Meet Emorie, a lovely lifestyle blogger living in Idaho. She writes a very pretty blog titled, Oh Whimsical Me, where she shares crafty projects, natural beauty tips, vegetarian recipes, and tales from her adventures both thrift shopping and in the great outdoors. Emorie and I are swapping ad space this month, so I thought it would be fun to introduce you all to her and her blog. Oh Whimsical Me is a brand new project, so be sure to visit, comment, and show Emorie some love and encouragement.
Hi Emorie! Thank you for doing this interview with me. I suppose a good place to start would be in Idaho. I've never been there, but your photos make it look gorgeous. Do you have any favorite outdoor places to hike or explore in Idaho?
Hi Mary! (And Mary's lovely readers.) Idaho is a good place to start; I sure do love it here. I currently live in Boise, the capital city. This is also the place I grew up (I was born in Texas but I still consider myself a true-breed Idahoan). Boise is a strange, but great little city. It sits in a valley with a little river running through, surrounded by mountains. You almost get the best of both worlds here, the urban and the rural. You can probably drive any direction from the city, for 30 minutes to an hour, and be in the middle of no-where. There is lots to do here! The Boise foothills have a lot of dog friendly, fun trails I hike regularly. Hulls Gulch trail is a favorite of mine.
My partner, Will, and I love to hop in the car and explore new areas around us. I show him my favorite spots since he's not from here. We're hoping to take a backpacking trip through the Sawtooth Mountains this summer. I do really miss it up north, though. I lived in a cute little town called Moscow for 3 years. It is in a gorgeous area known as The Palouse (think of The Shire). It is also the friendliest place I have lived. Moscow Mountain, just outside town has lots of lovely trails. There is also a really really cool spot called Idlers Rest. You have to kind of hike down into it; it is nice and shady, completely covered with big old cedars and pines. Gorgeous. I also really love the St. Joe River area.
I have just come to the realization that I have far too many favorite spots; all of Idaho is great and lovely!
How about outside Idaho? Have you had the chance to visit any beautiful places in the rest of the world? Which were your favorites?
I haven't traveled quite as much as I'd like to. I'm definitely not as well traveled as you, Mary 🙂 I never have been out of the U.S. though I desperately want to. These bones of mine sure ache to see the world. The list of places I long to see keeps growing and never ends. First on the list is definitely Scandinavia, followed closely by ALL of Asia. That being said, I've still seen many beautiful places. Yellowstone National Park isn't too far from here and is super lovely. I absolutely love road tripping along the Oregon coast. I think the Washington coast is even prettier. Olympic National Park is breathtaking. I'd love to visit all of the national parks someday.
You started Oh Whimsical Me pretty recently. What inspired you to start writing a blog? How have you enjoyed the experience so far?
I've always been a creative type. Even at a young age I was making up songs, painting, and building things. DIY is a natural state for me; I enjoy making things and solving problems with what I am given. I was told by a few people dear to me that it is silly that I don't have a blog. And my other mama (Will's mom) always tells me I should open my own business. I suppose I had contemplated starting a blog for quite a while, but is was something I just kind of brushed off. I am my own worst enemy most of the time, and I told myself that my blog would never be successful, that no one would ever read it. So what was the point, right? I am in constant battle with my severe anxiety and depressive tendencies.
In essence, I made Oh Whimsical Me to prove myself wrong. In the end I don't care if anyone reads my blog, of course it is lovely that people do, but more so it is my way of revolting against that constant demeaning and hurtful voice inside me. Oh Whimsical Me is a place for me to share what I love with family, friends, and other lovely readers. It is a place to share a part of me. It is a place to show myself just how good I am.
I have loved blogging so far. It is a great outlet for me and a learning experience. Fun fact: I am teaching myself HTML little by little and have designed my blog myself. It is not quite where I envision yet, but it is getting there. The best part about blogging, though, is definitely that I have been meeting so many phenomenal people!
I noticed that you share only vegetarian recipes on your blog. Could you tell us a little about what inspired you to make that choice?
I share only vegetarian recipes because I am a vegetarian. I've been a vegetarian for 4 or 5 years, but I've disliked meat all of my life. Thanks mom, for putting up with me picking apart meat in disgust every night at dinner for years. I love you. I only share vegetarian recipes on Oh Whimsical Me because I only want to share things with you that I actually eat and enjoy. I hope to disprove the idea that vegetarian food is bland and/or boring.
Do you have any favorite ingredients that you use in your vegetarian cooking? What are they, and how do you prepare them?
I obviously eat a lot of vegetables, and I love them all, but one that I constantly come back to is zucchini. It is just too delicious. I think I put zucchini in just about everything: tacos, soup, taco salad, pasta, quiche, pot pie, muffins, brownies. I should probably do a whole series on just zucchini. I love to grill it in the summer as a side to veggie burgers. I'll drizzle it with olive oil and give it a good coat of chili powder, garlic, cumin, and maybe even rosemary; so yummy browned up on the grill! Another obvious thing I always eat is tofu. Tofu is great because it can be subbed for meat in pretty much any recipe you can find. Plus it is super tasty. I prefer tofu broiled.
Thank you again for answering my questions, Emorie! I'm looking forward to following Oh Whimsical Me. It's been a treat getting to know you better!