This pose brought to you by Beer.

Did she go to Austin? To the furthest corners of her garden? To Grandma’s house?

Yes to all.

But I’m back.

So many updates and Simple Veggie things coming soon.

I missed you!

These are staples of living in The Desert.

I know I’m crazy, but Gimme Gimme Gimme.

I genuinely LOVE the heat. When the temperatures climb past 100 I may be the only person in town jumping for joy. Granted, I do looove our gorgeous springs – and I’m a total Spring Training baseball junkie – but when I can open the front door at 8pm and step out into a blanket of warm dry air, I’m in heaven.

But no matter how much I beg summer to stay, eventually October arrives. Weird, wonderful October. It makes me remember that the approach of fall in Arizona is pretty nifty, too. So far October has brought 104 degree heat, an awesome and destructive storm that blew out 3 windows and a skylight at my parents’ house across town, and today’s breezy 80 degree lunch hour on the back patio.

I’m enjoying it while I can, because I know I really only have until Halloween before it becomes ungodly cold outside (aka 55 degrees) and I’ll rarely venture out of the house without my snow boots (no joke) and knit cap. Inside I’ll be wearing my fluffy brown slippers that Handsome Mr. Mustache calls my Potato Feet.

Side note – I know that Halloween will be cold because the gods of modesty have seen to it that around here it stays warm right up to All Hallows Eve, and then that night the temps drop sufficiently low so that all the “Angels” at the block party – costumed in only white lacy underwear, wings and stilettos - look like shivering q-tips.

So before that happens I thought I’d share with you some photos I took on a recent hot afternoon at the Desert Botanical Garden. Hot afternoons are a great time to go to the DBG because almost no one else is around to be offended by your swears about how damm hot it is.

Desert Botanical Garden

Star shaped cactus!

Do the twist.

Pretend there aren't lame shadows. Thanks.

Hairy men!

Flower. Duh.

Carl and his daughter, My Favorite Five Year Old.

Loved this crazy guy.

Scavenger hunt.

Cactus disguised as rocks.

If you’re familiar with the DBG you might notice that these pictures are all from the same area of the garden. That is because at first I could only think Aw shit why didn’t I bring a hat I’m a moron! In fact, none of us had hats. Apparently Carl and I both thought it was fall or something…  

But then after a few sunny sweaty trails it occured to me duuude I should be taking pictures of all this! And so I did and that was fun too.

Finally we realized we’re friggin hungry. And we’d seen everything so we left.

Hot sun, crazy plants, favorite peeps. Great day.

Noooo I don’t wanna get up.

I’m not a jump-out-of-bed kind of person.

Squishing my eyelashes hard against my face and fingers, I thought Well shit, now I’ve got mascara all over the place. Nice start to the day.

See, I’m not good at washing my face before bed. Or in the morning, for that matter. Basically whenever I shower, that’s when my face gets washed.

And I’ve never been big on showers.

But before I finished my toddler impersonation I realized Wait I can rub these eyeballs all damm day!

Because I haven’t used any beauty products for well over a week.

That’s no shampoo, no conditioner, no makeup, no lotion, no body wash, no nada.

And I’m as susceptible as the next person to the promising personal care products at Ulta, Target and even my local grocery store. I could drop many a bill on wrinkle defying face lotion, sexifying hair volumizer, and Hong Kong themed nail polish (omgyes!).

But I usually resist by reasoning that there are better things I could spend my hard-earned (or long-saved) cash on, none of it is really necessary, and most insultingly, it all just exists because we’ve been convinced that we’re ugly without it.

For quite some time I’ve been trying out all-natural shampoos, trading lotion for plant-based oils and using organic makeup. But even those are expensive, unnecessary, and still reinforce the same ideas, namely: 1) our hair and skin aren’t good enough on their own, and 2) women need to do extra work in order to look “presentable.”

Those ideas have already bothered me for years and I’ve mostly ignored them, but lately I’ve gotten serious about the questions those ideas raise:

If skin is the body’s largest organ, should I smear stuff on it every day?

Do we really need Products in order to exist in modern society?

I’ve long been interested ancient natural-beauty philosophies such as Ayurveda, but decided that finding, purchasing and preparing herbs and oils is not really the answer for me. It’s a fascinating practice, but it’s far too complicated for me to stick to and doesn’t accomplish my goals of living both naturally and simply.

I’ve considered washing my hair with baking soda, lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, but just never got around to researching those more.

Then I happened to read Karol Gajda’s blog post about How to Declare a New Holiday, which included the recommendation to try water-only hair washing. I followed some links, read up, and since it couldn’t get any more natural or simple, I decided this shit’s for me!

Of course I can’t do anything halfway, so I decided to try living entirely Product-Free.

[Note - I still use soap for bathroom and kitchen hand washing, toothpaste (all natural), and rock deodorant (my salt lick, as Handsome Mr. Mustache calls it). I’m not yet totally free from chapstick, and I’ll use sunscreen when necessary but I generally just stay shaded by a big hat. These things don’t count as Products in my mind because they prevent disease, cavities, stinkyness, lip loss, and cancer, respectively.]

Wanna know what I’ve discovered?

Living like this f*king rules.

Assembly of gorgeousification.

Here are some of the things I’ve learned:

The time I save in living product-free is greater than the sum of its parts. If I shower first thing in the morning, once the evening rolls around all I need to do is brush hair, teeth, and maybe change clothes for going out. No more need to “freshen up” or spend an hour getting ready for a fancy event. In fact, I thought my most basic hair and makeup routine was short, but I now have much more free time than I would have guessed.

I don’t feel oily or dirty. In fact, I felt ickier 24 hours after a standard product-filled shower than I do after 10 days of water-only.

My skin feels soft and smooth. And no I don’t mean hair-free soft and smooth, cause I totally hate shaving. (Although I do it. Grudgingly.) My skin is soft and smooth thanks to the good daily water-only scrubbing it gets with my natural fiber loofahs.

My hair is soft, thick and full. After shampooing my hair always felt thin and it hung flat against my head unless I added product, gave it a blow dry, and spent 20-45 minutes working on it. Now it has natural body and volume. I’ve heard it takes 4-8 weeks for the natural oils to balance out, so I’m curious to see how it’ll keep changing. I’ve also heard that around week 1 or 2 it goes through a “sticky” phase, which I was not looking forward to but haven’t yet experienced.

Nobody treats me any differently. This week I had two big tests of my new philosophy – I went to see a concert and a touring Broadway musical. Both were occasions to dress up and both involved after-parties with people involved in the shows. I put on my awesomest dress, stuck to my Product-Free routine, and didn’t feel a bit different from anyone else there. I confidently chatted up strangers and nobody acted like my face was naked or my hair was undone. It was no. big. deal.

I actually feel more confident. Now when I face the world, I really face it. This is me, take it or leave it. My eyelashes are sparse (maybe from years of mascara-wearing?), but my eyes themselves are awesome. My hair may not be shampoo-shiny, but it’s got good natural texture that I used to achieve through shampoo+conditioner+texturizer. Seriously. I bought products to take out and then put back a “natural” look. WTF, me?!

Earlier this week Leo Babauta wrote an article entitled you’re already perfect, which beautifully aligns with living Product-Free. Got freckles? Don’t hide them. Got wild curly hair? (I’m so friggin jealous, btw.) Set it free. There’s something about ignoring the advice from mainstream magazines that makes me feel f*k-you confident. In short, it suits me.

So join me. Kick the product habit, even if for just a week. Spare your body the chemicals, and save yourself the cash you might otherwise spend on that new product. Live simply and naturally for a little while.

Living product-free has been an incredibly liberating experience for me and I’m excited to see how my hair and skin continue to adjust over the coming weeks. I’m hoping that being soap-free means my skin eventually won’t need any moisturizer as fall and winter set in, but I’m admitting right now that I’ll moisturize with jojoba oil if necessary.

So finally – don’t let the details keep you from trying out the big picture. If you need the lotion, give up the shampoo. If you need the hair products, give up the body wash. Seriously, you’re hot stuff already. Don’t try to hide it. And please let me know how it goes.

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Ok, it was actually 2 non-food items and yeah I’ve broken that rule more than once already anyways but I’ll get to that another day.

Last weekend’s two non-food purchases were: A retractable clothesline & clothes pins.

A whole new world.

Seriously now – I live in Phoenix. There is no reason I can’t hang a few loads out under the cruel desert sun instead of running the dryer for hours each week.

I’ve been thinking and talking about doing line drying since I bought my house, but three years slipped by without a single step in that direction.

And then there I was, at the JC Penny outlet. And there they were, staring up at me.

Take us hoooommmme. We loooove youuuuuu.

Yes that’s right. Clothes lines & pins talk like ghosts.

I was bigtime excited to get all Little House on the Prairie up in this piece, so first thing the next morning I got out my toolkit to affix the line and hook to my patio posts.

My precioussss

Then throughout the day, load by load, I proudly displayed my laundry across the patio. It was mostly towels but I threw a few unmentionables in the mix, just for funsies.

Can you spot the unmentionables? Sexay.

Then I washed all my sweet pup’s toys in the sink and added them to the line.

Extreme colorful cuteness.

When the toys were all dry and with my trusty dog’s supervision, I pulled them from the line, tossed them in a bag and went inside to chat up my two roommates, since – miracle of miracles! – we were all home and awake at the same time.

I set the bag on the floor next to me and told them all about our new life-changing clothesline and the magical drying properties of desert air.

I also announced that if I’m going to live simply, so can the dog. We would no longer be finding Archie’s 9 stuffed little toys strewn throughout the house, because I would now be doling them out one at a time.

No need for this place to look like a damned preschool.

I thought I was very reasonable, logical, and basically the smartest bitch ever, but the girls just giggled and pointed in the general direction of my feet.

Sir Archibald Amos Dog had abandoned the giraffe I’d given him and was taking the rest of his clean toys out of the bag, one by one.

Toyyyys

Simplicity was for the birds. He wanted his stuff.

Now when I notice myself resisting getting rid of something, I think of that moment. On one hand I’m trying to take a back-to-basics approach to life and living. Line drying my clothes. Getting rid of crap I don’t need. Growing my own food.

But if my dog wants all the toys he can get his teeth on, how much more basic an instinct could that be?

Maybe we’re not all just programmed by the media, the magazines, the television.

Maybe it’s just plain natural to want.

I’m still working through my closet, still downsizing and still simplifying. I’m still committed to clearing out the clutter and to actually knowing and using what I own. I’m still reminding myself to enjoy nature more and purchased goods less.

But when I’m plagued by the feeling that it should be easy to get rid of stuff, I remember that wanting to have more is a deep-rooted instinct. That it’s going to be difficult, and I’m not ever going to be a minimalist’s minimalist. I’m simplifying my life, one room at a time, and that is enough.

And sometimes I just need a puppy (& kitty!) break.

Loves!

Bonus tip: Don’t put anything your dog wants in a grocery bag on the floor if you ever hope to use that bag for groceries again.

I love to eat them, I love to cook them, I love to smell them, I love to look at them, I love to water them, and occasionally I love to destroy them. (Some plants are real bastards.)

But, let’s be honest – the part I love most is the eating.

So last year I became a gardener.

You may already know that I live in Arizona. And not in lovely foresty Flagstaff, Arizona. Not in red-rocky, vortexy Sedona, Arizona. Not even in dunes-y, just a few blessed hours to San Diego-y Yuma, Arizona.

No, I live in sweaty deserty Tempe, Arizona.

You’ll be forgiven for thinking that all we can grow here are cactus and sunburns, because I thought that too until my sweet friend and local domestic hero Kelli proved me wrong by growing so much food.

So last fall I cleared out a section of my front porch planter and had crazy amazing success with lettuce. C-r-a-z-y. I admit I was shocked when a few seedlings emerged, but I nearly died from joyous disbelief while eating the first of many home-grown salads.

Pure joy.

Maybe I do have a green thumb, I exclaimed.

Maybe I can live off the land!?!

Then in March I planted a spring garden. I (*some men I paid*) even removed (*sawed, axed, and yanked out with a truck*) the horrible pineapple-shaped palm-like thingy with needle-sharp frond points at exactly neck height which was conveniently located on the path to my front door, and replaced it with much-friendlier and less-law-suit-threatening cucumber and bell pepper seeds.

And those seeds performed just exactly like poo.

Yes a pest got the cucumbers. The peppers have no excuse.

Which is to say, I have not yet eaten one cucumber or one pepper, so they totally drool and lettuce totally rules.

Hence my dreams to live off the “land,” which at my house is actually mostly concrete thanks to my two large and wonderful patios (patiophile alert), were left unfulfilled in the spring 2010 gardening season, and yet these dreams are not entirely crushed.

Therefore I go about planning Fall Garden 2010 with high hopes and great confidence.

I am aware that the soil in the former pineapple palm spot may not be the Greatest Soil Ever, especially for vegetables, so I’ll be working it over, adding more veggie-friendly soil, and maybe adding nitrogen and phosphate if I’m feeling fancy, motivated, and potentially, rich (my guess is these things are not cheap).

I may do the same to the soil where the lettuce grew last fall, in which I also planted pepper seeds for the Poo Performing Spring Garden 2010. And like their pooey siblings, these seeds failed to produce even one measly bright fleshy fruit as thanks for my magnanimous acts of freeing them from the little paper envelope and tending to them so lovingly. I told you – some plants are just plain bastards.

I let the fountain grass take over when it became clear the peppers had given up on reproduction.

And yet I press on, ready to raise up another batch of potentially ungrateful but hopefully delicious vegetable children.

Kitty insisted on inspecting the seed selection.

Sweetdena’s Fall Garden 2010

Total gardening space: 20ish square feet

Arugula, rocket salad, roquette

Lettuce, romaine

Carrot, short ‘n’ sweet

Radish, white icicle

But wait, there’s more!

My parents recently bought a  house situated on a veritable Garden of Eden just 15 minutes away from me, and Ma and I have big plans for vegifying a plot of it.

This week we’ll be preparing the area for food creation and next week we’ll be sticking those wonder-producing little dots of embryonic material the earth.

Ma & Pa Kettle’s Fall Garden 2010

Total gardening space: 100ish square feet (or really, as much as we can handle)

Lettuce, romaine

Lettuce, prizeleaf

Parsley, extra curled dwarf

Pea, wando

Pea, sugar snap

Carrot, short ‘n’ sweet

Radish, white icicle

Brussels Sprouts, dwarf improved*

*I read I shouldn’t expect much from these here in Phoenix, but my handsome boyfriend loves to say “Brussels Sprouts” (with a huge emphasis on the pluralizing “s” in “Brussels”) so much that I’ve gotta plant them. It will bring him so much joy to ask me every single day how the Brussels Sprouts are doing.

Onion, evergreen long white bunching

Onion, yellow granex hybrid (brought to me from Hawaii by a super-amiga)

 Conclusion: I’m about to get in way over my head, gardening-wise.

If you have any gardening tips, please (please please) share them!

I need all the help I can get to keep garden suckiness at bay.

An Eggplant that promised to expire at any moment, sneaking twoish dollars from my pocket, bypassing my stomach entirely, and placing them firmly in the trash. 

An Emergency Eggplant Recipe had to be concocted! An Emergency Eggplant Recipe with exactly the few ingredients I had on hand! An Emergency Eggplant Recipe to feed the starving roommates! Could it be done before the Eggplant went bad?? Stay tuned. 

My life kinda turned into an episode of The Lone Ranger or something just then. Nifty. 

Anywayyyy, the Eggplant is one of my favorite vegetarian dietary staples, right up there with Heirloom tomatoes (gimmegimmegimme), Quinoa (drool) and Hummus (do not even get me started seriously). So I was particularly inspired to save this Mighty Eggplant, Purplest Vegetable of My Heart from dying in the trash and opted to kill it by pan, teeth and stomach juices instead. 

My lovely roommies were gathered round the kitchen telling wild tales of work events and paper-writing and generally remaining all but oblivious to the magic that was happening around and atop the stove. 

We chatted, the dog eavesdropped, the cat lurked, and bowls of vegetably noodley goodness were quickly produced. 

Without further ado, I give you the one, the only, the simple, the tasty, the vegan - 

Easy Awesome Eggplant Pasta 

Recipe by Sweetdena 

You’ll need these: 

• 1 good-sized eggplant (you’ll know the right one when you see it)
• 2 big vine tomatoes
• A couple cloves of garlic
• Pasta (I used spaghetti because I have a lifetime supply in my pantry)
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper
• Fresh basil leaves (optional)
• Pre-made pesto (optional)
  • Pesto is traditionally not vegan. Boo on that. But it is vegetarian. Small yay!

Then do these: 

• Cube the Eggplant.

Parental guidance suggested.

•  Toss the cubed Eggplant into a colandar and salt the sass out of it.

- Leave the colander in the sink or on a plate, since the salt will draw the liquid out of the cubes and soon you’ll have a brownish watery mess beneath it. 

- Leave it sit for a few minutes to half an hour, depending on how full of olive oil deliciousness you’d like your cooked Eggplant to be. The longer you leave it sitting and salting, the more juice it’ll give up and the firmer it’ll be when it’s cooked. 

- I don’t mind my Eggplant a little soft, melty and oily, plus I’m super impatient and don’t like to wait around for it to degorge (acutal term!) so I let it salt until I’m ready for it and then cook it as is. 

- Finally, some people rinse their Eggplant after salting, but I just end up adding that salt right back in while I’m cooking so I usually don’t bother rinsing. Lazy!

• Crush the garlic a bit then mince it up.
• Heat up some olive oil (a couple tablespoons should do it) in a wok or frying pan.
• Get started on boiling a pot of water.
• Add the garlic to the olive oil.

- Yeah, I pretty much forgot to take pictures of all this. Whoopsie!

• When the garlic is a bit soft, add the Eggplant. Mix it up nice ‘n’ good.

- You’ll probably want to put a lid on the pan at this point, since the temptation to stare at it and say Hurry hurry cook cook is very strong. 

- But you will need to give it some stirs throughout to keep it from sticking and burning, so don’t forget about it altogether. 

- As if that is even possible. 

• Maybe by now your water is boiling? If so, slide in your pasta (snap them in half first) (not one by one – all at once, sheesh) and pour in some olive oil.

- My roommie used to date an Italian fellow and he was horrified when he saw her boil pasta without oil. So now we know.  

• Cook the pasta according to the package directions.
• Slice the tomatoes into chunks and keep them aside until the Eggplant is allllmost done.

- Allllmost done means just a hint of tough chewy inside. Yes, you will have to taste it mid-cooking. Some people don’t like to do this. I say that is weird but whatever. 

• While you’re tasting, check to see if it needs salt and/or pepper and add it.

- If it tastes like bland rubbery nothing, it needs both. Especially salt. 

• When the Eggplant reaches that allllmost done consistency, add the tomatoes.

- Let them cook until they’re soft, but not mushy blobs. Soft chunks is what we want. 

• When the Eggplant is done, the tomatoes are soft, and the pasta is draining in the (rinsed out) colander, combine them all in the pot you cooked the pasta in.

- Maybe rinse the pot out real quick first. 

• Add more oil until it all slides around easily and makes gross sounds when you stir.

- Slorp slorp slorp.   

All together now.

• Give it a taste for one last salt & pepper addition, then serve it up to the roommates who have all-the-while been chitchatting away and generally turning your evening into a heartwarming kitcheny montage straight out of a chick flick.

- But don’t food fight or anything. Leave that for the movies. 

• Optional add-in: whomever it pleases may add to their serving a few fresh basil leaves (we happen to have a basil plant that’s not dead yet) or half-a-spoonful of pre-made pesto (a jar from Trader Joe’s was produced at exactly the right moment).

Basil plant and jarred pesto. A weird food father-son moment.

- This is especially necessary if you were shy with the salt and pepper and it still tastes like blah. 

• Scarf down your Easy Awesome Eggplant Pasta with a glass or three of white wine.
• Pat yourself on the back for taking five everyday ingredients and turning them into pure deliciousness.

Realize you've almost polished it off without photographing the final product!

• Smile at your roommies, family, pets, plants, or even your fork and think this is the life.

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Alas, I am doomed to be but a “wishful learner.”    

I love to be informed. I want to know thangs. I want to speak eloquently, factually and at length about some of my favorite topics, including:

politics – vegan/vegetarianism – the environment – economics – nutrition – the middle east – art – consumerism – fashion – history – all things central & south america – the politics of consumerism – the history of the environmental movement – the economics of the art of fashionable vegans in the middle east -

… you get the idea.

And for this reason, I hang onto magazines, newspapers and books that promise the answers to so many of my questions. Because I must know!

And then I never read them.   

So I got real about what I will and will not read, what I will and will not actually remember if I do read it, and made a plan to read, learn or purge.    

Side Note: this is the perfect activity for those of us who have no choice but to consider September as The Dead Of Summer and who need productive indoor activities until approximately Halloween.

It ended with an organized collection of reading materials. Not a terribly minimalist collection, but an organized and much smaller one.

I dominated the creeping army of newspapers and magazines stashed throughout the house, and so can you. 

It began with hauling everything into one room:

Even my dog is disappointed in me.

At the top of the photo you see my sweet pup Archie looking despondently upon my mess of newspapers and magazines.

Below Sir Archibald you see:

- Stacks of Audubon and Nature Conservancy magazines from the years that I so generously donated to their worthy and beautiful-magazine-creating causes.      

- A pile of Forbes magazines from the year I so generously subscribed through a Girl Scout fundraiser for adorably-named twins (sorry for not renewing girls; is there a merit badge for learning life is hard?)    

- A giant stack of magazines that one of my old roommies tried to recycle and I exclaimed “I want to read them first!”

- Some other random-ass magazines, and      

- A metric ton of Wall Street Journal articles and crossword puzzles that I tossed in the To Read Someday firewood-slash-newspaper-holder-thingy.    

Then I sorted through the lot and ended up with a still-not-teensy-but-much-less-ridiculous collection, this:

It's less blurry in real life. Well, unless you've been drinking...

Here’s how to conquer your own pile o’ papes:    

• Bring it all into one spot, preferably an oft-used place like the living room, so you’ll be forced to deal with it right then.

- Don’t do this project in the guest room or you’ll find yourself slowly standing up from your work, quietly pulling the door shut as you back out of the room all the while staring at the papery mess hoping it doesn’t notice you’re leaving it alone because then you just know it will multiply and start oozing into the hall from under the door.   

- It would be like Ghostbusters meets Newsies and you don’t want that.   

- Actually that’s an awesome premise for a movie, somebody make it. 

Anyways. 

• Put the magazines into stacks of their own kind.

- Don’t be mixing your Better Homes and Gardens with your US Weeklys. Don’t.   

• Separate any saved newspaper stuffs by purpose.

- I gathered crossword puzzles in one pile, WSJ articles in another, misc. articles from the AZ Republic that my mom saved for me into various piles, etc.   

• Then realistically evaluate whether or not you will read or need each pile.

My evaluations went this-a way:  

- Eliminate all but a few of the WSJ articles because I figure I’ve read a million of them already and hardly remember a word, so what’s the point?   

- Put all my old roommie’s magazines into a donate pile because they’re mostly about fashion and all that does is make me want designer clothes. Not good.

- Cut out the crossword puzzles and solutions from the following week and staple them together (big job, btw), resulting in 19 supersweet puzzles just for moi.   

- Keep my complete collections of Audubon, Nature Conservancy, Forbes and Adbusters. Oh yes, I am riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.  

And here is where I explain why I didn’t just toss every last item and be done with it.

My quest to simplify has but one goal: to better enjoy life.  

Surrounded by useless and guilt-inducing things (like piles of magazines I should read), I have trouble focusing on what’s important and teasing out what really matters to me. By going through all the magazines and newspapers I was able to see my varied interests all competing for my attention in one place. There were clear winners and losers.

By eliminating the unnecessary, I am more free to recognize what I love.

When my home is decluttered, organized, calming and comfortable, what will I want to do with my time? Why, read up on my passions, of course! How sad it would be to eliminate my stack of Audubon magazines for the sake of “stuff-reduction” just to find in the end that in my empty house I have little to do!

So I’ll happily store a stack of magazines for future enjoyment. After all, when I’m lounging by the pool in October I’ll need something to read!

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I’ve come to the realization that for many of us, the label of minimalist can be intimidating, and in fact unnecessary.

Giving away everything I own? Living with just the shirt on my back? Going location independent and traveling the world sounds wonderful (it’s really a dream of mine), but for the time being my mortgage has me quite dependent on my fixed address, so I’m trying to simplify what I can while making good use of my space and belongings.

Earlier this month the parent of a friend of mine died suddenly, and my friend and her brother had to come back to Phoenix to take care of things. They don’t have cars or homes here, so they considered renting a car and staying in a hotel for the 1-2 weeks they would be in town. Although that would have been fine, it’s no warm homecoming for two grieving twenty-somethings having to plan for a service, tie up loose ends, and take care of financial details.

Thank God they have friends with spare beds, a car to loan, free time to help, and generally a little extra.

And that is one reason why society needs people with an abundance – to share it.

First, I fully acknowledge that I don’t have spare beds (although I do have an awesome couch) or an extra car (although I definitely could have made do without mine), so I wasn’t one of those generous friends. I did, however, have plenty of time and energy to share – a handy side-effect of being laid off, the value of which I am appreciating more and more each day. 

Second, I am well aware that people with more than they need are not always share-ers. We all have stories of stingy Scrooges who couldn’t even spare a square (Seinfeld potty humor reference!) in a friend’s time of need. It’s not that people with more should share, but that if you want to be the friend with the bed or couch available, you’re going to need that extra set of sheets – which can be considered un-minimalist.

And finally, I know that even those without an extra bed, car, or whathaveyou can still be loving, welcoming and generous hosts. I would’ve been happy to be exactly that, and I’d have gladly slept on the couch to free up my bed (even though I highly doubt they’d have let me do it).

You don’t have to have a spare bedroom, bathroom and car to be a great friend.

I know that firsthand.

But still, how nice it is after a long, stressful trip across the country (or globe) to be welcomed by loving friends with plenty of space, necessities, and clean towels just for you!

Those with extra are uniquely prepared to help in a pinch, and we need people like that in our lives, too.

During her stay in town, my friend and I talked at length about the seemingly conflicting problems of having too much stuff and of not having enough to share when it’s needed. She’s thankful that her parents had taken the time to simplify and declutter because the whole process would have been so much harder with a house full of junk to go through. At the same time she was incredibly thankful that her friends had to so much to share and were able to accomodate her and her brother on short notice.

She also informed me that a Syrian friend of hers told her that in his culture the greatest happiness is a satisfied guest.

That was such a powerful thing to hear, and after some thought I realized that in my case it is an argument for simplicity.

How can I be hospitable when I’m trying to keep my messes at bay? How can I relax and be kind and generous when I’m thinking about putting away the sewing supplies or dusting the shelves of stuff?

To have a home free of messes, clutter, and distractions, full only of objects that are beautiful, useful, inspiring or shareable - that is hospitable simplicity.

So while I am still working diligently to simplify my home, declutter, and apply some minimalism to my life, I feel that my place in this world is to have a little extra just in case, and then to jump at the chance to share it.

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So cute and yet serene, how could I resist?

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Inspired by Mike Roberts’ experience doing a month-long raw food diet, I decided to look into the raw food movement more closely. A homemade green smoothie was the perfect snack for beginning my research, so I (literally) dusted off my gorgeous KitchenAid blender and gave it fair warning: Don’t get your hopes up for tequila, pretty lady; today you’re gonna chop some GREENS. 

Yes, I occasionally talk to my appliances. Most of them are stronger than me, so it’s important they remember who’s boss. 

Then I did a google search and quickly found a crap-ton of green smoothie recipes that call for seven thousand ingredients including fancy-dancy stuff like hulled hemp seeds. Not in the mood to navigate the alterna-hippie wonderland that is Whole Foods on a hunt for a unicorn hair, I went with the simplest option I could find: Pears and Spinach. 

It was cheap, easy to whip up, and Oh green smoothie, where have you been all my life good. I hereby declare green smoothies in all varieties an official staple of my diet. Decided!

 Spinach & Pear (& Banana!) Green Smoothie Recipe 

You’ll need:

Several handfuls of spinach, stems included (I used about a third of a bunch, maybe) 

2 big pears (I used Bartlett) 

1 banana 

Water & Ice Cubes 

Step 1: Wash your greens like good boys and girls. Even if they’re organic. Even if the package says they’re pre-washed. Rinse the heck out of those babies. Nobody wants e-coli, gross.   

Seriously. Wash them.

 Step 2: Wash your pears and then slice them a bit if you want to be good to your blender. I didn’t photograph the washing or slicing. I don’t apologize for this. 

Nice pair.

 Step 3: Load up your blender with the sliced pears, handfuls of clean spinach (ahem), half a dozen or so ice cubes and a cup or two of water. Blend big time. 

Before the plant carnage.

 This being my first go at it, I used more water than was probably ideal and it came out too soupy after the first spin. So - I grabbed my roommie’s last banana (sorry, E!), peeled it (duh) and added it to the mix. The banana really helped thicken it up, and running the blender on puree a bit longer added to the frothy and therefore non-wateryness of it all. I didn’t think to photograph the banana part. For that, I am sorry. 

 Step 4: Pour the yummy green goodness into a drinking vessel that makes you feel like a Brilliant, Vibrant & Sexy Human Being, because after your first glass that’s exactly what you’ll be. 

Pure Power in a Pitcher.

Step 5: GULP GULP GULP.

Today I’m ready to try a new fruit/greens combo. My sweet friend Kelli suggested I try one with an apple, and I’m really looking forward to giving that a shot – maybe with spinach and celery.  Any other suggestions?

Happy Friday!

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