Salt

So, I have been pretty absent from this space for the past few months. Been busy with working, studying (Always studying), creating, trying to give love and the whole breathing thing we do. Honestly, my body seems to hate winter more than my mind and it’s been depressing. I am so ready for summer, it isn’t even funny.

This has been on my mind for over a week now. I wanted to share with you my inspiration from something so simple and… well common. You probably already know because it is the name for this post. Salt, I think, is grossly underestimated. No, I haven’t gone insane. We use it all the time in cooking for its ability to bring out more flavour in a dish. It what makes the ocean so cleansing, and gross tasting. Depending on the type of salt, you can make your bath cleansing, muscle relaxing on calming.

Salt can do that!

Last week I reread an old issue of Kinfolk. It is the summer issue, number 12. Anyway, the whole issue is about SALT! My goddess! I am so excited. Is that weird? Reading about these different people from different parts of the world and their connection to salt. A cook who is obsessed with Himalayan Pink salt (I am so on that wagon), Fishermen who have this passion for the salty waves, a woman who still spends her summers at her families house by the ocean, a family who built their home practically on the beach… The passion these people have for the ocean, salt and the environment is so freaking mind blowing. The really cool thing is that this magazine appeared around the time I really started to appreciate the ocean and the powers that it has. It only takes me five minutes to drive to the beach and about 15 minutes to ride my bike. I never really had any respect for the ocean. It was always just there. In Summer I rarely tripped to the beach because I would get burnt to a crisp, Winter is too cold, Spring… busy with university, Autumn… you get the picture. I didn’t want to go because it was (eek) boring and a little inconvenient. I’m sorry! I can’t believe that I just admitted that.

Now I have a deep appreciation for the ocean. Not just the understanding that I don’t belong in the ocean, for I cannot breathe under it, but the calming and healing energies it has. I am not really sure why this is, maybe it is the salt, but I do know that after an hour walk along the beach as soon as I wake, leaves me shiny eyed and totally relaxed and out of this world in the present moment. Any worry or fear that I had the day before… forgotten, washed away in by the waves. You have to try it.

There are many how to’s on this wide web for salt baths but I just wanted to share with you my favourites.

Epsom Salt Muscle Relaxer

Epsom salt is used as a detoxifier, and thats great, but I love to soak in a bath of epsom salt when my muscles are really sore after a workout, or working in the yard. You can use an essential oil to make this bath even more luxurious.

1/2 to 1 cup of epsom salt (depending on your personal need. Though I wouldn’t add any more than a cup)

4-6 drops of essential oil (lavender, rose or ylang ylang are really lovely and relaxing)

Water

Simply run a bath that is a little hotter warm, as the heat will make you sweat and help in releasing toxins. Add the salt and essential oils in at the start so they mix in naturally as the bath fills up. Check every now and then to see if the temperature is right for you.

Once your bath is drawn, turn on some music, light some candles, and slip on in.

Himalayan Salt Toxin Detox

Because of the mineral content in this pretty pink salt, it makes it pretty powerful. This is why I would suggest not to add any more than 2- 1/2 cups i=of the salt to your bath. You can of course add less, if your feel your body needs a more gentle detox. This is totally okay.

1 to 2 1/2 cups of Himalayan salt

Water

Simply run a bath that is a little hotter warm, as the heat will make your muscles relax, sweat and help in releasing toxins. Add the salt in at the start so it mixes in naturally as the bath fills up. Check every now and then to see if the temperature is right for you.

Once your bath is drawn, turn on some music, light some candles, and enjoy.

Rose Scented Salt Bath

This may be my favourite bath to draw. It is slightly detoxifying but the scent of rose is just heaven. If you don’t like rose than any other calming essential oil will work nicely.

1/2 cup Himalayan salt

1/3 cup dried rose hips and pettles, or 4-5 drops rose essential oil

Draw a warm bath. Add the salt and essential oils or dried rise hips in at the start so they mix in naturally as the bath fills up. Check every now and then to see if the temperature is right for you.

Once your bath is drawn, turn on some music, light some candles, and slip on in for about 10-20 minutes.

After any of these baths it is best to lay down wrapped in a towel for a few minutes while your body slowly drops to a more neutral temperature. You can feel drained, especially after the Himalayan salt bath, this can occur if you have added over 3 cups, and it just from the strength of the salt. Best to be safe and not add anymore than 2 cups. Drink water to replenish the water you sweated out.

Don’t want to spend money or waste water? I am totally in the same boat. This is my fave… go swimming in the ocean! Problem solved. These captures might just make you love the beach too.

Enjoy the salty water!

Spend a whole hour in that massive salty bath. Seriously, it is like having a cool bath with a small community of people.

A Trip Down the East Coast

I think experienced a high vibe, spiritual kind of thing on my latest adventure that I went on with my soul sister. It was the continuous line of worldly and beautiful traveler’s  that we met. All from different countries and different stories to share with us. I lapped up everything I was told, painting pictures in my mind of their own adventures and knowledge. I flip through the paintings now and am filled with the intense desire to visit these places. I am also flipping through these captures from our trip to Byron Bay and the Crystal Castle, and am feeling more compelled to visit on a regular basis. The sights are one thing but the people, both backpackers and locals, were what really made this trip special. Riding the stories of others in my little boat, I traveled to many places in the US, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, UK, and other places of Australia. The journey for all these people was magical, but now I want to live my own magic journey.

I stood alone on the East most point of Australia. I looked out at the intense blue ocean just watching the whales, a pod of dolphins, and just nothing in particular. I imagined chasing that contrast where the sky meets the ocean, swimming with the dolphins, and holding my breath comfortably underwater like a elegant mermaid. I thought about how water and air creatures are always so elegant, they move with an ease that is so lovely. Sort of like a ballerina. My latest art piece was born from that train of thought.

Here are some of my own captures. Enjoy.

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Happy Hump Day.

Brittany xx

Of Adventure and Other Kinds of Freedom

I am just posting a few photos today. It is why I started this blog after all. Lately I have had a bad relationship and mindset around food, and think it injustice to wholesome and healthy foods to share another recipe any time soon.

But I can assure you that these photos still are feeding my soul, and maybe they will have the same effect on you.

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I was feeling the itch, and a little too lonely to stay at home late last week so naturally I packed my cameras and water and went driving. I knew where I was going, a small town just outside of Maleny called Witta. I went there a few days earlier to pick up an organic seed order. The place I ordered them from was kind of really amazing, but that’s another story.

As I drove out to get my seeds, I couldn’t help but kick myself for not taking a camera with me.

So there I was, two days later, in my little car with my camera and body braced ready to pull over at any moment.

I think I managed to capture even the smallest amount of the beauty the Maleny and Witta have to offer.

On a side note, I am going on a little road trip this week. Should be exciting. I promise to share some captures from that trip with you.

Have a happy week ahead.

Brittany xx

City Love, A Photography Workshop and John Mayer

On the weekend that has just past I attended a work shop in Brisbane City. Filled with excitement but no expectations I braved the big city that I have never been able to conquer the streets and navigate around the buildings that miniaturise me.  I know that I should allow myself to get lost and find magnetic things in places I have never dared to get lost in. But this time I had a mission. I had a purpose other than to explore.

I had things to learn and photos to take.

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Brisbane City Botanical Gardens

South Bank – City Lights

I am a forest-wide-open-spaces type of girl and the city during the day is just too much for me, but at night something magical happens. Nobody is rushing, or trying to be somewhere “important”, and everything is calm in that strolling-along-the-streets kind of way. The whole atmosphere changes and everything is far more pleasant to witness. To me, the city at night has a John Mayer feel to it. Now, there is nothing very wrong with that now is it?

Peace & Love

Brittany xx

Love is Like Bare Feet on Wet Grass

I’m the sort of person to fall in love easily. If I allow myself to, I would fall in love every single day. I fall in love with boys and my soul sisters, my family and strangers, animals and Mother Nature. I see a beauty in all people and things, even people I don’t know (hello, the wise man on The Project on telly). I find that I can be loving someone who doesn’t feel the same way. That’s alright though, to love at all is a miracle.

I find that when I am alone and no one to complement or talk to or touch I think of the boy I love and who inspires me the most. The love that I have for him, and the powerful love that he holds keeps me warm and full and happy.

I’m a bit of a hopeless (and, ehem major) romantic and it is messy, really messy, but I wouldn’t have it any other way because I feel bad for the people that are scared of love.

If only everyone could love like this.

Happy Weekend!

Brittany xx

Food for Your Soul and Crazy Amounts of Passion

I just would like to say that I have no qualifications in food or a life time experience of clean thinking. These are my thoughts and hopefully powerful words that I have felt guided to share.

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A post I read from one of the most soulful people I know, James Lonergan, really got me thinking. It totally slapped me in the face on what REALLY matters. In the past I totally would have changed everything I believe in, though this time I stayed grounded in who I am…but totally took on his rad words. James wrote about how he used to be all about the best food and raw and vegan. Almost as though he were narrow minded about food and living organically. He is questioning it all though, being the perfect example of constantly changing and evolving our body, mind the beliefs. (Do it people! It’s fun!)

I realised that I had been doing the same thing. Not as extreme. I think a lot of other people get into this state of mind where only one way of living is best for them, and sometimes others. I can’t speak for others but in my mind organic food and herbs were EVERYTHING. They would heal me, all of me, including my state of mind. I thought eating clean and high vibe-ing foods would be the easy way to being connected to my purpose in life, my authentic soul. Boy was I wrong.

It wasn’t working, a shock. I was still a reck more or less. I know other people feel this way, and it isn’t anything new. There are people that have caught onto this years and years and years before I did, and they have been putting this out into the universe. But for me, the pivotal moment only happened a few weeks ago.

FOOD ISN’T THE ONE THING THAT WILL HEAL YOU!

Don’t get me wrong, high quality, wholesome food and water will never be bad for you. And I will always surround myself and my family with organic foods. Though there is something else, that I think should come above food. Your mind and spirituality! I think spending time to reflect, get in tune with, and detoxify your thoughts is far better than trying to stop those not so nice feelings with food (healthy or not) and other vices. It isn’t about that! I have to tell myself that the emptiness isn’t in my full stomach and can’t be filled with any of the high-vibe-packed-with-love food. It is taking time to step out into nature, recognising those poisonous words you are hammering yourself with and seeing love instead, laughing with a friend, reading a book that you love… it is taking a walk, spending time with family, helping people less fortunate, gardening… Anything your soul loves to do. For me I feel like because I came from the earth it is my duty (and total pleasure) to give back whenever I can and nurture Earth. I know it may sound hippie and like spiritual woo woo but I don’t care because it is like a three course meal for my soul.

While food and water are essential for our health and… well, to stay alive, I have found that anything that isn’t food related that I truly love will fill me up. I can spend hours studying creative writing or gardening, adventuring, planting and tending to seedlings that I will in time harvest, and dancing to music and know that when my body needs fuel or replenishment it will tell me… and I will listen. Oh, I will totally listen because I don’t want anything to stop me from enjoying what now matters the most to me. Doing what fills up every inch of my being and shines from my pores like little beams! !@#$@#$!

I can feel the excitement already!

So. Going back to what I said about food never being bad. It’s true I guess but it can be dangerous and make massive wave inside you. Under eating will stop you from reaching your highest loving self, and over eating will do the same thing. How do you know? Well, it will probably sound obvious. Listen to your body! It has this amazing ability to talk to you, you just have to be attuned to these subtle (sometimes massive) messages.

Diet isn’t everything lovely people! I know the media is really pushing all of this really healthy food, which is great! More people need to be aware of this, but don’t get trapped into thinking that diet is everything. Because it isn’t. It is part of a healthy life, not the main chorus.

So, what can you do to become more in tune with your body? What can you do to fill up your soul and make you fuller than food?

The first step is wanting to make the change! From there it is easy as long as you want it.

Brittany xx

House Hunting, Good Vibes, and Mountain Dreams

“Let come what may.”

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I am looking for a place to live. It sounds weird and grown up for me to say, but none the less I have been looking for a place to live since this year started. At first I think it was just something I did instead of studying (admit it you do it too…) but I actually got serious, I started searching for rentals in towns I actually liked and could afford. Byron Bay was at the top of my list (I could totally ditch uni and live in probably on of the coolest places I have been too… umm…). I am sticking close to home now and work…and uni. I am also pulling a Gabby Bernstein and being totally open to being guided to the place I am supposed to find.

Sometimes I would love to just run away to the Blue Mountains or hike the Glass Mountains and build a little cabin out of sustainable materials; live off the land, live simply, sell my harvest at the local markets, chop wood for fire, snuggle up to my man on any given night, write my books from a little study over looking the world, and hike the mountain for that exhilarating invincible feeling…

The thing is I could have that mountain dweller dream, I could pack up and leave my life now and start over for the simple life. I can do that, but I wont because it is too hard for my stage of life right now.

So… I am still searching and putting out good vibes. I am allowing the angels to take over and putting my trust in the Universe to nudge me into the right direction. Because even if you end up going left, not right, it is still actually the right path for you to be on… or maybe I’m just a little crazy and am talking gibberish.

Have a great week beauties.

Brittany xx

Itchy Feet

This post was written in a cosy and empty house, in front of the fire in my thick stockings and woollen over coat. John Mayer’s sweet voice and calming melodies set the mood to work on a post that are beginning to become seldom.

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It was at the start of my healthy lifestyle journey that it happened. There was a instant connection, a love at first sight kind of situation. Never before had I felt such an emotion but sure enough I was feeling it, and would continue to feel it for over a year and into the future. The very moment it all started was on my mind constantly, I would go to sleep thinking about it…wake up in the same sort of state, just a little more groggy. Unfortunately I am not talking about a boy, I am not even talking about my LOVE for organic and whole foods or fetish for sustainable living. I am talking about TRAVEL. The excitement, the wonder, the breathless moments, the food, the moments you fall in love with other places other than your home… travel.

My family would scorn me for wanting to start a family young, telling me that I NEEDED to travel. ‘Yeah. I don’t really want to travel’ What? Did I really say that? Yes, and multiple times! I was so sure that I didn’t have what I like to call the Travel Bug. Not the nasty-constantly-throwing-up version of ‘bug’, nope. I am talking about that yarning to see new places, meet new and exciting people, take ba-gillions of photos, trek to crazy heights, try different foods, gain new knowledge and meaning for life… you get the picture…

I want to travel. I have itchy feet, and a mind (and search history) full of places to visit. I don’t really have a destination, though I do really want to visit (ehem…relocate) to Sweden, probably to one of the towns outside of Stockholm because it is much cheeper to live there. Sometimes I want to… move because I feel like I don’t belong here and because there is nothing tying my here other than my job. Other times I want to travel because a part of me really does just want to explore knew places, get lost, meet different people, fall in love, be shoved violently out of my comfort zone…

And I want to do it all alone! I don’t want to have a guide chatting my ear off, a tour group to shuffle along with, or a friend or family member to have to think about while I take way too many photos, skinny dip, take my time sight seeing, or going for lengthy hikes. I want to be able to engage in a conversation about spices in Japan without have to worry about boring my companion to death.

I will travel overseas. One day. Someday soon.

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There is this kind of amazing short film, Everyday, that has really got me thinking about doing things we believe we have no time for, like taking up a new hobby, or traveling… If you haven’t already checked it out you really need to. I just love it.

(All photos from Google, on account of my current laziness)

Brittany xx

Cold Days and a Recipe

I had a whole post ready to ‘go live’ about the decision and feelings behind my resent hair cut. but it sat in my saved file for too long for me to be comfortable with. It was too ‘selfish’ and well, I guess kind of boring. To put it straight…I had my long hair cut to my shoulders. Any emotion baggage and past memories that I had around my hair and it being exotic and looong are gone. I feel fresh and oh so excited about the look and feel of my new cut.

That isn’t what I want to talk about though. I want to write about the weather. No, this isn’t ‘small talk’. I want to talk about tradition and routine and the over all feel of the weather we are experiencing. Here in Australia we are at the end of Autumn and about to go into Winter. Let me just take a moment to say… I LOVE IT! It isn’t dreary or depressing here in Autumn or Winter (Thank you!). But it does get chilly enough for an inside fire to warm, most, of the house up. Autumn is also a really fun time to be outside because if you get a little hot in the sun just chill out in the shade for a bit. You can eat a really hearty, vegetarian, meal or a salad or smoothie bowl (in the sun) and not feel uncomfortable. Word.

I may be a bit bias. I cannot think of one thing that I don’t like about Autumn or Winter. Summer on the other hand, there is a small list. Sun-baking in the morning sun, bathing in the ocean, or being able to walk outside with ahem… nothing but a smile on are all definitely NOT on the cons list.

Gardening (something I am passionate about) in Autumn and Winter has a poetic feel about it. The smoke from the fire burning away fills the afternoon air, your wearing jeans with boots and a jumper or long sleeved shirt, the excitement of turning the soil and finding worms(no? just me? all right), and the smell of a slow cooking soup or stew on the stove as you walk into the house. Being outside is so much more fun because you don’t really need to worry about getting burnt or getting sweaty. Smells are earthier and routines are slow and calming. I wont go into the clothes because there is just so many wonderful things to say about layering in earthy tones. But curling up under a blanket, with a tea and a book or the flickering flames to entertain you… oh yeah! That is perfect!

I didn’t forget Spring. There just isn’t anything bad to say about that flowery season. EVERYBODY loves Spring.

If you have mixed feelings about the cooler months after all my unpaid promoting above, theeeen maybe this recipe will change your mind. Sorry about the photos, I was chasing the fading sunlight.

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Seasonal Life Changing Stew

This particular recipe can be altered for whatever season you are in. Though I think it is best to be eaten during Autumn and Winter, it just seems to taste better and it really does do a wonderful job of warming you up. I love cooking this on a Sunday using vegetables that I find at the Farmers Markets or at my local Organic Market Place. Picking those fresh roots and greens from the baskets then driving home through the cool mountains to slowly cook them on the stove while I get my organic garden ready to plant in is way too poetic to even bother buying a pre-caned soup from the grocery shop.

(Serves 4-6 people, or 1 person for a whole week)

Ingredients

Homemade Curry Powder Mix

1/2 tsp paprika (adjust to your personal liking)

1 tbs turmeric powder

1 tsp dried oregano, or powder form

a generous pinch of black pepper

1/2 tsp cinnamon powder (optional but warming)

a pinch of cumin powder (again optional)

Nutmeg, fennel seeds, cardamom…etc. can also be used as substitutes for cinnamon, cumin, or oregano.

Mix them all together in a small bowl and sit aside to add to the stew.

Seasonal Life Changing Stew

1 tbs coconut oil (it can stand a high heat)

1 yellow onion

1 small bulb of garlic (just half if you have a bigger bunch of the cloves)

a small knob of ginger (adjust to your personal liking) 1/2 teaspoon of ginger powder

1 small tbs organic curry powder, or homemade curry powder mix (above)

3 1/2 – 4 cups water

1 tsp yellow mustard seeds (or a tsp of whatever mustard you have will be okay)

1/2 a medium pumpkin (I used organic butternut and left the skin on)

3 small sweet potatoes (leave skin on if organic, remove otherwise)

3-4 small parsnip (remove skin if not organic)

3 small to medium carrots

1/2 cup red lentils

2 sticks of celery

3 leaves of kale or other tough leafy green

Other add ins: cauliflower, zucchini, turnip, swede…

Wash your organic roots, greens and celery (peel the roots and pumpkin if that aren’t organic). Heat oil in a large pot on the stove, while you chop the onion roughly. Add the onion to the pot with minced ginger. Let cook on a low to medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the onions are soft, not brown. Add in the mustard seeds, finely chopped ginger and the curry mix or organic store bought curry powder with all of the water. It should be watery now, but it will reduce a little by the time it is cooked.

Chop the vegetables into small and rough peaces, you don’t want them too small other wise they will turn to complete mush (still tasty but not pretty). Add all the vegetables except for the kale and celery to the pot. Turn up the heat to boiling point, then reduce to a very light simmer and cover with lid for an hour. After about 45 minutes and when the roots are soft add in the celery and the red lentils, then stir and cover for another 15 minutes.

Turn off the heat. Tear up the kale and mix it into the stew. Let it sit with the lid on while you set the table, light the fire and some candles, and turn on some calming music. Serve hot and top with shallots, thyme, microgreens, or some thinly sliced cauliflower. You can also serve with some cooked quinoa or lentils.

Enjoy.

P.S You can also use a Slowcooker (I don’t own one) and add in meat, if that’s your thing.

Sorry, I had to add another capture of my hair. I just love it.

Brittany xx

Constant Reality

It’s been a while since I last posted. And honestly life has been full, but I also just haven’t felt like sharing my new realisation. I have written about something similar but I think that was just the tip of the iceberg of my realisation. I pray this isn’t a broken record for you, but that it hopefully makes you take a step back and  say, ‘Why am I trying to be this person that I’m not?’ It was rainy yesterday, I had finished playing with my little sisters enviously long hair, I had helped her with a school photography project (Computers suck sometimes) and I actually had nothing else to do. So, I sat down with one of my many note pads, you know the really cheep ones that are necessary for writers and creators but are so not pretty. Anyway, I started to blurt out everything I was thinking and in the end I looked at my crazy scribbles and said to myself, ‘I’m ready.’

I’m not mainstream. I have always tried to be, because it was just easy that way, but I always come back to the wide-eyed-wondering-off daydreamer that I am. I don’t think that I will ever be able to fit into the box that my mum and nana keep with my name on it. I believe they hold it close to their hearts because they love me dearly and want only the best for me.

I don’t want to be in a box or a cage or a fenced off field! I want to dream up red wings of passion all of my own so I can tie them to ma body and fly where ever and when ever my soul pleases. I want to feel every emotion that there is… and still come back to love every time.

My authentic self scares me a little because I’m not sure i will find a man that will be able to live with my sensitivity, uncontrollable urges to step outside to bare all to Mother Earth, my desire to constantly seek NEW and different, my single-mindedness when I am writing, or the crazy-healthy weird things that I feed my body. I worry that I don’t fit into my environment anymore, now that i have come to this realisation of… ME. Each day I stay here is a day lost.

I am a fish out of water!

So I am constantly itching to move overseas to Sweden, Germany, Tahoe (California), or place to accommodate my dreams of sustainable living because I would love to live in a forest.

I am not mainstream. I day dream constantly, I act out scenes for whatever book I am writing. I don’t know what it is like to be ‘normal’ anymore. I am constantly having people look at me weirdly or sound shocked because I have just told them that I don’t eat meat or processed foods / don’t use anything plastic / that the green juice and smoothie are both for my lunch because it is just one of those green days. I am constantly shocking people and while a part of me loves it, I want to be around people that reflect my life choices, and will be right next to me as I wash down that green juice with a equally as green smoothie. I do love being able to leave people wondering. Yeah, it will take me a little longer to find the right man, the right job, right, home, and the right environment and people… but that’s okay sometimes because I know know who I am and why I have never fit in.

Brittany xx