Honey & Chia Yogurt Topped with Honey + Cardamom Pan-Fried Bananas

"Just because I have a disability doesn’t mean that I’m disabled."

Hello, friend.

These kind of posts seem to be the harder ones to write. Not due to any particular depth or grittiness, but due to the shear lacking of inspiration. I’ve written about being uninspired before on the blog. For me, it seems to come in cycles. Inspiration is like riding a rollercoaster. The trek to the top can be long, arduous, and emotionally crippling at times. Your heart feels heavy. The world close and boxed in. As creators, what we crave more than anything is the mental sense of falling. The moment when you’re looking over the edge of the coaster, the drop just inches from your seat. Time slows down as your mind races to comprehend the situation. And just as the thoughts trickle in, you drop. A crescendo of sensations come racing up. Speeding downwards, the winds of inspiration ripple back across your face as every known emotion comes flutter up like a cage of butterflies just released. This sensation is how inspiration feels. What seems to be the only problem is that I’m terrified of rollercoasters. 

Baked Spicy Tomato & Makeshift Béchamel Pasta for Two + Musings from the Mountains

Hello, friend.

I write to you from the mountains. The hill-song of the South. The Smoky Mountains bare (or should I say ‘bear’) its tranquility and peace unto my soul. Inspiration is striking deep. It soothes my spirit and breathes new life into my work. The words seem to cascade like water droplets off bending leaves. Everything about the mountains is as it should be. Purity and silence fill the space. Rustling branches and the flowing streams teach us to walk a bit slower and learn to pause and listen. Take grandeur of the woods and their shadows. The bending of light and the crossing of the day. Everything living kept in time to the rhythm of the land. The mountains seem to move to an almost unnoticeable beat. The mountains have given me an escape.

I’ve been on a small hiatus. After my most recent post where I collaborated with the Homer Soda Company, I closed my laptop, packed my bags, and set out for the mountains. My family and I took a week vacation to the Smokey Mountains. The past week was full of scenic drives, cast iron cooking, and moments in the woods. We lodged in a quaint log cabin outside Pigeon Forge for our stay. The area is rather touristy and diluted with overpriced dinner shows, corporate chains restaurants, and T-shirt stores with the words “Great Smokey Mountains” written in bold neon colors, all up and down the strip. I wanted desperately to get off the beaten path and experience the sounds of the forest, and luckily our cabin fit that criteria. 

Personal Strawberry Soda Galettes with a Whipped Strawberry Soda Cream

Hello, friend.

So. Two immensely exciting things have happened since we last talked. Firstly, I finally got moved into my new apartment. Oh yeah! I never knew that moving from one place to another would be such a strenuous adventure. With days of tireless planning, countless trips to Wal-Mart, and all the while taking moments out of my hectic schedule to mentally decompress and take it all in, I somehow made it through without a hitch. Quickly as the day came, it went. The apartment was set, and every box unloaded. Jon and my parents said their goodbyes and closed the door behind them as I was left alone. Solitude. Soon the realization that I was living on my own for the first time had ultimately set in. It was a strange mixture of joy and fear. To combat the uncertainty within myself, I decided to celebrate my new found adult state with yogurt topped with sliced peaches, chia seeds, and a drizzle of honey. Unfortunately, I was without an Internet connection for most of the weekend and into the early week. So I spent my time driving around campus, walking downtown, perusing through antique bookstores, having a mid-afternoon iced latte at a quirky café, and working on the blog, which brings me to my second point.