice soup or spaghetti with red sauce for dinner. I also put sesame seeds on my bread loaves because I love the toasted sesame taste they add to my bread. I altered Clara's Sunday bread recipe from her cookbook "Clara's Kitchen", and substituted half semolina pasta flour and half all purpose flour. My result came out of the oven toasty, warm, perfect sponginess on the inside, crispy, crunchy, crusty outside and.....delicious :)
***Warning - take off all your jewelry before starting this recipe as you will be kneading with your hands and you do not want any of your diamonds (real or fake, i won't tell ;) ) to be full of dough because it is sooo hard to get clean after this. ***
Semolina Italian Bread
5 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
4 cups semolina pasta flour
3 1/2 cups warm water, approximately
8 tablespoons olive oil (buy the best one you can afford and make sure it is Italian, the Mediterranean one will change the taste and it is Italian bread that you want to bake, you will be able to taste the difference)
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1. Pour the flour into a large mixing bowl (and I mean large, this baby is going to have to rise in this bowl and it gets big). Dig out a well in the middle of the pile.
2. Add the yeast, 1 cup of water, and olive oil to the well. Break up the yeast with your hands and let it melt into the mixture. (It feels clumpy and kinda slimy like lake water but trust me the end result is worth it. Another added bonus by doing this part by hand is that the olive oil really softens up your hands...no need for expensive lotions and creams when you can do it all naturally :) ) After the yeast becomes incorporated with the flour, slowly mix everything together. Gradually add in 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt.
3. Wash your hands, knead the ingredients together, adding more water as you go along. Make sure the mass is doughy, not too mushy and not too dry. If it does get mushy that just means you added too much water and is easily fixed by adding a little bit more flour to it. In all you will add at least 3 1/2 cups of warm water (must be warm, not hot) This should take about 20 minutes of kneading. Clara's advice is to pretend like you're mad at someone because this makes the time go by faster. I laughed hysterically when I heard that and it does work. I also turn up the music, making sure that it is upbeat and that helps the time go by as well.
4. When your dough mass becomes springy in texture, cover it with a clean, damp dish towel. Let it sit on the counter and rise for about an hour to an hour and a half. Let it sit out, don't put it in the refrigerator.
5. After the dough rises, punch it down and divide it equally (or as equally as possible) to three regular sized loaf pans. Flatten each out into individual loaves to fit the pans.
6. Use your trusty dish towel again and cover the loaf pans. Let them sit on the counter for another 30 minutes while you preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
7. Once the loaves have risen for the second time, brush each loaf with a bit of water and sprinkle the sesame seeds on them. Pop them in the oven for about 40 minutes, when they are done the wonderful aroma of fresh baked bread will fill your kitchen and their crusts will be golden brown.
8. Carefully remove them from the oven and cool first in the in their pan for 30 minutes and then on a rack for another 30-40 minutes.
9. Enjoy :)
***You can freeze these loaves in a Ziploc if you want to keep them out one at a time or bake them ahead of time. Take them out whenever you want to use them and pop them back into the oven at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for about 10-15 minutes, all ovens are different so just watch the loaf to keep it from burning.***
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
A snippet from the beginning of this legendary monkey on my back....
Excerpt from the prelude of my story :
There was once a beautiful kingdom located in a beautiful world of lush green meadows and surrounded by a vast blue ocean. This land was a far away place filled with magic and wonder. The king was a kindhearted man who loved his kingdom and his family. He had a beautiful wife who was a very magical woman. They lived happily for many years together and had two daughters. The eldest they named Rowena and the little one they called Celine. These two girls grew up experiencing life in this wonderful place together. They rode unicorns on the beach and played hide and seek with the fairies in the meadow. Celine and her sister Rowena were very close when they were children. They had a connection that made them able to communicate telepathically. When their mother passed away, their father seemed to pay more attention to Celine because she looked very much like her mother. Celine began to naturally hone her magic very quickly. Her sister, desperate to find her magic, threw herself into her studies in order to surpass her sister's success and feel worthy of her father's attention. She was the oldest child and wanted to impress her father. Sisters who were once so very close that they could read each other's thoughts began to feel a great distance growing between them as Celine quickly mastered her skills. She felt most inspired by nature and all of its mystery and beauty. She soon began to channel her powers within it and found that she could control the natural elements of fire, air, water, and earth. A second power was soon discovered within Celine as she began to communicate with animals. All animals obeyed her as they developed a sense of allegiance to the being who could speak on their behalf. Their father was very impressed with all that Celine was accomplishing. Rowena became very jealous...positively green with envy.
One gorgeously warm blue sky filled day as Celine was walking home on the beach after a day of swimming with the fish, she found a very large, oddly shaped sand dune. As she examined this specimen, the gigantic thing began to move rocking slowly back and forth. Celine watched as the sand moved and revealed a giant oyster. She knew that these sightings were very rare indeed as the oysters were a favorite food among many sea and land creatures. The longer they lived, the larger they grew and this one was so large he had to be quite old. Oysters were known to be very wise and honed their own kind of special magic. This oyster was just as she thought he would be but her excitement was cut short with the news the oyster had to bear. He told her that her mother had asked him to make a gift for her daughters. This gift, blessed by magic, would allow them to turn into any one animal they were destined to become. This magic was called shapeshifting and it was their mother's most favorite gift. The oyster felt great sadness when their mother passed away because he had the gift of foresight and had seen into her daughter's souls. Celine's soul and heart were pure but Rowena's soul and heart harbored jealousy and rage. He was certain that Rowena's darkness would one day consume her. He had promised to make two gifts, one for each of the queen's daughters but he could not bring himself to create a magical talisman for a dark hearted soul. He had spent nineteen years bottling up all of the magic inside of him and he had created one very powerful talisman meant for one daughter destined to be the savior of their kingdom. With that he opened his shell and inside lay a beautiful, perfectly round glowing white pearl. A school of fish had been commissioned by the oyster to create a gorgeous gold necklace with a cage to hold the pearl. Celine took the necklace and fastened it on her neck. Her body began to tingle. The oyster told her that this pearl would glow in the darkest places and had great power that her sister could never be a part of. This pearl was going to take her away from this world, away from her sister's evil plans. This journey could not wait any longer and as the oyster informed her that she was going to have to leave right away without saying goodbye to anyone, Celine began to cry. Her salty tears ran down her face and she shook her head exclaiming that she had to at least say goodbye to her father but the oyster forbade her from returning to the castle. He told her that the pearl had already begun to change her and Celine noticed that the skin on her legs was getting hard, almost like the scales on a fish and her body felt very strange. The oyster described the shift and told her that being a mermaid was a beautiful gift, it was going to take her far away from her world into a new one where Rowena would not be able to harm her. He pleaded with Celine for forgiveness for disobeying her mother and Celine, even though she was overwhelmed with fear, she hugged the oyster and assured him that all was forgiven. She was then instructed to stay in the water to remain a mermaid but while on land she would take the shape of a human. Celine felt confident that leaving would save her kingdom and her sister. She went into the ocean with a heavy heart that day. All of nature was sad and mourned this great loss. The beautiful summer lands, for the first time, began to change. The trees were sad so their leaves fell onto the ground. The air became cold and lonely, looking for the warmth of Celine's soul. The sky cried but because the air was so cold without Celine, the tears turned to ice that left white, fluffy powder on the ground that froze the earth. When Celine left, the animals were so depressed they went to sleep and waited for her to return. Celine took the warmth and light of life out of her world when she left. It was all for a good reason promised the oyster. He, being very loyal and true, felt terrible. He had saved the rightful Queen but he lied to do it. You see, he knew that Rowena would find her dark side whether Celine was here or not. He knew that many, including the king, were going to have to die as Rowena began her descent into dark magic. He had saved Celine so that she could accomplish the greatest magic of all and with this magic she would return and defeat her sister. The oyster felt a great sadness as the ocean rolled onto the beach to take him home.
Celine swam deep into the ocean until she was surrounded by darkness. She stopped swimming and looked around, the pearl's light burned bright like a miniature sun under the sea. Celine was alone and for the first time in her life, she felt very lonely. As she began to weep and sink to the ocean floor, a small spidery looking creature became very curious of this new sea animal that lay before him and he scurried out of his sandy ocean floor hole and touched her hand.
"Why do you cry"? He asked in a small voice. Celine opened her eyes and saw the adorable little creature standing before her with a genuinely concerned look on his face.
She smiled, "I have traveled from a very far away place and I am lonely here. My name is Celine, tell me sir, what is your name"?
The small spidery creature was a beautiful indigo color with little green beady eyes. He looked at her and laughed,
"Oh me, my name is Haliman." His bashful eyes moved from Celine to the ocean floor and his indigo claws clicked nervously. "Are you going anywhere in particular Celine"? He asked desperately hoping that this beautiful creature had no where else to go.
"I don't know where I am going, all I know is I have to go away", Celine said with a sad look. She touched her fins which were sparkling with aquamarine stones that bejeweled her whole body from her stomach down.
"Well, said the darling creature, don't be lonely for even in our darkest hour, in the darkest place, you are not alone. Tell me your story, I should so like to hear all about you."
With that, Celine and Haliman traveled the ocean together. They swam farther and farther away from where they met until they no longer recognized their surroundings on land and in the sea. Celine told Haliman of her world and why she had to leave and with each passing day he realized how special Celine was. Days passed into months and years. They became best friends and had many adventures together under the sea. She began to forget her sadness.
One day, Celine and Haliman were swimming closer to the surface to find a rock to lay out on. Celine had made a satchel out of seaweed in which Haliman would ride inside. He could not swim like Celine. They would sunbathe and discuss life and underwater politics with the sea lions who were very friendly even though their barking could be misunderstood and interpreted as bossiness. They were actually the most love able, loyal friends. As Celine and Haliman swam to the surface they noticed something, a strange something, floating magically on the water. It moved toward them gliding on the water ever so gracefully. Celine screeched out to Haliman and he crawled out of his satchel and ran to her shoulder.
"Ay, he said, that is a sailboat." Celine was in awe of this big, beautiful boat. In all of her time with Haliman she had never seen one up close before. Haliman had told her in the past that boats carried strange creatures that were unlike anything that lived in the sea. She could not conceal her excitement.
"Let's have a look at the creatures on the boat", she said with big, curious smile. Haliman was not convinced that this was the best idea but he went along, as he always did with Celine's crazy ideas. They swam up to the boat and listened. She heard something! There was whistling and steps. She swam around and saw a man standing on the end of the sailboat staring out into the ocean. He was so beautiful. He was tall with long chin length dark hair and dark eyes. His body was big and strong and he was smiling this kind smile. A feeling came over Celine, a feeling she knew not of until this moment. She needed to be near this one, she felt a connection to him that she never felt to anyone or anything before. Haliman did not understand what she could find to be interesting at all with this creature. Haliman begged to go back to the rocks and Celine reluctantly gave in. She swam away and found a perfectly sunny rock to beach and nap on for a while.
Hours later, Celine opened her eyes and saw that the sun was almost set for the day. She poked Haliman and he grumpily sat up. They stretched and slid off the rock to go back to the water for dinner when she suddenly saw her sailor on his boat right near the beach. Her heart began to race.
"Haliman what do I do if he sees me"? She was so nervous.
Haliman grumbled, "Just keep swimming, I'm hungry and I don't care about strange creatures on sailboats." He scurried off into the water and waited for her to follow. Celine stared off at the boat and saw her sailboat creature staring right at her. She looked away and smiled and then ran into the ocean flipping her fins up as she dove down into the water. Later that night she went back to that beach and saw her creature on land sitting by a camp fire staring out into the ocean. Celine slowly walked out of the water on to the beach right in front of her creature.
"Hello there, my name is Celine"she managed to squeak out. He stared at her in astonishment.
"I'm Alexander". His voice was so kind and deep and his accent made Celine smile. They talked all night about themselves and their lives. Alexander was convinced that this siren was a figment of his imagination. Celine felt a deep longing feeling coming from Alexander. He longed to be in love and settle down before his life passed him by. All night they talked and when the morning came Celine told him that he would find all that he was looking for. When she began to walk to the ocean as he fell asleep she knew that he would not remember if she was every really there or if the loneliness, the ale, and the long days work in the sun had created her. Haliman was not happy with her. He had watched, jealously, as Celine and Alexander laughed and talked all night.
"You can't deny that you felt something for him Celine. You can't let that go." He knew that there would come a day when Celine would have to leave him and with every fiber of his being he did not want that day to come but he could not deny that it was here.
"I can't leave you Haliman, I won't." Celine crossed her arms and made her most stubborn face.
"Don't deny your one true chance to connect with someone who loves you back. Why turn your back on love Celine? Do you want to grow old with me in the ocean or would you rather live your life?"
Celine was disturbed and torn but Haliman knew that she had left a part of her heart on that beach and he urged her to go back.
Celine swam hesitantly up to the shore back to that beach. She found a man who had forgotten a mermaid that emerged from the ocean but remembered a woman. In time, he gave her a large aquamarine ring, which for some reason that he could not remember seemed to suit her perfectly, and asked for her hand. Months later, she married that man in a small Irish town by the water and they lived in a beautiful house on the salty rocks by the sea shore. This sounds like the end, and Celine had considered that this was it, but, this was merely the beginning. Soon after the wedding, a child was born. A beautiful baby girl they named Adelle. Two years later, another child, a wide eyed young lad they called Colin was born. They all lived in that beautiful house by the sea. Celine knew then that the adventure was about to begin and the stories, oh the stories began to be told the day the children were born.
There was once a beautiful kingdom located in a beautiful world of lush green meadows and surrounded by a vast blue ocean. This land was a far away place filled with magic and wonder. The king was a kindhearted man who loved his kingdom and his family. He had a beautiful wife who was a very magical woman. They lived happily for many years together and had two daughters. The eldest they named Rowena and the little one they called Celine. These two girls grew up experiencing life in this wonderful place together. They rode unicorns on the beach and played hide and seek with the fairies in the meadow. Celine and her sister Rowena were very close when they were children. They had a connection that made them able to communicate telepathically. When their mother passed away, their father seemed to pay more attention to Celine because she looked very much like her mother. Celine began to naturally hone her magic very quickly. Her sister, desperate to find her magic, threw herself into her studies in order to surpass her sister's success and feel worthy of her father's attention. She was the oldest child and wanted to impress her father. Sisters who were once so very close that they could read each other's thoughts began to feel a great distance growing between them as Celine quickly mastered her skills. She felt most inspired by nature and all of its mystery and beauty. She soon began to channel her powers within it and found that she could control the natural elements of fire, air, water, and earth. A second power was soon discovered within Celine as she began to communicate with animals. All animals obeyed her as they developed a sense of allegiance to the being who could speak on their behalf. Their father was very impressed with all that Celine was accomplishing. Rowena became very jealous...positively green with envy.
One gorgeously warm blue sky filled day as Celine was walking home on the beach after a day of swimming with the fish, she found a very large, oddly shaped sand dune. As she examined this specimen, the gigantic thing began to move rocking slowly back and forth. Celine watched as the sand moved and revealed a giant oyster. She knew that these sightings were very rare indeed as the oysters were a favorite food among many sea and land creatures. The longer they lived, the larger they grew and this one was so large he had to be quite old. Oysters were known to be very wise and honed their own kind of special magic. This oyster was just as she thought he would be but her excitement was cut short with the news the oyster had to bear. He told her that her mother had asked him to make a gift for her daughters. This gift, blessed by magic, would allow them to turn into any one animal they were destined to become. This magic was called shapeshifting and it was their mother's most favorite gift. The oyster felt great sadness when their mother passed away because he had the gift of foresight and had seen into her daughter's souls. Celine's soul and heart were pure but Rowena's soul and heart harbored jealousy and rage. He was certain that Rowena's darkness would one day consume her. He had promised to make two gifts, one for each of the queen's daughters but he could not bring himself to create a magical talisman for a dark hearted soul. He had spent nineteen years bottling up all of the magic inside of him and he had created one very powerful talisman meant for one daughter destined to be the savior of their kingdom. With that he opened his shell and inside lay a beautiful, perfectly round glowing white pearl. A school of fish had been commissioned by the oyster to create a gorgeous gold necklace with a cage to hold the pearl. Celine took the necklace and fastened it on her neck. Her body began to tingle. The oyster told her that this pearl would glow in the darkest places and had great power that her sister could never be a part of. This pearl was going to take her away from this world, away from her sister's evil plans. This journey could not wait any longer and as the oyster informed her that she was going to have to leave right away without saying goodbye to anyone, Celine began to cry. Her salty tears ran down her face and she shook her head exclaiming that she had to at least say goodbye to her father but the oyster forbade her from returning to the castle. He told her that the pearl had already begun to change her and Celine noticed that the skin on her legs was getting hard, almost like the scales on a fish and her body felt very strange. The oyster described the shift and told her that being a mermaid was a beautiful gift, it was going to take her far away from her world into a new one where Rowena would not be able to harm her. He pleaded with Celine for forgiveness for disobeying her mother and Celine, even though she was overwhelmed with fear, she hugged the oyster and assured him that all was forgiven. She was then instructed to stay in the water to remain a mermaid but while on land she would take the shape of a human. Celine felt confident that leaving would save her kingdom and her sister. She went into the ocean with a heavy heart that day. All of nature was sad and mourned this great loss. The beautiful summer lands, for the first time, began to change. The trees were sad so their leaves fell onto the ground. The air became cold and lonely, looking for the warmth of Celine's soul. The sky cried but because the air was so cold without Celine, the tears turned to ice that left white, fluffy powder on the ground that froze the earth. When Celine left, the animals were so depressed they went to sleep and waited for her to return. Celine took the warmth and light of life out of her world when she left. It was all for a good reason promised the oyster. He, being very loyal and true, felt terrible. He had saved the rightful Queen but he lied to do it. You see, he knew that Rowena would find her dark side whether Celine was here or not. He knew that many, including the king, were going to have to die as Rowena began her descent into dark magic. He had saved Celine so that she could accomplish the greatest magic of all and with this magic she would return and defeat her sister. The oyster felt a great sadness as the ocean rolled onto the beach to take him home.
Celine swam deep into the ocean until she was surrounded by darkness. She stopped swimming and looked around, the pearl's light burned bright like a miniature sun under the sea. Celine was alone and for the first time in her life, she felt very lonely. As she began to weep and sink to the ocean floor, a small spidery looking creature became very curious of this new sea animal that lay before him and he scurried out of his sandy ocean floor hole and touched her hand.
"Why do you cry"? He asked in a small voice. Celine opened her eyes and saw the adorable little creature standing before her with a genuinely concerned look on his face.
She smiled, "I have traveled from a very far away place and I am lonely here. My name is Celine, tell me sir, what is your name"?
The small spidery creature was a beautiful indigo color with little green beady eyes. He looked at her and laughed,
"Oh me, my name is Haliman." His bashful eyes moved from Celine to the ocean floor and his indigo claws clicked nervously. "Are you going anywhere in particular Celine"? He asked desperately hoping that this beautiful creature had no where else to go.
"I don't know where I am going, all I know is I have to go away", Celine said with a sad look. She touched her fins which were sparkling with aquamarine stones that bejeweled her whole body from her stomach down.
"Well, said the darling creature, don't be lonely for even in our darkest hour, in the darkest place, you are not alone. Tell me your story, I should so like to hear all about you."
With that, Celine and Haliman traveled the ocean together. They swam farther and farther away from where they met until they no longer recognized their surroundings on land and in the sea. Celine told Haliman of her world and why she had to leave and with each passing day he realized how special Celine was. Days passed into months and years. They became best friends and had many adventures together under the sea. She began to forget her sadness.
One day, Celine and Haliman were swimming closer to the surface to find a rock to lay out on. Celine had made a satchel out of seaweed in which Haliman would ride inside. He could not swim like Celine. They would sunbathe and discuss life and underwater politics with the sea lions who were very friendly even though their barking could be misunderstood and interpreted as bossiness. They were actually the most love able, loyal friends. As Celine and Haliman swam to the surface they noticed something, a strange something, floating magically on the water. It moved toward them gliding on the water ever so gracefully. Celine screeched out to Haliman and he crawled out of his satchel and ran to her shoulder.
"Ay, he said, that is a sailboat." Celine was in awe of this big, beautiful boat. In all of her time with Haliman she had never seen one up close before. Haliman had told her in the past that boats carried strange creatures that were unlike anything that lived in the sea. She could not conceal her excitement.
"Let's have a look at the creatures on the boat", she said with big, curious smile. Haliman was not convinced that this was the best idea but he went along, as he always did with Celine's crazy ideas. They swam up to the boat and listened. She heard something! There was whistling and steps. She swam around and saw a man standing on the end of the sailboat staring out into the ocean. He was so beautiful. He was tall with long chin length dark hair and dark eyes. His body was big and strong and he was smiling this kind smile. A feeling came over Celine, a feeling she knew not of until this moment. She needed to be near this one, she felt a connection to him that she never felt to anyone or anything before. Haliman did not understand what she could find to be interesting at all with this creature. Haliman begged to go back to the rocks and Celine reluctantly gave in. She swam away and found a perfectly sunny rock to beach and nap on for a while.
Hours later, Celine opened her eyes and saw that the sun was almost set for the day. She poked Haliman and he grumpily sat up. They stretched and slid off the rock to go back to the water for dinner when she suddenly saw her sailor on his boat right near the beach. Her heart began to race.
"Haliman what do I do if he sees me"? She was so nervous.
Haliman grumbled, "Just keep swimming, I'm hungry and I don't care about strange creatures on sailboats." He scurried off into the water and waited for her to follow. Celine stared off at the boat and saw her sailboat creature staring right at her. She looked away and smiled and then ran into the ocean flipping her fins up as she dove down into the water. Later that night she went back to that beach and saw her creature on land sitting by a camp fire staring out into the ocean. Celine slowly walked out of the water on to the beach right in front of her creature.
"Hello there, my name is Celine"she managed to squeak out. He stared at her in astonishment.
"I'm Alexander". His voice was so kind and deep and his accent made Celine smile. They talked all night about themselves and their lives. Alexander was convinced that this siren was a figment of his imagination. Celine felt a deep longing feeling coming from Alexander. He longed to be in love and settle down before his life passed him by. All night they talked and when the morning came Celine told him that he would find all that he was looking for. When she began to walk to the ocean as he fell asleep she knew that he would not remember if she was every really there or if the loneliness, the ale, and the long days work in the sun had created her. Haliman was not happy with her. He had watched, jealously, as Celine and Alexander laughed and talked all night.
"You can't deny that you felt something for him Celine. You can't let that go." He knew that there would come a day when Celine would have to leave him and with every fiber of his being he did not want that day to come but he could not deny that it was here.
"I can't leave you Haliman, I won't." Celine crossed her arms and made her most stubborn face.
"Don't deny your one true chance to connect with someone who loves you back. Why turn your back on love Celine? Do you want to grow old with me in the ocean or would you rather live your life?"
Celine was disturbed and torn but Haliman knew that she had left a part of her heart on that beach and he urged her to go back.
Celine swam hesitantly up to the shore back to that beach. She found a man who had forgotten a mermaid that emerged from the ocean but remembered a woman. In time, he gave her a large aquamarine ring, which for some reason that he could not remember seemed to suit her perfectly, and asked for her hand. Months later, she married that man in a small Irish town by the water and they lived in a beautiful house on the salty rocks by the sea shore. This sounds like the end, and Celine had considered that this was it, but, this was merely the beginning. Soon after the wedding, a child was born. A beautiful baby girl they named Adelle. Two years later, another child, a wide eyed young lad they called Colin was born. They all lived in that beautiful house by the sea. Celine knew then that the adventure was about to begin and the stories, oh the stories began to be told the day the children were born.
Once upon a time...
There was a girl who started a blog to talk about the things she feels the most passionate about: writing and food. Armed with her budget conscious keen fashion sense, this girl hopes to write the next great american children's fantasy novel and she believes that she can entertain herself with witty blog posts about her passion for cooking and baking while she writes her legendary masterpiece. Filled with run on sentences and a wild imagination this girl hopes to amuse more than just herself with her literary and culinary concoctions. So, here it goes...
By the way, this girl is me.
xoxo,
Mrs. Wallace
By the way, this girl is me.
xoxo,
Mrs. Wallace
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