snow and pizza (the story of today)

This was going to be a post about the stew and soup I made this weekend (both really really good), but then we had this delightful day that included playing in the snow and making pizza and dancing in the kitchen and coloring and lots of toddler giggles as snow continued to fall outside, so I am sharing this story + recipe instead.*

(More than Just a) Simple Pizza: A Cooking Experience

Before you begin to make this simple pizza, set the scene. Having music on is a very good thing. (Current favorite is radioIO Acoustic Café using the Pocket Tunes App for ipod/iphone.) Then have your family nearby so you are reminded that you are making this meal for people you love. Of course, being totally solo in the kitchen singing along with Adele is an equally delicious way to approach this meal, and since this pizza isn't huge, it would be perfect for dinner for one and then lunch the next day. 

Then, take premade pizza dough from the fridge, remove it from the bag, and let it sit for 20 minutes on a floured surface. (My friend Christine recently mentioned that Trader Joe’s has a great pizza dough in their refrigerated section, so we tried it today. It is awesome! Your local store should have Pillsbury or another brand near the pre-made cookie dough if you don't have Trader Joe's nearby.)

Preheat oven to 450.

Next, gather your toppings. Cut up your veggies; then find the cheese you want to use and put it in a pretty bowl just because it makes you happy. When someone says, “We are going to have more cheese than that, right?” you can reassure him that yes, we will but this bowl looks pretty for photos. 

At this point you might realize you have 12 minutes until your 20 minutes are up. Here are some options:

a) Dance with your family in the kitchen to a song or two.
b) Fill one more grocery sack with items from your cabinet full of too many glasses and put on the porch to take to Goodwill.
c) Give your one year old her very first orange pepper slice and then proceed to feed her about 10 more pieces because she keeps saying, “good!”
d) Begin to clear the table of all your beading supplies so you can sit at it to eat.
e) All the above (as you realize 12 minutes is much longer than you think).
f) Make a quick salad that would pair nicely with pizza and give you more greens. (Next time. Yes. Next time)

Now you are ready to roll out the dough onto a floured surface. It is a good idea to let go of having a round pizza, especially if the surface you are using is rectangular. (And when you cook it, it somehow finds its way to being mostly round. Of course, later I thought about how I would roll it out on the pizza stone next time. Ahem.) And if someone stronger than you is around and offers to roll it for you, well, say yes. (It wasn’t that hard though and reminded me of standing at the window at Noble Romans watching teenagers make pizza decades ago.)

(Now this next step is one you should insert up there right before “dance with your family,” but when it comes at this point instead, give yourself permission to roll with it.) Next, remember that you have chicken sausage in the fridge that you want to add to the pizza. 

Cook the sausage if you are adding it. If someone else is cooking it (thanks Jonny), you might be able to wire-wrap 10 beads and dance with your daughter.

Next, put pizza dough on a pizza stone if you have one (if not, use a pan). Then, assemble your pizza. I layered as follows: olive oil, thin layer of cheese, mushrooms and orange pepper and small bits of chicken sausage, then lots of cheese.

Bake for 8-12 minutes. You know it’s done when the bottom of the dough is browning. I baked ours for about 15 minutes though and it was perfect, so do adjust the time based on your oven and dough thickness.

When you take it out, gather your family to oooh and ahhh at the pizza’s beauty.

Take a few photos.

Eat.

Have toys on hand for your toddler to play with when she decides she is full from all the pepper slices and won’t eat while you are eating. She can color or build things and you will be much more likely to enjoy your pizza if she is content.

Because this is a food that Ellie eats and since it really was so easy to use this dough (and felt really satisfying to roll it out and even has me thinking about making my own dough), I imagine making pizza a few times a month and sometimes making it for the two of us for lunch during the week (EJ and I are more likely to do no meat, less cheese, more veggies). So, this means, I am totally creating a pizza Pinterest board to save recipes I want to print out and add to my recipe binder. Just started using the binder because I am learning that I simply need that “oh right, I could make pizza this week” reminder that seeing a recipe in a binder gives me.

An invitation: I would love to know your favorite homemade pizza toppings/recipes. Please share them in the comments.

*The story behind the story: In some ways, this is the most important paragraph of this blog post, so I hope you made it to here. In the past few months, there haven’t been a lot of days that could be described like the romantic “wow, aren’t they lucky?” paragraph that begins this blog post. There are moments of beauty and love each day, but there have also been some of the toughest moments Jon and I have experienced as a couple. Today, as I wrote this post, I kept thinking about how the slight changes I have been making as I continue to focus on leaning into whole(ness) have been creating space for more laughter, for listening, for sharing (because we are talking with one another when we sit at the table), and for intimacy as we work together in the kitchen or as he talks to me while I cook or as we read or work together after she goes to bed (or naps) because we just want to continue to be together and not turn the television on. 

*****

Here is a simple version of this recipe in case you have a binder like me and would like to print it out.

The "Anyone (this means you too) Can Use Premade Dough" Pizza

Ingredients:

Premade refrigerated pizza dough (I used Trader Joe’s)
Veggie toppings of choice
Meat toppings of choice (I used Trader Joe’s breakfast chicken sausage)
Cheese of choice (I used pre-shredded mozzarella from Trader Joe’s)
Olive oil (I used Annie’s infused with basil)

Steps: 

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. UPDATE: I now heat our oven to 500 so it takes less time.
2. Take dough out of packaging and let sit 20 minutes on floured surface.
3. Chop veggies, cook meat if applicable, grate/slice cheese as needed.
4. Roll pizza dough into a round(ish) shape, continuing to keep surface floured to avoid sticking (it’s a good idea to follow directions on your dough’s packaging).
5. Spread olive oil over dough.
6. Add toppings of choice (keeping to thin layers to avoid weighting down the dough)
7. Bake for 8-12 minutes (longer as needed depending on oven/dough thickness). 

ruffle-izing

so this ruffle obsession, well, i am not kidding. i have been dreaming a bit about possible outfits (and then there is that ever-growing-in-the-middle-of-the-night pinterest board), so today, i "shopped" from my own closet and found some ruffles.

since i posted about my new journal last week, i have been thinking about how your comments and emails reminded me of how much we really just love to know how other people "do it." we sit in our homes around the world from one another, looking at these little boxes and connecting "through" them, and sometimes, it is simply fun to see a glimpse into the ways others live their day-to-day lives. like i would love to know more about your favorite shoes, the books on your bedside table, the way you organize your paper crafting supplies, what your go-to lunch is, where you get your sparkly eye make-up, and how you eat a double-stuff oreo. and if we met up for tea or you came over for lunch, we would share these things.

about a year ago, i mentioned that i wanted to blog more about a few different things, including clothes. but last year i didn't have a smash journal full of blog ideas and i wasn't reminding myself of all the things i wanted to do here in this space, so i didn't post about clothes or lots of other things i meant to. but today, i snapped this photo of this outfit that made me smile and just wanted to share it with you. 

as i was downloading the photo, i started thinking about how i wish i had a group of girlfriends here in my town who i went shopping with. a few girls who would share their go-to places for everything from dresses to yarn to spices. 

but here is the awesome thing: we have each other. (i mean you and me.)

so in case this ruffle-ized outfit that made me feel so happy today is your style, here is some info (and if you just want to let me know how you eat double-stuff oreas or tell me about your current favorite book and skip this part and just head to the comments, that is totally okay):

bloomers: these wide ruffle bloomers from sarah clemens in light brown stripe (looks like she might not have this color anymore, but she has a similar color in a grey stripe). i have quite a few items from sarah and her clothes are well made and adorable.

white layer: sundress from old navy. it actually even has spaghetti straps that tie but i never wear it alone. instead, i always wear it as a layer under something and kind of think of it like a petticoat or slip. (i bought it in three colors and i bet they will have a similar style in stock soon as they already have summer clothes in. this one would work as either this layer or the next.)

navy layer: dress from target several years ago (but it has so many holes in it and a bleach stain on the back that i have started wearing it as my painting "smock" at retreats. but decided to wear it today. i would really like to replace it with one like this from gaia conceptions on etsy. her clothes are wonderful and really well made.)

black layer: this crop top from treehouse 28. (here is the part where i tell you it has taken me several years to figure out how to wear this one with my shape [aka the size of my chest]. finally figured out that the top pairs really nicely with the empire waist items i have.)

scarf: scarf shop giant size in olive moss. martha's scarves are wonderful. so beautifully hand-dyed and so soft.

you can't see: the boots i've mentioned before and these fun (a bit over the knee) knee socks in plum from sock dreams (if you don't know sock dreams, stop everything and head over there. right now.). you also can't really see my favorite "nest builder" necklace by nina or my globe earrings by jen. and the camera strap that i have been using for year is by vmjess.

thank you for indulging me with this list. it is fun to share as though we are sitting at a coffee shop catching up.

tomorrow i am going to check in here about how things our going as we attempt to sit at the table for meals and i try to cook more. i am even going to share a recipe or two. one of them involved purple potatoes!

clementines and instax photos (and other really good things)

1) clementines. these little babies from trader joes make me smile every time i look at them waiting patiently in our vintage-inspired jadeite bowl. ellie and i shared four in a row friday evening. after taking her first bite i asked her, "what do you think?" "good!" she said as she reached for more. we are going to go through the whole bag this weekend.

2) ruffles + layers + a bit of lace...i am obsessed. obsessed in an i am using ruffle-ize as a verb sort of obsessed. and you can see evidence of this obsession over on pinterest. (not kidding. not even a little bit kidding.)

3) this post by elise about why "choose" is her one little word. (deeply inspired by this story as "choose love" is one of my current mantras.)

4) the instax mini is making me so so happy. the little photos are the perfect size to slip into the small pockets in my Project Life album. there is a bit of a learning curve in the winter when there isn't great light but i am giving myself permission to see each photo as an exercise in play. and i am so enjoying taking self-portraits with it that i can imagine an entire project around instax self-portraits. one observation: i had the camera outside when it was in the 30s and the photos seemed to really have trouble developing. (i've been told this is common with polaroids.) so i quickly put the photos in my pocket and my body heat seemed to help.

5) Alicia and Anna Maria have me dreaming about weekends spent by the fire with a needle and thread creating something gorgeous with embroidery or counting cross stitch. and it would be snowing out. and i would be wearing ruffles. and ellie would be contently playing and giggling and dancing. and jon and millie would be napping. and i think soup simmering on the stove would probably be involved. yes. that sounds like perfection. i have Alicia's Daisychain ABC's Sampler and I think it will be a good place to start. but first i have to finish that granny square scarf. yes. i must must do that first. (oh and have you seen anna maria's rugs? her fabric is always a favorite of mine...and now the patterns come in rugs? adore. big.)

hope your weekend has been full of many good things (and rest).

sending light and blessings across the miles,

Liz

a shop celebration

Earlier today, Kelly sent me an email that said:

SIXTEENHUNDRED SALES! WOOHOO!!!!!

congrats chickadee. smiling over here and doing

a little happy dance.

After reading her words, I headed over to my Etsy shop and saw that today I had indeed hit 1600 sales. 

Thank you!

Thank you for cheering me on and visiting my shop and sharing your stories and reaching out through emails and reminding me that what I have to share in this world matters.

To celebrate the gratitude I am feeling, I am having a 16% off everything in the shop sale from now until Sunday at midnight. Just use coupon code HAPPY16 when you check out (just click "apply shop coupon code" above your order total in your cart).

And I have added a new Collaborations section to the shop that now includes each of the nine One Word Girls paired with a Soul Mantra word that Kelly and I have chosen. We have been getting some notes from people saying that they wanted us to choose a word for them, so we thought we would add this option to the shop! I have also added photos of the necklaces with some of the new happy beads that are now part of my One Word Girl vintage moonglow stash.

And here is a little something I am writing down in the self-care section of my journal: You should always surround yourself with people who support you and remind you to celebrate your successes and call you chickadee.

(Thank you my friend.)

Blessings and light,

Liz

making room for the grumps

When I downloaded the photos I took from this morning's "backyard adventure," I was delighted to find this one among the ten or so photos I took of Ellie Jane holding this little dandelion. When we first stepped outside, she went right up to it, plucked it off the stem, and turned and handed it to me. This is the first time she has ever really given me a flower like this.

Of course, my heart melted as she smiled at me and then ran off to play with Millie.

Later, I handed the little flower to her to try to capture her holding it and took several photos before she tried to reattach it to the stem and then threw it onto the ground and stomped her feet on it several times before running off again.

Being one is awesome.

But here is what this photo doesn't show:

This morning, when I saw blue sky through the window, I decided we would bundle up and walk down to the coffee shop and take in the slightly warmer weather and the bits of sun. Blue sky is something to be cherished here, and after almost 8 years, I am learning to get out when I see it because I know I need to breathe it in.

And oh my goodness I need to get out of the house.

As I was getting ready, Ellie started to get a bit fussy as she wanted me to hold her instead of brushing my teeth or going to the bathroom or putting on my clothes. Then, when it came time to change her out of her pajamas, she came very close to all out refusing to put on her pants. I finally said, "But we can't go outside if you don't have on pants." Millie was right there and heard "outside" and started jumping and barking with excitement. When I put Ellie down, she ran to join Millie at the back door, ready to go out. These kids clearly understand the word "outside." But I noticed Ellie was also rubbing her eyes, which is the "I am gonna want to take a nap really really soon" signal.

In that moment, I looked at Ellie and saw her holding "the grumpy tireds" in one hand and "excitement to get outside and play" in the other. In that moment, I knew there would be no walk to the coffee shop where I would find myself in that pushing the stroller while breathing in all the goodness that is getting outside of my house, of my head rythym and then the joy of interacting with another actual adult while ordering coffee experience.

In that moment, I realized I was holding the grumpy tireds and excitement to get outside too. I was feeling disappointment bubble up a bit but I was also really aware of how the grumps were on the outer edges of the moment threatening to take over for both of us.

So we went to the backyard and we gave the grumps some space to run. I took my camera just like I planned to do on our walk. We listened to the birds and ran and danced and found evidence of spring and looked for the sun and watched Millie and picked up leaves and rocks. 

It was still beautiful and real and full of deeply living. It was just different from how I hoped this morning might unfold. And then we came inside and Ellie promptly took a nap.

As I think about this, I keep coming back to this simple thought: Noticing the grumps and then making space for them is part of our daily life.

Sometimes it is as straightforward as a mama and toddler who were up in the middle of the night and didn't get enough sleep so rest is more important than a big adventure because tired grumps are in the air.

Other times it is much more subtle and the grumps arrive wearing t-shirts that say things like "emotionally drained" when we don't set boundaries with people in our lives or "full of envy NOT inspiration" when we spend too much time online instead of living or "drowning" when we don't practice self-care and just keep going and doing instead of being.

Bringing awareness to these simple, but important, "real living" moments is one way I try to stay in the present. When I do this, when I take a breath and really look and listen and let myself feel, I can notice what is in the air around me, around us. And on a day like today, I am able to notice when the grumps arrive.

This evening, I am reminded of what I know: Life is lighter and often full of more joy when I give myself the gift of paying attention

*****

I am so excited to share that registration for the next session of Create Space has begun. This course is a conversation in making room for all that we experience: from joy and beauty to grief and all that is real in our day-to-day lives. It is about giving yourself the gift of creating space within and around you using accessible self-care and being-present practices.

I have tweaked the course a bit since the Fall session, and it is now five weeks long. During the third week, we will take a break from the lessons to create some breathing space to catch up and let what we explore in the first two weeks sink in a bit. There will be inspiration and check in posts throughout this "breathing space" week. There will also be a PDF given at the end of the course so students can continue to explore all that they have learned at their own pace. Read more about Create Space and register here.

a journal (a post in moving pictures)

Today, I spent some time working in my "Smash" journal, and I began to get so excited about it that I decided to create a little video explaining how I am using it to hold myself accountable this year when it comes to living from wholeness, my intentions for my blog, practicing self-care, and making my big dreams a reality.

In the video I mention:

The Smash journal and all the fun accessories you can buy like the tabs and pockets  

My habit of buying these Moleskine journals (I love them and still use them for various things but not for my idea journal. I think they simply blend into my home too much because they are so skinny. But they are perfect for one project or taking notes. And here is the truth: I could turn any of my journals into something similar to how I am using the Smash book BUT I don't have time, and waiting for that time was stopping me from putting pen to paper.)

Jen Lee's way of journaling (I couldn't find a post on her blog about it [I will ask her if she has one], but I did remember this story from Karen Walrond about her conversation with Jen about journaling)

My business coach Nona Jordan

Mondo Beyondo

My post on Roots of She about how this year might unfold if I leaned into wholeness, my post about nourishing myself and family through cooking more, and my post about showing up as me and telling more stories here on my blog

Oh and I am totally wearing the simple "Pigtails" necklace. How she makes me smile! I am working on telling the story of how the one word . one girl collaboration with Kelly was born and will be sharing soon. 

I would love to hear about the way you journal. Do you have one notebook? Do you keep track of your ideas in one place? Do you "hold yourself accountable" when it comes to your dreams? 

PS While browsing the Smash website tonight, I discovered that they have a YouTube channel with short videos with a glimpse inside each of the various journals (because they all have different papers/graphics).

a chocolate chip cookie and project life

January 6: You have discovered the joy of eating chocolate chip cookies. Today, you wanted one as a snack and sat like a big girl at the table and ate all of it, small bite by small bite. You offered to share with me, but as I started to take a bite, you pulled the cookie back and broke off one tiny crumb for me and smiled so big. It was pretty funny. Then you gave me the very last bite as you climbed out of the chair and ran off to play. Later, you decided you wanted another cookie and were not content with the half I offered you and insisted on sitting in this chair again to eat another whole cookie all by yourself. While you eat, you often say, “mmmm” just after you take a bite. You bring such joy to the simple moments of living.

*****

I have decided to attempt Project Life this year (for real this time). I actually ordered the Amber kit about a year ago...but it sat in the box on the floor of our family room. Now it sits out by the kitchen table next to the Canon Selphy printer I am using for some of the photos. (Love that this year you can now just get the core kit and choose your album based on your style etc. So many cool products out for Project Life. I think I am going to get a few other types of page protectors to add to what came in last year's kit.)

After talking with Ali about her experience with Project Life and being so inspired by her weekly posts in 2011 (and then looking at how other members of Becky Higgins' creative team approach it), I decided to jump in this year.

And, I am so happy to report that the first week is almost done! As I was working on choosing the photos, I knew that I would want to add the above "chocolate chip cookie" photos + words to this week's story. I love how you can just add additional page protectors into the album and how there really aren't any rules, so I am working on learning a bit more about digital scrapbooking so I can add a few more stories here and there. And then I really want to use what I learn to create other books of other stories I want to tell with words + photos. A big thank you to Ali and Danielle for holding my hand through this learning curve.

So the pieces above are what I will be putting into this first layout. Stay tuned...I think I am going to have a little too much fun with this.

(edited to add) In the spirit of yesterday's post and your kind support (thank you), I want to share this other layer to the story: Seeing her devour this cookie and show such a big appetite made me so so happy. She is a wee one because of her heart issues and doesn't have much of an appetite because of the medication she is on. We have been in a "holding pattern" with her weight recently as she uses up all the calories she takes in as she runs and dances and explores, and we are hoping she will gain more this month. Although she will never have those baby fat rolls that so many people talk about, that I dreamed about when I was pregnant, I am just so happy she is here eating chocolate chip cookies and french fries and ravioli and blueberries and peas and brocolli. I am just so happy when I hear her say, "mmmm" after each bite. 

(This is also my January "Joy Seeker" story. This series is one way I am documenting the "joy" superhero power that Ellie Jane has. My plan is to gather these glimpses here on the blog from her first to second birthday, and then, I will put them all together and have them printed in a small book. Posting the October, November, and December Joy Seeker entries here didn't happen, but I am still gathering them for the book.)

show up as me

At the beginning of my Create Space ecourse, I ask the students to claim an intention for themselves as they begin. I practice this with them, and in the Fall class, my intention was "show up as me." This weekend, I have been thinking about what I wrote about this intention: 

This is my intention because, at times, I can get so distracted by my whirling mind and the shoulds and the "who does she think she is" gremlins and wishing for more time and the comparisons to others and how the list goes on. Knowing these things about me has gently pushed me to focus on just showing up as me and trusting myself more as I do this. 

I have been thinking about these words because I have been thinking about how really leaning into wholeness might affect my blog and how I blog. When I come to this space, I do show up as me. However, as I wrote above, sometimes those whirling thoughts of "who does she thinks she is" and the comparisons come up, and I don't always tell the stories here that I long to tell.

And there are some stories I long to tell:

I want to talk more about poetry. Some of you might remember that I used to post about poetry every Thursday when I co-led a poetry community a few years ago. When that project ended, I didn't post about poetry as often for a lot of reasons that I can't even remember now. Starting this week, there will be more poetry.

I want to tell you more about the experience of writing Inner Excavation. I want to share thoughts on how it has really been to have a real live book on a shelf in bookstores and tell the truth about how my book shipping from Amazon on the same day my daughter had open-heart surgery has affected my entire experience with "the real live book."

I want to tell you more about Ellie and my world as a mama. For some reason I have worried that people will come here and think "oh how quaint, she blogs all about her kid now" and miss the whole point. But really, I long to tell you more about our days and about a few things concerning her health and share some things I have learned about having a child with "an illness." I really want to talk about my experience of letting go of how you think it is supposed to be or how you thought you would be as a parent, especially when your daughter's cardiologist says things like, "it is time to let her have milkshakes and french fries" because getting weight on her and her keeping it on is more important than the shame of not being one of those "natural mamas" you hoped you might become. (And then there is the whole "yes, she has plastic toys" shame and the "she watches Mickey Mouse Clubhouse because it always gets rid of her grumps" shame...oh how I want to invite all of us to let go of this shame.)

I want to tell you about how incredible and somewhat wacky it was to experience such growth in my Etsy business, host five retreats, begin to write a series of articles for a magazine, teach two online classes, and begin some incredible projects all while being a work at home mom in 2011. (I think I can only talk about it now that I am on the other side and saw that it was possible. But oh my goodness there were times that I thought I was drowning yet I kept going and learned this: I always get it all done, especially when I take time to rest.)

I want to talk more about the Be Present Retreats and share photos and stories from participants about what happens at the retreats and their experiences. I want to tell you about how leading and teaching at these retreats has invited me to realize I am truly at home when I do this work.

I want to go on more self-portrait adventures and encourage you to do the same. I want to share more about self-portraits and why I feel they are such a beautiful way to feel deeply seen.

I want to talk more about how I am trying to push myself to come from a place of compassion when I realize I am having a "knee-jerk" reaction to something or someone.

I want to share more about how I wish we would all let go of whispering "who does she think she is?" and instead stand tall in the truth of who we are.

Yes, there is so much I want to share, and this list feels like it is just the beginning.

Thank you for coming along...