CURRENT MISSION

To seize the moment, explore some new places, and get inspired

ABOUT ME

My name is Shanti Star Martha Ruth Church. I was born and raised in a little hippy house in Southern California. Growing up as one of 12 children made me appreciate the simple things in life. Family, friends, nature, music, food. That pretty much sums it up for me. Nothing trumps family and friends, I would do anything for those special people in my life, but food is a close second. :) As the youngest of so many hungry kids, I learned to cherish the food on my plate. I like getting scrappy and creative with ingredients. I love my CSA. I'm very passionate about baking.

PHILOSOPHY

Live and love hard.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I want to participate on both sides- surfing and hosting! Right now, I'm in the process of moving out of my apartment so I don't have a couch to offer, but as soon as I settle in somewhere I'll make sure to open my doors. So I'll start out on the surfing side of the spectrum, trying to find some willing hosts for the 3 week+ road trip my boyfriend and I have planned this Fall. Just since creating my CS account, I've been in touch with all sorts of people and I don't know if it's from living in NYC, but I'm amazed at the warmth and trust within this community! I promise to be a gracious and humble guest and hopefully even bring some baked treats to my first hosts! :)

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I'm new to CS. I joined after hearing some wonderful stories from multiple friends. My boyfriend and I have recently decided to take a few weeks on the road to discover the East Coast (and beyond). We've chosen some anchor cities but also want to leave it a little open to where suggestions and our curiosities might take us. I really hope to stay with as many CS-ers along the way, not only to save money, but also to give us more genuine local experiences in all the places we travel.

Interests

I bake for a living and then I come home and bake some more. I always have a line up of at least five recipes I'm dying to try out. When I'm not baking, you can find me at the nearest oyster happy hour, taking to farmers, making jewelry, browsing the tables of some artist&designers market, doing yoga, blogging about food, or lounging in the park.

• dining
• recipes
• baking
• yoga
• happy hour
• traveling
• blogging
• music
• surfing

Music, Movies, and Books

Enjoyed all of Dave Eggers books, LOVED Sex Death and Oysters: A Half-Shell Lover's World Tour, and think Shantaram would make a much better movie than Life of Pi.

Some of my favorite cookbooks are Moosewood Desserts, Cake Bible, Maida Heatter's Cakes, Tartine, Plenty, The New Farm, Super Natural Everyday, Ad Hoc at Home, Platter of Figs, and Harold McGee's Keys to Good Cooking.

Movies- Amelie, Eternal Sunshine of Spotless Mind, Mr Magoriums Emporium, Sam, Garden State...

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I guess the most amazing awestruck moment of my life was being in the delivery room when my nephew, Sage Raini, was born. You asked! ;)

Countries I’ve Visited

Indonesia, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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