Tag: Women supporting women

Empowerment Blogging

No One Snaps Green Beans with Grandma Anymore

Krystle Kitchen

I recently was on Pinterest when I saw a quote that took me back to my childhood. The pin was referring to how no one snapped green beans with grandma anymore and how it is part of the problem with the world today. Now if you didn’t have a grandma that gardened or canned this concept might seem a bit foreign. For me though growing up in Southern Virginia and coming from a long line of farmers snapping green beans on the porch was a thing.

I have fond memories of sitting at my grandma’s feet with a plastic washtub bucket as she sat in the rocking chair and snapped green beans into it. This also, was true about sitting outside on the porch taking the butter beans out of their shell too. I’m not that old (mid-30s) and reflecting on this reminds me of a slower pace and a time when social media, pressure from peers, and deadlines didn’t exist. The phone hung on the wall and when my dad left work he worried that it wouldn’t hit the dinner table or interrupt the family TV time.

Harvest Time and Unity

Harvest time or cooking up large quantities of food brought people together. Men and women sat on porches in unity snapping, peeling, or cutting up food into the late evenings. The time was used to talk and catch up with one another often kin people. Some used the time to gossip and others used it to trade recipes and family food secrets. However, this time of food preparation and harvest was used it was always a time of community and unity.

Looking at everything that goes on in the current world and the apparent lack of unity I can’t help but think we all need to take a lesson from those simpler times. Going out of the house without a cell phone feels like a missing link and many of us convince ourselves we need it to stay on top of clients and sales. Although I wonder how much of this demand is really in our minds. Many people were very successful and supported families before it.

Harvest time brought people together.

The more we depend on technology it seems the personal connections between people are fading away. A lot of people would rather text than make a phone call or email instead of writing a personalized note. Most children I know can’t even read cursive handwriting and I remember it was one of the first things we learned in the third grade. Technology is awesome and the advantages may outnumber the cons, but I can’t help to reach for things that make me nostalgic the older I get.

I’d love nothing more than to go back to sitting on the porch with my grandma or Nanny surrounded by family and pets, listening to the chatter and snapping crisp green beans. I have a feeling I’m not the only one. A Google search will prove that people are stressed and in need to find ways to unplug. The quest for a simplistic way of life might be more sought out than the media or popular culture is leading on.

Choosing a Slower Pace of Life

Growing some of my own food takes me back to my childhood and gives me a since of simplicity and peace.

Sometimes we get caught up in the world’s ideas and other people’s dreams for us and forget the simplicity. I found out the hard way the big dreams of skyscraper penthouses, bustling streets filled with traffic, and people stepping on each other going up the corporate ladder weren’t really for me. I left that world because no matter how hard I tried to fit into that role I could not.

I am not a city girl and my roots in the land, the need to run barefoot, cuddle farm animals, and drive down old dirt roads with fields of cows is what makes my heart tick. In the middle of nowhere things are quiet and the farm animals don’t judge. Turns out I didn’t need all those pieces of paper on my wall to be complete.

I had hidden things I originally dreamed about as a child because they didn’t fall into the dreams others had for me. I was pushed to go to college because no one else did. I was expected to have the six-figure job and all the things that went with it. Deep down though all I ever wanted to do was share my love of this land and good food with anyone that would listen. I dreamed of lots of animals (preferably the ones no one else wanted) and with them to be a happy place for those that needed it.

It took me a long time to allow myself to do what I wanted and not concern myself with the dreams of others. So, if you’re missing a simpler way of life or just want to learn to slow down don’t be afraid to try something new. Gardening is one of life’s many joys for example to connect back to nature and a simpler way of life.

I’ve tried to figure out ways to incorporate more personal connections into my life. I refuse to agree with everything I see in this impersonal world and to believe everyone is cold and non-friendly. I still smile at people and hello when I meet them and I think both are much needed. I try to share a bit of my time with others who seem to want to talk, no matter how busy I think I am. In the end, I think it is the little things like a wave, handwritten notes, and sharing small talk that can connect us. Life is short why live it for someone else? Maybe even try your hand at growing your green beans to snap.

Take A Walk in My Flip Flops:Travel Blog

American Girl Store: Chasing Childhood

Krystle Kitchen
We are far too occupied with being socially accepted and could all use the break to daydream of more simpler times.

When I was a little girl having an American Girl was all the rage. I was a bit of a tomboy and I didn’t play with a lot of dolls. When I told my dad I wanted an American Girl doll he was a bit surprised. My whole childhood I was the type of child that did chores and respected direction from my elders. Doing this typically meant when I asked for something from “Santa”, I most definitely was going to see it under the Christmas tree.

Outside the American Girl store at Tyson’s Corner
Standing outside the American Girl Store in Tyson’s Corner Mall

Christmas that year came and went through without any American Girl dolls. Everything else on my wishlist however was underneath the tree. Birthdays and Christmases went by and I kept asking for an American Girl doll. When the American Girl store opened in Chicago in 1998 I knew I was destined to get a doll because it was somewhere we traveled and visited. I’d cut out ads of the store information and talk about all the cool things a child could do there every time I knew we would be close by.

Kaya doll at the American Girl in Tyson’s Corner Mall
Kaya doll at the American Girl in Tyson’s Corner Mall
A kitchen play set at the American Girl in Tyson’s Corner Mall
A kitchen play set at the American Girl in Tyson’s Corner Mall
American Girl doll display in Tyson’s Corner Mall
American Girl doll display in Tyson’s Corner Mall

Time went by and another American Girl store opened in 2003 in New York. At this point, I was a junior in High School and not a little girl focused on dolls. I had stopped asking for an American Girl. I later learned my dad had some issues with the American Girl brand and didn’t want to support them and that is why he hadn’t purchased a doll from them.

At almost 18 years old after my dad had taken a trip to New York I was finally given Josephine. This was the doll I had so desperately wanted ten years prior. She was beautiful and I appreciated the craftsmanship, but that excited feeling I’d had thinking about her at 8 wasn’t there. I honestly didn’t feel much of anything when I unwrapped the box.

Fast forward sixteen years later my husband and I were planning a trip to DC. I had mentioned the American Girl store at Tyson’s Corner. He insisted that we go and that I finally get to check out an American Girl Doll store in person. We even made reservations to eat inside the American Girl Cafe.

Some of the American Girl dolls on display at the American Girl Store in Tyson’s Corner

I must admit as a 35-year-old with no children or grandchildren I felt a bit silly walking into an American Girl store. All the magic and excitement I had over visiting didn’t flood back to me as an adult. We walked around and looked at all the dolls. My husband offered to buy me a doll of my choice, but I couldn’t justify spending $300 as an adult for something that would only sit up on a shelf. I found myself a bit sad, desperately wishing someone would have thought it was that important when I was 8.

Pretzel Bites at the American Girl Cafe in Tyson’s Corner Mall
Pretzel Bites at the American Girl Cafe in Tyson’s Corner Mall
The decorations inside the American Girl Cafe at Tyson’s Corner Mall are whimsical
The decorations inside the American Girl Cafe at Tyson’s Corner Mall are whimsical.
Menu at the American Girl Cafe in Tyson’s Corner Mall
Menu at the American Girl Cafe in Tyson’s Corner Mall
The napkin ring at the American Girl Cafe in Tyson’s Corner Mall doubles as a take home hair tie
The napkin ring at the American Girl Cafe in Tyson’s Corner Mall doubles as a take home hair tie
Inside the American Girl Cafe in Tyson’s Corner

We waited for our lunch reservation time. The American Girl Cafe is so cute with loads of pink. They have chairs for the American Girl dolls, food items to share with the dolls and make a big deal out of celebrating for children. The American Girl Cafe even has dolls for use by children who might not have one yet, so they can experience the fun. The American Girl Cafe also has adult drinks and the food was well prepared and tasty. It was fun watching the little girls get their dolls situated and offer up food and drink to them. Watching and daydreaming it brought me back to days of tea parties and dress-up.

Cotton Candy milkshake at the American Girl Cafe in Tyson’s Corer
Cotton Candy milkshake at the American Girl Cafe in Tyson’s Corer.

For a few moments, I was that 8-year-old girl again wide-eyed and full of dreams, unspoiled by society and the demands of life. It may sound ridiculous, but it was somewhat therapeutic. This was an experience that deep inside I felt I had missed out on. Sitting there looking around I felt as if a void had been fulfilled and I am glad we went.

If you have a toy you didn’t get as a child you can still go buy it if you think it would give you joy or go visit a special place from your childhood. It is healthy to want to feel those feelings again and to connect back to the innocence that once was and bring back some childhood nostalgia. We are far too occupied with being socially accepted and could all use the break to daydream of simpler times.