Enchantment Learning & Living Blog

Welcome to Enchantment Learning & Living, the inspirational space where I write about the simple pleasures, radical self-care, and everyday magic that make life delicious.

Takin' Care of Business...& Beyond!

July 21, 2015

My website is in need of a tune up, so I'll be taking some time off from writing new posts while I give my site a little behind the scenes TLC. That's just a little less than two weeks away from the proverbial page--and I promise I'll be back by the end of August with plenty more to share on everyday magic, simple pleasures, and of course, delicious recipes! You can expect more late summer harvest recipes and odes to the changing seasons, as well as exciting new ruminations on autumn in the Land of Enchantment.

In the meantime, I'll be posting some oldies but goodies on the bounty of summer on Facebook and Twitter (@EnchantmentLL); if you are feeling adventurous--or just can't get enough inspiration!--check out my blog and recipe indexes for more insights to everyday magic. Thanks for your patience, and, as always, your support!

Enchantment Learning & Living is an inspirational blog celebrating life’s simple pleasures, everyday mysticism, and delectable recipes that are guaranteed to stir the kitchen witch in you. If you enjoyed what you just read and believe that true magic is in the everyday, subscribe to my newsletter below for regular doses of enchantment. Want even more inspiration? Follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter. Here’s to a magical life!

A Love Letter to Pleasure

July 17, 2015

I don't quite understand you; it is as if you are a word in a foriegn language that I can't completely wrap my mouth around--but I try to desperately, willing my tongue and tonsils to coax the song across my palate with grace so that one day I may pass as a native speaker of your bliss. So please, have patience with my fumbling.

Still, I court you, tempted by your sighs and tickles, or the way you put my life into perspective with a playful shrug of your shoulder and, all at once, my too-hot flame is a joyful spark. You are Coyote, tempting my off the straight and narrow, that dull anemic path that leaves nothing but an empty cup and a heavy soul. Okay then, I say, when you cross my path. Let's go. Let's get lost in the desert, drunk on the stars, dizzy with the moon. I won't even pause to catch my breath or search my dictionary to make sure I have the right words for you. They will come on their own.

Yes, you can kiss me--though I know you would even without my permission. That's what makes you, you. And I reach for you in return, seduced by your mercurial touch, grateful for the way you ground me back into my body, my life (for even you, you seemingly flighty creature, have a way of bringing both the lightness of a summer's night and the weight of roots grounding garden herbs into my bones).

I need you; and though I know you've heard this before from countless others, on hundreds of other rendezvous, know this: you are my necessity, my home. You bring wings to my discipline and joy to my focus; you are my rosebud, my compass. Without you, there would be no breath.

Life is a Celebration

July 14, 2015

Yesterday I had a cookout--fresh corn and kebabs on the grill--and Django Reinhardt on the record player. Why? Because it was a Tuesday and I was hungry. This morning I did yoga to the sunrise and drank coffee on the patio because that's the best time to talk to the birds (and my plants). There was a moment just now, too, where I just let my mind wander and allowed myself to breathe in the heady aroma of blue sage because I could.

On Thursday, I burned an expensive candle and had a glass of even finer whiskey solely because I enjoyed the searing light of fire within and without; there was no point in waiting for a 'special occasion' (whatever that is, like a fence that limits pleasure to some distant future moment). Monday was another story--I drank up the stars late into the night because that was as long as it took to finish my conversation with them. And the blades of grass between my toes today were proof that walking barefoot was as good for my soul as it was for my soles.

Later I might decide to twirl--in the rain or on the dance floor--for the sheer pleasure of feeling my body move. And I will most definitely lose track of time at some point in the week; those pesky seconds and minutes dissolving into bliss. Perhaps it will be while reading--no, napping--under a shady tree, or swimming in the mellow current of summer. Either way, it will happen on a day just like any other, with no special importance to it except that it is today; or maybe that it is every day, a gentle celebration of fresh mint from the garden, a new book to read, a spontaneous picnic.

In any case, tomorrow I will marvel at the host of ladybugs making their home in a broom plant overflowing with tiny yellow flowers. They too seemed to have found their joy in the thin green stalks they climb upon.

On the Necessity of Nice Underwear

July 10, 2015

It reminds you that you are a woman before you don your costumes of teacher, writer, sister, daughter; that you are first and foremost flesh and heart and body. Your skin is enveloped in lace and satin, a constant loving caress as you go about the business of being a warrior. A small indulgence, a secret concession to hedonism as you make your way through the practicalities of your day.

This seeming frivolity defines you at your core, worn for no other reason than that it pleases you. There is no room for frayed elastic across your waist, nor a bra strap stretched and worn into limp colorless ribbons. Every other garment you step into afterward is dictated by the quality of your underthings. Your body will not be stained or blemished by anything. It is a delicious aesthetic experience your torso wants, for you were put on this earth to feast on its delights and saturate your senses. So you slip on the delicate lace underwear, relishing the texture of its intricate pattern across your flesh, and the way your silky slip slides across your torso. You take your time with this ritual, adorning yourself in this second skin, this breath between the privacy of your home and the armor you wear out into this world.

This intimate wearable art reveals nothing except how you really feel about yourself, your animal heart and each curve along the map of your body. Only that small fact, and nothing more, that rests in your center like a small seed ready to sprout in the body of the woman and climb its way through the satin and lace towards your heartbeat.

Let Me Be

July 7, 2015

Let me be the river forever creating ripples in the stillness, still in its eternal movement through a clay path. Let me be the wind that whispers of lives past, hopes not yet lived, as my stormy fingers twine around the earth's wild curls; or let me be the heartbeat between breaths.

Let me be the memory of seeds resting in my bones, the code buried in the hollyhock's fat black discs stacked along my spine. Just let me be the quiet of a morning before it is kissed by the sun or touched by bird song. I ask for nothing else; only this promise to free me from the confines of others' expectations or the sting of turning away from what is not mine.

Let me be the clean slate, the open swath of unblemished potential spread out before you like a field of grain not yet harvested or the desert monsoon, still unsure if it will rain down upon this earth or let its ripe clouds sail beyond the horizon. Let me be the dream conjured out of lunar light shining through the crystals on your nightstand--

--and that precarious universe between sleep and wakefulness. Let me be that moment forever distilled in human experience.

Two-Ingredient Sunblock

July 3, 2015

I love the sun as much as I love the moon--especially during the summer. I like longs walks in the sunshine and a lazy afternoon sunbathing. It's practically part of my Land of Enchantment heritage after all! Who could not love a gloriously open and sunny sky after growing up in this magical desert?

Alas, we've become pretty sun-phobic in many ways as we worry about sun damage and other hazards; that said, you can be sun-smart and still enjoy plenty of rays. In fact, they're good for you as twenty minutes in the sun gives you your daily dose of vitamin D, something I really missed when I lived in Seattle! If you want to learn more about how UVA and UVB rays affect us and how homemade sunscreens can help, check out what the Modern Hippy Housewife has to say.

I've always wanted to try making my own sunblock because I do believe in practicing "safe sun"--including using only organic sunscreens because non-organic have a host of chemicals that seem even worse for you than the rays they are supposed to protect you from. That said, organic brands can be pretty pricey. Naturally, the crafty life-hacker in me decided to see what she could figure out whipping up a batch of her own sunblock.

I took cues from recipes via Wellness Mama and the above Modern Hippy Housewife, opting for an easier recipe with fewer ingredients (hey, a beautiful afternoon poolside was calling to me, and I needed my goods ASAP!). I used my coconut body butter as my base because it was super easy to make and non-greasy when applied. I then added non-nano zinc oxide powder, the primary substance that offers protection against harmful rays. Make sure it is non-nano zinc oxide powder, as it is better for the body (you can read more about that from Goddess Garden Organics).

Coconut oil actually offers about SPF 4 and other natural oils, like shea butter, offer a similar amount of light coverage. Pretty cool, huh? But if you plan to be out in the sun for prolonged periods of time, it's a good idea to whip up a batch your own sunblock to boost your coverage. This recipe here gives you about SPF 25. As with any sunscreen, make sure to apply generously (at least a full ounce) and often (every two hours or so). And be smart about your sun exposure. It's never a good idea to bake for hours on end. With this recipe, I can now feel good about my outdoor time, both under the sun's rays and with the ingredients on my sunblock (which costs about $3 a bottle when all is said and done!).

Ingredients:

1 cup coconut body butter

4 tablespoons non-nano zinc oxide powder

Stir zinc oxide into coconut body butter until thoroughly combined, making sure not to inhale the powder. Store in a mason jar. To use, simply apply your sunblock as you would your regular body butter half an hour before sun exposure. Makes one cup. Enjoy on a sunny day!