30.8.11

Touch-ed.


Please take a moment to watch this beautiful Happy Birthday Tribute to a very lucky wife.  I stumbled upon this a while back and remember watching it repeatedly at my desk as tears collected and my lower lip trembled.  The second time around was no different.

Never forget how lucky you are.  There is so much beauty in this life.
So much beauty because of you.

29.8.11

Start-ed to Fall.


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Welcome to the very beginning of my favorite season.  The season of burnt orange, rusty red and chocolately brown.  The season of cable knit sweaters, soft leather boots and light weight jackets.  The season of crisp air, fallen leaves and cozy nights.  The season of juicy apples, velvety pumpkin and spicy cinnamon.  The season of family dinners, crackling fires and football games.  The season of perfect weather for no-frizz hair, balanced skin and walking outside without sweating.

There's something about fall that screams 'new' to me.  Perhaps it's the association fall always has with going back to school, buying new supplies and a new wardrobe.  Perhaps it's the obvious sense of change that permeates the air.  Fall allows us all to start over, forget about the somewhat exhausting long summer days and start fresh in the crisp air. 

In fact, I find I make most of my best resolutions in the fall.  Here is this year's resolution:

This year I will make more of an effort to play to my passions: take a cooking course, read about my favorite idols (currently reading Julia Child's memoir and LOVING it), learn more about wine, write in my journal, speak more french, bake a perfect pie crust, keep up with distant friends. 

It sounds easy enough: do what you love.  But sometimes, this can be the hardest thing to achieve.  First, we have to identify what it is that makes us happy, and then find the time to do it.  It wasn't until this weekend, while spending the afternoon nose-deep in Julia's descriptions of how to make an omlette that I realized what I need to be doing.  And so, I put down the book and made oatmeal raisin cookies, zucchini bread, chicken schnitzel and zucchini fritters.

I fell into bed with a full stomach and heart.  Ah, fall.  You're always so good to me.

What is your fall resolution?

24.8.11

Peac-ed Out.

This morning on my way into work, I stopped at the small Rockefeller Center farmers’ market. I winded through aisles of ripe apricots, fresh greens, and homemade jams. I picked up a bunch of still mud-caked radishes, a loaf of freshly baked bread, and a handful of plums. This evening, the boyfriend and I have planned a picnic dinner on the Hoboken waterfront to celebrate the fall-like weather that has been gracing the Northeast the past couple of days. I wanted to pick up some fresh goodies to munch on (and it was a good excuse to indulge one of my favorite hobbies--food shopping).

Before I knew it, 30 minutes had passed. Thirty minutes sitting at my work desk feels like two hours. Twenty minutes wandering the farmers market, inspecting the produce, smelling for freshness, feeling for ripeness, passes like no time at all. I am never more at peace than I am when I’m with food. Perhaps it’s the earthiness or the sensory stimulation. Whatever it is, I could have passed the day there in those market stalls, tasting and wandering. This is what happiness tastes like to me on a Wednesday morning.

What makes you feel at peace? Is it reading a good book? Writing in a journal? Playing an instrument? Gardening? Running?


19.8.11

Mov-ed, Learn-ed, & Ate.

M O V E


L E A R N


E A T


I stumbled upon this series of 3 videos.  I think the description says it all: "3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage... all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ....into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films....."

These three concepts (movement, learning and food) are what make the world go round. I hope these clips inspire you as much as they did me.
I love the upbeat solo piano music in the background.  The editing blows my mind, and the video quality is unmatched. 

Great job guys, just one question: next time, will you take me with you?

Where will you go? What will you learn? And how will it all taste?

Happiness, Sim-ed up.

Have you ever played the highly addictive computer game, The Sims?

When I was growing up, playing house involved a Fisher Price kitchennette, an easy bake oven, and a few unsuspecting friends who were willing to taste my underbaked mud pies.  Today, kids play house on the computer.  Whether this is sad or genius I don't quite know, but I'm referencing this computer game because it sheds some real light on real life.

My sister and I used to have a blast building imaginary lives and imaginary houses, developing imaginary careers and arranging imaginary furniture. And yet, when I think about it, it all was so realistic.

For those of you that are familiar with the game, you'll remember that each character had several basic needs that you were responsible for tending to in order to make sure they were happy and healthy.  Just like in real life, your avatar needed to eat, use the bathroom, stay fit, learn and have social interaction in order to maintain a healthy life.  Each of these tasks took a certain amount of time, and some days, you just couldn't fit it all in.

Isn't it the same deal with real life?  We know we have certain needs to tend to, but it's never as cut and dry as it was on the Sims.  But perhaps it should be.

Yesterday, I spent a very lonely and unproductive day at work.  All I really wanted to do was crawl into bed and cry.  But I knew that wouldn't boost my happiness meter one bit.  Instead, I laced up my running shoes, bolted out the door for the quickest 3 miles I've ever run, treated myself to a healthy vegetarian meal, and then headed back into the city to meet 4 of my favorite females for some much needed giggling, gossiping, and love.  By the end of the night, as I drifted off into much needed sleep, I realized that my happiness meter was right where it should have been--full.

Life will always have it's ups and downs, but as long as we take care of ourselves, we'll always win.  Thanks, Sims, for making something so complicated so simple in this digital world. 

What do you need today?

9.8.11

Tailor-ed to your Taste & Waist


pic: weheartit
 Let's talk about food.

My dear friend over at hungry for living wrote a post per my request for some information about lactose intolerance.  She is a master ninja researcher with a special interest in healthy living, so I knew she'd do a great job. 

I am thrilled to see the increase in healthy eating, but even more excited to hear about the new trend in food awareness.  So many people don't pay attention to their own bodies, assuming that an 'upset tummy' is normal.  Food allergies are a very real issue and are extremely important to ensuring digestive health. 

Next time you eat your turkey sandwich at lunch, listen to what your body tells you after you eat it.  Does something not feel right?  Trust me, your diet should be just as tailored to your tastes as it should be to your health.

2.8.11

You're not Bor-ed, You're Boring.

On one of my frequented blogs, Yes and Yes, I found this quote:


"‘I’m bored’ is a useless thing to say. I mean, you live in a great, big, vast world that you’ve seen none percent of. Even the inside of your own mind is endless. The fact that you’re alive is amazing, so you don’t get to say ‘I’m bored.’" -Louis CK

How true it is. Your mind is an infinite resource that is constantly bubbling with words and thoughts and images, plans and dreams. Capture them to share with the rest of the world. Write something, draw something, sing something, make something, say something, be something.

Likewise, the world is there for your entertainment, experience it.
Eat an ice cream cone and taste the sweet grains of sugar as they melt on your tongue.
Kiss someone’s forehead and marvel at how affection can pulsate through your being so strongly that you have to clench your teeth and fists to keep it inside.
Kick your legs up on a park swing, isn’t it amazing that no matter how high you pump, you can never push yourself up and over the bar in one big circle?
Seek to understand the answer to a question no one has posed before.
Notice all the details.
Keep going, digging, running, writing, being.
You don’t get to say ‘I’m bored.’