When superlative weather, lush vegetation, new, springy clothes and the end of school are rolled into thirty one perfect days, it's no wonder that May is my favorite month. There's an inexplicable feeling in the knowledge that freedom is near. The freedom that is oh so close but seems keeps slipping through my grasp, giving the motivation to work hard to get to it.

May is one of the most inspiring months, I think. It's so hard not to love it and be influenced by its cheeriness.

It seems that I'm constantly discovering hidden bits of beauty, and consequently being inspired by them, this month. Eggs, fresh and colorful from the farm, are being eaten like they're going out of style. Scrambled with maple syrup, hard boiled, in cookies, on bread – I can't get enough of them.

I've been inspired by the simplicity of a window, the paint perfectly chipped and cracked.

And studying for finals is that much better sitting on a checkered blanket outside with a dog at your side.

The light in the evening makes me swoon. So soft and warm, deliciously spilling on the grass.

Sweet potato fries are indescribably good. Ever since that fateful day when I ordered them with my sandwich at a restaurant, they've been all I thought about. Sweet goodness.

But if all else fails, there's always taking photographs upside down.

And Pinterest. I don't think I've ever been so inspired before. It's pure magic.

What are some things that have been inspiring you this May?

-carlotta

I shocked myself the other day. Curled up in bed, with my journal balanced on my lap, I thought to myself, "I almost always start out an entry with 'Today was a good day.' or 'Today was beautiful.' It's so boring." I gasped with the realization of what had just entered my mind.

Am I complaining that my life is good? Have I become so spoiled that I take how blessed I am for granted?

This past year, I've been embracing the little things that make a day special, like fresh cinnamon rolls for breakfast or a whispered "I love you".

Little things like a crawling into a bed made with freshly washed sheets or a dreary blanket clouds parting to make way for the sun and a piercingly blue cerulean sky. Little things like eating spaghetti on the patio or finding a polka dotted peacock feather.

Little things like rejoicing in the fact that it's May or daydreaming about the perfect wide open field. Little things like noticing how green everything, so lush I could cry.

It's these things that have made me treasure each day, that make life beautiful.

Because even though you might feel restless to travel the world and feel like nothing exciting ever happens, life is still beautiful. It's beautiful because of the little things. It's beautiful because of the big things. It's beautiful because we have a chance to live at all. It's beautiful because, even though we take it for granted far too often, we have a God that loves us.

Life is beautiful.

-carlotta

As I pulled out a cookbook from its shelf and turned the well worn pages, my eyes fell on a recipe for chocolate cookies. Ideas danced and swirled in my head like fireflies on a warm June night.

Out came the butter, sugar, eggs, and flour and I began the familiar rhythm of mixing, stirring, and combining ingredients together. Once I'd finished the dough, I strayed from the recipe listed on the page. A little of this, a sprinkle of that, a dash of something else until I was satisfied.

Sliding the baking stones into the oven, the timer was set and I waited none too patiently to discover the outcome. After forcing myself to allow the cookies to cool, I carefully broke off a piece. Instantly, pure bliss exploded in my mouth. Rich chocolate, subtle hints of espresso, and perfectly melted chocolate chunks combined together in a symphony of flavors. I ran quickly to scribble down my recipe on a scrap of paper, lest I forgot how to recreate the delectable cookie.

Y'all, these cookies are amazing. These will most definitely be made again. And again. And again.

chocolate chunk cookies
(adapted from this recipe)

– half a pound of butter (two sticks), room temperature
– one cup light brown sugar, packed
– one cup granulated sugar
– two teaspoons pure vanilla extract
– two eggs
– two cups unbleached flour
– one teaspoon baking soda
– a pinch of salt
– 2/3 cup cocoa powder
– one cup chocolate chunks (or chips)
– four to five tablespoons cold brewed coffee
– walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Cream the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time, and mix well. Add the cocoa and mix again. Add the flour, baking soda, salt with the mixer on low speed until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chunks and walnuts.

Drop the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (important!) a rounded tablespoon. Dampen your hands and flatten the dough slightly. Bake for exactly 15 minutes (the cookies will seem underdone). Remove from the oven and let cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

What dish are you currently swooning over?


-carlotta

PS I'm guest posting over here today! Feel free to take a look :)

awkward

– Tripping up the stairs. While people are watching you. Thank goodness for handrails.


– Looking at food blogs while ravenous. Pure torture.


– Finding the perfect pair of oxford pumps, the ones I've been searching for months, only to discover the sizes left were an eight and a half and a seven and a half. I wear a size eight. Why must I have the most common shoe size in the country? 

– Being an inch apart at eye level with a rattlesnake at the zoo, watching it in terrified awe (let's just say that I'm not exactly a snake lover). And then, two seconds after moving to another animal, hearing it strike your brother. Of course it was behind glass, but still...shudder.


– Rude anonymous commenters. Why do those people feel to need to put others down like that? It makes me so sad.


– Missing your mouth while eating, the food instead falling into your lap. Awkward.

awesome

– Dark chocolate. The darker, the better.


– Cookies that turn out perfectly. There's nothing more aggravating than a failed batch.

{via}

– These knitted monsters. I die. And I now know what my next knitting project will be.


– Laying in bed, looking around at my bedroom, bathed in soft grey early morning light, thinking and praying.


– Finally getting around to redoing a wall of art in my room. 

left: before, right: after

center: my great grandmother with frank sinatra (she was a reporter in hollywood), top and bottom: prints by me.

– Watching Food Revolution. It's absolutely fantastic. Food is something that I've been paying a lot of attention to  – where things like fruits, vegetables, and meat come from to if/how the food is processed to unhealthy additives that may be in it. I most definitely recommend watching the show on Hulu!


– This quote: "Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I'm going to take tomorrow." –Imogen Cunningham. Love.

– The strawberries and sage growing in our garden.  For the past month or so, all our salads have lettuce from the garden Homegrown food = delicious.


Any awkward or awesome moments for you this week? Do tell!

-carlotta