Category: Writer’s Corner

Mindfulness, Writer's Corner

Celebrate Indigenous People’s Day!

elliebleu

Hello Blogging Family!

As we head into my favorite season of autumn, I find it a perfect time to engage in activities that reflect upon this special day. This week I hope to share a few recipes and a few select books that I highly recommend with a Native American voice. In the meantime, here are a few ideas for celebrating Indigenous People’s Day with friends and family all year long:

Support your local Native Made Market Place. We have a winter one coming up that is so much fun to attend. I also enjoy our farmers market with produce and goods from Native owned businesses & farms. If you’re not as lucky as I am to have so many wonderful shops and bookstores, check out business directories such as the one I linked above to support prosperity within your Native American Community.

Learn about the History of Indigenous Land that You’re On. This activity is one the whole family can experience. The trails near me and the river that runs along it was once was home to the Atfalati Kalapuas. Although we don’t have an interpretive center at the park, it was easy to look up and explain the history of the land on a hike with my BFF. We also took time to rest and enjoy the butterfly garden with plants and flowers native here.

Attend a Local Event. This is perhaps my favorite activity. During the summer our community hosts outdoor events with crafts for kids, free books for all, and produce from the Native American Family Center garden. There’s also a health clinic, free fry bread tacos, homemade lemonade, a chance to buy crafts, and wonderful performances. When the stars come out there’s a movie and free popcorn for all. Tonight a local cultural center held another free event with a children’s pow wow, wonderful dinner, fantastic market place, and a Q&A from a famous Native comedian.

I hope you had a wonderful Indigenous People’s Day and could celebrate the diversity of the Native American experience by our newly recognized federal holiday.

Take care and be safe, EB

Writer's Corner

Weekend Bliss – Get to Know Me

elliebleu

Hi Blogging Family,

I just wanted to give you a peek into my weekend so that you can get better acquainted with me. I always start my days off from work with picking out a small bouquet of flowers. Last weekend, I found one with a cute little butterfly that hovers over the rose. As a granddaughter of a florist, I appreciate little details like this. It instantly brightens my day.

It snowed on Saturday morning, so I prepped a few photos for the blog. I have a 5 second rule with photos. I take everything from my phone, quickly crop and adjust lighting if need be, and that’s it. I spend maybe 10 minutes max per shoot. I’m sure it shows, however, I never intended my blog posts to take up a weekend. The photos are supposed to be fun and real.

Anyways…on to the recycling center nearby. I live in a brand new eco-friendly complex that’s super energy efficient. I think I pay about 30 US$ max on electricity per month. That being said, they really lack on a recycling center for glass and cardboard. No worries…my loyal friend and I braved the cold and recycled everything that I had collected, feeling good the second I returned home to a clean and organized pantry (another perk of this place is a huge walk in pantry that holds my recycling bins).

Next, over to Target to pick up new bedding. I’ve been saving for this amazingly soft and luxurious comforter set all month. It’s designed by Justina Blakeney, one of my favorite bloggers. You have to check out her fabulous blog! At Target, I went back and forth for a while on committing to a color palate, my friend waiting patiently by. In the end, I decided to go for the same golden yellow tone that I have in my bathroom. The rest of my place is modern and white so this just seemed right.

Back home, I treated my friend to a yummy Spanish meal that he deserved. Saturday night movies included one comedy, one action with plenty of snacks that I’m testing for a future blog post. At the end of the night, Archie (my little rescue cat) and I went to sleep in the softest bed you can imagine.

Sunday was a rest day. I’ll blog more about my new Sunday routine in a later post because it really helps with the anxiety of starting a new work week. I planted my new house plants, finding them a new home near a large window. At night, I finished off my weekend with reading the last chapters of “Cilka’s Journey” by Heather Morris. I plan to review it this week for you all.

The sun will set soon in the Pacific Northwest. Gotta go capture the view. It’s finally sunny today.

Enjoy the week everyone!


Writer's Corner

Holiday Paper Crafting

elliebleu

Hi Blogging Family,

As some family and friends may know, my dream is to become a published author. Now that I have finished my manuscript, I am ready to make my final edits. At 400 pages, this is quite a daunting task. I decided to break it up in pages of 50 per week. This allows me to take a few days away from the manuscript and re-read it with fresh eyes before printing it out and editing the next 50 pages. What do I do in-between edits? Craft 🙂

I love crafting flowers. There’s something about transforming paper into petals that makes me smile. I found a few crafting kits at Paper Source over the weekend. I also picked up a Santa postal bag and made little envelops that seemingly float up in the sky. My new apartment feels so magical now. I hope this inspires you to take a break from work and get creative.

Enjoy the holidays everyone!