Chai Tea

As summer is upon us I've felt myself moving away from my usual tea-drinking habits (2 or 3 cups a day). Wandering through some blogs I found in an Artful Blogging magazine I found this recipe from ArtandLemons. What I like about it is that you can also make it iced.

Chai Tea

Yield 4 servings

2 1/4 cups water

2 1/4 cups organic milk (whole cow, almond, or soy)

1/4 cup organic dark brown sugar (or more to taste)

2 cinnamon sticks

16 cardamom pods (crushed; place them in a small bag and gently crush them with a rolling pin)

1 star anise clove

1 teaspoon whole cloves

2-inch piece fresh ginger (sliced thin)

1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

2 tablespoons black or green tea leaves (I like to use 2 parts Darjeeling to 1 part Assam; or try Japanese Sencha Tea)

Combine the first 9 ingredients (everything except the tea) in a 6-quart pot and bring to a boil.

Remove from heat, cover and let mixture steep for 30 minutes. Return to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in the black or green tea leaves. Cover and let stand for 2 minutes.

Place a sieve over a pitcher or jar. Pour hot tea into the sieve to strain. Serve tea immediately, or let cool and serve iced.

(This recipe is inspired by “Chai” found in The Joy of Cooking).

Summer Music

Branches. I love these guys. Tyler Madsen's voice is incredible and their sound is definitely fun and artistic. Check out their Facebook for a monthly cover, like this one.

The new Eddie Vedder (Into the Wild soundtrack, Pearl Jam) album came out today. It is a perfect pairing of his voice and ukelele, and would go great with a bonfire on the beach on a cool night, me wrapped in a blanket with some dark hot chocolate.

Listen Here.

Friends in Phoenix

I got left behind in Texas this weekend. I had work and bring in the big dollars (scrunchy face, not really). But I got this epic picture and thought I'd share.

I really love these guys.

Love Photography? Like This.

There are some absolutely fantastic works of art on this site, and I am so excited to share them with you. The amazing thing about it is when you buy a print 50% of the profits go to a non-profit organization like CHOC, Walking on Water, or Campus Crusade. Take a moment to look and picture one of these in your own home.

www.GIVEPRINTS.com

Jessica, Jessi, Jess, Duke

Love this lady.

This is one of those friends who, no matter the time passed, I can have a two hour conversation with and it's like we laid on the beach together yesterday. Music guru, sensible, enjoys driving with the top down, painting furniture colors found in nature, bagel-bites lover, rocks sunglasses like I will never, reader, road tripper, get-it-done-down-to-business decision maker who's laughter is contagious. She's the one who drove us to the Prompt-Care when we were sick and made midnight taco and donut runs. Always willing to sneak into an apartment complex to use the hot tub, ride bikes to the beach and lay out for a couple hours, stop by Anthropologie, or listen when I need to talk. Miss this girl like crazy.

Love this picture.

Rebekah Turns Seven

There are not words in the English language strong enough to describe how happy I was this night. This is what we did:

Dresses
Scarves
Make-Up
Girls
Snacks
Giggles
Music
Shoes
Presents
Laughter
Smiles
Screaming
Curling Irons
Rebekah
Friends
Giggles
Smiles
Love.

Change

The first time I met Addie she looked at me and said,

"Hi my name is Addie, I'm six and I lost a tooth." She is Mark and Jane Petrak's granddaughter and we were so blessed to spend some time with them a few weeks ago.                                                                                                                                      

Sunday nights are a little empty around here lately. The Petraks left us in San Antonio--for good things, actually great things--but still, we were left. I am excited about their new season but definitely miss their company. There is no pretending with them, all one can do is let down all walls and formalities, because they are just real and open friends who want to know you as you, instead of anyone you may pretend to be.

They also fed us once a week.

Some things are changing around here. James moved into a new house, and I will move at the end of this week as well. Friends are done with a semester of school, home groups are merging together, and decisions are getting worked out. Summer is also upon us, though the last few days have been quite cool and pleasant. I've started working with the non-profit our community is connected with, Boy With A Ball, helping with some editing and learning a little about grant-writing from my friend Melody.

I like change, life would be so uninspiring without it.

Pick of the Week

Hot: Mango Ceylon Tea.
Cold: Iced Chai latte with two shots of espresso.
To Read with Coffee: The New York Times.
To Read with Chocolate Chips: Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi.
For Listening: Lisa Hannigan.

Here We Come

Drove down the 57 yesterday,

sun shining windows down.

Tears in my eyes as my heart got closer to the ones I love.

I rang the familiar doorbell at 2402 Bobby lane and heard, "I'm going to open it it's my party!!" Door swings open (because she's tall enough to undo the latch by herself now) and a huge smile errupts on her face. She jumps into my arms and and I say,

"You know I had to take an airplane to get here right?"

Laughter.


Oh California, I love you so much.
Color is brighter here.

Fly Away

California bound, Friday.

I called Rebekah on her birthday this last week and she asked me if I could please go to her Birthday party on Friday. I asked her if she realized I had to take a plane to get to her. Told her that she lives a really long way away. I couldn't lie so I just avoided giving an answer.

I can't wait to ring the doorbell.

I haven't seen my sister since January and I miss her so much. She has had a crazy semester and on Friday morning I get to give her the big hug I've been holding onto for months. I'm excited to see my family and spend a few days with them.

Moving here in January brought a rush of homesickness that mostly had to do with how far away my closest friends suddenly felt. My community, the girls I have lived with for almost 5 years and all things familiar and cozy went away. I am so excited to spend time with them, hug them, and laugh with them this weekend.

California. Be still my heart.