Delishisness

 

 

I understand this may not look appealing but let me tell you IT IS DELISH!

My skin get more clear & vibrant by the day drinking this goodness in a jar.

 

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

 

In a blender...

 

~ 1-2 leaves of kale...minus the stem

~ a handful of spinach

~ 1-2 cups of Almond vanilla milk (or coconut or soy...go crazy)

~ A tablespoon or two of a good honey

~ 1 yellow banana

~ handful of ice.

 

Step one

Place the greens & almond milk in blender, puree that sucker for a good full minute

 

Step two

Add banana, honey and ice... I also throw in these Chia seeds.

 

Step 3

Pour and enjoy!

 

I find that I don't snack nearly as much throughout the day, get in all those hearty green veggies that can seem a bit daunting and it's great on the go!

 

When you make it, come back and comment...I would love to read your experience!

 

 

 



As the sun illuminates the moon and the stars,

so let us illumine one another.

 

~Anonymous

 

 

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.

 

~Mary Jean Iron

Our Halloween

 

This year I decided to go all out on Halloween...

(don't even ask me what I spent on all the dry ice!!)

It was fun & worth every penny.

 

 

Our desert Halloween tradition is to set up our dinner table out in the front driveway and have a chili fest with those near & dear who can make it over, decorate our cactus garden with pumpkins and candles in every nook and cranny, pass out candy to all those cute babies & kiddos in our neighborhood and meet new & old neighbors.

 

 

Did I mention I made this corn bread recipie and it is to die for!

 

 

Growing up we never really did much for Halloween, but growing older &  having a home of our own ...& a community of our own I  have developed a deep sense to create traditions. Set some roots...doing these things in a way that speaks to my heart.

 Sharing my creativity with my community.

On this night  I love that we all open our homes to eachother, share a smile, chit chat. Seeing parents participate in their own childhood imagination along with their children.

 

I hope your Halloween was as fun as ours...

A

 

 

Fall is drawing near...

Fall is drawing near....

So here's to pumpkins, pomegranate's , chai lattes and scarves , ohh and adorable jackets to boot! 

Transitions

Transitions are deeply unsettling.They are a good &  healthy thing yet un-nervingly unsettling.  I completely understand the necessity of the "feeling" but still, it rocks me to the core.

I trust, I wait, I feel...I repeat till I make my way outta this one.

See you on the other side

Mother Blessing

I threw one of my soul sisters a Mother blessing and I had this last minute idea , I think I got it from pinterest? I tore pieces of beautiful fabric and stamped the names of the women that were gathering in my home to celebrate their soul sister Christa.  I loved it so much that it still lingers in our dining room and I'm reminded of our special gathering.

My "fear" friend

 

 

 

Follow you fears, they can teach you many things...

 

I like to give myself permission to feel my Fear feelings, even allow them to stay a while, just as long as I remember to let them go. Hopefully before they are running a muck. It can easy for me to forget them or get used to them hanging around as I can be a flibbery giblet sometimes...before I realize it they can sort of become a permanent fixture in my home if I'm not to careful. 

 

I want fear to be my friend, not the lingering friend that always comes over to visit and doesn't know when to leave but the kind of friend whom I love dearly but say... will only tolerate so much before  they must leave my space,  as if to sense I may be sacrificing my own personal boundary, my integrity, my honesty, my passions.

 

When I forget about them...(aka hide from them) fear will always be there for me when I'm ready to forge my way through to the other side.

 

 I can and will love my "fear" friend, I will dance with it, use it to learn from as this friend really is here to teach me which way to follow...

 

I will put it to great use.

To follow my fears and I can never go wrong...

 

How do you work with your fears?

 

 

Banana peach bread with blueberry swirl



Junk in the Trunk

 

My ladies and I went to this fabulous trunk show over the weekend and boy it was fun!! So many inspirational items and crafts.

These ladies host this show four times a year and if you are ever in Arizona, plan your trip around this awesome event as you do NOT want to miss it!!

 

Here are just a few finds I fell in love with...



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 They hold these events four times a year, and the next is coming up on November 10th...remember to bring lots of cash an umbrella for shade and a truck to haul away all of the awesome "junk" you will find!

Click the link at the top for more details...

See you there!

 

 



My latest adventure

Today is a day Ive been waiting for for a looooong time and I'm thrilled that it's here!

 I've joined this awesome class...

 

 

My intention is to expand my tribal circle, meet new women whom are pursuing their own personal artistic journey and to cultivate my own artwork /business to a whole new level. I will be blogging about my 5 week experience if you need a lil inspiration and posting my own personal challenges that I have been tip toeing around. Won't you join me in this new adventure? I would love to hear about your own cultivations and support you in your new journey as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The creative life

Creativity thrives on the many, combination of all things.

Women Who Run With the Wolves

Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D.

My visit with a Dragonfly

Photo taken by Abigail Goldstein



Dragonfly

Your passion is awakening, so direct it to what feels true and right for you

Pocket guide to Spirit Animals

~Dr. Steven Farmer



Nature walk in Prescott, AZ (larger scale)

Around every corner the views just kept getting better

and better

and better

Can it really get any more amazing!!

Ohh yes, yes indeed!

Nature walk in Prescott Arizona (smaller scale)

Went on a beautiful hike in Nature with the hubby & found many beauties, here are just  few...

Natures bounty on a bigger scale will be posted tomorrow....stay tuned you don't wanna miss it!

Prescott getaway

 

Enjoying a lil getaway with the hubby, actually he is sleeping while I'm having a lil early morning quiet moment to myself. I LOVE these kinds of moments. It's one of the sweet pleasures I look for at every chance I find or shall I say create!  There is a lil bird singing his heart out right over my shoulder, the cicada's are serenading me in the BIG tree that is providing me ample shade and I just had the most AMAZING pastry from THIS lil charming place right next store. Seriously, It must have just come outta the oven and I have never had filo dough and cherries that scrumptious!

And there Tibetan Chai!! If you ever come by this place ...Its a must have...holy goodness!!

We are staying in THIS adorable place as well, you really do feel like you've stepped back in time ohh & do yourself a favor...get a room with a claw foot tub.

This man

This man...

*Loves me unconditionally

*Takes great pleasure in surprising me with big & lil adventures

*Does all the "husband duties" without me having to ask

*Is planning our long awaited honeymoon with great attention to details

*Supports me in all things serious and not so serious

*Vacuum's the house like nobody's business

(Seriously...he could find dirt in a facilities clean room!)

*Is sarcastically funny like no body's business

*Has beautiful "orange" hair

*Loves our animals to the moon and back

*He is consistent

* He is honest

* He is the hardest working man I think Ive ever known

* And the most patient

* He is my husband, my partner and my best friend

Happy Birthday Love!

Tell me about your partner...I would LOVE to know



Meyer Lemon lemonade and Limoncello

If you ever come across a basket of succulent meyer lemons...do yourself a favor and stock up!!

They are flowery, sweet and of course sour and make awesome lemonade that will make you love the long summer days!

How about some Limoncello!

Ingredients

10 Meyer lemons

1 (750-ml) bottle vodka

3 1/2 cups water

2 1/2 cups sugar

Directions

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the peel from the lemons in long strips (reserve the lemons for another use). Using a small sharp knife, trim away the white pith from the lemon peels; discard the pith. Place the lemon peels in a 2-quart pitcher. Pour the vodka over the peels and cover with plastic wrap. Steep the lemon peels in the vodka for 4 days at room temperature.

Stir the water and sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Cool completely. Pour the sugar syrup over the vodka mixture. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight. Strain the limoncello through a mesh strainer. Discard the peels. Transfer the limoncello to bottles. Seal the bottles and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 1 month.

Ocean side is where this desert girls heart thrives...

Don't ya just love what  they did with broken plates and tea cups!

Drift wood

Need a fabulous idea for all the beautiful drift wood you bring home?



Spiny love

 

I always felt like cacti are pretty boring to look at (I'm from a place Alaska) but when you take a closer peek into their nooks and crannies their colors are vibrant & thriving. 

They are a beautiful evolution of survival.

Their ability to soak up the goodness of life... water, and not just sustain life  but thrive in it through hard times (drought), 

standing tall

standing majestic

is a sight to see

The desert can be a hard place to live but when you slow down and take a good look around there is so much "life" happening right before our very eyes. 

Lessons from a momma bird

My momma bird story..

.

It all began about 2 months ago while on my daily early morning walk...

For me my walking time is a time to contemplate, to reflect, to think about my goals in life and art.

So here I am at the last stretch of my 2 miles, (love this spot on my journey home) I embark upon huge tree's that arch their way over the sidewalk to intermingle with the tree's on the other side while providing a much needed break from the intensity of the sun we so often experience here in Arizona.

I'm walking along, deep in thought and all of a sudden a BIG black bird comes swooping by my right shoulder and crosses inches from my face. She scarred the DICKENS outta me!

 I always looked around for any signs of a nest but never found one. 

This momma bird has attempted to scare the bijeezes out of me on more than one occasion in fact on our third meet and greet she swooped in behind me and literally whacked me on my shoulder with her massive wing

Needless to say she got me,

she got me good.

 I'm sure all the early morning risers got a good chuckle from the whole shabang!

I wasn't about to let a bird tell me what to do and where to walk so I began walking backwards at that lil stretch of nature just so she knew, that I knew, you know! 

After this whole charades has been playing out over the course of two months this is what I came across this morning.  

This tiny lil black baby bird was exhausted, confused and had no idea how to fly, how to find it's momma, how to even feed him/herself. When I picked him/her up he/she just collapsed into my hands. This baby bird was a lil ways from the spot I always get "a good talkin to" by momma bird so I began walking  towards the huge tree's and spot this perfect lil nest just laying in plain site .

I could hear momma bird in the back ground singing and rejoicing!

 I can only imagine what she was telling her wee one.

Today I think we finally came to terms with each other.

She let me be

A mothers love is

 strong

 fierce

 honest

and tender

I hope to one day experience this love for my wee ones

~Lessons from a momma bird~



Aries

Follow the muses, listening to all they whisper

(Todays horiscope for all you Aries out there)

Desert lives

As I pondered what to write about this tiny yet significant droplet of pure water I felt moved to open one of my favorite books...Women who Run With the Wolves,

 and this is the page it turned to...

37

"Like La Loba, we so often start out in a desert. We feel disenfranchised, alienated, not connected to even a cactus clump. The ancients called the desert a place of divine revelation. But for women, there is much more to it than that.

A desert is a place where life is very condensed. The roots of living things hold on to that last tear of water and the flower hoards its moisture by only appearing in the early morning and late afternoon. Life in the desert is small but brilliant and most of what occurs goes on underground. This is like the lives of many women. The desert is not lush like a forest or jungle. It is very intense and mysterious in its life forms. Many of us have lived desert lives: very small on the surface, and enormous under the ground."

So much beauty in the details...

So much beauty in the details...


I love to keep flowers by my kitchen sink, it always catapults me to a wondrous place in my mind, heart and imagination.
 Today it was this...

 I am feeling so inspired today, waking up to the quiet morning. Just me and the birds, in the wee early morning hours, having the morning light shine through the kitchen sink window and fill the room with love and light. A place where I spend so much time... cleaning not only the dishes but cleaning out the "stuff". Processing, letting go, renewal, new beginnings. It's one of my favorite spaces in the house and I fill it with  things I love, things that move me.

 

To my dear friend Latisha, these sunflowers have such deep and beautiful meaning ,you can read about it  here.  Having these by my kitchen sink I easily "sink" deep into my imagination of her new journey (and mine:)) she is taking in life and am awwww inspired by her beauty and braveness.

Love you friend

My early morning walk...Memorial Day , 2012