Medusa of the Sea

Do I even have to type anything for this post or can we all just agree that jellyfish are the most amazing + beautiful creatures and then simply sit in silence + look at these photos?! Okay, great— we're on the same page!




I could just watch them float around for hours— they are so dreamy and rhythmic! I feel like this bottom photo looks eerily like a nebula. . . Imagine all the little jellyfish galaxies floating in the sea! Le sigh— my inner hopeless romantic is showing! I mean, I know our universe doesn't really lie inside that jellyfish but it's still fun to think of things like that (hello— Men In Black, anyone?!). They are just so ridiculously magical to me!


So that's the last of my photos from the little cabin trip we took recently! I had so much trouble narrowing down the jellyfish pictures so I just went ahead and dedicated an entire post to them since they were some of the best I took that day. (You can see part one of the Aquarium of the Smokies pictures here or go here to catch up on the whole trip!)

I hope you are all having a great weekend— I'm gonna try to work on some projects and maybe try not to pee my pants while we finish the last couple of season two American Horror Story episodes! Anyone else keeping up with it?! IT'S SO TERRIFYING I CAN'T WAIT TO FINISH IT ALL AND HAVE MY LIFE BACK. Okay, bye! <3 jenna

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Swingin' On the Dock of the Lake

Y'all— I have a confession to make: I'm kind of powerless when it comes to ridiculous vintage floral swimsuits. I know it looks like I'm just wearing a tacky tank top here but I totally pulled a Liz Lemon and wore my one piece bathing suit as a top instead of getting properly dressed (okay, okay, I know she wore hers for underpants but c'mon, close enough?!). SO OOPS. But really I've done it before and honestly what's the point of wearing clothes in the summer when you're near a body of water anyway?




All these photos are from the cabin trip I've been talking about. I seriously want to live in a little country cabin so badly! I want slow days filled with good food, fun conversation, and an incredible view. I want piles of fresh grown veggies on my plate, zesty limes in my margarita, watermelon so juicy you can't eat it inside, and local eggs in my french toast casserole. I want to swing on a dock that overlooks a beautiful lake and come inside to a giant jacuzzi tub that's big enough for two. . . I mean, IS THIS SO MUCH TO ASK?!!



Seriously though— dream weekend. It combined pretty much all of my favorite things. Oh, AND I learned how to play Rummy sooooo who wants to take on the champ? Also, don't judge me for posting that tequila sign. 1) It's hilarious and 2) we whipped up homemade margaritas so it's totally appropriate. I guess if I'm never able to afford a lakeside cabin of my own I should be pretty content to just reap the benefits of a friend's parents owning a cabin, amirite?


So that's my idea of a mini-vacation. The only thing I'm kind of sad about is that I didn't get to photograph this entire swimsuit in all it's glory (the woes of living in the moment!). It's got this neat ice skater skirt that I also tucked into my shorts that generally looks pretty awesome. It's actually very similar to this one, for those curious. Maybe one day I'll get the chance to show it off!


(Until that day you can have this photo of what my hair actually looks like when I do nothing and some frumpy looking shorts!)


Have any of you had a completely relaxing + responsibility-free weekend recently? I sure hope so! Honestly, I can't remember the last time before this weekend that I felt so stress free. . . Just something about being near water and good friends that brings out the best in me! Have a great rest of the week!

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Aquarium of the Smokies (complete with snugglin' penguins, y'all!)

While we were on our little cabin getaway we visited the Ripley's Aquarium in east Tennessee [cue Little Mermaid Music]. Full disclosure: this was actually my second time at the Gatlinburg aquarium— I went once before back when I attended the local arts & crafts school there. So I already knew that it was awesome + we had free passes so I was not going to miss out on the jellyfish or the opportunity to practice my undersea photography skills.

top: lionfish / left: leafy sea dragon / right: weedy sea dragon

Here are some pacific sea horses. I have mixed feelings about sharing this picture because they were beautiful in person buuuuuut I only realized after the photos were on my computer that some of these guys appear to be. . . slightly less than alive? But what do I know about seahorses, anyway?

left: coral reef ft. regal blue tang / right: awesome iguana with his little tongue hanging out! 

How cool is this poison dart frog? He was in the rainforest section of the aquarium.

left: penguin trying to stay awake / right: cuddling penguins— are you kidding me?

top: green sea turtle / middle: Nick in the underwater tunnel appearing to have no fun at all. . . but for some reason I love this photo of him— probably because the glasses strap? also, BEARD, c'mon! ;-) / bottom: school of fish (with one particularly angry looking fella . . . he's probably got somewhere real important to be!)

So there you have it! Final thoughts: 

-Taking pictures of tiny, fast moving creatures in dark, watery exhibits is very difficult! I managed to get some good shots BUT just keep in mind that I took 200+ pictures while there and this is all I'm sharing. Granted, I'm no photographer— just a blogger trying to get to know my camera a little better. (I'm pretty excited about the amount I've learned already and hopefully one day I can look back at these and realize how far I've come blah blah blah moving on. . . )

-In all honesty, I have mixed feelings about aquariums. . . The animal lover in me is really skeptical of the use of creatures for entertainment and questions the necessity of places like this. . . But the science + knowledge lover in me is amazed by the beauty in the world and the info I got to learn while I was there. Also the part of me that loves free stuff was like "WOO HOO" so there's that. So yeah, sorry if that's a ~total buzz kill~ but that's just the kind of stuff I think about so if anyone else here wants to talk about their feelings in the comments then go for it haha

-I'm not sure why I got all nerdy and posted the names of everything I photographed. . . guess my freak flag is showing sooooo I'm just gonna go now! I hope you have a great week—mine is filled with tons of driving and grilled food eating =]

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Barbie's French Toast Casserole

Imagine this: You leave work early on a Friday afternoon, drive home with the windows open down winding country roads, then pack a weekend bag. You and your partner pick up two friends and drive an hour and half east (the midway point of your trip) and eat fantastic Mexican food. Then you drive another hour and a half farther east and end the car trip at an amazing cabin on a lake in the country. You unwind in the hot tub, have a couple drinks, then call it a night. 

When you wake up Saturday morning, warm notes of cinnamon and pecans greet your nose and force you out of bed. You meander to the kitchen and find your friend's mom, Barbie, has made this amazing French Toast Casserole for you. Fluffy, flavorful, and topped with warm maple syrup— it's the perfect recipe to kick off a weekend of relaxation. 


This is basically what my life looked like a few weekends ago. My friends called me up to see if we wanted to drive the three hours to east Tennessee to see the Synchronous Fireflies that live in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. We obviously said yes, since we're the kind of people that definitely wanna see some mating lightening bugs flash their butts in harmony at one another.


So we drove out to east Tennessee and spent the weekend relaxing. We grilled food, went on a paddle boat, and spent some time site-seeing (I already blogged about the terrifying SkyFlyer ride here!). The best part is that we had this amazing weekend and didn't even end up seeing the fireflies— ha! It was such a great weekend and really solidified my desire to move out to the country and live a little slower.


Anyway, I didn't wanna post pictures of this incredible casserole without being able to share the recipe. So my friend Rachel got her mom, Barbie, to send me the recipe. Only she sent me a hand written version from who knows where and it's the cutest thing ever, no? I'm so in love with this entire breakfast experience. Make it for yourself, make it for a friend— you won't regret it.


French Toast Casserole

Cut a loaf of Texas Toast in one inch cubes. Let set out all day with just a paper towel over them. Coat a 9x13 inch casserole pan with butter (use real butter, about 2 tablespoons). Mix together:

8 slightly beaten large eggs
1 cup whipping cream or half & half
2 cups milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
dash of salt

Pour over bread and refrigerate overnight. Next morning, let set out one hour to come to room temperature. Top with chopped pecans and bake at 350° for one hour.

***

Let me know if you decide to make this dessert! I know when I do that my version will probably have less dairy (I might try coconut milk!) and use fresh local eggs in it. I might also top it with fresh cut strawberries and powdered sugar instead of pecans— yum!

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Facing Fears (+a video of me flying)

I spent last weekend three hours away in east Tennessee on a little mini-vacation. I went on an amusement ride called the Sky Flyer. It's basically like if the fabled stork was carrying you in his sack instead of a baby. You get all strapped in with a friend and then this machine pulls you up way too high in the air. Once it stops, you pull the release cord and then basically just bungee swing through the air until you lose momentum.

It. Is. Terrifying.

But do you know what else is terrifying? Uhm, everyday life. Doing new things. Not knowing the future. Knowing the future. Dying.

Okay, that's a bit dramatic. But this silly little ride that I agreed to go on got me thinking about the way we live our lives. I really wanted to go on this dumb ride for fun but I was also completely scared of it. Would it be fun or would I hate it? What if something goes wrong? What if I do it but don't like it? WHAT IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG WITH THE MACHINE OR STRAPS, ETC?! Whether the fear was rational or not, I ultimately decided to do it because I wanted to push myself outside of my comfort zone.


I just ignored all the fear and did what I wanted to. Some parts were still scary (I don't particularly enjoy the feeling of free-falling) but some parts were amazing (it was like being in a giant swing— and I love swinging). In the end: I did something fun, learned about myself, and now have something to base future decisions off of.

After feeling this range of emotions, I realized what I learned about myself from this ride can be applied to my everyday life. We're all nervous and scared to try new things. For me, I'm usually scared of being bad at something. I'm a perfectionist and an over-analyzer so I hate to mess up. This is what keeps me from starting a lot of projects.


I'm not embarrassed about this information, but I do try to use it to my benefit. I often procrastinate because of my fear of failure. Now that I have accepted this truth about myself, I can either live with it or change it.

And  I want am going to change it (See what I did there? I'm trying this new thing where instead saying I want something I say I am going to do it— it builds confidence and accountability and forces me to make positive changes towards a goal).


So now that I know why I personally don't get things done, I'm making it a point to push myself outside of my comfort zone more often. Whether it's sewing, photography, meeting new people, trying bookbinding techniques, recipes, or finally starting my own business— I'm realizing that if I want to get better at something, learn something, or make myself happy, then there's going to be some fear involved.

AND THAT'S OKAY. But I don't have to let it stop me— especially not from even trying. So here's to crooked hemlines, mediocre desserts, blurry photos, awkward coffee dates, and having life revelations while you're one million feet in the air and trying not to pee your pants.

IN CONCLUSION: Let's not be so hard on ourselves. Let's mess shit up and learn from it and never be stagnant. Who's with me?!


(Ps. Thanks for reading all of this while I worked through it. I'm hoping to blog more about this process of me overcoming this whole "starting things" issue I have. . hope you're okay with that.  And here is the video of me and my friend Rachel skyflying while our boyfriends laugh in the background!

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