Thoughts: You're Your Greatest Weapon

It's been awhile since I've done one of these. Really; the Muddy Middles were nipping at my heels for so long. I've learned something this week, and I'd like to share it with you.

This personal blogging is something entirely new to me. To be honest I didn't know what I was getting myself into and then all of a sudden I'm learning all about sponsors and networking that is all unique to the blogging community. It's been one crazy month, and for those of you joining me each day; thank you from the bottom of my heart.

As a Graphic Designer, Brand Identity is in my blood. I usually find myself using it as conversational pieces with all of my friends and I over analyze things far too often. There are so many blogs out there that there is a good amount enough to stereotype blogs. Fashionistas, DIYers, Chefs, the categories go on. I started to wonder, what on earth did I lie under? It started to cast doubts on me, will my vision of sharing my life with others be all in vain? Am I talking to myself? Surely the page views aren't ghostly figures of me clicking away! (Though that would be pretty cool...) It's pretty hard to be a new blogger, you feel alone in your little island of blog land. I was feeling pretty glum.

I was losing grip, and then I went to the Tea Festival. I was so content that entire day, soon to realize it was because I was in my element. There's something beautiful about me that made me want to share my life with the world: I'm different. I am my own Brand Identity, something complex and built over time. What makes me so unique is the choices I make, my interest, and the life I lead.

Isn't that what blogging all about? What made me fall in love with personal blogs was the charm and welcome feeling you get on each post, something that has chiseled away at the hard lines of copy writing and article writing to make a whole new kind of animal. A beast thats powered by the beauty of first hand opinion, and the beauty of sentiment. I am proud to be apart of this powerful movement.

It's easy to become frightened of losing viewers, or having fear of lacking acceptance for a choice of topic. When you do, consider that people were drawn to YOU and what YOU had to say. This goes for any outside social acceptance as well. You are your greatest weapon, because no one else quite does what you do.

I will continue my journey sharing what my life has blessed me with. The blogging community is a bit intimidating, but at this point I don't think any move can be a wrong one. Everything is moving so fast, but I'm starting to enjoy it that way. October was such an amazing month for me and this form of blogging has shaped me once again. Again I want to thank all of you taking a look at my page, this wouldn't have been possible without you.

2

Friday Fall Kicks

 As we creep up on Halloween, I did a little bit of decorating. I adore the holiday of Halloween. Its spooky, contemplative, and full of costume fun! Come on now, I work in Theatre, this is the one holiday where what I do is oddly normal. I have a packed weekend ahead of me, to finish up this awesome month of October. I thought I would share with all of you out there my quaint Office that's a decorating WIP.

All of my decor is from a Dollar Store, but aside from the garlands, crows, and sign, this is what my office looks like on a regular basis. It was inspired by my love for Venice and the old world feel. All the pieces have been a growing collection. I'd like to brag that it's the coziest room in the house. I do a good share of reading on the couch, and most of my entries as well as my freelance work are done on the office computer.

Meet Hitchcock, my stone owl. I saved him from Love's garden on this past month. He was sitting sunken in the dirt on the front lawn left by the previous owners. He caught my eye when I visited his house and I was smitten by him. He's all dressed up wearing my mini Witch hat. Looking at that hat makes me miss making costumes every now and then. Perhaps when things clear out after NaNoWriMo I'll go back to it.

Kros has been put on guard duty. I never realized he matched the door until Eugene pointed him out. I think I'll keep him there year round, he's a good reminder of how far we've come. He's a souvenir of our first party we threw together; even then there were traces that we wanted to do Productions. I love him for all of this, even the 'battle scars' he's survived after moving through a dorm, and an apartment, and three houses. He even has a monologue created by Eugene somewhere in the vault...

Finishing touches are a candles in the smell of Citrus Cilantro and Mulberry. It's a nice break from the Pumpkin Everything Invasion and Cinnamon smells that seem to follow you everywhere this time of year

 

  I hope that everyone has a safe Hallo-Weekend planned, filled with goodies and good company!


-Stef

0

Herbal Haze Tea Haul

Bird Pick was having a sale the other day where all of the Herbal Teas were 20% off. As of the recent wacky weather changes I've been having trouble sleeping so I milled through the shop on what I could find. I was able to get two Herbals and a Tisane, Tisane's are a rarity for me, but this one was very unique that I couldn't resist.

At Bird Pick they do a great job of offering you samples of any tea you can imagine, they're also very knowledgeable on the benefits of each tea. Nothing like a little tea geek chat to get my spirits moving. What drew me to them this time around was the Chamomile Tea. Love had some the last time we were there and I was smitten by the taste that it had. So without further adieu, here's what I got:

Chamomile Flowers: I'm not sure if these are German or Roman, but these blossoms have a distinct thick honey taste to them. I often shy from Chamomile because after sometime they have a characteristic to have a hay like taste, which is rarely masked. So far these flowers have been a little wonder for me. I drink some every night I feel the fidgets and they seem to be giving me good solid hours of sleep.  I must warm people that the first time I drank it at home it made my throat swell which is a similar reaction I had to Chrysanthemum blossoms. Seems like if you have a weed allergy you should be careful with weed like flowery teas. I was able to cure it by using a tea sock which took out any fine bits left.

Tranquli Tea: This blend is famous at Bird's Pick. Some people take shots of this tea in concentration in replacement of certain medications and swear by it. It's a refreshing simple blend of mint, lavender, and chamomile. What makes it amazing is the sheer freshness of the ingredients which gives it a robust flavor. They sell these in bag for as well and I encourage anyone thats looking for a relaxing tea in the evenings to visit their website to get some.

Pineapple Dreams:  I'm not a Tisane person. I really don't enjoy the bitterness thats so characteristic of them and when I do it's loaded with honey. This is why I was so surprised that I was drawn to Pineapple Dreams. Most of a teas taste comes from it's scent, and this tea has the sweet scent of Pineapple balanced with sharp berries. Unlike most tropical tea this was not a super mixed fruity scent but a sweet simple scent of the fruit itself. When trying it, the bitterness was still there, but the difference was the sweet finish which was nice. Usually a tisane will sweep a throat with a dry feeling, this didn't at all. The layers of flavor are what sold me over this tea. Not an everyday tea but a good one to have in the collection.

I encourage anyone to check out the Bird's Pick website when they can. There's a little something for everyone.

www.birdpick.com

-Stef

0

Monday Mini Tea Haul

I've been feeling under the weather since IndieCade. In fact when I came home Sunday I crashed on the couch late afternoon with a splitting headache. I should know better than to trust the weather reports with news of cooler weather... I woke up this morning sore from the dehydration and walking.

One thing thats almost a sure fire pick me on bummer days like this is tea. This tea junkie was dreaming all weekend of a fresh brewed green, something that was so characteristic of its season and rich in natural complexity. One place takes care of this sort of craving: Birds Pick.

Love was so gracious to get me a cup of one of my favorite green's (Silky Green) and after we had a cup and chatted outside he felt it was best to bring some home to help get well soon. I never get too much tea in one sitting as I like to keep my stash fresh so rarely I will get over 4oz.

Here's what I got:

Premium Silky Green Tea (big bag): I can never resist this tea. It's a green that taste similar to a Milky Oolong except it still has a strong leafy balance to it. It's smell can almost be explained as and buttery; like fresh baked bread. The best way to describe the taste is a velvety green texture with creamy notes. If you're a fan of Irish Breakfast, this tea is definitely right up your alley.

Premium Lychee Black Tea: This tea is a favorite of mine when I want a tea thats a bit sweet without the fuss of adding sugar. If I remember correctly, the base is a Ceylon tea which adds a nice cool base for it. The tea is infused with pure lychee's to add a sweet delicate finish. The smell of the tea is so heavenly, like walking into an Asian-market on a day when they bring the lychees out for the season. It's so deep and almost heady when you smell it. When you drink the tea you notice a light lychee taste at first but the palette gets stronger with lychee in the finish. I love it because it tastes NOTHING like canned lychees. Can lychees taste like syrup, this tea has the true light, almost floral taste.

Supreme Fresh Fragrance Oolong: I've actually never tried this tea before, or at least directly. The sales girl mentioned that this was the tea that they used in their infused drinks. I've tried their fresh lychee oolong ice tea with pureed lychees and it was such a heavenly balance. I got this tea mainly for it's smell, it had a very fresh light classic oolong scent. The leaves were more on the green side so I knew that it would come out as a lighter/ younger oolong. The beads of tea were also very loosely rolled with short stems so I'm expecting a very round hearty leaf.

I'll be sure to let you know how the last one tastes. Now for some reading and catching up on well deserved relaxation.

-Stef

0