Coffee Conversations

Can you believe May is already over? This month FLEW by... but the good news is, that means we're due for another coffee date!

Pour yourself a glass of cold brew or whatever your current drink of choice happens to be, and let's chat about life.

Strong Roots Grand Opening

As I mentioned in last month's coffee conversations, I've been helping my friend Kayla get her new gym, Strong Roots, up and running. Well, I kicked off the month with the gym's grand opening on May 4!

The fun part of events like these is that I get to be the unofficial photographer. It's a blast getting to take pictures of everyday people doing badass things!

And it as an especially awesome day because the head coach of the new gym, Tyler, proposed to his longtime girlfriend. Surprise proposals are the BEST!

Do You Even Paleo's anniversary

Another milestone in May! I celebrated 5 years of blogging on May 1st. Crazy, right? I started this blog as a hobby, literally taking pictures with my broken phone camera (if you look back to my early recipes, all the pics have a pink sheen) and thinking that recipes had to be really wild and new to be popular.

Fast forward, and I'm now taking this blogging thing more seriously and it's supplementing my income. I'm still growing, hoping to make it a full time job in the long run.

To celebrate the milestone, I published a roundup of my 10 FAVORITE recipes from 5 years of blogging.

It was SO hard to pick, y'all! But ultimately, I realized that my favorite recipes that I make time and time again are the easy, more basic go-tos that grace my kitchen with ease and flavor.

Wedding season craziness begins

If you're a regular reader, you know that I'm a wedding photographer! 2019's wedding season has officially started — I have two weddings completed, with my third in the middle of June.

But in addition to that, I've had engagement sessions and other projects thrown in. Suffice to say photography has been my focus the past few weeks!

My weddings are a lot more spread out this year, so I'm hoping that helps keep my plate clear for recipe testing and staying up to date here!

Quick list of more May happenings

Took my first full day off in a LONG time. No laptop, no social media work. Just time with the husband!
Saw The Avett Brothers live in Moorhead. It was amazing!

Participated in a 5-mile leg of the Brady Oberg Ruck March in support of the Brady Oberg Legacy Foundation.
Another friend launched a business! She's a pro at helping badass boss ladies follow their passions.
Met with a friend from the cities at the new Black Coffee & Waffle bar in downtown Fargo — and she brought me a book! <3

What I'm currently reading

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo - A friend recommended this duology to me, and it's RIGHT up my alley! I've already read Bardugo's Shadow and Bone Trilogy, and this is set in the same world. The sequel, Crooked Kingdom, is on my list for June.
Virgil Wander by Leif Enger - Currently still working on this one, and I'm rather lukewarm on it. So far, it's pretty cerebral, and I've found myself rolling my eyes more than once. Maybe I'm just too deep in YA novel worlds for high level fiction right now!

That's all this month! I have quite a few books I'm itching to dive into in June... but you'll have to wait for next month's Coffee Conversations to see what those are!

Shareworthy internet reads:

No surprise here: exercise impacts more than your muscles. It affects memory, too!
There's too much stuff. I'm a fan of simple living, so I wholeheartedly agree.
We all know about outdoor pollution. But what about the air pollution in our homes, caused by appliances, chemicals, and cooking?
Speed, convenience, and savvy marketing have turned us into a culture of junk snackers.
Mindfulness isn't all yoga and meditation. Here's 5 tips for mindful eating from Tasty Yummies.