Returning

Time flies when you are having fun or out chasing dreams. If life had a map, mine would be a one laden with new paths and some dead ends. I am coming to a point now that I am ready to return to what I had started a year ago….I yearn for the familiar, that feeling of coming home. I have been on a long journey, diving deep into the sea of my inner self, uncovering who it is that I am. I have made remarkable progress, but it is time to rest. Take a siesta in a field of wild flowers, gaze at an ocean of stars, allow the mind to simply unravel and float free. Thinking and over thinking comes natural to me. Keeping my thoughts silent is a struggle. Some questions in life cannot be answered by others, research or the internet. The answer lies within and the only way to hear it is to be peacefully silent. Another release that I have always found incredibly helpful is writing. At times I seem to answer my own weighing quandary’s by just letting my thoughts flow through my fingertips to pen to paper (or keyboard to screen). So here I am again! I have missed my blog and revisiting has aroused a sense of longing and beautiful nostalgia. Have you ever looked back at a photo or maybe your own journal and thought to yourself, wow, I have lead a beautiful and abundant life. That is what is so profound about writing. You can easily forget a moment, but once its jotted down to remember or captured in a photo, you can forever revisit. Why did I ever stop? Life gets so busy. But I am making a promise to take the time to do that which helps me grow or can bring peace to my life, or can help myself tap into my higher being.

Immersed in the simple pleasures of life. Indulging in a good book under the refuge of a huge maple tree that sits high on a hill overlooking the gorgeous Hudson River with the Catskill mountains as a back drop. It is peaceful and  there is always a playful breeze making its way across the fields. A simple cloud in contrast to the blue sky captivates me as I sit at work and gaze longingly outside. It is so incredibly striking that its nearly ethereal and I have to wonder if it is real.  I drive with my windows and sunroof open, taking big deep breathes of fresh air,  allowing the sun laden summer breeze and Led Zeppelin carry me away through valleys of lush greenery and hawks capturing my awe as they glide above. A visit to the ocean reminds me how vast and yet small we are. The salty air awakens my senses, the cry of seagulls and rolling waves bring my soul to a state of peace. I allow her to take all my worries, anxiety and petty issues out to sea, where she can swallow them and return to me love and a reminder that my body and mind are sacred. Closing my eyes and taking in the sounds around me, I repeat these simple words: I am blessed, my life is abundant, I am loved, I am worthy, I am at peace with life and I am open to what the universe has to offer. When we slow down and take in our surroundings, drink in the beauty that our Mother has to offer, the gifts are priceless and are abundant to our lives.

I am returning to be inspired and inspire. What brings me the greatest joy is to help others love who they are, to reach for what may seem unattainable and to encourage you to be the person you are truly meant to be. We are forever changing and growing. It is not always easy nor always a beautiful process. But like the lotus, we emerge from dirt and rock to reveal our true being. Take time to be silent. Take time to walk barefoot and soak up all that earth energy (it is free and abundant, so be greedy!). Retreat to the forest, embrace her soil, drive your roots into the depths of her love. 

Many Blessings. 

Carla 

Love What is Free & Wild

{Romper. My new favorite piece for gardening and doing yard work! Looking cute while performing labor is a must, in my book anyway!}

I am a huge fan of recycling what is around us! I love to look at something and ponder as to how I can create something from raw material. For me, it is therapeutic. Rather than shop for a new side table to hold your outdoor cocktails or evening reads, why not re-purpose a tree stump! Or rather than hitting up Lowe's for a trellis to grow your pea's or green bean's on, why not search your brush line for fallen branches, trim them and create a "pea tepee"! As a child, I had a vast imagination, unfortunately as I aged that imagination or creativeness has suffered, I feel its a good thing for us to exercise it as much as possible. I also love to set an example for my son that being creative is FUN. Building is fun! These projects have been a great way to spend our weekends together. He has been my helper every step of the way. It is all about creating those memories and instilling a strong sense of being one with mother nature. We live in a world where we can purchase what we need right from our phones.....but creating something original has so much more fulfillment!!


My son and I had a great time trudging branches we had thrown down the bank after clearing an area earlier this year to start our tepee project. We dragged them to our driveway, broke off unwanted branches, trimmed them up together. He felt like such a big kid using the mini clippers (supervised!!) to cut the smaller branches for me. Once we were all done we then dragged them to our vegetable garden and I started creating our tepee while he plowed the tilled soil with his CAT bulldozers.....I told him he was helping daddy so that he wouldn't have to till the dirt again! After arranging the branches to my liking, I drove each one into the ground as best I could. I then used clear plastic zip ties to bind the branches together, creating a sturdy solid structure. Once I was done, I fetched our baby pea plants from our greenhouse and planted two plants around each branch of the tepee. I have to say, it looks great and thus far they are slowly taking to winding their fragile vines around each branch. They are still delicate and need some care. The weather in the Northeast has been keeping us on our toes, I know eventually the warmer weather will be visiting us for a few months. Until then I am crossing my fingers that my plants make it!

Last summer my husband had cut down tree's within our woods that weren't going to make it much longer. Some of them were monstrous and the logs that came from them were impressive. I am a huge fan trees and to have them come down really makes me sad, even if they are sick. I just have a keen respect for mother nature. So in honor of her, creating something from what we have reaped seems as though I am giving back and showing her due respect. Last summer I used the logs as seating around our bonfire pit for a party we hosted. I then rolled and lifted (be careful if you try to do so, I hurt my leg pretty badly doing this myself since they weigh a ton.....I need to figure out a better way to haul stumps) the stump onto our deck and has become a true statement piece to hold pots of flowers, drinks, etc. (or little boys, lol!) It goes perfectly with our lovely hand crafted Adirondack chairs! I absolutely ADORE this piece. We have alot of these logs and I have a lot of wonderful idea's for them! One of them involves drying the log out, peeling off the bark, giving it a light sanding and then using them as night stands within our bedroom! How awesome would that be?! I heard you can dry them out the quickest by hauling them up to the attic.....if anyone knows the best way of transporting these suckers, I am all ears (or technically eyes since I would be reading it).

Two weeks ago, when we were living it up like summer time folk in mid-80 degree weather, I drug a scrap board from the burn pile and placed it under the shade of a large oak tree. I then gathered the rocks my son and I had forged from around our property, placed them on the board along with paint brushes and paint and we had a grand time creating the markers for my herb garden! These are moments that I want to last a life time! I have no idea what I did with all my spare time as a single adult, because as a parent I value my time with my son so much, watching him grow into this individual and helping him along.....its similar to magic. I just love him to pieces!

{This is how we spend our summer as country folk living among the tree frogs away from society, without a stitch of clothing on!}

Another passion of mine is bringing the outdoors within the home. Using pieces from our property as art within our living quarters has a special and unique quality to it. Especially when they are pieces that as a family we forged on big adventures and hold memories. Two of the pieces came from a day out on the four wheeler with my son when we went treasure hunting and came back with some great finds. A birch branch and a large flat piece of birch bark. The birch branch I hung within my kitchen, which will be used to  hang and dry herbs when the time comes. Its perfect and beautiful!!! The birch bark, which is extraordinarily flat and perfectly square, I have showcased on my bookshelf. Eventually it will be framed and given full glory on a wall within our home.

I have so many more idea and cannot wait to keep you posted! I would enjoy hearing about all of your great outdoor finds, ideas or advice!

The Filet Mignon of the Forest Wild

(Found on Pinterest, I couldn't resist it!)

I was lost at the first touch of his large rugged hand on the side of my face. I quickly found myself  swooning over this man, vowing to live forever within the earthy confines of his huntsman cave where deer looked statuesque on walls and guns hung with pride behind glass cabinets. It was a life I found mysterious, with foods I have never tasted before , recreational activities that entailed crazy nights in moonlit trails and I have always been drawn to the unknown, a sure challenge. In saying this, there were challenges on his end as well. He  had to accept my vast wardrobe, one that took up an entire spare room, my taste of fine wines, lavish shoe collection and wild big hair. Mind you, this was MANY moons ago and we now share a closet (mine being the larger half, of course!), yet the shoe collection remains, as well as the hair!! People have raised a few eyebrows throughout the years, we aren't a couple you would assume to be together. But, what is it that they say…..opposites attract and we live happily ever after, forever figuring out how to mesh our two intriguing personalities......

(My brawny husband, along with some photo's I captured this past weekend when we took a family hike through our woods)

Let’s get to the real topic:  MEAT. VENISON. The filet mignon  of the  redneck society of upstate New York.

 And: I LIKE it. The redneck society. The ones with big trucks, mud on their tires, flannel shirts, rough rugged hands……and the venison. Meat. The kind they hunt and bring home. Deer. From the forest wild.

I didn't always claim to liking it. I did not grow up with a household of hunters. My meals were pretty much the typical All American cuisine. But being the good sport that I am (HA!), I gave it my best taste bud forward. And at first, they weren't having it. In fact, I believe I most likely turned 50 shades of green. I knew if it came to it and the man had to choose, he would surely pick the meat over me. He is a "meat and potatoes" kind of man, the true love that wins his beating heart. And if he were to continue to hunt, our freezer would continue to be full (because on a rather serious note, if you kill, you eat. Hunting is not simply a sport in our family).....and his one and only sport that he is passionate about is: hunting. There was no way of getting around it. Thus the experimenting began. 

(The rugged men in my life)

I do love to cook.  And as I stated before, I do enjoy a good challenge. I enjoy trying to figure out ways to prepare venison, experimenting with different ingredients to cut the game flavor to a minimum and to keep the meat from becoming too dry. Venison is naturally very lean. So if you were going to use it in meatloaf for instance, you'd want to add eggs or a fattier cut of meat, like pork sausage to give it moisture and to help it to stay it's form. 

(Greek Meatballs with Tomato & Red Pepper Puree paired with my herb salad, delish!!)

My two "go to's" for cutting the game flavor down and infusing great flavor is to first sauté the meat in olive oil and fresh garlic. Once it has browned slightly, I add red wine, the dryer the red the better to enhance the earthy flavors, think Merlot. Most recipes I incorporate venison in also  calls for stewed tomatoes because the acidity pairs well. Once you become familiar with venison and its character, you will get a feel for what might work and what might not when trying out new recipes!

Since my family and I have currently been sticking to a super healthy Mediterranean lifestyle of dining, which consists mostly of seafood, white meat and legumes, having a course of red meat is a very nice treat! The other day I made a kick-ass dish of meatballs (recipe below), paired with an herb salad, chopped pears, crushed walnuts, crumbled goat cheese all lightly drizzled with olive oil infused with a fig balsamic vinaigrette which is out of this WORLD!

If you do not feel adventurous enough to try wild game, feel free to use beef in the recipe or even turkey! Either way, try this out, its way too mouth watering NOT to! If you are like myself and have experimented with venison, I would love to hear your secrets!! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

XO, Carla