- Published on
luminescence: the emission of light by a substance that has not been heated.
LuMinEssence: the mission of finding light in the dark.
When you spend a sunny late spring afternoon
Hanging out in Central Park
In a shady spot beneath tall trees
With a lovely group of folks
Some you’ve known for a few years now
Others you just met today
And you eat pizza and cookies and candy
And chat about theatre and shows and Beyonce
And tie-dye clothes with brightly colored ink
You feel like you are five again
In the best possible way
And you head home
With a heart full of light.
Hanging out in Central Park
In a shady spot beneath tall trees
With a lovely group of folks
Some you’ve known for a few years now
Others you just met today
And you eat pizza and cookies and candy
And chat about theatre and shows and Beyonce
And tie-dye clothes with brightly colored ink
You feel like you are five again
In the best possible way
And you head home
With a heart full of light.
- Published on
Food Prep
Sweet potato, butternut squash and
Two different kinds of potato
Sprinkled with salt and cracked pepper
An entire clove of garlic and a Spanish onion
Chicken dressed with rosemary and olive oil
Roasted in the oven
Two different kinds of potato
Sprinkled with salt and cracked pepper
An entire clove of garlic and a Spanish onion
Chicken dressed with rosemary and olive oil
Roasted in the oven
- Published on
Thread
Inspired by thread
And craft
And making
And craft
And making
- Published on
With the new year upon us, and many people making resolutions for better, brighter 2015's, I thought I'd re-share my 30th birthday wishes in the hope you'll incorporate at least one into your new year.
Thank you for reading this year. It has been an adventure.
With love,
Lu xx
- Write to someone you have been thinking kindly about. Make it a person you have not spoken to in a long time. Do it without expectation of a response. Tell them you’ve been thinking of them and why.
- Buy a copy of The Big Issue, or equivalent street mag, from the next vendor you see.
- Pay attention to your breath for one minute. Don’t worry about whether you’re “doing it right” or breathing “properly”. Just pause and watch your breath go in and out for one minute. Repeat throughout the day as you remember this request.
- Read an actual book. Not on a device, an actual book. Smell the pages. Feel the pages between your fingers. Savor the delicious feeling of being-almost-at-the-end and not wanting it to be finished.
- That instrument you’ve always wanted to learn? Work out right now how you can get a hold of that instrument, and seek out lessons. The internet is an amazing place.
- Seek out your local farmer’s market. Buy something you’ve never seen/eaten before and learn what to do with it.
- If you are willing and able, donate blood and/or platelets. Google it right now to find out where you can do so in your city. If you can’t donate, consider sharing information on how to do so.
- If you are willing and able, sign up to be a donor on the bone marrow registry in your country. You could be a life-saving match for someone. Google it right now to find out where you can do so in your city.
- Be kind to yourself. No really. Stop being so hard on yourself. You are awesome and more loved and valued than you realize.
- Remember that you are alive. Remember your passions and what makes your spine tingle with delight, your heart race, and your soul feel happy. Allow yourself to feel sad when you’re down. It’s ok. This too shall pass. The good, the bad, the ugly. Just be here.
Thank you for reading this year. It has been an adventure.
With love,
Lu xx
- Published on
"Stitch 'n bitch"
When a group of people,
Usually women,
Get together
Eat and drink
And knit and sew and
Work on crafty projects
It was lovely to watch
Women working on
Patchwork quilts
And curtains
And bags
Made from pretty fabrics
How delightful to participate
For one afternoon
In this world
Of feeding and project making
The whir and rattle of
Sewing machines
The chatter of women
And new mothers
Their three tiny babies
Hanging out in basinets
Or on blankets on the floor
The eldest of the three
Six months old
Reveling in her newly acquired skill of
Rolling Over
You can almost see joy in her face
When gravity, and a little effort,
Changes her view of the world
Yet understanding with complete clarity
This is not my world
I have no desire to be a mother
To cradle
And rock a little one to sleep
To discuss feeding habits
Or diaper changes
Or what foods to eat to produce more breast milk
Or where to seek useful information
On all of the above
Colouring a mandala
And knowing
All of our stories, choices, and worlds
Are different
And that we all contribute to the vast
Patchwork of life
With our own forms of creation
The end.
When a group of people,
Usually women,
Get together
Eat and drink
And knit and sew and
Work on crafty projects
It was lovely to watch
Women working on
Patchwork quilts
And curtains
And bags
Made from pretty fabrics
How delightful to participate
For one afternoon
In this world
Of feeding and project making
The whir and rattle of
Sewing machines
The chatter of women
And new mothers
Their three tiny babies
Hanging out in basinets
Or on blankets on the floor
The eldest of the three
Six months old
Reveling in her newly acquired skill of
Rolling Over
You can almost see joy in her face
When gravity, and a little effort,
Changes her view of the world
Yet understanding with complete clarity
This is not my world
I have no desire to be a mother
To cradle
And rock a little one to sleep
To discuss feeding habits
Or diaper changes
Or what foods to eat to produce more breast milk
Or where to seek useful information
On all of the above
Colouring a mandala
And knowing
All of our stories, choices, and worlds
Are different
And that we all contribute to the vast
Patchwork of life
With our own forms of creation
The end.
- Published on
El Camino de Santiago
If there is something that you want to do
GO TO IT
You are not too old
It is not too late
You ARE more capable than you think
You have everything you need to start TODAY.
Stop making excuses and
Just. Go. To. It.
GO TO IT
You are not too old
It is not too late
You ARE more capable than you think
You have everything you need to start TODAY.
Stop making excuses and
Just. Go. To. It.
- Published on
vegetarian spaghetti
I distinctly remember
As a teenager
Eating a chicken leg
Actually gnawing on the gristle
And declaring to my vegetarian step-mum
"I could NEVER be a vegetarian.
I LOVE meat!"
Nom nom nom.
And then
When I was twenty-something
I got sick
Really sick
I was sick for a year
I had everything
Laryngitis
Bronchitis
Influenza
I got sick of being sick
I did a bit of research
And decided what was making me ill
Was my diet
I cut out meat
And boosted my intake
Of fresh leafy greens
Became friends with farmers' markets
And devoured
All colours of the rainbow
In fruit and vegetable form
I did it slowly over time
To get used to new flavours
New ways of cooking
And you know what?
I stopped getting sick
I started appreciating
Food
I learnt how to cook
With what was available
And seasonal and fresh
If you had told my teenage self
That one night
For fun
I would whip together
Raw courgette and carrot noodles
With a red pepper and pine nut sauce
And meatless eggplant balls
Because those were what she had in the fridge
She would have laughed
And said
"GROSS! Where's the MEAT?!
That meal has NOTHING in it!"
But my present-day-self
Offers thanks
To the farmers who grew all the veggies
The people that delivered them
And the recipes that inspired their ultimate
Delicious consumption
The end.
As a teenager
Eating a chicken leg
Actually gnawing on the gristle
And declaring to my vegetarian step-mum
"I could NEVER be a vegetarian.
I LOVE meat!"
Nom nom nom.
And then
When I was twenty-something
I got sick
Really sick
I was sick for a year
I had everything
Laryngitis
Bronchitis
Influenza
I got sick of being sick
I did a bit of research
And decided what was making me ill
Was my diet
I cut out meat
And boosted my intake
Of fresh leafy greens
Became friends with farmers' markets
And devoured
All colours of the rainbow
In fruit and vegetable form
I did it slowly over time
To get used to new flavours
New ways of cooking
And you know what?
I stopped getting sick
I started appreciating
Food
I learnt how to cook
With what was available
And seasonal and fresh
If you had told my teenage self
That one night
For fun
I would whip together
Raw courgette and carrot noodles
With a red pepper and pine nut sauce
And meatless eggplant balls
Because those were what she had in the fridge
She would have laughed
And said
"GROSS! Where's the MEAT?!
That meal has NOTHING in it!"
But my present-day-self
Offers thanks
To the farmers who grew all the veggies
The people that delivered them
And the recipes that inspired their ultimate
Delicious consumption
The end.
- Published on
Roasted potatoes
And carrots
And celeriac
And celeriac soup
And rice and lentils
And hummus
And salad with tomatoes and avocado
With a world leader
Talking positive
In the background
Make for a delicious morning
The end.
And carrots
And celeriac
And celeriac soup
And rice and lentils
And hummus
And salad with tomatoes and avocado
With a world leader
Talking positive
In the background
Make for a delicious morning
The end.
- Published on
- Published on
I wrote a guest post for the wonderful cruelty-free cosmetics blog, My Fair Lipstick, on making cheap and organic shampoo at home. Check it out here.