Butternut redemption

After two doctors appointments yesterday, my head is a kitchen sink of sudsy dishes. But one thing always helps.

I’ve said it before, but early mornings are one of my favorite times.

Journalling + pre-breakfast + no distractions = a much clearer head.

Coffee and apple slices.

 

Therefore this post will be short and sweet because the above picture is calling my name.

But three things before I go!

1. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on Christmas music! We all have an opinion on it and I love that. Not everyone loves it, not everyone hates it, but that’s how it should be. All through high school I didn’t care for holiday tunes. It was only after I got to college and began living away from how that those songs began to hold a certain amount of nostalgia for me. Tastes do change, I guess!

~

2. Butternut squash was redeemed in yesterday’s lunch. I think I had a bad one before. Either that, or it just need to be cooked as fries. Everything’s better in fry form, right?

Butternut squash fries and apples slices.

~

3. The new Cee Lo album is amazing. Please go purchase it or download the song “Wildflower”.

~

Jam of the day: Cee Lo Green “Wildflower”

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Old souls like jazz

Hello hello!

Wow, thanks again for the sweet birthday wishes! Each one made me smile so much. Apparently there was a lot of surprise that I’m “only” twenty-two, but I definitely take that as a compliment. I’ve been told many times I have an “old soul”. But this is usually after someone realizes that I own a Sinatra box set.

I’ve really been feeling the love from the universe lately. Not only with the many blessings I received this weekend, but my pain has been in a very manageable place for the past week. I’ve been working hard on meditation and physical therapy, which have been consistently helpful to me in the last six months. I don’t believe either can fully eliminate my problems on their own, but they are very good in allowing me to manage. Controlling your thoughts and outlook really does help you control the body!

Since Thanksgiving is now over, it’s officially time to break out the Christmas tunes. I’m willing to put it out there that I listen to the occasional holiday song in the middle of summer, but I feel that now it is 100% condonable to blast kitschy Christmas music for all to hear!

This is probably the first of what may be a few holiday mixes that I’ll make this year. But I feel we should start with the classics.

Big Fat Santa’s On His Way

1. Peggy Lee “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”
2. Jimmy Smith ”Jingle Bells”
3. Fiona Apple “Frosty the Snowman”
4. Duke Ellington “Sugar Plum Cherry (Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy)”
5. Ella Fitzgerald “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”
6. Nat King Cole “The Christmas Song”
7. James Brown “Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto”
8. Louis Armstrong “Cool Yule”
9. Frank Sinatra “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm”
10. Lou Rawls “Merry Christmas Baby”
11. Eartha Kitt “Santa Baby”
12. Otis Redding “White Christmas”
13. Charles Brown “Silent Night”
14. Ella Fitzgerald “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
15. Vince Guaraldi Trio “Christmastime is Here (Instrumental)”

I’ll take my classic Christmas with a side of jazz, thank you very much.

~

One of the things I love about blogging is the “round robin” of meal ideas that we share. Remember last weekend when I ate some oat bran topped with a peanut butter cup? Well, I told Heather about it and she did this. So then I had the idea to do this, which I’ve eaten for the past 3 mornings:

Oat bran with nutritional yeast, topped with peanut butter and Baker’s chocolate.

I know this might sound strange, but you guys have seen me eat strange things before. Peanut butter and chocolate is always decadent, but it doesn’t have to be sweet!

~

I’ve also been continuing to eat my meat.

Venison chili with almond butter.

 

Chili is never-ending. And I don’t hate that fact.

Jam of the day: Peggy Lee “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”

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Twenty-two

Thank you all so much for the comments and birthday wishes! I feel so fortunate to be a part of this wonderful blogging community full of you amazing people.

~

Yesterday was wonderful. Give me friends, family, outdoors, food, and a Penguins win and I’m a happy girl.

To cap off a fantastic day, my dad and I went to one of my favorite restaurants, Casbah, where I had maybe one of the best meals ever?

• an Argentinian Malbec

 

• mixed Italian olives (split with my dad)

• a roasted beet salad with mustard greens, endive, sumac, and pistachios
• a surprise vegan dish (our server offered this – the catch was that I had no idea what I was going to get!), which contained a lot of things I can’t remember, but included an apple and winter squash puree, roasted brussels sprouts, chanterelle mushrooms, tiny cubes of diced potatoes, braised kale, hazelnuts, and some kind of reduction

As I said, probably one of the best meals ever. But I believe part of that had to do with the company I kept!

Well, I’m off to drink coffee, eat breakfast, get caught up on YOUR holiday weekends, and give some thank you phone calls to people who sent me cards yesterday. Have a great Saturday!

Jam of the day: The Raveonettes “Christmas Song”

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