Cinnamon Loaf (vegan & gluten free)

Who doesn’t love the warm, cozy, smell of cinnamon floating through the house on a cold winters day? Better yet, who does’t love bread? (or any type of carbs for that matter lol) This recipe will yield a perfect, delicious, dense and moist loaf of bread that would be a great choice to bake and serve for holiday brunch or just because it’s delicious and you feel like it.

Let’s get into the recipe and start baking!

Ingredients:
2 cups of GF flour (I used Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 baking flour)
1 cup of sugar (I used coconut but you could use any kind)
1 & 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon 
1 cup of plant based milk (I used coconut but any will do)
1/2 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar 
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs or egg substitutions (flax/chia egg would work fine but personally I used my go-to Bob's Red Mill egg replacer)
1/3 cup of sugar (I skipped this but feel free to incorporate for added sweetness)
1 1/2 tablespoons of cinnamon
2 tablespoons melted vegan butter 

Steps:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F or 175C.

2. Heavily grease a 9x5 bread pan. Dust lightly with GF flour.

3. In a mixing bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, the first tablespoon of cinnamon and a pinch of salt.

4. In a larger mixing bowl, add plant milk and ACV. Whisk together until you see bubbles. Let stand for 5 minutes.

5. While you're waiting, combine your egg replacer with liquid according to package instructions. You will need the equivalent of two eggs. If using regular eggs ignore this step.

6. Once 5 minutes has passed, add eggs or egg replacer, vanilla, and vegetable oil to the milk and ACV mixture. Combine thoroughly.

7. Slowly begin to add your dry ingredient mixture to your wet ingredients. To do this, start by adding roughly a third of the dry ingredients, combine all the way through, then add about another 1/3 combine, and repeat again with the final 1/3.

8. Once your batter is complete, set aside. In a small bowl mix together melted vegan butter, 1 1/2 tablespoons of cinnamon, and optional 1/3 cup of sugar. 

9. Add half of your batter to your well greased and lightly floured bread pan, then drizzle about half of your cinnamon butter mixture on top. If you want the cinnamon swirl effect, make 3 vertical lines and with a knife or toothpicks swirl the cinnamon butter in a figure 8 motion. Add the rest of the batter and repeat using the rest of the cinnamon butter on top. To create the design you see pictured here, I made 3 vertical lines with the cinnamon butter and then with a knife lightly dragged little closely spaced lines in a horizontal motion across the vertical lines I had made. 

10. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes depending on your oven. Check that a toothpick or knife comes out clean when placed in the center before removing from oven.  

11. Cool for 5 minutes or so, then flip bread onto a plate or serving tray.

Let’s collab!

One of my favorite parts about my graphic design business is working with brands and influencers to create collages that make them smile and that add value to their feed.

Today, Instagram is the most common way that people shop, discover brands, and connect with programs that change their life. Influencer marketing has grown into a full time career for many and allows brands to have a unique way to reach potential customers.

I offer custom collages in the format of Instagram stories and posts, and can design a product that not only adds visual aid to your feed but that showcases your service or product in a unique, beautiful and unforgettable way.

Some Instagram stories I’ve created ⬇️

An artsy Instagram story showcases a few pieces from @revolve.
A story collage by me featuring products from @oohlaluxe
Instagram story inspo ideas for bloggers & brands

All you have to do on your end is add a swipe up link and customers will be on their way to adding items to cart!

Add some visual eye candy to your feed ⤵️

An influencer collage I made for @leximars
A collage I created showing off some of @shopstarlow’s images
An aesthetic collage I made with @trescolorjjewlery’s neutral toned images

What many don’t know is that my designs go beyond social media. I’m happy to create art that can up your marketing game on your website, emails, and any other facets you can think of.

Some website headers and other pieces I have custom created for start up brands

My rates are comparable and competitive to others on the market and I believe that my art can make your online presence something your customers won’t forget.

I’d love to hear from you! Drop a request by direct messaging me on my Instagram @michaelarosestyling

No pain no gain.

Contrary to popular belief (and my own past personal beliefs and current tendencies) things sometimes suck. Things sometimes hurt. Things sometimes cause us pain. And every time they do, I hope you have the courage to allow yourself to feel that pain. Does it feel good? No. Does feeling that pain look like sleepless nights, a sick feeling in your stomach, tears refusing to stop flowing from your eyes? Yes. Is it cute? No. Does it hurt like hell? Yep. Does it make want to beg for some relief? Hell yeah it does. There’s honestly nothing glamorous or inspirational about being in a place like that. Feeling feelings like that. It fucking sucks and hurts like a mother fucker. But that’s the point. The things that are important are hard. The things that we go through are hard. The feelings that we feel inside are the furthest feeling from comfortable. But that’s the point. Feelings of pain, sorrow, loss, betrayal, abandonment, grief, frustration, jealousy, anger, regret, fear- feel the HELL out of them. Don’t drink them away, work them away, laugh them away, positive-thought them away, i-don’t-care them away, yell them away, exercise them away, Sleep them away, distract them away. You’re numbing yourself. And you know you are because for a minute it’s relief. Avoiding the pain feels much better than feeling it. But that’s not the point. The pain we feel may be inflicted on us by others or our circumstances, but ultimately it is our own. It comes from within. Someone’s actions can make you mad, a person can make you feel abandoned, a situation can make you feel lost, but detached from the person or situation those feelings are associated with- is you. Your soul is crying out through these uncomfortable and unwanted emotions. Nobody wants to feel those horrid things. That’s why we find our ways to run. But truly, if it didn’t matter- you wouldn’t feel them. That’s the point. The feelings that we feel- the good the bad and the ugly are all just indicators of what we truly care about. The shit that matters is hard. And sometimes that means that it’s gonna hurt like hell. But I’d encourage you to feel it. Lean into it. Let yourself feel it all. Sit in the shitty feeling of knots in your stomach and crying like a baby. Write it down, talk it out to yourself or a trusted confidant. To draw a parallel, think of the gym. Those last few sets hurt the worst. All you know during them is that you’re hurting like hell and its hard to keep going and finish that set, that you’re gonna be sore for a few days after this, but if you really want to grow, these last few painful reps are the most important part. They’re going to break down your muscles and you’re right you are going to be sore for a few days. And you’re not going to look in the mirror tomorrow and like what you see. You’re going to have to go back into the gym again day after day and week after week and push through those painful reps every. single. time. But that’s the point. That’s where the growth happens. In the most painful moments. That is where it happens. That is what matters. The shit that hurts needs to be felt by your heart. Give yourself the space to let yourself feel into those uncomfy feelings that we’ve all pushed down for too damn long. Because that’s the point. That’s the stuff that matters to us. That’s the stuff that you have to show up for yourself for. That’s the stuff that you have to hold yourself for. The exact feelings that we avoid are the exact feelings that need to be felt that will teach us what matters, how to care about it, and what to do about it. That’s the work.

I see way too much advice out there today telling people to do something to distract themselves or de-stress themselves from whatever uncomfortable emotion they’re feeling. No. Just no. You can take a jog, but you can’t run from your problem. You can have a glass of wine, but you can’t drink your problems away. You can take a bubble bath, but you can’t wash your issues down the drain. You can think happy thoughts, but that doesn’t take the “bad” ones away. You can switch the topic to something lighter but the heavy stuff is still there. We only label emotions as bad because they feel physically, mentally, and emotionally uncomfortable to us. No one inherently likes feeling uncomfortable. Our bodies and brains are literally designed to avoid things that feel uncomfortable for the sake of our own survival. However, when the nervous system reacts to something uncomfortable, for example, accidentally touching a hot stove, our finger quickly pulls away. This is good because now we are not continuing to leave our finger on the stove because that will cause further injury. But the other side of the nervous system is that now we have learned a LESSON from the pain- don’t touch the stove when it’s hot. Our uncomfortable emotions should be felt no differently. You feel guilty? Don’t take a bubble bath to make yourself feel better- think. What’s is this guilt teaching me about my behavior? And what can I do to change so I don’t feel this again?

I heard this said recently, “When you fix the symptom without fixing the system that created that symptom the end is worse than the beginning.”

Yeah a bubble bath sounds great and all but feeling the hard feelings and asking yourself the hard questions sounds like getting to the root of the emotion- a permanent solution- instead of bubbly and warm, temporary relief. It’s ironic because these emotions we label as “bad” typically arise, especially in high levels, about things, people, and situations that we truly care about or hold as important. So why would we want to find an anecdote rather than finding a solution? Because feeling uncomfortable isn’t fucking easy. No one likes to feel angry, lonely, sad, frustrated, guilty, regretful. They’re not fun feelings. Just like burning your finger on the stove isn’t a fun feeling. It’s automatic for our brains to learn lessons through the nervous system, but our emotions are slower to the game because we’ve trained our brains and hearts to numb over time. It takes an internal choice to lean into the shit that society tells us to ignore and that our bodies and brains don’t like to feel- but once you start making that choice- that’s where you learn your lessons, that’s where you grow. Not in a bubble bath or drowning in a glass of wine. And for the record what would happen if your brain never learned to not touch the hot stove? You’d touch it again, and again, and again and again, and it’d become a normal every day occurrence of you hurting yourself. You’d probably eventually become numb to it, and accept it as normal. Is that how you want to live?

Feel into your “shitty” emotions, because if it didn’t hurt it wouldn’t matter. And if you don’t let it hurt- you’re dishonoring your soul and positioning yourself as unavailable and disconnected from what your soul is trying to tell you and teach you. Don’t become numb. It might feel better and appear easier and if you’re anything like most of the human population, you’ve probably been numbing yourself in many different ways for a long, long time. Let’s unpack it. Let’s melt the ice. Let’s break up the pattern. Let’s feel the hard stuff and not back out when it hurts more than you thought it would.

Let’s allow and give space for our soul express itself and accept that it may not feel good in our brains, hearts or bodies. Let’s feel it anyways and know that ultimately when we feel through this shit, and learn not to numb, we can begin to connect to our most inner being, and from there, our brain, body and heart can take cues from our soul. A line of communication will open up between our soul to our brains, hearts, and bodies. Our soul will express itself and the collective of our brain heart and body will be there to listen. Through choosing not to numb and instead choosing to show up for what your soul is trying to say, a pathway will be unblocked. The messages that your soul has been trying to send out will finally be received, reviewed and responded to. You owe it to your most inner self to make this space. Don’t let your ego or your conditioning continue to block this pathway. Your soul is screaming to express itself. And it has been for a long time. And you’ve been declining the call for so fucking long. It’s time to listen. Get out of your own damn way. Listen. Listen to the hurt, the years of pushed down pain, let yourself cry it out, talk it out, write it down, stay up all night about it, have knots in your stomach about it. And this is not a one time call. This is anytime you feel a shitty emotion coming in. Don’t reach for social media, the bottle, don’t make a bad joke, don’t do it. Listen, and feel it. Your soul longs to be heard, longs to be understood. Whatever it needs to express is going to be felt by you, and you have to allow yourself to feel it. Open the communication.

The good news about allowing your soul to express itself and learning what that means is that your soul is going to heal. It’s going to grow. But ultimately this new line of communication that you have worked and learned to cultivate and create is going to connect you to the inner most being. It’s like opening a window to what’s going on in there and being able to see it all and let all of it become present in yourself, and the world. Your true desires. The things and people and places you love. Your standards and your beliefs. Your path. It will allow you to live from a place of authentic expression. And over time, this communication process between your soul and the collective of your brain, body, and heart, will become quicker. You’ll be more connected and in touch with your truest self therefore you’ll just know yourself better and be able to show up in all the ways that you need to show up.

An expression of the inner most self becomes manifested in the exterior world because that’s the part of yourself that you’re getting to know and communicating with on a regular basis. Not a blocked version of you. Not a repressed version of you. Not a confused version of you. Just- you. A whole, authentic, you. And it will be fucking liberating.

Do this so that we can show up authentically and live from our deepest desires, rather than a state of conditioned disconnection. Let’s break this cycle.

Free Instagram Story Templates Re-Dropped

Now more user friendly, I’ve re-released the original Instagram story templates AND added 4 new bonus templates! To save these templates for your use, simply press and hold each image below, then click save image to camera roll. For a quick how to on how to use these templates in Instagram- watch the videos on my Instagram or in the next post.


The best part about this template is it’s versatility- use it for a Q&A with your followers, a poll, 2 photos, a photo and announcement, or whatever else your little heart desires!

Use this template for a double photo story, a multi-part announcement, or a mix of both. Would also be perfect for a Q&A with the top part containing the question and the bottom section containing the poll or the answer!

This aesthetic and neutral story template is one of my favorites and my GO-TO template for a new post or announcement! The neutral tones and big space give you lots of room to add your own touch.

Everything’s better in twos, this double photo Instagram story is twice the fun.

Inspirational & Vibey great for a new post, announcement, or countdown, etc.

Love this template for an announcement or a singular photo story or even your day to day activities. Perfect space at the bottom for some personalized text

Make it a double with this story template or use one spot for your photo and one for some text!

Great for a singular photo or announcement!

One of my favorite story templates I’ve created!

Perfect size for a “new post” story! Use the space at the bottom for your own text, emoji, or gif.

Holiday Pack
The holidays are just around the corner- and what’s the best way to spread Christmas cheer? (Besides singing loud for all to hear) a holiday story template pack of course! (ps. Shoutout if you got the movie quote)

Boss Babe Pack
A super aesthetic story template pack designed for Bloggers, Entrepreneurs and Online shops. All the femme vibes to up your Instagram story game.

Boutique Pack
Designed with Online boutiques in mind, this story template Pack is perfect to showcase your new arrivals, hot selling items, and flash sales!

Basic Pack
For the Instagram story where less is more- sometimes it’s good to keep things simple that way the viewer can focus on the content rather than the art around it.