I’m back from holiday and all full of goal setting, fresh starts and new food inspiration. My first day back was actually a little terrifying as I have a heap of change going on at the moment (no job, end of a relationship and the subsequent search for a new home that comes with that) and I felt like reality had just hurled itself at me. Which was annoying as the holiday was fantastic, and I was totally happy keeping reality at bay for a while! But it’s time to open some new doors.
This weeks Friday finds is a little bit about that reality and also about some new obsessions that my recent travels have launched at me.
I’ll soon write more detailed posts about my adventures in LA, Texas, Los Olivos and Encinitas but for now, my current obsessions.
- Poke. Not the thing you do on Facebook (do people still do that?!) but the food. It’s a sort of Hawaiian sashimi salad sometimes served on rice. I had it for lunch one day in LA and it was the perfect meal. Just Raw tuna, marinated in two different sauces (because I couldn’t make a decision), served on a bed of greens and brown rice topped with seaweed salad, pickled veg and few different raw veggies too. It’s delicious and I’ll be posting my own take on it oh so soon.
- Decluttering. With a move coming up I always want to declutter my life but I think I want to take it a little further at the moment. I have been thinking about a more minimalistic approach, reading essays and listening to podcasts from these guys. I find the whole idea really interesting but am not convinced I can declutter to that extent… I like the idea of accepting that stuff isn’t the path to happiness. Because I know it’s not. It’s helping me to refocus though which is very useful right now.
- Eating more vegetables (again). Eating out a lot on holidays has significantly decreased my vegetable consumption. I also drank oh so much wine due to staying in wine country in two different states. With this in mind I am setting myself a goal for the next 21 days (as apparently that’s how long it takes to form a habit): Every day I will eat 7 serves of vegetables. I succeeded yesterday, that was day 1. 20 more to go. You’ll see the evidence of this little project in my instagram feed and in Monday’s post. Yesterday I made kohlrabi chips as a snack, just sliced a kohlrabi in half and then sliced 3 mms thick, tossed lightly in olive oil, salt and pepper and baked for 20 minutes in a 180 degree oven. Yum.
- Exercising. A lot. I want to use my current large amount of free time to set 2 hours of each day aside to exercise. That way setting 40minutes- an hour aside when I do have other time commitments, like a job, shouldn’t be too hard. Yesterday that consisted of a 20 minute run, 1 hour walk and 40 minutes of strength exercises. Today I’m about to go on an 1.5 hour walk then I might follow that with a run or pilates. I’m trying to keep it free so I’m excited about trying the Nike Women’s Studio class I’m going to on Monday!
- Also related to the above, I’m loving online barre body videos! It’s such a good way to fit exercise into any schedule. Check out this Online Studio, the videos are easy to follow and there’s a good variety. But you kind of have to kick your own butt to get the most out of it as there’s no one there to keep an eye on you.
- In a way that’s almost incongruent with point 2, I am loving the present my sister got me for my birthday… it’s a recipe box and embosser set and it’s personalised. Check out what she personalised it with! The most thoughtful gift ever. Thanks Williams Sonoma, and Liz!
HH. x
