Here is Ken with a guest blog post and Christmas wishes!
——-
Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate. We are in Sunriver, Oregon with the Josie Girl’s parents, enjoying being out of the city, in the mountains, and… relaxed.. Deep breath.
Intro
Green Hummus
A vegan, gluten-free friend of mine (no bread or cheese — what is the point of life, then???) pointed me in the direction of this green hummus, inspired by this food blog, Namely Marly. Spinach and garbanzo beans in a vitamix. AMAZING. So easy to make, and so delicious to eat. A gold medal star for this recipe.
Ingredients:
* 1 can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
* 1/4 cup tahini
* 1 – 2 tablespoons of lemon juice (juice from half a lemon)
* 1/2 cup of water
* 1/4 cup of olive oil
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon dried basil
* 2 cups of raw spinach
Directions:
* Put all the ingredients into the vitamix
tada!
* Pulse
New Beginnings
Who *IS* the Josie girl? The Josie girl is anyone who embraces everything life has to offer but needs to balance that with obligations such as work and family. So, I imagine there’s a little Josie in all of us. The real ‘Josie’ happens to be my mother-in-law, fashion designer Josie Natori, and I am inspired by her on a daily basis. Upon first glance, although it may look like the only thing we have in common is our last name, we both embody different sides of the Josie girl.
Photo of me and Josie Natori, my mother-in-law. She looks gorgeous in anything and everything.
As the official voice of the Josie blog, I am excited to share my young professional take on life — a mix of fashion, fitness, recipes, inspirations, and thoughts on a weekly basis. I’d love to hear from you, as with everything in life, this is a work in progress, so please let me know what you like and don’t like about the new blog!
Aside from the fact that I am Josie Natori’s daughter in law, I am half Mexican and half Polish. Jewish. Married to a half Filipino and half Japanese man, Ken. Catholic. I look Swedish. My husband looks Thai. Together, we are a splatter board of cultures, ethnicities, and personalities.
I love this photo – no shoes and Birkenstocks? What is better than that?
Our son, Cruz, will be able to check off every box on college applications when the time comes (in 16 years from now). Cruz looks Asian with his almond eyes, but his blonde hair throws people off.
I love onesies – both for me and for Cruzzie. And look at how delicious he looks with the ice cream cone romper. I personally, would love to rock that look
A born and bred West coast girl, six years ago, I was dragged to New York for love. A hippy in Birkenstocks and clogs, I now live on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. I love vegan food, hiking, biking, sitting in the grass and making daisy chains and braiding hair.
- Photo of me and Cruzzie on one of our daily hikes in Oregon.
But I also love great food, shopping, socializing, and trying to fit into crazy New York City. I come from a simple family of academics and now often find myself surrounded by the fancy world of fashion.
My guapo husband.
Although I live in NYC, I think of myself as an Oregonian. I can wear high heels and elegant clothes, but deep down, I will always be the down to earth, grungy girl from Eugene, Oregon. It is just who I am.
My dad likes to say that Eugene is “Paradise on Earth.” I couldn’t agree more.
Now, I live on this massive island where one building contains as many people as the population as Eugene. Not really, but kind of.
Trying to navigate the NYC fashion and social scene is fun, but not my top priority. Sure, I strive to look a certain way (don’t we all?) and have the “it” bag (in my dreams), but the reality is that being a mother and a teacher is my purpose in life (along with staying fit, following fashion, trying out new restaurants, shopping, spending time with friends and everything else that there are not enough hours in the day for!) I love fashion and am so inspired and intrigued by being a part of a fashion family, even though it is not what defines me. I am a mother, an educator, a wife, a sister, a daughter, a friend and a pop culture junkie! Fashion and pop culture bring me pleasure and excitement, but nothing near what my family does.
Awwwwww. So sweet.
But even though my family comes first, I have strong opinions and love expressing my interests, desires, and thoughts with people. I also love the internet — does anyone not? And I spend hours at night (or during nap time), scouring the web for the best outfit, delicious recipe, and next vacation destination. So this is why the Josie girl blog makes me so giddy and excited. I am a mutt of cultures, places, experiences, and backgrounds, as we all are to some degree. I am not an expert at anything specifically, but am inspired by so much around me and love talking and sharing these ideas with friends. Much like the Josie collection, the content of this blog will be fun, young at heart, and will hopefully give Josie girls everywhere inspirations, thoughts, ideas, and activities to squeeze into their already crazy schedules.
So, here we go!
-AYN, a.k.a., The Josie Girl
