Crunchy?

          For the past year, I have been reading way too much of the Free People Blog, studying the Nourishing Traditions cookbook my mom lives by, and researching chemicals in fast food and makeup like never before. It's time to admit that I...am on a health kick, but then again I’m pretty sure everyone in America (and Europe) is. 

It's a trend, but I suppose that if you’re going to jump on the trendy bandwagon of anything, health is not a the worst option. In my hipster-inclinded defense though, my mom has owned that cookbook for eight years, we ate cage-free chicken and grass-fed beef before it was cool, and I've been doing yoga for years. Although the recent media crazed health trend has added a few more interests to my list. I have been obsessing over running, ballet, weird juices, coconut oil hair-hand-face-mouth-everything, and all kinds of other crud that can be categorized as crunchy-holistic-healthy. 

 When it comes to self image, I hold fast to the idea that God made each of us differently and that we shouldn't strive to look like Lily Aldridge or Jillian Michaels when that's not the way we were created, but I do believe that God has created us and expects us to take care of His creations. Your body is His Holy Temple and you should treat them thusly. Imagine this scenario:  

"happy birthday, darling daughter" your parents just bought you a new car! 

A Mercedes Benz. 

Only the best for their angel. (duh). 

Obviously you like this gift that your parents have given you so what do you do? You fill it with vegetable oil and hope it runs. You never change the tires. You let your friends spill nail polish all over the seats, you take it mudding in the back-woods of Bama, your dog has kittens in the trunk, etc. etc.

 No big deal right? Now if you're like me and you feel that a Mercedes Benz would be a wonderful upgrade from the bike you now drive, you're inwardly revolting at the idea of ruining a gift like that. 

It's the same way with our bodies, yet you are worth so much more than a rolling piece of metal. God has given you your body and He designed you in a specific way, you are His art: His most prized possession. Treat yourself with respect and show God that you are thankful for it.  Don't fill your body with vegetable oil when it needs gasoline (please don't actually drink gasoline... metaphors people). 

Take care of what you have been given.

I'll share some ideas and discoveries I have made among this journey with you here. Bear with me. 

peace and blessings. 

Oh and here's a picture of my coffee and donut that I had for breakfast yesterday. Long live health. 

Gone

        Can I honestly tell you one more time that I am sorry I haven't paid the slightest attention to my blog? Can I really blame business again and again?

         If I was to give a reason for my absence I WOULD say business is the chief offender, but when I peel back the layers I hide behind, that is a lie. Business-smishiness... EVERYONE is busy now-a-days and I frankly don't think it's a plausible excuse anymore. Yes my life is completely chalked full of activity, namely: work, but that doesn't mean I don't make time for other things. I make time for Pinterest, PLL, Tumblr, food, and everything else that's non-producive. I have realized that it's time for me to start making time for the things that make me better, one being this blog. This blog is essentially my journal. I write not for you to read (if there's a you even reading), but I write to learn, to grow, and to process. So I'll start doing that more. No longer will I care about an audience, I will simply be the audience.

5 things.

So much to love.

1)  this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2dbAOkJGZ4E

2) the Free People blog.  Im a little obsessed. Yesterday I made their perfume and eye-lash-conditioner and read their love stories for hours.

3) This song: Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – That's What's Up

4) Photographer: http://sincerelykinsey.blogspot.com

5) Hair: https://www.youtube.com/user/hairandmakeupbysteph/about

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life lately

So I shot a wedding, which you'll see soon on my photography blog.

I've been ridiculously busy as of late, and I'm feeling much like too little butter over too much bread.

But, I still love what I see.  I love the sky, I love kombucha, I love Whole Foods, I love my Timberland boots, and I love my puppy.

5 things.

This week I thought I'd share 5 things that I love with you all.   Mondays can be rough, so anything that can help will help.

1. This blog: http://spencerandkylie.blogspot.com

2. This photographer: http://sincerelykinsey.blogspot.com/2014/01/take-me-back.html

3. This fashion blog. She's the wittiest. http://www.manrepeller.com

4. This band. So much love.

4. This band and song. O my word! so much love.

   

5.  Exhmm and my new photography blog: http://wtpictures.blogspot.com

Mango Lassi

 In early December I (via a friend) discovered a little restaurant in a small town about 40 minutes away from where I live.  It's in a little truck stop that you'd otherwise drive by.  It's an Indian restaurant and it's just about the best food I've ever had in my life.  I went there on an adventure with a group and we fell in love.  It's called Waco Restaurant (the town is called Waco) and I highly suggest you take a trip there.  

instagram momento. 

While there we tried a drink called Mango Lassi.  It's a smoothie like no other.  It's apparently a traditional Indian beverage and I'm in love.  I've discovered how to make it at home and I though I'd share it here. 

For starters I use Kesar mango pulp. Mango pulp is ideal for a smoothie because fresh mangos are stringy and will leave that residue if you blend them.  It freaks me out, and this is mostly natural. 93% real mango. 

You can get the Kesar mango pulp online or at an Indian market.  

I use 3/4 cup of this.

You can store the extra in the fridge in Mason jars.  A sealed container will preserve it longer than, say tin-foil over the top. 

For yogurt I use any organic-Greek-style.  My favorite is Brown Cow, but the Mountain High works great too. 

I use 3/4 cup of this as well. 

Shout-out to real ingredients. 

 Than I add 1/2 cup of milk and mix it all together in a bowl. (Crazy, I know)

Pour over ice if you like cold things. 

Hint: If you want a thinner consistency use more milk-less yogurt, if you like thick smoothies that you practically scoop out more yogurt-less milk. 

#RHAMMERMANN

        Saturday at approximately four o'clock pm my beautiful cousin Hannah Carlson married Ryan Ammermann. A cousin wedding has been something of the dreams for years between us girls. You see,  I come from a family where first cousins are more like brothers and sisters.  Christmas, Thanksgiving, and whatever other holidays spent with family aren't a drag, they're the highlights of our year.  We find excuses to get together as much as possible, so what a better excuse than a wedding?!  We were right in dreaming about the fun we know we would have at a wedding.  This wedding was all that and more.  Ryan is a great... no a FANTASTIC addition to the Baker clan and I know I speak for all of us when I say he's already more than family... and props to you, Ryan, for sticking with Hannah even after you met US.  That's how we know it's true love.

I'm so thankful or the Godly example you two have set. God bless you.

I had the privilege of taking a few pictures at the wedding ceremony and reception. Candids are my favorite.

Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Ammermann

Ice-Skating

        Sunday afternoon two of my brothers and I went ice-skating on the pond at our house.  Slowly but surely I'm finding myself liking film more and more so that's what I did.  I made a film of little outing and here it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF13vNJF1Yg

Snow White.

        So this article isn't going to be like many of the posts I have done in the past. I seem to have been a little M.I.A. and I have just been giving you all snip-its of life or a picture from my iPhone. 

I AM SORRY OKAY. 

No need to be hateful. 

I just have a life… or maybe it's the lack of that life that keeps me away? 

Anywho. Recently, I have steered away from any sort-of fashion blog-esc posts, or "tips and tricks to make your daily life better", because, heck, I love fashion and I am a consistent reader of blogs like manrepeller.com and nylonmag.com, but I'm probably not qualified to give my opinion on the matters right? grr. Who am I to weigh in on issues of physicality. I'm from Nebraska! People here rarely wear anything but sweat pants and Husker teeshirts (sorry). 

But on an unrelated note, I feel like the issue of pale skin should be broached. Why are people so against fair complexions? I personally have pastry-white skin, as I like to put it, and have been compared to various fictional characters such as Snow White and Bella whatever-her-last-name-is-from-Twilight (I know… a vampire. not cool). Why does this culture make it priority that everyone have perfect olive-tanned-skin that is only possible if you spend all winter out on a surfboard? Why are there 1000s of people (teens, mom, adults, and OMW even MEN) flocking to tanning salons to literally cook themselves to that perfect brown hue? This, my friend, is not alright. Not alright at all. Don't even get me started because I could rant for hours about how much it damages your skin. But unfortunately the tanning craze doesn't quite end there. If you don't want to submit your body to the synthetic-rapid-browning-rays of the tanning booth, there's always self-tanners and spray ons. 

Heaven help us. 

We all have seen it, the orange hued person (at least you think it's a person) who looks closer to an oompa-lumpa then a girl. 

these little suckers gave me nightmares as a kid. *shudder*

Honey, did you roll in Doritos? 

So what's wrong with just living in the skin that God created specifically for you? Abso-freaking-loutely nothing. Not only is it healthier: it's beautiful. In some cases pale skin is actually considered desirable. Imagine that. 

 In the olden-days. Pale skin was a sign of wealth, beauty, and prosperity because it indicated that you didn't work as much.  

This is a quote from one of my favorite books, Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. This is in the first chapter when she is introducing Scarlett O'Hara, the bell of the book.  "Above them, her thick black brows slanted upward, cutting a startling oblique line in her magnolia-white skin — that skin so prized by Southern women and so carefully guarded with bonnets, veils and mittens against hot Georgia suns"

And look! an article on Roman cosmetics:

"Pure white skin, a demarcation of the leisure class, was the most important feature of Roman beauty.^[7] Native Roman women weren’t naturally fair-skinned and spent their time outside with oils on their faces, requiring whitening makeup to fit their model of beauty."

In different cultures around the world fair skin is coveted, specifically Asian culture. I say this just from experience. I have some really close friends from countries like Vietnam and Thailand, I can hardly go out on a walk in November with them without waiting for them to apply copious amounts of sunscreen. 

I've decided to just roll with my icy white skin, and I think that any skin is beautiful if you just keep it healthy by drinking lots of water (which is scientifically proven to give you that glow that we mimic so often with bronzers and illuminators), eat vegetables, exercise, and keep it free of acne (too bad that's not easy). 

 A pale complexion is also the bomb.com because people with fair skin can pull off makeup trends like none other. Red lips, cat-eye-liner, rosy cheeks. Clothing also stands out more against a fairer tone. Dark shades look richer, warm colors look warmer, reds look happier. It never ends. And just in case I haven't quite convinced you that it's OKAY to be the Snow Queen of December, here are some celebrities that we all wish we could be who have fresh-outta-the-womb white skin. 

what's this? a supermodel? 

DC

This past week I had my senior class trip! It was amazing to say the least. We flew (thank the Lord) to Washington DC and spent a few days there touring. We saw monuments and museums and hockey games and steak houses. It was so great and I am very thankful that I had this opportunity to travel with some of my best friends.