Out with the Old, In with the....Date Bars?

Tom Waites scratchy-ass, throat-full-of- gravel voice fills the air and only the sweet blues that accompanies him stops me from yelling at Robin to switch that shit off to something else on Spotify. What can I say? I know he’s a legend, but I’m not a huge fan. Robin, my husband, happens to be in the kitchen making a lemon tart (I cannot believe how seriously lucky I got with my cute, loves-to-cook French husband). I just made some date bars, and I am dubious. In spite of meticulously following the recipes in Joy of Cooking, they don’t ever seem to come out quite right. The kitchen is NOT my forte. This will be no “lovely photos of delicious recipes that you have to scroll through for 5 minutes to get to the actual fucking recipe” type blog. I once made banana bread with no flour. When I took the gooey, caramelized mess out of the oven it seriously took me a few minutes to realize what had gone wrong.

In my defense, I was still a new mom and I like to harken my forgetfulness to a major episode of “baby brain”. Either way, it’s and episode I will never live down. When I put the date bar mixture into the called-for 9x13” pan, it appeared somewhat miniscule in the giant glass Pyrex. Robin smirked at me and asked, “did you put in the flour?” I gave him the middle finger, but then pulled the recipe book off the shelf just to make sure.

I figured I’d sit down to write a blog while the date bars cool, and hopefully they will taste better than they looked going in. I mean butter, sugar, dates, oats, vanilla, egg….how can you fuck that up? Well, if anyone could, its probably me, so I hope I am better at writing blog posts than making recipes from The Joy of Cooking.

So, here I go. In this ridiculously massive place called the internet, yet another of billions trying to carve out a little space for myself. And to do what, really? I guess to connect. With you. Whoever “you” may be—if you are reading this, you probably have encountered me at an art show, or market and you cared enough to at least sign up for an email list, or perhaps you randomly landed on my page thanks to my excellently random and not well thought out tags which I’m sure get me landed in oh-so-many a google search. Either way, welcome, I’m glad you are here.

In December, I had a pseudo breakdown/break-up with Instagram. I was just feeling so frustrated with the platform, and the overall need in general to condense, break down, and sanitize my “content” into digestible bytes appropriate for social media. And honestly, I got sick of that bullshit. My work as an artist comes from years spent traveling freely and internationally—from this Anthropoloca was born. My desire is to create wearable art, that makes you feel bolder, stronger, fearless—because you ALREAY ARE. I want to cuss and be real and share real life shit and not have to make it fit into a grid of 9 squares, or filter every fucking little thing. (If you don’t like cussing, you should just unsubscribe now…its just who I am) So here we are. A blog—why not? Worth a shot anyway.

So, with this new year, out with the old in with the ……new? Nope. I am damn skippy proud of my old self that arrived at the end of 2018—she has survived, worn and weathered many a storm, laughed endless laughs, cried endless tears, danced into infinity and back, birthed a child (and kept said child alive up to present), made love, traveled hundreds of thousands of miles, hitch-hiked, hula hooped, stilted and juggled, thrown fire, created a livelihood with her own two hands, broken hearts, had her heart broken and burst open by true love. No—I definitely want THAT bitch around. So, for 2019, I am holding sacred the woman who has made it through, knowing there are still so many lessons to learn and reach for. So for me, I will continue to EXPAND in 2019. Expand my horizons and my vision for what is possible. I want to expand beyond what my mind says is possible and discover the infinite ways I can create, move and exist in this finite world. I will expand past the borders I have created for myself that have kept me safe, yet small. And I am excited for her.

How about you? Do you have a word or phrase to keep you connected throughout 2019? Here’s 5 Simple Reminders I always come back to:

1) BREATHE DEEP: its easy to get caught up in life and the myriad of to-do’s that can steal our presence and the present moment. Stopping for a few deep breaths always brings me back to my center and assess any situation with a bit more objectivity,

2) SHIFT HAPPENS: Yes, shit also happens, but it will eventually shift into something else, right? The constant ebb and flow of life is what makes it interesting, exciting, and completely beautiful, but it can leave us frustrated or anxious since we can never know exactly what is coming next. Remember that you are part of this beautiful dance of life, and begin to cultivate trust in the unknown.

3) LOVE MORE: Duh. Do I really need to explain this one?

4) FUCK IT: Sometimes I get caught up in trying to do all the things right, all the time (aka: how I think they SHOULD BE) Again this only steals peace of mind, and my presence. I will literally end up cleaning my entire house before I head to my studio to create….and then its already so late I have 30 minutes before getting Zoe from school. Sometimes, that laundry, those dishes, and whatever the hell else can just wait.

5) FUCKING BRILLIANT: Because I have to remind myself that I am, dammit! And so are you. Don’t forget it.

So there—the date bars are out cooling I think (good thing Robin was on that task and not me), and I finished my first blog post. Win/win….well I haven't tasted the date bars yet, but at least they are done! Please feel free to comment or contact me with any musings of your own, or your own particular simple reminder. I would love to hear about what your plans are for 2019 and in what ways we can create a more meaningful and real connection. Feel free to check out the sale in my shop—use EXPAND19 for 30% off of all necklaces, and find a Simple Reminder bracelet on sale for $33. AND—if you made it this far—THANK YOU!!!! That was long.

cheers!

oh, and the date bars….they looked pretty gnarly, but were damn tasty!