NomNomNom

Dear homemade bread, you are so delicious.
        This year, my main New Year's resolution was to bake a loaf of bread every month, and take a picture of it, to make sure that I did it. Most people make resolutions to lose weight, I make resolutions to make (and eat) more bread. Happy happy joy joy. Anyhow, here's February's loaf. I was cuttin' it a little close to the wire, today being the 26th, and February only have 29 days this year. I know, I live dangerously. Its how I roll.
        This loaf ended up being amazing, although not exactly how I was expecting. And gosh darnit I didn't achieve the window pane (if you're not a baking nerd, check it here). Possibly I kneaded to long before testing? Not sure. I used this recipe, from the Pioneer Woman, and used rosemary. SO GOOD.
        Even my mom who eats like, nuts n' lettuce n' shit all the time ate four pieces. Four my friends. We ain't foolin' around.
I am listening to this, I am hopefully adopting one of these, and I am happy.
Goodnight lovelies, see you soon with hopefully many stories,
Hope your Sunday was the best,
Maren

A Struggle With Perfection

This may be a semi-heavy post.
       For a long time, Ive struggled with the idea of perfection. Yeah yeah, nobody's perfect, kumbaya, whatever. I wanted to be perfect. When I was a tiny, I was the first baby girl, the new addition to the family--in short I was somewhat spoiled rotten. And because of this I just believed that perfect was what I was and perfect was what I was meant to be. At everything. Always.
     This mentality is not so conducive to real life my friends.
     Lately I feel like I have been in a struggle to accept that around me, there are people who are really hardworking as well as really talented, and I haven't reached their level yet. I have been especially conscious of how that affects me when its something that I love deeply as well. Dance, photography, collaging, what have you. It strikes me that sometimes when I see other people's art, I get really defensive, or threatened, and maybe a wee bit jealous. Something to think about for sure.
     I am trying to turn this into inspiration, or admiration, as opposed to all those icky negative feelings hiding inside my ego. Any thoughts? And now, I'm off to check on my bread that I've been baking, which is going to be a topic of an upcoming post! Love you all,
~Maren

Oh Window Shopping

Hey guys, so I just wanted to give you a heads up about the Beautiful Mess giveaway. Annnndddd, if I were gonna choose one thing, I do believe that it would be this lovely number. Can you say summer lovin'?
Happened so faaaaassssst!
Sorry, couldn't resist.
Have a excellent night my darlings! Tomorrow is Wednesday huzzah!
Love,
Maren

V-Day

Image via Alexandra Grecco

       I'm about to talk about Valentine's Day and use it as a metaphor for change and how change is good. Don't hate.
       So, I know a lot of people hate this holiday, they feel like its a way for pop culture to force its material goods upon the unsuspecting populous, or create a standard of how to "prove" ones love, by which men are judged harshly by their lady friends, or it puts too much value on those engaged in a relationship and doesn't address the wonderfulness that being single can hold, OR perhaps you just feel like its a goddamn cliche. (You hipster you.) (Just kidding.) (Forreals, it is one of the biggest cliches pretty much ever.)
        But this is how I see it: Valentine's Day is what you make of it. I saw somewhere on the internet that one guys girlfriend had some sort of vendetta against Valentine's Day, so they had a threesome instead of going out to dinner. That's cool. Each to her own and all that. And if your boobear (what up Kristin+Danielle ) made you a candlelit dinner and professed their undying love to you, thats fantastic too. Do what makes you happy friends.
        Now, onto the metaphor. Last year, I was sick on Valentine's Day. It was totally awesome you guys. Totally.
Except that it actually was, in a way, awesome. Because when I woke up with an 100 degree fever and a battering ram in my head and crawled walked out of my bedroom, still in pajamas at 1:53 in the afternoon, I saw red roses in the hallway. Red roses, and homemade sugar cookies, and a Valentine's Day mug with my favorite tea bags sitting next to it, and a card from my boyfriend of the time. Like I said, awesome.
        This year, I am not dating said boy. I am dating a new, wonderful boy. And this boy brought me conversation hearts and kisses on Valentine's Day, and we went to a coffee shop and drank chai for three hours. It was blissful, and I had so much fun.
Conclusion: Change is good, and Valentine's Day is fun. Accept change and beautiful things can come out of that. Promise.

And now:
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Facebook is addictive
and so are you

(Like it?)
I am off to enjoy a three day weekend, I hope you have a fantastic Friday,
see y'all later,
Maren
ps. Conversation hearts FOR THE WIN

Oh, hey there

HEY YOU GUYS.
What have you been up to lately? Its been too long.
Any who, down to business. I won't apologize for being MIA, as I've been havin' a damn good time doing it (more on that later), but I did want to stop in a say, hello, and give you some fun internet things to troll around on.
First of all,
Ellen, talkin' about stuff. Shit just got real. Here. 
THIS love story. I would like that someday, and perchance someone popped into my head when I read this, but only time will tell
Sarah Kay. Rad rad rad rad rad. This is also a beautiful poem by that beautiful girl
This camera. Wish-listing much maren?
Applications to these schools: one + two, being in the mail, tomorrow.
And lastly, the launch of a for-teens-by-teens online magazine that I have been collaborating on. Check it.
Well darlings its late and my alarm clock rings early. And loudly.
Goodnight y'all.
~m.