What lovely spring weather we’ve been having this past week! All I want to wear are dresses that flow in the breeze. Here is what I wore last weekend to my friend Janelle’s baby girl’s first birthday party. It was a low key outdoor event in Tower Grove Park and we couldn’t have had better weather. And speaking of birthdays, happy birthday to my lovely, creative, hilarious big sister today! I love you, Krista!
Dress: Loup Sea Dress
Sandals: Isabel Marant Étoile Alexia Sandal
First, thank you to those of you who commented on yesterday’s post. The whole weekend, possibly longer, I went about life with a small shard of glass in the back of my left hand. I have no idea how it got there, but it started to nag at me and hurt, begging me to take a closer look, to pay attention. Finally, on Monday, I looked closer. I inspected the bump that had turned an angry red, and discovered that what I ignored had grown into something sore and obvious. Something about blogging had started to feel like that overlooked splinter.
The feeling of putting myself and my family and my inner thoughts out there into the blogosphere (Hello, here I am! How are you?), not knowing who was reading, just that about 14,000 of you come here, 14,000 individual people drop by each month and yet, sometimes it feels like a ghost town. It shouldn’t bother me; I know that commenting is a thing of the past — now people drop by, read, move on. I do it to blogs I love on a daily basis! But part of the reason I do this is to feel connected to others, and the community aspect of blogging from the good old days is… well, a thing of the past? Although I wasn’t consciously looking for validation, I guess I wanted to know… is anyone out there?!! How are you? Who are you? Right here, I’m an open book, I guess. So thank you for saying hello and sharing a piece of yourself with me. It means so much to me, it really does.
Whew! Now moving on…
I discovered this recipe on the package of chia seeds I picked up a week ago and had to share it with you! After reading up on all the health benefits of chia seeds (they are highly nutrient-rich, a whole grain, and loaded with fiber, protein, Omega-3 fatty acids, and many micronutrients: they are good for your skin, your digestive tract, heart health, and metabolism). The best way to get all the benefits from chia seeds is to soak them, or sprout them, in water or, as I learned, coconut milk. This makes them easier for our bodies to digest, plus, the seeds will not absorb water from you during digestion if they go in already soaked. Interesting!
I’ve been enjoying mine this way, as a breakfast pudding. I just mix 1/4 cup of chia seeds and about a cup (or a cup and a half) of coconut milk, 1/4 cup water, plus 2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup, and stir well, then refrigerate. Let sit for 30 minutes or even overnight, and you will find a thick pudding-like mixture. I eat about a half cup for breakfast, with fresh fruit on top — bananas or strawberries are great with the coconut. It’s refreshing, sweet and savory, healthy, and filling. Give it a try and let me know what you think! Or better yet, if you enjoy chia seeds, share how you like them best in the comments section (but even if you don’t comment, I know you’re out there, ha ha!) 🙂 Have a wonderful day.
Last week was a much-needed break from blogging. I have to admit, I did not miss it, which puts me in a tricky mindset. I’ve been blogging regularly for so many years, it has become just one of the things I do on a daily basis, like brushing my teeth, doing the dishes, driving many children to and from school (ha, ha!)…
Some days I don’t have much to say. Some days I don’t feel inspired. And of course most days I’m so busy living actual life, life that does not include taking pictures and thinking and preparing for what might make an interesting post, that it just doesn’t sound like fun to sit down and plan out blog posts. I’d rather be outside on the front steps talking to neighbors, or sitting in the front yard while our children run in-between houses. I’d rather be out in the garden, tending to new plants that have suddenly sprouted, or gathered around a fire pit listening to the songbirds in our neighborhood, laughing about this or that or whatever happened the other day. There’s so much that goes on in real life that doesn’t need documenting, that deserves my full attention, that makes my life richer.
I know this feeling waxes and wanes, especially with the change of seasons. I have felt this way before, and often it just means I need a break. A vacation, new scenery, the ability to feel inspired by what is surrounding me and then fine tune that feeling into a series of blog posts… it will come. Taking last week off, I also reflected on why I work so hard to produce this blog. It’s something I know a lot of long-term bloggers struggle with, because balance is crucial, and for those of us who value tech-free time, that balance can be difficult to maintain while still remaining true to what you value. Because blogging takes a lot of work; it’s time-consuming! And hours of editing photos and writing posts take time away from that real life. I’m not sure what the long-term answer is. It’s something I’ve been thinking a lot about and have yet to figure out.
I have a few things lined up this week that I hope will inspire you, touch you, or otherwise reach you. Because yes, this blog is about my family, but it’s also about you, the reader. It’s about an online community that I value, even if I don’t get to respond to comments (there’s that balance part I’m referring to) or hear from all of you, even if I never get to meet you or learn what you believe in, what inspires you, what makes you happy. 
If there’s one thing that brings me back, it’s you. Whoever you are, out there. Thank you for reading, thank you for coming back.
The Shivers — “Love is in the Air”
Chris and Thomas — “Broken Chair”
Hotel Eden — “Nimble Girl”
It might be a little quiet over here this week. I’ve started a few projects that need to be finished so that they get the h*** out of my kitchen, plus a writing deadline tomorrow for a piece coming out around Earth Day. I’m not in over my head by any means; on the contrary, I love being busy in such creative ways, and find myself snagging less sleep because of the creative bug. But it does mean I have less time to blog.
The first project has to do with the boys’ upcoming Circus Night, which we are heading up this year. I’m really excited about it, but was struggling last week trying to find a refrigerator box for the ball toss game I wanted to create. I called every hardware store imaginable, with no luck. I looked online only to discover that the heavy duty box I was wanting would cost upwards of $90, so, nope.
Then, after driving home from parent-teacher conferences with all three boys in the van last Friday, I turned onto our street and nearly screeched to a halt upon seeing a man struggling with an enormous empty refrigerator box in the street. I rolled down my window, gave my least creepy smile — Any chance you’re trying to get rid of that refrigerator box?
He said I could have it, but that it was full of trash and it would in no way fit into my car. I didn’t skip a beat, told him to hang on, I was going to drag that sucker two blocks uphill to my house. In a satin dress. And I did! I dropped the kids off at home and put on a episode of The Magic Schoolbus with strict orders to stay put until I ran back home, with Milo in charge. Then I left my kids, sprinted down the hill, and dragged this enormous box up the hill. The sound of this thing dragging along the sidewalk was the loudest sound you can imagine in the middle of the day. So, of course, a neighbor drove by just at the moment I was sweating and breathing hard and almost to my front yard, looking fully like a crazed lunatic. He rolled down his window, clearly amused with the sight of me having finally lost it, and said, Listen, Lauren, if things are rough at home, all you have to do is knock. As in, I was clearly planning to move into this gigantic box and live inside its belly, because honestly, I could. It’s far larger than any refrigerator I’ve ever seen!
So, I got the box I needed for the ball toss game for free, two blocks away from our house. It may as well have been delivered to our front door! What luck! Not so lucky: I had to drag the thing indoors so that it didn’t get ruined by the rain. As a result, I had to start earlier than planned on this project, and you know, once you get moving, it’s best to keep up the momentum! 
I painted the entire thing white with leftover paint from our basement, then drew two different scenes on the wider sides of the box: one of a trapeze lady (I made her costume out of old wrapping paper cut to size and layered onto her back), and the other side a juggler on a unicycle. On the other two sides I’m working on a cool circus-y design. Obviously, I’m not finished yet, but it has been so much fun looking for inspiration and using my creative side in this way.
Plus, it was rainy and cold all weekend, so we were stuck indoors. A project like this was perfect. Milo helped me paint the box, which was a tremendous help. And of course, Emil and Oliver wanted to paint while I painted, on the floor next to me (every square inch of floor space in our kitchen was covered in newspapers and projects). It was a good reminder that your kids are always watching and inspired by what you do: if you want them to paint, you paint. If you want them to read, you read. The same goes for everything! It’s so fascinating to see that happen and a good reminder that we are constantly influencing the way they spend their time and how they choose to enrich themselves.
But back to the circus stuff…
Much of the inspiration came from this amazing giant book: The Circus: 1870’s — 1950’s, given to us this past Christmas by our dear and thoughtful friends Maggie and Alex. This book is seriously so cool, we have it on display in our living room. But the real treat is opening it up:
Seriously, the artwork!
Cutting holes in this box was no job for a pair of scissors — it was like dealing with wood, so I had to use a small hand saw from a pumpkin carving kit to do the job! We have so many fun things planned for this night, I can’t wait to share it with you, but it’s still a while off. Until then…
I’ll see you when I see you!