chinese new year

The moon has made its cycle. The lunar new year is here. We welcome in the yang energy of the horse that is energetic and quickly moving. I have to admit I'm feeling a little irked. From what I read, it will be a year of headstrong individuals, not much communication, stubbornness. We all know that's not how things get accomplished when it comes to the greater good. Then again, the horse is earth and it's grounded. We're also in the year of the wood horse which eludes to something reaching and growing. Only time will tell whether this means we have a good or bad year ahead. Either way, the New Year is here, let's run with it.

If you're interested in learning more about the Chinese zodiac and the year of the wood horse, read this.

new years resolutions: 2013

I like New Years resolutions. I say that now because I've finally discovered the right kind to make. I used to be like everyone else, "I'm going to do yoga two times a week, run four, and lift weights two!," or, "No more desserts!" But these are all wrong. Resolutions should be about an idea, something that you want to work to integrate into your life. Not something that's a final and drastic change. 

For example, at the year's close last year I was reading a lot about ancient Chinese medicine and the idea of yin and yang. I became obsessed with the concept of balance (still am) and decided to make 2012 a year dedicated to bringing more of it into my life. This didn't require an immediate overhaul. It was something gradual that I did here and there, and for the first time, I'm happy to say that I stuck with it. 

As balance is something that spans across all of life's aspects, it's tough to say that I'm now a completely balanced person as we head into 2013. What I can say is that after a year of thinking about it, I now understand at least what it is. Balance isn't about always feeling the same way or preserving some state of being. It's about having an equilibrium of opposites: busy/relaxed, happy/sad, etc. etc. You have to sometimes accept the way something is in that moment. It might be crazy busy, but remember that it will pass and there will come a time when you're completely relaxed and life is slow again. You also have to recognize what you need. If in fact it has been a crazy week and a group of your friends are all going out, but you feel like you need to slow down for a minute to get your things in order, then do that! If there's too much yang, do what you can to add some yin. It takes listening to yourself and breaking away from outside pressures to understand and give yourself what it is you need for balance. 

My attention to balance will only be brought forward through this year's resolutions. Below I've listed out what I'll be in search of in 2013. You will see that one is a quest for more personal reflection. You cannot have balance without it. And so now I'm thinking of balance in a new way, self understanding and remaining tuned in.

(Image Source 1, 2)

My New Years Resolutions - 2013

Kindness & Compassion

(outward)

The goal of this years quest for more kindness and compassion is to become less self-oriented. It's about connecting to others and becoming an expression of kindness - adding light rather than darkness to this world. I want to lead a selfless and community-oriented life in what little ways I can. To do so, there will be two main ways in which I think about it:

1. Judgement - How often I find myself judging others. I want to work toward positive thoughts, coming from a place of love rather than judgement. Who cares what someone's wearing or what photos they instagramed, everyone's a person, and I want to be more accepting. 

2. Sacrifice - Giving up my own needs for others more often. Volunteering my time, giving donations, and sharing what I have despite what it means I might have to go without.

Personal Reflection

(inward)

I want to focus more on personal reflection in 2013 as a way to work on myself. I think it's important to never stop improving, and I hope to become more mindful, purposeful, happy and healthy through increased personal reflection. This will populate into many areas, but two main ways in which I plan to find more personal reflection are:

1. Tarot - Whether it is "real" or not, tarot is a great way to take a step back and reflect on your life. I want to get a tarot journal to record all of my readings. I also want to begin pulling a card a day, and reflecting on its significance in the journal. If I miss a day, it's ok, but I'd like to try to do it as often as possible!

2. Yoga - I plan to amp up my yoga in 2013 and really dive in! It's always been a great way for me to take a step back and understand myself and all that's going on around me. I have a pretty steady weekly practice, but I'd like to try for even more. I feel like I'm on a tipping point where all I need is to do yoga more often. To kick things off I will do yoga for at least 30 minutes every day in January, and then take it from there. There's nothing like a good cleansing challenge to start off the New Year.

Memories

As something fun, I got a jar to house all of my favorite memories from 2013. When great things happen, things that I never want to forget, I plan to write them down on a little piece of paper with the date. Later when I get the chance, I'll stick them into the jar so that I can have fun reading them all next New Years day. 

Well, that's all. Now lets see if I can do it!

Happy 2013!!

chinese new year, the year of the snake

It's officially a new year according to the Chinese calendar - the year of the snake - and yesterday we went out to celebrate. The day began with dim sum bright and early (for a weekend) and went on to include bubble tea, firecrackers, and the suns lion dance parade. The stimulation was at an all-time high with so many foreign things to take in. I've never been to a Chinese new year celebration before, but boy are they fun. Giant firecrackers go off and make your question your safety. No space precautions are taken, and your adrenalin gets pumping from the blasts. Drums, boom boom, set a baseline that reverberates through your veins. People push you from every angle, and colorful costumed dragons twist and wind to they rhythms all around. When the firecrackers finally quiet down, the dragon retrieves the cabbage and moves onto the next stopping point, where it all begins again. Slowly, they slither their way through Chinatown like so.

It was a fun adventure, and it might just become a tradition. After all, I have Chinese family now!

Also, dim sum is the new brunch. Get on it.

new years resolutions: 2014

(Image Source)

Just as I did last year, it's now the time for me to declare 2014 resolutions. I must say it's exciting for me to see this blog come full circle. Once again, I begin the yearly cycle. Before I ecstatically charge ahead, let's look back at how I did last year. In 2013 I set out on missions of kindness and self reflection. In some areas I held strong where in others I weaned off. I have to say that my yoga practice was pivotal. What would I do without that mat and those minutes set aside? Not only is my body stronger, but it also helped me become more accepting, the other side to my yearly mission. I've always been fairly open-minded, but sometimes my head would jump to judgement before I could stop it. Through deep breathing and a shift in mentality that sort of fell out of the picture. 

But what did I learn from it? Why be more accepting? By opening myself to more people I was able to see life through thick and thin. Life happens, we all choose our paths, but what it comes down to is love. You have to love people despite of what they are because that is all that will make things better.

Love towards a stranger presents itself in the form of a smile. Love towards a friend is accepting. And romantic love gives our souls safety. It's a place to retreat when things get hard, and a place to grow and be all that we're able. If you can love everyone around you, in whatever form, then the world will present itself in full force. I've found that rich experiences are more likely to come your way, and life takes on a quality that is much more fulfilling, positive, and happy. Love will always win.

Onto 2014, shall we?

(source: 1 // 2)

My New Years Resolutions - 2014

The Year of Sustainability

Here it is, guys, the year that I decide to lower my impact. I already eat mostly local and organic, I recycle, and I have LED light bulbs, but I also drive a car, shop like crazy, and use a washing machine. It's time to push myself to do better. I've laid out a few rules to get me started, and each month I'll be focusing on a new area of life to see how I can make it more environmentally friendly. 

RULES

1. I will not buy any brand new clothes except shoes and underwear. Vintage and second hand apparel is fine, but I want to avoid consuming new goods, and instead focus on recycling. 

2. I am no longer allowed to drive to work unless I am bringing the dog. Public transportation and my bike it is. 

3. If I can buy it locally, I am not allowed to order it online. When I purchase an item at a brick and mortar location, I figure resources are more economized in transporting it to my doorstep. Not to mention, I can find local producers who are working in an environmentally green way, and I can support them and the local economy. 

I promise not to turn into a smelly weirdo that no-one can relate to. Part of my goal is to show that we don't have to sacrifice who we are to lower our impact. I can't wait to share the ride with everyone, so be sure to follow along.

Happy New Year, Everyone!

navigating the greensgrow cheese fridge with katelyn repash

Note: This post was previously published here as a part of my freelance work.

Last week I had the great pleasure of sitting down to talk cheese with Greensgrow’s new Fresh Food Assistant Manager, Katelyn Repash.

Katelyn came to Greensgrow this season fresh off a line of great experience. She began to meddle in the local food scene while attending Dickinson College; from there she worked at a livestock farm in Emmitsburg, MD and spent two years apprenticing at Charlestown Farm in Phoenixville. This past winter she made the big move to Philadelphia, and found herself in a brief stint with DiBruno Brothers before coming to Greensgrow. Needless to say, this girl knows the local farm scene, and a heck of a lot about cheese.

And a good thing too because Katelyn has taken over the dairy fridge. This summer she’ll be bringing in new farms and varieties to delight our little Greensgrow senses. For all you Calkin’s and Keswick Creamery fans, no fear. She’ll be keeping the staple producers in good stock, but keep an eye out for fun new varieties such as the Keswick Wallaby, a mild aged cheese that will melt in your mouth…or on your mac n’ cheese. After bringing a few varieties home myself, I personally got excited about the new Keswick Creamery Dragons Breath. Made with three different kinds of hot peppers – habañero, birds eye, and jalapeño – it adds the perfect amount of creamy spice to set your cooking on fire. One to keep an eye out for in future CSA’s is Stoudt’s Lady Bell Swiss. The brewery turned cheese maker has smoked this Swiss variety, and Katelyn describes the flavor as, “kind of bacon-y, a little gouda-y, but not as sharp.” 

No matter which variety you’re going to try next, you’ll want to make sure you taste them at the optimal temperature. For most aged varieties, such as Ely Farm’s Washington’s Crossing or Calkin’s Creamery’s Cow Tipper, Katelyn suggests letting the cheeses reach room temperature; while fresh cheeses such as Wholesome Dairy’s Ricotta are best consumed cold or baked in an oven.

Now, let’s get to a Q&A with Katelyn!

If you were going to make a five cheese cheese plate with all of the options in the Greensgrow fridge, which would you choose, and what would you pair them with?

I typically go for sweeter, mild, and nutty cheeses if I’m eating them by themselves. If I had to build a cheese plate the lineup would be Wholesome Dairy Ricotta, Washington’s Crossing, Firefly Farm’s Merry Goat Round, Calkins Cowtipper, and a fresh chevre. These all lean towards flavors that are sweet, nutty, and/or fresh, and are the go-to cheeses if I’m building a cheese board for dessert.

Some of my favorite cheese pairings involve our classic farmstand items as well as new and occasional items. Recently, I’ve been wild about Washington’s Crossing cheese from Ely Farm. I like to eat it paired with a fruit jam like those we sell from Fifth of a Farm. I’ve also been curious about coffee and cheese pairings, and I often add a fresh cheese like quark, chevre, or ricotta to my weekend brunch spreads with some maple syrup to compliment the freshly brewed Rival Bros. coffee. We’ve also been trying out some new Epic Pickles flavors and their sweeter pickles really compliment the spicy cheeses such as Keswick’s Dragon’s Breath (pictured above).

You’ve brought some new farmers to the selection, which is one that you are particularly excited to be carrying and why? 

I’m really excited to start carrying goat’s milk cheeses from Yellow Springs Farm. When working in Phoenixville last year we were a host site for their CSA, so I have tried out many of their cheeses. I think they have some unique items. They do a lot of aged goat cheeses with very interesting rinds. This week we will have their chevre flavors as the first CSA cheese for the season, and then we’ll start stocking their cheeses in our retail fridge! They also make a goat’s milk yogurt that’s very light and fresh and we’re hoping to stock that as something new on the farmstand!

What is something that excites you about the local cheese market? How do you think it stands up against others around the world? 

The most exciting thing, to me about the local cheese market, is the wide variety of styles being produce within a radius of 150 miles. In any given week, we’re able to bring in local goat, sheep, and cow’s milk cheeses in nearly any style we could imagine (from classics like cheddar and ricotta to inventive alpine and brie styles). Some farms have their own signature cheeses developed specifically for the milk they are using. Since we’re not known for a particular cheese regionally, there’s a lot of freedom to try new things and there’s always a customer base looking for unique dairy items.

Which cheese in the fridge is your personal favorite, and what is the best way to use it?
My favorite cheese in the fridge right now is Washington’s Crossing from Ely Farm (pictured above). Lately I’ve been shredding it finely to add to sauces or roasted vegetables. It adds a creamy, subtly sweet flavor when blended into sauces. Over the weekend I made a dish with leeks and pancetta in a white wine cream sauce, and I threw a half cup of shredded Washington’s Crossing in at the last minute to melt – it was perfect!

So what’s the wild card – the one that people might hesitate over, but absolutely need to try?
The wild card in general is anything with a bloomy rind (brie and camembert style soft cheeses). We rotate which ones we bring in and try to only have one or two at a time because we know customers are hesitant without sampling them first. Bloomy soft cheeses can be a gamble because they have a strong flavor. I’d still encourage people to try them – it’s a worthwhile risk. Two that we’ve stocked recently which I really enjoyed were Noblette from Calkins Creamery and the Merry Goat Round from Firefly Farm. I’m hoping to bring them back soon. They are great cheeses for entertaining, and we’re always happy to pass on the backstory about our farms to our customers – they both have a story to go along with them!

Thank you, Katelyn! And thank you, Greensgrow, for letting us explore the cheese fridge!

december mood board

At the hit of winter I button myself up inside four walls. Without summer's easy energy I get forced inside. At night, home becomes a warm hive of creativity and coziness to pass the dark hours. Mornings bring a whiteness to everything that cuts to bone with chill. A strange mix of cold and warmth. You appreciate the blankets and over-sized sweaters a little bit more. The excuse to stay inside with your paint brushes isn't so bad either. I plan to have a healthy dose of both this December. 

At the end of it all we will be walking into a new year. How do I want to finish this one off and how do I want to step into the next? Last year I committed to find balance, and I have to say, it remained in my thoughts and I did make many advancements. Without forgetting about the previous, what will I tack on this year? I have one fun, and one serious resolution in mind. I'll hammer them out through December, and keep you all in the loop come January.

For now, live it up, it's December 2012 baby!

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find image sources here

weekly scenes

Oh summer...sweet, sweet, summer. I've been working on projects like crazy. Can't wait to put some of them on the blog, and make a big reveal of the new place. For now, some shots of the other fun I've been having. Trips to new hope with my dad for father's day weekend, volunteering and running into cute pups, sipping on some ginger beer in the backyard while potting plants. It's been busy but good. New home, new beginnings. Summer, and lots of energy. God I love this time of year. 

meet: chrissy usher saavedra

Every once in awhile a new friend walks into your life and you instantly connect. Life, for one reason or another, sets your paths at an intersecting junction, and gives you a stretch of time to share with one another. 

About six months ago, Chrissy Usher Saavedra and I met at that point in the road when she set foot in the halls of Free People's BLDG 25 office and floated right by my desk. I looked up, not thinking twice, and immediately smiled and introduced myself. There was no looking back from that moment.

I've since been getting to know Chrissy, learning more about her each day, and often stopping by her desk for a few laughs to break up the intense work day flow. She's a whacky soul with one of the biggest, loving hearts you'll ever come across. I admire her utter desire to be good and warm towards everything in her life. She truly cares about other people, and is unapologetically herself at all times.

Getting to laugh with Chrissy has been an honor. Dinners with her and her endearing husband Manuel have filled me up with happiness. They are simply fun and uplifting people to be around. I'm so excited to build a friendship with their two amazing souls as we continue to share this little junction in life. 

It just goes to show, you'll never stop meeting new people who amaze you. And how happy of a thought is that?

Now, let's get to know Chrissy a little better. ;)

Growing up in Colorado I learned to love adventure in the outdoors, anything from camping, to hiking, to snowboarding! // My mother is my best friend and I am her biggest fan.  She is the most inspiring person, one I hope to be just like when Manuel and I have babies. I love her. // And my dad is an extremely talented business man, who would do anything to enhance the success and happiness of his family. He is a very supportive Papa and has always allowed me to follow my heart even if he didn’t agree. // Living in New York was the most challenging and exciting period of my life thus far.  It taught me a lot about my passion for theater and fashion and introduced me to some lifelong friends and the love of my life. // I came to Philly for this amazing little piece of heaven called “Free People, BLDG 25” and I haven’t looked back.  Although I do sometimes miss the late night pizza and New York City buzz! // If I wasn't working at Free People I would be back in Colorado, close to all of my friends who are having babies so I can be Aunty Chrissy, living in Denver with my husband, and Gatsby (of course) looking for the next step in my career.  Getting my masters?! Who knows! // My life has been dramatic, passionate, emotional, exciting, and driven by listening to my heart. It’s crazy to think I’m married to the most amazing man and working my dream job…in Philly. // I laugh the most when I’m with my family.  There is never a dull moment and always a little drama when we are together. We always find ourselves sitting on the kitchen floor at 1 o’clock in the morning, eating mom’s leftovers, drinking a beer, rolling around laughing at the most absurd things. I love them. // The most exciting thing is being on stage, performing in front of a packed house on opening night.  I admit that I miss this so much. // I adopted my dog and he completes me. Ha, but seriously. His name is Gatsby, he is a sweet little baby love, who has taught me a different kind of love, and I can’t imagine my world without him in it! // When I wake up in the morning this is a hard one to say without making myself sound like a dirty Colorado hippy. // I’m so inspired by artists.  Anyone who lives for the passion of their art, whatever it may be.  People who are artistic live such extraordinary lives that are filled with so much hunger for artistic success. // I would want to be famous for my acting.  Always and forever, I will always have the dream to become a famous actress. // I will always remember my golden retriever Sabrina. I never thought I could love another animal as much as I loved her. She was by my side throughout my whole childhood and early adult life. She will always have a piece of my heart. // If there is one thing the years have taught me it has to be that mom and dad are usually, almost, always right. They lived it, they see it, and they get it! But you have live and learn in your own way. // In life you have to follow your passions.  I have lived my life basing everything off of my heart and listening to my gut.  Also, you have to find the little things in life that make you smile; those are the moments that get you through each day. // The last movie I watched “The Adams Family” tis the season right?! // Saturdays I usually sleep in really late, take Gatsby to the most amazing dog heaven dog park in Jersey, do a little shopping(because I am ADDICTED) and have date night with Manuel if he is off. // One day I will find my way back to Colorado to be closer to my family and friends, buy a house somewhere in Denver, and own my own business.  Manuel and I want to open our own yoga studio attached to a restaurant. Ha, I am a dreamer…remember this. // Not many people know that I have a phobia of fruit. Probably because this is an embarrassing “fun fact” that makes people judge me more than they already do! // You can never eat enough chocolate. Nuff said. // I couldn't live without my husband, Gatsby, my family, and my childhood blanket, which I still sleep with…every night. // The best feeling is being understood and loved. That is so cheesy but nothing feels better than someone 100% understanding you and loving you for who you are. // People say that I am super goofy, loud, and dramatic. I would have to agree. // My wardrobe consists of mostly Free People, Urban Outfitters, some pretty awesome vintage finds, and a lot of jackets. // Without fashion…haha that’s a good one. // Right now, I really want to get back to Colorado for the holidays.  This is the best time of the year and I always start planning months in advance. //