four years.

Today is my fourth blogging anniversary. Um, what now?

Seriously, though, I almost skipped right past today without even realizing it, and that would've been a shame. I spent all day today trying to figure out how I could take my ceremonial yearly outfit photo in the middle of a workday, kicking myself for not taking it before I left for work this morning at (ahem) 6:30 AM-- yeah, that wasn't going to happen. Instead, we get a grainy mirror shot taken rumpled & frumped after a long workday. Really, though, this is much more indicative of life right now. I remember previous years planning and scrounging for just the perfect 'blog-o-versary' outfit-- which was lovely, when I had time for it.

Right now is the season of all grad school, all the time-- 60+ hour workweeks, late nights writing papers, scrimping paycheck to paycheck with hopefully a real-salaried end in sight, learning how to separate 'work Mary' from the rest of me, but frankly, loving every second of it. Yes, I am a bit pulled in every direction right now, sure, I might be wearing a little thin-- but I know it's all good things. Last year I wrote about seeing every years' May 2nd outfit photo and remembering exactly how my life was at that moment, and this year is no different. Next year's picture will hopefully represent the fruits of this labor I'm in right now, but at the moment, I see frazzled, yes-- but I also see crazy happy, and that's how I know I'm doing all the right things. 

 cardigan: avon; belt: heartbreaker; polka-dot jeans: buy here; shoes: target

Here's to four years of internet-ing with you all-- thank you for sticking with me. Hopefully there are many more ahead of us :)

ps. if you'd like to check out previous years' blog-o-versaries, click here. Don't judge my early photos, puh-lease :)

Sunday Morning Poetry: excerpts from...

For the longest time, I posted some of my favorite poetry on Sunday mornings (archives here), but I stopped because it started feeling like a chore, and well... no thanks. But I recently stumbled across an awesome poetry tumblr-- below are just a few of my recent favorites.

x

from finnula butler

It starts with your breathing.
Everybody’s lungs are heavy with something-
mine; half tar, half hope.
We carry our own life belts
inside our ribs.

I saw you in my dream and life started that next morning
and it starts walking home in the rain
under stars that hold no solace
and it starts with fear and
it starts with the tonic chord.

I can’t tell you how it ends but
it will have been worth it.

-4/27/13

Everyone who terrifies you is sixty-five percent water.
And everyone you love is made of stardust, and I know sometimes
you cannot even breathe deeply, and
the night sky is no home, and
you have cried yourself to sleep enough times
that you are down to your last two percent, but

nothing is infinite,
not even loss.

You are made of the sea and the stars, and one day
you are going to find yourself again.  

-1/4/13

Peaceful eyes and falling, rain-kissed hands;
silence, for all of its terror, is kind.
Inhaling old truths over our morning coffee,
you look up to the empty clouds shuffling by
and I look at you as if you are the sky.

-4/12/13

No more pauses for a breath
you are never brave enough to take,
no more waiting for a train
that always brings you back to the very same place.
No more settling.
Start walking, start running, start burning.
No more lying down with the lies that bind your chest
and call their shackles safety.
No more watching the clock and waiting for the dawn to call you up,
be afraid.
The heart, you know, is a literal fist of blood
and I can’t think of anything stronger than that.
Be afraid,
until the only thing we have to lose is time.

-4/5/13

daily outfit: currently.

 

Let's be real here for a moment: sometimes you have oodles to say. And sometimes you leave a post sitting in your drafts folder for six weeks because the words just aren't coming. So! Let's try something new today, shall we?

currently

wearing: this dress from eshakti. (thanks, captain obvious mary.) Can't wait for it to get a smidgen warmer so I can wear it without freeeezing!

listening to: brave, by sara bareilles-- call me maybe mashup, by us-- teach me to know, by the lone bellow

snacking on: trader joe's dried green mango (like if mother nature made sour patch kids, okay. yum.) 

reading: a homemade life, by molly wizenberg-- for the thousandth time. I adore all travel + foodie memoirs, but this one is maybe my favorite. 

inspired by: my pretty house DIY pinterest board-- the DIY home decor bug has bitten me hard, you guys. 

what are you currently up to?

24 Things: rosemary ham & swiss quiche with simple sweet potato crust

First things first: I am terrible at naming recipes. If I make something and it involves more than like, three ingredients, I will try to smush all the main players into the title and therefore create something more novel-esque than title-worthy. If you haven't noticed... I don't mince words.

Second things second: holy buckets, you guys. This is flippin' delicious.

I have loved cooking for a long, long time, mostly which I can attribute to spending lots of time with my mom in the kitchen since I was an itty bitty. My mother is an excellent cook, but unfortunately, due to my dietary restrictions, some of my favorites of hers don't work in their original state anymore. This year, for my 24 by 24 list, I made Paleo-ize an old favorite recipe one of my goals, and I am happy to say I think I accomplished this quite nicely with my latest kitchen experiment.

My mom's quiche is pretty easy and very tasty, a simple ham & swiss pie that was one of the first things I ever attempted on my own in my teeny college kitchen back in the day. This time around, I've swapped a traditional wheat-based pie crust for a layer of thin, savory sweet potato rounds & topped it off with a tasty twist on the original ham & swiss filling. It came together in less than 30 minutes, and makes the perfect breakfast/lunch/dinner for the rest of the week. Um, yum!

Ingredients: 
For the crust:
Sweet potato (I used two small, just eyeball it ;))
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 c. milk (I used canned coconut milk, but any unsweetened, unflavored milk will do)
about 1 t. rosemary

Preheat oven to 350 F. Slice sweet potato into thin rounds, layer in your pie pan, covering bottom of pie pan twice, overlapping. Sprinkle rosemary over sweet potatoes. Whisk together eggs & cream, pour over potatoes. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until eggs are mostly set, remove from oven.

For the pie:
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 c. milk (same as above)
Ham, sliced, chopped or cubed (I like TJ's sliced rosemary ham, but it does have some added sugar)
Swiss cheese, either shredded or chopped into small pieces
salt & pepper

Whisk together 4 eggs with milk, salt and pepper for the pie. Layer sliced ham on top of crust, following with a layer of swiss cheese. Pour egg/milk mixture over the top, and bake in oven for another 10-15 minutes until eggs are set and browning on top.

And voila! A super-simple, primal (easily strict paleo if you omit cheese) quiche that's perfect for paleo & wheat-eaters alike.

daily outfit: luck o' the (not actually) irish

A quick story for you all: I am not actually Irish, contrary to popular belief. My (full) name is Mary Kathleen, my sisters are Shannon & Erin. Every year on March 17th, my mom cooks corned beef and cabbage, and every year of my childhood living with my parents, I gagged on the stench of crock pot cabbage that filled the house for a solid 24 hours (Sorry, mom. I like cabbage now!) 

tee: swapped; green jeans: goodwill; boots: gift

I've always wanted to be a little Irish, though, but it's clear I'm not. Three years ago when I was living in London, a hop skip and a jump from Ireland, my sister & brother-in-law came to visit over St. Paddy's day. Instead of making our way to celebrate the day like the Irish do, we went to Paris instead. Whoops. 

Regardless, there must be a leprechaun out there who likes me, because lo and behold, the day before St. Paddy's, I stumbled upon a little pot 'o gold at the new goodwill out in the 'burbs. Along with some other goodies, I found these incredible, brand-new-with-tags green jeans. I was convinced they were too good to be true-- because ladies, I have hips and a bootay, and let's face it-- sometimes, it's hard to find bright green pants that don't make me look like a shamrock shake.

But these-- ohhh, these. They are perfect. I rocked them immediately the day after I bought them (to avoid a St. Paddy's day pinching, of course), but I can foresee these babies getting good use all year long. 

Moral of this story: luck o' the Irish? Not actually exclusive to the Irish! Sweeeeet. :)