Author: Sarah

What would you like to do right now?

~ Sarah ~ Leave a comment
downtown Dallas
Home…right now.

Today Marthe from The Freedom Experiment (always a favorite read) asked her readers what they’d most like to be doing right now. After another losing battle with morningtime, I can tell you that driving to work with another day of zero coffee ahead of me was not exactly high on my list. But imagining my perfect day really has pulled me out of a slump before, so I let her question sink in only to find a somewhat surprising truth to snap me out of my haze.

latte coffee
Oh, how I miss you…

Because the truth is, I’m really quite happy with what I’m doing, and I’ve got a lot of exciting times ahead. As I admired the downtown Dallas buildings and great weather last weekend after a “so Dallas” evening on the Katy Trail Ice House patio, I thought “You know what, I have to say, I maybe sorta actually kinda like it here.” This might not seem like much of a confession to you, but Dallas was the last place I saw myself living, not to mention liking. But somewhere along the way this place became home….for now anyway. There are far too many great places in this world for me to settle down just yet.

Keeping the Dallas momentum going, though, this weekend I’ll be seeing the Nasher sculpture museum for the first time (it’s about time) and catching their Air Review concert and outdoor screening of Life of Pi, all in my new neon windbreaker. Plus, there’s my upcoming moving out pool party/cookout followed by actually moving out…and into my new adorable house. And on top of that, I have a foodie trip to Austin, weddings for people I like a whole awful lot and my first ever trip to Chicago (hello, new year’s resolution being met!).

So now I’m passing it on, what would you most like to do right now?

Adventures in Quinoa

~ Sarah ~ 2 Comments

gluten-free, dairy-free, mostly sugar-free apple crisp dessert recipe

Somehow my busy weekend managed to feel slow-paced, which brought some much needed de-stressing to stop my lungs from attempting to squeeze my sternum right out of my body (…too graphic?). After some sunny, windows-down drives listening to my 90’s Pop Pandora station and admiring the buildings through downtown Dallas, I settled in for another one of my favorite stress-busting activities – baking. I put in a DVD from The OC: Season 1 and got to work.

While apple crisp is commonly a fall dessert, the lemons in this recipe make this a refreshing dish. Plus the fact that it’s gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free (okay, so there’s maybe just a tiny bit of optional honey) make it a light treat that also happens to be relatively healthy.

healthy, vegan apple crisp dessert

Ingredients

  • 2 granny smith apples
  • 2 small lemons
  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 1 cup of water
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons of honey
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup gluten-free flour (Ex: Bob’s Red Mill All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour)
  • Cinnamon, nutmeg and salt
  • Oil spray

Quinoa

Combine rinsed quinoa with the water, vanilla, honey, one squeezed lemon juice, its lemon zest, olive oil and a dash or two of cinnamon. Bring to boil, cover and reduce to simmer. After 15-20 minutes, test-fluff the quinoa. If it’s still a little wet / clumpy, just recover, turn to low and let sit until dry. When ready, turn off stove and leave covered.

healthy dessert recipe

Prep

Very lightly coat pan with oil spray. Peel apples (I only partially peeled mine to get a little mixed texture from the apple skin). Thinly slice apples – the thinner, the easier they’ll cook through. Fill the pan halfway.

Dust with a handful of flour then with nutmeg and cinnamon to taste. Squeeze a little of the second lemon and sprinkle a pinch of salt over the apples.

Mix cooked quinoa with flour then sprinkle the mixture evenly until all apples are covered. Spray one light coat of oil over the top.

Bake

350 degrees until top is crispy and edges are starting to brown (25-35 minutes).

healthy apple crisp recipe

Enjoy!

A job or ‘the’ job?

~ Sarah ~ 1 Comment

ashley olsen work styleworking desk and coffeeworking women style  

This is a kinda a big week for me professionally, so I’ve spent a lot of time pinpointing work-related hopes and frustrations lately. While attempting to do so I stumbled across a Forbes article. Titled “Why we need to take 20-somethings seriously,” I was initially excited to find another semi-rare article listing the pros we could offer the work world rather than the cons. So imagine my surprise when I clicked through to read how 20-somethings are supposedly falling behind in the career world because we’re falling prey to the idea that now is our time of life for exploration and experimenting.

From the article: “The biggest myth is that the 20s are a time to think about what you want to do,” notes Jay. “That doesn’t work. You basically know what you want. Just start, and get the best job you can get.”

Between this and the suggested article, “How I Became a 21-Year-Old Business Executive,” all I have to say is, thanks for helping lower my already increasing stress levels, Forbes. On the bright side, at least these articles are saying we can and should have a place professionally rather than make our age out to be a hindrance, which is what I sometimes feel.

Maybe it’s the perfectionist in me or a product from our culture, but part of what stresses me out is I can’t get away from the idea that there’s a perfect job for me somewhere…if only I could somehow find it. The thing is, I’m quite happy where I am. But there’s always a part of me wondering, but could I be happier?

Unfortunately, I don’t have any real solutions for anyone else in the same boat. While I’ll be acknowledging these “grass is always greener” scenarios with some research and deep-thinking, I’ve decided I also need to devote less of my thought life to these ambitions and more time being the best I can right here.

So there you have it…my weekly (and probably lifelong) professional goal for finding Tiffany’s. I’d love to know what you think about the articles, too!

Let the countdown begin

~ Sarah ~ Leave a comment

I recently came to the conclusion that teachers are smarter than the rest of us.

Not only do they get the satisfaction that comes from a noble, rewarding job and (hopefully) cute kids, but they also get the entire summer off to do whatever their hearts desire. Maybe I’m the only one that saw High School Musical 2, but since May has arrived all of two days ago all I can hear in my head is the semi-creepy whispering from the movie’s opening number: “summer summer summer.”

I’ve heard the magic of summertime is supposed to fade just a little bit post-graduation, but this 20-something girl can always make time for a little summer fun in her work day. Of course, Texas weather loves to remind me that I may be jumping the summer gun, as outside is now gloomy, windy and expecting temps in the 30’s. Minnesota is even in the middle of a snowstorm for goodness sake! But sitting at my desk in front of a space heater and looking at these fun (and free!) Paperless Post invites, I can’t help but get excited about all the upcoming opportunities for friends and sunshine. On Monday I shared that one goal for making the most of my current apartment before my impending move will be to host a going away pool party / cookout. Thanks to these loverly invites, I’m proud to announce, mission accomplished.

paperless post summer invites 1 paperless post summer invites 2

Do you have any fun summer plans in the works or am I the only one counting down the days until we can make this summer thing official?

Making room for changes

~ Sarah ~ 2 Comments

change

We cannot become what we want to be by remaining what we are. — Max DePree

Isn’t it funny how our minds unconsciously prepare us for upcoming change? I know, I was just writing about how I’m making a conscious effort to live in the moment and appreciate where I am now before I move. Even so, as I rolled into work a tad on the late side this morning I caught myself cursing traffic and thinking, “I can’t wait until I move in a month and don’t have to deal with this traffic anymore.”

Mind you, my new home will not be any closer to work than I am now. In fact, traffic could even be probably will be worse on that side of town. But it’s like the promised newness is a glittery object  (preferably from Anthropologie) dangling in front of me that I can’t help but mesmerizingly coo “oooh pretty” with arms outstretched.

Rather than look at this as a bad thing, I’ve realized it’s actually a coping mechanism of sorts. I’m soon closing the “post-grad firsts” chapter of my life, and my mind is just helping me prepare for a smooth transition to whatever is next. Instead of wanting to hold on tightly to what I have now out of comfort, nostalgia, fear or laziness, my mind is letting me acknowledge those minor details that aren’t 100% awesome to fuel anticipation of all that’s to come.

So, May marks the last month of my South Dallas home and roommates, and I plan to make the most of it by…

  • Spending as many sunny afternoons at the rooftop pool as I can, even if it’s just for the last hour of sun after work.
  • Actually using my apartment’s gym.
  • Hosting a going away party, preferably pool-side of course. 
  • Finally photographing my favorite buildings, painted walls and random art structures throughout South Dallas.
  • Riding the DART…somewhere.

southside sign

The “path” to success

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success-graph-demetri-martin-squiggly-line

The never-ending struggle between my so-called practicality and adventure-hungry spirit was brought to the forefront a lot this week with conversations about career next steps, how to find your passions, random entrepreneur ideas and even this blog post by A Cup of Jo aptly called…Success.

As I was talking about my growing obsession with Istanbul and (unrelated) business partnership ideas, I heard myself talking and thought, “Hey, this actually sounds like it makes a lot of sense.”

But I have a confession to make.

A lot of times those ideas don’t sound plausible.

A lot of times I think I need to keep working, to keep advancing.

A lot of times I think there’s only one way to get “there.”

A lot of times I hear about friends traveling around the world, taking a year off work to pursue their passions or starting their own companies and I think, “That’s SO great!! ….for YOU.”

But why not me? I highly subscribe to the idea that success means different things to different people. Now I just need to figure out what that means to me. In the meantime, I’m thinking hard about this success chart and being encouraged by it.

What does your path to success look like?

Planning for now

~ Sarah ~ Leave a comment

sunshinewe are alive print

After months of feeling ‘eh’ and a week and a half where I literally didn’t leave my apartment, I finally feel like I’m getting back to myself and to my life. My planner had become accustomed to such neglect that it’s not sure what to do with all this one-on-one attention now. It truly is like the post-pill popping portion of those allergy commercials…I’m basically pushing back the curtains to let in blinding light and running through a flower-filled meadow as we speak.

This past weekend was filled with three of my closest friends, an art party aka my new favorite Dallas event – the DADA Art Walk, reaching new poses at Super Yoga Palace and reminiscing on high school days at The Rocket Summer concert / dance party. Instead of being completely wiped out from the weekend, like I would have when submerged in allergy-related sickness, I woke up this morning energized for the week and summer ahead. This year’s new bathing suit, check. New Home Pinterest board, check. Plane ticket bought and time off approved, check and check!

All this planning has got me quite excited for the fun ahead, but my favorite part is that for once I’ve managed to keep my balance between the doing and planning so far. It’s easy for me to get lost in the plans and possible scenarios instead of making the most of the time that’s going on right now. New changes are just one month away, making being present in this time even sweeter.

This week my only goal is to continue this momentum, which will require even more of my previously mentioned mindfulness and thankfulness. After all, sometimes goals take more than just one week to master!

And of course, since no life moment would be complete without a corresponding movie quote, I’ll leave you with this little nugget from the always fantastic Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the always fantastic 10 Things I Hate About You…”And I’m back in the game!”

Inspiration: Gwyneth Paltrow

~ Sarah ~ 3 Comments

gwyneth paltrow gwyneth paltrow

I can’t say I’ve given much thought to Gwyneth Paltrow in the past aside from the occasional movie, red carpet dress or snicker at her daughter’s name (Apple). But all that started to change when I read about her new cookbook, It’s All Good, on one of my favorite blogs, A Piece of Toast. Celebrating all the reasons they love Gwyneth is a fond pastime for their blog, and I have to say, I’m starting to get it. I love that she’s family-focused, seemingly very genuine and follows her heart in pursuing a variety of interests instead of pigeonholing herself or letting others do so.

True, her cookbooks have come with some criticism. The Huffington Post likened the cookbook to flipping through a  J. Crew catalogue (um, why is that ever a bad thing?). Others have made fun of some recipes’ obvious or simple nature. But you know, that’s exactly why I like it. Pouring through the pages as the type of cook who has youtube-d “how to cut broccoli” and “how to cut eggplant” in the past couple months alone, I find the way she describes the book, organizes the recipes and details them quite helpful. Does she have a “recipe” for how to hard boil an egg? Yes. But I’ve seriously had some bad egg boiling experiences in the past so I welcome the break down! She also has a great section about stocking your pantry, which taught me a lot about different types of food and their uses / combinations.

Gwyneth (after this many nights reading her book we’re on a first name basis) is…

  • Inspiring me to learn more about food, nutrition and cooking.
  • Inspiring me to continue living a healthy life starting with what food I put inside me.
  • Inspiring me to look for more opportunities to love on people through food and hospitality.

Tax-free treats

~ Sarah ~ Leave a comment

gluten dairy free turnover recipe

Doing your own taxes is an adulthood rite of passage all must face at some point or another…unless you happen to be one of those girls whose dad does it for you until you get married, at which point your husband does it for you.

I am not one of those girls.

Entering the “Adults who do their own taxes” club is particularly celebratory because of how deeply I dread it each year. Last year I was supposed to do my own taxes, only to practically cause my phone water damage from tearfully calling my dad until he took pity on me. But this year, I vowed to confront my fear of taxes like the independent, most-of-the-time intelligent woman I am…after months of procrastination of course.

I can’t really explain my somewhat irrational fear of taxes, but it probably has something to do with the shaming from seeing my total made versus the total in my bank account, the fact that I literally don’t understand a word of IRS-speak, the frustration from not understanding, the feeling of stupidity that follows for getting so terribly lost in those forms and the pressure of sending it off to the government, who I hear could really make my life hell if I screw it up. It’s all an awful lot for a perfectionist to take.

Despite my best efforts, some tears and multiple phone calls to my boyfriend, bank and TurboTax later, I finally filed my own taxes. Now let’s just hope I did them correctly?

It’s enough to make a girl stress eat, but my allergy elimination diet (ONE more week!) has me avoiding a lot of my typical edible solutions. Fruit is pretty much my only allowed source of sweetness, so I adapted my favorite low-fat pie crust recipe to make fruit turnovers. This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free / vegan and added sugar free, so eat, eat eat away!

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/3 cup Gluten-Free Flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill Mix)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup oil
  • 3 tablespoons non-dairy milk (I used flax milk)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Fruit of your choice (I used peaches, strawberries and blackberries)

Directions:

gluten dairy free turnover recipe

  • Slice your desired fruit up into small bits.
  • Mix the dry ingredients in a medium – large bowl.

gluten dairy free turnover recipe

  • Mix the wet ingredients in a small bowl.
  • Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well – It should look just like pie crust dough now, so if it’s still crumbly add equal parts milk (for crisp flakiness) and oil (for soft, anti-crumbliness) until it is malleable and crumble-free.

gluten dairy free turnover recipe

  • Roll out the dough and use a small bowl to cut the bottom of the turnover out. Sometimes this dough is hard to maneuver, so I rolled mine very thin straight on the cooking pan sheet.
  • Place your fruits of choice in the center of the dough circles on the pan.

gluten dairy free turnover recipe

  • Peel the remaining dough off the pan and roll out on your counter to cut the turnover tops out with a slightly larger bowl. The tops will probably need to be rolled thicker than the bottoms and picked up with a spatula so they don’t rip.
  • Seal with a fork pressed around the edges, then cook at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes. You may want to bake them for an additional 5 minutes at 425 or 450 for extra crispness (I did). 

gluten dairy free turnover recipe

Enjoy your basically healthy treats and cheers to ten months of no taxes!

A super start

~ Sarah ~ 6 Comments

Super Yoga Palace Dallas Deep EllumSuper Yoga Palace Dallas Mural

When Lydia and I first started this blog, the first topic was obvious: What does Finding Tiffany’s even mean for us? Figuring out what my goals were and where my dreams lay took a lot of soul-searching, but I eventually settled on a version of my life “to do list”. Some of those dreams and priorities have shifted a little since, but it has still been a great diagnostic to hold myself accountable for making forward momentum in my life.

One of those goals involved more yoga, but not just any yoga anywhere. For months turning into years I longed to try yoga at Super Yoga Palace near downtown Dallas. After researching Dallas’ yoga offerings, everything I found about this place seemed like just what I was looking for – a casual environment that embraces the yogi lifestyle with a variety of classes that really teach every aspect, not just lead. It’s also aesthetically pleasing with a huge mural and indie music I’d listen to outside of yoga class. In addition to a happy hour after Friday’s class, they even have a class where everyone brings their favorite vinyls to play during the practice. Sold.

This morning I had my second class. Nothing like starting your day feeling physically accomplished, mentally (and literally) stretched and emotionally rested!

Not only is this a check on the to do list, but it has also inspired a new goal. I’ll be making this a weekly affair, hopefully even trying out another class or two. I’m excited to see how my practice improves and hey, the stress-reducing / fitness benefits don’t hurt either!