2015: mindfulness, gratitude, simplicity, reading, and lots of tidying

I agree with Oh Joy, I don’t believe in making promises I can’t keep, so the first 10 days of 2015 have been all about stuffing my face. And now I feel like this:

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It could be worse, it could be like this:

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Seriously, I’ve been eating everything that isn’t nailed down in the last week (carbs rule!). I think it’s been a combination of the cold weather (I’m packing on another layer of fat to keep warm), starting to exercise a bit more again, PMS, and anxiety about starting my new job on Monday. I have a lot of anxiety. I want change, but then change freaks me out. Everyone is telling me it’s good to feel nervous and it’s not enough of a change if I’m not feeling nervous, but is it normal to feel as panicked as I do?

I’m dealing with the panic with tacos from La Carnita on College St, in Toronto (amazing tacos):

So I’ve already failed on the “eat better” New Year’s resolution and I’m effed until next year (kidding, I’ll get back to it eventually), but here is my short (and somewhat vague) resolutions for 2015: practice mindfulness (live in the moment), be grateful every day (I’m very lucky to have what I have), keep things simple (everything), read two books a month (up from last year’s quota of one a month), and tidy a lot.

The overwhelming urge to tidy comes from the first book I read this month, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo. It’s adorable and completely bonkers (she’s cuckoo but I love her), but it’s also the first “self-help” book I’ve read in a long time that actually made complete sense to me. I’ve already started on the KonMari method (or a variation of) and attacked my kitchen, and so far, no relapse. I’ll post more about this as I attack the rest of my condo.

2014: food, books, dogs

Of course, it’s all about recapping the year right now. At first I wasn’t going to do that, because 2014 sucked hard and I didn’t want to acknowledge it even existed. Bring on 2015, I say. But I can’t erase a year from existence, so I’ve decided to celebrate the good things, in food, books, and dogs.

My favourite food photos of the year:

smoked meat sandwich at Caplansky’s, Toronto // burger at Allen’s, Toronto // churros and chocolate at Xoco, Chicago // fried chicken at momofuku noodle bar, Toronto // birthday key lime pie // beet caprese salad at Pizzeria Libretto, Toronto // pizza at Pizzeria Libretto // birthday ice cream // ice cream sandwich at Moo Milk Bar, Toronto

Amazing grapefruit juice at Fat Pasha, Toronto // the rotisserie duck at momofuku ssäm bar, NYC // poutine in Ottawa // the Tim Horton’s chocolate chip muffin that got me a new job// amaretto-chocolate budino with whipped cream, sour cherry compote, and chocolate at Pizzeria Libretto // a meal I actually made myself in the summer

I decided that I spent too much time watching TV and on my iPad and not reading enough, so I set a goal of reading at least one book a month in 2014. I surpassed that, while still watching too much TV and spending too much time on my iPad.

• A Short History of England, Simon Jenkins – everything you need to know about England in one reasonably-sized book.
• Where’d You Go, Bernadette, Maria Semple – the book everyone was reading at the beginning of the year.
• Fresh off the Boat: A Memoir, Eddie Huang – food, swearing, and a little bit about the Malice at the Palace.
• The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion – really funny and sweet
• The Fault in our Stars, John Green – catnip for teenagers. I don’t like overly sentimental, emotionally manipulative books, but as far as that sort of thing goes, this book was fine.
• A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from my Kitchen Table, Molly Wizenberg – I love books about food. This one made me cry a little.
• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns), Mindy Kaling – I remember liking this, but not much else about it. I worry about my short-term memory.
• Before I Go to Sleep, S.J. Watson – I stayed up late to finish it, a real page-turner.
• The Art of Racing in the Rain, Garth Stein – something different and original.

• This is Where I Leave You, Jonathan Tropper – fine, but I wouldn’t read it again.
• Blue Plate Special: An Autobiography of my Appetites, Kate Christensen – one of the better food-centred memoirs I’ve read.
• Jim Henson: The Biography, Brian Jay Jones – I’ve always loved the Muppets, so I had to read this.
• Bossypants, Tina Fey – I love her.
• A Long Way Down, Nick Hornby – a depressing premise.
• The Bling Ring, Nancy Jo Sales – a story of some horrible teenagers.
• Toast: The Story of a Boy’s Hunger, Nigel Slater – obviously, I like reading about food.
• Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China, Jen Lin-Liu – I like reading about travels and food.
• 1982, Jian Ghomeshi – I read this because I was a fan of Q, but I now regret reading this book given he turned out to be a complete asshole. At least it was a library ebook and he didn’t make any money off me. Also, it wasn’t that great a book.

• Eleanor & Park, Rainbow Rowell – teenagers should read books like this one; banning it is a stupid idea.
• Eating for England: The Delights and Eccentricities of the British at Table, Nigel Slater – I love all things British, including the food.
• Delancey: A Man, a Woman, a Restaurant, a Marriage, Molly Wizenberg – not as good as her first book, but interesting.
• Yes Please, Amy Poehler – I love her too.

• Not That Kind of Girl, Lena Dunham – the book every blogger was pictured with, it was fine and entertaining, but pretty self-involved. I liked Tina Fey’s and Amy Poehler’s better.

And finally, my favourite random dogs of the year (just call me doggie paparazzi):

Like I said, bring on 2015. It can’t be any worse than this year. In fact, I’m determined that it be better.

Thanks everyone for reading my insane thoughts and looking at all the photos I post this year. Happy New Year!

December 2014 in pictures

December, you were a good month. Even if I did catch bronchitis and was out of commission for a week, with a lingering cough for over two.

J.Crew Bliss sweatshirt // R is for Rachel (or Roots, really) // gus and abby coaster and notepad // Quimby sleeping with his paws up // Quimby and his sister, Echo // trying to detox a little // LOL // yum // yum again

I’ll be back later with a 2014 recap of sorts.

Christmas: a recap in photo form

Many photos of puppies and food ahead; you’ve been warned.

Travelling in Hugo Guinness for J.Crew Springer spaniel tee (I thought it was a basset hound but I think it’s a chubby Springer spaniel)

A really pretty tuna sashimi bowl for lunch before going to the Boston Pops

An actual Springer spaniel at Quimby’s daycare, where we left him before going to the Boston Pops.

The Boston Pops

My sister and her sleeping puppy

BEST. DOG SHIRT. EVER.

Selfies.

Laziest dog ever.

Christmas Eve prime rib roast.

Ginger-cherry white chocolate chip cookies, adapted from this Ming Tsai recipe.

Christmas duck, puppy wants some too.

Still the laziest dog ever.

Homemade poutine on Boxing Day (or as it’s called in the U.S., the day after Christmas).

Will and a lapful of labradoodle.

Waiting for Shake Shack ice cream.

Achieved!

After Shake Shack, a play date with his sister Echo, who lives in the same Cambridge neighbourhood. My brother-in-law met her in the park by accident, and he and Echo’s human realized that they’d both gotten the puppies at the same breeder in Maine. What are the chances?

What did I say about Quimby being the laziest puppy ever? But after playing hard with his sister, he deserves a little lie-down.

Making the NY Times chocolate chip cookies.

They are delicious, and worth leaving in the fridge for 72+ hours.

Quimby and his big buddy hanging out before we left. He (the puppy) and I got depressed afterwards. Perhaps 2015 is the year I finally get a dog.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas too!

So many Santas (and Christmas indulgences)

It’d be better if there were snow on the ground, but it’s pretty cool. It’s a street in Toronto where 45-50 houses (nice houses, this is an affluent part of the city) have 14-foot inflatable Santas on their front lawns.

 

I struggle every year to get into the Christmas spirit, but this helped!

Every year Will and I like to treat ourselves to a nice dinner at Christmas, so we went to momofuku daishō. This is what I wore:

The light wasn’t great in the restaurant, but here’s a sample:

The dry-aged beef tartare was AMAZING.

Hanger steak ssäm

Roasted rice cakes with spicy sausage, Chinese broccoli, and tofu (essentially Asian gnocchi, so good)

I had this milk bar cookie for breakfast this morning:

Followed by some Soma chocolate

Hey, it’s Christmas, it’s time for indulging.

I haven’t done a lot of shopping recently, but I celebrated my new job with this J.Crew necklace (no longer online), at 70% off:

I’m heading to Boston tonight to spend Christmas with my sister, brother-in-law, and my nephew puppy. Lots of puppy pictures to come on my Instagram. I hope everyone has a good one!

How a chocolate chip muffin changed my life

Alternate title: Can a chocolate chip muffin save your life? (short answer: yes)

Real title: How a craving for a Tim Horton’s chocolate chip muffin led me to be in the right place at the right time.

I’ll explain. But first, this is the muffin I was craving:

Can’t blame me, right?

It’s no secret that 2014 has been a craptacular year for me, and also seems like it was for a lot of other people too. So I’ve been a little desperate to have some good news to end the year. Cutting it a little close, but I got it.

One morning a few weeks ago, at the end of November, I was sitting at my desk at work being frustrated about something or other, having a bit of a hard time being back in the office after being home sick/working at home the week before, and trying not to give in to a craving for a chocolate chip muffin. Finally I just said screw it, sugar and wheat be damned, I’m getting the damn muffin.

To make a long story short: I ran into a colleague I used to work, I let him cut the Tim’s line in front of me, we started chatting, I mentioned it might be time for a change in the new year, and he said he’d just posted a position that I might be a good fit for. I got back to my desk (with my muffin and peppermint tea), looked up his job, and messaged him that it looked interesting and I would apply for it. I applied, had three interviews, and got the job, in less than three weeks. It’s a great opportunity for me, it’s something new and something more along the lines of what I want to do, and I’m so excited to be starting that in the new year.

So is the moral of the story to never ignore a craving? That could be dangerous, because I have a lot of cravings. But if I’d squashed this one and stayed at my desk, I wouldn’t have run into my new boss in line, and I might have passed by his job posting. It was truly a case of being in the right place at the right time, and proving that having a good work ethic and working hard pays off in the end, because people want to hire you.

At any rate, thank god for the good news, or else I would have had to write off this whole year entirely. I’m very grateful for my good luck. Very grateful.

Highlights of NYC and Boston, only a month late

More proof I’m a bad blogger: I’m finally getting around to posting pictures of my trip to Boston and NYC, which happened a month ago.

I think I was overwhelmed by all the photos I took and trying to weed out the bad/redundant ones.

Here is the first batch, with minimal commentary, just the highlights (but of course, probably too many pictures).

The rotisserie duck at Momofuku:

We ate until we were sick, but it was so good. I highly recommend it.

SoHo in the rain on a Saturday:
 

This little puppy in a raincoat at J.Crew in SoHo: