Oh, duh! It's a dogwood tree!

It occurred to me after writing about the funky seed pods on the tree at Trader Joe's that I had taken pictures of trees there before (they're just fascinating!). I found these pictures from May:

Turns out those are dogwood trees... the state flower and tree of Virginia! I find it amusing that these pretty flowers turn into a big ol' pokey looking seed ball. I never would have guessed that if I hadn't put two and two together from these past pictures. I'm sure this is super common knowledge to a ton of people, but for me, learning about the simple things in nature still brings me so much happiness and wonder with every light-bulb moment that occurs.

“Gardening is an active participation in the deepest mysteries of the universe.” ~ Thomas Berry

You are an explorer.

When I was shopping at my local Trader Joe's store, 

I saw this plant out front and was compelled to take pictures of it.

I have no idea what it is...

But it sure is pretty!

Are those seed pods? Fruits? I have no idea.

Finding wonder in the mundane world isn't hard, if you just keep your eyes open. :)

Weird Al taught me it's weird to eat marbles.

What happens when you go a little too long without going grocery shopping? You end up eating up most of what's in the fridge and freezer and make a nice dent in the cupboard, too. And then, you go grocery shopping and BUY ALL THE THINGS! Observe:

This was after making dinner and shoving things around to find room for leftovers. I may have went just a teensy bit overboard! Now the goal is to use it all up before it goes bad. As far as cupboard space went, I stocked up on coffee since it was on sale, got some of Trader Joe's variation on Wheat Thins (a little more healthy!), and my new favorite snack: pretzel slims with goat cheese.

Oh. My. Gosh. These. Are. So. GOOD. They are basically flat pretzels that aren't too salty and in a flattened shape that makes plopping toppings (hee hee, plopping toppings) on them super easy. Almost too easy, because I ate like half the bag and half a log of goat cheese in one night. OMNOMNOM.

So besides snacking, we've had a couple Cara-made meals that weren't exactly gourmet but still edible and tasted okay! HALLELUJAH, I didn't wreck the food! I guess it wasn't too hard when I used a lot of pre-made stuff, but for a cooking noob, I like to cut myself some slack. I found pre-packaged bags of ready-to-make chopped salad at Harris Teeter, then tossed them with spinach and romaine to bulk it up. This one was actually good enough that I'd buy it again if I were in the mood for it:

Product not shown actual size.

It came with a mix of veggies, then a packet of dry ingredients - this one included sliced almonds and fried wonton noodles - and a packet of salad dressing. I got the southwest variety as well to try since they were new-to-me and I adore chopped salads!

Next up: homemade pizza! Well, I made it at home, so it counts. I found some of these funky flatbreads that are perfectly sized for a sheet pan and as thin as a tortilla. The package suggested using them to make pizza, and of course the grocery store marketing was genius by putting Boar's Head pepperoni right next to them. Okay, okay, I'm easily suggestible when it comes to food! So I made that tonight but thankfully there are plenty of leftover ingredients to try again, because - note to self - with a crust that thin, you need to go skimpy on the toppings! I loaded that thing with mozzarella slices and pepperoni like a crazy woman and the poor pizza was all kinds of floppy. But, the flatbreads had good flavor, from what I could tell amongst the overwhelming flavors of the toppings, anyway. There are 3 more in the package so I'm looking forward to making more pizzas!

I guess it's so thin because it's meant to be rolled? Ah well. Turns out this brand has specific flavors to use for pizza, but they didn't have any at my store. These will do for now! I'm thinking I might try some kind of baked pizza spiral-y wrap or something. But, if I were feeling ambitious, Trader Joe's makes some great ready-made pizza dough I've used many times in the past. This, however, is a good option for when you don't feel like spending the time to mess around stretching out the dough, or don't have time to let the dough come to room temperature. It's good to switch things up once in awhile, anyway.

I've realized that I'm so good about taking pictures of all the incredibly delicious food that Ian makes for me, but when I make something I forget about the camera and just dive in like a hungry hungry hippo starving for marbles. So instead of pictures of salad and a sad looking pizza, I will leave you with a photo of my cat sleeping on his face.

Erm, how is August almost over already?

Effy's Blogalong for August is almost over, and I totally fell off the bandwagon. Much like a pattern I have when starting anything new, I go gung-ho at the start, almost overboard. Then it feels like I've used up all my brain and stop cold turkey. I guess I should work on that. :)

But, I still feel like the purpose of the blogalong worked: blogging, for me, is a thing now. It's inspired me to elaborate on my thoughts, and think more deeply on how the media I consume on a daily basis effects me personally... among other things.

This snippet from The Oatmeal totally summarizes my experience lately, though. Sometimes, no matter how much I want to write, when I sit in front of a blank screen my brain goes all "duhhhhhhh" at me. So, I've allowed myself to keep on inputting stuff in my brain, and letting the output come when I'm inspired.

Effy vlogged about the importance of keeping your practice. - this is a really great reminder that it helps to be grounded in your practice, and to find a practice that helps ground you for when situations in life get all poopy.

Becky made some AWESOME gaming-inspired cakes!! - sugar and gaming go together like Doritos and Mountain Dew.

Zoe muses on letting go of perfectionism with your art journaling. - the simple act of art journaling is the thing I love most about it. I can start with something on a page and end up with something entirely different by the end. It's really amazing what kind of journeys you go on when you just open up and allow the creative juices to flow by slapping down some paint and glue without worrying about what it "should" look like.

Gabrielle Bernstein talks about how to maintain your sense of self when you fall in love. - this is a huge one for me. I wish we were all taught this as children. It's such an important message. I re-watched an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation where Data installs a romance program to be in a relationship and totally changes everything about himself that made homegirl like him in the first place. He became a huge creeper, too. >_<

Ivy Moon made an awesome video about her goals and dreams. - Not only is she radiant, but I totally share some of her dreams and goals so this video hit home for me. I really like how she collected her ideas and put them out into the universe this way.

Halcyon talks about the idea of snark vs. sparkle at Burning Man, but I think it applies to life, too. :)

Before I overwhelm you with awesome stuff to read and watch, I'll leave it at that for today. Enjoy! :D

♪ Music to My Ears! ♪

Things like this are what amuses me throughout my day: While sitting at a red light in my car, I picked up my bottle of water and opened the cap. As I lifted it to my mouth to take a sip, the song on the radio, "Give It Away" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, sang, "drink a little wah-tah!" Heeee. :)

I've always loved the color scheme (if you want to call it that) of this video. GLITTERY and SHINY and METALLIC oh yes

Ian pointed out that this song and video is now over 20 years old. WHAT. How. 1991 wasn't that long ago, was it?! AUGH! *feels old* (even though I got told at a doctor visit today I look 16. I'm going to totally go back to high school like that Drew Barrymore movie current high schoolers totally wouldn't know about, wahhh)

Okay, time to not feel so old: NEW MUSIC! WEEEEEE!


I heard Katy Perry's new song "Roar" on the radio, too, and ...I think I like it. Not really for the music, but I like the lyrics a lot. And now that I've watched her lyric video for it, I might just like it even more... emojis and OMG KITTY at the end!

Cuuuuuuuuuuute :D


Another new song I'm like eeeeeeeeeeeee! super duper squeal-y excited about is Lady Gaga's "Applause." Okay, so I admit, I have a poster of Lady Gaga in my closet. Not because I'm a closet Gaga fan, haha, but because looking at her when I'm picking out my clothes inspires me and makes me happy. I kinda love her. :)  So my expectations for her new music are like WAAAAAAY up there. So on my first listen, I'm not as squeeful as I expected to be, but that's okay. I'm waiting for someone to make a remix that focuses on bringing out what I hear as the Marilyn Manson style in her voice. Or, a dubstep remix, because right after the "applause" x54695867 lyric build-up, I feel like there could totally be a gnarly dubstep breakdown.

But yeah, tell me this promo video doesn't give you a Manson-style creepy vibe!

And this outfit?

Aaand here's the song itself:

I can't wait to see a music video for this (soooooooooon). This song is an example of one where I'm kind of "eh" about the lyrics but I can see it being something good to listen to while running or exercising to get yourself totally pumped up.

But yeah, I think if anyone can mix Manson and Dubstep, it'd be Gaga. Either way, I'm totally looking forward to more of her new "ARTPOP" era.

And somehow this turned into a music post. Weeeee! I find there are very few "top hits" that I enjoy as I get older, but with music on the internet it's so much easier to find independent and obscure singers and bands that make my ears happy.


Are there any new-to-you songs or bands lately that you just can't get enough of?

Rain + no coffee = oh crap I slept all day

Happy Sunday y'all!

Ah, it's been rainy and stormy here. This not only makes my face feel like it's in a vice (thanks, sinuses!) but it makes me sleeeeeepy. The sound of rain is so soothing! So, I ended up sleeping pretty much all day yesterday, between the rain and drinking no coffee. Oops. So then I slept more last night, woke up and had some coffee this morning, and since it's still rainy I totally want to just crawl in bed but I am trying my best to stay awake! The cats make it look so alluring and comfy though... *sigh* I am constantly battling my Circadian Rhythm. Just like my dancing rhythm, it appears I have none.

Since it's Sunday, I'm feeling inspired. Here are some inspire-y bits I've found around the web lately!

I really like this quote from Marianne Williamson that was posted on her Facebook: The ego says, "Once everything falls into place, I'll feel peace." The spirit says, "Find your peace, and then everything will fall into place."

You may have heard of Michael Pollen's 7 Words and 7 Rules for Eating. They resonate a lot with me, and I especially like the one about not eating anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food. It makes me giggle to think of mine coming along with me to the grocery store and oogling in the aisles. Sometimes I feel as fascinated as they might be when I look at all the prepackaged stuff. Darn newfangled contraptions! *shakes fist in air* hee hee.

I really like this article: The Try Something New Manifesto. Ever since I first read it, I have tried to incorporate trying new things into my daily life. Branching out of my comfort zone is a little scary sometimes but for the most part it's exciting to accomplish something different!

Lately I have been totally enamoured by Joanna Devoe, who I recently found via her podcast when searching iTunes for witchy and pagan things. She reminds me a lot of myself when it comes to the merge of pagan and new thought kind of ideas.

Wise words from Gabrielle Bernstein.

I hope you have an awesome day! Namaste :)

“I am not a glutton - I am an explorer of food.” ~ Erma Bombeck

Apparently today I am channeling my inner foodie nerd, because today has been all about food!

I have a tendency to graze when at home with no real meal plan. I ended up focusing on trying to use up the fresh foods in the fridge because food waste is one of my biggest pet peeves. I mean c'mon Past Cara, why did you leave just one slice of Swiss cheese in the drawer? Oh well, Present Cara enjoyed it well enough. :)

OMNOMNOM ALERT!!!

I always forget how good these taste until I eat one and then want to immediately eat another one. This is what I ate this morning to put something in my belly before I felt like cooking. Some flavors of Larabars I'm not a fan of, some are okay, but this one is seriously my favorite. Ian's a fan of the pecan pie flavor, but for some reason it's hard to find around here. These babies are usually $1-2 each, so I stock up when they're on sale for $1 or less with a coupon.


Recently I decided to make my own Ranch dressing/dip. (Still working on the ratios of ingredients my tastebuds prefer, I'll share it when it comes out perfect!) One of the ingredients was buttermilk, which is used to thin it out from a dip into a dressing. Welp, we ate the whole batch as a dip with cut up veggies, so I had this little container of buttermilk left in the fridge that I just realized needed to be used. So, I searched my trusty Evernote - my recipe collection database of choice - for recipes that used buttermilk.

I ended up trying this recipe for Amish Cinnamon Bread. I halved it since I only own one loaf pan, but it didn't turn out exactly like I remember from my day of eating endless amounts of Amish Cinnamon Bread from having a zillion starters. Maybe next time I will use the batter in muffins instead of a loaf, since it took so long for the loaf to set the batter, it made the edges a bit dry. As you can see in the picture, the top layer of cinnamon sugar became it's own monster, too. Muffins might fare a little better! But, I don't know that I have a whole cup of buttermilk left so I will use one of my other recipes that use less this go 'round.

As you can see, I had a cooking fail today, too. I was trying to use up the garlic left in the house. Some of it I had peeled and put in a container in the fridge for the convenience of not having to peel it when you want to use some in cooking, but apparently if you do that and leave it in there too long it starts to grow. Oops! I grabbed the other few cloves that weren't peeled, too, and cut it all up and threw it in a pan, covered 'em in olive oil, and tossed them in the oven. Buuuuuuuuuuuut I totally didn't cover them with enough oil because they kinda scorched. Gross. Ah well, at least I tried! Sometimes cooking is just about trial and error, and learning from your errors - especially the inedible ones.

The bit about trying, that's a big one for me. Because my boyfriend is an amazing cook, and talented, he can cook anything 3x as fast as I could, and 3x better, too. So I get discouraged when it comes to even bothering attempting to cook because it feels like a waste of time and ingredients. But I go through phases where I just have this random inspiration to get in the kitchen and Just Do It. I am thankful when I have enough energy to do that! Sometimes it's all I can do to microwave something, so actually preparing "real food" makes me really happy.

I admire people who call themselves Kitchen Witches, because I do find that cooking can be a sacred, spiritual act. I think part of my desire to cook sometimes has to do with that, to be part of the alchemical process of turning a bunch of ingredients into something else totally different. I mean, that cinnamon bread wasn't anything like bread when it was a pile of ingredients on the counter. People who say magic doesn't exist apparently have never tried baking something from scratch! When I kept poking the skewer through the middle of the loaf to check if it would come out clean to tell that it was done, and it would be gooey, I'd pout and set the timer for another 10 minutes. And all of a sudden, after doing that what seemed like 8 times because my oven is finicky and in dire need of a good cleaning, it went from gooey to fluffy. HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN!? Okay, I know there's science behind it, but thinking of it as magic makes it so much more fun!

I attempted one other cooking feat today that actually worked: we had a green bell pepper in the fridge, as well as a medium-sized onion. I cut them both up into fajita-style strips and cooked them in the oven for awhile till they were floppy. Next step? Wait for Boyfriend to get home from work and help me incorporate them into nachos. Is it mean that he cooks all day and then he comes home and cooks some more? Haha. That's part of what I want to be a better cook, too. Both he and Mario Batali have the same philosophy: the best tasting meal is one that is cooked by someone else for you.


I'll leave you with one last note of foody goodness: A new blog I am enjoying is fellow WoW player Ghemit's new project, Alone for Dinner. Check it out, and give it a follow, especially if you're around DC for local recommendations!