I’m always commenting on the things that I think are life’s little joys, and only today did it hit me that that would be a great name for my Things I Love Thursdays. While there are a few big things that affect my life week to week, it’s the stupid little things day to day that break or make my days. Here’s a few from this week in particular, and some from the past year:
The ladies above. There’s really no more to be said, I just really like ‘em. I took this picture from out the window while we drove home in one of their teeny little cars with a bicycle taking up the entire back. But! Now we all have bicycles and are starting a bike gang, ha.
This website, Dear Blank, Please Blank. Some of my favorites: “Dear people brushing their teeth in movies, please show me how you keep all the toothpaste in your mouth. Sincerely, I look like a rabid dog.” “Dear men, we like you in uniforms because it means you have jobs. Sincerely, women everywhere.” “Dear Hallmark, please make one of your recordable cards that looks like a Howler. Sincerely, Harry Potter fans.” Also, I really like their website design.
That one of the men who voiced Mickey Mouse and the woman who still voices Minnie Mouse were married in real life. Real-life example of Disney magic.
The food blogs/websites that I’ve been reading religiously since losing 30 pounds and going vegetarian- Hungry Girl, Gina’s Skinny Taste, Vegan Yum Yum, Smitten Kitchen, and Fat Free Vegan.
Hungry Girl just got their own tv show on the Food Network, so they’re not such a secret anymore, but I still enjoy reading their daily emails full of healthy food tips and tricks, as well as product reviews. Sometimes the recipes involve too many processed ingredients, like low calorie sweeteners and 100-calorie packs, etc., but the Hungry Girl, Lisa Lillien, is such a funny cornball, and I still love it.
I don’t know how I stumbled upon Skinny Taste, but it was my absolute go-to website when I was losing weight. She’s got a lot of great recipes, and she calculates the Weight Watchers points for all of them. I think one of my secrets to success in losing weight was serious repetition; it was downright boring, but I would make something and eat it for a week. Gina’s recipes were great for that, because she was making things for her whole family. Some of my favorites: Mango Nut Bread, Skinny Sloppy Joe’s, and the Black Bean, Avocado, Cucumber and Tomato Salad.
I discovered Vegan Yum Yum when I picked up her book at the library, and was instantly hooked. She hasn’t posted in ages, but I still love all of her recipes and the how down to earth she is; the fact that she’s taking all her own pictures just in her kitchen is really inspiring, too. Some favorites: Mini Coconut Blood Orange Bundt Cakes, Peanut Baked Tofu with Spiced Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Mustard Greens, and How to Slice a Mango (so the last one’s a bit silly, but I never knew how before!).
Smitten Kitchen pretty much breaks all my rules for food blogging; she isn’t vegan/vegetarian and she doesn’t post the nutritional information for her recipes, but I still found myself coming back to her site. Her pictures and recipes just look sooo good! Some of my favorites: Sweet Potatoes with Pecans and Goat Cheese, Bulgur Salad with Chickpeas and Red Peppers, and Martha’s Macaroni and Cheese (this last one’s technically not hers, but I discovered it through her site, and it was such a hit around here, I’ve made it three times for the boys.)
I love the Fat Free Vegan site because SusanV is a real mother, trying to cook good, healthy things for her family. This is kind of terrible, but sometimes when she talks about what her daughter will and will not eat, I think of Michael and R, and what things I’ll eat that they definitely won’t. It also brings up the idea of raising my children vegan, and how it would go. (Of course, Michael isn’t and will probably never be vegan, but we’ve talked about it, and think it’s important to give our children the choice… sorry, tangent.) My favorite recipes from her site include: Skinny Figgy Bars (these were super good, and I can see myself experimenting easily with the recipe, which I enjoy), Ridiculously Easy Curry-Scrambled Tofu, and Stuffed Eggplants and Not-So-Dirty Rice.
I hope this isn’t TMI, but something I’ve really loved this past week is all the time Michael and I have spent literally wrestling and rolling around in the bed until we tire ourselves out and have to take a nap. Does anyone else do this? We’re like puppies, or small children; I loved when Michael told me it was some of his favorite times that we spend together, too.
The fact that I’ve been eating a lot of ice cream and frozen treats (see below), despite how absolutely freezing it has been lately. Case in point, when I got dressed to go out frisbee golfing in Golden Gate Park yesterday, I was one coat away from being dressed for New England winter. Wahh?!
My face here says it all, “I am freezing cold, but I want to eat this watermelon popsicle real bad. I’m having a conundrum.”
details: denim button down shirt (you really must think this is the only shirt I own. eh, you’d be close to right…) and white crocheted sweater, both from Lucky Brand; Oh boo, my jeans (Charlie Skinnies) are from Lucky Brand too; black military boots from Madewell; scarf and fingerless gloves, both thrifted/found; thrifted black and white sweater coat from Salvation Army in Livermore, CA (that is a little too big now but I can’t bear to get rid of it!); and black and white earrings, birthday gift last year from two of my favorite people in the world, Corey and Milo.
Speaking of those favorite people, check out Corey’s website, coreybanda.com. I love seeing what he’s been up to, what photography mediums he’s been working with. I also just watched a little clip online of the behind the scenes of the shows Milo’s been performing in, and got a little choked up. There are not many things that I miss, but those two… I’m going to book tickets to the East Coast soon soon soon.
Holy Gelato! I’d heard about this place a while ago, but hadn’t made it down there until yesterday. Someday I’ll do a full post on it, but above’s a little sneak peek. That’s right, all those flavors in that case are vegan! Hurray.
