C'est La Vie

I’ve Moved Blogs

freshlivingnow — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:10:54 +0000

My blog has moved over to Blogspot. Here is the link: http://cestlaviemarie.blogspot.com/

Balloon photo found here.

Okay. This is amazing.

freshlivingnow — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:23:50 +0000

I love ice cream. I love coconut ice cream. And I’m trying to get off sugar. What to do? Especially since it’s almost summer. Well, almost spring…I shouldn’t get too ahead of myself! I just learned about this extremely simple way to make coconut ice cream. Like, really simple. One can of coconut milk and one bag of frozen fruit. Blend and enjoy! It’s obviously not the same texture as ice-cream but it’s so satisfying and sweet! Tonight I tried coconut milk, frozen bananas (when my bananas are starting to look old I peel them and put them in a bag in the freezer) and some fresh pineapple. HEAVEN.

Don’t be afraid of coconut milk and all the fat. The fat is good for you! Just don’t drink the whole can by yourself in one sitting!

March Resolutions

freshlivingnow — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 05:14:31 +0000

Goodbye February! It was fun being with you, but I admit, I’m looking forward to getting to know March. I’m hoping March brings warmer weather, flowers, and blue skies! Since it’s the beginning of March I want to come up with new resolutions, and look back at my February resolutions and see how I did.

February Resolutions:

1. Find an apartment. CHECK.

2. Exercise 3-4 times a week. This one was iffy. I was close, but didn’t remember to write down when I went. I do know that I made a conscious effort to exercise more, and I did this because of my resolutions!

3. Finish scarf. Uh-oh. I am sooo close! I keep on forgetting I have a knitting project. It’s also funny because once it’s done it will be spring…

My scarf so far

March Resolutions

1. Go to bed earlier. Meaning, go to bed around 10 or 10:30. That way I can wake up earlier and start my day before 11am.

2. Cut down on refined sugar. I’m addicted. There, I said it. One problem is I love to bake and I love to eat sugar even more. I’m going to try to focus more on fruits for sweetness, and then honey and maple syrup if I want a sweetener.

3. Decorate my apartment with lots of color! All of my walls are white. I don’t think we will paint them because we did that at the last house and it was a pain to re-paint them all again. But, I’m thinking maybe to do one or two walls?

Art Inspirtation #2

freshlivingnow — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 18:34:46 +0000

Growing up I loved to make collages. I would sit with all my magazines, cut them up and put them together to create something. I always loved mixing the colors and textures together. These pieces of art reminds me of collages, but in a cool mixed media way. I love the colors, the quotes, and the unique style. The artist is Anahata Katkin (I believe) who is the co-founder of Papaya. They sell everything from greeting cards, to calenders, to water bottles. Check them out! I have one of their pieces hanging on my wall.

Key Lime Pie

freshlivingnow — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 20:37:11 +0000

I’d like to share my favorite key lime pie recipe that has….wait for it….avocados!! That is what makes it green, creamy, and people rarely guess what’s in it! The crust is graham crackers, macadamia nuts and butter which melt in your mouth, and the pie takes about 20 minutess to make because you only have to put the crust in the oven for 10 minutes and the rest is easy!

Avocado-Lime Pie

Crust:
1 1/4 cup finely crushed graham crackers
3 1/2 T melted butter
2 T packed brown sugar
(for a variation you can add 1/2 ground macadamia nuts with 1/2 cup of the graham crackers, which is what I did)
Mix the ingredients together, quickly press into a buttered 9 inch pan before butter hardens. Bake in oven at 350 F until lightly browned (10-12 minutes).

Filling:

Step 1:
1/2 cup lime juice
1 T agar agar flakes (I couldn’t find this so used arrowroot but I think agar agar flakes would be better)
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
combine the lime and water in a saucepan and bring to boil. Add agar agar flakes and simmer, stirring constantly, until dissolved, takes about 5 minutes. Stir in sugar.

Step 2:
2 ripe medium, pitted and peeled avocados
1/2 t ground ginger
combine lime mixture and avocados and ginger in blender and puree until smooth and creamy.

Step 3:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Whip cream until it stands in soft peaks. Gently fold in avocado mixture. Spoon the mixture into crust, decorate with coconut, raspberries or whatever you like. Let chill until firm. Enjoy!

This recipe is from the cook book Heaven’s Banquet by Mariam Kasin Hospodar. The newer version is here.

Getting Ready to Move

freshlivingnow — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:06:09 +0000

Moving is much more fun when:

A. You don’t have much stuff!

B. You make it fun.

Excuse my cell phone photos. Not the greatest quality.

Today we picked up banana boxes (or so they are called) from the supermarket. I was surprised how many places won’t give their boxes away such as Target. Apparently they don’t give people boxes. What do they do with all their empty ones? I don’t have much stuff to pack up because I moved here 6 months ago and haven’t had a lot of time to accumulate a lot of stuff. I have a feeling next time we move there will be twice the amount. Oh well.

I'm SUPER strong!

Haha. Oh. They were empty.

Mindful Eating

freshlivingnow — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 21:49:22 +0000

Not related to post

I’m guilty of always watching tv while eating food, unless I’m with friends of course. But, it’s just my boyfriend and me we just plop down on the couch (yeah, we might not have a dining room table yet…) go to Hulu and watch a tv show. It’s my favorite way to eat. But, hearing about the downfalls of eating while watching tv has made me reconsider this habit. Research has shown that you eat more calories when you are watching tv because you are eating mindlessly, just zoning out and staring at the tv. It’s easy to not even notice the food you are eating, which is especially sad if you’ve spent an hour making it! Another important factor is digestion. The first part of digestion called the cephalic phase happens before you even put food in your mouth. Digestive fluids are stimulated just by the sight, smell, or thought of food. Seeing, tasting and experiencing what you are eating can eliminate many digestive problems that occur when eating on the run, eating in the car, or in my case, eating while watching tv.

My goal from now on is to sit, eat and enjoy. After we eat if we have time we can THEN catch up on tv shows.

p.s. I know this photo isn’t related to the post, but I don’t have any exciting pictures of people sitting and eating. This lighthouse is at Point Reyes National Park in California. Stunning area.

Art Inspiration

freshlivingnow — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 05:59:53 +0000

I grew up creating art, but I haven’t picked up my brush or colored pencils recently. It’s something I want to do more of, but, meanwhile I will get inspiration from different artists. I discovered Kat McLeod a few years ago and I am completely in love with her work. The way she combines fabrics and different art materials makes the girls pop from the page. I also love the fashion and colors. I found her work here.

Things I Love

freshlivingnow — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:28:10 +0000

I know some people consider flowers and candles cheesy, but I absolutely love them. Flowers always brighten up my life. My dream is to constantly have fresh flowers in my home, especially in winter. It always reminds me of spring and the colors light up the room. Candles, at night or on a deary, gloomy day create a mood that I love. Even just lighting a candle, getting in bed, and reading a book seems to make reading a book much more special. Or eating by candlelight. Put flowers and candles together and it’s double the fun. I also love the natural aromatherapy candles especially these.

p.s. Note the snowflakes from the holidays. I don’t want to take those down…

Little Creatures

freshlivingnow — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 22:10:24 +0000

I went for a walk around my neighborhood (soon to be old neighborhood) and it felt like spring. Actually, maybe it really is spring? The trees are blooming, and the turtles and ducks are enjoying the warm sun. These photos make me want to lie in the sun all day by water. I’m thinking Mexico?

I have learned that staying inside all day is not productive in terms of homework. My new goal for March will be to get outside everyday and walking to class does not count! Fresh air and movement really help my mood and it makes me more efficient when I actually get to work. This is so obvious, but it’s so easy to not leave the house when I don’t have to.