Labors of Love + Leaps of Faith

Hello, internets! I know I have been m.i.a. for the last couple of months, but it's not for a lack of appreciation of all of your loveliness. Life has been crazy. Crazy busy. Crazy good.

Ezra's toddlerhood is such a joy and with every passing day he becomes more communicative and loving and hilarious. He is becoming his own little person and it's beautiful. Sure there's days of meltdowns (mainly mine), but man, what an intense and beautiful journey this little thing called parenthood has become. I am so crazy in love with that little person and some days it's all I can do to not flip the Mommy Dearest switch on. As I know I have said before, parenthood is an exercise in extremes and I still very much believe this to be true, but the good end of this spectrum somehow continues to get more and more rewarding. 

In a recent trip to the aquarium Ezra wailed and generally pouted throughout the entire hour long walk-through, culminating in a full blown breakdown in front of the seahorses. The saddest part is that I know how much he adores seahorses and how sad he would be to have missed out on enjoying them, but we had crossed into a very delicate and intense place that all parents of toddlers are well-versed in. So there we were wailing, pouting, and finally rolling on the floor in all his toddler glory, and then with a banana and the cool breeze of the outdoors, cuddling and lots of excited yelling of nouns began. Fish! Blue fish! Crabs! Seahorses! Neigh! Neigh! (we're still trying to explain the difference) Water! Babies! Swim! Swim! You would have thought this child was the happiest child to experience the awe-inspiring exploration of the seas. With every facial expression and his absolute best and clearest pronunciation he relayed what an amazing time he had just had. We cuddled and laughed and genuinely enjoyed an experience that in all actuality was pretty rough. 

This is having a toddler...

So yes, much of my days are filled with the care and maintenance that a toddler demands, but also...I have made a pretty big career decision. I am opening my own yoga and wellness studio in downtown St. Joseph, MO. Huzzah labors of love and leaps of faith! The studio will offer varying styles of yoga, meditation, massage therapy, wellness education, and a small retail space of hand-made (by myself and a few close and talented friends) and organic home and personal care products. I am excited and overwhelmed and generally all a' flutter with the reality of making this happen, but I believe I'm off to a good start.

This past weekend St. Joseph hosted an event to support downtown growth and business development called Better Block. The idea is that abandoned or empty storefronts (which unfortunately our downtown has far too many) are filled with varied pop-up shops and vendors. The slogan being "a better block today, a better downtown tomorrow". This being the second year of the event I was pleasantly surprised with the organization and number of quality vendors involved. I was fortunate enough to be included and thrilled that I would be able to use the space that will actually be my studio in a few short months.

 KATIE AND JORDAN (OF PINK ELEPHANT) WITH MYSELF AND AMBER

The weather was perfect at high 60's and sunny, the Felix Street Square (right next to my studio) was filled with local food vendors and talented musicians taking their turns on the stage, and people genuinely thrilled at the idea of a walkable, thriving downtown. This event was a great opportunity for me to expose people to the retail element of the upcoming studio and share with them the plans for the space. People were incredibly supportive and like-minded individuals with talents and skills that I would love to share with our community came out of the woodwork (as has been a common thread with this undertaking).

AMBER SHOWING OFF HER LOVELY YOGA BAGS (HAND MADE WITH VINTAGE MATERIALS) 

 ROOM AND BODY SPRAYS BY THE AMAZING BREAN

BODY AND BEARD BUTTER, FACE AND BODY SCRUBS, AND TINTED LIP BALM ALL BY THE BADASS JENI

LAUNDRY SOAP, SURFACE CLEANER, AND ESSENTIAL OILS BY YOURS TRULY

It felt like the first step in something potentially really quite amazing. Sharing a practice so dear to my heart, selling hand-made products that I really believe in, and allowing a venue and opportunity for people to share their own skills is such a dream come true. These past few weeks has been a lot of unsexy bureaucracy and  number crunching, but this weekend, with its first taste of real possibility, has made it all worth it. I am more excited and confident about this little dream of mine than ever before. I believe in my community's ability to support this business and I believe in my ability to bring it to fruition.

Of course an undertaking of this scale doesn't come without it's fair share of risks and fears. It has already brought to the surface so many personal insecurities and self-doubt, but it has also brought out the dormant leader in me and brought such lovely peers and advisors into my life. Yeah, it's totally terrifying and exposing, but I'm learning that most of the best things are...

How to Sprout: Alfalfa Seeds

Full of minerals and amino acids, sprouts are a great healthy food to have on hand during the winter when fresh goodness isn't as readily available. The best part, it's super easy to grow at home! Hooray for simple, at-home abundance in the middle of January! I made my first batch of sprouts this week and I was thrilled with the yield (2 large overflowing mason jars from 2 tbsp. of seeds). So for very little money and time you can have fresh food in rotation all winter! Absolutely delicious!

For my first batch I went with alfalfa sprouts, simple and delicious in salads, sandwiches, and green smoothies. If you would like to give sprouting a try at home (if you aren't already) here's a step by step guide to sprouty goodness.

You Will Need

Alfalfa Seeds
Mason Jars (at least two)
Cheesecloth (or squares of breathable fabric)

Step One: Soak 2 tbsp. of spouts in mason jar overnight. You want to replace the inner cap of your mason jar with the cheesecloth so that you can let water and air into and out of the jar without losing seeds.

 DAY ONE

Step Two: Rinse sprouts in the morning. Continue to rinse with cold water every 12 to 24 hours for several days. (I rinsed morning and night just to be safe and keep 'em clean!) Lay your mason jar on it's side to drain any remaining water during the sprouting process (this also allows the seeds to spread out). Once your sprouts begin overflowing the first jar move half over to a second jar and continue rinsing both jars of sprouts.

DAY THREE

 

Step Three: Around day six your sprouts should be fully developed. They will be nice and green with long white tails. To finish your sprouts place on a towel or plate in the sunlight for a couple of hours. This will allow them to soak up all that fresh sunlight and soak up lots of chlorophyll. Yum!

 DAY SIX

 

Step Four: Enjoy! Make sure you're sprouts are nice and dry when you store them in the fridge. They will last in a ziplock bag refrigerated for about a week (or two). When they are no longer vibrant and have begun to discolor you should toss any remaining sprouts.

 ABSORBING LOTS OF SUNLIGHT!

Happy sprouting!

Tara