LILY OF THE VALLEY

Lily of the Valley is my absolute favorite flower.*

THE ART OF GETTING STARTED

Lately I've been trying to get into a flow of creating. It's hard for me to track my productivity, though, because I delve into so many different forms of creation: cooking and creating recipes, photography, writing blog posts (which has been fun but is definitely stretching my brain, since I haven't written much for two years), home decor endeavors, and art projects like sewing, painting, and gardening. Writing this out exhausts me! I have so many ideas and desires that I need to get out of my head and into the world.

My focus right now is to work on my discipline. To not just create when I feel like it, but to get my hands dirty when I'd rather stay snuggled up in bed. Recently my friend sent me a very helpful book: The Art of Getting Started by Lee Crutchley. It's fantastic for kick-starting your day. This one line totally resonated with me:

"I WAS DELUDING MYSELF THAT THE IDEAS I HAD WERE SO GREAT THAT TURNING THEM INTO REAL THINGS WOULD BE THE EASY BIT. 

TURNING IDEAS INTO REAL THINGS IS NOT THE EASY BIT."

*DING*

Suddenly a light bulb went off in my head. I've always been very proud of myself for being imaginative and intuitive... but it doesn't give a crap if I don't do anything with it. I'm so thankful that I read this and realized just how much I'm missing by not letting my ideas come to fruition.

Do you struggle with this, too? Share in the comments below!

Photo credit.

BEDSIDE MAGNOLIAS | AROUND THE HOUSE

One of my birthday gifts from Nate this year included picking out my own bouquet at Arena's, a gorgeous flower boutique on East Ave. The first thing I chose was this magnolia branch, enticed by its curvy yet angular branches and promising buds (it hadn't bloomed yet). 

I wish it wasn't so temporary. Sadly, it's already past its prime. The petals just drop to the ground after about a week... but for that one week, I felt like a princess in a whole grove of magnolia trees every time I stepped into our bedroom. 

And here they are at night:

I love those shadows.

Photos of the bouquet to come...

CURRENT CRAVING | MATCHA TEA

After having my very first matcha latte at Java's, I just had to get some for every day at home. I didn't find the exact same kind, but I did find this...

BUTTER FRIED BANANAS

I'm going to be honest with you. Making recipes, photographing the process, and compiling it all into a succinct, inspiring, and tantalizing post is very intimidating and so far, almost impossible for me. To be fair, though, I have only been a true member of the cooking world for about a year, so cut me some slack, you foodie-blog-indulgent savages (that includes myself). 

Anyways, despite the above conclusion, I did happen to snap some photos of the fried bananas I made the other day. Hardly a new concept yet still widely unknown, I decided it's worth sharing. Anything that's easy-peasy to make and still amazing for you is definitely worthy of show and tell.

And so,

Show:

and Tell:

This really couldn't be any simpler. 

Peel your banana. Great! You're halfway there!

Then slice it up and place it in a pan with butter on low-medium heat (3 or 4 on my stove). 



Watch them sizzle! 



Until they look golden brown like this on both sides. I'd say this takes a couple of minutes. 





Sprinkle cinnamon on top, drizzle with honey, and place on top of freshly strained Greek Yogurt! yumyumyumyum

Searing the bananas caramelizes them. You can also slather them in cinnamon and honey before for optimum yumminess.

P.S. Why you should eat more bananas.

WHY BREAD HATES ME

Up until about a year ago, I ate whatever, whenever. I wasn't (too) picky, and I loved my carbs. It was easy for me since I've never had a weight problem and didn't feel pressured to think of food as nutrition and not entertainment. I thought that since there wasn't an outward sign of food's affect on my body, I'm totally fine! No biggie!

But then in January 2013, I started getting horrible stomach aches every day. They felt like really bad PMS cramps, though I knew it couldn't be that. After some poking around, I figured out I had a gluten intolerance. I was shocked! I had never had an allergy in my life! And bread is so good for you, especially whole wheat!

Wrong. It's not good for you, especially the stuff I was loading up on. Gluten deteriorated my gut to the point where my body was full of symptoms that hurt me every day: debilitating cramps, headaches, worse PMS cramps, acne, bloating, and even more problems. It interrupted my jive; every time I ate gluten, large or small amount, I fought through my worsening symptoms for the next couple of days. I knew I had to face this problem head-on by changing my diet drastically.

I gradually avoided gluten every day, and eventually decided to go through the GAPS Diet after my friend had success with it for her gluten and lactose intolerances.

In short, the GAPS Diet is a protocol created by Dr. Natasha Campbell-Mcbride. Dr. Campbell-Mcbride created this diet to help her own child with autism. With her expertise in neurology and human nutrition, she crafted a highly successful diet based on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet. The goal of the GAPS Diet is to heal the digestive system so that harmful symptoms, gut issues, and even auto-immune disorders improve or disappear altogether. Disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohn's Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, depression, and thyroid imbalance- just to name a few- have been completely reversed with this protocol. Check out these testimonies if you don't believe me (I wouldn't, either)! Most people don't realize (and aren't taught) that the gut is a huge part of our immune system. Without a healthy and balanced gut, we can never be completely healthy.

Back to my testimony...

Honestly, it's still in the works! I went through the GAPS Introduction Diet and have been in the Full Gaps Diet for months, with some decent cheats :) (chocolate! milk! yum). But my symptoms are creeping back, and that is not ok. Even though it's really hard, I need to go through the diet again more thoroughly to allow my gut to heal completely. So I guess I will be venturing back into the world of chicken stock pretty soon! Most of the food is wonderfully delicious. The one thing I'm scared about is the huge amount of cooking I'll need to do every single day and the piles of dirty dishes that will result!

The best way to get to know the GAPS Diet better is to read Dr. Campbell-Mcbride's book, Gut and Psychology Syndrome. But you can also read more on all of the great blogs I've found, such as Gutsy and Health Home Happy, and the GAPS Diet website. I have learned so much from them! I will also be blogging about the GAPS Diet as I experience it, along with other subjects like detoxing and helpful products. So check back for recipes and conversations later!

I hope that you don't ever have to deal with any of the health problems listed above, but if you have or think you might be, would you try the GAPS Diet? Have you tried anything similar? 

Anyone who has gone through a healing protocol, do you have any tips or stories? 

IT'S SPRING | MIX TAPE

It's officially spring, you guys! Spring equinox, check. Trees and lilacs budding, check. Crocuses blooming, check. Unofficial but obligatory and random snow day mid-April, check.

Inspired by the crazy weather outside, I made a playlist for us! IT'S SPRING | MIX TAPE. Available for free on Spotify. (You don't even need to download the whole program; the link above will take you to the playlist in your browser! whee!)

Featuring Noosa, Priscilla Ahn, Phoenix, Dan Croll and many other amazingly talented musicians.

BTW, if you have never heard of Spotify, it's pretty much amaze-balls. You can download it for free, listen to almost anything you want for free, and you can avoid the ads by upgrading to Premium. Totes worth it!

Let me know what you think! What's your favorite song on the list? Do you have a favorite song you're singing along with now? Share in the comments below!

P.S. Lilacs are my favorite :)

INTRODUCING 48VALENTINE: MY SHOP!

Hello, lovelies!

Since it's SPRING (yayyyyyyy!!!!), I thought this would be a good time to introduce you to my shop, 48valentine! I'm adding more and more springy items every day... the bright, new colors make 48valentine look like a garden blossoming :)

Here's a cute little soft blue pigglie I added today! He is SO happy. Guaranteed to cheer up any grump.



And a small china cup without a handle, perfect for holding bobby pins or a succulent...




These soft little baby bloomers are perfect for Easter. Keep that lil' baby bum cozy in soft pink!



Lastly, a white teacup with a hint of neon green.

Anyways, that's my shop! It's been so much fun scoring stores for unique finds and working so hard on the listings (that's the hardest part so far:). There are lots more items in the shop, so take a peek!

Can't wait to list more... I have lots of treasures coming soon!