Zoo City: Smart, Vivid Alt-History

Zoo City by Lauren Beukes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fresh metaphors, an atypical heroine, and a Sloth. Add a setting of alt-universe modern-day Johannesburg and situations that you don't see coming. This book has action, a bit of blood magic, moral dilemmas, and a protagonist with a very clear voice. The writing is so vivid, you'll find yourself wanting to read some passages aloud, or at least highlight them to savour them later. If you like urban fantasy or alt-history you'll probably like it, but it's impossible to cram it into a single genre. It's smarter than the average urban fantasy novel, and social issues give it depth without seeming contrived.

I probably wouldn't have picked this book up on my own, but it was part of the Humble Bundle, and I'm glad I read it. Beukes is an author to watch.

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My Drunk Kitchen Hilarity

So, I've been amusing myself (and hopefully my sister, to whom I sent these links and quotes) by watching eps of My Drunk Kitchen on YouTube. I pass on the drunken, hilarious goodness to you.

Meat Pie

So now you have a thing, that is kinda somewhere between a stew and a mess...
Don't knead your dough too much, 'cause that leads to co-dependancy.
My pie crust looks like vegeta.

Toast
I like my cheese like I like my women - mature, yet mellow.
Marmite is not like Nutella.
These beans smell like...sad ketchup.
On my arm, whatever. On my boobs? Ooh, I'm into it.

Onion Rings
Oh, now the fumes are trapped in the goggles with my eyes!
Sometimes I worry if I'll make it to 50.
Make your own tiny sweaty hot pocket of humid!

Straight Locks and Fave Makeup

I had my hair cut two weeks ago (by yet another new hairdresser - sigh. Why can't I find a good one that doesn't cost the earth?) and today was the first chance I had to try my straightener out on the new 'do. It's a Remington Hot Pink and I'd recommend it to anyone who doesn't want to shell out for a GHD. Seriously girls, I have better things to spend my money on.


I've even managed to wave and curl my hair with my Remington, and it has a variable heat setting. I just spray on Schwarzkopf Heidi Klum heat protectant and set it to 200. My hair is medium length and medium thickness, and it doesn't take long at all.

Since my hair was all done up with no place to go on a Thursday night, I figured I'd put on some makeup and take some photos for a blog entry.


My makeup favourites:

Maybelline Moisture Extreme Lipstick (G80 - Sweet Ginger, discontinued)
Australis Fresh & Flawless Pressed Powder (Deep Natural)
CoverGirl Lash Blast Volume Mascara (Very Black)
Clinique Kohl Shaper for Eyes (04 - Black Coffee)
Rimmel Stay Matte foundation (103 - True Ivory)
Rimmel Powder Blush (101 - Pink Sugar)
Kleancolor Eyeshadow (Rainbow Palette)

I love that lipstick so much - it's a perfect shade of pink for me, it has a faint glimmer, it's moisturising, has SPF 15, and it isn't sticky. I tracked down two more sticks on ebay, so I won't run out for a little while, at least. Darn companies discontinuing my favourite.

Kleancolor is really cheap. Really. So I don't use it every day, and it won't last unless I use a primer. Still, there are so many colours in the palette, and they're shimmery! Lash Blast has been my favourite mascara for awhile now. I don't even bother with double coats or curling; it's perfect for daytime. Add a little black-brown liner, and my eyes are set to glam.

If I want extra drama, I use Maybelline EyeStudio black gel liner (not pictured) and a small, angled brush by EcoTools to apply. EcoTools is also my go-to for a foundation brush, which is how I apply my foundation. In the summer, I switch to Maybelline SuperStay liquid foundation (in Sand Beige), which holds up better in the humidity. The Australis powder keeps it all in place, and is a great price.

What beauty products are your favourites? Do you stick to air-dry, blow-dry, or use a styler?

Lemon Blueberry Poppyseed Muffins

These muffins graced my table on Monday morning, and they were just the thing to start the week. Joy the Baker has an excellent food blog, so if you haven't already checked it out, I suggest you bookmark it for later :)

I knew I wanted blueberry muffins, and wondered if there were any online recipes that incorporated poppyseeds, since I had some in the cupboard. Joy's Lemon Blueberry Poppyseed Muffins to the rescue! I even had a lemon sitting in my fruit bowl, but it was a bit sad, and didn't give me a great deal of zest, so I upped the lemon flavour in the recipe by adding a squeeze of the juice.

The only persnickity bit was browning the butter. I don't know if it's because I used frozen blueberries, but my batter was very heavy - it clumped into my muffin cups, rather than poured. If this happens to you, do not overmix the batter. Do not. These muffins came out with a lovely crispy crust, even though I skipped the crumble topping.

I shared two with the owners of our local cafe, who are practically friends after two years of seeing Mr J and I. They asked if I could make more to sell them for the cafe, and declared them to be among the best muffins they'd ever eaten! Since my kitchen will never be commercially certified, though, I just pointed them to the recipe.

Happy baking!