pumpkin fetish

I am so happy with life in general at the moment. Everything is trucking along almost suspiciously well (I will try not to overthink it though!).

I think I might be feeling happy because I am being my authentic self, when for a few years back there I got a bit lost with a party-girl image that didn't "fit" me entirely. I was drinking a lot of alcohol, going out several nights a week, not eating properly and burning the candle at both ends (staying out 'til 5am when I would have to be in the office at 8am!). I mean, it was ultimately worth it because I met Luke during that time and he is the absolute love and light of my life, but I do feel more like myself these days. A work in progress maybe, but I'm getting closer.

It was my one-month veganniversary yesterday and I totally forgot to acknowledge it! I guess maybe I did subconsciously acknowledge it by having a super healthy clean eating day yesterday (buckwheat porridge, a few dates, a big luscious salad for lunch and dinner, and homemade tofu/cacao pudding for dessert). The salad was amazing: roasted pumpkin, rocket lettuce, quinoa sprouts, toasted walnuts and raw pepitas with a dressing of flaxseed oil, raw apple cider vinegar and orange juice.

Of course, I just kind of ruined my whole saintly vibe by scarfing down 10 vegan chocolate-chip cookies. Whoops- sorry, my lovely body! Sometimes I just go crazy with food, like super-unpredictable.

Midday nap today, all tuckered out from work

Yum with a capital Y

Look at that riot of colour! Just gorgeous

wiping up spills

Uh oh, I made a green mess on the carpet while I was trying to take a silly selfie with the dog. Sorry Luke [Note to self: Toto does not enjoy taking selfies].

I have had a nice morning so far; woke up late drenched in sweat (thank you, glandy!), made some buckwheat porridge for breakfast, emptied the fruit and vegie scraps into the backyard so they can compost away merrily, had a shower, and put some coconut oil in my hair.

In other news, I heard super-gorgeous Australian actress Teresa Palmer is pregnant: congratulations Teresa! I read an interview once where she spoke about her closet obsession with pregnancy and birthing, and that she would love to be a doula someday. I think that is cute, and so it makes it extra special that she is going to have a little baby of her own now. I feel happy for her and her fiance. I want a little baby too, and I would give it cuddles and nurture it and be a good mama, but not until after the wedding. I just have to nurture my fur baby until then. Teresa apparently also likes green juice and Pilates, so I am sure we would totes get along great.

My body feels a little sore today...because...I went to yoga last night! And I loved it! The instructor was lovely, a girl asked me where I got my cute yoga mat from (thanks Mum!), and I felt very happy and calm at the end of the class. I feel proud that I went to the class, as I have a tendency to be a hermit and it takes a lot of energy for me to go out. Did someone say introvert? Oh well.

My bad

Some of my favourite foods, all together as one

winter wellness

Still struggling with a runny nose and sore throat from this cold I seem to have contracted!

I am home today, so I slept in, had a beautiful bowl of pink oats for breakfast, downed a jar of leftover green smoothie, and am now sipping on some homemade ginger tea to try and make myself feel better. It is pretty warm and nourishing, and is making my nose drip even more- get out, germs!

I have spent most of the day hunting down textbooks and reading my study material, which I am loving. I am also baking some daikon chips in the oven, and may or may not go to a yoga class tonight. Healing times.

Oats with berries, almonds, LSA, coconut oil and soymilk

sunday jobs

Holy moly we had a productive day today!

I woke up nice and early and went to the market with Mum, picking up some lovely organic Dutch Cream potatoes, some locally-made vegan macadamia lip balm, some mushrooms (grown by the sea!), a couple of Pink Lady apples and half of a large daikon radish. I went halves with my Mum because we are both too intimidated to take a whole one home- they are ridiculously large.

Got home, unloaded my items, and made my beautiful deserving fiance some pancakes, banana and an egg for breakfast. I chopped up fruit and made Crocodile Crunch for myself, and we ate breakfast on the couch, drank coffee and cuddled with the dog. I let her lick spirulina sauce off my finger, to her delight. So that was a totally gorgeous way to start the day. It is fortunate that we both had a nourishing breakfast because we really needed the fuel for the busy day ahead!

The next few hours were spent running vegetable patch-related errands (purchasing organic soil, sugarcane mulch, a shovel, and collecting some cardboard and newspaper to line it) and buying groceries. Luke built the frame and dug up soil for my vegetable patch, and we successfully chose a spot, lay down the frame, lined it and filled it with soil. Need to get some more tomorrow and will lay down the mulch tomorrow.

I made cauliflower soup while the boys dug in the garden and the dog ran around excitedly trying to help, then we all ate, and now we are going to chill out and watch some television. An excellent day!

I dabbed a bit of green sauce on her forehead for a laugh

mellowing out

I am having some quiet time today and tonight and I must say, I am rather enjoying it. I have placed a television ban on the house today and have instead been entertaining myself with calm things like sleeping, cuddling my dog, reading magazines, studying, cooking and watching videos about health and wellness from some of my favourite blogs. I am in the zone! Right now I have my oil burner gently flickering warmly to my left, study material to my right, earphones in, heater on, dog slumbering on the couch and black bean brownies baking away in the oven.

I am usually (somewhat ashamedly) a bit of a stress-head. I am not actually super busy due to my reduced work hours (still healing myself from glandular fever), but I do really need to stay on top of positive thinking to stay happy and calm. I think taking time out to just be myself, like I did today, is really important. I think everyone should take some time out occasionally and just be. Mum, are you listening?

Anyway, onto the food! Today I had a wholemeal bagel with Nuttelex, prunes, walnuts, coffee and banana for breakfast, then I ate an apple, a slice of organic fruit toast and some homemade trail mix later in the day. Dinner was sweet potato and lentil soup, and dessert will be brownies. I already ate half the batter as I was mixing it, but am still craving some more. Get out of the oven already!

Everybody get your calm on

How brownies are born

breaking out

I am feeling a bit under the weather at the moment; I am fighting a cold (my groggy head feels like it weighs a tonne!) and my skin has uncharacteristically broken out. I am optimistically saying to myself that it's just because I have eliminated animal products and most chemicals from my life, and my skin and body are just going through a bit of an awkward "detox" stage. So, it's a positive thing.Yes?

So even though I feel awful I am soldiering on: eating a crap-load of fruits, vegetables and wholegrains, drinking plenty of water and herbal teas, and staying positive.

This morning I got up, made some Crocodile Crunch for breakfast, had a shower, took Toto out for a walk in the winter sun, came home and did a bit of yoga, and now I am going to do some study before work. I am loving my Naturopathy course so far.

Evidently it was so bright outside my eyes couldn't focus properly

still here

Apologies for not having written anything for the last few days- blogging has taken a bit of a back seat to other stuff right now!

Went out for breakfast with my darling fiance and my parents this morning and showed them our wedding venue (it seems to be the only place we hit up for breakfast these days- not that I'm complaining, because I actually make a kick-ass breakfast in the comfort of my own home). That was lovely and it was really nice being able to show them where all the magic's going to happen in March next year. Plus, amazing food and service there.

I have done just a little bit of cooking in my few days of blogosphere absence. I cooked homemade dog food, as I am starting to fret about her diet of tinned wet food- doggy junk food!- although as Toto is still rejecting my vegan cooking, I grudgingly put some meat in there. I didn't like touching it or smelling it at all, eew! I just made up a combination of spirulina, lentils, sweet potato, oats, wholemeal flour and pork mince. Then I rolled them into balls and baked them.

Vegan-wise, I made another raw avocado cheesecake which successfully held its shape this time and some wholemeal pasta with purple cabbage and toasted pine nuts. My Mum also made me a vegan feast last night when I came over for dinner, where I ate my body weight in veganised gado gado and black rice pudding with coconut milk for dessert. Thanks, Mum!

Today I plan to stew some rhubarb, catch up on some sleep and read some study material: Naturopathy, here I come!

Pasta with purple cabbage, pine nuts and rocket

Structure!!

In other news, today Luke and I went and bought some wood sleepers so I can construct a small vegetable garden in the backyard- exciting! I have a lot of little projects on the go at the moment.