Fun

on your mark

fun fact: the scars on my face are from a dog bite when I was a baby. he was our dog. and I guess he didn’t like my rough play style (still have that problem). dude chomped down right on the middle of my face.

I couldn’t get stitches, so I was just a baby toddling around with slasher movie face for a bit.

I never was bothered by the scars. as long as I knew my face, it had them on there… so it was just what my face was.

then the large mole at the center of my forehead popped up somewhere in teenage land…

I just woke up one morning moled. and it’s *exactly* in the center of my forehead… which, let’s be real- is pretty damn impressive for a mole, yeah?. proud of her.

and considering the left side of my face already had 4 (ahem) beauty marks that create a perfect and large square, I’m overall pretty proud of the attention to symmetry my face marks seem to have.

I’m fine with the marks on my face. I’m sure I’d maybe like it more if I didn’t have them… but whatever. It’s my only face and I’m cool with it. so they can stick around. and hey, who knows – maybe I’ll grow more marks for them to play with tonight. (fun game, yeah?).

sometimes in the right light I look like I have a black eye and a crooked nose with a witch head wart.

and then sometimes, in the right light, they’re all completely hidden…

same exact things to be seen, but the scenery around it shifts enough for your lens to show you something totally different.

and that’s life, yeah?.

there are a lot of scars and moles and shadows out in the world right now. a lot of darkness and evil. and we can keep shining the right light on them to make them more visible- to give them a platform or excuse to be seen and heard…

or we can choose to stand under the kind of light that makes them fade into the background until they’re barely noticeable anymore.

it doesn’t mean the bad things go away. it just means we choose to see them differently in order to live a happier life.

it’s all about perspective. it’s all about choice. and it’s all about staying on the track that leads to a better place to be.

decide now through what lens you choose to look, and you’ll get to where you want to be.

all you have to do is make a choice💚

love you. and all of your marks💋

July 29, 2018 by
Fun

be child

my daughter reminds me to marvel at hidden and overlooked treasures. a walk in the woods is never complete without stopping to notice fallen flowers, or broken stones shaped in a way that makes her brain sparkle. she loves leaves- the bigger, the better. she will make them be hat or flag or blanket for ants.

she sees things other children don’t and things adults have forgotten to look for.

she cries at movies when the hero’s soul is aching but laughs when the dinosaur rips the face off the actor.

she is not easy.  she is complex and booming and filled with words she must let go of immediately.  she is alive and proving it at every turn.  often i need a break to breathe and recharge before i can keep up with her. but the payoff is always monumental and i miss her within minutes of not having her there.

i knew that when i gave her this name, she would have big things to say.  this is why she is here.  she is here to teach and speak and create.

she will sit on the front porch with our aging cat and sing to her. talk to her. be with her.

she listens to the people, places and things we didn’t think had a voice.

she knows things other children don’t and things adults have forgotten is real.

she is made of magic and I’ve always known it.

she is smarter than I ever tried to be and I’m learning from her daily.

do yourself a favor today and stop- even for a moment- and look at something the way a child does. listen to someone in order to learn something.

be kind. be present. be child.

love y’all. now let’s make some friday magic.

July 27, 2018 by
Food + Wine

Cleanest Dirty

We all know I live a life of balance, yeah?  I eat bread.  I drink beer.  I eat red meat.  I like naps and pj’s. I wear high heels and too much mascara.

But I also workout like a maniac.  I sweat everyday.  I push myself every day. I don’t wear makeup unless I’m going somewhere worthy.  I live most of my days in either bikinis or underwear and bare feet.

balance

I don’t like restrictions.  I don’t like rules.  I don’t like wrongs and rights. Or blacks and whites.

I like grey.

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July 21, 2018 by
Food + Wine

shi-shi-shi-shitos

What’s not to like about a pepper that promises to light your mouth on fire 1 out of every 10 times you toss one onto your tongue?

So much fun.

Dangerous produce excitement, y’all.

These beauties came from mama’s garden, but you can find them just about anywhere these days… especially the fancier markets.  And they’re easy as heck fire to make.  You can be fancy with a plate sauce on serving, or just serve ’em blistered and naked like I like.  It’s totally up to you.

This post is barely post-worthy as it’s so simple, but you all need to be making these this summer at all your shindigs, k?

CAST IRON BLISTERED SHISHITO PEPPERS

There’s no real serving size for these, as it’s one of those things you just toss in your mouth as you’re chattin’ away, but I would say count on a good handful per guest if you’re entertaining… and when they’re done, they’re done 😉

  • Heat a large cast-iron skillet on high over your range.
  • Once it’s smoking, add some good olive oil, a couple splashes.
  • Add the shishitos right in and let them sit still for about 2 minutes before shaking the pan.
  • (this is called the shishito shimmy)
  • Salt them liberally with kosher salt.
  • Keep shaking the pan (tossing with tongs if need be) until you have an even blistering on all sides and they’ve shriveled.
  • Transfer to a serving plate and serve warm-room temperature.
  • Be sure to play the game where someone has to announce that they’ve gotten the spicy one.
  • And they need to do a little dance.

…it’s the simple things, ya’ll.

love . x

July 6, 2018 by
Food + Wine

Dark Chocolate Mug Cake aka cake whenever you want cake

Oh hello gorgeous. How are you on this fine, cloudy summer afternoon?  I am dandy, thank you.  I’ve been on single mom mode for the last couple and I’m a bit tired, but hey – so is life, yes?  And whenever my husband goes out of town, the kids and I generally create something together.  We do lots of special things when he’s away, just so it’s less of a ‘daddy’s gone this week’ and more of a ‘mom is the coolest ever’ week.

Get it?

I mean, it’s really just for selfish reasons.

So is life, yes?

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June 26, 2018 by