🌟 🍧 Milkshake Magic 🍦🌟

I want to do this at the new year and see what I can take people up on.

• ask your friends to teach you something new •

if you follow me, you may know that have been making a real effort to actively engage in my own existence - to recognize and do away with the things in my life that do not matter, to work harder, to have higher standards when it comes to the company I keep and what sort of treatment I am going to put up with (see my post Notes to Self). it has been a battle against myself, social media, and my unwillingness to face the feelings that the internet distracts me from, but one I ultimately believe I will win.

I’ve decided that instead of leaving social media completely, I’m going to use it to further my connection with people and hope that it catches on (we’ll see). I asked my facebook friends “what is a skill that you can teach me?” expecting a few jokes and maybe one real reply.

all these people came out of the woodwork; folks I met once or twice and friends I’ve known for years, excitedly offering to teach me skills I did not know they had because I never thought to ask. mending, scrapbooking, dance, CPR, organization techniques, canning, wedding planning, dyeing and spinning wool.

ask your friends what they can teach you.

if, like me, you yearn for connection beyond just shopping trips and movie nights and going out for drinks, just ask. you get to learn (which is knowing), your friend gets to teach (which is sharing), and a real conversation is so valuable.

a friend and I met at her house for a meal and a mending lesson a few weeks ago. we ate together and caught up on lost time while she showed me how to repair the torn sweater I brought from home. there was so much peace - sitting on the living room floor with her and laughing at my crooked stitches. I’ve since mended a pair of my husband’s pants, patched a hole in my dad’s jacket, and gave my dress some stronger buttons.

a crooked stitch still strengthens the cloth. I am that much closer to needing less.

what could you teach me?

This week my Mineral Crush Monday is… Rose Quartz! 🌹❤ ROSE QUARTZ… -Promotes and increases true, pure, unconditional Love in all its aspects – romantic, sexual, friendly, familial, and Divine -Has an incredibly strong and healing Loving Feminine energy that it contains and emits, and can help you (whether you are male or female) to get in touch with your own Goddess energy, heal from lack of loving mothering in your own life (presently or in the past/ childhood) -Promotes fertility and provides protection for both mother and child during pregnancy -Can be placed by your bed/ under your pillow to promote peaceful, rejuvenating sleep, decrease/ prevent nightmares, and promote positive, useful dreams -Brings you into a state of calm, and helps to balance all aspects of yourself, physically/ emotionally/ psychically/ etc. -Brings relief from stress, anxiety, and/ or trauma -Helps you to let go of any unnecessary guilt you may be feeling – whether it was initially induced by the suggestion of another, or a persistent recurring story that we have developed with the help of our own Ego -Helps with managing, decreasing, and eliminating depression -Resonates with the Heart Chakra or Anahata, which is located near the Sternum and is the center of of the human energetic system, as well as the Chakra that balances all other Chakras💖 #quartz #rosequartz #love #crystals #crystalhealing #crystallove #handmade #handmadejewelry #wirewrap #wirewrappedjewelry #wicca #pagan #witch #mermaid #shaman #magick #hippie #bohofashion #yoga #chakra #meditation #hippiespirits #Etsy #etsysale #reiki #gemsandminerals #crystalporn #mineralcrushmonday #mcm

She is oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus. The same elements that are inside the rest of us, but I can’t help thinking she’s more than that and she’s got other elements going on that no one’s ever heard of, ones that make her stand apart from everybody else.

Jennifer Nevin, All the Bright Places (via theliteraryjournals)

Instructions for a walk in the woods

Never turn around to check behind you. You’ll see nothing, but once you start doing it you won’t be able to stop, and an ominous feeling will follow you until you don’t lock your house’s door behind you. 

If you stand very still and listen you will hear the woods calling for you. Don’t answer. Never answer. 

You’ll hear things quietly following you, hidden in the trees by your sides. It’s okay, they’re just checking on you. 

Don’t be scared, but be really, really wary.

If you have a bad feeling about taking a certain path, don’t. You’ll avoid whatever is waiting for you at the end of it. 

You never know what may be buried under the soil you’re walking on. Remember that every time you take a step. Pray that whatever it is, it won’t wake up. 

Be careful not to step on any beetle, or you’ll never get rid of them. 

If you bring a knife with you, name it. Otherwise the blade will turn against you as soon as you try to use it. 

Make sure you remember the way back home. As soon as you get lost, you’re just another piece of fresh meat.

Across the land a faint blue veil of mist Seems hung; the woods wear yet arrayment sober, Till frost shall make them flame; silent and whist The dropping cherry orchards of October Like mournful pennons hang their shriveling leaves Russet and orange: all things now decay; Long since ye garnered in your Autumn sheaves, And sad the robins pipe at set of day. — October, by Siegfried Sassoon. Artwork: October, by Kelsey Garrity Riley.

Reblog if you’re a cottagecore blog that:

-is anti fascist and anti racist

-is into this to support locally sourced food, better farming practices, etc.

-is NOT into this for some “manifest destiny” bullshit

-is NOT an ecofascist

-supports indigenous land rights and supports paying reparations to bipoc

-supports labor unions

-supports better conditions, pay, and protections for all agricultural workers including undocumented workers

-is LGBTQ friendly

Because cottagecore is a sweet and lovely aesthetic but we cannot be silent about the racism and facism that this community promotes with its “traditional values” crap. I like fresh picked flowers on my table, I like honey lemon tea, I like pictures of baby goats. But if you disagree with the above list then your “cottagecore” blog is trash.

Fred.... no second thought. I love Sirius but the loss with Fred was so great.

If you could save Sirius or Fred, who would you choose?

THIS IS HARDEST QUESTION EVER! I CAN’T ANSWER THAT…. NEVER… 

Crock Pot Recipes for Fall and Winter

I love cooking hearty dishes, and warm treats in the Fall and Winter, which is why I also love slow cooker recipes. So here is massive list of recipes that are great for this time of year!

Soups, Stews, and Entrées

Creamy Wild Rice and Turkey Soup

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Red Lentil, Chickpea, and Tomato Soup with Smoked Paprika

Pasta Fagiola

Meatball Stew

Simplest Chicken and Dumplings

French Onion Soup

Cream Cheese Chicken Chili

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder

So Easy Coq au Vin

Sugar-Spiced Pork with Squash and Potatoes

Pasta with Eggplant Sauce

Pesto Chicken Sandwiches

Meatball Sandwiches

Chunky Pot Roast-Portobello Soup

Creamy Tortellini Soup

Chicken Fajitas 

Stuffed Green Pepper Soup

Spinach Lasagna 

Cabbage Rolls

BBQ Chicken

Pizza Stew and Biscuits 

German Potato Soup

Creamed Chicken and Corn Soup

Pot Roast Stew

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Fall Harvest Chowder

Chicken Cacciatore 

Beef Tenderloin

Tomato Basil Ravioli Soup

Apple Cider Pork Roast

Goulash

Creamy Italian Chicken and Rice

Apple Sage Pork Tenderloin 

Desserts and Sweet Treats

Gingerbread Pudding Cake

Pumpkin Pudding

Chocolate Lava Cake

Rocky Road Cake

Apple Dumplings

Turtle Monkey Bread

Rice Pudding

Almond Bark

Cinnamon Fudge

Pecan Pie Cobbler

Pumpkin Angel Food Cake with Caramel Sauce

Apple and Date Crunch

Tequila Pears

Candied Almonds

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

Spiced Applesauce

Beverages

Peppermint Hot Chocolate

Chocolate Coffee

Vanilla Crème Brulee Latte

Caramel Apple Spice

Pumpkin Chai Tea

Autumn Brew

Spiced Pomegranate Tea

Hot Mint Malt 

Buttered Apple Cider

Snow White Cocoa

Pumpkin Latte

Hot Cranberry Apple Punch

Aztec Hot Chocolate

Bourbon Citrus Sipper

Horchata Latte

Chamomile Toddies

Breakfasts

Spinach and Cheese Frittata 

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal

Hot Cocoa Oatmeal

Cheesy Breakfast Souffle 

Breakfast Casserole

German Pancakes

Sausage White Gravy

Cheesy Hash Browns

Cream of Wheat

Egg and Broccoli Casserole

Eggnog Cranberry Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ham and Egg Casserole 

Pumpkin Oatmeal

Pumpkin Bread

Cinnamon Rolls

French Toast

Lemon grove in Italy Photo by allpc