Stop and Smell the Butter

23/12/2023

May the days ahead be filled with joy and love. Merry Christmas. From the Fall 2004 issue.

18/12/2023

A new issue of Butter is en route to subscribers! Among the essays is "Scatter Joy," sparked by a favorite Occasionally Speaking card, created by my inspirational friend Bridget Durkin Verdun. (Find this card and more at https://occasionallyspeaking.com/) To read this issue of Butter for free, visit cnewquist.magcloud.com. To subscribe and receive a print issue (the best way to read it!) in the mail, visit https://colleennewquist.com/.

03/02/2023

Grateful to PAN-O-PLY Story & Art Michiana for this feature in their latest issue!

By Katie Jamieson photos by Katie Jamieson   The shirt she’s wearing says it all: Dare to Play. And it’s her mantra, too, says Colleen Newquist, creator of Stop and Smell the Butter, a thoughtful handwritten and illustrated zine of whatever’s going on in her life. “I really so strong

03/12/2022

I'm thrilled that a 20" x 20" print of this piece in the Mark My Words show at Chesterton Art Center sold, apparently to a painter and his wife in Oak Park. Great to sell my first piece, even more fun to know it was purchased by a fellow artist!

26/09/2022

To new beginnings... from the Fall 2013 issue.

07/01/2022

How I love playing with words and pictures. From the latest issue of Butter, available at https://cnewquist.magcloud.com/. You can also find it among the magazines at Three Oaks Township Public Library. Or subscribe! Email [email protected]. 4 issues for $20.

06/09/2021

The latest issue…

Colleen turns 60 and celebrates the artist she is by sharing creative collaborations. She's groovin' on the visuals, folks. Poems by Tom Rosenbluth and Kim Weber. Recipes: Queso Fundido and Salsa Verde.

08/06/2021

Did you know Stop and Smell the Butter can be checked out at Three Oaks Township Public Library? Find issues for the past few years on the magazine rack. I've also placed some complimentary copies of the current issues on the front table.

25/01/2021

A new issue is on its way to subscribers! Print issues available for purchase online; PDFs are free.

Colleen looks for the upside, celebrates serendipity, stirs it up, and shares friends' words and pictures. Recipes: Lemon-zesty chicken breasts, eggless Caesar salad, shrimp-fried rice.

16/01/2021

Missing this guy... Rick continues to inspire me—to take creative risks, to be a good listener and a kinder, more thoughtful human being. I can't think of a better legacy.

02/06/2020

For all the graduates out there, a Stop and Smell the Butter essay from Summer 2017:

When I was a kid, I wanted to be an artist. Then a lawyer. A teacher. Like every Catholic school girl, I’m sure I thought for five minutes about being a nun. Then a photojournalist. A writer. For years and years, I said I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up. I put a lot of pressure on myself, trying to figure out what I should be doing with my life.

This time of year, young people everywhere are graduating high school and college and grappling with the same question. I wish someone would have told me back then that being and doing aren’t the same thing. You can do all sorts of things in life, and some of the things you do will result in money, so you can pay your bills and have things you want and do more things, some of them fun.

But what really matters is not the doing, but the being. It is the being that defines the quality of your life. Be kind. Be loving. Be curious. Be optimistic. Be generous. Be comforting. Be silly. Be wise. Be thoughtful. Be funny. Be empathetic. Be forgiving. Be challenging. Be accepting. Be adventurous. Be spontaneous. Be joyful. Be respectful. Be grateful. Be yourself. Be happy. Be alive.

“When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down “happy.” They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”
~ John Lennon

21/04/2020

A retro Butter cover, from Spring 2003.

21/03/2020

Need a distraction? Download free issues of Stop and Smell the Butter.

Colleen Newquist is the writer, editor, illustrator, and cook behind Stop and Smell the Butter. Subscriptions may be purchased for $20 for four quarterly issues at stopandsmellthebutter.com. This journal's name derives from a 1994 entry in her cooking journal: "We were baking cookies, my fo...

23/02/2020

Finally here! Subscribers, the print issue is on its way. As always, a free pdf is available on Magcloud. (But really, it's meant to be read in print. Subscribe at stopandsmellthebutter.com!)

Colleen finally gets out another issue, celebrating birth days, sparking joy, and once again embracing this life. Recipes: Ron Zarantenello's Squash Soup and the Terrace Room's Bolognese Sauce

07/02/2020

It’s coming, I swear! I need some recipes—anybody want to contribute?