The people you love, are the people you eat with.

If you know Brett or me, you know that we love to cook, we love to dine, we love to experience food with our friends and family. We never eat out, and especially now that we are living in the Midwest. If we can dream it, we can cook it (if we can find the ingredients)! I truly believe that eating should be a complete sensory experience. Brett and I always dine together and it's something to look forward to every day. When we have guests I love to set the table, create atmosphere, and share a family style meal. 

I sincerely miss living somewhere that we are surrounded by diverse cuisine, fresh seafood, and quality ingredients. Then again, I love that we are now eating home grown beef and eggs exclusively. I love that we are constantly being gifted fresh vegetables from the gardens of friends and family, and there is the possibility to continue becoming more self sufficient in feeding our family. It has become one of the most important goals in my life to grow what we eat. 

“But I do think the idea that basic cooking skills are a virtue, that the ability to feed yourself and a few others with proficiency should be taught to every young man and woman as a fundamental skill, should become as vital to growing up as learning to wipe one’s own ass, cross the street by oneself, or be trusted with money.” -Anthony Bourdain

1. Family Style Meal 

2. Sandwiches on Baguette

3. Lobster

4. Stinky Cheese

5. Picnic

6. Gyro

7. Squid

just a cup of tea and my thoughts

I think I will make an attempt at blogging ... If I haven't forgotten how. May be the rain has me in the mood to put some thoughts to paper (virtual paper). After living through a scorching and dry summer, this steady drizzle has dredged up some strong nostalgia and a little homesickness. 

We moved from Seattle to rural Illinois a full year ago this month. I still don't feel at home. There are many things that I love about living in the country, and I'm excited about what our future here holds, but there's still a huge void. I miss the city, I miss people, I miss culture and diversity, I miss having a job, I miss feeling truly inspired and stimulated.  

I think the rare blue moon brought out some crazy in me, did you feel it? I went sorta nuts on Friday and am still recovering. Whether it was the moon or just a wake up call, I had a moment when I realized that I'm not really living, but just going through the motions. I've never been the type of person that is okay with just letting my life happen. I haven't been in control, and I haven't been doing the things I love (like blogging!) I haven't set up my darkroom and we've been here for a year! I set out on a mission to be more adventurous when I turned 27 and I have certainly not seized the day.

It's not intuitive how to break from a slump. You feel tired and always want to rest, but the more you rest the worse you feel. You don't want to leave the house and don't have the energy to get ready, even though it's probably the only thing that can help pull you up. 

Now that I'm recovering from my self proclaimed astrological awakening, I'm feeling strangely recharged. I think I will convince my husband to stay awake with me until midnight and declare September 3rd New Years Day. That's step one, step two is blogging again, and step three is getting out my 4x5 camera, dusting it off, and remembering why I'm a photographer. 

My apologies for the sudden and unexpected diary entry but it's all part of the process ;) 

--

Did you know that if you drop a frog into boiling water it will jump out immediately, no harm being done to it.... But if you put a frog in cold water and slowly heat it to a boil it won't have the wit to realize the danger it is in and your poor frog will boil to death? 

Big News

In a short and sweet post this morning, before running out, I have decided to make public the news that we've been keeping under wraps for a while. 

We're Moving. 

Yep, we're moving... we're going 100% rural and moving into the home where Brett was raised. There is certainly good and sad involved in this decision. We are very torn about leaving Shelbyville and even though we'll only be 15 minutes out of town, our kids will be going to school in Bethany. There is also, of course, our beautiful house that I don't feel I have had adequate time to experience. After many long conversations we've decided that the pro's greatly out weigh the cons in this move. We will be spending the next 6-9 months renovating the country house (by ourselves and on a very strict budget). We hope to move next Spring. 

I am so very excited to live in the country, I have a strong connection with the bucolic life and our kids are spectacularly happy in the wide open space. 

Now I'm off to continue painting doors!

This is the house, we cleaned the siding and gutters last week, and she's gleaming! 

Keep it Real

source: unknown 

One of the things I promised myself I would do in my "30 before 30" list was take a more public stand against sexism. I'm not really sure how I can, or want to do that ... but I'm going to start by talking about it more. First, let me say, I don't really like the word feminist, I think the word has negative implications. The real mission is to empower women, fight against the distorted portrayal of women in popular culture, and begin to view ourselves (all humans) as equal. 

I've been hearing the word "diet" a lot lately ... I hate that word. It's summer and the media is harassing us to loose weight. We hear it so many times a day, we see the image over and over again, and we convince ourselves that in order to be happy and accepted we need to have a "perfect" body. Finding ways to be healthy is absolutely important and necessary in our lives, but the word diet so often means sacrificing health for an impossible image. 

 I'm asking you to challenge yourself, not to diet, but to embark upon the more profound and ultimately fulfilling journey of loving yourself.  

Hi, It's Friday.

AH, what a glorious week it has been! We had lots of good family time and I've been pumping out a lot of creative material this week as well. It feels good to have super long days, there are just more daylight hours to fit in all the wonderful things that we want to do! 

1. Brett and I went to Decatur on Tuesday for my birthday and had Pho. I miss having pho on a weekly basis, but it definitely makes it that much better when I get to have it on special occasions! 

2. Like I said, we had lot's of family time this week which has been awesome. Judith and Lennon are absolutely partners in crime. Yesterday when they laid down for their afternoon nap, Jude was crying, "but Lennon's my friend!". Yeah, she was probably just reaching for any excuse not to lay down ... but I soaked up up anyway :) 

3. EGGS! If you can even believe it my hens started laying eggs, yesterday!! I got three fresh homegrown eggs, I was in tears with pure joy and disbelief. I instantly cracked one open and fried it, delicious! The hens have laid one more egg so far today, and I'm hoping for a couple more ... it surely doesn't help that I've been pacing outside their coop just waiting for one of them to go sit on the nest ... I'm such a creeper. 

4. This is actually a picture from last week. I finally (mostly) finished the art space and I'm really excited to start moving some stuff in ... I'm considering taking a few things over there this weekend, I can't wait! I haven't gone over there at all this week to allow myself time to get some work done, and a little space from the project ... much needed space. 

I hope everyone is  gearing up for an awesome weekend! 

cheers, -c 

Turning 27

Tuesday was my 27th birthday. I'm gonna be real with you, earlier this year when Brett turned 29 I had a mid 20s crisis. I (insensitively) overreacted when Brett embarked upon the last year of his 20's and started to fret over my dwindling 20's. I'm not worried about getting older, having grey hair, getting wrinkles, or whatever else people get worried about. The bottom line is that I'm freaked out that my time is going to end sooner than I'm ready for it to. I know that there is a spiritual journey (for me at least) in accepting this, but in the mean time... you know, before I have the workings of the universe figured out, I've decided to make a list: 30 things to do before I'm 30. Tanya from Dans Le Townhouse did a 30 before 30 list last week, for her 28th birthday, and It inspired me. 

1. Make working for myself, work. 

2. Visit 5 states that I've never visited, including Alaska. 

3. Teach a photography class.

4. Lay a tile floor.  

5. Start reading novels to Jude and Lennon

6. Buy a Vespa 

7. Attend an auction ... and bid on something! (ebay doesn't count)

8. Grow 50% of what my family eats

9. Clad a ceiling

10. Learn how to drive a tractor

11. Catch, kill, cook, and eat a lobster. 

12. Go camping (real camping)

13. Expand my collection of rotary telephones

14. Take my kids to South Dakota to visit their great great grandparents

15. Take a more public stand against sexism

16. Find a Mentor

17. Be a Mentor 

18. Write more letters

19. Start saving money, ACTUALLY saving money

20. Get my Etsy store off the ground

21. Complete a 4x5 photography project

22. Learn how to use the grill

23. Reupholster something

24. Face my fear of the dark and be able to stay up later than my husband

25. Get another tattoo 

26. Take a family road trip to a destination we've never been 

27. Evolve as an artist 

28. Take time to grow as a person

29. Learn to consider every moment of my day as irreplaceable and valuable

30. Meditate more


Some are more tangible than others, and some are more serious, but they're all really important to me. I am hoping to make progress on all 30 of these list items, but I am also very open to accepting life as it comes and evolving through the challenges and allowances that life gives me. I'll let you know in three years where I'm at ;)

And for the formality of it all, here I am ... on my 27th birthday, attempting to look authentic.

Lillian

This little girl is Lillian Hellman, named after ... well, Lillian Hellman. This is her about 8 weeks ago when I took home three chicks that I just could not resist. They are now quite big, but still don't compare in size to my nearly full grown hens. 

I recently let them start spending their days outside and eventually nights (when it was warm enough). They gradually started sharing food and water with the hens, and seemed to be getting along really well. I was very cautious of the "pecking order" but the chicks seemed to keep out of the hens way, and the hens seemed to ignore the chicks for the most part. Last night when I went to lock the chickens up and put the chicks in their brooder I saw that the chicks had gotten cozy in the coop so I decided that they must be ready to spend the night with the big girls. 

This morning I went to let the hens and chicks out and my sweet Lillian had been nearly pecked to death, I initially thought she was gone. If any of you have ever seen something like this, you know how gruesome it is. Brett went out and told me she was still moving, we decided that we would have to put her to rest. Brett packed her up in a shoe box and took her out to the farm. 

Elaine, Brett's mom, grew up raising chickens and had a look at Lillian, to our surprise she said we could probably keep her alive! I am so thankful that she will likely recover. 

I wanted to write this post, A. because I'm traumatized, and B. because I had searched for information on mixing chicks with hens and when it's safe, etc. I couldn't find any clear information on it, but it seems that you can't be too careful. As long as the chicks have a place where they can get away and be protected from the hens, then they should be okay to be intermixed. But I certainly learned my lesson not to let them sleep in the same coop, the hard way. 

Winnie and Zelda Fitzgerald, the other two chicks, are fine. Here are their baby pics: 

     Winnie                                                               Zelda 

Sorry for the sad story this morning ... but hopefully it will have a happy ending :) 

Hi, It's Friday!

Newsworthy this week:

WE CUT LENNON'S HAIR! In a moment of happy spontaneity we gave Lennon a most fabulous hipster haircut. and he looks at least 5 years older ... seriously, where's my baby!? 

More photos to come next week after I can get him in the mood for a little photo shoot. 

Other newsworthy notes:

Chickens are STILL not laying eggs, despite the fact that Brett and I built them a luxury nest and they're just shy of 30 wks old. What does a girl gotta do to get some breakfast around here? 

Jude's arm is still broken but I don't think she even realizes that anymore ... I can't keep up with that child, broken arm or not!

I finished building the front of my art space this morning. Yes I used a miter saw TWICE this week and still have 10 fingers ... I love the smell of fresh cut wood, and I feel really powerful when I'm using a saw. It's awesome. 

Our car is nearing an all time grossness record. We've basically lived in it for the past month and I think Brett and I are both just waiting for the other to clean it ... I can't help but wonder who will break down first :) 

Brett and I watched a drama last night (of my choosing) called "Mother and Child". It was so good, but It made me cry like 16 times . It was two hours long, a drama can't be that long without risking serious damage to a person's emotional health. I'm recovering today. 

Other newsworthy items are on my list but I'm not really ready to expose them to the world wide web just yet, so you'll just have to continue to read my blog faithfully until I'm ready to share :D

Have a good weekend! 

 Chelsea 

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

I'm blogging via the iPhone today.. It my first day out of the house since Jude's accident and I'm feeling awesome! Totally inspired and reenergized.

I've been pouring all of my extra time and attention into my art space for the past month and it's been a slow but rewarding process. This venture has not been a large financial commitment but it has and will continue to be a huge investment of my time and emotional state of being. Nothing ventured, nothing gained has always been a quote that I've lived by. Sacrifice turns into great reward. This drywall project is finally wrapping up, I'm priming and painting the space this week and I'm so totally happy with my decision to take take this opportunity and run!

If you ever have an opportunity to build a wall, I highly recommend you try it... You will feel quite accomplished ;)

Happy Mother's Day

Everyone has a different idea of what Mother's Day is. When I was a kid I thought of it as the day that I was obligated to for sure go to church and then probably work in the garden with my mom. Now that I'm older (and slightly more mature), I think of Mother's Day as a day that mothers everywhere should be given appreciation for raising our posterity ... that's a pretty big deal, thank you moms! 

On a more personal level I think of mothers day as a day to be truly thankful for my kids, the only two people in the entire world who could have ever made me rise to the occasion of motherhood. Being a mother isn't easy (you either know that from experience, or have heard it too many times). What you may be don't always hear, is that it makes you appreciate life on a different level. In my case it brought me to life. Without my kids I would be a less evolved version of myself ... I love them so much. 

Here's a few Instagram snaps of them from the past week ... the chunks, the buppas, iggy and teeb, tinkle and hoon, be-ba and muppet. 

Here's the itty bitty photobooth picture that sits on my nightstand of my mom and me ... she was 5 years younger than I am today ... woah. Happy Mother's Day, mom! I wish I was there with you today to go to church and work in the garden :) 

Holy Cow, I'm a Farmgirl!

And I mean that literally, cows are holy. 

As spring has suddenly emerged and new life is growing from the trees and out of the ground, I am feeling renewed. I'm overwhelmed with the beauty of nature that surrounds me here, and In a moment of profound discovery I say, "Holy cow, I'm a farmgirl!".

dazeychic

Yes, you've guessed by now that this is going to be a rather long, very personal, emotionally charged blog post that I feel compelled to share about once a month. Thank you for allowing me to write it. 

After moving to rural Illinois from Seattle in the fall,  I struggled through the winter with very taxing growing pains. I was tired, I was sad, I was holding on to a life that I had left behind. I found that the move took a heavier toll than I had expected, I didn't know how to be myself in such a different world. At the beginning of this year I started exploring more, we decided to add egg laying hens to our family, and Brett taught me how to feed his dad's cows. I started to find myself again, in the land, in the animals, in the stillness of the country. 

Since we've been here I've had more time with my family, more time alone, and more time to discover my spirituality. I feel a balance in my life that I've never had before and I'm at peace. I can live in the present, and give more than I take. 

In my former life I was so easily distracted and influenced by the pace at which people and technology evolve. I loved being part of that never ending, always changing world, and I miss it. I wasn't being thoughtful about who I gave my time to or where I expended my energy, and at the end of the day I had nothing left to give to my family, to the earth, or to myself. Finding a balance in the calm of the country has enlightened me and given me a new type of energy and fulfillment. Somehow I knew this before I could actually verbalize it or even form it into a tangible thought ... and that's why I'm here. 

So the point, the moral, the truth that I have found through my own discovery is that when you simplify your life, you find how simple it is to be happy. Let me add to that by saying that when I would see a quote like that before I thought I understood it, but I couldn't because I didn't understand what the meaning of simplicity was, in the context of my own life ... that's my current quest. 

cow babies

It's Spring and the cows are having their young. The little ones are so cute, they jump around and play with the others (until mama breaks things up). I have to admit, I feel for the mother cows, their utters are like balloons about to burst, I almost wanted to photograph it to show you, but I didn't out of respect from one woman to another. 

It's almost impossible to get close to the calves because because of how protective the cows are. Even the cows that are still pregnant are on edge (not that I blame them). 

Cows are beautiful animals actually. They get a bad rap, but they're gental creatures and, although primal, they are intelligent in many ways. They're better than most of us, If I could choose I would spend most days on the prairie with the livestock. 

Hi. It's Friday (the pink edition)

It's a Friday long awaited. Today was my last official day at Cheezburger.com and I already feel lighter. 

What shall I do with my lightened self? Oh the possibilities! It will have to start with a quiet weekend at home. Lennon is battling an ear infection, our bathrooms are in need of deep clean, and I have about 300 unfinished projects begging for attention. 

I am SO craving pink at the moment ... everything I have needs to be pink right now. I want it everywhere, color moods are so crazy and dangerous. Here's some fab pink rooms for your enjoyment and my mental health. 

Are you convinced that you're entire house needs to be pink yet? I am. 

Something will be pink before the weekend is up. Stay tuned
xo, chelsea

Thrifting and things

This weekend was an awesome weekend for second hand finds. The thrifting gods were undoubtedly smiling down on me. Friday, Brett and I traveled to the town of Clinton which is about an hour and a half north of where we live in Shelbyville. I responded to a Craigslist posting there for two china cabinets priced at $40! It was just a no brainer for me, I mean seriously, $40?! 

When we got there we were happy to find the china cabinets in fair condition other than some minor water damage and some major dirt. We also found a wonderful vintage washbasin and the guy threw in some free chicken wire and a beat up table, score! I will be posting on each of these things soon, and probably separately. I have already entered the cleaning stages on our new finds. Worst part of any furniture restoration project is cleaning: bugs, mold, drrryyyyyy hands. 

Now that I have teased you with that, I will actually show you some second hand finds from the weekend. My fabulous friend Wendy was nice enough to humor me on Saturday morning and let me drag her to Effingham and this little town called Altamont where I had never been. We found a gold mine of an antique mall in Altamont, I'm talken gold mine! The best part is that we were there early enough that we had the place to ourselves for like 45 minutes. 

Fav finds:

Quilt. 

I have a serious love for antique quilts. It's almost like you can hear and feel them speak to you. So much love and care is put into the construction of a beautiful quilt. This one has an old Americana feel to it, it's colors are still so vibrant. There are a couple small stains and a few worn spots, but other than that, great condition! A quilt this elaborate and well made bought new would cost you hundreds of $$, and they don't come broken in ;) 

Lamp. 

I found this owl lamp for $12! I love unique pieces and knew this was a keeper. I gave it a little makeover (which it was in desperate need of) Now I'm pretty sure it's my favorite lamp in the entire world (at least for today). 

before                                                                   after

and again with the after..

Rooster. 

Need I say more? 

This weekend fed my soul... mmmmm, soul food. 

Hi. It's Friday!

a balanced breakfast

The kids are home this Friday, so I'm looking forward to a fun day with my two partners in crime. I think we definitely need to go on an adventure of some sort. 

The weather cast predicts 81 today. Im actually writing this blog post from my front porch watching what looks like a storm rolling into town. 

Im going to buy a bail of straw later and use it for bedding in our chicken coop, then I can actually move the chicks to their new home. I can't wait, they're going to be so excited!

I got a little surprise in the mail yesterday. Well okay, it wasn't really a surprise, more like something I ordered last Friday and tracked online every day since, naturally. It's a reproduction switch plate to fit our Victorian era home. I know, you probably think Im crazy because, who actually gets this worked up over a switch plate? I admittedly don't know anyone, but just look at this beauty!

It's my new favorite thing. And it's really heavy, made of cast brass. I have to order one at a time to justify them, because they're $15.00 a pop! About 15 times what you might spend on a standard switch plate, but these are the real deal. Thank you Antique Hardware!

Brett and I have a fun weekend of stenciling and tiling in store for us ... I can't wait to see some results! 

Dinner will be Philly cheese steaks. Does anyone else plan dinner in advance?  

Home grown beef. 

Alright I think I have given you enough random thoughts for one day. Im off to make some stuff happen!

The Chicken Farm (aka, our house)

Hey there, do you want to see something cute? Well here you go, one of my baby chicks just a mere three weeks ago. Oh how time flies when they are young! 

 At three weeks the pubescent poultry had their first outing. The weather was hot today, so I let them play outside for awhile. Chickens are hilarious creatures ... just look at their faces, you can tell how incredibly intense they are just by looking at them. 

 I don't even want to know what they're huddling about here ... as if I can't see them. 

 Talk about a bad hair day ... I can't get them to keep up their appearances, they're just not into vanity. They are, however, obsessed with flying. It's their life's destiny to fly. 

They are constantly yammering away, and continuing to look incredibly serious as they do. It's just so hard to take them seriously with that hair. 

So there you have it ladies and gentleman, life with pre teen hens. It's not always pretty, but it is always intense (for them ... obviously). 

Hi it's Friday: Photography Edition

omg. it's Friday ... thank all goodness.

Today Im going to let the photos do the talking because Im feeling a little short winded. But I will preface them briefly. 

Yesterday we went to the park down by the lake. We have to jump over the gate indicating that the park is closed to get there ... but we do it anyway. For the first time at this park we saw two other children. Jude loves playing with other kids. They were with their dad who was on his cell phone pacing the length of the play structure. He occasionally would yell out to tell his kids not to do something. This lasted for about 10 minutes and then he called his kids to him and they left. Can we all just make a promise to each other right now to never be that guy? 

Not because he was busy, because i get it, people get busy. Let's just never hinder our kids from being unique and exploratory and inventive and having fun. Instead lets go to the park and have fun with them, let's give them the chance to remind us how it feels to be young and free. 

Life As We Live It

This is a slightly more personal post, which I feel compelled to share with you for several reasons. I've decided to use Steve Jobs to aid me in making a point (if there is a point, we'll see) as he has been on the forefront of our minds over the past few months, he was one of the worlds greatest innovators, and he's someone who I find to be a great inspiration. 

In 2010 I found myself working for Google, a company that we all know to be one of the greatest in the world. I quickly realized that I wasn't happy there. My personal goals and passion were not supported by the way that Google operates. When I work for a company or with a team I have an internal need to add special value to that team. When you work for a company that employes 20,000 people it doesn't take long to start feeling a little, disposable. It was at that time that I realized I would ultimately need to work for myself in some capacity. 

When I was looking to move on from Google I had many supportive conversations with mentors and friends that I respect enormously. At the time I was considering leaving my career for a part time job that I could clock in and out of. The idea being that I wouldn't be mentally or emotionally tied to my job, but I could leverage the health benefits and use the income to support my family. My off time would be spent building a business of my own. That dream quickly came to a halt when I was presented with an attractive job offer from a Seattle start up company, I decided to put my dreams on hold and see where that opportunity would take me. 

I've now worked for that Seattle start up company for a year and a half. Yesterday I was laid off, which was admittedly expected considering my recent move. Today I feel really liberated and happy that I am no longer bound to a job that I can't physically report to. I am, however, feeling manipulated and used, some would say it's just business. That's a fair argument I suppose, but in reality, humans are emotional beings and should be handled with care, or at least with respect. I don't regret in any way making the decision to go back to work after leaving Google, I've met some really incredible people in the process (if you're reading this you know who you are, I love you guys). 

Okay so my point ... remember I said I was going to attempt to make a point.

Here I am, a year and a half later feeling the exact same way I did when I left Google. I didn't follow my heart then because I wasn't ready to risk my financial income for my dream. I guess in some ways it's a pretty insane thing to do. Here's where I'm at now, as far as I humanly know, this is my one shot at this whole life thing. It's time to allow myself to see what I can pull out of my mind, develop, and create. I have the courage, the ambition, and the value to be something amazing ... everyone does. I'm ready to change my life and see how it can change the world.

Did I make a point yet? Let me make it a little more concise, or wait ... let Steve Jobs make it a little more concise:

Thanks for listening. Love, Chelsea

Chicken Brooding

The baby chicks have moved in! We have six of them, I wish I could formally introduce them but I can't because I haven't chosen names, mainly because I can't tell them apart. If I would have to guess I would say this one's name will be Mathilda and one below will be Felicity.  They are, without a doubt, the most adorable animals I've ever laid my eyes on. The kids are so excited about them and we played with them for most of the afternoon. They will grow fast now, so I need to finish off their coop over the next couple of weeks. For now they are in the brooding stage, there home is inside under a heat lamp, in a rubbermade container .. classy home. See below for a quick tutorial on how to set up a brooder. 

 Here's Felicity, remember how I said I wasn't going to name them, and now I have all of the sudden. 

 Here's a photo of their brooder. You can use a rubbermade or an aquarium, some even use cardboard boxes, but that screams fire hazard to me with the 250 degree heat lamp that is necessary. The box should be 100 degrees the first week and 5 degrees less each week until they are full feathered. The chicks will huddle together under the lamp if they are too cold, and they will move to the other end of the box if they are too warm. You should place the food and water at the end opposite of the heat lamp. Chick starter and water is available at all times. The bed is covered in newspaper and pine chips. Using cedar chips can be toxic to the chicks, so pine is the way to go. Word on the street is that they love scratching at this stuff and things can get really dusty .. I'll let you know how that goes. So far we have been greatly entertained by them pecking at each other, pushing one another off the feeder, and cuddling under the lamp. After about 20 weeks they will start laying eggs and I will be eating freshly laid eggs every morning!