Church.

This morning I woke up with the desire to treat my big girl to one of her favorite breakfast meals. Starbucks oatmeal. I'm pretty sure it's the brown sugar that calls her name. On the way there we were lovingly greeted by a dense fog as we started up the bridge to head into the town over the lake. Sunrise warmed us. The view of the beach below us beckoned our souls. We grabbed our breakfast and headed back towards the lake. Unfolding Penelope's blanket, we spread ourselves out and simply took in the world around us. Watching the fog dissipate. The fish jumping. And the dog exploring. We sent some loving energy to Mama Lake who needs a ton of healing. Note to self: carry offerings with me at all times.
This is our church.

For your Sunday worshiping download the header photo here.

Peace and Love.
Katelyn

This song.

This song is really resonating within me at this point in my life. Enjoy this video that someone on youtube made to go along with it.
"Sigh No More"

Serve God, love me and mend
This is not the end
Lived unbruised, we are friends
And I'm sorry
I'm sorry

Sigh no more, no more
One foot in sea, one on shore
My heart was never pure
You know me
You know me

But man is a giddy thing
Oh man is a giddy thing
Oh man is a giddy thing
Oh man is a giddy thing

Love; it will not betray you
Dismay or enslave you, it will set you free
Be more like the man you were made to be

There is a design, an alignment to cry
Of my heart to see,
The beauty of love as it was made to be

Love; it will not betray you
Dismay or enslave you, it will set you free
Be more like the man you were made to be

There is a design, an alignment to cry
Of my heart to see,
The beauty of love as it was made to be

Love; it will not betray you
Dismay or enslave you, it will set you free
Be more like the man you were made to be

And there is a design, an alignment to cry
Of my heart to see,
The beauty of love as it was made to be 

I'm really learning what real love is when it comes to friends and family. I have felt real love growing up with select people in my life but as I navigate the waters of adult friendships, well, I've been learning what is real and what I want in my life. Each day I feel like I am more and more blessed with those I have surrounded myself with and those who surround me in this space and time I am sharing on earth.
I'm off to edit for the Bohemian Collective and listen to more Mumford & Sons while doing so.
Peace and Love.
Katelyn

All Hallows' Eve.

 We had a pretty low key Halloween around here. I didn't take the girls trick or treating since we don't eat food coloring or high fructose corn syrup. We woke up this morning and carved our pumpkins (and my finger, whoops!), watched Casper and Hocus Pocus, ate some of the candy I purchased and just hung out. Now commence the million photos of Penelope's first Halloween. And check out my instagrams by following the link over in the sidebar if you want to see our pumpkins.
 Leena originally was going to be Merida and I had gotten her two princess dresses to choose from...then she picked the Native American costume out of her dress up box.
  Sorry kid. That's as far as you are getting with that candy.

Hope you all had a safe and wonderful day and night.

Peace and Love.
Katelyn

My 10 month old pees on a potty. ☆ Giveaway


At 3 days old we started Elimination Communication with Penelope. It's been going pretty well, up until we decided to move. Things have gotten hectic and I haven't been as in tune with Penelope's signals lately. I kept thinking to myself, "Once we move, I'll give EC my all again." I wasn't sure where to go with it or if it was even working. Then this morning I got an email from Andrea Olsen from EC Simplified where she is offering 50% off her book packages today only, until midnight. I took this as my sign to stop waiting for the move and to get back on track NOW. That way when we do move, it's smooth sailing. So what is EC? Here is a little video from Andrea to explain it better.


Today I feel much better and much more on track with this. It was as if I had to mentally acknowledge that I let it slide and then I could move forward and start fresh. I have caught a lot of Penelope's "movements" in the last 24 hours. Less laundry from washing cloth diapers is on the horizon again. I wanted to offer this freedom to another parent and their baby so I asked Andrea if I could purchase a gift certificate to give away here on the blog. She then graciously donated the "Plus Package" for me to give away to a parent ready to get started or ready to learn.

What you will win:
To read about all this more in depth go here. It's so many goodies!

How to enter:
You must first be a follower of my blog.
Then leave a comment below.
That's it!

This giveaway will close Tuesday, November 6th. Winner will be announced Wednesday, November 7th.
If you feel kind and generous, share with your friends too. Okay?

Peace and Love.
Katelyn

Curried Lentil Soup. ☆ And a bonus recipe.


Curried Lentil Soup
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, smashed
3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 large (I mean huge!) carrot, chopped (2 smaller ones will do)
1-2 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp ground ginger1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp yellow curry powder, add more if you want a stronger curry taste
8 cups water
1 tbsp white miso paste
2 cups rinsed, preferable sprouted, lentils
Celtic sea salt, to taste
Almond milk, to thin
Pepper, to taste
Spinach to garnish, shredded by hand
Asiago cheese to garnish, grated

Saute the onion, garlic, celery and carrot in the coconut oil in a large soup pot. Once the onions and celery are soft add the ginger, cardamom, turmeric and curry powder. Lightly saute for a couple minutes, then add the water, miso paste and lentils. Stir. Bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes then reduce heat and let simmer for approximately 45 minutes, until lentils are soft. Remember you had packed your immersion blender up. Search through boxes to find which one it was hidden in. Blend your soup till it's (mostly) smooth. Salt and pepper to taste. The miso should take care of the majority of it's salt needs but I found mine needed a bit more. Add almond milk to thin if needed. I added about 1/2 a cup. Serve with shredded spinach and some grated asiago cheese.

And I love curry soups so I wanted to share this recipe I posted last November, as well, on my old blog. This will be made again shortly. I am in soup mode.

Pumpkin and Mushroom Curry Soup
1 small "pumpkin pie" pumpkin, approximately 6 inches tall and 18-24 inches around
(This was about 4 cups of pumpkin I would guess.)
1/2 - 1 whole small organic white onion, chopped
1 tbsp coconut oil
24 ounces of organic veggie broth
2 tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp curry powder
2-3 pinches of pink salt (sea salt works also)
1/2 tbsp raw organic honey
8 ounces of sliced organic baby portobella mushrooms
1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
fresh ground pepper to taste

Quarter, "de-pulp" and de-seed the pumpkin. Roast in the oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Sauté onion in coconut oil until soft and a bit caramelized in a large pot. Once pumpkin is done scoop out the flesh and transfer into the pot with the onion. Add the veggie broth, nutmeg, curry powder, salt and honey. Bring to a low boil then let simmer while you chop the mushrooms. Before adding the mushrooms puree the soup with an immersion blender (or regular blender if you don't have an immersion blender but just transfer back to the pot when done). Add mushrooms and milk to soup and let simmer until mushrooms are soft. Mix in fresh ground pepper and enjoy!

Peace and Love.
Katelyn



Autumn Light ☆ Texture Pack

Through some stroke of pure accidental genius I have discovered that you can make really amazing textures without even trying. A love for Hipstamatic and Instagram led me to this discovery. I have accidentally produced 3 gorgeous, happy dance worthy textures all on my iPhone. For those of you that don't know, a texture is a photo used to overlay another photo in photoshop (or perhaps another photo editor?) to give it, well, texture.

Here's an example of each one used over the same photo.

Please feel free to download the pack, for free, here. I'd love to see what you do with them! Leave a link in the comments below. And please, don't be shy, share this post with your friends if you think they'd love them! 
Peace and Love.
Katelyn

Weather Shift.


Autumnal wind is knocking on my door. Whispering sweet nothings into my ear. This year autumn came as a sweet release but now that the weather truly feels "autumn-esque" outside I am preparing myself for the journey inward. The search for warmth that takes place in my soul from now until February. Normally I am clawing through to the surface after the winter time but this year, I can already feel it will be different. Winter for my mind, my body and my soul. It will be good. Hibernate weary soul, for you have earned a season of rest.
Photo by Leena.
Peace and Love.
Katelyn

Chakra Balancing

My friend and superior dōTERRA consultant gave me this information when I asked for her help with keeping me in balance mentally and emotionally with this big move. It is wonderful and the days I do this regimen I feel great. I would love to share it here with you all.

How to balance the chakras with essential oils:
Rub 1-2 drops of Balance on the soles of your feet
Root Chakra: Rub 2-3 drops Wild Orange on your low back/base of your spine or in the area below your navel.
Sacral Chakra: Rub 2-3 drops Bergamot on your abdomen.
Heart Chakra: Rub 2 drops of Geranium on your chest.
Throat Chakra: Rub 1-2 drops Lavender on your throat.
Brow Chakra (Third Eye): Rub 1 drop of Clary Sage right between your eyebrows.
Crown Chakra: Rub 1 drop of Frankincense on the very top of your head or on the roof of your mouth.

Of course, like anything, if you aren't doing the soul work to balance your chakras as well, the essential oils will not be used to their full potential. I love that about natural "medicine". You can't use it as a band-aid like you can with pharmaceuticals. To have the biggest impact on your life, they need to be coupled with the really messy, sometimes painful, but really beautiful, soul work. Then after that, these glorious tools can change your world. And it really feels like rainbows and unicorns, faeries and all those magical, happy things. Okay, seriously though.

If you would like a starting point in finding what chakras may be off balance I love this test.

Peace and Love.
Katelyn

8 months of dreadlocks.

I started letting my hair dread naturally after an intense, deep pull in my soul to do so. I didn't really know why. I am trusting this journey I am on and so, I listened. I didn't know how to explain the need to dread my hair. My friend and soul sister, Rain, posted a blog about when she had dreaded her hair with this excerpt from Elena Rago

"Really, my desire to dread my hair was no longer about my hair as much as it was an impulse to physically mark the deep shifts that were occurring in my soul."

  Just twirling.
What I have learned about myself this past year after Penelope's birth has been incredible. I have learned to trust again. Trust in the journey. Trust in others and the love they bring. Trust that even if nothing works out, it's all working out. 

I have learned to use my voice. For so long I stifled myself, even to those closest to me. 

I've learned that I can, indeed, take care of myself, first, while still allowing room to hold others in a space of love. 

I have learned that even though some of the hardest things to speak, are the words that need to be spoken.

I have learned that nobody is responsible for your happiness but yourself and no matter how hard you try, you can not make someone truly happy. That has to come from a place within themselves.

I have learned strength.

All these truths and lessons are tangled up in these dreads of mine. On February 23, 2012, I marked this turning point physically, on my body.

I'm not going to say that I've loved every step of the way with this dreading process. It's definitely a lesson in letting go of self consciousness that still resides inside me. It is lessening. Daily. I love these dread babies of mine and have let go of expectations on how I felt they should look by now. 

 Peace and Love.
Katelyn

Home.

 Gratuitous baby face photo.
What a wonderful, soulful trip that was. I have left feeling refreshed and ready for this move. Ready for this move not only physically but mentally. With the shift that is happening in my soul. Laura has a way of doing that. 

Besides all the soul talks we had, we also made some pretty wicked shots together if I don't say. I can't wait to share this collective with you all! I feel truly honored to be allowed to play a part in these lookbooks and we really got into a collaborative editing groove. It is fun to step out of my comfort zone as an artist and try new things with my editing process. 

While visiting, we had a chance to go see some of Laura's good friends that I am super duper fond of. The love that exudes from this family is amazingly beautiful and Leena got to play with one of the younger sisters and had so much fun. The girl, Carin, told me Leena had such good manners and that I just loved hearing.
Penelope made a friend too. One that tried to make out with her.
 

For now though I must rest after a long day of driving and I didn't think about what I had ordered for lunch. So I ended up getting gluten in my food and after only a week of not eating it I am certainly feeling it in my intestines and I have such a foggy head now. Leena also woke up in pain. Poor girl. Gluten, you rascally devil.

Peace and Love.
Katelyn