Author: Sarah

Appreciating the here and now

~ Sarah ~ 1 Comment

rita schiano thankfulness quote

I lost it in my car the other day.

Let’s back up. It had been a rough day at work, it was very late and for some reason there was traffic backing up my exit at 10 p.m. forcing me to take the back way through South Dallas to my apartment. Now, this is always tricky. I miss my unmarked turn home every time, ending up lost in the kind of area you don’t want to get lost in. I was determined that this would not be the case this time. No, this time I would see that turn coming. This time I would make it home in the same amount of time my phone tells me the trip should actually take.

This did not happen.

So I yelled and screamed in my car as I made the seemingly giant loop to get back around town to my apartment…and then I looked up to find the most beautiful bridge and view I think I can safely say in all of Dallas. It was like magic, driving into the darkness along the empty stone bridge lined with glowing, old-fashioned street lamps and a perfect view of the Dallas skyline peeking over the far edge. SO worth the detour.

Why am I telling you this? Ironically, less than 20 minutes earlier I had been telling my friends how I want to work on thankfulness. I realized I had somehow become immune to the blessings around me…life, other people, random little things and even personal gifts and talents. I committed to more actively appreciating situations and people throughout my day…and promptly resorted back to frustration the second something wasn’t going my way. Seeing that bridge put me in my place, reminding me of my commitment and calling out just how quick I was to forget it.

So now I’m telling you, too: I’m working on my thankfulness. There are so many things to appreciate about life, especially right now! Working on my appreciation is also a great way to keep me rooted in the present, to dream about the future without getting stuck in it. It never fails – whenever I look back on a time of my life, even one that frankly didn’t seem so great at the time, I think about how happy / meaningful / edifying it actually was. Wouldn’t it be awfully sad to later look back on this time so fondly and realize we didn’t appreciate it to the fullest when it was actually here?

Here’s some things I’m thankful for right now:

  • airline miles.
  • parents who have those miles to generously donate.
  • straws.
  • sunshine.
  • friends who wait for you despite 25 minutes of traffic.
  • pay day yesterday.
  • patios.
  • co-workers who genuinely like each other.
  • blogging.
  • free film screening tickets.
  • community.
  • my perfect apartment.
  • tv time with the roommates.
  • friends that tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear.
  • sweet potatoes.
  • excited new home decor planning
  • carpooling.
  • dinner plans.
  • podcasts.

Oh, and if you ever have the chance to drive on the Corinth Street Bridge at night DO IT.

Starting from scratch

~ Sarah ~ Leave a comment

fresh vegetables - quinoa saladcooking quinoaquinoa salad recipe  

My on-again, off-again relationship with my kitchen has been going steady for years, but my new gluten, dairy, and heck, everything free diet has forced me to spend much more quality time with my pots and pans as of late. 

I mean, I’ve always like the idea of cooking. But it just takes so long, ingredients can get a little pricey when you’re just cooking for one and it seems like an awful lot of effort to start from scratch after fighting traffic home from a long day at work. I knew if this month-long commitment for a healthier me was going to be successful, I was going to need a plan.

For the first week or so, I spent an afternoon making a huge bowl of white rice and grilling chicken kebabs with different seasonings so I could easily grab a perfectly-portioned meal whenever I was hungry or frantically trying to get out the door for work. Some vegetables helped liven up the rice every day, and I treated myself to the most adorable sectioned container to pack everything in. Luckily, my three years of work at an Asian restaurant also prepared me to not only eat, but enjoy rice for meals on end.

But nobody can eat rice 24/7, so this week I’m venturing into all the possibilities of quinoa. My experience with this grain can be summed up by the embarrassing fact I was walking around pronouncing it “Kwin-oh-uh” for far too long than I care to admit…My mind was blown to learn this is the exact same food as that grain everyone pronounces “Keen-whah”. Who knew?! Well, probably you did, but there you go.

I cooked this quinoa substituting half the water with chicken stock, then added basil, cucumbers, grape halves and a little olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Quinoa cooks just like rice, and I can’t stress enough to make sure you don’t add too much liquid. My first batch of quinoa came out a little lot on the wet side, which is not nearly as appetizing as the dryer, store-bought quinoa I’ve had before. I’d also advise drizzling the olive oil on top just before serving/eating, rather then mixing it in advance. Not only does this keep the salad from getting too moist, but it looks nice on the plate, too!

Seeing skyscrapers: A love affair

~ Sarah ~ 1 Comment

new york citynew york city buildingnew york building tribecca Heineken adnew york city central park 

My one year anniversary is almost here! …The anniversary of my first trip to New York City that is. I always thought I would like New York, but nothing prepared me for how infectious the unique combination of nostalgia, success and so much more would be. That city just has momentum, you know?

I’ve never been the type to get all choked up about goodbyes with people. But when I left New York, I truly felt a twinge of sadness. Okay fine, at that immediate moment making my way towards the airport I felt exhausted and possibly just a tad hungover from one of the best weeks of my life. But that next week watching Gossip Girl, I couldn’t care less what annoying thing Dan was doing this time, because all I was watching was the city. My chest literally ached to be there again.

Why am I not there right now? Well, it all goes back to that conversation about settling I mentioned a couple posts ago. If I’m being honest the reason I didn’t move to New York or even pursue a job there after graduation was that I was scared. Scared of not having enough money. Scared of finding a place to live. Scared of not finding a job.

I’m realizing though that this is pretty stupid. In life I’m never going to feel I have enough money or always have certainty about what’s next. This is why (or so I’m told) being in your twenties is so brilliant! This is the time when we’re supposed to be trying new places and jobs out, going for those dreams…and still have plenty of time to pick ourselves up if we fall.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m still scared. But I’m sticking my toes out in the water, exploring my options for making this dream come true. If you have any words of wisdom I’d love to hear them! For now, I’ll leave you with this quote from Michael Bloomberg:

And because no matter who you are, if you believe in yourself and your dream, New York will always be a place for you.

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Kicking a sweet habit

~ Sarah ~ 4 Comments

sprinkles cupcakes

Hello, my name is Sarah and I’m a functioning sugar addict. I was living in a world dictated by cravings that controlled when, how often and what I ate. I was never satisfied or “full” until having something sweet, no matter how small, after every meal. I couldn’t say no to food junk that was anywhere within about a 25-foot radius or if I was alone, stop eating it until it was gone, I felt sick or both. I say “functioning” because despite this weak spot, no, weak crater, I still ate relatively healthy, well-balanced meals and have always been one those much-hated people who maintain a pretty thin figure with low to moderate exercise. I know…disgusting.

I even–this is embarrassing–resorted to eating cookies for breakfast…on more than one occasion. Thinking back on those times I can’t help but hear Kate Winslet in my head from The Holiday scene where she sniffs stove gas after learning douchy Jasper is engaged, “Low point…low point!”

I’ve read plenty before how damaging sugar and even “healthy” or “natural” sugar substitutes can be on our health. So, after some fear and quite a lot of skepticism of my own willpower, I made the commitment to give up sugar for three months. That’s right, I haven’t eaten added sugar, dessert or even food with over 5 grams of sugar (if I could help it) since January 4.

Of course, I’ve been dreaming for April 1 to come around, trying to decide which dessert will be my first back in the game, and let’s not kid ourselves, is there really any competition where Sprinkles cupcakes are concerned?

Meanwhile, I was still dealing with quite a lot of compounding chronic issues that were really starting to bring me down physically, emotionally and mentally. After countless hours of research and doctor visits, I finally landed on some au natural health solutions that have made a HUGE difference in how I look and feel every day. In addition to taking about 16 supplements and drinking 90+ ounces of water a day, making my own soap with baking soda and rinsing each load of laundry with vinegar, this treatment plan also includes a strict (and temporary, thank God) diet. Interestingly MIRACULOUSLY enough, after not eating processed food, wheat/yeast, dairy, sugar and so much more for only just one week, my issues have all but vanished along with literally all my cravings (which people claim disappear when you just give up sugar, but mine held stubbornly intact).

So ironically, today would have been the first day I could eat sugar again, and I actually don’t even want any. Ladies and gentleman, this is what real freedom looks like.

Another fun side effect of this new diet is the unavoidable need to get creative in the kitchen. So I’ll be having some of those tasty results coming your way soon. In the meantime if this sounds familiar, you want to jump on my health bandwagon or are just plain curious here are my two favorite resources: I Quit Sugar by Sarah Wilson (the e-book) and Allergies: Disease in Disguise by Carolee Bateson-Koch.

quote - she believed she could so she did

My dream weekend

~ Sarah ~ Leave a comment

ten-broeck-by-messana-o-rorkeLow bed envy: 11 home inspiration photos

seattle sunsetSeattle dreaming: all the details on Seattle’s neighborhoods

Today my brain is all over the place, which makes it actually kinda the perfect weekend to have the boyfriend and two of my closest friends out of town.

This weekend I’ve got a date with myself. I’m going to hole up, read, think and journal. I keep coming back to a conversation I had last weekend about settling and wondering, am I settling at all? At work, relationships, life…sometimes it’s good to check-in for a little personal diagnostic and make sure everything’s “on track.” There’s so many things I want to do and places I want to see that I haven’t thought about in awhile. It’s time to bring those dreams up again and maybe even focus in on new ones.

Part of the reason I might be thinking about dreams and new experiences might be more than a little inspired by co-blogger Lydia’s fantastic European adventure. You might have noticed her absence this past week (I know I have!), but rest assured she’s having the time of her life, with the instagram feed to prove it.

Here’s to a productive, thoughtful weekend!

follow your dreams quote

Finding…mindfulness.

~ Sarah ~ 1 Comment

mind over matterliving in the present quoteSigh… Mondays.

See, I’m not usually one of those people who dread Mondays and complain about their jobs. But I’m not going to lie, I started this morning groaning out of bed and maybe getting just a little bit sassy at other drivers. But reality finally checked in, reminding me just how much I have to be thankful for. It’s easy to get bogged down in all the things that don’t go exactly the way I want them to, which in my case consists largely of having an uncomfortable, embarrassing and altogether exhausting allergic reaction going on the three month mark.

As an interviewee said on NPR this morning, and I paraphrase: It’s like when you’re driving. You don’t think much of the green lights because you just keep going. But those red lights make you stop, make you wait, can even make you late. People invariably end up saying, “Ahh I hit some red lights,” not “I hit some green lights.”

I know I need to spend more time meditating on my own green lights to get myself through the red ones. And I think practicing a little more mindfulness is just the thing to help me do that.

I’ve been reading a book called My Year With Eleanor, in which author Noelle Hancock writes, “Mindfulness is a technique where you concentrate on the present experience without judging or trying to control what is going on. To be fully aware….It helps you stay in the present, where fear does not exist.” One Apartment Therapy article calls mindfulness “an accepting and kind attitude toward yourself and your present moment experience…that will change your relationship to life.”

Here are some tips for practicing more mindfulness, which are all part of my plan this week to try staying gracefully in the present and practice more acceptance:

Change the day’s first words. Waking up and indulging groans and dread for the day sets my attitude, and therefore, perception for at least the next three hours. Complaining is a habit, and I’d like to train my brain to not jump straight into it every morning.

Put. the phone. down. How many times do I re-check email, refresh Facebook on my browser, scroll through Twitter, and when all that still fails to entertain, turn to other apps to see what latest GroupOns are featured and which new pug is on @PugsofInstagram, only to repeat the process? I waste so much time with absent-minded scrolling.

Be thankful for waiting. It’s so easy to fall into a pattern of going and then get frustrated when something jars me out of that by making me wait. Instead, this moment that I can’t force into productivity is a fantastic opportunity to breathe and think without feeling guilty.

Dedicate time to just sit. Not in front of the tv, with a book, food or even a cup of coffee. Just me, being still. A word of warning, when you try this one in bed, at night, with a relaxing cool eye mask on…this also turns into a fantastic way to accidentally fall asleep. As I learned from personal experience.

What helps you relax and think more on the positive side of things?

Free Food + A Passion For Purple

~ Sarah ~ 1 Comment

lilac nail polish

a beautiful mess lavender ice cream recipe

This week my goals are to get back on track with my finances and fitness…purely coincidental these two fall at the same spot on the alphabet, too. Not only did I put myself on a strict budget (is it possible to have a social life on $30 of fun money a week?) and actually make it a couple flights up to my apartment’s gym (really, it’s so close, I have no excuse), but the universe also decided to send me a little note of encouragement the other day at work.

A co-worker turned around randomly and said, “I’m so excited about my free dinner tonight thanks to this Dallas women’s dinner club that’s also free to join.” Working in an all-female office, you’d swear heads have never looked up faster at the promise of free food. A free dinner club that gives women free dinner at participating Dallas restaurants three nights a week? Well, I checked out the Dame’s Dinner Club on Facebook and you could say it is fate that their cover photo is none other than our hero Audrey Hepburn. With a reservation, women eat free off a special menu at Sfuzzi’s Tuesday, The Standard Pour Wednesday and Villa-O Thursday. My only question is, who wants to go and how soon?

Completely unrelated but brightening my week more than it rationally should is some new nail polish and my growing obsession with lavender (like this lavender ice cream recipe from A Beautiful Mess!). Dallas has been bright and just the right amount of warm this week, and I’ve decided that the best way to celebrate spring is with all things light purple and lavender. A purchase of Sally Hansen’s Lacey Lilac nail polish and about an hour of nail-painting later (that right hand is just so hard…), my light but bright purple nails were ready to go. Am I the only one who feels like even the most mundane tasks are that much more fun when your nails look good doing them?

D.C. life

~ Sarah ~ 1 Comment

Newseum in DC - first amendment DC brunch - ardeo + bardeo DCnewseum - good photography quote Newseum - Berlin Wall artNewseum freedomGoing into my long weekend, I have to say I was a little skeptical about D.C. After living nearby in Virginia for several, albeit younger, years and a couple visits later, I still wasn’t sold on the magic of our capitol city. As far as U.S. cities go, New York, Seattle, Austin and Boston inspired an instant infatuation that has only grown stronger since my last visits. Los Angeles won me over with one of the best weeks of my life, and let’s face it, I’ve always been a self-proclaimed California girl at heart (with the birth certificate location to match, thank you very much)!

While I still don’t feel like I really “know” D.C. after this weekend’s trip, I can now say that I do see why people like it and have deemed it worth further exploration. Despite the too close for comfort winter storm warning, my trip enjoyed fantastically sunny weather with just the right amount of morning chill. On top of the weather, I also had some pretty good food, including a completely perfect brunch at Ardeo + Bardeo (great food, menu, atmosphere, service all with bottomless mimosas at decent prices) and a special night thanks to my cousin at Matchbox. Seeing his culinary success firsthand and hearing our waiter tell me, “We always take care of family,” filled me with Italian pride. And as this is probably the strongest familial, food-related pride there is, that’s really saying something.

Now it’s back to real life, and I’m taking this as the perfect opportunity to get back on track with a lot of real life things.

Between the traveling, health costs and a growing combination of laziness/never enough time, my budget has really gone out the window this year. I literally cannot afford to keep carrying on this way, so I’ll be taking stock this week, re-prioritizing expenditures and brainstorming some hopefully cheaper ways to continue exploring Dallas.

I’m forcing myself to write this next one as I’m really not feeling the motivation, but I know I’ll thank myself later…It’s er…well, time to start working out again. There, I said it, and if I’m being honest, I’m even feel a little relieved. I will be adding a couple yoga classes to my week, at least one (although I could probably stand more) runs, and looking for ways to be more active in general. Have you been seeing all the buzz lately about how bad sitting all day is for us? I’m feeling a little more motivated already…

Soundtrack to spring

~ Sarah ~ Leave a comment

crate & barrel spring playlist 2crate & barrel spring playlist 1crate & barrel spring inspiration catalogI’m not going to lie…today I was feeling less than inspired. After work, I found myself in that uncomfortable restlessness in between simultaneously feeling like taking a nap and working out (which meant I was probably leaning more towards taking a nap).

Despite myself, I found myself calling Lydia for a walk along along the Katy Trail, followed by guacamole and an early birthday margarita at Katy Trail Ice House. On beautiful 75 degree days like this and some endorphins later, I have to admit that I kinda see what all the fuss is about Dallas. Seeing my city from along the Katy Trail is a unique vantage point that really made me appreciate Dallas. I love that I can walk two miles on tree-lined paths over busy streets and highways, then sit under the stars and lights surrounded by other people and their pets, just having a great time with good friends, food and drinks.

The warmer weather is getting me excited to spend as much time outdoors as possible, so it’s extremely fortunate I happened across these spring-y playlists by Crate & Barrel today. So far, they’re just the right mix of new yet nostalgic, light and optimistic – and oh yeah, did I mention free?

Download the playlists…then tell me you’re not just a little more inspired, too.

Welcoming the weekend

~ Sarah ~ Leave a comment

happy saturday

I have a backseat of things I’ve been meaning to return for months, an apartment that could probably stand a deep-cleaning and other assorted errands to run…

But today these can wait.

Today is for sleeping in, laughing to the latest episode of New Girl with my roommate and some gluten-free pancakes, reading (and finally finishing) The Tipping Point, listening to my Stars Pandora station, not wearing real pants (here’s looking at you, leggings), burning my Seashore candle, opening the windows to enjoy some fresh air and watching a movie or two.

How are you spending your weekend?