Hello.

Its been a few days.

I wasn't sure if I would take a break for Christmas on this blog but it turns out I needed more then I knew. Not necessarily writing my blog but reading so many blogs and keeping up to date...its all out the window.

and it feels GREAT. taking time for myself.

I've rearranged my google reader to show which blogs I want to read every day and which ones I will reserve for weekends. I follow over 550 blogs so this is huge. And surprisingly there are only about 40 blogs that are near and dear enough to me to read every time they update.

2012 will be the year to streamline. my having a better and organized system in place it will let me take on the same number of projects but be able to to it in less time and still have time for myself.

I do love being busy though. its sort of a double edge sword. being busy makes me a better person. I feel more accomplished and I'd rather have too much going on then nothing. I don't know how people live without jobs or obligations and just float through days. not even possible for me.

_____

Peter and I leave for Montreal tomorrow morning. I couldn't be more excited. I haven't taken a real 'vacation' since I went to France over a year and half ago. It will be amazing.

xox

ten and two

ahahah these are seriously the best. 

I don't want to toot my own horn (totally do) but I am a pretty good driver. I can parallel park like nobody's business. 

Driving in Toronto is soooooo scary sometimes. People don't even use their brains. They just follow and when they see break lights just jam on their own brakes. Such a pet peeve! I hate when I'm in the fast lane and people brake for NO REASON. get out of my way. if your breaking in the fast lane you don't deserve to stay in the lane. Another pet peeve is people who lane change like its the indy 500 (a gradual transition is much safer) and people who check their blind spots for 20 seconds and then casually drift into another lane in the process. 

these cards are making my day. I wish it was easy to just hand these out to people. 

 found on Probably Best

bed-spiration

hello! I really need to redo my whole bedroom. Its not working for me right now. 

My current bed frame is way to big for the space and the futon mattress that I am using is horrible. Not to mention any movement on the bed makes the entire side of the bed frame fall apart and the mattress falls through the slats. WORST mood killer ever. haha. 

also the slats on the bed are warped and because the futon mattress is so thin the entire bed is curved up at the sides and has a big dip in the center. super uncomfortable. 

Here is what I am looking for in a new bed frame. 

1) Storage - this is very important. Right now I have rolling under bed boxes that store a lot of my clothes in them and I won't have enough storage if I get rid of them. The new bed should have two or three drawers that pull out

2) Platform bed  - I think this makes the most sense with the drawers. also it will visually take up way less room if it is low to the floor. given that my current bed is a four poster bed, I think this will make a huge difference in how big and open the room looks. 

3) Natural wood . I want to incorporate more natural elements into the room. I'm not afraid of dark wood but it needs to be rustic and earthy. 

4) simple. simple is always best. 

If anyone has any thoughts, tips or ideas how to make a bed I am open! I would like to construct something myself or hack an existing frame to meet the requirements above. 

- Bed love -

 (this last one is from ikea and if I can't figure out how to make this myself it looks like a good fall back solution)
EDIT: Peter is going to help me and we are going to figure this out. fuck ikea. 

our shadows taller then our souls

blogs. how many do you read a day? 

I probably read way too many. but I love them and they are my relaxation. 

I promise in 2012 I am going to take control of my blog reading and be more selective. I only read a handful of blogs every day/every time they update but having so many blogs with 20+ unread blog posts in my google reader gives me un-needed stress.  

I have feelings of guilt over not reading posts in my google reader. thats silly right?

honesty. 

it is not the easiest thing for me. especially when I care so much about the persons feeling. 

I have realized that I look for honesty in others and want to always be given the honest truth so I must hold myself to the same standard. this is so much easier said then done but I am working on it. 

I need to look within myself and listen to how I really feel. I need to close my ears to the desires and expectations of others and do what feels the best for me. and then have the courage to stand up for that. 

procrastination. 

well for one thing this post has taken me three days to write. I'm the WORST for procrastination. and I hate it! I want to me better at this. I want to put things on my list and cross them right off. No need for things to drag on really. This is a goal for 2012. 

Another goal for 2012 is to go to the dentist. its been too long. 

I am not one to love the snow. and could really be very happy without it but...I also sort of feel like its not even christmas without it? 

I guess people in the southern regions of the world do without it all the time but for me, in Canada, its really just not christmas without it. and its even been so warm out lately that I forget its even winter! 

one of these pictures is Stevie Nicks. can you figure out which one?

I just wish there were more hours in the day! Or that I needed less sleep to be a decent person. 

all pictures from  the blog Earth Age

The 45 most powerful images of 2011

soup for the fridge cleaning soul

Hi Friends! Want to make the most delicious soup that is perfect for substitutions and adding a little bit of whatever is left in your fridge?

This soup is not vegetarian but could easily be by not adding any meat and using vegetable stock.

What you will need:
Onions
Garlic
1-2 cups of Heavy Cream
6 cups Stock (I used beef this time because thats what I had, but have used chicken and vegetable in the past)
1-2 cups of water
Potatoes
Sausage and or Bacon
Kale
red pepper flakes

What I added because I had it:
Broccoli
Carrots
Asiago Cheese
Leftover Pulled Pork (hah)
italian seasoning

The first time I made this I used bacon and it was very tasty although I would suggest chopping it up rather small before cooking it. I found the large bacon pieces got soggy in the soup and I didn't like that texture.

If your using bacon chop it up and throw it in your pot and start it cooking.

I didn't have any :(

So I started off with olive oil and sauteed the garlic and onions until soft. pretend I added the red pepper flakes here too. just photoshop them in with your mind.

Then I added the stock and some of the water. You can add more water later if you find your vegetables are overwhelming the amount of liquid.

To this I added my cheese rind (did you know when you buy fancy cheese you can save the cheese rind and freeze it? Its perfect for soups!!)

then I added some more cheese that was forgotten in the door of the fridge. My motto is you can never have to much cheese.

let this simmer away while you prep the potatoes. I like to cut them up and put them in a bowl and pretend i'm hosting a cooking show. don't lie I know you've done it too. 

cook the potatoes for a while (i'm very accurate) in the boiling water. maybe 10 minutes? I cut mine thinly so they would cook quickly and evenly. in the meantime you can prep the rest of your veggies.

then add the vegetables based on cooking times. brocolli and very thinly sliced carrots take about the same amount of time. if I had a pepper or green onion I would add this later. 

oh hey look! its the sausage that Ian cooked up for me while I was sweating my face off at pilates thinking about this soup. 

throw it all in! its just soup! you can't hurt it! 

let that simmer away until everything is cooked. 

While that is working its magic on the stove you can get the kale ready. Have you ever eaten kale? I'm pretty new to it but I looooooove it. so hearty and green! 

prepping kale is easy peasy. just rip the leaves off the heavy stalk

until you have a bare stalk! Just rinse it like lettuce and chop it up for the soup. I would suggest chopping it rather small (maybe 1 inch pieces, otherwise its sort of tricky to look like a lady when you eat it) 

alright so now you add your cream! 18% is all the fruit market I was at had, but you can buy even heavier cream. I won't tell.

add it to your soup! I added the whole carton because 

a) no one was looking

b) the whole purpose was to use up leftovers not create them

c) no one in my house is on a diet. in fact, I am trying to fatten Ian up for winter. 

pour it in...

keep adding it....

oh yeah the whole thing!

mix that around. it was around this time that I remembered I had leftover (un-sauced) pulled pork in the fridge. I threw it in! 

side note: when you add the cream you should turn down the heat. your in the final stages now

and here is why you shouldn't feel guilty about all that cream. 

oh yes. so green. so healthy. so tasty.

about now I added a BUNCH of pepper, some Italian seasoning (I put that shit in everything) and then decided I wanted it to be spicier. out comes the hot sauceeeeeee

ladle that around. pretend your on a cooking show for a while and talk about how easy this soup was. or not. whatever. its your show. 

can ladle be a verb?

yummmmmmmm finished product. soooo good. I just ate some for lunch! you can adjust the pepper and hot sauce ratio for each bowl too. Enjoy!

you're running at a different speed

hey oh 

so whats new. 

I had a very inspiring night last night. I relaxed for the first time in a VERY long time and you know what? I actually feel like I accomplished SO much by doing nothing. I was able to let my mind drift and explore. 

I filled four pages of notepad with ideas. 

I honestly don't do that enough. 

I've been thinking of having one night a week that I don't go online. don't use my phone for text or bbm. Don't watch shows or tv. (maybe a short phone call would be allowed, they always make me feel better)

Create things! enjoy spending quality time in my apartment. write letters. brainstorm future blog posts and write down goals. think about what I have done, where I am going, what I am going to do to get myself there. 

I don't do that enough. I go go go but don't take time to evaluate the effort. enjoy the results. 

I am learning. It doesn't come naturally to me. 

I spend so much time cleaning my apartment, thinking of ways to decorate it, researching ideas for it, walking around stores looking for things for it. 

Not enough time RELAXING in it. enjoying it. putting my feet up in it. 

its difficult to turn my brain off. when I am stressed I just want to keep working. get things crossed off the list so I can feel less stressed. but. yeah. that doesn't always work out. the list never seems to be that small. 

I wish etsy sellers would write in the listing that an item will take 2-3 weeks for delivery. Sort of a game changer.

I've officially made pilates a habit. whats that fact? 

if you can do it for 66 days (thanks google) you have created a new habit. 

its been a couple months now and I am still going strong. literally. getting stronger. 

it feels really good. honestly. sometimes it is a pain in the ass to go out in the cold and drive there but it always makes me feel better, have more energy, and more confident in my own skin. 

I used to look at people who went to the gym a couple times a week and ask how they motivated themselves to do it. 

the answer is simple. you just do it. 

my car is for sale right now. 

really no reason why I didn't list it sooner. 

its so unbelievably easy. 

and people are calling! 

I hope I sell it quickly. to think that I one day will not have to worry about it biting the dust is SUCH a relief. its a ticking time bomb. 

really looking forward to coming home this weekend. reallly really. 

its nice to be away from my apartment and its looming TO DO list and enjoy the company of others. be a guest. drink coffee in the evening. get advice from people who care. never look at the time. watch the sun come up. 

lately I've had such strong ties to the people from Lindsay. over the past few months I've become so close with SO many people and they are all amazing. 

Lindsay might have nothing to do, a huge drug and teen pregnancy problem and some seriously slow drivers, but i sort of love it. 

its a place where I know how to get everywhere. where people make time for what is important. where a smile from a stranger is common. 

and we make hella good ice cream too. 

this blog is such a part of me now. 

I know I don't have the followers or readership of others but I feel like the people who read this are of great quality. Its not a numbers game. I need to remember that. Sometimes I get down, I think, why does this person have 300 subscribers and they have only been blogging for a couple months? The answer doesn't matter. 

I've had a few people reach out and say my words have touched them. that means more to me than any statistic. Thats what I get satisfaction from. 

Have a wonderful day and don't forget to wish at 11:11.

xoxo