water, land, sky :: tattoo

Obviously by now, you’ve seen my newest (and biggest/most colorful) tattoo.  It was a huge jump to get my entire forearm covered in ink, but it has been in the works for over a year.

It is based off of a picture I found on the internet but I changed it around a bit and Ian (at Safe House Tattoos) is an amazing artist and made it look even more amazing than I could have ever imagined.

People always ask me what this one means and it just has about a million things it could mean to me, so it’s hard to put in a sentence explanation in the moment.  But, I wanted to flesh it out, mostly selfishly for myself…

I love the way it incorporates aspects of water, earth, and air.  Everything is so connected and depends so heavily on the other, I love that my tattoo does the same.

Also, it has a spiritual aspect (of course…)

The anchor represents God, who keeps me grounded, who is responsible for everything in my life.  The compass represents Jesus, who walks with me and directs me daily.  The rope that intertwines throughout is the Holy Spirit, weaving its way through all parts of my life.  Lastly, the bird is me, a free spirit always desperately straining towards something new and exciting, yet still being connected to my anchor.

Also, I may be slightly obsessed with travel and every time I look at the compass, I can’t help but think about everywhere but here. Travel also quickly becoming a theme that find itself into most of my tattoos.

Five tats and counting…

monday morning :: mountains

This morning, Mountains have been on my mind.

I would choose mountains over ocean any day. There’s just something majestic and mysterious about the peaks that reach themselves up as high as the earth will let them. Relaxation and peace follow closely behind when I am immersed in a mountain scene.

I grew up spending spring breaks from school in the Smoky Mountains.  I wish I knew exactly how many times I’ve been, but it’s been far too many to count. Weirdly, these trips to East Tennessee shaped my life more than I really realized. It sparked my love of the outdoors. It made me fall in love with Tennessee, which I now call home.

I owe an embarrassing amount of my life to mountains, but I’m pretty much ok with that.

monday morning :: perfectly poached eggs

This week’s edition brought to you by poached eggs.  I can’t stop making these suckers.  So good and deceptively easy. Try ’em out this week with these simple directions:

1. Bring 3-4 inches of water to a gentle rolling simmer, so water is just slightly bubbling.  You don’t want the water to be violently boiling. Then, add a touch of vinegar.

2. Crack an egg into a small bowl.  Dip the edge of the bowl into the water and slowly let the egg fall into the water and DON’T FREAK OUT.  It’s gonna look a little weird in there for a bit, but let the water do it’s cooking and it’ll be fine.

3. Let the egg cook for about 4 minutes for a runny yolk (longer for a firm yolk) then remove with a spoon onto a paper towl.

4. Season with salt and pepper and place on top of freshly baked wheat biscuits (preferebly)

Perfectly runny yolks are my love language.

monday morning :: bits & pieces

I have a tumblr…

Also called Almost Overnight.  It’s like my little inspiration feed that makes me feel all inspired inside.  It’s my latest endeavor and it’s quite lovely.  You should take a look.

This weekend…

I felt like I was on vacation.  I was dog/apartment sitting for a friend who lives in a part of town that I rarely ever visit, Germantown.  Walking the neighborhood and eating a new places (alone) gave me the electric feeling that I was traveling somewhere not here.  It also mildly messed with my brain because I still had to work and saw all the people I normally see.  But, it was much needed nonetheless.

I’m so proud…

Of Sean and Winston, our coffee roasters at CREMA, where I work.  The past weekend, they both competed in a national competition called the Brewers Cup at the Specialty Coffee Convention in Boston.  Sean placed 3rd in the entire country with a very special coffee from Colombia, a gesha varietal from the Las Margaritas farm, which he visited in January.  It’s so exciting to work with wonderful people who believe in the same things you do.  I feel like a proud mom. Here’s Sean pictured with the farmers who grew his coffee.

Looking forward to…

My best’s baby shower.  She is pregnant with her first little bundle of joy, a girl.  Next weekend I’ll be traveling back to a place that I have called home for 3 1/2 years of my life. I can’t wait to celebrate and also see many of the people that I care so deeply about.

 

monday morning :: sunrises

Spring finally made it which, of course, called for a visit to the lake for the sunrise.

I feel so inspired living in such a beautiful city and state. Reading Kinfolk also drastically sparks my inspiration.

Thank you Nashville and Tennessee, you’re pretty swell.

monday morning :: morning person

I’ve been trying to establish a ‘new normal’ (whatever that means).

This, in conjunction with the promise of Spring (even though Nashville still seems to be on winter’s side) had led me to crave more alone time, especially in the morning.

I have forced myself to become a morning person.  I always loved the idea of getting up early, having time to get the day going, so I faked it until I made it through the groggy-eyed 7am (or before) wake ups.  However, the winter makes it very hard for me to get along with life before 7am.  This is why the warmer weather and sunny early mornings can’t come soon enough.  I feel this electric energy when I wake up just as the sun is.  There’s something wonderful about joining the sun as it peeks out from behind it’s blanket of horizon.

Wake up early. Actually see the sunrise.  You’ll be hooked.

Read. Make coffee. Just sit outside and listen and breathe. 

This week I challenge you to wake up with the sun.  You’ll see what I mean.

monday morning :: smoothies

Even though winter seems to be lasting a LIFETIME here in Nashville, I can finally feel some relief from the cold.

Recently, since the weather is beginning to feel a bit warmer, I’ve been making smoothies in the mornings.  It’s a great way to get some fruits, (good) fats, and proteins in to start your day.

Usually, they don’t fill me up, but I’ve been doctoring them up so it feels more like a full meal. Cook up a few eggs and you’ve got yoruself a nice little breakfast.

Most of the time, It’s just guess work for me. But, for your sake, I’ll try to put some measurements to it…

In a blender:

1/4 c. frozen berries

1/4 c. plain or greek yogurt (preferrably full fat)

1/2 avocado

1/2 banana

2 T. protein powder of your choice (I use brown rice protein powder)

enough orange juice to just cover everything

Using the full fat yogurt and the avocado add just enough good fat to help fill you up. Also, using the frozen berries eliminates the need to use ice cubes.

Try it one morning this week!

monday mornings // scones

I don’t know why everyone hates on Mondays so much. I kind of like them.  They kind of remind me of Spring, a new fresh start each week.  So, I’m going to celebrate Monday mornings each week and hopefully you’ll join me.  Who knows, maybe we can turn this whole negative Monday thing around?

This week, let’s talk about scones.  (Random, I know…)

For some reason, this past year, I got really into scone making.  I was making them almost every week and didn’t know how it got so out of hand…

It all started a few years back when a couple of friends decided to make scones one morning for my birthday.  I don’t know why we chose scones.  None of us had ever made them before, but lo and behold, scones were made. Every year since then, on my birthday, homemade scones are made. But, the scone love went beyond my birthday and the scone making flourished into a slight obsession. (I’ve cooled off a bit since 6 months ago)  But, yes, I do think about making scones much more often than a normal person.

So, basically, I’ve made well over a few scones in my day and I wanted to share one of my favorite recipes.

Lemon Lavender Scones

recipe from here

• 3 cups all-purpose flour plus more for surface
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon dried lavender buds
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons sanding or granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups store-bought lemon curd, or make your own (super easy and much better tasting)

Preparation

• Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 425°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk 3 cups flour and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Add butter; rub in with your fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal.
• Whisk 1 cup buttermilk, zest, and vanilla in a small bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir until shaggy dough forms.
• Transfer to a lightly floured surface; knead until dough forms, about 5 turns. Pat into a 10×6″ rectangle. Halve dough lengthwise. Cut each half crosswise into 4 squares. Cut each square diagonally in half into 2 triangles. Divide between baking sheets. Brush with 2 Tbsp. buttermilk. Sprinkle with sanding sugar.
• Bake until scones are golden and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 13–15 minutes. Transfer to wire racks; let cool.
• Serve warm or at room temperature with lemon curd.

Some tips…

-Keep your butter as cold as possible, freezing it works well.

-Keep the stirring to a minimum.  the less you stir, the flakier the scones will be.

-I like to add more than 1 teaspoon of dried lavender.  Doubling it works well.  Also, since lavender is a very delicate flavor, you could also add some lavender essence, if you can find it (10 drops per teaspoon of dried lavender)

Bake something this week. 

tattoo :: poem script

My tattoos are getting more and more frequent as of late. I’m obsessed and can’t seem to stop.

While this one wasn’t really planned and I did it almost on a whim, it really does mean a lot. It signifies a turning point in my life. Ever since I moved back to Nashville in the beginning of September, life has done a complete 180, for the better. I’ve been brought into a great community, an amazing church, and found myself all over again. A certain song lyric (I like to think of it as a poem though since it’s not accompanied by music in this form) has really stuck out to me recently, even over the past year when things were a bit difficult.

It’s from a song written by Brooke Fraser called ‘Like Incense’. The script reads:

still my
anxious urge
toward rebellion
let love keep
my will
upon its knees

I wanted it to look handwritten and thought about actually writing it myself. But, my writing was just a bit too messy for what I wanted it to look like so, I found a font that looked a little bit like my own script writing. I really like how it looks, I truly do think it looks beautiful. I always thought I would never get a tattoo anywhere but on my arms but, as soon as I had this idea for these lyrics, I knew it had to be on my chest.

I also have ideas for at least, like, 3 more tattoos. Yeah, this is going to be a lifelong love affair with getting inked.

an outpouring of autumn.

I just got so inspired by autumn because of these photos, I absolutely just have to share them.  Someone, simultaneously, I want to be all of these things.

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Perfection.