Thought to Ponder

A friend recently made this quote her Facebook status: 

Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you."~ Lao Tzu

This really resonated with me.  So often we're striving for what's next: the last five pounds, the last debt payed, the next thing on the list to cross off and attain.  I often operate a few hours or even days (okay, years) ahead of myself, anticipating what's to be, thinking that in a certain span of time, I'll be satisfied.  I think the key to true happiness is in the quote above... so simple, but so true.  Be content with what you have.  The rest will flow from there.

Byron Bay, Australia... one of my true happy places.

Friday Gratitude

As the week draws to a close, I'm feeling exhausted, but filled with gratitude.

This week I am grateful for...

... a spirit-lifting, just-because, wonderful bit of fun mail from my lovely mother-in-law.
... an impromptu picnic in the park with my sister-in-law with the little man and his buddy playing at our feet.
... being at the cool (both in temperature and content) Boston Children's Museum during the peak of the east coast heat wave yesterday morning.

Driving a "real" bulldozer!  I thought he might keel over from excitement!

... friends who saved me last night from a muggy, solo evening eating leftover noodles on the couch, by inviting little J and me for an amazing dinner in their delightful air conditioning while the hubs worked late.
... (and on that note I'll add) a hard-working husband with a great sense of humor.
... the opportunity to work for my caterer-friend, both for the singular experience of taking part in her spectacular events (live music! fireworks over the harbor with the city lights in the background! incredible!) and the chance to take home goodies like this gorgeous centerpiece which I LOVE...

... my new phone!!! And its cute green cover!  It is so fast and so functional... iPhone 4, you complete me.

... that tomorrow morning when the little guy wakes up, two of his favorite people will be here to surprise him.  Love that.
... that my house is clean, my work is done, and in about an hour, I'm going to crack this baby open...

...and toast with the husband to a well-deserved weekend of rest.*
*to be clear, in case any of his friends are reading, the hubs will NOT be drinking Bethenny Frankel's Skinnygirl Margarita... he will be drinking a very masculine beer, while I enjoy this low-calorie and intriguing beverage... this is my first time sipping Skinnygirl, and I will report back on Monday.

What are you grateful for this Friday?

Selby Slow Morning

Yesterday I helped a caterer-friend with a beautiful party on Boston's Harbor Islands.  It was a hard day of very physical work in searing June heat, but any day that ends gliding through the harbor on a lobster boat, watching shooting stars and city lights, is okay by me.  Today, my feet hurt and my skin is feeling a bit leather-y, so I treated myself to a super-slow morning.  

The little guy listened to music and looked at books.

And I sipped a lovely iced coffee, rubbed my feet with arnica-peppermint oil, caught up on work e-mail, and perused one of my favorite blogs, The Selby is in Your Place. 

Selby recently did a short series in Auckland, New Zealand and I loved the quirky spaces he captured there.  Auckland is hometown to a good friend of mine, and I've always been intrigued by her photos and stories from there; now I'm officially enamored of what looks like a charming city. 

I love EVERYTHING about stylist Charlotte Rust's kitchen: the sleek stainless steel contrasting the organic wooden ladder and cutting board, the tiny shelves to showcase favorite pottery mugs, and the spare bed/meditation space.  LOVE.

How great is artist Gidon Bing's in-studio boat launch?  What better way to commute?

The treehouse-like quality of this stairway in designer Tulia Wilson's home is enchanting.

I am enamored with Selby's unique ability to capture the quirks and beauty of creative people in their home space.  If you haven't checked out his photography, I urge you to for inspiration and relaxation.  Enjoy it with the icy beverage of your choice, and let me know which space is your fave...

Baked Tofu with Peanut Noodles

I once heard from a wise mama friend that "sleep begets sleep" in little ones (advice being: don't fear that a baby taking a long nap won't sleep well that night, on the contrary, they actually tend to sleep better when well-napped...go figure).  With me, health begets health.  If I've been on the couch, in a funk, and not moving, I'm prone to reach for the nearest bag of chocolate chips at the end of the day.  But if I'm running, walking, spending time outside and doing plenty of yoga and moving, that energy carries itself to the kitchen, and I tend to do some of my healthiest cooking and eating to perpetuate that glow.

I've been on a real running tear lately (for me, there is just nothing like it for stress management), and that and the rising temperatures have me craving light, simple, nourishing meals.  This week, I also have an additional inspiration to add to my meal plan: we're having an unusual work week that has us especially slammed, working some grueling long days and only home for dinner at the same time on a couple evenings.  Today my day was relatively light and home-based, so I wanted to create a dinner that was not only healthy and satisfying, but also made from components that would become great leftovers for us to pack for long days of work, or grab for solo dinners at home as our week gets crazy.  I'm looking forward to putting our feet up together for a pizza night on Friday, but until then we need fast, we need easy, and we need healthy.

Enter: Baked Tofu with Peanut Noodles, now officially a favorite summer go-to meal.  The baked tofu is criminally easy to make and keeps well;  it will be great for adding quick, light protein to salads or eating in sandwiches this week.  Peanut noodles are one of the husband's faves and make a great cold lunch or nice side for a quickly grilled protein, or topper for a spinach salad.  I have huge bins of cleaned baby greens and spinach in the fridge at the ready, and those will be key to our success as well.  Because of the kind of week we're having, I took a page from everyone's favorite freakshow, Sandra Lee, and went semi-homemade on the noodles, utilizing a great Organic Soy Ginger sauce from Whole Foods' 365 line instead of making a sauce totally from scratch.  Sometimes it is worth having these little shortcuts on hand when life gets really busy.

Baked Tofu
Ingredients
1 block of organic, extra-firm tofu
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce (we use the low sodium kind)
Cayenne pepper, salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1) Preheat oven to 400F.  Drain your tofu.  Side note:  ALWAYS drain your tofu!  It makes all of the difference in any recipe.  You need 15 extra minutes, a plate, a bunch of paper towels or a clean tea towel, and something heavy like a stack of books or, my personal choice, a cast iron skillet with three cans of beans on top.  Line the the plate with the towels, place the tofu on top, more towels, and your weight.  In 15 minutes, the tofu will lose about 2 ounces of water. You won't believe how much easier the resulting block of tofu is to work with, and how much more delicious your final product will be!
2) Slice your drained block of tofu into eight thin slices.  Whisk together the sesame oil, vinegar and soy sauce in a bowl and brush both sides of the tofu slices with the mixture, then sprinkle with spices.
3) Place tofu on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray (we use veggie oil in a mister), and bake for 30 minutes, flipping half-way through.
Did I not say criminally easy?

Peanut Noodles
Ingredients
1 lb pasta - I recommend spaghetti, soba or udon noodles, but we happened to have angel hair on hand tonight and it worked wonderfully in this recipe
1/2 bottle of Soy Ginger sauce
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey
sesame seeds, salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1) Boil pasta according to package instructions.  Reserve ~1/2 cup of the pasta cooking liquid.
2) Drain pasta and stir in the remaining ingredients.  Adjust seasonings to taste and add additional pasta cooking liquid if the mix gets too gummy.

I didn't have time to do a vegetable side this evening, so I finely chopped a bunch of lacinato kale and threw it in to cook with the pasta.  We had a complete dish for this evening, and should have plenty of great lunch and dinner options in the days to come.  And with that, friends, I'm hitting the sack to rest up for a long day tomorrow.  Good night!

Good Friday

Today started off on the wrong foot.  The doorbell rang at 5am, sending the dog into a barking frenzy and waking up a peacefully slumbering toddler.  The upstairs neighbors had called a cab, and the cabbie rang our bell instead of theirs... awesome.  Then, before 7am, I realized I had developed a cold sore overnight and stuck myself with a rose thorn.  I was about to crawl back in bed for good when the espresso machine exploded all over, making a huge mess and producing only the most bitter of liquids instead of my badly-needed latte (note to self: thoroughly clean espresso machine this weekend).

Then the husband turned my day around by grabbing me a delicious iced coffee from my favorite shop, and watching SportsCenter with the little guy so that I could reset my morning with searing-hot, leg-shaving shower.  Much better.   We spent the rest of the morning enjoying the refreshingly crisp weather at the playground, and I think it is going to be a peaceful and lovely end to the week after all.

Making this Friday good:

 Yellow roses cut from the front yard.

Great supermarket scores:

Yogi Granola Crisps are like tiny, healthy cookies to sprinkle over Greek yogurt (my summer obsession).

Back to Nature Crackers are my favorite, and these Sunflower Basil ones have incredible flavor.

Casal Garcia Vinho Verde is my go-to summer white: crisp with tiny bubbles, and very easy on the wallet.

This guy has been eating like a champ!  Here he's stealing my salad at lunch today (you're welcome to it, little man).  Things he's downed in the last 24 hours include: a grilled cheese sandwich, carrot sticks and red pepper slices, and a large slice of spiced raisin-walnut bread.  Perhaps there is hope for us yet?  Also check out his bike helmet, which he has mostly refused to take off since his dad got it for him last weekend.  They're hitting the bike paths together, and that's a beautiful thing.

I've logged about fifteen miles this week in runs around the pond, and feel so much the better for it.

Here's to a weekend of good food, good rest, and good health for all of us.

New Look

I'm toying a bit with my blog layout, and would love any feedback you'd like to offer.  I've been wanting to overhaul the site for awhile, and this is just the first step in a summer makeover.  The photo in the new header is from the beach where my parents live in Maine (although they've just about moved from the house at the beach into a fabulous place in town, that will always be "our beach").  When one of her daughters is going through something difficult or some kind of life transition, my mom often takes a walk to this beach and "puts her hands out to the universe" to ask for the right outcome.  I've stood at the edge of that water with her many times asking for something, and more often than not, things turn out the way they should.  I've felt a bit adrift lately, so I thought that putting that image at the top of the page would be a good reminder to keep asking for what is possible and expecting a positive outcome.  Also, for me, this blog is something akin to that spot on the beach... a tiny corner personal to me, yet frequented by many, where I can put out my wishes, my hopes, my self and feel at home. 

And the new font is called "Philosopher" :).
More to come...

Pull Up Your Socks

Do you ever have one of those days that just doesn't feel quite right?  My sister and I usually refer to it as having bumps in your socks.  You know when you have a bad pair of socks on that fall down into your shoes and make little bumps and drive you crazy all day?  These days are often accompanied by an uncomfortable bra, dry facial skin, and a persistent feeling that you have left the oven on.  I am in the midst of a small series of those days, so do bear with me.

Things that are making me feel off:
1) I shattered the face of my iPhone and now I feel lost.  I get tiny glass splinters when I try to slide and unlock it, and have more or less lost my ability to text.  I will have to wait a week to replace it.  I am adrift.

2) I have mosquito bites all over both of my feet.  Itchy feet are not attractive + make me feel like I am going to lose my mind.

3) Our schedule needs a tweak, and something is feeling off until we problem-solve it.

Usually the husband gets home around 6, at which point both of us have been working very hard all day long and need a break.  I need a break to wrap up work that is unfinished, make or finish making dinner, and just deal after being on-call for the little man solo all day.  The hubs is fresh off an almost always slammed and break-less work day and a smelly train ride and could use a few to himself as well just to shake off the day and take care of himself.   Little J usually eats dinner from 6 to 6:30 (as mentioned before, this is almost always a somewhat frustrating process), then goes into a bath-books-bed combo that ends around 7:30, at which point we shove food in our gullets, try to finish taking care of business (professional, life-related, and otherwise), and attempt to relax.

Maniacal evening-time toddler on the loose.  Adorable? Yes. Relaxing? No.

I don't think this schedule is really serving us, but am not sure how to tweak it.  Earlier din for the little man?  That doesn't jive well with our goal to push his bedtime (and more importantly his wake-up time) a bit later.   We'd both like to take evening walks now that the good weather is here, and generally enjoy each others' company more in the evenings.  Right now there is a lot of stress and exhaustion involved in our nighttime routine.  I know this is par for the course in early parenting, and most nights we're able to make light of it and enjoy our evening for the most part, I just know we could do better.

I always get wonderful advice from my readers, so I'm hoping to hear more about your evenings, and how you combine the need to work and accomplish things with the need to unwind.  Especially to those of you with young children, how do you keep the crazies at bay and get everyone to fed and to bed while still having some semblance of a calm evening?  Is this even possible?  All insight gratefully accepted.

In the meantime, I'm off to drink a Kombucha and pull up my socks.