And then, just like that, everything has fallen into place. I’ve recently approached my Lone Star life with absolute confidence that this town will match my needs. That I will grow taller, stand straighter, walk with a little more purpose in my step. I have decided that in this city I will discover what it means to find “your path”, whatever that means.

Yes, I do believe that it is a decision you make. I’ve become a firm believer in all those cheesy clichés about being the owner of your own destiny, being responsible for your happiness, pulling yourself up by your boot straps, etc. While all of that may seem too corny to be fully realized, this place has thrown the cheese-ball idea at me, and I’m loving it. (insert obligatory sunset picture here:)

I realize that everything I’ve recently posted on the internet is over the top in singing the praises of my life down here. But it truly is magical. This is a town where midnight bike rides to swimming holes can be your daily reality. Where opportunities to do something social every night of the week is as easy as breathing and where some seriously genuine people are making this town the friendliest place to be. I couldn’t help but post pictures of my Austin life… it’s just some sort of magic.

Have you had enough?

(If that picture doesn’t make you want to read on/move to Austin immediately, I don’t know what will…)

It’s true, I’m overly enthusiastic about this town.  Perhaps I’m just in my honeymoon stage, and once I get over the first year high I will lose my excitement. Just like a relationship, my love affair will probably leave me with moments of frustration and doubt where all I want is to wear a sweater, rain boots and be cozied up with tea in Seattle. And just like those moments in a relationship, where you’re about to throw up your hands and walk away, there will be something to keep me here, something that reminds me that this new town is becoming my home.

I’ll always have my feet planted in the Pacific Northwest, there’s too much about that place that calls to my heart. For right now though, my hands, heart and brain are all dedicated to this warm, southern town.

Also, I apologize for my lack of writing lately. Turns out when blogging is part of your job, you get a little burnt out. I will find my way back to writing, just need to find the time to fit it in with biking, yoga-ing, socializing and swimming. Life’s hard, ain’t it?

Chia Crackers

From Oh She Glows

These crackers are the real deal. It’s basically an energy bar of awesome, and yes, I did feel a little bit like a bird when I was eating them. They are vegan and gluten-free AND they don’t use oil. Winning. I’m lucky to live near and work at in.gredients, so I can get just a cup of this, and a cup of that. If you don’t have access to chia seeds, you can use flax instead. Mix and match, make the cracker you imagine yourself eating.

–       ½ cup chia seeds

–       ½ cup sunflower seeds

–       ½ cup pumpkin seeds

–       ½ cup sesame seeds

–       1 cup water

–       1 large garlic clove, finely grated

–       1 tsp grated sweet onion

–       ¼ tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix the seeds together. In a small bowl, mix the water, grated garlic and grated onion. Whisk well. Pour the water mixture onto the seeds and stir until thick and combined. Season with salt (I also threw in some pepper for good measure.) You can also add in any spices of fresh herbs that call to you.

Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet with the back of a spoon until it’s less than ¼ inch thick. Not to worry if a couple of parts become too thin, you can patch them up.

Bake at 325 degrees F for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, slice into crackers, carefully flip onto other side with the spatula (don’t panic if a few break, these things happen.) Bake for another 30 minutes, watching closely after about 25 minutes, you don’t want to burn them and waste all those precious seeds. Remove from oven once they are lightly golden in color. Allow to cool completely in the pan. They store well in a glass Tupperware, but will get a little soggy as the days go on.

Note: I didn’t spread mine thin enough so they were quite hefty. Next time, I’ll pay close attention to spreading it extra thin, and paying close attention while they are baking to avoid burning. I also failed at getting a good picture of them… They’re really delicious, I promise!