i made these yummy cookies in 2012 for the holiday, and it’s become a tradition ever since.
it’s no secret to those who know me well, that i am not a good baker. i can whip up things in the kitchen over a skillet pretty amazingly, but one can’t “wing it” when baking… it is a legit science! and i respect that… i just can’t seem to nail it.
but i did with these cookies! Continue reading
… “especially in the month of june…”
———
my roommate brought these gorgeous flowers home from work recently and i gasped with glee when i laid eyes on them… then i immediately grabbed my camera, of course! actually, i waited until about 6:00 the next morning, then took them out on the balcony and sipped my iced americano while snapping images of these amazing beauties. i just love mornings… and i LOVE morning light… especially this time of year!
such pretty tulips, orchids, peonies, and greenery!
i am inspired by LIFE. not necessarily by the world, and the way we live, but by LIFE itself. these flowers are alive, just as we are. i was inspired by the stillness of these flowers, the stillness of nature… how nature just IS. the sole purpose of these flowers is to simply be. if anything, they just long for us to look at them, to bring awareness to them. and i believe when we “stop and smell the roses”, we can connect with them, with nature, in such a way that can offer stillness and peace to our own lives. after-all, i do believe we are just as much a part of nature as nature itself.
i love what eckhart tolle says about nature :
“Even a stone, and more easily a flower or a bird, could show you the way back to God, to the Source, to yourself. When you look at it or hold it & let it be without imposing a word of mental label on it, a sense of awe, of wonder, arises within you. Its essence silently communicates itself to you and reflects your own essence back to you.”
eckhart’s words resonated with me and i’ve carried them in my heart over the years. when i felt the glee i did upon seeing these flowers, i was reminded of that quote… and i thought i would post some pics of these gorgeous flowers along with some of my favourite quotes regarding stillness, spirituality, or love.
i hope you enjoy and i hope this brings some stillness to the mind and a warmth to the heart.
❤
“the earth laughs in flowers.” ~ ralph waldo emerson
“the intuitive mind is a sacred gift, the rational mind is a faithful servant. we have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.” ~ albert einstein
“we need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. see how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… we need silence to be able to touch souls.” ~ mother teresa
“there is a voice that doesn’t use words… listen!” ~ rumi
“if we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.” ~ buddha
“after women, flowers are the most lovely thing God has given the world.” ~ christian dior
“the best teachers are those who show you where to look but don’t tell you what to see.” ~ alexandra k. trenfor
“yesterday i was clever, so i tried to change the world… today i am wise, so i am changing myself.” – rumi
“and when you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.” – fredrich nietzsche
“be kind whenever possible. it is always possible.” – dalai lama
enjoy the weekend! ❤
hey gang – how’s winter treating you?
i really don’t wanna jinx it, but this time last year we had like double the amount of snow, if not triple, that we do now. we had a storm blow through this weekend, but nothing really accumulated or even fell from the clouds. i’ll probably get chastised for saying this, but i am perfectly fine without all that cold white stuff. {i do, however, like to see it flurrying down my screen from wordpress tech wonderland…}
i’m still in the holiday spirit, though. my tiny tree has been up in the tiny home since thanksgiving weekend and i’ve been watching tons of christmas movies and listening to christmas albums. i save “home alone” for christmas day – i wouldn’t say it’s my favourite, but it’s just one of those classics i have to watch every year. my favourite christmas movie ever is probably “love actually” ❤
what’s your favourite christmas movie?!
i also plan on pretty much not taking off this santa hat until december 26th. i have two cowlicks in my hair and when it’s short it’s fine, and when it’s long it’s fine… but i’m in the funky “growing out my hair” phase and sometimes throwing on a hat is the only way to get through my day and be happy about my hair. this time last year, it was about the same length, but i got impatient and cut it all off. this time, i will persevere! 😛
occasionally we get some really cool clouds up here. have you been looking up in wonder at the sky lately? …you should, and often.
LOVE : that wonderful feeling that can present itself in many forms. and sometimes the only place to find it is in a sticker plastered on a bench at a bus-stop… but it’s still there! ❤
a random salad i whipped up : brussel sprouts, cabbage, bacon, tart cherries, flax seeds, and parmesan cheese in a french vinaigrette. i admit i do not eat nearly as many cold salads in the winter… i just can’t get down with cold food in the cold months. but i do try to squeeze in some raw greens when the mood strikes me.
as a child of the 90’s, peace signs were kind of cool when i was growing up. we drew them on our notebooks, put pins on our backpacks, some of us even got tattoos of the peace sign! but it’s kind of weird to me that you don’t often see it anymore – at least not like we did when i was a kid. seeing this peace sign drawn in permanent cement made me smile – it’s there forever, dammit! 😛
something so simple as a wreath does so much for my holiday spirit. perhaps they remind me of my mom, in a way… i am pretty sure she would make them and we always had them on our doors, growing up. my neighbour thoughtfully bought me this wreath for the tiny house door… Continue reading
——–
I’M SORRY
I LOVE YOU
PLEASE FORGIVE ME
THANK YOU
———
today, and every day…
audrey’s perspective
it’s my birthday weekend!
classic audge – circa 2006
and i’m trying really hard not to feel lonely, weird, and slightly freaked out. i kinda wish i could watch that show that was big in the 90’s… it may offer some comfort. but i do know one person that always makes me smile and feel better about life and all its weirdness – the late, great, george carlin.
i thought i’d share this with you in celebration of my “getting older”… you may have already heard or seen this, but it’s worth a second round, for sure!
———
GEORGE CARLIN’S VIEW ON AGING
Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we’re kids? If you’re less than 10 years old, you’re so excited about aging that you think in fractions.
‘How old are you?’ ‘I’m four and a half!’ You’re never thirty-six and a half. You’re four and a half, going on five! That’s the key.
You get into your teens, now they can’t hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.
weee!
‘How old are you?’ ‘I’m gonna be 16!’ You could be 13, but hey, you’re gonna be 16!
And then the greatest day of your life…You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony… YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!
But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! She TURNED; we had to throw her out. There’s no fun now, you’re just a sour-dumpling. What’s wrong? What’s changed?
happy me, on my 30th
You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you’re PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it’s all slipping away.
Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.
But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn’t think you would!
So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.
You’ve built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it’s a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday! You get into your 80’s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime.
And it doesn’t end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; ‘I Was JUST 92.’
Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. ‘I’m 100 and a half!’
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!
never grow up
HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay ‘them.’
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. ‘An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.’ And the devil’s name is Alzheimer’s.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love – whether it’s family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don’t take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
AND ALWAYS REMEMBER : Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
———
{my favourite poet!}
“to be nobody-but-yourself in a world that is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else – is to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight… and never stop fighting!”
hello, november!
this is definitely my favourite time of year… even though it always shocks my system a little to do this whole daylight-savings-time thing… seriously, my sleep is jacked up for like 2 weeks after that happens.
c’est le vie, eh?!
at least it won’t be pitch black at 7 a.m. anymore…
anyway, here are a few of my favourite shake-it snaps from recent days. i hope you all had a fun, safe, and happy halloween!
—
sopris never gets old…
this is the time of year when they move the cattle down to graze in different pastures…
this kind of colour is pretty much totally gone, now…
but i made sure to soak it all in…
i just love it…
mmm, apple pie………….. soooo good!
i did a little dog-sitting last month… and our shadows were GIANTS! teeeheheeee….
i also did a little chicken-sitting… and had the freshest eggs i’ve ever eaten! like, 40 minutes old – fresh!
frost!
sopris… again.
i’ve been making and eating a ton of sauerkraut…
and making and taking a bunch of pointless selfies…
i dunno, this just looked cool…
so did this…
fall!
this time you couldn’t even see sopris…
fiery sunsets!
a rainbow over my tiny house!
i’m so in love with lense-flare.
oh yeah, one day i found these guys in a head of broccoli… they both took a poo on my hand – hysterical!
mmmmmmm, nothing like cozying up by a wood-fire!
an archery target! which i SOOOO want to use some day soon!
weird stuff you find on hikes…
… like the pumpkin graveyard… 😉
—
have a great weekend!
i went for a hike a couple weeks ago in snowmass, where i used to work last winter.. and i was shocked at how much colour was left on the trees all around! the aspens were still an amazing mix of colour and no colour… i just love them so much! the peaks were dusted with snow, and it was a sight to behold!
when i very first came to snowmass last year, it was october 22nd. it was the day of my interview and i remember seeing very little colour left on the aspens in the area. i though to myself, ‘what a sight this must be in autumn!’ and i was soooo hopeful i would get out to see it this year! i’m way grateful there was still some amazing colour on the trees and hills in this beautiful mountain town!
we went on a nice little hike…
some incredible views!! check out that rainbow of colour! Continue reading
happy october!
happy non-gmo month!!! yay!
lovin’ these gloves i scored at a thrift shop…
they are perfect for halloween! 😉
stewin’ maters…
and makin’ ’em into a meaty sauce… nom nom.
pretty radishes!
scary spider… but not really that scary.
frost in the mornings… it’s a regular thing, now.
feathers on eggs… not a regular thing, but i think it’s SO COOL!
this place is just so cool… there is so much ENERGY in moab! i can’t think of what else to say…
the famous balanced rock…
and arches everywhere…
also lots of phallic shapes everywhere… i know you were thinking it – everyone does. Continue reading
a little alliteration to start your morning 😉
aaaaaand, some pics from way way west-western colorado…
—
to say this state is dry is… well, a gross understatement.
…
dramatic sky.
beauty.
…fossils – whoa. Continue reading
wearing beanies…
{crazy over-exposure!}
and aspens… !
and buying yourself flowers…
and eating tomatoes…
and squeezing in final trips to the farmers market…
and seeing snowfall above 10K feet…
and enjoying breezy landscapes…
and making {chicken tortilla} soup…
and eating {chicken tortilla} soup!
🙂
hope you all have/had a terrific weekend!
it’s that time again!
you walk into the other room and suddenly completely forget why you went in there…
that’s right – it’s MERCURY RETROGRADE!
mercury will be taking his backward journey in the sign of scoprio/libra from october 4th through october 25th. as always, MR periods offer a chance for a “do-over” in some areas of our lives. sometimes people from the past resurface or we get a chance to look at something from a different perspective, and perhaps make a different or more clear decision about it. MR gets a bad rap, but it can really offer a second-chance in a way, we just have to be open. mercury retrograde just wants us to consider things from ALL SIDES, and to make decisions from a more introspective mentality. sometimes we need to see things form a different angle, and that sheds light onto a subject in a way we perhaps hadn’t noticed before. conversely, sometimes MR periods cast “shadows” on matters… afterall, mercury himself is the epitome of duality – having both equal parts dark and light. sometimes the key is to trust the saying, “if one door closes, another one will open.” the key is also to go within, and trust your intuition a little more.
some of the other key things to remember during mercury retrograde are as follows…
—
try not to sign any major documents… and if you must, go over all the paperwork with a fine-tooth comb, as they say, and make sure to “dot all your i’s and cross all your t’s” – MR periods tend to cause our minds to easily overlook small but important details, so it is usually advised that one does not do something like say – purchase a home or sign divorce papers – and the like, during this time.
allow for extra time during travel… or try not to do too much of it in general – MR periods tend to slow down travel/transportation overall but by allowing for extra time, frustration can be easily avoided. i always suggest leaving the house an extra 10-15 minutes early on your way to work, just in case.
do your best not to make any major decisions… mercury is the ultimate trickster. it’s important to use this time to “incubate” your thoughts… pay attention to how they may change or how you may suddenly see something in a whole new way. MR periods have potential to cause confusion, so it is advised to let your thoughts simmer rather than act on them right away.
triple check your work… in going along with “crossing all your t’s” and such {which is kind of a weird thing to say in this modern keyboard-driven technological world we live in}, MR periods beg for us to make sure to pay attention to the details. it’s easy to forget something that may seem like a habit to you. so just do your best to take a few extra moments to make sure you shut the garage door, replied to that important email, or sent a text to the right person 😐
be conscious of your words and any miscommunication… it’s one of the biggest downfalls of MR periods. sometimes you may just NOT hear someone right, or sometimes you may struggle to find the proper words to express yourself, or sometimes you may misunderstand what a person said – or vice versa. just slow down, go easy, and remember that it will pass. and try not to hold a grudge against someone if there in fact is some miscommunication… you can always talk it out after the 25th 🙂
—
of course, if you are a natal mercury retrograde soul like myself, you always have the green light for any of the things listed above. it’s not to say that these periods don’t effect us in these categories, it’s just that we have a different way of interacting with the energies, since we live it on a daily basis.
mercury will be traveling through scoprio and libra during these 3 weeks. some areas of our lives in which MR may have an effect are – divorce, sex, death, rebirth, finances {scorpio} and relationships, partners, clients, fairness, equality {libra}.
if you want to read more of my rants about mercury retrograde events, you can click HERE.
and i hope you backed up your important stuff recently… just sayin’
have fun! ❤
…this random hash with onion, garlic, potatoes, bacon, tomatoes, and kale.
…this. *giggle*
…subtle reminders.
…these $5 birks i scored at a thrift store in moab – never been worn!
…fresh halibut – worth the splurge!
…fishin’ somewhere near paonia.
…creating farm-to-table meals with elk meatballs, wild boletus mushrooms, sauteed swiss chard, fresh salad.
…my new job.
…a perfect tomato from a friend’s garden.
…making wishes at the wishing tree.
…a beehive, right by my house!
…the fact that peach season is officially over… i enjoyed one final one for desert after the bronco game.
…my tomatoes are finally taking off.
…tomato bounty!
…glowing sopris… {and the fact that it’s still been nice enough to even wear sandals!}
—
enjoy your weekend!
when i walked out my door the other morning and saw these clouds, i literally stopped in my tracks and exclaimed, “what the —- {bleep!}!?!” i ran inside to grab my {old, but still working} camera, but the fotos don’t really do it justice.
it was as if the sky had become the ocean. the clouds looked like waves crashing on the shoreline. it was both eerie and awesome. and during editing, i had a little fun with the colours…
this just makes me miss the ocean, even more. and it makes me want to be closer to the water, even more. a plan i am working on making a reality very soon.
food & foto 