Day tripping and dreaming

Well, it's been a while...

If the first month of 2013 is any indication of the months ahead...I'd say I'm about to have a wonderful year. Since before the year turned, I've felt the gears of change rumbling beneath my feet and I've been letting the wind blow me through to new meaning in this new year.

In the last month I've: eaten a lot of yummy, healthy foods, shared countless silly moments with my little guys, seen old friends, revelled in my independence frequently, made significant progress in playing the guitar (since I scored a beautiful Luna acoustic for Christmas...thanks, Mom & Dad!), played my first solo open mic, sang kareoke for the first time, and have really only done things that make me feel happy and healthy. So good!

Coffee and best friend.

Sitting in my favorite cafe at the moment, The Lady Killigrew that's connected to the Montague Bookmill . My all time favorite destination for a day off in the Pioneer Valley; home of used books, good coffee, and delicious peanut udon noodle salad (mmmmm). As if it could be improved, I'm accompanied by best friend and adventure partner, Frannie. That's her instagram...she is an avid instagrammer and hashtagger and I love her. She's also the future author of award-winning short stories. I love to bring people I love to places I know they'll love--so happy to share the day with Fran.

This place always inspires me and gets my creative juices flowing. The view out the window of the river leads me to daydreaming about future plans. Today, Frannie and I are dreaming in tandem about a bookstore/gallery/coffee&bakery inspired and influenced by all of the favorite places that we love to go. A place where people can sit, read, sip, look, and think. Obviously, the catch is that places like this do exist...so why create another? I guess the task would be to bring this haven to a neighborhood that is lacking it...and so the hunt begins for a location...

Question of the moment: When do your dreams stop becoming dreams and start becoming reality? And what is the first step toward that reality? And if you have different dreams, how do you know which to take to that next step?

Thinking on these questions today. I'd love to know what you (the universal reader "you") think about this.

Time for another mug of coffee.

L

Thanks, Pandora: A new Holiday favorite.

Thanks to Pandora, I've just heard this quirky little number...has anyone ever heard the song, "Marshmallow World" (1949) popularly performed by Bing Crosby?

Well, if you haven't, take a listen--I guarantee it will make you smile. It's a new fave of mine, personally. Great lyrics. My guess is the original writers composed this over a cup or two of cheer...

L

All About Emily: Reflections and a Birthday Celebration

I love my job. This is (one of the many reasons) why:

This past Thursday, I worked a big private event at the museum--the reading, award ceremony, and reception for the "Tell it Slant" award. The Emily Dickinson Museum's award"has been created to honor individuals whose work, in any field, is imbued with the creative spirit of America’s greatest poet, Emily Dickinson." The inaugural award was given to poet laureate and interesting person, Kay Ryan. I had the honor of meeting Ryan and chatting for a moment with her on the second floor of The Evergreens on Thursday night--I conversation I'll never forget, memorialized in a book of Dickinson's poetry I had her sign. The tinkling of Martha Dickinson Bianchi's (Em Dick's niece) 1904 Steinway grand piano drifted up through those old rooms that evening, and I thought that if anything was going to bring the ghosts out...it was going to be this music in these halls. It didn't happen, but I'll imagine they came out and danced when we all got out of there. 


The event this past week marked the beginning of an ongoing celebration of Emily Dickinson's birthday--which is tomorrow, December 10! 

In honor of the poet who cuts my paycheck, please mark your calendars, Pioneer Valley friends: On December 12 (this wednesday), 330PM-5PM there will be an open house at the museum FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Come, get a rose and a piece of coconut cake (EmDick's recipe) and learn about this amazing poet. Bring a friend! 

In more ED news, Amherst College's digital collections of ED's manuscripts is fantastic. Check it out to see up close and personal the manuscripts of America's greatest poet. Tell me what you think! Here's a good one: click. 

A Few Things

A few things have changed this week (moving, settling, adjusting, not having internet access...), but a few more things have stayed the same (my affinity to sitting in coffee shops to use the free wifi, eating lots of cheese, loving the things in this list...)

These are things I've always loved, but haven't necessarily shared in any formal way, especially not on life of lu. There also seems to be a bit of a holiday shopping theme too...enjoy.

A Few Things: Dec. 9, 2012

1. Kelsey Garrity-Riley Illustration 

I think it's thanks to tumblr that I first came across Kelsey Garrity-Riley's illustrations. They're everything I love about illustrative art: magical, quirky, beautiful and radiating a sort of warmth. I just love it every bit of her pieces. I just received my package from Kelsey's etsy. Some lucky family members will be getting bits of her pieces this Christmas! Her blog is worth a browse and her shop is currently having a holiday sale...so there's that!

Got this note in my package!

2. Designs & Tumblr of Elizabeth Antoinette

image courtesy of elizabeth-antoinette.tumblr.com

Again, thanks, tumblr for putting me on to the blog and etsy shop of this Portlander. She's a vegan, yoga instructor with a knack for crochet and knits in great colors and all vegan-friendly materials. Ok, so I've got a crush on her too, but how could I not? The girl advocates against violence, posts her yummiest vegan recipes, and makes beautiful things that keep your neck or hot beverage warm. She also sings. I'm in love. Check her out. 

3. Add YogaDork  to your reading list.

Hey, all you yogis out there! Do you read yoga dork? It's a blog that keeps us updated on the latest yogi-celebrities and happenings in the yoga world. They're appearing in this week's folio because of an article they posted last week on incense: how to select it and burn it properly etc. I found it very helpful and it alighted me to the idea that I should learn a bit more about incense, as I've begun to use it often for its various therapeutic qualities (and it makes me feel more yogic while doing yoga)...and I honestly didn't even think about the fact that harmful chemicals could be contained in certain brands and could be affecting my health! More to come on my incense findings.


That's all for now!

L

Cooking for Happiness: Veggie Breakfast Burritos!

I was hankering for some "brinner" (breakfast for dinner) tonight along with a craving for a burrito from my favorite burrito place...but I resisted the urge to buy the dinner I couldn't afford and here's what I came up with in its place; nothing fancy, all with stuff I had...minus the cheese--had to go to CVS for the cheese...

Veggie breakfast burritos!

So nom. And good for you!

You'll need:

Veggies: tomato, onion, garlic, and anything else you have around. Kale is always good.

1 can black beans 

Olive oil

2 eggs 

Mini corn tortillas

Shredded cheese of your choice 

Makes two burritos and leftover beans and veggies for lunch tomorrow!

Let's get started!

First, chop up all your veggies. For me, this started with two cloves of garlic, 1 tomato and half a huge onion. I added some regular mushrooms (about 6 of various sizes) I had in the fridge and tore up some kale into bite sized pieces (2 big leaves). When I'm cooking, I like to chop everything that needs to be chopped or prepped before I actually turn the heat on under the skillet--it makes for everything to go a little smoother once the heat is going! 

Make sure you're using a large saucepan for this with room enough for all your veggies and your beans! After prepping your veggies, throw some olive oil in the skillet, throwing the garlic in as the pan heats up. Add your onions first, let them cook til they start to get translucent. Since onions cook slower than everything else we're cooking today (lol check out my instructor voice), letting them cook first for a bit is crucial! Once your onions are looking good, get the rest of your veggies in there (minus the kale!!) and stir everything around in there. Add a few pinches of salt and some squirts of sriracha (be careful with that stuff...). Meanwhile, drain your beans of the excess liquid that's often at the top of the can and add them to those veggies. Let cook until all bubbly and delicious. Use your judgement. 

Scramble up some yolks for your scrambled eggs and just before you make your eggs, add in your kale--just sortof let it sit on top of the beans and veggies boiling away, let it steam for a moment, then fold it in to the rest of the mixture (you want your kale to be as fresh as possible, that's how we get all the superpowers from it). I popped the tortillas in the toaster oven to warm them a tiny bit while I finished up scrambling my eggs. 

Assembly time! Put all that shit (beans & veggie mixture and half of your scrambled egg) in a tortilla, add cheese, roll up, EAT.  

Really don't even need the eggs, these are so protein-packed with the kale and beans, but it holds everything together like the rice does in a burrito, and makes the dish more "brinner"-appropriate.

Cook for yourself, you'll smile and your wallet will thank you. 

 :) 

A few things:

1. "A few things" is a new section of the life of lu blog. Its purpose is to share in numbered form, a few thoughts with the internet concisely (and hopefully wittily on occasion!).

2. Is anyone out there a Norah Jones fan? I watched this hulu exclusive concert with her this morning...and I'm digging her new style: musically and aesthetically speaking.

image courtesy of pinterest.com

3. Everyone should have a friend they write to. And I don't mean texting. I mean write me a long ass email that I have to be focused to read, and ask me thought provoking questions that I'll take a solid hour responding to. Pen pals are great--get one.  I've got a pen pal. She's my friend who now lives in pennsylvania. Shout out to Val, if you're reading this ;)

4. I've been watching and following along with Tara Stiles' 7 Week Bliss In. It's week two and I can say I've done a lot of the eating components and not as much of the moving...time to find that balance she was talking about last video!

5. Look at this lovely illustration to the right: A Mouse Father Christmas, by Astrid Walford (1949) . Thank you, Pinterest, for your bountiful pleasures.

That's all.

L

Moving Mindfully

I've been making myself ready to move into a new place at the end of this week for some time now...ok, so MOST of the preparation thus far has been mental--which unfortunately leaves lots of packing, organizing and cleaning up and painting of the new place to be done. However, against any odds, this time next week I'll be settling into my new room in a two bedroom across town with a dear new friend/co-worker. This week crept up on me and it seems that all of a sudden, I have so much to do!

I'm definitely one to anticipate big events or changes, and this has certainly applied to moving this week. While having excitement for the future is definitely positive, I've always struggled with balancing this anticipation so that it doesn't turn into total anxiety and negativity. I'm meditating on that this week; trying to find the ease in doing the necessary preparation so that I can move pretty seamlessly later in the week.

In the meantime, I've got some posts coming up, so stay tuned.

Also look for photos of new place to come next weekend as I'm settling in!