Friendship That Never Ends

I pushed the thought out of my head as quickly as it had entered. But the lie had already been expressed: None of it mattered.  

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Through the airplane’s windows I could see faces — the smiles of the friends I had come to cherish over the course of a few months. I couldn’t have survived my summer in Seattle without them. I was ready to move on, but felt so wrong for having been only a momentary blip in my new friend’s lives.

I felt so insignificant. So ungrounded.

In high school, many of us had consistent friend groups: people we played sports, went to church, ate lunch, or hung out with on a regular basis. On any given day, we’d be reconnected with these relationships. Our whole world could fit within the county lines of our town.

Some stay within those county lines. Then there are those who venture out into the world, where, even though there are plenty of people around, it can become a pretty lonely and fruitless place. There is a sense of uprootedness experienced in this.

So what do we do when we feel like a wandering soul? And how are new friends made in the first place?

Regardless of the amount of time spent with a certain person, friendships matter. None of us could get by without them. The people we come in contact with are inarguably irreplaceable, unique, and deserving of our full attention. But friendship is a process. Relationships are not instantaneous — they are lifelong and involve active engagement.

Sunday marks week two of my Minneapolis affair. It’s taken a bit of time, but, instead of just passing through this part of my life, I’m trying to see each new friendship as a valued opportunity to learn more about the world and my place in it. What I’ve found is that the more people I meet and talk to, the more beautiful and big life gets.  Continue Reading…

Creamy Asparagus Soup

Say what you will, but I think being a compulsive cook is actually a good trait to have.

Sometimes, it gets me into trouble. Like when I set my mind on making something, only to find out I don’t have time to get all of the ingredients. Or when I’m at a friends’ house, and I feel the urge to help them finish making our meal.

However, on the days I compulsively pick a dinner idea before 5 p.m. strikes, things usually turn out splendidly.

Asparagus Chicken Sausage Soup | Making Life Sweet with Lauren Hardy

That being said, while I think it’s healthy to go with the flow on most occasions … sometimes, you just have to make a choice; even if it means taking a risk.

This soup may look odd at first glance. I was actually nervous to ask my roommates if they would be willing to try it. But hear me when I say: this is one of the best soups I’ve made in my entire life. And if you didn’t get the hint from my last food blog, I really, really like making soup. A lot. Continue Reading…

Realizing An Incredible Life

Yesterday morning, I buttoned my blazer, grabbed my coffee mug, and slipped out the front door for my first day as an editorial intern at Tiger Oak Publications with a big smile on my face. As silly as it may seem, it’s always been a dream of mine to weave through interstate traffic and into a city on my morning commute to work. And yesterday — in addition to being immersed in an excellent magazine environment — I got to live that dream.

A view of Minneapolis from Lake Harriet. I am interning in the city until August.

A view of Minneapolis from Lake Harriet. I am interning in the city until August.

Whether they seem little, big, or completely out of this world, we all look forward to things in life. It’s what keeps us excited about new opportunities and adventures … even when reality doesn’t live up to our expectations, or what we have hoped and wanted for ourselves.

The bewildering part of this is, though I’m only an intern, my drive and first day on the job felt too incredible, too good to be true. It’s like I didn’t think these things I looked forward to would actually ever happen to me. After all, big breaks and happy endings only happen on TV and in movies, right? Continue Reading…

Hearty Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash + Quinoa

Yes, I know it’s summer. It’s actually supposed to be around 93˚ F here in Minneapolis today. But I still crave soup … even in warm weather.

Hearty Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash & Quinoa Recipe | Making Life Sweet with Lauren Hardy

In my book, there are few things as satisfying as a hot bowl of stew. It is the meal equivalent to curling up with a hot cup of coffee and a good book. And while a cup of coffee can be brewed too weak or strong, or a book can be just so-so, stew does not usually disappoint.

This stew is no exception. It is as the recipe title states: hearty. I originally made this during the winter months, while butternut squash was in season, but I have enjoyed it several times since.

 If you’d like, you could substitute butternut squash for 2 medium sweet potatoes, cubed. This would give the stew a different flavor, but I am sure it would be just as delicious! Continue Reading…

What It Means to Be a Joy Forever

Some things never grow old. Like singing a favorite song while driving with the windows down; watching spring’s first flowers bloom; or taking a bite of any sweet dessert. As John Keat’s once wrote: “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.”

If we believe we were beautifully and wonderfully made, why, then, as we grow older on the outside, do we let time steal our joy? As if age were something to extinguish joy — as if wrinkles and sagging skin were something to hide away?

Last week, I grabbed lunch with my gramma, who had received a hair cut earlier that day. Her hair looked fantastic, but it’s not what I love most about her. You see, my gramma is beautiful for many reasons; what captivates me most is her spirit, the way she lights up when she smiles, and the stories we share. Her spirit is full of so much joy, and for that she is eternally beautiful.

 Gramma and I, March 2013

Gramma and I, March 2013

The same is true for all of us, regardless of age, appearance, or social class.
An uplifting, remarkable spirit is a joy to be surrounded by forever.

It’s guaranteed that our bodies will change over time, but our spirits will only grow old if we let them. Continue Reading…

Having Faith

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

OK, I know it has been way too long since my last recipe post. April 3 to be exact. But to be fair, I was taking a break from blogging so I could focus more on school. Today … I’m back with these Strawberry Shortcake Cookies.

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies | Making Life Sweet with Lauren Hardy

The idea for this recipe came to me while I was preparing for a creative project for an honors class. Our job was to make something that embodied themes we’d talked about in class. Using revolutionary as the theme to describe my project, I combined two “revolutionary” American recipes —strawberry shortcake, and the first cookie — into one to make Strawberry Shortcake Cookies.

Here’s a little more background: In her 1796 cookbook, American Cookery, Amelia Simmons published America’s first cookie recipe.

“One pound sugar boiled slowly in half pint water, scum well and cool, add two teaspoons pearl ash dissolved in milk, then two and a half pounds flour, rub in 4 ounces butter, and two large spoons of finely powdered coriander seed, wet with above; make roles half an inch thick and cut to the shape you please; bake fifteen or twenty minutes in a slack oven–good three weeks.”

The end result was something more like a shortbread, not like a standard chocolate chip cookie we think of today.

And then there is strawberry shortcake, which originated in 1847 with Miss Leslie’s Ladies New Receipt Book for “Strawberry Cake.”

Put the two together and you get a dense, sweet, and crumbly cookie.

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies | Making Life Sweet with Lauren Hardy

Did I mention there is Bailey’s creamer in these goodies? Forget the heavy cream and half-and-half. Trust me, it makes a difference.

Continue Reading…

Refocus: How Time is Spent

Photos | col_adamson, Creative Commons

Photos | col_adamson, Creative Commons

This poem came out of a dinner I had last night with two former roommates. As we reminisced over tacos, I realized that it had been an entire year since I’d spoken to one of them. She was a wonderful roommate, and I consider her a great friend, but I guess you could say time got the best of us — caught up in the daily grind, our relationship slipped through the cracks.

It’s amazing how that happens, and, oftentimes by mistake. When our minds become fixated on so many things, it’s so easy to lose sight of the people we come in contact with along the way. If we’re not careful, in time our projects will take the place of our relationships. But only if we let them … In the end, we get to choose how we spend our time.

I’m calling this poem “Refocus:” something I hope to do over the next several months of summer. I don’t want to keep saying “I’m too busy” to make time for people. I’m sick of feeling like my days are stuck in a never-ending system of turbulence. That’s one of the reasons why I haven’t been blogging as much recently, because time is valuable. My goal is to start investing more of my time into people instead of stuff.

How we spend our time says a lot about who we are.

Refocus //

The years, they trickle by
like grains of sand through the hourglass of time
And our feet, they slide in the sand
We can’t seem to get a grip, or take a stand
There’s always “too much to do,” yet so much to say
And all the while, we’ve stopped giving God the time of day
What will it take for us to shake this broken record system
Before the curse of the clock claims another generation
No more living in the future, it only leads us astray
Quit banking on tomorrow, because all we have is today.

Question: What about you? Where is your focus?

 

Why You Can’t Settle

This post first appeared on my memoir-writing group’s website here. We have two weeks left in this process and are in the final stages of editing!

“You need to write this better.” — A note from Brad’s final edits for my memoir.

At first read, I rolled my eyes and thought to myself, Write better? Oh c’mon, it’s good enough! Moments later, conviction settled in. Deep down I knew that section wasn’t my best writing, and yet, part of me was OK with just giving up on it. However, I also knew that it would be an injustice not to go back and revisit it; not just to myself but to the readers.

We miss the point if we fail to put the right amount of effort into our work.

Growing up, as a 10-year competitive swimmer, I never stepped up on the block without being ready to give my 110 percent. Writing should be no different. As writers and editors, we should come to the keyboard or paper with an attentive mind and determined hands, ready to give the words our everything.

To settle for anything less is to compromise the misson: to tell the best story that you possibly can.

So don’t settle; keep writing. Even if you aren’t a writer, this is for you, too. Keep giving your all, that’s all you can do.

Taking a Break

Before I start this post let me just say: I really enjoy blogging.

Photo | Sarah Buckley, Creative Commons

Photo | Sarah Buckley, Creative Commons

But I’ve reached a point this semester where it just doesn’t make sense for me to blog as often as I do while trying to focus on my studies and future career. Sometimes, things become unnecessarily stressful; when that happens, we need to be able to step back and reevaluate things. When something causes more stress than it should, I think that’s when it’s time to take a break.

That being said, for the next few weeks I will not be posting as often. I’ll be back — I just need to take a break. Because blogging isn’t life. And sitting at my computer more than I have to means not enjoying this amazing spring weather.

This website will always be a place devoted to inspiration. Today, I encourage you to never stop looking for that inspiration in the world around you.

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