Woods and Spices

Would you put yourself in a jar of spices? Would you light up the air with a bunch of candles and let them fume out that sweet intense smoke? Would you put the world into your house and pretend like you walk through the land on the other side of the continent when actually, you just walk across the borderline between your bedroom and kitchen? Well, Nouie would. And she also made it rain pancakes and chai tea when we came over and shared the love for food and the country of spices under her roof.

What's your plan after this? I hit her with the question while we were working our way through our own stacks of pancakes. It was kind of random but since she just moved from America to the land of coconut and elephants and became a teacher, i just couldn't help but excited to hear what her next plan is for the future.

Nouie took no time and answered without looking concern or hesitated.

"I don't really think about what i'm going to do the next. I just do whatever that makes me happy", she said. I was satisfied with her answer and it was not neccessary for her answer to satisfy me. I knew she was being honest. She was, always honest. But somehow her answer just fullfilled me. I always question myself "What would i do next?" and my to-do lists were always filled with black ink and messy handwritings of what the next plan is about. I'm not saying that it's bad, but when it gets too the point where what i wrote didn't seem to take my success higher, instead, has taken up my stress to the extreme. That's just..not fun.

The night before, i remember laying down on the bed laid with indian silks and colorful pillows looking at Nouie sitting in the corner writing her journal with a little lamb nearby, giving enough orangy light for her to clearly see. Every steps she took reflected how easy life was to her. Not easy in a bad way. But in a way that satisfy her most. Satisfy her soul, her mind, and her body. Looking back. I'm still struggling to be easy. But seeing her like that was a wakeup call to just humor myself more and just love myself so much till it hurts. Didn't sound so hard, isn't it? - Candice.

Pancakes!! (Nouie's version took on pancakes!)

adapted from BuzzFeed,Feb,15,2013

INGREDIENTS 1 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar 1 large eggs, lightly beaten 1/2 cups whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 1/2 teaspoon for griddle

Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. Make sure you sift the flour first. Then, mix wet ingredients in the other bowl. Now, pour the dry to the wet mixture. And stir around in circle for 7 times! Do not overmix. The pancake batter will be a bit lumpy but that can only mean a good thing later! Again, don't overmix y'all. Melt the butter in the pan or on the griddle if you have one. And scoop the batter on the pan. Big or small, depends on how you like your pancake. Wait fot the bubbles to appear on the surface of the pancake and flip! Serve with maple syrup and ENJOY your way to heaven lol.

At church later that morning :)