Welcome to Local Milk! Or, rather, welcome back. I decided, unceremoniously, to take the summer off from blogging—in that time my husband and I moved to Paris (part time), traveled a lot, hosted retreats, and I, somewhere in the whirlwind, thought through a new direction for this space and finished my long over due cook book proposal. The snapshots in this post are from our summer—we’ve bounced everywhere from Tennessee to Paris to Venice to Marrakech to Greece to Formentera to Copenhagen since I was last “here”. It’s been an intense summer. And yes, I’m grateful. I’m also really tired. Good tired, mostly. But today is a day to recharge. I’m writing this from a terrace on Formentera, Spain, one of my favorite islands on earth. The sea is crashing into cliffs in front of me, and a very large cup of ginger lemon tea is next to my laptop. We just finished hosting our slow living retreat here yesterday. My daughter, Eulalie, just woke up. She’s almost 13 months old now, and this year has been her year. If I’ve accomplished nothing else, I’ve kept her alive and healthy. I just carried her upstairs from the bedroom, nursed her, and now she’s playing inside with dad and her “friends” (sundry stuffed animals, bits of trash, pots and pans). In this moment, life is all I ever dreamed it could be. It looks like the day will be sunny when clouds were forecast, and if I finish work in the morning there’ll be time enough for the beach and swimming in the afternoon. And perhaps a ham and tomato sandwich.
This post is the story of what this blog is today, what it will be, and where I hope to take it. To understand that, first a little background. So. The story so far (if you’re new here): I began Local Milk in 2012 as a seasonal recipe blog. I was divorced, had just moved back to my home town of Chattanooga, TN from California, and I was trying to find—at the age of 28—what I wanted to do with my life. And I did find it, right here. I’m now fortunate enough to do what I love for a living every single day. I began as a girl in Tennessee that woke up one morning with nothing (no degree, no job, no marriage, no past career unless cocktail waitress counts) and, over 5 years, built a life I loved, one where now that same girl, at 34 years old, is sitting on this terrace with a whole, real family. If you told me 6 years ago this would ever be my life, I would have laughed. Or cried. Either way, I wouldn’t have believed it.
Food was the reason I started this blog, and it will always be the heart. I am and have always been a cook, and I’m excited to be writing my first cook book this year, finally. But more on that in another post. In 2013, after about a year and a half of blogging, I started hosting small gatherings, and by the end of 2013 I’d planned and sold out my first food styling & photography workshop abroad in Portugal.
After that first workshop in Portugal, I was hooked. But I was hooked more to creating memorable food & travel experiences for guests than I was to hosting blogging workshops. And so I started calling my events “retreats” instead of “workshops” because I wanted them to be experience focused, not class focused, and I started my business L | M Retreats. I’ve since hosted countless workshops, gatherings, and retreats around the globe from Japan to France to Morocco and so many places in between. It is the business that allowed me my life long dream of travel as an integral part of my job. It also made travel an integral part of this blog. So, by 2014 this was no longer just a food blog. It was a food and travel blog. As my life expanded further, so did the blog again. I fell in love, got married, renovated my home, and had a baby. Interior design, slow fashion, and motherhood all made it into rotation as well. In short, I like to be able to write about whatever I feel like.
But there’s something else. Something of an umbrella under which all of my passions exists and are possible. Slow Living. But what does that mean? The Art of Slow Living? Isn’t that just your hashtag? It sounds like baking bread and cups of tea and long walks. But it’s so much more than that. For me slow living is about taking the time necessary to create something great. About taking 3 months off in a world that would have you believe you’ll be buried if you stop for one second. About working nonstop on a book proposal for weeks, sun up to sun down. Good things can’t be done fast. Sometimes, you need to work like crazy. Sometimes, you need to stare at a wall or the sea or someone’s face. All of those things take time.
For me slow living isn’t just about slow pleasures—swims in the lake, pasta from scratch, a good book—they’re part of it, to be sure, if you want, but they aren’t the point. Not to me. Slow living is deciding what really matters to you and saying no to everything else. It’s about living simply so you can give your precious time to the things that matter to you: to yourself, to your family, to your passion projects and work. To home making, to cooking, to travel, to meditation. To whatever it is that makes your life rich. Slow living is being rich in time.
I am passionate about figuring out how to have abundant time for the things that matter. Money is a factor in that. If we spend too much, we spend time chasing it. If we don’t have enough, we spend time chasing it. And so we have two resources: time and money. My passion is managing those resources wisely because they are intimately intertwined. They are necessary to cook, to travel, to design a dream home, to practice yoga & meditation, to have a passionate relationship with my husband, to be an involved mother, and to have rich relationships with family and friends. These are my dreams. Some take money, some take time, some take both. Yours may be different. But we all have them, and we can all realize them.
So, yes, this blog is about home, travel, food, lifestyle, motherhood, and all of those things. But at it’s heart it’s about abundance. I think it’s actually through having less—less friends, less work commitments, less projects, less possessions, less obligations—that we live our best, abundant lives. It will look different for everyone; we’re all individuals and some people want more and some want less. But the principle remains the same: by saying no to the non-essential many we can say yes to the essential few and be rich in both time and money. By rich, I don’t mean millionaires—though there’s nothing wrong with striving for that goal in your personal finances!—by rich I simply mean that whatever security and luxury mean to you, you have. For some, luxury is feeding the chickens in the morning or brewing a cup of tea or going to the local coffee shop for the perfect cortado. For others, it’s a Birkin Bag and a private yacht. For me, luxury is sleeping late, long slow mornings, having big blocks of time to concentrate on work, being able to travel & support the work of chefs around the world, being able to support and buy the goods of artisans that make clothing & home goods sustainably, and being able to cook most meals at home when I’m home. To each their own. You have to define that for yourself. The same goes for security. You have to define that for yourself. Whatever your definition is, I believe that you can realize your dreams, enjoy both luxury and security, and be rich in time to devote to what really matters to you. So yes, food is the heart of this blog. But the idea of abundance, of finding sustenance of every kind is the soul of this blog as it exists today.
So? What should you expect if you subscribe to this blog? More rambling like this? Yes, sometimes. Expect recipes—fresh, simple, easy recipes. Travel guides, tips, and introductions to some of my favorite spots around the world. Thoughts and advice on abundance, slow living, and minimalism (as a life choice, not an aesthetic). My experiences with motherhood and what works for us. Interiors both our own and ones we discover in our travels. Introductions to the things I love, things that solve problems for me or make my life better whether it’s my favorite foundation (I’m kind of obsessed in a very unskilled way with the craft of make up) or the perfect pair of linen pants (I still have a thing for linen). My wellness journey—yoga, meditation, herbalism, and food as medicine. And the ways in which I totally fail on that journey. And that is, pretty simply, it. I’m going to share more here. Not just recipes. I decided over my 3 month break that if I wanted to share my top 10 apps for work on here, then I would. If I just want to share photos and a bit of writing about a day I will. I miss the old blogging days where a blog was a place where you posted freely, and not some hyper curated show of impossibly grand events & recipe photo shoots that ape old Kinfolk issues that they don’t even want to produce anymore. It’s tired, and I think a lot of us are tired of it. I’ve been there and done that, and I’m interested in something different now. I want fun. I want real. I want to share the things that make my life better whether it’s a book I discover, an app, a recipe, entrepreneurial advice, or a great ramen place in Tokyo. And sometimes I just, as someone who creates, want to share life. Raw life, perhaps nothing useful but an experience or an internal dialogue someone can relate to. Or not. I’m strange, no guarantees this will be relatable all the time. So to anyone new, welcome to Local Milk. And to the wonderful readers that have been with me through this journey, welcome back. I can’t wait to share this next chapter with you all.
This sounds lovely. Thanks for being brave enough to branch out.
Always gotta evolve!
Nice to have you back!
thanks!
Thank you for this! I love how transparent you are =) Everything you share and write is always inspiring and memorable, and I love the evolution LM has gone through. Thank you for reminding us what’s at the heart of blogging, and life as a whole. Hugs!
Thank you or reading! I think blogs have gotten a little homogenous, mine included, and I just want it to feel alive again!
I think most of us could say the same of our own. It’s good to know there are many others out there that are calling it what it is, and choosing to be themselves, more. Beautiful imagery, for me, will always trump, as at the end of the day whether for work or personal pleasure, crafting or capturing a memorable/beautiful moment, to me, is what makes my heart sing. x
I love creating beautiful images. But at the same time…yes, what your’e saying. I need there to be substance behind them. Not just all one big blogger party. It’s such a niche little world…I want to reach beyond it. I don’t want to become a cartoon of myself! Haha. Authenticity is key.
welcome back! it will be great fun to follow your “new” adventures!
Thank you! I’m excited for this new chapter!
Really loving this post Beth, thanks for sharing your thoughts. I’m excited to see what you do next!
Thanks Kath…thanks for following along for so long! xoxo
Oh I am very much looking forward to enjoying this space more! Been waiting for so long and I keep reading all the old posts 😝 I totally agree (and long for the same thing) of the “good-ol’-day” organic blogging style, especially from yours! Thanks for bringing this space back to life, Beth. Can’t wait to read, taste, experience, and learn more magic from you. 🙏🏻
Definitely needed a break to get reinvigorated and adjust to my new life of with a baby abroad…but so inspired to share so much new stuff I’ve been thinking on for basically a year!
Have missed you! So glad you’re back .I’m in southern France just now……back to my vintage airstream in California end of month. Will look forward to all your NEW!.
Have fun in France (my second “home”!), though a vintage airstream in CA sounds awfully enviable too!
You are an amazing inspiration to always try again and deal with the everlasting, ever complicated task of creating a fulfilled life.
truly everlasting and ever complicated…. at least we’ll never get bored!
Dear Beth!
Thank you for these beautiful and personal lines.
I think that’s what matters: to decide for oneself what a fulfilling life is and to have the courage to live it. No matter what is “in” or what the masses are doing.
I look forward what you will write about in the future.
Maike
We’re looking forward to it to! I hope to be able to talk about more of the things I’m passionate about—food, obviously! but also business, marketing, photography, and most of all manifesting abundance in your life!
Bookmarking this for sure! The way you turned your life around in 5 years and the way you’ve found the balance between time and money is hugely inspiring. I am eager to read more raw experiences and moments. I’ve disappeared off my blog for a similar reason, feeling out of touch with myself and my writing. This is the sort of writing I want to read and can learn from.
Sometimes I think we just have to let ourselves drift knowing that when the time is right, we’ll find our way home
I’ve been reading you for quite a while now, and am so glad your taking this direction. Slow living is what first brought me here, and for me slow living was always deeply entwined with an abundance of time. I can relate to that, and I can relate to your thoughts on blogging. Though my blog hosts mostly photos of food, the words I jot dwn there are usually far from food! I ramble a lot, and I love reading other people’s ramblings, because as a novelis I am always looking for others’ experiences and points of view, so I can enrich my work. Really stoked for what will come of this, Beth.
https://bloglairdutemps.blogspot.pt/
Welcome back!
Fun and real and a bit rambly is exactly what I love reading. Looking forward to all of your posts!
Glad there’s an audience out there for it somewhere! Haha : )
I’ve been enjoying your ramblings here since 2014 when I discovered your egg nog cinnamon rolls. I love that recipe. But, more, I love reading about your life and thoughts and experiences. I remember sometimes crying through your posts. And chanting yesyesyes. And marveling at the gorgeous photography. Then, today I thought, I haven’t gotten any emails from L/M in a really long time…and here you are, telling me what’s been going on for this blog. I follow on IG, since the beginning of this year, seeing all of your travels and your thoughts there. But I have missed the longer format of the blog. I also don’t really care what you are writing about, meaning, i want to hear what you want to say, whatever it may be about. Anything and everything, as long as it’s true to you in that moment. I am a loner, an introvert, I have zero close friends. I am finding that this virtual world is where I find friends, not that it’s two sided, I guess all the folks I read of and follow are my imaginary friends who happen to be real people. All of this to say, I truly enjoy real life posts, not the silly curated obviously staged and styled type. Please continue to be you here in your virtual home. I love to come visit.
I love this! I can’t wait to hear more from you.
I have been with you for years now, and I have loved every bit of it, but will definitely look forward to your blog becoming more real and more “down to earth”, more inspirational than aspirational.
Thankyou for being here and for sharing 🙂
Thanks for reading all this time, and I’m looking forward to it too.
Whatever your focus is, I look forward to your posts. Honest writing is rare and I enjoy yours. I became a mother last December and it redefined my idea of a good life. Slowing down, spending my thoughts wisely, and figuring out how all of that plays out, practically speaking, has been a personal goal of mine, too. Thank you for doing it in this fast-everything world and for sharing.
Motherhood totally redefined me without my even trying. I feel you. It’s still a bit of a rubik’s cube, figuring out how to fit in everything I care about practically speaking. I just know the first step is saying a big, fat resounding NO to everything I *don’t* care about!
I’m new and just happened upon your post this morning. What a way to start the day!! Thank you!
Hannah
Thank you & thank you so much for reading!
“Sometimes, you need to work like crazy. Sometimes, you need to stare at a wall or the sea or someone’s face…”. Perfect. Welcome back! Meg
It’s so easy to forget that sometimes you just have to stop and stare and that it takes time to do that! I definitely need to stare into space to process.
We missed you, darling Beth, welcome back! I agree with every bit of what you said. Branching out is very important these days. I do love all the beautiful family photos and the one in the car(Morrocco?). Very special! Excited to hear more lovely recipes (what have you been up to foodwise?) and stories about moving abroad and motherhood etc.
Gabi
You write so beautifully, I was entranced from the very beginning of this blog post. I’m looking forward to seeing how the blog evolves in this new direction, it sounds wonderful.
PS, glad to have you back writing here again, we missed reading your thoughts!
I’m happy to be back at it! Hopefully it will flow easily and authentically…sometimes writing can feel like pulling teeth! But comments like this keep me at it.
Welcome back! I have been following your post and stories on Instagram. I know I was missing something and I just realized reading your post. And, it’s the way you write and tell the story. I’m fascinated by your writing skills. I love your food styling, and I hope to get to go to one of your retreats. Thanks for the wonderful post!
Welcome back! It was so nice to see your post in my inbox this morning. Cheers to this beautiful chapter in your life..
Thank you! Looking forward to continuing the journey!
Very beautiful and encouraging sentiments. I was first drawn to “Local Milk”, not so long ago, when I came across your Instagram feed which offered a different aesthetic, a more relatable one to me, than other curated feeds I was seeing. I have found inspiration in your photos yes, but mostly in your thoughts written out as Instagram captions. It has been a refreshing source of inspiration for this season of life, and this post no exception. Thank you!
Thank you…I hope this space as well as my instagram feed can remain beautiful places but real places. and interesting ones too! the only thing worse than being fake, for me, is being boring! lol
i love your blog ! you hooked me right away with your posts and writing a few years back. i still prefer something personal and well written over a single image but you’ve managed to combine both and do it better than anyone i know. we’ve (my daughter and i) made the bison meatballs many times and the spicy chocolate chip cookies. she loves to cook – so your blog is a great go-to place for recipes in our house.
i can see you’ve been through a lot in life already and came out the other side into something you never imagined you’d have. me too. xo
Beautiful post Beth. I often return to your early posts; I started reading your blog when I had just started a new job and life in a new country early in 2014, and it takes me back to that time. I loved the rawness and will never forget first reading your description of Tennessee – ‘…an awfully human place. A pig fat place’. 🙂 I still love that. Plus, your Rosemary and Olive oil cake recipe has been a physical lifesaver to me over the last three years. Look forward to reading more of ‘raw life’ going forward. J
I hope in letting myself be free I get pull some more writing out! It’s so hard to force it. When it comes it comes…and I hope I can still do it!
I was missing your blog. I had liked your Facebook page just in case I was just not getting your updates. I’m so excited for your new projects and where you are taking your blog. Oh, and can’t wait for the cookbook 🙂
Haha…I’m so bad at Facebook! I don’t even know if my blog posts go there. Yikes! I need to get on that! lol And I can’t wait for the book either…it will likely be two years before it hits shelves…but it will be worth the wait!
This is so stunning. I really love following your travels, your photography, your words and well, pretty much everything you do so whatever you put here will be lovely. I’ve also been going through a blog identity crises and what you say about things being less formal and more natural resonates with me. I’m tired of the overly styled (even though I am a food stylist by profession).
Sam x
Thank you so much for coming back. Just looking at your photographs brings me a sense of calm. You are young; I am old. I am learning from you.
Haha! I don’t know that I have much figured out…but what I have learned I definitely want to share!
Beth – this is a beautiful post with gorgeous photos! I have been following Local Milk for a long time and really look forward to this new chapter! Thank you!
Thank you! I’m so grateful for everyone who’s evolved along with me!
Well said, thank you for the slow down we all need a little or sometimes a lot. Welcome back look forward to seeing your post pop up.
Lury
thank you & thanks for reading! I look forward to posting more!
How inspiring. And what beautiful photos!
Thanks!
Oh lady, it’s such a treat to let your words wash over me again. Your thoughts in slow living really struck a chord; I live for the small, simple, quiet moments and seek them out every day. Looking forward to more quiet moments sitting with your posts! xo
Thank you so much for reading. I’m so passionate about not only portraying slow living in my photos, but teaching people how to achieve it in their daily lives…sounds like you’ve got it down!
Sounds wonderful. As we mature and ripen, we broaden our focus. Integrating food, music, art, travel, fitness, relationships, and intentions into a world view that speaks our values. Abundance to me means believing that we can manifest the life we desire. So many of us live in scarcity. Abundance is saying yes to an idea, then figuring out how to get there. I look forward to following your journey. Lots of love.
Love to you as you share your life and adventures with us! I dream of a similar life (part time in Paris!) and will get there once my youngins leave the nest in a few years. Until then, I want to travel as much as I can and simplify so that moving about the world will be easier. Thank you for your insights. I look forward to hearing any tips you find useful. xo
Children so very much complicate things! Not that is isn’t *all* possible with them, but moms definitely have to make different choices and make more “cuts”. I love traveling with Eula…but that doesn’t mean that I don’t already look forward to the day my husband and I can take off on our own again! Haha.
Welcome back! Your post is perfect. I’ll look forward to finding it in my inbox. Deep thanks for your insights, as always.
Thanks for subscribing & I look forward to writing more!
It is how connected one feels to your magic, how you truly share your angels & demons and how much excitement & anticipation follows every future adventure of yours. Having a part of peoples inner moments, thoughts & skills is a bliss for those who share the same demeanour, not as simple as one might think. So thank you, and i wish you plenty of everything you are, have, dream and enjoy.
Ps. I hope you have really enjoyed Greece, next time you should try September in Hydra, or Tinos, or Chania (Crete), or…….
Maria
Thank you so much. And I’m dying to try Hydra! I’ve been to Chania (many years ago), and I just love Greece so much, I can’t wait to explore it all over the years. There’s so much left!
I’ve been following you around for quiet some time and your passion in what you do is so inspiring. I’m excited to follow along on your new chapter.
Thank you! I’m excited too!
As a new subscriber I am looking forward to what you write, but your photos alone make it worth the visit! And, your little girl is simply divine; a year from now she and you will change so much. You seem to be succeeding at making your entire life your art, which is the ideal situation for us artists.
That’s so good to hear! I’ve also been telling myself that if I don’t have anything to say, I don’t have to say anything. That photos and food are enough when it’s all I feel like doing. Trying to stay really free. And yes, it really is the dream. I truly believe anyone can design a life they love and my passion (other than feeding people!) is teaching them how to!
Hi Beth! The photos in this blog (well–all your photos, always) are beautiful, but I wanted to say that I particularly love the defined but subtle splash of color that you have in these. Really gorgeous and quite beautiful works of art. The pinks, the greens, the yellows. Love them. I enjoyed your food photography workshop in Brooklyn in May so much. It’s helped my photography a lot! Many, many thanks.
xo Christy
Thank you! I’m really feeling color these days. And a more modern, clean feel. It was a pleasure meeting your in Brooklyn…I hope our paths cross again!
Brava, my Dear. I eagerly await your sharing.
Thanks…I look forward to sharing it!
Amen. My kind of blog…can’t wait for more.
thanks! stay tuned…more coming!
The blog is back. So good to see that.
Loved reading this post and hearing about your new direction. Love your work. Always have and lookiyforward to seeing this space blossom again.
welcome back beth! such a beautiful post. i too have branched out to share other things i love on my blog. instead of just recipes… both interiors & life. it keeps my creativity flowing rather then feeling like i am sleep walking through recipes & photography & life. can’t wait to see the new direction you take! xo
Dear Beth! I had quite similar thoughts about blogging recently and while I spent years trying to figure out what my blog should be about – I never managed to stay within a niche – a few weeks ago I decided that I want to keep it a place where I share anything I feel like sharing. Also, because those are the blogs I enjoyed reading the most back in the old blogging days. So, it makes me particularly glad to see that “big” blogs like yours start to embrace the same direction. I am looking forward to the new Lokal Milk, and I am sure it will be even more inspiring that it used to. xo
P.S. Find the post that I mentioned in the comment over here, if you are interested: http://katrinhuth.de/blog/2017/08/my-problem-of-finding-a-niche/
I agree completely! When I followed a blog, I was following it for the person behind it. I like their stories, their photos, their food, their style. Usually it’s a whole package for me, so I love it when bloggers share everything. I love niche stuff, especially food because I’m so foodcentric, but I also like any sort off useful information they feel like sharing. I’ve always struggled to be a “food brand”. I’m more of a “food, travel, and lifestyle” kind of girl…i.e. EVERYTHING. If I could keep myself to one thing, I would, but it just isn’t me. I think it’s equally important to not try to be everything if you want to focus on one thing. In the end…we have to do what feels right!
Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together and you finally realize that there are more adventures outside what you originally thought possible. Its great to have you back! I’ve missed your posts. I have kept up with your Instagram posts while you have been on vacation. You always have wonderful photos, sourcing and the photos of Eulalie are always sweet and adorable.
Thank you! Yes, I’m so excited for this next chapter. For being more present and doing what I want instead of just doing what I feel like I “should” do.
well this is all going to make me love your blog EVEN MORE.
haha…thanks! happy to be back!
I scribbled so many notes down from this post. You touched on so many things (big and little) that I’ve been trying to grapple with. Time, money, having the courage to do the things that mean the most to me, being real in life and online too. Thank you, really looking forward to your new posts X
That makes me even more excited to continue sharing about these topics. In a way, other than cooking & travel & creating beauty in normal life, these themes have become my passion. Sharing what I’ve learned about having less in order to have more. About abundance. About passion and accomplishing things.
So glad you’re blogging again. As much as I’ve enjoyed tracking your adventures on Instagram, I’ve missed your blog and the classic, less curated, more organic blog style that you’re talking about.
I’m pretty sure I’ll always be a fan.
I missed it so much too!! I think I might just be bored to death of the SUPER curated. Happy to have a space that’s all mine to share whatever, whatever. : )
Beth, I first got to know you through the article in Where Women Cook. I was drawn to your recipes, your photography, your writing, and most of all, your story. When you shared about your struggles as a young adult, I wept. As a mom of six, my oldest 3 were in their late teens, all girls, and dealing with struggles of their own. I was so touched and encouraged by your journey and evolution. You said that ‘some great grace’ had saved your life. I also believe in that grace and spirit to lead our lives. Now, here you are, several years later, with a beautiful little family, living your passions and sharing your heart with the world. Without patronizing you, I want to say that I’m so proud of you, and all that you have become. Being mindful, and living in the present is what we are all meant to do, and it will be wonderful to share your perspective, and experiences. God bless you!
That’s deeply appreciated, Judi. Now with a daughter of my own, I want to spread hope and compassion more than ever. I really can’t believe how far I’ve come myself. Of course, it all feels normal because it’s what I know now. But if I pause for a moment and remember those hard days I get a weird vertigo feeling. I’m grateful for readers such as yourself that have followed me on this journey…and I hope your oldest are growing out of it! It’s such a hard time in life, especially as a woman, I think.
I can relate a lot to what you explained here. As soon as I stopped caring about the number of followers or blog hits, the more fun I had and could truly enjoy expressing myself. Now I say no to most photography jobs and definitely say no to free work. Because I value my free time, and I don’t want to forget the reason why I started my blog: as a way to relieve stress, not enhance it. Thanks for sharing Beth, and I’m looking forward to more of your blog posts!
Yes, yes, yes. This is exactly what I encourage people to do. You need to love what you’re doing to do a good job, and you’ll do the best job if you don’t think about the people watching or whose watching or how many. I always tell people they should be turning down most work (and charging more for the work they do take!) and not working for free. Because time is so, so precious. As precious as money. Because time is what we ultimately trade for money. I’m trying to remember the exact same things myself
This was a breath of fresh air. I am excited. So excited. For all of it.
Thank you.
Thank you! I can’t wait to write more about these themes. They’ve changed my life.
Oh, thank God! Your blog was always my favorite for your beautiful writing and I’ve missed it! I’ll be happy to read whatever you want to write about. I can’t wait for your book! When will it come out?
It will probably come out in fall of 2019… a long ways off! But I can’t wait! And thank you for much for reading! In the next two years between now and the release I’ll be much, much more active on here!
Very exciting, I’ve always visited this space but never actually cooked your recipes – I came for your words and the visual inspiration. Looking forward to a more assortment of content and to seeing more freedom in your posts!
I just love the way you write! Thank you so much for sharing, your inspirational.
Thank you Beth, your post made me stop, sit and read. It made me still for the first time in weeks. I’m 34 too with a 4 year old and a 14 month old. I live in Devon on the edge of Dartmoor and have looked at your pictures and read your blog for years. Yesterday, as I walked with my little one in the sunshine, my head was pounding and whirring with the hum drum of life. My life is not hectic at all, but you’ve summed up what I know I must always strive for. We live better and richer with less. Walk lightly.
Yes. Light weight living, as a friend of mine calls it. And honestly, I think we can make anything hectic. It’s a human skill! No matter how much or how little I have on my plate, with the wrong frame of mine…I’m an anxious mess! I like to remember that it’s all made up. And that 99% of life doesn’t matter. So. I best be focusing on that 1% that does!
Hello from Svendborg!
Beautifully written story (as always). I’m so happy that you’re back – your blog is one of the few I actually read, and I’m excited to see where you’re taking it next. I think it’s time we get some good old bloggin’ going again. Yay!
Hope to see you and your sweet Eula and Matt again sometime soon. It was so much fun in Copenhagen!
x Camilla & family
It was good to take a break (and to meet your beautiful family during that break!) I’m so excited about blogging again…and reading blogs again!
I always find your writing and your photography so inspirational and can’t wait to see more of what you decide to share! I’ve been following you for few years now, both here and on Instagram and in your posts/work/creations I find many of the things I need, beauty on a heavy gloomy day, inspiration and motivation when I feel like creating and sharing what I do is possibly not good enough and hope that dreams just maybe do come true in the end.. Thank you for that!
Thank you. I’m so incredibly grateful for people like you who stick around even as the space grows, changes, evolves. I hope to continue to bring inspiration. Hopefully in an easy going, not-trying-too-hard, kind of way.
Welcome back Beth! Looking forward!
Thanks! Me too!
Welcome back! I’ve loved seeing the shift in your blog over the years, and as a fellow Tennessean, so much of it has spoken to me on a personal level. Excited to see what you have to post!
On a very selfish note, could you possibly write up your favorite places in Venice soon? We just booked flights to spend Thanksgiving in Italy with friends (Rome, Tuscany, Venice), and while tips for any of those areas would be appreciated, I know that you’ve spent time in Venice and it’s so hard to find really good recommendations for a city so aimed at tourists.
Ok, yes. Venice is SO overdue and I have so many favorite spots! I have like…an absurd number of unpublished travel guides. I’ll make it one of the first! It’s so close to my heart and yes, there are a bonkzillion tourists, but if you know what you’re doing, it really doesn’t matter. It’s still wonderful. I’ll try to get it live before your trip!
I clicked over for my semi-weekly “is her site still active?” check-in. I was happy to see this post! While your life looks incredible and enviable, it’s your voice that keeps us coming back. Anyone can take pretty pictures of France. It takes someone with soul to tell a story with it. Best of luck!
I’m alive! I think having a baby knocked my socks of, so to speak, (knocked me on my ass more like it maybe?) waaaaaay more than I expected. I’m sure every experienced mom ever is like “ahahahah…ahaha..ha”. So I definitely needed a break. And I was, even knowing better, worried everyone would be gone. So! I’m glad you’re still around. Hopefully I can bring more soul to this place than I’ve had in a while.
I think I’ve been following since 2012 (or at least since you were on masterchef) and you never fail to inspire Beth. Thank you for continuing to share with us! Can’t wait to see what’s next <3
-Sarah (@dottidee)
Hey girl hey…it’s people like you and the “internet friends” and community that keep me trucking no matter what corporation decides to do what to what. Cause in the end, we’re all still here, we still make stuff. We still chat. That was always the point. Thanks for being around for so long… (kind of embarrassing to think about 2012 and masterchef!!! hahahaha)
That last part actually made me laugh out loud in my empty house! It may be embarrassing to you but I thought you were so real on that show and when I found your blog I would read passages to Jordan and say, “I think I love this woman!” Thats the fun thing about the internet, you find kindred spirits in unexpected places!
You words speaks a lot to me! Can’t wait to follow you in this next chapter. It’s incredible and inspiring –even if this word is overused/ misused on blogs & internet– the way you reinvent yourself, and how intentional you are for the things you want! If ain’t a ‘fuck yes’, it’s a ‘hell no’ has been my motto too, since the beginning of the year… but I tend to forget it once in a while. Thanks for reminding me Beth and all the best for your projects! xx
yes! fuck yes / hell no. binary brain is best! I forget it too and start putting my little pro and con weights in the balance instead of listening to my gut, my energy, my intuition. I mean, arguably it’s good to think for a moment. But I really think we know where we want to go and we know what’s taking us there. When I hesitate, it usually means it isn’t serve a goal for my life and will turn my days into piles of obligation that I don’t want them to be. We’re always obliged to something. But I want to choose that for myself and not let the world choose it for me!
I love this post, your work, your commitment to your art, and your ability to share what matters.
Today I came to a very exciting – kind of big! – decision. You see, I am two years away from graduating from naturopathic medical school (5 year plan folks; the slow-life option to the 4 year track), and since year one without thinking it was my resolute decision to make Alinea in Chicago my graduation gift to myself. Achatz has been my muse for years, and his autobiography sealed the deal.
But having found your blog, Beth, a couple of years ago, I have grown increasingly more inspired by your work. And moving forward in a direction that is more congruent with what I aspire to do, making one of your retreats my graduation gift to myself is my new goal.
So thank you for doing what you do!! It continues to fuel the artist within. (i really hope you’re still doing retreats in the summer of 2019!)
I was just talking about Achatz with a retreat guest the other day! He’s also a huge, huge inspiration to me. I hope you eat at Alinea AND come to a retreat! I’ve never been to Alinea either…maybe we can run into each other there! Haha. And I am preetttty sure that at the very least I’ll still be doing Japan and Morocco in 2019! And maybe something else for fun : )
Now I can’t be sure what I am most excited about – graduation or a retreat! And if I do find resources for Alinea as well, i will share the word! 🙂
Haha….I hope to see you there!
What a great post this is! I am looking forward to all of your future posts/
You are an inspiration! I love to see what you are up to and will look forward to reading your blog 🙂
Thank you… I look forward to writing it! Knowing there are people out there still reading gives me so much energy you wouldn’t believe it.
Your life & words are a vision of intelligent loveliness Beth. Thank you x
Far higher praise than I deserve, thank you. : )
You put words to what I have been striving for – slow living. Thank you for being real – what a refreshing chapter ahead!
I think so few people realize that time has a value similar to money. And in a way time is even more real. Money is made up. Time we are all subject to. It’s so cool and interesting to think about the relationship between the two and how you can unpack that to find what we all want…more freedom, more life!
bring it~all of it, any of it, any way you see fit. this is your home and i am always thankful when you open the door and let us in. countless in so many ways to hear from you in so many ways. much love~
I’m gonna! I’m so so grateful for the comments on this post. They have me completely reinvigorated. I want to share as freely here as I used to on instagram. Anything and everything. Inspiration, life, problem solving, design. and FOOD!
Your writing, photography sense and overall articulation ooze intelligence. I’m excited to follow along on this evolution of the blog. Like another commenter wrote, I often read your old blog posts while waiting for the new ones. Can’t wait!
I can’t tell you how much it means to me to know people are still here. For a little bit, I wondered if it was just dead and thought maybe I should just not care. But I think in the creative world a blog and your email subscribers are the only things that are truly yours…Mark Zuckerburg can’t buy those! Haha. So I wanted to focus on that more. Because this is where I’m free, or can be at least, if I let myself be.
Thank you! You have just beautifully articulated (as usual) how I currently feel about social media, blogging etc.
I want to read real stories, see real pictures – not the curated kind as I am so over these! Can’t wait to hear what you get up to next. You have always kept it real.
xx
Yeah. It’s all gotten a bit….much? I don’t know. I don’t always know how to articulate my dissatisfaction with it. I just know I’ve found myself really uninspired/stifled feeling. I don’t want to edit myself so freaking much!
Dear Beth,
You are truly an inspiration 🙂 I did not know such a life is possible. Your daughter is so blessed to grow up experiencing the world with a beautiful and creative family. Thank you for your blog and sharing your life. Many blessings!
Trust me…I didn’t know such a life was possible either! I think the thing that excites me most is sharing that whatever life you dream of is possible…because if I can do it anyone can! hahaha
Welcome back! I love the direction you plan to take things and am so happy to follow along. You are blessed with so many talents and a beautiful family! We are lucky to get a tiny glimpse into that world!
What an inspirational post! I think that pausing (blogging or anything else one might be doing on a daily basis) is absolutely necessary. It gives you the chance to see from a different perspective your « systems », walking up, going to work, seeing friends, your daily habits, etc. and gives you time to reflect whether or not it works for you. And to make tiny shifts that can bring you more joy and abundance. I am so happy to know you’re back and look forward to reading more!
I agree. I really do think that the internet, with its high turn over rates, perpetuates this myth that you can never stop or you’ll be eaten alive by the “competition” (whatever that means), but I to continue to grind out content without refreshing your eyes and spirit leads to dead, redundant, boring content. So I’m hoping I can bring all the life I’ve lived in the past three months back to the space and infuse it with all the sustenance I’ve gotten from simply living!
You are an amazing lady. Absolutely amazing. Following you. Meeting you. Working with you. You are doing it right and I am so excited for you. I am constantly cheering for you because I believe in your heart and soul and who you are. This is all so beautiful and I love your perspective on abundance and being rich in whatever form that means to you. Welcome back. Time away is necessary to know where we must step next.
Right back at you, Megan. Watching your journey (all three of you guys!) has been inspiring every step of the way. The blogosphere/social media is always changing and changing so rapidly that I definitely felt like I lost my footing *and* my inspiration. But then I figured I’d just do what I’d do if no one was watching. I think we always create best like that.
I have always respected, admired, and adored your honesty. It feels so rare to find in blogging these days, and I’m so so glad to have a spot like this. As usual, gorgeous writing!
Trying to keep it real! Thank you!
Just “Thank You” to be youself Beth. With all it means behind…
Thank you for the encouragement! : )
It is always refreshing and inspiring for the soul passing by here.
That’s why i love so much this LM!
You are amazing, Beth!
cheers from bz
Can’t wait to see what is next on your journey. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, creations, and life with us. You are such an inspiration. Keep it coming as you can, as you desire.
Wonderful Beth! I’m looking forward to delve into your recommendations and enter into broadening dialogues about slow living. I’ve long agreed with the many words and ideas you shared on instagram about that topic. Allocating time and money with thought is a guiding principle for me too, alas it never comes without struggle. Hearing someone elses experiences (much like when becoming a mother) can be a wonderful way of helping to steer ones own boat. Because when we’re reflective about it, it helps us to put context to our own. So in short, looking forward to it! 😁
My own struggle is what made me passionate about it. I hope my own experiences and methods for managing those two intertwined resources prove to be of some use to others struggling with the same! Abundance for all!
Thank you for such amazing bravery, it shows me how too I can be brave with my life and my work 🙂
Just love you!
Yes! Trust me, if I can…anyone can! Hahaha.
Happy to read this. You’ve always been and always will be a big inspiration. Thank you Beth – for sharing your talents and life with us. 😘
Thanks for being real 🙂 I barely read blogs anymore because so many of them only show the ‘perfect’ life. Life isn’t perfect and we shouldn’t pretend that it is. Looking forward to reading more about your adventures!
Woohoo!!!!!!! So thrilled to see your beautiful words and loved reading every word of them. And, of course, the snaps of Eulalie. She is the greatest. Can’t wait for this next chapter.
Welcome back, Beth. I’ve followed you (silently) for some time. Thank you for a most refreshing post. As a fellow blogger, I’ve been feeling the same, although I’m at the other end of my life… retirement (rather than motherhood) is now my focus. And yes, less… commitments, “friends”, things, deadlines, social media. Long, slow days doing the things that my man and I love. Food, travel, books, cooking, walking, cycling, swimming or just staring at the sunset. Thank you again. I look forward to reading more of your work.
Sounds like a dream! I am hoping to make more time for things like that in our life as well. Seems like there’s always something on the to do list standing between me and reading a book!
Wow that s a very honest post i can def relate too. I ended up shutting down my blog because the perfectly curated and shot blog posts made me feel ill to the stomach. I am looking forward to reading about all that you are talking about as I am on a journey myself to cut down on things that don t give me energy and more on the things that do. I have to admit I am also looking forward to some new recipes. As I am studying holistic nutrition i don’t eat gluten or sugar but I use your flavour combinations as a starting point to create my own. Thank you for sharing and if you ever want to visit antwerp (1.5 hr by thalys and a lovely foodie place) let me know!
I’m looking forward to publishing more recipes! Hopefully (especially with the savory ones) there will be plenty of sugar free & gluten free for you to try. And hopefully I can keep this place beautiful but still real. Gotta be a sweet spot!
I’m so happy you’re back to blogging! And looking forward to this new direction, too.
I’ve loved seeing this blog evolve since I started following (and seeing glimpses of how you’ve changed), and I’m happy to see it back and changing! xo
Thank you! I’m excited to be back!
Love when I can hear your true voice! Looking forward to more…
Beth, I’ve been checking this space often and eagerly awaiting your return. Your beautiful words and photos are always really inspiring. Life is funny, strange at times; we are, as you said, strange as well. Unique in our differences and goals, that’s what make us all so interesting. I love your take on life and what’s important to you, and seeing glimpses of your workshops and living spaces and the food you create for your family. So glad to have you back 🙂
Strange, indeed. I feel like such a crazy mix of beauty and ugly and ambition and utter laziness! Finding time and space for every piece is key. Not fighting it, flowing with it. I’m really happy to be back here—this space feels like home.
So glad you are writing again. I’ve been an avid follower of your blog (have read every single post) – I love reading your thoughts, enjoying your photos and I have a couple favorite recipes that came into my repertoire via your blog (apple rosemary quick bread, bacon grease skillet corn bread, heirloom tomato galette with lemon balm pesto and chevre – not to mention some really good biscuit tips) – and I have missed it. Instagram is fun, but not as satisfying. I appreciate your writing and thoughts and really enjoy your recipes. So excited that you are working on a cookbook! My already abundant cookbook shelf will DEFINITELY find room for that when it comes to fruition. Glad you are keeping it real for you – nothing else really makes any sense.
Welcome back, Beth.
You have described my own feelings so well in this post. The journey to pair down to what’s essential, knowing that money is necessary to live and that time is a luxury good nowdays. Both are scarce resources and one must try do decide wisely, on a daily basis, where to spend them. Above all, I try to fight back that constant pressure that I should always be doing something and preferably multitasking. I don’t want that anymore. One thing at a time, enjoying it and devoting myself to it. That’s slow living form me, either it’s having a warm cup of tea or finishing some boring report.
It’s such a good thing to be honest about with yourself. It took me a minute to realize that connection. It was one of the biggest “aha!” moments of my life. When I realized that how I spend, how much I make, how much I charge, how much I work, and my time are all interrelated. Spend less, work less, more time. Charge more, make more, work less, more time. Etc etc. Endless ways to add it up, but either way, they are the two sides of the equation.
So much of this resonated with me. My life is very different from yours but a (enforced) break has meant I’m reassessing everything and being strict about what I say yes too. I’m tired of being spread too thin and my body said no for me! Thanks for putting it in such poetic words. I’ve followed you for most of the journey and will be continuing to read along. Images are beautiful as always.
Thi sounds great Beth, love it.
As a mum of two littlies and a creative, I too am tiring of overly beautiful, crafted and curated photos. It all seems a bit too tight and tidy and impossible to live up to. I yearn for something that reflects real life a bit. My favourite photo in this sequence, for example, is the one through the front windscreen of the car. Gorgeous. I love hearing all these proposed life thoughts and ramblings, and look forward to all that you will share.
Thanks Beth
Hi Beth, considering yours is the only blog I read/check into every so month or so, this is grand news! I remember first finding you through pinterest back in the day (pre-Matt, pre-Eulalie, pre-retreats, & with the old Katt Frank logo), and I was endlessly inspired and educated- in an aesthetic education of sorts. Your style of writing and poetic candidness always keeps me reading (despite my attention span), helping to slow me down and calm me- and somehow simultaneously energize and inspire me. Thanks for seeking out and sharing with us out the very best things from your life- browned butter or rosemary anything, elizabeth suzanne, potions and spells, The Jersey Milk Duo (who I’d like to note single handedly inspired my career goals and direction shift), Faviken- all these things I learned of through you. And thank you for creating so so much beauty. I never comment on blogs. Yet here I comment on yours- because great thanks is due.
Cheers to a well spent summer and for returning to us here. =)
finally catching up on your return to blogging and i could NOT BE MORE EXCITED! so happy to have you back, and happy for the change. i totally agree with you about the way blogging/social media has become more polished and perfect. it’s not always bad, but your post and upcoming changes really resonated with me, so there must be something there. i think it will be a great road ahead. i’m always so eager to see what you have to share, real and raw or not. <3 cheers!
Loved this so much. I recently also wrote a post about some changes on my own blog and how I wanted to focus more on what truly made me happy – travel. It does take courage and clarity to admit to yourself that maybe the project you’ve been working on for so long is not deep down what you know you should be doing. So happy to find someone feeling the same. I love your blog and will continue following it and even more excited that it now will include so much more!
Cheers,
Lourdes
http://plsdotell.com/2017/10/04/finding-your-purpose/
This blog and everything you wrote in this particular piece makes my heart go pitter patter. Thank you.
I have always loved following you on Pinterest but it’s the first time I actually sat down and read your blog, actually many of your blogposts here. Each one captivates me because I too enjoy slow living and am embracing a pace and way of life that is more real. So I am extremely happy to have found this blog and also that you’ll be writing about some of your favourite things. This makes me curious and makes me happy with excitement. Well done Beth and I look forward to reading more of your writing. And wow, your pictures are beyond beautiful!
Loved this post.The best is yet to come!
Ohhh adoro sus divagaciones;estoy en un proceso hace unos tres años comence a vivir con menos y tratando de vivir mas lento;para mi es un trabajo muy duro ;pero he logrado algunos cambios(no todos los que quisiera) pero sigo en el proceso .Lo veo como un viaje hacia una vida totalmente diferente y opuesta a la que tenia ;pero quiero que sea parte de mi y por eso sigo en este camino.A veces me desanimo ;me digo que es tarde;tengo 46 años ;pero luego me pongo de pie y sigo adelante tratando de cumplir mis sueños ;me digo a mi misma que nunca es tarde mientras sienta el sol sobre mi.
Muchos saludos y gracias por haberla encontrado me encanta leer sus post me dan animo para seguir adelante♥♥♥♥♥
Thank you Beth for these words! I just sort of discoverd your blog on Instagram (feed of Merci, a concept I loved over years now!). Long articles about real passion, inner battles and a shown curiosity are hard to find. I really admire the passion and feeling behind the things you do! It shows everywhere. As a mother of four girls, having had rewarding and adventourous jobs all around the world before, I am still at a point of searching….Honestly, I think it never stops and that`s real life. Anyway, I just started a blog with my girls and this makes me happy for the time beeing. And I am definately interested in joining one of your retreats!
First of all, thank you so much for taking the time to comment! I wish you the bet with your blog!
I discovered your blog recently and want to commend you on your openness and realness. Who you are as a person transcend through your words. I am in my twenties, and find that I myself need to learn to slow down really weed out the unnecessary in life. Thank you for inspiring.
Love your story, It’s amazing how life smiles at us when we finally dive into our passion.
Wish you the best in the future !!
Can I replace the corn syrup with something I can buy easily in France ? Thanking you in advance.