picnic {№12}

first picnic of the season! 

a gorgeous afternoon spent with beautiful souls from our bikram yoga studio.  it was great to spend time with everyone and somewhat surreal to not be drenched with sweat and have (normal) clothes on. 

things you probably only eat at a yoga picnic:  flowers and leaves. 

i tried the clover, blackberry flowers, snakeberries, sorrel, dandelion and chickweed.  talk about advanced-level greens eating.  they were surprisingly delicious and i would eat most of them again.

this was my first picnic as a vegetarian.  i had a yummy boca burger and there were plenty of gorgeous salads to choose from. 

happy people.

hello friend.

yum.

components

according to the magical ingredient site what makes you, i am made of disco, salads, rainbows and a dash of power rangers.

that sounds about right.

what about you?

(photo credit unknown.)

hello day

i am happy you are this day called friday.

let's wrap up the week, do some yoga, eat some rainbow chard, plant some flowers and smile a lot.

happy earth day

how i give myself to my world:

• eating mostly local, seasonal and organic.
• becoming vegetarian.  on the road to vegan.
• the karma garden.
• buying more bulk foods and using my own reusable bags.
• walking or riding my bike instead of driving.
• delighting in the forest, the sea, sunsets, thunderstorms, butterflies.
• composting.
• carrying shopping bags in my purse and car.
• living my yoga.
• recycling.
• learning what more i can do.
• buying vintage.
• supporting rights for all humans and animals.
• shopping at small local businesses and mostly avoiding walmart and other megastores.

what is your favorite way to love our earth?

a truth

it's an art you know, simultaneously holding on and letting go.  releasing the weight of those things that don't serve you while filling the space that remains with possibility, joy, purpose, meaning.

or just allowing the space to be the space.

it is an art best learned in yoga class. 

and practiced in your beautiful life.

spaciousness and kale confetti

it's been a few months since i started working with my health coach meg and i wanted to give you a progress report. 

i had mixed feelings about asking for help, especially with something i feel is very intimate and personal.  i was very nervous about talking and sharing.  but i made the decision that if i was going to do it i was going to share without edits in order to receive guidance on the raw messy honesty of my wellbeing.

meg asked me to make a list of all the accomplishments--big and small--that i've made since we started working together.  the list is long my friends.  it includes things like kale confetti and quinoa and the realization that i actually love them.  there are many many small and significant things and a few very powerful things that i'm still learning to share my life with.   it's funny how we have to get used to positive bigness in our lives.

the most significant shift for me revolves around the art of creating space.  i can easily get bogged down in the mire of life, work, history, relationships.  just like you, if i had to guess.  sometimes i feel like i weigh five hundred pounds as i dutifully slog through and try to make my way to the magical land called unburdoned. 

the journey has become so much lighter since i've been practicing letting go of feelings that aren't my feelings.  hunger that isn't my hunger.  needs that aren't my needs.  fear that isn't my fear.  teaching the art of recognizing and releasing these things is meg's speciality.  this beautiful thing happens when you drop the heaviness of others' energy and focus on your own:  a tiny opening appears and the light pokes in.  space is created.  so much space.  your own unique brand of energy is freed up to make more art and love and inspiration.  all of a sudden there is plenty of room for more beauty, vibrancy, sound sleep, wild dreaming.

spaciousness is such a gift.

if you are curious about working with a coach and the possibility of more space and beauty and health in your life, have a look at meg's website http://www.megworden.com/.  she's awesome.  i promise.

good♥food

if someone said i had to only eat one dish every day for the rest of my life, pesto on sourdough toast would be on the shortlist (along with avocado, black bean and sweet potato tacos,  tomato and garlic pizza and pistachio gelato).

i love that it's equally brilliant on toast, pizza, pasta, panini, crackers.  i love that you can mix it up with different ingredients.  in summer, i practically live on arugula pesto because my friend has a rocket field that produces tons of the greens. 

true story:  i make it so much that the inside of my food processer is tinted green.

i'm somewhat reluctant to tell you that i also eat it by the spoonful.

for this batch, i used a mix of spinach, arugula, basil and pistachios.  i replaced some of the parmesan cheese with nutritional yeast for extra b12, which can be scarce in a vegetarian diet.  i always throw in red pepper flakes because i like mine super spicy.

super pesto
one head garlic, peeled and roughly chopped (that's about 10 cloves)
four handfuls greens (spinach or arugula or a mix)
one handful basil leaves
one cup nuts, raw and unsalted (walnuts are my favorite, but the batch shown is made with pistachios because that's what i had on hand)
one-half cup parmesan cheese
four tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional; use extra parm if omitting)
olive oil
red pepper flakes (optional)
sea salt (don't add until the end because the parm is usually pretty salty)

add garlic, nuts, basil and pepper flakes to food processer with a bit of olive oil.  pulse a few times to grind.  add the cheese and nutritional yeast, pulsing and adding olive oil to keep the mixture moving.  add the greens in two batches, keep mixing, adding enough olive oil to keep the pesto from balling up.  add sea salt to taste.

this makes a huge batch (about four times what you see in the photos).  feel free to scale down if you are not a pesto freak like me.

brush teeth after eating to avoid mad garlic breath and a green-speckled smile.  :)

a few good things

• brilliant:  ashley judd on the physical objectification of women.
• beautiful:  hydrangeas.  i know they feel a wee bit granny country garden, but they are soft and graceful and that's what i need right now.
• inspiring:  jamie and summer and good food and friends. 
• wellness:  for balance and strength if, like me, you feel like the universe keeps kicking you in the bum.
• anticipation:  the first bike ride of the season.  today.
• dreaming:  my soul kitchen.

happy sunday lovely loves!

beautiful buys

lately i've been thinking about indulgence.

i was raised in a very thrifty home.  both of my parents grew up in systems of lack and even though they were both well-salaried professionals, our family's finances were kept strict.  this often left me feel wanting.

once i started making my own money, i splurged on things i wanted.  often to the point of debt.  my indulgences--clothes, shoes, handbags, art, food--pleased me instantaniously.  but the fullness lasted only a short while.  there was always more more more to have.  *having* is very important to me.

i make a decent salary--even though we haven't received a raise in five years due to the economy.  but my job leeches precious energy from my body and my soul and i find myself pondering its worth.  i've secretly been in training the last few months, preparing for work that pays less in money and more in karma and love.  i don't know what that looks like yet.

my training involves making sure my purchases feed me brilliantly and don't end up in the goodwill pile like my impulse buys in the past.

here are some lovely things i bought today:

• one ten-pump soy chai latte ($5)
• gerber daisies ($12)
• a bicycle basket made from wood ($30)
• quinoa polenta ($4)
• one bundle pencil-thin organic asparagus ($2)
• a wee fig tree ($11)
• a vintage bow-and-arrow brooch ($2)

each of these purchases made me smile in sweet fulfillment rather than giddy hunger. the spending feels balanced and calm, not wasteful and impulsive.  i will never be (nor do i desire to be) a coupon-cutting pennysaver, but i've come a long way.  not only do i *have* these beautiful things, i *have* a beautiful sense of abundance and freedom.

dinner perfection

in the garden

in the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.

-margaret atwood

we have planted! 


since this little project started a bit late, we had to purchase some plants.  and since this is the karma garden, i specifically asked for non-monsanto tomato plants at the nursery.  rookie mistake:  i didn't have a list with me.  we were sold four heirloom varieties and one (lemon boy) is on the list.  i'm so sad to have to uproot pretty little lemon boy and take him back, but i refuse to support monsanto, even if it's only $2.79.   i thought if it was heirloom it would be safe.  lesson learned.

next year, seeds will be purchased from baker creek seeds to ensure total good karma.  big gratitude to meg and meg's mom for the amazing catalog. 

aren't the chicks getting big? 


i hope you get a little dirty this weekend.