October 23, 2016

My Everyday Life: Week 42

Here’s what this past week looked like- My Everyday Life : Week 42

On the last day of the Whole 30, I drove myself to Muir Woods.

I needed to give my brain some space to think. Process and be quiet.

It was a cold crisp morning. The tourists were out.

I loved listening to all of the different accents and languages during my hike. I left before it got really busy.

The sun came up as I was leaving.

I drove to Stinson Beach to watch the waves and smell the ocean air.

Bird party.

I love seeing the silhouettes of people and animals on the beach.

Sometimes I daydream of living in a small beach town.

Feathers amaze me.

And they’re off!

Watching the sun sparkle on the water was my favorite.

A new friend.

At the top of Mt. Tam. You can see the city way down there.

Bodega Bay. Not all in that order.

Fleeting moments.

I look for signs all the time.

This was a good one.

Worked on this during the weekend.

The best part? I pulled from my potted plants and barely had to buy any new succulents for this project.

Crazy plant propagating lady !!!

October 21, 2016

I love lists

Welcome to I love lists! It’s Friday. Let’s surf the internet together!

Why do anything?
This dress with leggings, a sweater and boots.
You don’t need a great studio space to shoot a portrait.
A cocktail that involves bucha.
I want curry ramen.
Sarcasm sure is fun.
Photographers vs. criticism
I’m just a cat. Staring at you work.
Coffee shops are getting wise.
Firefighter turned artist.
My new favorite pens.
Dudes wore these things. Whoa.
ALLLLL the fried foods in Texas.
The power of the dinner table.
If you want to do a doughnut tour around the bay.
I know someone who will like these photos.
GEEZ. Just let her live. AND COME ON.
Apparently I am 24 and live in California.
This is now in my purse. This book is on my nightstand.
Persian rugs taken to a whole new level.
Gonna go for a walk and listen to this this weekend.
I love this idea- last minute book report. HA!

Inspiration

October 20, 2016

Whole 30 = Done!

Whole 30 = DONE.

I haven’t decided what I am going to eat/drink first because for some reason the pressure feels too great. I also feel like it might be counterintuitive to celebrate with food. So many feelings yet to process. But yeah! 30 days, man. Wow.

What did you eat/drink first when you went through the Whole30 journey?

How did you feel when you did it??

We haven’t talked about the weight part yet, because it’s kind of a big deal.

I lost 10 lbs. in 30 days.

10 lbs. of padding I had to protect me from my feelings.

Ten pounds gone because I was a better advocate for myself.

I said no to certain things because

I have willpower.

I said no because I am putting myself first.

I am going slow

because I am worth the effort.

Ten pounds lost by being mindful.

30 days of saying YES to myself and NO to bad habits.

Ten pounds lost by making the right choices because

I am not rushing into things.

I am allowing myself to feel feelings and when they’re too much,

I learn how to make a quiet space for myself

so I can RESET. I must breathe. I can’t hold my breath.

I am finally learning that I MUST slow down.

Slowing down is hard for someone with my intensity.

When I don’t slow down, my body retaliates.

I have learned that to go slow, I must sacrifice certain things.

The more I know

ABOUT MYSELF,

the easier it is to make those sacrifices because

I AM WORTH THE EFFORT.

When I

GO SLOW

I can evaluate my choices and be better at controlling my

IMPULSES.

Knowing myself, means understanding my impulses because

they’re mostly rooted in feelings.

Numbing my feelings just adds more stress to my life.

I am in the process rewriting the story.

Creating better habits is KEY.

Habits with impact. Habits that will help me reset when I need to

THE MOST.

More soon. Still feeling all the feelings!

There’s a doughnut downstairs on the counter I have to contend with.

It’s cool.

I’ll be happy with my decision either way.

I summed it all up in my bullet journal:

Here’s a look at week 2 and week 3

Thank you for following me on this journey!

Inspiration, recipes

October 18, 2016

Butternut Squash Soup 8 Ways

Imagine you’re on your way home from work. You’re frantic. You need to make dinner and you want all of the people you have to feed to be happy. You’ve worked all day and the LAST THING you want to hear is complaining. That’s when you make a “Choose Your Own Adventure” meal! How do you do that? Well you provide a bunch of options so everyone can customize dinner to their own taste. The best quick weeknight meals are the ones where everyone gets what they want. That’s why Taco Night & Burger Night are both so popular at my house.

Let me show you how you can turn Soup Night into something much more!

First we’re going to take our base soup– Imagine’s Organic Creamy Butternut Squash Soup and we’re going to make a BUFFET of toppings. This soup is PERFECT way to celebrate Autumn.

It’s light, creamy and super velvety.

I wasn’t kidding about the toppings. Bust out ALL THE BOWLS.

Toppings above include:

fried sage
spinach
pomegranate seeds
cilantro
sour cream
salsa
cranberry sauce
browned butter
crostini
caramelized onions
candied walnuts
chili powder
curry powder
green onions
tortilla chips
cheddar cheese
blue cheese
sriracha

Heat up your soup in a pot over the stove.

One container of Imagine’s Organic Creamy Butternut Squash Soup can make up to four small bowls of soup. I used two containers for all 8.

Let’s top it!

OK. Are you ready to see 8 different combinations? Let’s go!

This version has pomegranate seeds for sweetness, green onions for a sharp bite, bacon for a smoky/salty vibe and a swirl of sour cream to make even CREAMIER!

This version is similar to the one above but we add cranberry sauce and caramelized onions!

It tastes like Thanksgiving!

We go for a Thai inspired soup with this one. Stir in some curry powder, drizzle some sriracha on top and finish with toasted coconut and fresh cilantro! I bet a little coconut cream would be divine in there.

When I think of Autumn, I think of butternut squash and SAGE! Browned butter makes everything better, doesn’t it? I fried some sage in the browned butter and it made its way into the butternut squash soup!

Autumn dreams are made of this combination.

Let’s turn it into a Mexican inspired soup! Here we have salsa, cilantro, cheese, sour cream, chili powder and hot sauce. Don’t forget the tortilla chips!

Bread + cheese + soup = YAAAAAAS

Here I topped crostini with blue cheese & caramelized onions. Now that I’m looking at this I am sure a balsamic reduction drizzle would be a good addition!

We combine candied walnuts with the fried sage, a drizzle of browned butter, candied walnuts and creme fraiche. We add a little pomegranate seeds for extra fun.

This one is one of my favorites because the blue cheese and spinach wilts into the soup. Candied walnuts for an extra crunchy surprise!

Other toppings that would be awesome:

pepitas
apples
dried cranberries
cheesy croutons
cannellini beans
grilled cheese sandwich cut up into little pieces

There you have it. Butternut Squash Soup 8 Ways.

Hope this inspires you to have a soup party with toppings in your near future!

This post was produced in partnership with Imagine®. As always, all opinions are my own.

my everyday life, Photography

October 16, 2016

My Everyday Life: Week 41

Here’s what this past week looked like- My Everyday Life Week 41

Running through the puddles at sunset to get dinner.

We had a storm! I forgot how good the air smells after the rain.

The fog rolled in.

The fall morning light right now is insane. It’s very dark when we get up.

I am turning into an early morning person….slowly….

I edited this photo instead of drinking a cocktail.

A barrel of apples

October 14, 2016

I love lists

Welcome to I Love Lists! Let’s surf the internet together:

Whhhyyyyyyyy am I looking at this when I can’t eat cake??!
Tweets from Fitbit owners that will make you LOL if you have one.
Reality of being a woman in our world. Thank you for writing this.
OMG the #3 costume. AHHHH
Wrap it up!
Best Productivity Habits from Famous Writers.
Things you should only buy at Costco.
WHAT HAS HAPPENING TO KIDS
At least technology is good for something at times.
Also….I mean. DO WE REALLY NEED A SPOON LIKE THIS?
Life hacks out of everyday household items. YES.
Motherhood vs. Creativity
The Binge Breaker — oh this is such an important read!
Did you pre-order Ina’s new book? DO IT FOR JEFFREY!
I would go to church ALL THE TIME if the ceiling looked like this.
I don’t think I could be more pleased by the balance in this photograph.
Internet Friends are Real Friends
Cute pins: Books are Cool / Mighty Pen / Be Brave / JERK / FUTURA
I love reading Heidi’s Favorites Lists
Pumpkin carving goals this Halloween.
One day I will go to Kyoto.
80% of millennials have never tried a Big Mac. I thought that was interesting.
I love Mike Rowe.

Inspiration

October 13, 2016

Whole 30: Week 3

As I write this I am on Day 24 of Whole 30:

I have 6 days left.

Why is this starting to sound morbid. It’s not!!!!!

I HAVE 6 DAYS LEFT. WAHOOOOOOOOO. I am almost done.

WE ARE IN THE HOME STRETCH.

Part of me wondered why I shared this journey with you. Is it annoying? Is it boring? Do you think I am crazy? Don’t answer that.

I am sharing this process because I want to be accountable for my actions. I want to say I am going to do something and DO IT. Having you involved in the process means I have more motivation to keep it going.

My willpower is stronger as a result.

So, thank you.

I believe that this is proof that we build better connections when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable.

This week I’ve been working on:

IMPULSE CONTROL.

because…

What I learned most during week 3 was this:

I have incredible willpower. What I need to manage is my impulse control. Through this process, I am starting to understand what kind of habits and patterns I’ve created for myself. Slowly, I am figuring out ways to fix them. I am loving how less stressed I am about food because I don’t eat the things that triggered my anxiety.

What is impulse control?

-failure to resist a temptation, urge or impulse that may harm oneself or others.

When I am stressed, it is much harder for me to control my impulses (like drinking alcohol or having a carb party). Taking the time to understand what my impulses are has helped me make better choices around food. Impulses come from feelings and I HAVE SO MANY OF THEM throughout the day while I am rushing around-doing too many things at once. Instead of understanding how I am feeling and WHY I am feeling a certain way, I tend to self-medicate by swallowing my feelings.

Impulse control can be managed by slowing myself down.

I am learning how to tell myself —in a gentle way— that it’s OK to eat certain things but I need to be aware of how much I am eating. AKA DON’T GO OVERBOARD.

Before I would say things with a mean/angry/jerk voice.

That jerk voice is definitely not a voice I would EVER use for anyone I loved.

When I am not surrounding myself with distractions, I can CLEARLY think about the food choices I will make based on the structure I have for myself right now.

Before, I impulsively ate my face off because I had no structure/no limits/no boundaries.

EXAMPLE:

before (said in a frantic/jerk voice):

omg there’s cake
i want cake
omg i should just have a sliver
but then i’ll just want another slice
just get the bigger piece, Tracy
WHOA YOU JUST ATE THE BIGGER PIECE
HOW DID THAT HAPPEN. WERE YOUR EYES CLOSED?!
but that bigger piece WASN’T ENOUGH.
have another slice! make it SMALLLLLLLL
oh. you did it. wow. OK. So WOW. Ummm.
how are you gonna work this off?
what do you have to sacrifice today to feel OK ABOUT EATING ALL THAT CAKE?
YOU DONT EVEN LIKE CAKE.
WHAT DID YOU DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO??!!
WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE HEALTHY TODAY

now (said in a loving, supportive mom voice):

Slow down
Pay attention
Take a deep breath
Examine the situation
How will cake make you feel? Can you have a little or would you be happy with fruit?
Do you even like cake?
Make the choice that will make you feel best.
PROCEED, you got this.

What else is up this week?

I had a few moments this week when I went CRAZY on a bag of plaintain chips. BECAUSE OLD HABITS DIE HARD. Just because I can eat something within this “structure,” doesn’t mean I can eat ALLLLLLLLLLL of it. If I want to end this program feeling lighter, I have to pay attention my portion control.

Last weekend I spent 7+ hours at a family party where everyone was drinking (too) much wine and eating crazy good food. I put kombucha in a wine glass… I ate a lot of salami and nuts. I made some solid choices and I put myself in a quiet place every time I felt like I couldn’t handle being around so many people/temptations.

Sometimes you just gotta walk away and give yourself some time and space.

LIKE SERIOUSLY. GO INTO ANOTHER ROOM. COLLECT YOUR THOUGHTS.

.I threw my back out. Felt sorry for myself. Crawled into the kitchen and still made good choices. Laid in bed with a heating pad while my husband drank a hot toddy RIGHT NEXT TO ME. The jealousy! It was cold out! I wanted a hot toddy. I made myself tea. EVERYTHING WAS FIIIIIIIINE.

OK. That’s all for now. 6 more days!

BTW- I am working on a bigger post to show you all the foods I’ve eaten and what I’m into.

You can read my Week 2 post here btw.

If you’re doing the Whole30:: What day are you on? How’s it going?!!!