Happenings 18.11.16
DOING: typing on my computer while Joan naps.
HEARING: rain. Isn't that the best sound, when you're all snug and cozy indoors and it's positively pelting outside?
EATING + COOKING: Other than smoothies I've been slow-roasting tomatoes and red onions with oregano, then eating them with salads, alongside meat and in quinoa bowls. Joan adores tomatoes and a big batch lasts us a while. We've also been eating a bit of rice with greens, fried eggs and chickpeas, and a few frittatas. Oh and I've been making sweet potato toast a bit. Lastly, I've recently come across Fish4Ever brand filleted sardines, and they are AMAZING. They're a fabulous way to get in omega-3 fats if you are kinda squeamish about opening other sardine tins to find a head staring at you. My whole family loves them (Joan most of all) and on the weekend we have been sharing a tin in various preparations. I'll share some recipes soon.
WANTING: our couch to arrive!! It should be here in a week. Update: it came yesterday! And we are in loooooooove.
PLAYING: ball games with Joan. Baby girl adores balls and is really quite skilled with even her full-size soccer ball. Whenever we are at the park people call her a boy and I can see why. And then it makes you ponder how ingrained our gender assumptions are.
DECIDING: what kind of office chair to buy for Ben. I want to get him something really nice for Christmas. Usually we don't spend money on gifts for each other but this year I want to spoil him. He knows about the present, I'm not confident in making the right decision without him, and we don't really know where to begin. We don't want to spend a load of money but we'd like a really nice quality one. Any recommendations?
DRINKING: a coffee. lately I've upped my smoothie game by adding a shot of coffee to it and WOW I'm in love. While I prefer to have a hot cup of coffee rather than doing breakfast + coffee in one hit, it's nice to mix things up and give the raw cacao a rest, because goodness me I love that stuff and can be heavy handed with it. I've also made a bunch of green smoothies this month, which Joan adores. Just frozen banana, spinach, rolled oats, chia seeds, milk and yoghurt.
ENJOYING: my clean bag. Over the weekend I cleaned out my bag, gave it a good scrub and put all the half eaten cruskits in the bin. A fresh, organised, clean bag gives me the same happy feelings as new sheets on the bed.
WATCHING:The Crown! It's awesome. And a nice break from all the dark crime stuff I've been watching lately. I wonder how accurate it is, but the gorgeous styling and accents distract me from any historical correctness and I find myself happily swept up in the drama.
READING: I started re-reading Jane Eyre, which I adore. I have an old copy from the op shop and the practice of opening the tattered pages and losing myself in the words helps my mind to slow down far more than watching tv and even far more than novels set in the present-day. Have you seen this movie version? I adore it. Perhaps because I adore the two lead actors and the man who directed it also directed season 1 of True Detective. Aaaand I'm, back to the creepy crime stuff. That didn't take long. Anyway, I was re-reading Jane Eyre but then I came across this book at the library, and as a Margaret Atwood fan I felt compelled to borrow it.LOOKING: at the garden outside our window. Ben and I finally mowed the lawn and tidied things up after letting it go wild for weeks. Joan is now obsessed with the lawn mower and I plan on buying her this for Christmas after she played with that exact one recently and lost her shit.
LOVING: that Joan is going through a stage where she wants to kiss me on the lips (and legs) constantly throughout the day. It's SO sweet. I'm also loving how she like to sit at her little table and play or eat a snack. Finally she's big enough that she can get on and off the chairs herself and sit comfortable. Sometimes I look over from the kitchen and see her playing quietly by herself and I promptly melt from all the cuteness.
BUYING: the office chair and a rug to go with our couch are our current home purchases. Oh and blinds, too. I adore the look of shutters but who can be bothered dusting all the time? So we will probably go for roller blinds. We got a bathroom renovation quote but it's out of our budget at the moment, so we are going to save up and do it later. I briefly investigated tiles and baths and WOW there are some stunning (and expensive) stone baths out there. All of the heart-eye emojis. Ah! I thought of another purchase we've got on the cards, a blow-up mattress. We have family coming to stay during December and we need a good, double or queen sized mattress. I'm thinking a camping store?
PLANNING: on making this soon. No explanation necessary. These look great too. The My New Roots cookbook is my current library lend. I also have a couple of Montessori and Waldorf books that I just collected.
WEARING: Jeans and tshirts or tank tops. I recently bought this during a Bonds sale and have been loving it.
CRAVING: this vegetable lasagne would do nicely, thank you! Oh, and this dish, too. Both have been on my "to-make" list of a while. Perhaps this weekend I will get around to it. Though Ben is out at another bucks party (notice my tone there? ANOTHER Bucks party, really?!) so it would mean a tray of lasagne for just me and Joan. Actually, that sounds really great.
SAVOURING: the moments of sunshine we're gifted. Our weather is inconsistent, and while I'm all for cozy days indoors, I so love to be able to step outside barefoot and roll on the grass with Joan.
FEELING: content. Really, really content. I had to google "content" to make sure the definition was accurate and representitive of how joyful and thankful I am, and indeed it is. It means "in a state of peaceful happiness". Yes. Interestingly, I've noticed a surge in these feelings on the days I fit in a quick 20 minute workout (usually one of thesethreevideos). I'm always telling clients how important it is to move your body, for a multitide of reasons, one of which is mood. And though I walk every day, apparently it wasn't enough anymore because in challenging my body with new moves I have been taken from happy to blissed-out. Movement, you guys...it's so good for us.
Happenings posts inspired by Pip.