Retro

Am I the only one who wishes I was born in the fifties? The styles, the culture, the chivalry, seems too perfect not yearn for. I have a ever-developing fantasy that in heaven, I would be given my long awaited dream. I would be born in the fifties, become a beatnik in the sixties and a hippy in the seventies...then die young happily before America enters it's era of sexually explicit hip hop in the 2000's.
Yup, that would be the perfect life.

Folk Tunes

I've been in my folk phase far too long to call it a phase anymore. I think I'm in love for life.

Note: The song "Sherpa" takes a while to start but wait it out. It's the jam.

"Look for God. Look for God like a man with his head on fire looks for water." -Elizabeth Gilbert: Eat, Pray, Love

Exploration

Wonder is one of the greatest gifts any of us has from this life. The ability to be breath taken, awed, speechless.It is a magical treasure and something that can only happen with curiosity. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it sure as heck won't bring me down. I wanna see things, and experience the world in ways our parents said were impossible. To do the unexpected, the unthinkable, and to live fully. It is as though we are kept in a box. We poke a few holes through the top, so the we can breathe and exist, then that's it. Only a small amount of light gets inside; our visibility to see whats outside is limited. Then we're stuck there, trapped, in the cold and the dark, and no matter how many holes we poke, we can't seem to escape. I don't want to just survive, I want to thrive. I must stop poking at what I want, and push the top of the box wide open! Fear is a false emotion, it deceives and misleads. It is never on your side and to finally escape, is to escape fear. Then we can do anything. And breath in the universe. Cause once you finally get out of that box, nature immerses itself around you and calls you to follow it. You realize how tiny you are and how good that is, and let everything gorgeously create itself around you. To discover how easy it is to do this thing called living. It is all simple if we just ponder it. The box is not indestructible, it is merely you that must be brave enough to explore outside of it.

Plastic Bag Ban

Starting August 1st, my city will put in place a ban on plastic bags in major retail stores. Reusable bags will be given out and a 10 cent charge will be placed on paper bags. City officials were apprehensive that businesses would be on board and wanted to postpone the date, but retailers have shown that they are prepared and ready. This is a huge change for my town. We are over congested beyond belief, and trash flies freely through the streets.I can't even imagine how much this will help our pollution and recycling movements. It is long overdue, but well worth the wait. I can already feel the frontier moving and this humble law, becoming the opened door that led my city into a renaissance of Green. The ball is rolling and I can't wait to see what change is yet to come.

Russian Tea Cakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for decoration (My note: Probably only need around 1/4 cup)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream butter and vanilla until smooth. Combine the 6 tablespoons confectioners' sugar and flour; stir into the butter mixture until just blended. Mix in the chopped walnuts. Roll dough into 1 inch balls, and place them 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. When cool, roll in remaining confectioners' sugar. I also like to roll mine in the sugar a second time

My Review: Truly delectable! Light, delicate, and sweet. The most prominent thing about them is there texture. Smooth and pasty. The perfect compliment to my green tea.

Denim

So versatile and authentic. The perfect material for summer. I've been dying for a denim button up, so I'm on the prowl right now. The durability and cowboy-like ruggedness of it is so attractive to me. And thank God for those assets, because knowing me, once I get it; I'll wear it to the bone.

What Will Be, Will Be

 When we get lost and let go and not know. The future illuminates itself and the past becomes fond understanding, but it doesn't touch you anymore. And then you find yourself LIVING, and becoming delirious and obsessed and in love and happy. Everything is bold and influential and I've found myself believing in things I haven't believed in since I was a child. And it feels so good to be free and to have my heart live, and to believe in my bones, what will be, will be.