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A bit of a break...

Instead of adding "write blog post" to my daily to do lists, and then not following through, I've decided to remove this little item from my schedule for the time being. Due to various personal extenuating  circumstances that have popped up recently, making it difficult to even eat, sleep, work, and workout daily, I've decided that I really need to prioritize my time in the utmost sense. I have to remove the stress that any "extra" items are causing, stress that was growing due to the fact that there are only 24 hrs in a day and I just do not have any extra minutes to devote to something that I want to really want to take the time to devote to. 

So instead, while my life spins a bit crazy over the next few weeks, I'm taking a little break, refusing to upload posts that are done half-heartedly, refusing to write and post just for the sake of posting.

As I prioritize my days and even hours over the next few weeks, I hope to refocus myself as well, so that come September, I can do what I've often stated I want to do for a long time: dedicate time and energy into writing and growing my creativity, giving this little outlet of mine an actual chance for survival. 

I left Alt Summit last month feeling energized, inspired and motivated and I plan on taking that energy and putting it into full effect come the fall. I have ideas swimming around in my head that I'm eager to put into real action, collaborations I want to play around with, and am making a promise to myself to create the time and prioritize my blogging just as I do other aspects of my life, a promise I'm excited about. I'm hoping that my little hiatus will help with this, build momentum, and also give me the time to go about my ideas more thoroughly planned out, go about this whole project of mine in the right way from this fresh start.

So until then, have a wonderful summer ~

photo via my Instagram 

July 1

"I had that familiar conviction 

that life was beginning over again 

with the summer."

- F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Alt Summit Wise Words

After an amazing time at Alt Summit NYC 

and attending a beautiful wedding on the Cape, 

I'm back to (normal) business, 

embracing routine and a bit of relaxation 

as I try to catch up on sleep

and rely a little less on coffee. 

I plan on recapping my experience 

from the Alt Summit in the coming days 

but until then, 

I share some bits of wisdom 

from the various speakers.

Quote from Social Media Panel speakers:

Tracey Stewart of Moomah, 

Jennifer Rubio of Warby Parker,

John Jannuzzi of Lucky Magazine

Photo is sponsored by Atly 

Alt Summit NYC

I arrived in NYC today, 

excited to experience first hand an Alt Summit conference, 

hosted at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.

I'm eager to soak up all that is offered over the next couple days, 

and look forward to being surrounded 

by inspiration and ideas,

to help motivate and create 

in the coming months.

Recap to follow!

What My Dad Taught Me

             

My father didn't teach me how to throw a ball.

It would have been a waste of time anyways. 

What I have learned from him 

resonates so much more, 

and the amount of love, respect and admiration for him, 

only continues to grow everyday. 

My dad taught me to be polite, 

that very rarely is there the need to yell. 

Family comes first, 

but who we consider to be our family can be molded over time.

Remain calm, take a deep breath, and resist overreacting. 

My dad taught me all I know about money, 

to respect it, to be wise with it, 

and to also let it allow you to enjoy little treats. 

My father taught me the joy in simple pleasures, 

good food from the grill, 

a great bowl of pasta, 

an evening together with loved ones. 

He passed on his love of tv, 

of the importance of sitcoms, 

and the joy in having a great show to look forward to. 

I work hard at what I do because that's what I've learned from my father,

who owns his own business and leads by example.

I try to believe that all will be ok 

if hard work and time is devoted. 

My father taught me to love animals

and when I brought home my first pet as an adult,

I understood why my father always surrounded our home 

with their unconditional love.

I look forward to seeing him with every visit, 

with the same enthusiasm that we both have 

for digging into bowls of ice cream, 

complete with chocolate sauce and whipped cream, 

for I know the importance of dessert, 

just as he taught me. 

photo circa 1990

Sweet Toothed

As I've said before, this is not a food blog.

I'm not a recipe creator by any means. 

But I just really like food. 

(Is there such a thing as simply a food lover's blog?

Nothing ingenious, just adoration?)

Anyways, I also suffer from a major sweet tooth. 

So while I might have come across as all nice and healthy with my farro shout out last time, 

it's not exactly an authentic representation of all my culinary cravings. 

So even as I read Meg Fee's recent posts about going sugar free 

and even as this idea resonate so deeply with me

and my current dietary dilemmas, 

and even as I attempt to start figuring and mapping out 

how I'll remove sugar from my daily diet, 

I find myself making raspberry jam swirl blondies the other night at 9 pm 

for my even more stronger sweet-toothed father for father's day.

As I stood over the stove top, I came to the conclusion 

that the smell of brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla, 

is absolutely pure heaven.

I want to bottle it up 
and surround myself with this scent 24/7.

And of course, I couldn't help 

but cut off a little corner piece, 

for sampling sake, 

and it just melted in my mouth.

The raspberry seeds added an ever so subtle texture 

to the smooth, creamy blondie,

and as I wrapped up the individual pieces

I knew, somewhat discouragedly, 

but with really no effort to fight it,

that blondies and their various accoutrements will be a new

repeating recipe in my slowly but surely growing repertoire.

So thank you Joy the Baker for refusing to let me go completely sugar free.

The recipe for these blondies can be viewed here

photos via my iPhone