I needed some change, and this is what I came up with.  All of my posts here have been transferred to the new blog, so come and join me and subscribe over there.

Thanks for a wonderful run ‘Live What You Love’.  You made me fall in love with blogging.

Also, I may have big plans for this blog… can’t decide quite yet. But, know that my custom design expires and I’m not renewing it quite yet because I might be switching blog platforms. Just wanted to keep you updated. Be back soon on the regular. Promise.

I’ll leave you with an absolutely dreamy photo I took in the French Quarter on a foggy morning this weekend…

Istanbul obviously has a lot more to offer than mosques and palaces and bazaars. The culture and the people there are absolutely phenomenal.  We met so many genuine and lovely people and had the most amazing food.  Turkey’s food is absolutely wonderful, and food is one of my most favorite ways to experience new places.  In this edition of Wanderlust Wednesday, let’s experience the wonderful culture of Istanbul…

…the eats…

Let’s not pretend that you all don’t know that I absolutely love food, especially experiencing different cultures through food.  Istanbul had it’s fair share of good food (But, just wait until  you hear about the food in the other places we visited).  The only thing about Istanbul is that it’s (relatively) expensive, just like any other big city.  We still enjoyed everything we ate though.

What breakfast looked like almost every morning.

Appetizer sampler: Looks questionable, tasted wonderful.

Pide, Turkish pizza.  One of my favorite things.  All the toppings are wrapped up inside.

A cozy little cafe connected to a hotel, Cafe Kybele.  It was one of my favorite little spots in Istanbul.  We just happened upon it while exploring the city one afternoon.

We met the owner and found ourselves up in a magical little attic space filled with antiques and textiles.

Sultanahmet Koftecisi, this restaurant was right near the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque and had really great, affordable traditional food.  It’s a great place to grab lunch while visiting the mosques.

…the people…

I’m usually pretty bad at taking photos of people, mostly because I’m just not very good at it.  So this trip, I tried to capture some of the faces of Turkey.  I believe that, more than anything, can capture the true heart of city.

Filing out of a mosque after one of the 5 daily prayers.

Freshly squeezed pomegranate juice from a street cart. One of my favorite photos.

Feeding the birds in front of Istanbul University.

A precious old man and his chestnut street cart.

Pink scarved girls visiting the Hagia Sophia.

…the streets…

Simply walking about Istanbul, there is plenty to see.  Narrow cobblestone alleyways to open spaces between huge mosques, this city constantly kept me surprised at every turn.  A favorite thing to do while exploring is simply that, to explore, to wander and walk about the city, to see as much on foot as I can.

Isn’t it just the most wonderful of cities?

This book was similar to 1984 in that it made a bold and eerie statement about where our world could be going.  Guy Montag is a firefighter, however, this instead of putting out fires, they start them, and only to destroy books, because books are “dangerous” for the mind; they allow you to have the freedom to think for yourself.  Society in the novel thought of this as a detriment.  Everyone should be the same and not question anything, which books would make them do.  I definitely agree with that.  Books open up your mind to so many new thoughts and ideas.  Could you even imagine a world without books?  Tragedy!

Here are some quotes that I really loved:

For how many people did you know that refracted your own light to you?

There are billions of us and that’s too many. Nobody know anyone. Strangers come and violate you. Strangers come and cut your heart out. Strangers come and take your bliss.

And he remembered thinking then that if she died, he was certain he wouldn’t cry. For it would be the dying of an unknown, a street face, a newspaper image, and it was suddenly so very wrong that he had begun to cry, not at death but at the thought if not crying at death, a silly empty man near a silly empty woman, while the hungry snake made her still more empty.

There must be something in books, things we cant imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.

As for the first time I realized that a man was behind each one of the books. A man had to think them up.

School is shortened, discipline relaxed, philosophies, histories, languages dropped, English and spelling gradually gradually neglected, finally almos completely ignores d. Life is immediate, the job counts, pleasure lies all about after work. Why learn anything save pressing buttons, pulling switches, fitting nuts and bolts?

A book is a loaded gun in the house next door. Burn it. Take the shot from the weapon. Breach man’s mind. Who knows who might be the target of the well-read man.

It’s a pretty quick read and very well worth it.

outfit details- blouse: thrifted // jeans: calvin klein // boots: candies // glasses: SEE 

Cappodocia is a region in central Turkey. It is full of absolutely gorgeous rock formations, caves, and very early history. You really need a couple days and a guided tour to see everything. And believe me, you want to see everything. We booked ours through Jasminne Tour, a company out of Istanbul and we loved it.

…the views&sights…

hiking

Cavusin, an old Christian cave city

Pigeon Valley, because the area is riddled with pigeon holes

Fairy Chimneys

Goreme Open Air Museum

Cave church at Goreme, with secos on the cave walls

Stunning. Breathtaking.

…village of urgup…

We stayed in the little village of Urgup at a wonderful little hotel called Cappodocia Palace. The staff was so friendly and helpful. We would sit and chat with them in the evenings while drinking tea and planning out the days ahead. I definitely would recommend it!

A little plaza inside the hotel

Streets of Urgup at night

Plaza in the city centre

…food&drink…

You are looking at the absolute best food we had. It was a a restaurant called Sofra Restaurant. It may not look very “pretty” but it was absolutely amazing and affordable. You MUST go here if you visit Cappodocia. Top left: homemade Turkish ravioli, top right: lamb kebap, bottom left: lamb shish roll up, bottom right: Sofra, a porridge of lamb, spices, and vegetables.

We also ate at Uranos Sarikaya, a restaurant in the cave of a mountain in Goreme. We had a lovely 3 course meal and talked by the perfectly dimly lit light. Such a warm and lovely atmosphere.

Lastly, one of my favorite things from the whole trip. Hot mulled wine while walking amongst the Fairy Chimneys. Cappodocia is known for their wine. Their climate is perfect for vineyards, and we had some very great dry red wines. It was rather chilly, which we weren’t expecting, and this wine, warmed in a clay pot was exactly what we needed. It was heavenly.

January

I did my first major blog overhaul.  I learned a bit of CSS and played around with the look.  It’s changed at least 5 times since then and I’m hoping to continue to improve!   Other than that, January was kind of a quiet month, besides a few trips to Indianapolis.  I also decided to get my life back on the healthy track.  I started exercising, eating better, and making my life more natural and simple.

February

I turned 24 and had one of the most lovely parties.  My dearest friend Sara, hosted at her and her husbands farm out in the country.  It was unusually warm for the beginning of February.  We got to explore outside and even got to race barefoot down a gravel road.  Perfection.

I also traveled to Nashville with some Indiana friends and got to show them around a city I love. Oh, and I also shaved a small part of my head, which got bigger and bigger as the year went on…

March

I went to Chicago with some lovely friends from work to see them compete in the Big Central Barista Competition.  We got to meet up with other coffee geeks and gush about specialty coffee.  I just love spending time in Chicago and exploring new parts of this wonderful city.

April

May

June

June was kind of a quiet month, but it was just what I needed.  There was a lot of back porch breakfasts, reading novels, and shopping at the farmer’s market; just what a summer should be. Oh, and another trip to Nashville to spend some time at a lake house with some friends… (whoops)

July

I took a mini road trip with Sara to Newport, RI for the Newport Folk Festival.  We also go tot stop in NYC and visit our dear friend, Jason.  The festival and the little New England town were both lovely.  It was my first time in “real” New England and I loved it.  I got to see so many of my most favorite people play the the Folk fest.

Flat Iron Building in NYC

Newport Bridge

August

I had the wonderful opportunity to see Bob Dylan play live.  Now, I was prepared for it not to sound awesome, and it really didn’t.  His voice has really seen better days, but it was such an honor to see him play.  Even, if every song sounded almost exactly the same

I also threw a 25th birthday party for my Sara Jean along with her husband.  We had it out on their farm and it was just a wonderful late summer event.  It was also great to spend time with people I loved before the next major event in my life…

September

In a whirlwind of events, I moved and said goodbye to West Lafayette and hello to Nashville once again.  I’m so very thankful for the community of friends I have in both of these places.

We also celebrated Heather’s birthday on a wonderful warm afternoon at Arrington Vineyards. Such beautiful times and beautiful friends.

October

Out on the road again, I headed south for a short little trip to Charleston, SC just because we could.  We had an absolutely amazing time. So much laughing, talking, and enjoying each other’s presence. And, oh my, what a beautiful little southern town. *swoon*

I also ran my first 10k race (since becoming a huge fan of running) and visited the most beautiful of waterfalls (Burgess Falls) right here in Tennessee.

November

December

This past year has held so many experiences and changes that have truly broken me down so that my only choice is to be myself, despite my daily insecurities.

As this year comes to an end, this kind of thing feels natural to me, to reflect and change and think about the year ahead.  I hope that this blog has remained genuine and true and I will continue to make it an extension of myself.  I’m just stepping back to reevaluate well, everything.  I have some big aspirations for this blog and I’m just trying to figure out if the time and effort is going to be worth it to make a huge change and overhaul.  Regardless, I’ll keep blogging, that’s for sure.  I’ll blog as long as I enjoy it, and I do still very much enjoy it.  So, there’s a peek into my head as of late.

Thanks for reading.

Merry Christmas.

So, if you don’t know, the toothpaste you buy in the store has sodium fluoride. It is put in there as a cavity prevention compound. But, some studies have shown that sodium fluoride can be toxic, especially when used in high quantities. It’s also one of the compounds that can be found in rat poison…

Now, I know that in “debates” like these, you have to choose your battles. This is just something that I want to rid my body of, really I just want to minimize all chemicals in my body. I do it because it’s really easy and most of the time, a lot cheaper than buying already made beauty products. I understand that not all people care or really think about this, and that’s completely fine. I’m just sharing my views on the subject.

Anyways, back to the toothpaste recipe…

Now, I’m warning you, this does not taste like store bought toothpaste. At all. It definitely takes a bit to get used to but it’s so stinking cheap AND it helps remineralize your teeth. The calcium powder in it actually helps your teeth become stronger and fight cavities naturally!

5 parts calcium powder
2 parts baking soda
3-5 parts coconut oil
1 part sea salt
essential oils or extracts (optional, to taste : peppermint makes sense to me!)
stevia (optional, to combat bitterness)
dashes of cinnamon (optional, a recent favorite!)

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together.
2. Add the coconut oil 1 part at a time until smooth and creamy
3. Add essential oils/extract, cinnamon
4. Put into a sealed container. One with a wider mouth works better.

To use, just dip your toothbrush in the toothpaste and brush!

adapted from here

Like, I said, it’s quite different from the toothpaste you are used to and doesn’t give you that intense minty breath but, my teeth always feel clean and strong. Just give it a shot

These photos were taken in Cappodocia, a region in central Turkey known for its crazy natural rock formations. There is no other place like it in the world and I am so glad that we got to experience it while we were there.  I am standing in a rock/cave city called Cavusin. The middle photo shows the city from farther away.  It’s absolutely insane that people actually lived here at one point.

I really loved traveling around this area of Turkey.  We saw about a dozen different sights in 2 days and also got to take a hike through some of the region. The views were absolutely stunning.  But more about that later…

outfit details- shirt dress:thrifted // jacket:urban outfitters // jeans: h&m // shoes: x appeal