Restless

I am restless. Both in body & in spirit. I think my legs are signaling me to get up and run. But Lord only knows where to. They've been stuck in a holding period for so long they are out of shape, they are out of tune. Loss of memory is more like it. I've been stuck in a holding period for so long that I've forgotten how to really move... maybe I never really knew . But I am so ready to. So ready to go.... let's go.

Let's figure out what these legs are for.

They simply can't take this stillness anymore. They have more important things to do. Beautiful places to take me to. Lovely faces to meet and move in step with. A life, my dear, a life so full and passionate that it makes your restless legs dance. Dance in time to a melody they've known all along. For that's what life lived out in its truest form is, a dance. You were made for this romance. You already know all the steps....

So now that you know, put one foot in front of the other... and go.

(Photo source)

Smash Booking!

I have talked about my mad love for art journaling quite a bit on this blog and now I think it's time for me to talk about my new obsession: Smash Booking.

It's official, I have fallen in love with Smash Booking! I knew it was only a matter of time before it happened. I have been drooling over these lovely books full of their pretty paper (I'm a total sucker for pretty paper) in the Wal-Mart craft section for months now. So finally I caved... I bought one for me and one for my sister, (who I just turned on to the craze, she has now been bitten by the Smash Book bug too).

Smash Books are a lot like art journals except the backgrounds are already done for you and you can just freely "smash" in whatever you like. Pictures (I have been using it as a scrapbook of sorts), ticket stubs, notes, quotes, anything at all really. It's basically art journaling's little sister, in my opinion. And it's so much fun, I'm seriously addicted!

They have different color Smash Books you can choose from and each have different paper that coordinates with the theme, such as: Pretty Pink (which is the one my sister & I have), Retro Blue, Doodle Red, Mod Black, Eco Green, Simple Orange, etc.

They also come with a really convenient pen that has a glue stick on the other side, it's pretty awesome, I love it! The Smash Book company (K&Company) also have tons of products and embellishments that make the experience even more fun, so definitely check those out as well. I love collecting them!

Below is a little flip through my Smash Book. Hope you enjoy taking a peak at the pages I’ve done so far! They were so fun to make! :)

My “Pretty Pink” Smash Book. I have yet to decorate the cover but definitely plan on doing so soon!

The inside of the front cover and first page of my Smash Book. My introduction pages, if you will. I used a picture of a dream catcher I recently made for my room and a quote that I love from Madeleine L'Engle.

A summer themed page. I added a list of summer goals, an old post card with a picture of the bay in my town, and a picture of the sun that my cousin drew a few years ago.

Pictures of my visit to Walton's Fancy & Staple in Austin!

A totally random, fun page! Some things I used were a magazine clipping, paint sample, Starbucks Via package lol, an envelope, an old ticket to an Imax movie, and another drawing by my cousin that I had lying around (Yes, I’m that girl, I keep everything…but I refuse to be called a pack rat! lol).

A page dedicated to my visit to Le Cordon Bleu in Austin last month!

A 4th of July themed page I made using a picture of the fireworks my sister (who came to visit from GA that week)  took at the bay in our town. As well as a picture of the Key Lime Pie we made for dessert!

This is another random page, I used an old birthday card (loved the bird embroidered on it), a page from an old book, stamps, washi tape, as well as other embellishments. This page turned out to be one of my favorites!

So that's my Smash Book so far! I hope you guys are now inspired to pick one up and start smashing for yourself! It really is a fun creative outlet! :)

The Whole Point – Thoughts on blogging

I was recently in a very nostalgic music mood and started looking up old songs from my childhood on YouTube. Well of course for a Christian kid who grew up immersed in the world of "CCM" that meant lots old Amy Grant songs lol. Her music was my childhood in a nut shell. While I was searching, I came across an interview she did while recording her 1994 album, "House of Love"... an album of which my best friend at the time & I totally wore out! Singing & dancing to every song. Anyway, I love listening to Amy speak, she never fails to inspire me in some way. These words about what compels her do music just stuck with me:

"I guess really what compels me to do music in such a public way is that I do think life is short and if you don't really share yourself, share who you really are with other people well, you've really missed the whole point. When that's really all we can do at the end of the day."

This quote is so timely for me as I have lately been thinking a lot about why I blog... why I've done it for as long as have and why I continue to come back to this place. Because honestly, sometimes I'm not quite sure why.

I've never had a lot of readers or comments... though to be sure, I am very grateful for who ever would take the time out of their day to read anything I write. But this little blog of mine is just that, little. And I'm never sure if anyone is really following along. And then I have so many frustrations with how blogging has changed over the years. It's changed drastically since I first started back in 2009. In some ways good but in a lot of ways not so good, in my opinion.

Yet for all my frustrations I, for some reason, keep coming back... and maybe the reason is that something inside of me is simply compelled to share my heart and life with other people. Even if it's just a small group of people… and even if it is sporadically, as my blogging tends to be lol. It means something to me. It means something to me to have a place for self expression, sharing myself with others… and maybe somehow finding community in the midst of it all. Isn’t that what we all started blogging for in the first place? You know, before number of followers, comments, sponsorships, and “building our brand” got in the way?

Maybe I'll never have hundreds of followers and comments... maybe I'll never do any sponsorships or giveaways, but if  I can just share my heart and life with you, the person reading right now, then maybe it's worth it to keep coming back. To share recipes, music, crafts, and my words with you is to share pieces of who I am. And if I can give you just a small glimpse into who I am and what I'm about then maybe this whole blogging thing will be worth something at the end of the day.

Which I will be the very first to admit that I'm not so good at doing this. I think I tend to be pretty private and in turn pretty hard to get to know. But blogging can give you the odd sort of courage to break down some of your walls in order to share and let yourself be known. And I really want to try and have the courage to blog from this place and in this perspective from now on.

I mean, because to not share myself with other people, not only on this blog but in my everyday face to face relationships, would really be missing the whole point, don't you think?

And just for the heck of it, here are a couple of my favorite Amy Grant songs from the House of Love album. Not ashamed to say that I still know all the words lol. : “Lucky One”, “House of Love”.

June Foodie Penpals Reveal!

Hey foodies, it’s time for yet another Foodie Penpals reveal! My June FPP, Leigh-Ann, sent me a box that was totally chock full of goodies! I didn’t know where to start!

The box included everything from a Lindt Sea Salt Chocolate bar, gluten free pasta,  Healthy Choice soup, Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter, Justin’s Almond Butter, Lara Bars, Clif Bars, Power Bars, Fig Bars, almonds, yummy drink mixes, a fruit strip, and … Roasted Seaweed Snacks. Yes, a box filled to the brim with healthy (& delish) snacks!

It basically goes without saying that my favorite thing was the Lindt Sea Salt Chocolate bar, so delish! I love anything with chocolate & sea salt.  Peanut butter and pasta are like two of my main food groups, ya just can’t go wrong with that. Loved the almonds and as well as some of the bars. Haven’t tried the soup yet but it looks great! The only thing that made me somewhat skeptical was, yes, you guessed it… the sea weed snacks. I never even knew they existed lol. They are were paper thin and of course, green… and just not my cup of tea lol. But I’m sure they are really good for you! ;)

I want to thank Leigh-Ann for sending me this awesome box! Also a thank you to Lindsay over at The Lean Green Bean for putting all this foodie fun together! :)

……………………

And now it's time for some details about Foodie Penpals.  In case you’re a new reader, here’s a reminder of what the program is all about:

-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.
-Foodie Penpals is open to US, Canadian & European residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. Same with Europeans. We've determined things might get too slow and backed up if we're trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.

If you’re from the US or Canada and are in participating for July, please CLICK HERE (www.theleangreenbean.com/foodie-penpals/) to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

You must submit your information by July 4th as pairings will be emailed on July 5th!
*If you're from Europe, please CLICK HERE (www.thisisrocksalt.com/foodie-penpals/) to signup.

Walton’s Fancy and Staple in Austin

Hey lovelies! On Thursday I took a little road trip for the day with my family to my favorite city, Austin! It had been a little over a year since the last time I was there (I live 3 hours away) and I had really been missing it! But we were actually there for a specific purpose, so I could take a little tour of where I might, in the hopefully near future, be going to culinary school, Le Cordon Bleu! I know I have yet to mention it on here but I have been considering attending culinary school for a while now and well, it truly doesn’t get much better than Le Cordon Bleu. After this tour I couldn’t be more convinced of that. But I’ll blog more about all of that very soon!

After the tour, we got a chance to stop & grab a bite to eat at a place I have been wanting to check out for some time now, Walton’s Fancy and Staple! It’s actually one of Sandra Bullock’s two restaurants on 6th street, the other being Bess, which I hope to check out on my next visit. But I’m a total sucker for cute cafes and Walton’s had my heart as soon as I walked through the doors.

Walton’s sells a variety of sandwiches, soups, salads, coffee, desserts, as well as flowers & gifts. The place is so lovely! A little smaller & more compact than I expected but so cute!

I loved the décor & atmosphere of Walton’s! Brick walls, hanging light fixtures, vintage wooden tables, flowers everywhere, not to mention the pretty display cases of delectable treats! It all just beckons you to sit down & relax with a latte & a macaron. Which is exactly what I did!

But first I did order a sandwich, I got the Freebird Chicken, which is grilled free-range chicken, jalapeno mayo, lettuce, tomato, & provolone cheese on multigrain bread. And in all honesty, it was good, but not rave worthy, in my opinion. But the coffee & macarons on the other hand definitely were!

Okay, this Mocha Latte & Raspberry Macaron were so delish, let me tell ya! The latte was so creamy, I drank just about the whole thing…would have finished it if I hadn’t already felt so full lol. Plus, isn’t it pretty?! I love latte art! And the raspberry macaron was just about the best I’ve ever tasted! If I could’ve taken a whole box of these babies home, I would’ve! I do plan to finally try my hand at macarons very soon (picked up a bag of almond flour while in Austin at Whole Foods) and they will definitely be raspberry… and hopefully edible. ;)

In addition to the macaron, my mom & I shared a chocolate cupcake with cookie dough frosting. I really loved the taste of the frosting but it was way too hard and stiff to eat. I think it was still too cold from being refrigerated. If it had time to sit out for a while I think it would’ve been really good.

My dad ordered their chocolate caramel tart. So pretty, isn’t it? He wasn’t a huge fan but my mom & I were and gladly took it off his hands lol.

All in all, I really enjoyed Walton’s! If I do move to Austin to attend Le Cordon Bleu I can totally see going there to enjoy a latte and relax, read, or blog. It’s totally worth checking out if for no other reason than the delish coffee, desserts, sweet staff, and calming atmosphere. Definitely looking forward to paying Walton’s another visit next time I’m in Austin! :)

Music Break: “The One That Got Away” – The Civil Wars

Oh let me tell ya, my music lovin’ heart is so happy right now! My most favorite dynamic duo in the world, the lovely Joy Williams & the handsome John Paul White of The Civil Wars are at it again! They just released their new single, “The One That Got Away” on June 11th. It’s the first single to hit the airwaves from their brand new self titled album that is set to drop on August 6th!! Eek! Can you stand it?! I can’t even! :D

Now if you’re familiar with TCW you know that they have been on a hiatus since citing “irreconcilable differences of ambition and internal discord” in the fall of last year. So it was very much a surprise to hear news of a new album. Is this a reunion? Have they resolved their issues? That remains to be seen. Since the majority of this album was completed before the split it makes one wonder if this is more of a swan song for the Wars.

What is quite evident is that pain and tension make for some great art! And that pain and tension is felt in every single note of this very intense & somewhat brutal song. I’m addicted.

“Oh, if I could go back in time
When you only held me in my mind
Just a longing gone without a trace
Oh, I wish I never ever seen your face
I wish you were the one
Wish you were the one that got away”

The tension of their personal issues, whatever they may be, almost seem to be fueling their art. It’s all a bit darker this time around. In a recent newsletter about the album they have stated, “The album was recorded amidst a grueling touring schedule, exhausting workload and a growing disconnect from their families.” 

It’s also a little bit of a departure from their usual sparse instrumentation. I was quite surprised to hear drums on this song…but it actually works.

If this track is any indication of what the album is going to be like, August 6th cannot come fast enough! Whatever the future looks like for TCW, I honestly couldn’t be more excited for this new album and just feel very thankful to have more music from them to treasure.

To pre-order the album click here. Also, to see their live in studio cut of this song, which is possibly even more intense yet beautiful, click here.

Red Velvet Oreo Truffle Brownies

Hey friends & foodies! I feel like I have been MIA from my sweet little corner of the world lately and I’m missing it! So what better way to attempt to get back to the blogosphere (yet again) than with a yummy recipe!

A couple weeks ago I was in the mood to try a crazy and fun new recipe. Maybe something slightly over the top. And where else do you go but the # 1 source for crazy over the top recipes but Pinterest, right? I stumbled upon this lovely recipe for Red Velvet Oreo Truffle Brownies and thought they were perfect! And they really were… totally fun, totally over the top, and pretty freakin’ delish!

In all honesty, I’ve never been a huge fan of red velvet cake. That may be very anti-southern of me but it’s just never been my cup of tea… err slice of cake, so to speak. But red velvet in brownie form with chocolate and Oreos? Now you're speaking my language!

Red Velvet Oreo Truffle Brownies -

(Recipe from http://pizzazzerie.com)

Moist red velvet brownie with a layer of crushed Oreos mixed with chocolate, topped with a layer of melted chocolate and a generous sprinkle of chocolate chips. Yes, make no mistake, this is one decadent dessert but it was truly love at first bite. All the layers compliment each other perfectly. It’s the first time I’ve ever had red velvet with anything other than cream cheese or buttercream icing…but this dessert breaks all the rules of red velvet cake. And I must admit, I like this crazy rebel of a brownie better!

I don’t know if you’ve ever made those Oreo truffles before but if you have, picture eating one of those with a slice of red velvet cake, and you have these brownies!

I had a little trouble getting the brownie done, but an extra 5 to 8 minutes in the oven seemed to do the trick! I also didn’t take the brownies out of the pan like the recipe says to do, I just didn’t really see any need for it. And being all out of mini chips, I used the regular sized semi-sweet chips along with some white chocolate chips as well.

Give this recipe a try when your in the mood for a decadent fun treat! :)

Ingredients:
1 Duncan Hines box Red Velvet cake mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 package Jell-O instant white chocolate pudding (3.3 ounces)
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 package Oreos
8 ounce package cream cheese
1/2 package (1/2lb) chocolate bark (CandiQuick) (or about 1-1/2 cups chocolate chips)
mini chocolate chips for garnish

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Combine cake mix, melted butter, eggs, pudding mix, vegetable oil and mix well until thoroughly combined (2-3 minutes on medium of electric mixer).

Spray a 9x13 with nonstick cooking spray. I like the baking variety that has flour in it. Then spread the red velvet brownie layer into the pan. It will be VERY thick, use the back of a spoon (or clean hands) to help spread it into all edges of the pan.

Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean (ovens vary so watch closely). Let cool completely before flipping out.

Crush package of Oreos in a food processor (or in a large plastic bag and rolling pin). Melt cream cheese for 15 seconds in a microwave to soften. Stir together crushed Oreos and cream cheese until blended smooth. Carefully spread out Oreo truffle mixture on top of baked red velvet brownies. Use your hands to help press it down instead of spreading to avoid tearing the brownies.

Melt chocolate candy bark (or chocolate chips) and pour over top Oreo truffle layer. Sprinkle with mini chocolate chips while still warm. Let cool completely before cutting into squares.