Hope your day was filled with lots of wonderful people, food, pie and just a moderate amount of football! Off to help my sister prepare for her housewarming party and enjoy some more time with friends and family. Hope you have a fabulous holiday weekend.
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With the fall season quickly coming to an end (poor fall always getting shortened by Christmas season explosion!), I wanted to make sure I shared the delicious juice I've been drinking for the past few months while the ingredients were still in grocery stores. I received a beautiful juicer as a gift last year but have been slow to really get into the juicing scene. But after trying the Pear Chai juice at the Green Kitchen in the Milwaukee Public Market - and realizing I had all I needed to make my own - I decided it was time to give juicing a go. This juice captures some of my favorite fall flavors and is sweet with a little bit of a kick. It's also healthy and can be made with local, seasonal ingredients. And it's perfect for when I need a little something to get me from lunch to dinner or need something sweet after dinner but don't have any dessert on hand (a true travesty).
Ingredients: 2 pears 1 apple 1 square inch ginger 1 tablespoon honey pinch cinnamon Chop your fruit and add to the juicer with the ginger. Sprinkle your glass with cinnamon. Pour apple/pear/ginger juice into cup and stir in your honey. Garnish to your heart's content and enjoy! -- Sometimes I like to water this down a bit because it's so sweet, but I've also enjoyed it plenty just as is. Cheers to fall! One of my 101 goals was to make a painting every month for a year. I've done ok, but I fell behind a bit during the summer. So I'm making an effort close to the end of 2013 to catch up. Here's my latest creations: a couple of fall paintings to decorate our apartment. Paul and I both love the Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young song, so it seemed like a good fit for these simple paintings - though I don't think they will be on display too much longer with the Christmas season right around the corner. Poor fall always gets gipped with the Christmas season starting 21 days before fall really comes to an end. I think Christmas should start in January when everything is cold and depressing and spring is still a few months away. Right?
You can see more of my paintings here. And please try to ignore the ugly background. Still trying to figure out set up spots with good lighting in this apartment. this pup ... even when he eats our pumpkin pie
steps towards peace when the heat comes on right as I'm getting out of the shower three Friendsgivings in two days this Celine Dion classic that gave me a great excuse to car karaoke having a quality car that drives well in the snow having shelter in winter a three day work week three days away from family thanksgiving a weekend at home with Paul making time to paint I've caught the painting bug again recently and wanted to share more of my inspiration with you. I'll be sharing the work of artists who inspire me semi regularly with you. There is so much joy to be found in beautiful artwork! I chose Jane Heinrichs as the first artist to share here. I found her work after she commented on one of my posts (hello blogging highlight!). Her illustrations have such a lovely touch of whimsy and all would look perfect included in my favorite childhood stories. Jane also writes an inspired blog where she reflects on life, dreams and goals, her career as an artist, and travelling. I find it fascinating that she's lived all over - Swaziland, Canada, South Africa, and England to be exact. Makes moving around the states seem a little calmer :) My favorite work of Jane's is her illustrated children's book Magic at the Museum. Seeing it for the first time felt like seeing a dream come to life. Her book tells the story of a little girl who visits the Courtauld Gallery at night and sees paintings like Cezanne's come to life! Amazing! Can I be that girl? Please? (This was even cooler since Paul and I visited the museum during our trip to London over the summer.)
You can see more of Jane's work here and order prints of her work from her Etsy shop here. Order before November 29th to have your print arrive by Christmas! Sometimes I can act a little bratty and forget how many wonderful things I have in my life. I think most of us have been there: seeing our lives with a negative lens instead of a gratitude one. I see the big hole Diego chewed in my favorite coat -- instead of Paul's reaction to Diego: saying Diego sees himself as "Diego unchained" (inspired by Django Unchained). There's plenty of other things in my life that I easily overlook because other things get in the way. Like the bright colors of our dishes and that no matter what combination they're in, they always look great. Like going to basketball games with Paul and finding free parking three blocks from the arena. Like talking Thanksgiving menus with my mom (we're in charge of pie!). Like the little measuring cups from my sister that make baking feel a little whimsical. Like how easily my social calendar fills up now that we've been in Milwaukee a few years. Like how lucky I am to go to a great job everyday. Some things may seem silly or insignificant, but they're the things that make my life unique and mine.
I feel more and more that practicing gratitude and culativating an attitude of joy can help reveal all the magic and beauty in everyday life. It goes a long way to making an average life feel extraordinary. Nothing is more practical than finding God,
that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, whom you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in Love, stay in love, and it will decide everything. Pedro Arrupe beautiful night views of our city
when Paul takes the dogs for walks (when it's my turn) paid sick time the approaching holiday season candles that make our house smell comfy and cozy new warm and fluffy socks community field trips to Costco making plans for 12 dates of Christmas rockstar yoga classes lavender scented bubble baths Check out all those beautiful smiles! And check out that strange rabbi puppet! That may be what happens when I get together with my awesomely amazing friends.
I feel like I'm finally getting back on track with feeling genuinely happy. I've been spending some great time with friends (see above) and have been noticing a little spark entering its way back in my life. There has been a lot of laughter around the apartment lately, and I didn't even realize it was missing until it reappeared. Paul and I are slowly making our way through grieving the loss of a good friend, and though the grief is still present, it doesn't feel quite as heavy as it did a few months ago. And now that we're living on our own, it feels like we're rediscovering how much we enjoy being together. Hello second honeymoon! In the future we'll call this phase in our lives "how Mary and Paul got their groove back." We've been sticking to our weekly date nights, hanging out with local friends, making future travel plans, and watching a lot of comedies. It's been fantastic. I've said no to watching almost anything that's not a comedy, because there will be plenty of time for watching serious and sad things, but now is not that time. The happiness and laughter we're sharing are the exact medicine we need right now, and I'm embracing them for all their worth. Isn't it great how laughing with people you love can make everything feel better? Hope you have a great weekend! |