roasted strawberries and happy choices...

This past month has been wonderful. Really, truly wonderful.
I feel like I've really hit my stride. 
It all really boils down to a few ideas I've allowed to percolate in my mind. 

Here goes:

• Happiness is a choice.
• But it's one you need to make constantly. 
• Believe in miracles.
• And that the universe has your back. It does.
•  When all of the above fails, remember that there are always extraordinary things happening. 

Oh, and this weekend I made these: roasted tomatoes and roasted strawberries! So yum!  

Roasted Strawberries:

• One big carton of strawberries.
• 1 tbsp maple syrup.
• 1 tbsp port wine.
• 1 tsp vanilla.
• 1 tiny pinch salt.
• 1/2 tsp olive oil.

Preheat oven to 350f. Trim strawberries and cut them in half. Place them in a baking dish (not a baking sheet as the juices will drip all over your stove... messy!) Mix all other ingredients in a bowl and pour over strawberries. Give the berries a swirl so that they are equally covered in liquid. Bake for 30-40 mins. Let cool and enjoy alone, over yogurt, with granola, in a salad... YUM!



At the same time, you can also make Roasted Tomatoes!

• One big carton of cherry tomatoes.
• 2 tbsp olive oil.
• 1 tbsp maple syrup.
• 1 tbsp white wine or white balsamic vinegar.
• 1 pinch salt.

Preheat oven to 350f. Cut tomatoes in half. Place them in a baking dish (not a baking sheet as the juices will drip all over your stove... messy!) Mix all other ingredients in a bowl and pour over tomatoes. Give the tomatoes a swirl so that they are equally covered in liquid. Bake for 30-40 mins. Enjoy!

Finally, please send some love to my friends, Mark and Lynne, and help Mark heal. 

Much love.
mxo

let yourself be...

Over the passed few years, I too have gone through quite a few "I shoulds". Many have been documented on this very blog. This past year, I have tried very hard to unlearn each of them.


I should do yoga every single day. I did that and I ended up exhausted.

I should wake up at 5am and go to yoga, pilates, or the gym. That was fine until I burst into tears one night when I set my alarm for 4:55am.

I should sleep the same amount at the same time every night. All I have to say is that it sucks leaving a dinner party early to make it home for bedtime.

Oh yes, and then there was the whole no gluten, no animal products, no coffee or alcohol thing. That landed me in the hospital.


It took me awhile to learn that the "should" strategy just wasn't working. The hardest part was the ego, but that tends to be the case. But I was desperate, so for the past several months, I have tried another strategy: let myself do, eat, not do, and not eat whatever the moment calls for. I've tried hard to let myself be (two steps forward, one step back each and every day). And guess what, folks? It's working!

Now don't get me wrong, I still believe in what drove me to all of the above - the power of yoga, healthy eating, challenging yourself, etc. But here's the major, major game-changer: moderation, and as is best for you - your unique you. The moment a healthy life decision become a stressful dogma, it has defeated its own point.

When I think of letting myself be, I think of this... Cali.

Life is too short to miss out on pleasure, too long to be miserable, and too complicated to fit into anyone else's mold.

Find your own balance. Be kind to yourself. Listen to your gut, and all that jazz.

mxo

today...

Today feels like...

... New Neil Halstead.
 

... Texts from good friends about new life. Bless.

... Homemade apple almond butter. 

Apple Nut Butter:

• 6-8 large apples, cored and sliced into big chunks. Keep the peels!
• Splash of orange or lemon juice.
• 1 tbsp vanilla.
• 1 tsp cinnamon.
• Nut butter of choice (1/2 cup or so for every 1 1/2 cup of apple butter).
• 2 tbsp maple syrup.
• Pinch of salt. 

...first, the apple butter: 

Place the apples in a slow cooker with the splash of OJ. Set to high and let it simmer for 4-6 hours. The longer you cook the apples, the more condensed the butter will be. Stir occasionally. Let it cool, then blend until smooth. It's super delicious on it's own.

...then, the nut butter:

Place 1 1/5 cups of apple butter, 1/2 cup of your favourite nut butter (I used almond), and remaining ingredients in a food processor. Blend. That's it. 

So yum.
mxo

 

giving thanks...

Here are 100 things I am grateful for this Thanksgiving 2012:

Core love.

1. My husband, and his relentless patience and acceptance of all that is me.
2. My family. New family, old family. Here family, there family. Love.  
3. My friends!!
4. Core. So many years, so many chapters. So many tears and giggles. So much love.  
5. My house. Despite the recent plumbing, electrical and deck issues, this place I call home is pretty rad.
6. That I never really had to struggle. Even when we were dirt poor, my parents hid is well (most of the time). Now I have the world. 
7. The fact that most days I wake up healthy, as do the people I love.
8. Croissants. I really have to eat more of them. :)
9. My cat. She is kind of like her momma. 
10. This time of year. September through January is my absolutely favourite.
11. CHRISTMAS!
12. The little bundle of joy that is currently in my bestie's tummy, who will come in December and give me the best present ever: being an aunty!
13. My bestie. You know you have a special bond with someone when you can spend every single weekday and many weekends with someone for 10 years straight and still love them dearly. 
14. Nature. 
15. "Thanks nature!" 
16. My polka dot pajama short-shorts. 
17. The ocean.
18. Yoga, and its ability to completely shift my mood and remind me just how much I have to be grateful for.
19. The fact that I can go to yoga and move all of my limbs in all sorts of directions.
20. That life can change on a dime, in a split second, or a moment.
21. Cozy fall sweaters.
22. Boots!
23. All of the friends I have all over the world.
24. All of the trips I get to take all over the world!
25. Books! Even smutty books like 50 Shades... ;)
26. Movies, I loooooooove movies, especially romantic ones.
27. Vegetables. I really, truly love them.... even brussel sprouts!
28. Yogaglo. Genuis.
29. Autoshare. Genuis. 
30. Lessons. 
31. That there's still so very much to learn.
32. COFFEE!
33. Mercatto, and getting to chat with Alice every morning as she makes my delicious Americano.
34. "Go big or go home." 
35. Wine. Lots and lots of wine. 
36. Bourbon. Who knew?! 
37. That when I wake up after a night of drinking too much wine and bourbon, I feel compelled to apologize for loving my friends too much. It could be worse and I should just relax. :)
38. Sparkly tops.
39. Forever 21! So long as I can fit into their crappy clothes, I will wear their crappy clothes... especially the sparkly tops.
40. The fact that I get mistaken for a teenager at least once a week. I've stopped fighting it.
41. Hipstamatic. 
42. Toronto. 20 years of living in this city and I still love it.
43. Stumbling upon a Jill Scott album I hadn't yet heard. Yippie. 
44. Commas.
45. RONCESVALLES!! BEST neighbourhood in the city, by far.
46. De La Mer and the lovely owner who always "accidentally" undercharges me. It's our thing. 
47. Lit Espresso Bar.
48. Lunch Box. 
49. Quotes likes this, "Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does." W. James
50. The Quote Monster, my sister-in-law. She doesn't even know how amazing she is or how much I love her.
51. The fact that I get to call uber ridiculously talented people like ECB, PD, and so many others my friends.
52. Alright, fine. The new sound system, when the AirPort thing doesn't cut out.  
53. That I can drive and one day I will learn to drive standard. Who wants to teach me? ;)
54. My job, and my cool new boss and awesome colleagues. I grumble often but it's not lost on me just how lucky I am.
55. The fact that I'm good at my job. 
56. Music!
57. Carole King. I am so digging Tapestry right now. 
58. Oh, and uber sexy Lana.
59. CBC Radio 2. Every single day at work for the last umpteen years.
60. That we are all special. That's right, I said. I'm Gen Y after all; we got medals just for showing up.
61. El Coco Loco!! Family-owned paradise...
62. ... and awesome brothers-in-law that do amazing things like Waves of Hope. 
63. Despite the fact that I'm an uber sensitive sap who can't quite figure out her schedule (sorry!), I still have oodles of friends who love me dearly.  
64. Words like oodles.
65. Being weird. Whatever, it's awesome. :)
66. My food processor...
67. ... and my mom's gazpacho which I make in my food processor.
68. Pinterest. So many pretty things.
69. California. 
70. Yoga.
71. This country. Seriously folks, we are really, truly and very lucky. 
72. My other country, even though I neglect her so. Polska!
73. Being a woman.
74. Being a woman who lives in a country where I can work, vote, decide what I want to do with my body, and decide what I want to do with my life.   
75. My blue eyes and strong thighs. My curvy spine and dirty-dishwater coloured hair. The fact that I can do the splits and stand on my head. 
76. My tattoos.  
77. Savasana adjustments with lavender-scented lotion. Bless you, wonderful teachers!
78. Hugs...
79. ... oh, and kisses! 
80. The plethora of amazing restaurants in Toronto. 
81. Dinner Club. My boys. xo
82. My yoga ladies. You inspire me so. 
83. Streetcars.
84. Lululemon pants. How do you manage to stay dry-looking (though not at all dry) after a 90-minute sweat-dripping-from-places-I-didn't-know-could-sweat class?
85. The TTC. Most days I complain about you but I still love how quickly I can make it to work (and home!)
86. Getting over my fear of flying. Yay me!
87. Makeup. 
88. My iPhone. Es beuno.
89. Guacamole.
90. When my adoring husband gets home first on garbage day and puts the bins away. Bam.
91. Chhhh chhh chhhocolate!
92. Those "healthy" cheesy puffs you can get at Mercantile. Yum yum.
93. Hil's rice crispie treats... YUM YUM!
94. The new Adele 007 track. Dear god.
95. Ms. Badu.
96. Sunshine. Seriously. 
97. Having three Thanksgiving dinners to go to. Bring on the turkey. 
98. Cozy pants.
99. From last year: That if we try hard enough, we can all find at least one thing to be grateful for, even if it's the fact that we're still breathing.
100. Thanksgiving.

Me, in Cali. Happy as a clam. 

happier at home...

Whenever I find myself in a bit of a life pickle, I always seem to end up in the one place I know I will find answers: the bookstore. Somewhere in those millions of words, I know someone will have written something I need to read. So I wander amidst the shelves gently touching covers, reading sleeves, and leafing through pages. Without over thinking it, I try to let the book find me. And somehow, usually, it does.

Today I took my somewhat weary heart to my favourite bookstore, the Runnymede Chapters. There's something about that place that I just love. Perhaps it's the fact that I can still fondly remember my very first date at what was then the Runnymede Theatre. He took me to see Titanic. I was 14. It was lovely. 

But back to today... I wandered around Chapters killing time, pondering, and then I saw it. 

"Happier at Home" by Gretchen Rubin.

The sequel to the book that started this blog! A few paragraphs in, I stumbled upon this:

"Why, I often wonder, is it difficult to push myself to do the things that bring happiness? So often, I know what resolutions would make me happier, but still I have to prod myself to do them."

And there it is, exactly what I've been wondering for a very long time. I feel the blogging itch coming back! 

That's it for now... I've got pages and pages to read!
mxo