Pants. Wear them.

Several posts ago, I did a list of "life tips/things I've come to learn or that matter to me." One of them was to simply "figure yourself out/know yourself." This doesn't have to be a product of some emotionally cathartic, self-reflection essay; "truth" is rarely found in lyrical poems filled with unnecessary adjectives and metaphorical references purposely thrown in to give the impression of "depth;" self-awareness doesn't have to be some pretentious, "new age"-y, "I'm so much more enlightened than you" nonsense.  ...

You know how you are sometimes asked to describe yourself or someone else in some arbitrary number of words/phrases (maybe for a job interview or ice breaker activity...or just because you're bored and there are no magazines around to inspire a delightful round of "catalog game")?

1. Even if you have no idea what I'm talking about, try it.  It's sometimes good to force ourselves to be more concise than we otherwise would be.
Example - Liza: introspective, seeker/ponderer/wanderer, busybody
2. Think about the images that "look like" you and/or someone you care about.
Example - Here are 15 of my favorite Pinterest "pins." (Links to the actual sites are below each picture).

White Layer Cake with Blackberry Buttercream

If I wanted to put some effort into my fall outfits, I would go with something like this.

Word.

I'll probably never have a bathroom that looks like this, but in my head it is "My Style."

Love everything going on here.

Just makes me happy.

Might do something similar.

Genius.

I wouldn't look nearly this cute, but oh well.

Love Nick Miller...and this is how I feel about random objects sometimes.

Awesome.

Oh, Joseph Gordon Levitt, I love you.

Pesto Bean Soup

Photography ideas

Exactly.

I'm not suggesting that self-awareness and self-respect come from scrolling Pinterest. However, I do think the images we pin, the statuses and links we "Like" on Facebook, and the things we choose to talk about tell stories. It just seems we would benefit from being more mindful of what those stories actually are. 

 

So, what "story" are my images telling? 

***

You seriously need to make this. Tonight.

 

Apple Cake (as featured in my great-grandmother, Etta Brown Turner's, recipe collection)

 

 

 

We called Etta, "Gramma" (Leon, Jr./"Papa's" mother). Aunt Carolyn gave me her recipe collection several months ago and this is the first thing I've made from it. I will be visiting it again soon. 

 

The one on the left is another one of my favorite cookbooks.  Chef Schmid is a Kentucky author/chef/professor/all around super guy who spoke at the library in 2010 in conjunction with the Kentucky Humanities Council.  I encourage you to stop by the CCPL and check out The Kentucky Bourbon Cookbook (I used it last night for an apple bourbon-glazed pork loin).