by Claire Star
I’ve been thinking about this space often, rest assured, despite my lack of presence on the blog. In our weekly chats, Nicole and I often talk about our dreams for this corner of the internet, from recipes we want to share with you, essay series’ we’d love to write, and general musings we think you might like. When I’m on my bike ride to work, sitting in class, or eating lunch, I often have blog ideas pop into my head. Onto my ever-growing list of posts to write they go. Soon, hopefully, I’ll have a chance to write some of them out.
In the meantime, here’s a little update on my life lately:
+ I’ve been looking at pretty things on Pinterest (here’s my account and the LCOL boards right this way), and spending many afternoons with cute kiddos (see here).
+ I’ve been working on a couple of cool research projects for school. (If you’d like to chat benefits of service learning for middle schoolers, or, perhaps, hear about the harms of gold mining to women and children’s health around the world, I’m your girl.) If you’re interested, two interesting things I’m learning about: 1.) How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime and 2.) El Salvador, Prizing Water Over Gold, Bans All Metal Mining. I’m also reading Half the Sky, which I’d highly recommend. I’m learning so much.
+ In my (minimal) free time, I’m reading The Warmth of Other Suns, a beautifully written book about the Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson. It was recommended to me by my favorite professor and, for the past year or so, I’ve been reading it in snippets. Each time I do, I couldn’t agree more with reviewers who’ve called the book “mesmerizing” and “improbably page-turning,” comparing Wilkerson to Steinbeck.
+ I can’t wait for Brandi Carlile’s new album, Cover Stories, to release. Ten years after The Story first came out, Brandi asked twelve great musicians to do covers of her songs in support of War Child, a nonprofit supporting children affected by conflict. NPR shared a preview here.
+ I’ve been stress baking almost weekly. My current rotation includes (pretty darn healthy) banana-apple-oatmeal muffins and coconut macaroons. Recipes to come! I’m also scouting rhubarb recipes as ’tis the season. Consider this my formal request for any and all recommended recipes that don’t require too many fanciful ingredients.
+ I’ve been drinking copious amounts of coffee and am looking forward to Seattle Coffee Works opening a new branch near me on Capitol Hill.
How are you doing? What are you up to this spring?
// Photos via my Instagram
Tags: by Claire, Food, Life, Music, Read, Seattle, Spring