Hello-Helloooo!  My name is Ginger (I also respond to Mom, Kristen and Super Leopard) and I want to welcome you to Ginger & Zimt!

This is my little home in the blogosphere where I like to chit-chat about life (in general), cute outfits, and give reviews of my favorite (or not so favorite) things.

This blog is a blog in development.  What started in September of 2015 with a grand vision to cover a wide range of topics, quickly deflated into: I have a new hobby called Blogging, it takes more time than I ever imagined and requires skill sets I don’t have much experience in but am REALLY EXCITED to learn!  And then LIFE happens and it keeps getting in the way of my self imposed blogging schedule (how dare it).  I’ve come to accept that my overall blogging vision will take time to develop… a lot of time.  So, for now I am learning the (many-many) ropes of this new hobby and I’m posting what I can, when I can, as life permits.  The diversity and depth of topics will grow, eventually, as will my skill set.

The point of this blog is to express, inspire, think, connect, and to not feel like I am The Only One going through whatever it is I am going through!   So PLEASE, comment and share your thoughts on my posts!  =o)

A few random tidbits about ME:

The blog name Ginger & Zimt is a combo of my real name and my nickname.  It also expresses my love of being a natural Redhead!  Zimt is the German word for Cinnamon, in case you were wondering.

I am the quintessential Gen-Xer who, at 40+,  is STILL trying to figure out what I’m going to do when I grow up!  I spent a total of 8 years in college, had multiple majors, eventually had a very short career in the field of medicine only to walk away from that completely when I started my family a few years later.

I’ve been a career Stay-At-Home-Mom for the past 12+ years.  We have two daughters, Rosemary is 12 and Lavender is 8 (blogging names).  I hated the pregnancy through 8yo phase.  So far I’m LOVING the Tween phase!  I know this makes me CRAZY.  I own it.  Check back in a couple years to see if I still love the tween phase.  …Ok, so now I’m feeling mom guilt over saying I hated the pregnancy through 8yo phase… by hate, I mean it was lovingly torturous, because I’m not a young kid person.

As part of my SAHM gig, I do a considerable amount of volunteer work and could easily be called a Volunteer Addict.  I should probably tattoo the words “Don’t Do IT” on my index finger to keep me from signing up on the next volunteer list!  Most of my work is done in the schools, supporting wherever I’m needed.  I also work as a sub from time to time.

When I first began my SAHM career I was really passionate about learning the lost Domestic Arts of Homemaking.  12 years later, Homemaking to me means creating Yummy Food and Celebratory Traditions, Seasonal Decorating/Crafting and turning on my Scentsy warmers!  Cleaning?  Who has time to clean anything!?! I hate cleaning and somehow manage to avoid it like the plague… which is a major source of frustration and battle fodder in my Marriage.

I have a serious love for fashion and I cannot wait to share with you my budget friendly style inspirations!  Putting on a Cute Outfit and creating a finished look is like therapy for me.  Seriously!  It was a valuable tool in helping me crawl out of a severe Postpartum Depression after the birth of my last child.  When I looked good on the outside and took the time to primp and pamper myself, I started feeling better on the inside.  It takes the same amount of time to throw on a cute dress, leggings and boots as it does a sweatshirt, yoga pants and sneakers!  But the effect of the look can have a night and day difference on your overall mood and the way the world interacts with you.

Another of my life’s passions is Archery!  Practicing the art and sport of Traditional Archery is one of my favorite ways to blow off steam and center myself.  <————–<<<

I love doing Self Improvement Projects and adopt a new focus for each year on my birthday.  My most successful endeavor was losing 86 lbs, which took 2 years and I’ve managed to keep it off for 4+ years since!  I’ve actually lost 100lbs total, if I count from my highest weight instead of the point when I decided to lose.  You can check out that story here.  Old fashioned portion control + daily exercise + being patient with how long it took = the keys to my success. I have all sorts of tips and motivation to share, so if weight loss is something you are dealing with, check back for my Self Improvement and Fitness posts!

I have very eclectic tastes and interests… it’s also called ADD.  Keeps life interesting and makes for random, quick change conversations with me.

So, why a Blog and why now?  I’m starting this blog rather late in the over-saturated history of the Blogosphere, I know.  It’s one of those things that I’ve wanted to do for a loooong time but didn’t because (insert lack-of-confidence excuse here).   I’m at the point in my Midlife Crisis where I no longer want to worry about the countless excuses that I allow to keep me from doing the things that feed my soul.  I desperately needed a creative and expressive outlet that would allow me to explore a wide range of skills and ideas. Simply doing these things on my own hasn’t been enough, I NEED to do so where others can interact with what I’m exploring, writing and creating, otherwise what’s the point?  And if that isn’t motivation enough, I have my daughter Rosemary who has been BEGGING to start a Vlog for the past couple of years and this is a project we can work on together (update: and then she lost interest about 4 months after I started this one, HA!).  I’m extremely excited about this and can’t wait to explore all the ins and outs of blogging, video making and creating content that others find meaningful in some way.

Thank you for stopping by, hope you will visit again really soon!

Feel free to E-mail me at GingerAndZimt@Gmail.com

Follow me on Instagram for my Style Feed and YouTube for my blog’s companion videos.