Drinks – Page 2

Blueberry Mint Lemonade and a Review of Daring Greatly

September 15, 2014 by Asharae 3 Comments

I finished reading Daring Greatly by Brené Brown the other week and can’t stop thinking about it. She has started a beautiful and extraordinarily important conversation about shame and vulnerability.

As a shame researcher, she provides a framework, the words, and the definitions to talk about shame and vulnerability. Those don’t sound like fun things to read about, but the way she writes keeps you absolutely captivated with stories woven into each chapter – sometimes it feels like she plucked them right out of your own life. Brown addresses everything from gender shaming to shame in the classroom to using (and preferably not using) shame as a parenting tool to the feelings of shame and the fear of “being wrong” that hinders innovation and creativity.

I flipped through her book a few times trying to find a quote suitable to share here. I’ve scribbled and underlined and circled and asterisked (is that a word?) all through her book, and one part I keep coming back to is in her chapter titled “Understanding and Combating Shame.” She defines “shame tapes” as “the messages of self-doubt and self-criticism that we carry around in our heads,” and she gives the metaphor of a gremlin as the tricky little liar that tries to fill our heads with that nonsense.

“Understanding our shame tapes or gremlins is critical to overcoming shame because we can’t always point to a certain moment or a specific put-down at the hands of another person. Sometimes shame is the result of us playing the old recordings that were programmed when we were children or simply absorbed from the culture…Sometimes when we dare to walk into the arena the greatest critic we face is ourselves.“

Now, when Tim and I are facing a difficult decision, combating self-doubt, or just having a crummy day, we’ll ask one another, “What are the gremlins saying?” It has been an incredibly helpful framework for us to put words to the things that are discouraging us, the lies we’re listening to, and the doubt that we’re facing. We’re still learning how to take a step back from all of that and listen to the words of peace and encouragement and direction that the Lord whispers to us instead.

I hope you’ll go pick up a copy of Daring Greatly – and when you do, come back and let me know what you think of it!

We made this lemonade for the first time after going blueberry picking this summer. It’s ridiculously delicious. I’ve made it with both fresh blueberries and frozen ones, and with and without mint – use what you’ve got on hand! Even though blueberry season is long gone, you can still enjoy a little taste of summer by using frozen berries! I hardly feel like summer has begun, and somehow we’re already talking of fall. What. When did that happen? (Um. Also. Some of our friends have already gotten snow. Let’s not even go there.) Don’t get me wrong, I love wearing boots and sweaters and scarves just as much as the next girl, but right now I’m still craving sun-kissed skin and ocean waves and lemonade. At least I’ve got one of the three right now.

And soon to be two of the three. Tim and I are headed to Martha’s Vineyard this weekend to photograph and film his cousin’s wedding day! Family, the ocean, a ferry ride, the salty breeze. We could not be more stoked. I’m trying to contain my excitement and refrain from using too many exclamation points. (!!!)

That’ll kick off our grand road trip the next few weeks shooting weddings – we’ll be traveling from NC through New York City on to Martha’s Vineyard, out to visit friends in Massachusetts, camping near Niagara Falls, onward to see friends who just started working at Taylor University, and then up to Chicago where we have two weddings the following two weekends. If any of ya’ll are along the way and want to grab lunch/coffee/dinner/schedule a photo session/provide a place for us to stay (wink wink, nudge nudge) – let us know!! Also. If you have suggestions for budget friendly things we should do/see/eat along the way, send them our way!

Blueberry Lemonade

Adapted from Kitchen Treaty

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Ingredients

3/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice about 6 medium lemons
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup hot water
3 cups cold water
Handful of mint leaves optional

Instructions

Combine fresh squeezed lemon juice, sugar, blueberries, and hot water in a blender. Blend until sugar has dissolved and berries are pureed.
Pour into a large pitcher, using a small sieve to remove the pulp. Add cold water, tear mint leaves and add, stir to combine, and chill in the fridge for an hour or so before serving.
Serve over ice. Use a small sieve to strain the mint leaves out at this point if you don't want them in your drink.

Fears, Writer’s Block, and Iced Coffee

May 13, 2014 by Asharae 4 Comments

I sat down to write this post last night. And the night before. And nothing would come to me. My mind went completely blank. The fear started to set in. The lies began whispering in my ear that I have nothing to say, that no one cares what I say anyway. I began to wonder why I even started this blog. I went back and read my first post to remind myself – but it didn’t help. Still no words. I re-read my About page – maybe that would help? Nope.

I wanted to be profound and eloquent, but I am naturally neither of those things. I finally closed my laptop, the screen still blank, muttered a few words to Tim about feeling discouraged, and shuffled off to brush my teeth and throw myself into bed (with dramatic sighs I’m sure.) He crawled into bed next to me a few minutes later, and with sweet and gentle words, tried to encourage me. I was too busy being selfish and self-focused and acting out the exhaustion I was feeling to hear much of what he had to say, but this morning I remembered him telling me to be honest.

He reminded me that I didn’t create this blog to be a perfect place where I share our perfect little days when I feel I have it all together and figured out. (Those days are all too rare anyway that I’d never write if that was the case.) He encouraged me to write truth and honesty, rather than wait till my words are polished and perfect. So here I am. Feeling broken, imperfect, weary, and incapable.

I’m carrying the weight of big things like our NC Weddings for Freedom chapter – Tim and I are hosting a meeting next week for any wedding vendors interested in joining our fight against human trafficking. Fear whispers in my ear that no one will show up to our meeting, that no one cares and nobody’s going to stand with us. I’m clinging to the fact that we are simply vessels for God to use and that I’m incapable of doing this on my own. That’s the whole point isn’t it? We can’t do this on our own. That’s what joining this community together is all about.

I worry for my mom who is in a job that demands too much of her. She works harder than anyone I know, offering creative and innovative solutions for her students and teachers, working late into the night and early in the morning, rarely even having time to eat during her busy school days. I see how much she pours herself out and lament how little she gets back in return.

I wear myself out over making sure our clients are happy. I struggle with the balance of sticking to my creative voice versus making sure they’re happy. It’s a dance of crafting what I believe is beautiful and giving our clients an experience that we have spent years developing, versus the voices that claim “what you do is just a service, you’re just there to make the client happy.” I’ll be honest – I don’t balance that well. Everything within me wants to reject those words and trust my creative voice wholeheartedly. We struggle and strive toward drawing our couples closer to one another through how we photograph and film them. Obviously we hope that makes them happy and we hope they’re happy with the photos they end up with. Where is the creative balance though? It’s something we’re constantly learning and growing in.

And then there are the little things. They’re little worries that gnaw at the back of my consciousness, and when added all together tend to overwhelm me a bit. Our car is in the shop right now – how much is it going to cost this time?? What’s for dinner tonight? When am I going to get around to painting our front hall? How am I going to grow this blog in my free time (free time? what’s that?!) When are we going to have our student loans paid off? When are we going to have kids? How are we going to pay rent this summer while Tim’s paycheck is no longer coming in? How long are we going to stay in this house? Where will we go next? I should probably stop, huh? I can just see Tim shaking his head later when he reads this, telling me I can’t carry all of these things. And he’d be right. They’re not mine to carry.

What are you trying to carry today? What fears, worries, hesitations do you have? What do you need to let go of? Let’s let go of these fears together.

There’s really no recipe needed for this iced coffee. Since the weather is quickly warming up here in North Carolina, I’ve found this is my go-to afternoon caffeine source. Whenever I have leftover coffee in the pot, I pour it into the ice cube tray in our freezer. Using coffee ice cubes rather than regular ones ensures your iced coffee doesn’t get watered down at all! You can pour hot or cold coffee over your coffee-cubes (just use more ice if you’re using hot coffee obviously.) I prefer mine with a little caramel macchiato flavored creamer and some milk, but you can drink it plain if you’re into that sort of thing. I worked at Starbucks for a brief period of my life while we lived in Seattle (before I realized how much of an introvert I am and how little I enjoy serving obnoxious, demanding customers), and despite that (or more likely because of it) I’ve never enjoyed drinking coffee black. I’m over it. Give me some sugary creamer and I’m a happy camper.

Also, just a side note. It’s ridiculously difficult to accurately pour creamer into a cup of coffee with one hand while balancing a heavy camera with the other hand, looking through the lens, focusing, trying not to block your own light with the one hand, and trying to get a steady photo of the creamer ever-so-gently pouring into the glass with the other. Tim wasn’t home to help assist the day I took these photos, so I’m pretty proud of that singular in-focus creamer shot.

Strawberry Banana Peach Smoothie

April 30, 2014 by Asharae 3 Comments

You guys. I love spring. I don’t just mean I like it, or that I simply enjoy having warm weather again. No. I LOVE spring. I’m one of those people who are strongly affected by the weather – long endless cloudy days can put me in a weird funk if I’m not careful. The year we lived in Seattle was the cloudiest they had on record in 50-something years and I felt it. I constantly longed for blue skies and warm sunshine!

My roommates in college laughed at me when we were choosing our apartment for our final year at Wheaton. My only request was that we choose an apartment with South-facing windows. Winters in Chicago can get pretty gloomy and I’d already lived through three of them, so I figured the least I could do for our sanity our senior year was to ensure we had enough light in our apartment through the winter. Weird, I know. But I’m pretty certain we ended up with the absolute best and sunniest apartment on campus – on the top floor looking South over the train tracks and the Prairie Path. It made such a difference on those sunny-but-frigid winter days to have warm light filtering in past the pine tree outside our window, rather than the cold damp light reflecting off the parking lot on the other side of the building.

All that to be said, I’m incredibly thankful that spring has arrived in full-swing here in North Carolina. First of all, that means more light. And second of all, more color. Over the past several weeks, our yard has transformed from a barren brown wreck to a lush green jungle, budding and blossoming with new life. The birds are nesting under the eaves of our porch and in the helmet of an old metal knight that rests against the side of our house, a relic from the days my mom used to teach Medieval history to her sixth graders. Last fall my parents scattered grass seeds in our back yard before they moved into their new house. Now that they’ve moved and taken their menagerie of rescue dogs with them to the new house, our two pups have room to run and the seeds my parents spread last fall have just taken root and begun to carpet the backyard in spurts and sprouts of green.

We’re late getting our garden planted this year, but we’re excited about the little potted veggies we bought the other day – they’re sitting on our front porch waiting for their place in our little garden plot. Tell of crazy thunder storms this week made me hesitate to plant them right away – I imagined the delicate little tomato and jalapeño sprouts bending and swaying in the wind, getting buffeted about by the torrential downpours we’ve heard so much about. So there they sit, watching the garden from the porch, waiting for their turn in the sun.

We’re fast approaching strawberry season, and this smoothie recipe is a great way to use a few of those juicy red berries you may have in your fridge. If you’re lucky enough to have a pick-your-own strawberry patch nearby, you need to get on that. We have one just a five minute drive from our house and I plan on stopping by there the moment I hear there are strawberries for the picking. OH the heavenly smell when you pull over at the little road-side stand and hop out of your car – the warm, sweet aroma of strawberry heaven. The sun on your skin as you meander up and down the rows of carefully planted berries. You wander about, looking for the perfectly ripe berries, “taste-testing” a few along the way, the sticky juice running down your chin and arms. That is spring to me.

One of the keys to making the perfect smoothie is using at least one frozen fruit. By using frozen berries or peaches, you don’t have to use any ice in your smoothie – this will chill it and ensure it doesn’t get watered down! Be sure to thaw your frozen fruit slightly though so you don’t destroy your blender. We had an ugly avocado-green blender in our kitchen growing up and it would jolt to a stop and groan under the pressure of having to blend anything frozen – I’m always shocked at how scary-powerful our blender is now. That being said, it’s better to be careful and not have a small appliance disaster on your hands.

I know I’m always telling you to adapt my recipes to suit your preferences, but I really do mean it! I’m more of an artist than a scientist, and I’m learning that my preferred recipe style reflects that. I enjoy making things with an open mind, adding a little of this and a little of that, rarely making it the same way twice. This smoothie recipe is no exception – sometimes I add frozen raspberries and blackberries, a different flavor of yogurt, or use milk instead of orange juice for a smoothie that tastes a little more like a milkshake. Make this your own and let me know how it goes!

Strawberry Banana Peach Smoothie

Asharae Kroll

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Prep Time 5 mins

Total Time 5 mins

Servings 2

Ingredients

1 banana peeled
2 c frozen peaches slightly thawed
1-2 c strawberries hulled
Several heaping spoonfuls of plain or vanilla if you want it sweeter Greek yogurt
A large splash of orange juice or milk

Instructions

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until combined.
Taste and adjust to your preferences.
Add more orange juice (or milk) to thin if need be.