Fresh Strawberry And Cream Cheese Danish

Blueberry picking

the reason us gays gotta come out of the closet is to make room for all the flannel we buy

Kaz had not spoken to Erin for a couple days. He’d spent most of his time in a corner trying to hide while he threw up, or making Matthias go over the plan again. Every once in a while he spotted her teaching Wylan how to make a chart, and giving Rotty orders. She’d make an excellent captain. He tried to hide the flutter in his chest when he saw her marking the parchment, pen in her mouth and various tools in her hand. It pained him not to speak to her- but he felt that he’d only make it worse. Kaz Brekker didn’t apologize. It wasn’t in his nature.

Erin stood tall at the back of the ship, keeping her eye on the horizon as the sun went down. Her hair whipped her face, she had forgotten a hair tie. Kaz limped his way over to her.

“Are we on schedule?”

Erin nodded before pulling out her compass and moving to the table she had fastened next to the wheel. Her hands moved over a map of the continents, pointing to about an inch above Ketterdam.

“Wzr hvre” she said through the pen in her mouth. Kaz snatched it from her,

“Try again.”

“We’re here.”

Kaz looked at the maps, analyzing them. He knew roughly what everything was, but how they worked was beyond him. He wondered where she learned all this. There was a silent agreement between them, she didn’t ask about his past and he didn’t ask about hers. Although it seemed relevant that he knew how she obtained all this knowledge.

“Where did you learn to make star charts?”

His fingers brushed over the half full parchment, it had scribbles of constellations on it. Erin glanced out to the sea briefly.

“Does it matter?”

“It matters to your investment value”

Of course. Everything came with a price tag. Erin thought for a moment

“I didn’t go to a school for it, if that’s what your getting at.”

He didn’t have to know about her father. Kaz nodded, fidgeting with the sextant. He wanted to know more, he wanted to know everything, really.

“A family member then?”

Erin faltered for a moment.

“Where did you learn to lock pick?”

Kaz furrowed his brows. Point taken. Thinking about Jordie was painful, and this mystery person was probably painful for her to talk about as well. He cleared his throat, thinking of something else to say. Kaz never found stars that interesting, he preferred to focus on the things he could steal.

“Have you sailed to Fierda before?”

Erin chuckled. It was sweet with a bitter aftertaste.

“No. I haven’t.”

“Then how do you know where we’re going?”

“Figuring it out as we go”

Kaz looked at her with concern.

“What?” His voice tightened.

Her fingers dance over the charts as she explained.

“Well, if the constellations in Ketterdam are like this-“ she pulls a chart out,” right now, then they should look like this,” a different chart appears on the table,” in Fierda.”

Kaz was a clever man. He could manipulate a lawman into committing horrible atrocities. But this…. This made his head spin. He just nodded, and acted like he understood.

“And these? He points to what looks like graphs”

Erin’s picks them up

“These are the tidal charts from the past 5 years. They’ll tell me where not to sail.”

Kaz’s lips turned into a small smile. If there was one thing to be admired about Erin, she does her research. The sun lowered below the sea, leaving them in darkness. Their home. Erin grabbed a lantern and flicked a match, lighting it and setting it down. The firelight reflected against Kaz’s flint eyes, making them seem almost green. Erin’s cheeks flushed and she turned to the wheel.

“You should sleep.” she said.

Kaz leaned against the table, watching the waves behind them as the ship pressed on.

“Rotty can take over for you.” He said, almost in a whisper. In the past 3 days he hadn’t seen anyone but her at the wheel. He was sure she was only staying awake on power naps. She shook her head.

“If Rotty goes to far of course it could be difficult to get back on track. Can’t risk missing the festival.”

Kaz rolled his eyes. Missing the festival would be the least of their problems if she passed out from exhaustion.

“You need sleep. You risk the crew sailing without proper rest.” It was more of a demand, than a statement.

“If-“

“I wasn’t asking,” Kaz spoke, taking the wheel from her. Erin simply nodded, stepping back towards the stairs. She turned, her hair shining from the lantern. She waited for him to say goodnight to her, but he didn’t. He stood silently at the wheel watching as she disappeared into the cabin.

screaming crying throwing up

Wilson sketch

✨🌱Lilac syrup 🌱✨

I finally got around to making use of the beautiful lilac bush in my backyard, so here’s the recipe I came up with to make her!

Ingredients needed:

Four cups of lilac petals

Two cups water

Two cups sugar

Teaspoon of vanilla

Combine sugar, vanilla, and water in a pan on high, stir until dissolved.

Once dissolved, add in your lilac petals (make sure they’re separated from the stems!!!! It’ll get bitter if not). Bring to a boil and then let simmer on low for five minutes.

Then, combine in a jar and store for three hours - the taste should be floral and heavy.

Use in tea, lemonade, or whatever else you’d like to try it in!

Blessings to you all. 🌸✨🌱💫🧚🏻

gays, lend me your strength

Erin felt her blood pumping through her body as she tried to jog to the schooner. Her head was fuzzy, and all she could see was them. Her lungs filled with air she couldn’t breathe and she clutched her chest. Gunshots and cries rang out around her but she couldn’t hear them. Get to the ship, she thought. If you don’t get to the ship they're dead.

From on the roof, Jesper spotted her stunning towards the dock, and moved to pick off anyone that tried to attack her.

“There!” Jesper yelled, hoping someone would go help the Shadow. Wylan was the only one who heard him, and looked to see Erin getting closer. Sweat covered her face and it looked like she’d been crying. Erin clumsily pushed past Rotty, who was helping Wylan keep the shooters back.

She staggered over the ship, grabbing the ropes that kept them from floating off.

Untie the ropes, lift the anchor, fly the sails. She repeated it in her head like a mantra. Rope, Anchor, Sails.

She hadn’t touched a ship since… well since she came to Ketterdam. Her heart was pounding faster than Jesper could shoot, and she felt her stomach rise. Erin froze as she tried to lift the anchor, her hands touching the cold water.

I’m drowning. Where is the surface? I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe—

“I got it”

Rotty pulled the anchor up for her. His voice broke Erin out of her trance for the moment. She looked around, realizing everyone was on board and they had left the harbor. Matthias was the only one on deck, throwing up over the side.

Erin sank down to the floor of the ship, shutting her eyes. This is not the Cardea. This is not the Cardea. You will not drown, you will not drown. It took everything she had to stand back up, placing her feet on the railing and hoisting herself up the rope rungs to reach the sails. She gagged as she looked down. Even from his place on the deck, Rotty could tell she was trembling. He disappears below deck, looking for something.

The Shadow pulled the sails down and out, the boat picking up speed. It gave her a rush, and for a moment she enjoyed the wind in her face. Then she vomited.

“Watch it!”

Kaz looked up from the deck, scowling. He looked like shit. Blood splattered on his face and clothes, his usual sheened back hair in his eyes. Erin didn’t respond, shimming down the rope and placing her feet on solid ground.

“I thought you were a sailor.” He grumbled, stepping around the liquid on the deck. He gripped the railing, obviously queasy himself.

Erin held onto the rope

“I said I had been sailing. There’s a difference.”

Now that she was close enough to the edge, she saw her reflection in the water. It flickered between the mess she was now, and the scared girl she was. She felt sick again and covered her mouth, shaking. Kaz glanced at her.

“You need to be faster. If you had been gone any longer we’d have been screwed” he said coldly. Underneath his demeanor, she could’ve sworn there was concern in his eyes.

“Wouldn’t have to worry about it if you hired a damn crew” Erin grimaced as water splashed her.

“I didn’t think I needed one. Clearly I was wrong. You can barely stand without getting sick.” He scoffs

Erin glares at him, sweat dripping from her chin. If he noticed, he wasn’t letting on. She roughly pushed past him and up to the wheel, trying to think about anything other than the unforgiving water. Kaz was upset about something and followed her.

“Do you understand me? If you falter we all die.” He raises his voice slightly. Erin flinches, for the first time since they’ve known each other. That, he notices.

“Erin.” His voice is taught.

“I’m perfectly aware of the situation.” She responds.

“Then act like it”

Erin clutches the wheel tighter. She’s angry. She’s not sure why, maybe Kaz’s attitude had been too much. He didn’t seem to care about how she felt, of being on the sea made her feel. Erin’s face falls into a dark glare.

“You’re tardiness almost got us all killed and if you get sick while piloting the ship-“

“I know!” Erin yelled. She whipped her body to face him. Kaz merely raised an eyebrow, expecting her to continue. She wasn’t sure where she was going with this, her breathing was labored.

“Why are you acting like this is my fault. You didn’t have to be first mate”

That pissed her off. “First mate?? I am the only mate. I am the only person on the godforsaken ship that knows how to sail, or navigate, or anything that will get us to Fjerda.”

Kaz’s face remained unemotional. He glanced up seeing Jesper come up from the cabin. The sharpshooter looked at Erin and his eyes widened in concern

“Erin? Erin are you ok? Saints Kaz, what did you say to her” Jesper glared at his friend. Kaz shifted his weight.

“Reminding my Shadow that we’ll be fish food if she’s late again.”

Jesper puts his arms around Erin, who was clearly not hearing their conversation. He felt her shaking, and bet that Nina could hear her heart beat, even from below deck.

“She’s having a panic attack Kaz”

Jesper leaned down and looked at Erin. He tried to run the dried blood from her face.

“I’m fine” was all she could say. From behind her, Kaz clenched his jaw. He wasn’t quite sure how to feel. Upset he didn’t notice or upset she could be affected so easily. It’s not like he had a place to speak, it took most of his strength to not go running to the rail and throw his breakfast up.

“You are not fine. What happened at the harbor? You looked like you’d been running,” Jesper asked. Erin’s breathing calmed slightly and she was able to speak again.

“There were too many of them- I led five, no six of them down an alley. There wasn’t an exit.”

“And then?”

Jesper thought of Erin as a capable girl. Her shadows were not something to be on the wrong end of, but six men? He wasn’t sure how she made it out alive.

“And then I…. Then I-“

“Spit it out” Kaz said from his place at the wheel. He was growing impatient with her stuttering

“I cut them.”

Kaz looked over at her. The Cut. He’d never seen her do it, but from description of those that survived attacks from the Darkling, an infamous shadow summoner, he was sure he didn’t want to. He glanced at Jesper and the two of them made eye contact. There was a reason he’d never seen her do it, much like how he’s never taken his gloves off.

He stood unwavering in his place, watching Jesper comfort her. Part of him wanted to hold her too, and part of him wanted to strangle himself for thinking that. Kaz turned on his heels and departed to the cabin, needing to clear his head.

strawberry juice 🍓

ingredients:

- 8 frozen strawberries

- 2 tbsp of honey

- 2 tbsp of lemon juice

- 4 cups of water

- mint leaves

- ice

instructions:

boil the water in a medium pot! when the water starts to boil add six of the frozen strawberries

let them boil for about ten minutes, then remove the strawberries with a fork! add honey to the strawberry water and let it sit for about 2 minutes

strain any strawberry bits out of ur juice (that part is completely optional) and then pour it into a cup/jar! add lemon juice and two frozen strawberries and let it chill in the fridge for a few hours

remove the strawberries, replace them with ice, and garnish with lemon slices and fresh or frozen strawberries and mint leaves!

most important step: take pictures and send them to me or reblog them onto this post!!

🕊𝙰𝙿𝙷𝚁𝙾𝙳𝙸𝚃𝙴 𝚆𝙴𝙴𝙺 𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚁𝚈 #𝟸🕊

𝐒𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐕𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐭 𝐂𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐟-𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞

Red is a gorgeous color, isn’t it? 

Well in magick, it actually has quite powerful meanings that can connected to Aphrodite.

Red correspondence ~ passion, love, courage, strength, beauty, energy, assertiveness, determination.

*Recipe makes a two layer cake*

I am really proud of this red velvet recipe, it’s so good!

Magickal properties of the cake based on its ingredients: self-love, confidence, beauty, passion, courage, strength.

Where do I get my sources?: I have been practicing for 4 years now, so I pretty much can look at an ingredient, and know what it’s magickal properties are, even though before I post, I always fact check things. I have read a lot of books and articles on it. Here are some of my favorites…

learnreligons.com

witchipedia.com

plentifulearth.com

Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs

Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Wicca in the Kitchen

𝐈𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐤𝐞:

½ cup melted butter 2 cups granulated sugar 1 cup buttered flavored shortening 3 cups cake flour  3 tbsp cream cheese 1 tsp baking soda 2 tbsp cocoa powder Pinch of salt 4 large eggs, room temperature and separated 1 tbsp vanilla extract 1 tsp distilled white vinegar A couple drops red food coloring 1 cup buttermilk

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:

¾ cup unsalted butter ¾ of a 8 oz brick cream cheese 5 ½ cups powdered sugar 2 tsp vanilla extract

𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

Preheat you oven to 350 F.

In a large mixing bowl, cream your shortening, melted butter, cream cheese, and sugar together. Beat in your egg yolks. Mix in your vanilla, vinegar, and buttermilk. Now fold in your dry ingredients gently for a light and fluffy cake. 

Beat your egg whites on high speed until they become stiff peaks. Fold into your batter gently until just combined. Add in red food coloring until you reach your desired color, and mix until even.

Light a candle if you wish and fill the batter with your intentions.

Butter and flour two cake tins and pour the batter evenly into both of them. Pop them into the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until you stick a toothpick in the center of the cake, and it comes out clean, making sure not to overcook the cake.

After 1 hour of cooling, remove the cakes from the pans, so they can fully cool correctly.

For the frosting, cream your butter, sugar, and cream cheese on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes. Mix in your vanilla extract and beat for another minute. If the frosting is too thick for your liking, add in a tablespoon of heavy cream or half and half.

Assemble the cake to your liking! Offer a piece to Aphrodite and enjoy!!!