On Friendship

I’ve been finding all these great photos of girlfriends on Pinterest. Like this one. And this one. And this gem.

So it got me here: I always say that I see my friends with my mind’s eye. When they gain or lose weight, it’s hard for me to notice. (And I know this annoys some of them.) I always see them as they are, like that line from Bridget Jones’s Diary.

When we (the Converse Gang, an ever-evolving, contracting, and expanding group of girls) were younger in middle school, we didn’t think of ourselves as beautiful. We were just comfortable. Most of the time. With who we were. Especially when we were together. And from that comfort grew love. For ourselves and for each other and for life.

To friendship, y’all. And to cool photos on Pinterest.

(Side note: I’m writing this while listening to Taylor Swift. That is all.)

(All photos via my personal archives) 

Etsy Finds for the Kitchen

Cute kitchen wall decor from Pine Knobs and Crickets:

Image via shop site

Tea towel from Garbella:

Image via shop site

Miniature plant holders from Light and Ladder:

Image via Light and Ladder

Spice Talk: Aversion to Dill & Cilantro

Does anyone else not really like dill? It's one of my skip-over ingredients in a recipe. It'll be fine without it. Same with cilantro. Soap in mouth, no thank you.

 Random photo of various spices via Pinterest

I remember reading a post on Design Mom about conquering your food dislikes, and I also found this on the NPR site. From the NPR article: 

Overall, Eriksson says these studies demonstrate that DNA does shape our opinion of cilantro, but probably not enough that we can't overcome it.  “It isn't like your height, that you're stuck with. People can change it," he says.

So is there hope for extreme cilantrophobes? Maybe.

As Nature reports, McGee offers a strategy for building up an appreciation for the herb: Try a cilantro pesto. Crushing the leaves, he says, releases enzymes that convert the soapy, stinky compounds into more mild aromas.

Interesting to think about!

This and That

Oddly shaped fruit (via It's Nice That).

Side fishtail (via exPress-o).

Animal prints (via Creature Comforts).

Sushi with striped socks by Marc Johns (via Marc Johns).

Some neato Kickstarters (via Sarah Hearts). (Love the retro-inspired cooler!)

(Image via Pinterest)