The Evolution of the Vampire

The Vampire. 1893–94. Edvard Munch.

In early Hebraic writings, Lilith took the form of a winged demon with the body of a woman with owl-like talons for feet. She was reported to be the first wife of Adam (before Eve was created). Lilith was formed of the same earth from which Adam was created, therefore she considered herself his equal. That being the case, Lilith refused to be submissive. She was subsequently banished from God’s presence to the demon realm. Lilith’s offspring were damned to become demons with Lilith taking the title of “Mother of Demons.” In more contemporary interpretations of Lilith's story, she is considered to be the earliest account of the Vampire. When Lilith was banished all of her children were destroyed by God. Lilith's answered this violent act by vowing to feed off of the children of Adam, namely, human beings.

The literary vampire first appeared in 18th century poetry, before becoming our typical idea of the vampire with the publication of the novel The Vampyre by Polidori and was loosely based on the life of well know writer and playboy, Lord Byron.

The vampire of Byron's poetry was a cruel creature damned to forever suck the blood and drain the life of his closest friends and relatives. AKA heartless, evil, cursed monster. 

From there we of course move onto the most iconic image of vampire-dom

via

Dracula. Literary and film icon named for the historical figure Transylvanian-born Vlad III Dracula of Wallachia otherwise known as Vlad the Impaler that turned the vampire from poetry into one of the stock figures of modern gothic fiction.

He vants to suck your blood mwuahahahaha

Skip over a few years and one numerically challenged muppet.

Via

And somehow you end up with Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise. As mildly homoerotic vampires with a gift for story telling and a penchant for dramatic lighting and 90's style over-acting.

Interview with a Vampire

But fear not, the puffy shirts and effeminate nature don't last long.

Via

Wait a second...

Oh ok, she seems bad ass enough. So what about him?

1.2.3.4

..... I think we've seen enough here. This concludes our lesson.

Food for thought...

An excerpt from “When Words Go On Vacation” by Willa Schneberg.

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Maple Whipped Cream Topping

Just look at that pumpkin pie. Doesn't it look absolutely amazing?? Well, that's fantastic!

Because it's not mine.

Don't get me wrong, I DID make a pumpkin pie. And it WAS just as amazing as this one looks. But, the key word here my friends, is 'was.'

Maybe I should rename this recipe "Pie So Good It Doesn't Last Long Enough To Take One Pictures"? Has a nice ring to it, right?

Not really. I know.

Ingredients


Pie Filling

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (or Splenda if like myself, you have a diabetic beau)

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon molasses

2 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

Maple Whipped Cream

1 (8 ounce) tub of Cool Whip (I used lite)

2 tablespoon maple syrup

As far as the crust is concerned. Store bought, lightly toasted, all the way.

Beat cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric stand mixer until smooth and creamy. Add in the powdered sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the vanilla extract, molasses, pumpkin pie spice and pumpkin puree and beat until thoroughly combined.

After allowing the pie crust to cool, evenly spoon your pie mixture into the pie tin.

Evenly blend the Cool Whip and maple syrup. Try not to over mix the Cool Whip though, as it will quickly loose it's whippy-ness (Shakespeare made up words. So can I.). Pile the mixture evenly over your pie filling and pop in the fridge over night. This part is really important to let the pie settle.

Pull that bad boy out of the fridge the next day, and watch it disappear!





  

Fall in Oregon

Probably my favorite unexpected result of becoming a blogger was my return to my love of photography. As many of you may know, I am a graduated photography major. But sadly, a rather volatile breakup with my photo school boyfriend, caused me to associate one of the worst times of my life with my camera. After school, I didn't touch it for literally years.

However, upon starting this blog, I found myself longing for my own photos to use here and slowly but surely my camera came back into my life. Only this time, with the positive connotation of helping not only my photography but also my writing and helping to introduce me to the wonderful blogging world!

Oh and did I mention I crossed one more thing off my 30 before 30 list? Yup, I saw not just my first waterfall, but FOUR waterfalls in one day! Go big or go home right? Speaking of trying new things, I took all of your advise on layering and successfully stayed warm the entire week!

(I was fascinated by the rose being as tall as I was. In case you were wondering.)

This post is my fall participation in Follower Fest! Join in the fun!

Food Porn

Since I've been back in good ol' Florida, I've been getting 2 questions:

Q) Why Portland?

A) Why not? I have friends there. It's a cool city with a lot of unusual things to offer an Eastern girl. I save up my money to spend on experiences, not things. Even when it comes to presents I would rather a trip to Disney instead of a fancy necklace. All that, and I'm young! I don't have a real job, kids or a husband to tie me down and I know I won't be able to globe trot forever so I ask again: Why not?

Q) What did you do while you were there?

A) We ate. A LOT. (There was more of course... but food pictures seem to have over-run my cell phone.)

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes covered in warm Merriamberries

Jam On Hawthorn

Rain OR Shine Coffee House

Portland food carts. Now available in Indian, Vietnamese, Mexican, Thai and Greek.

The Reggie: biscuit sandwich with fried chicken, bacon, cheddar cheese and gravy.

Pine State Biscuits

Seared Ahi Tostada

Wine taste test!

The Kennedy School

VooDoo Doughtnuts: Home of the maple bacon doughnut

Rogue Maple Bacon Doughnut Ale

Pumpkin Pie Waffle

The Waffle Window

Needless to say, had it not been for the massive amounts of walking and hiking we did, I may have come back much much heftier than I left. Thank goodness for mountain climbing! Oh yea, we did that too.

Art everywhere!

I'm a lover of all things quirky. The simple, fun little tidbits of life that make life endlessly entertaining, if you just take the time to look for them. Combine that with a love of art and history and what do you get?

Art History 101 as seen through the eyes of a Portland, OR vintage store.



Originally: Sarah Barrett Moulton: “Pinkie” by Thomas Lawrence 1794
Reinterpreted as a paint by number



The Thinker by Auguste Rodin 1902
Reinterpreted as a book end



Co-founder of the 20th century Cubist movement Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (I shit you not, that's the guys full name.) who you might know as just, Pablo Picasso.



The Ghilio, symbol of the government of 13th century Florence, Italy.
Decor for a book cover



The Nude Maja by Francisco Goya c.1797



The Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci, 1495–1498
feux wood mantel piece.

And for the record: I really regret not buying that paint by number.

November Call For Sponsors!

This month, I decided to change around my sponsor/button trade program a bit. It's still 100% free of charge only now my lovely linkers get even MORE fun stuff!!

One of the few things in life that actually is, as simple as it sounds!

• Just grab anyone of the buttons below
• Place it in an easily seen spot on your own blog 
• E-mail me your button and I will gladly do the same!
• When you send me your button I would love for it to be 200 px width or in a photoshop friendly format so I can edit it to fit my layout :)
• Soon after you e-mail me I'll respond with a list of interview questions so you can be part of my sponsor spotlight post!
• You can also choose to participate in a giveaway or guest post if you're feeling extra frisky!

I have only made the button in a few different sizes for now so if none of these sizes work for you, please feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail and I'll throw one together just for you!

250x230

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<a href="http://sweetrelease-annika.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1121.photobucket.com/albums/l507/asweetrelease/clairebutton1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a>

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This is an open offer for any lifestyle, fashion or craft blogger and anyone can feel free to contact me before November 1st!

Etsy every other day!

If there is one thing Annika and I have in common above anything else is our love for craftiness. We were both photography majors and love art especially when we know its made with care. We both love to make things, at this point the majority of our walls are covered with something we have either bought off Etsy or found and decided we can make ourselves. So with that said here are a couple of my favorite "I want to make that" items I've found on Etsy in the last couple days. I know some are way beyond my scope of wood working ability but that just means its another thing for the Christmas list right!

I want an Iphone...not because of how hip or user friendly it is, honestly I've hacked my android to be so much better. I want an Iphone because of this case. Hand etched and one of a kind wooden cover for your phone.

(by the way the shop name is "grandmaswoodentooth" if only grandma was actually making these)

Ok I can actually make this one! Or at least I need to learn how before Annika and I move because I promised her I would. There custom wall mounted bookshelves from "Stellabluedesigns". They've got all different styles and forms ready to ship and all have an awesome rustic and modern feel to them and even though there dark piping they still feel kinda warm.

As previously stated, we love good art for the walls. With that said it seems that alot of people feel like only pictures and paintings can be art and that wood can only be used for the frame. Why not just make the frame the art and fill it with the left overs! I was watching The Walking Dead last night and the follow up show had an amazing piece of art in the background. I need something similar and I feel like I can pull this one off for sure but if I fail miserably this shop will definitely be there to help out. "Inner Beauty Designs" creates custom wooden artwork for your walls, just browse the shop to much variety to describe!

Ok, now I have no way to make this myself but it's wood, its wearable, and its pretty amazing that someone made this. I love watches, pocket watches especially. Annika got me an amazing pocket watch off Etsy about a year ago and even though she thinks I never wear it I absolutely love it. So this is on the christmas list for next year. A hand made wooden wristwatch thats also digital..SO COOL! Credit goes to "KurtWakefield79"

Alright so Annika is on her way home now, time to clean the house and try to make it presentable before she gets back. Got a 2 hour drive to Tampa to pick her up, hope I did her some justice! Happy Halloween!