And since I am like the world’s crappiest dancer ever; well, ALMOST:

AND: (like Mr. PUFFY SHIRT can Judge. Hello!)

I shall not even attempt Salsa dancing for your amusement,  but I WILL break stash on my tomatillos and share a killer salsa verde recipe with you….. 

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Stuff you’ll need:

1 pound tomatillos, husks removed
1 head garlic cloves tops chopped off (see pic)
2-3 Jalapeno peppers
2 cups chopped fresh cilantro (leaves only) Yes, it’s tedious to do. I know
1/4 water, or as needed
2 teaspoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

How to make it:

Roast garlic:
Preheat the oven to 400. Chop off the top of the garlic head, and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap in foil and pop into the oven for about 30-40 minutes. Check it at 30 to see if it easily squeezes out like a paste from the garlic. Use tongs to do this, silly willy! Don’t leave the garlic in the oven too long, or it will get bitter. And we don’t need that kind of drama.

Preheat the oven’s broiler. Put tomatillos and Jalapenos on a large baking sheet. Place under the broiler, and cook until nicely charred. Keep a close watch as this happens quickly. Pop all into a glass bowl with a lid to let them “sweat” and cool.

Do not use plastic wrap on top or put them in baggies. They will sweat all kinds of icky toxins onto your lovely peppers. Most plastic is the Devil, not so bueno. 

Here is a pic of how I do that sans the devil plastic:

Ya, I know they are not the same peppers!

Sheesh.

Can’t take pics of EVERYTHING.

Or can I???

Deep thoughts.

Ahem, moving riiiiight along:

Squeeze garlic out of the skins into a small Cuisinart thingy or blender.

Add the cooled peppers and tomatillos, and cilantro to the mixer and blend. Add a little water but not too much, to get the consistency you want. Season with salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste. Add more cilantro if you are a cilantro lover and a little chili powder if you want a more complex flavor. Keep your sexy salsa in the fridge, and plop it on to liven up just about anything except chocolate.

Ya, it’s not great with chocolate.

Not that I know anyone who’s tried that.  No Way, Jose.

I love this over eggs..but it seems like I am always talking about eggs.

Now go get your Salsa on! And if you feel like dancing after trying this, GO FOR IT!

But I’m gonna pass on that.  

Well, unless tequila is involved.

Which, luckily, is an extremely rare occurrence.

Oh, AND as PROMISED: Here’s another Jerry Seinfeld and George Constanza talking SALSA:

How FABULOUS is that video!?

If you try this, let me know what you think in the comments below! OR better yet, what are your favorite ways to make a festive summer salsa? Do you have tips to share? I’d love to hear them!

I feel sad when I hear women talk about their often difficult and sometimes harrowing relationships with their Mothers.  As a coach who works with weight and self-esteem issues in grown women, I often hear about this.  

 I’m fortunate in this way. My Mom and I have always been joined at the hip, comrades.  We have a common trait where we both get into things that intrigue us, in this one-tracked, full speed, watch out sister, way.  

It has its fabulous, and not always so fabulous side effects, but generally, it’s how we keep life fun and interesting.  

When I was in the 3rd grade, we moved from Portland, Oregon, to my Mother’s beloved native state of California to a remote area of Carmel Valley.

In Portland, we had lived on “Pill Hill,” and there were loads of big Catholic doctor’s families a stone’s throw away from our house.  

I could knock on a door and find kids to play with anytime, and I was used to that.  

When we moved to Carmel Valley, I had to begin to learn how to creatively occupy myself.  I recall one day lounging around the house with no real purpose or enthusiasm, trying to figure out what the framed poster in my bedroom meant:

  Carly Simon was playing on the 8-track, while my Mom was reading a book in a big cozy chair by the window when I circled around her a few times and declared:

“I AM BORED!”

To which my Mom quietly replied:

“Only boring people get bored.”

I stood there slightly stunned for a moment, thinking: I am NOT boring!  

Then I remembered a big pile of scrap lumber I’d seen the day before up over the canyon where a new home was being built. So I eagerly scampered out the door and a few miles up the hill and began to drag lumber from the canyon, through the sagebrush and oak trees to a ravine below our house to build my very own tiny little Chick Pad.  Which is something I still love to do.

Mind you, back then, we had diamond-back rattlesnakes, ticks, and all kinds of critters combing the same unspoiled territory.

I seriously doubt that most kid micro-managing helicopter Moms these days would allow something like that!  

But I survived.

When I did come across a rattler one day, I went hauling a$$ up the hill and found my neighbor’s enigmatic boyfriend, Hans Wolfe (complete with a permanent black eye patch!).  He promptly got his rifle, shot the thing, and flung it over a huge oak tree branch. BooYah! 

Wild and Colorful Times.

 When I wasn’t building houses, Mom and I lived to devour books and share new ideas.  We got completely immersed in subjects on just about every alternative health, fashion, and beauty fad, as well as the classics. We avidly sought out authors such as  Paavo Airola, Edward Espe Brown of Tassahara, Frances Moore Lappe, M.F.K Fisher, Steinbeck,  Bronte Chica’s, Jim Fixx, and Julia Child – who my Dad does a killer imitation of…..to name a few. 

One day after nearly passing out in the book store while on the trendy Starvesdale Diet, I came across a book by Alexandra Stoddard called Living a Beautiful Life.

Immediately, I was (and still am) smitten and deeply inspired by what she had to say.  I felt that I’d found my soul sister and non-boring other Mom,

well, except for; Bonnie Blackaller, Jean Stoyanov, Sarah Farr, Donna Walden, Nancy Porter, Marge Thornburg, Leslie Snorf, Jody Muir, Mary Hatton,  Jan Gardner, and Karin Holdridge-Zofcin, and last but not at all least: My Auntie Lolo who..well..check her out:  but that is a whole other, “It takes a Village” story. B.T.W. Lolo is where I get my activist side.

Anyhow…….

FINALLY, I could get into something that was creative AND mostly calorie-free!

So off I went to share the great news with mi Madre, who was beginning to suffer fashion exhaustion from trying to keep up with the swatch coding details in Color Me Beautiful. Seems that she was an Autumn, and I was a Winter – who wanted to be an Autumn (OR Carly Simon) – and we were both wearing a hell-of-a-lotta dark, waxy lipstick.

Truth is, neither of us is suited to much daily fashion fuss.  

At any rate, she was ready for a few changes, and with Alexandra’s sublime design & lifestyle guidance, change we did!  

Alex is a true and Classic Guru if I ever met one.  Although I imagine she’d absolutely cringe at being referred to that way. Check out this video!

Ciao Alexandra…

So let’s get on with it!

Here are 5 main things I learned from Alexandra and others that I still practice to bring intention, beauty & JOY into my life. AND 5 things my elegant Mother shared about creating HER beautiful life:

So here are Mom’s thoughts on the subject:

I have been thinking about Alexandra Stoddard’s Living a Beautiful Life. That book spoke to my heart from the first time I read it. It confirmed to me that the way I wanted to live my life was all right.

1. Puttering:

I could walk through my house in the morning just looking at tabletops…seeing the arrangement on them as if they were a still life painting, as my lifelong friend Nancy Porter once said.

2. Presentation:

I could drink my morning coffee out of my prettiest china cup on a silver tray with a beautiful napkin.

3. Candles:

Light candles on the dinner table every night. Our grandsons remarked about that ritual after staying with us.

4. Simplify: 

I later discovered the book Simplify Your Life by Elaine St. James, and that has been another great help for me. Her first suggestion: “Reduce the clutter in your life.” is basic. When I sold real estate, I decided that most houses just have too many things in them. The clutter gets in the way of the essential. Dad and I discovered a poem that describes it beautifully years ago before any of you were born:

“Let your boat of life be light, packed with only what you need—a homey home and simple pleasures, one or two friends worth the name, someone to love and someone to love you, a cat, a dog, and a pipe or two, enough to eat and enough to wear, and a little more than enough to drink, for thirst is a dangerous thing.” —Jerome Klapka Jerome

5. Live your life like a poet: I learned about looking at the world as an artist in an oil painting course at Stanford from Professor Mendelowitz, who changed my world. But I have only recently been inspired to write poems in the last few years. Painting is a visual art.. .and poetry is too but it is also about all of the other senses. Creating poems awakens your soul to the experience of life.

Thank you, Mom.  You are my favorite Mother and teacher.  Even if you are an Autumn….

And now my 5

6. Rituals:

Morning Lemon Water, Tea & Monkey-Mind Meditation:

Having daily rituals has helped me to stay both grounded and agile in my personal life and in my coaching practice.  There was a time when I started my day by reading emails.  What I found is that by reading and answering all my emails, first thing, I was actually in reaction mode and in some ways, letting others dictate how my day would unfold.  Now I begin my day with a cup of warm lemon water at around 5:30 A.M., followed by tea. Then I sit outside for 10-20 minutes of meditation.  I can’t begin to tell you how much more calmly energized and focused I feel when I start my day this way.  There is a huge difference in my productivity and minute-by-minute clarity around how I spend my hours.  It’s like I have this new filter after morning stillness that helps me stay more organized while recognizing tasks and situations that are truly important to what really matters to me.

Meditation is the Zen way of manifesting our deepest intentions. And when we are working from that place, things are just more Serendipitous. 

NOTE: I am NOT the best meditator;).  Truth be told, my monkey mind is often all over the place. But I don’t worry about it.  I just do it.  And most often, it’s guided, and my favorite one is here.

7. Creating something Special out of the Ordinary:

This is what taught me how to be more resourceful.  I have always found the most lovely things in nature.  As an interior designer for many years, I learned that many people think they need to have oodles of cash to create beautiful spaces.  That. Is not. The case.  When I was a young married woman with little children, there was a time when our family lived off of $50.00 a week for groceries, gas, and ENTERTAINMENT; no, this is not B.S. That was IT.  

I wanted to stay at home with my babies, and that was simply how much money we had for a year or so.  I had to be scrappy.  I found inspiration outside, and I learned how to cook.  

I made wreaths out of discarded grapevines from local vineyards and pepper berries from trees in Carmel Valley.  I clipped flowers and greens from my garden and arranged them in pretty vintage jars.  I bought candles by the dozen at bargain stores.  I made my own bread – 10 loaves at a time baked in big upright V-8 cans –I know..not BPA-free, yadda, yadda – to share with my family and friends.  I ground up whole wheat, rye, and millet with a commercial bread mixer and grinder that the health food store owner gave me. I made a batch of 10 golden, nicely crusted, round loaves every few weeks, so we always had luscious, whole grain bread. It felt like a gift to learn how to do this well.  Not to mention the delicious aroma in the kitchen when it was baked or toasted.  Simply Divine.

I painted oddball folksy-looking Santa decorations out of interesting driftwood shapes I found on the beach in Big Sur.  

I went to triple coupon day at the grocery store on Wednesdays in Carmel, so we always had plenty of food. I cooked a healthy, hearty dinner about 6 nights a week, which we enjoyed by candlelight.  These are the things that made me feel rich with beauty and purpose. To this day, I find the most interesting things simply growing wild.  But you have to cultivate LOOKING for beauty; whether it’s in other people or in everyday objects.

8. Family Celebrations:

I don’t love the commercially driven stress we often create over the holidays.  I feel that most traditional holidays have become a charade of harried list shopping and trading of gift certificates. Sorry not really, if I sound like a big Bah Humbug, but I just don’t BUY it.  The best part of any holiday in my family is the festive dinner.  These days my kids chip in to the creation, making it even more fun. Yes, there are almost always candles and flowers.  And NO, it does not feel like a big fuss to me.  I love doing it. It feels nourishing to all of us on many levels.

9. Creating Beautiful Food: As for this one, I’m simply going to take some of my favorite quotes from Alexandra here:

Simple, fresh, unpretentious home cooking is what most of us strive to accomplish in our kitchens.  Few of us are professional cooks or artists who can attempt great style.  But like professionals, we can pay attention to details.

I’ve found that the essentials to a pleasant eating experience, in addition to what you eat, include: 1. Good company-which can be yourself, 2. the setting, 3. the fact that you don’t eat too much, and 4. recognizing that you have to be hungry before you begin.

M.F.K. Fisher loved to follow the sunlight wherever she lived and to eat wherever the sun was.  Light is a real tonic.

I prefer rich yellows, oranges, and soft greens.  Colors have seasonal moods, and opening up to the changes broadens your range of sensory experiences.

White is the perfect setting for richly colored foods-spinach, tomatoes, carrots, asparagus; gleaming white allowed food to sparkle. Rice on a white plate is lost.  Heighten contrasts by putting a little color next to the rice.  Try a lettuce leaf under it, or serve inside a scooped-out tomato.  Put roast corn on the cob in a basket or planter on a generous bed of watercress.

 Beauty nourishes.  And food feeds all our senses as well as our bodies.  

And finally: All rituals we perform at home are done to express our feelings.  We can’t care enough.

Thank you, Bella Alexandra.  J’adore.

10. Question Your Schedule:

If you are flicking cheerios at your computer with screaming kids, employees, employers, OR all of these, in the background while you read this, please know that it does not go unnoticed by me that many of you have very demanding schedules and that you could be annoyed or overwhelmed by this post.  

I geddit. Seriously, I DO.

But can you find some time in your life to ignite your senses in some part of your day?  

Think about it.  If you watch T.V. or check out Facebook, you probably have a tad of time.  Strong statement, I know. But if you feel inspired by some of these things, let them sit with you and see what happens.  

It should be fun to try new ideas.  Not another to-do-to-be-stressed-about.  No way.  Not on my watch, Darlings! 

So there you have it.

Is there anything that you are inspired to try?  What things do you already do that are rituals in your life? Chat with me about it in the comment area below.  Thanks for being here. I love to hear what you have to say!

Creating the most divine blend for Caesar salad dressing is a skill that is worth mastering, don’t you think?

Who doesn’t love a great Caesar? It’s always the first thing devoured at a party, and even non-veggie-loving types can be seen circling around the Caesar, enticed by the looks and aromas of a great one.

Between us: Who ARE these non-veggie-loving people? Often they are folks who grew up on the salty, overcooked canned stuff and were forced to “eat their veggies” before they could leave the table. No Judgement here. S‘riously..that is brutal. 

Anyhow, I’ve made many types of Caesar dressings over the years, including non-dairy versions, that are pretty delicious, but sometimes you just need to go all out and get your Parmigiano-Reggiano cheeser, cheeser rolling!

Play with the amount of garlic & lemon. Fabulous Husband doesn’t like a lot of lemon – too much TANG (dang!), so I tone it down. You can ditch some of the anchovies, but if you take it out entirely, it really is going to be a rather milk toast version. What the he11 is milk-toast anyway? 

If you get high-quality anchovies, it tastes muy deliciouso……trust me on this. I won’t steer you wrong. This is serious!

Stuff You’ll Need:

1 egg yolk
3-4 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 whole high-quality anchovy filets, the best you can find (I like Ortiz)
2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard- I like this one from France
1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
2-4 cloves smashed garlic (make a paste. I use a small pestle)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire ( I don’t get fancy here)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 Cup fresh parmesan – I like Parmigiano-Reggiano from Italy -‘ course (for non-dairy version, substitute with nutritional yeast.) 
1/4 Cup extra virgin olive oil (the best you can find)
1/4 Cup rice bran oil ( new oil I like.  It’s healthy & mild tasting so it doesn’t overpower OR just use the olive oil.
Salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste

Smash and blend the anchovies and garlic well into a very smooth paste.

Place the anchovies & garlic into a small mini mixer thingy or food processor along with egg yolk, lemon juice, dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire, and red pepper flakes.

Pulse the processor or blend on low until all of the ingredients are well blended. Not too long.

Let it sit and hang out for about 10 minutes while you sip a glass of wine or lemon water. This mellows the garlic nicely. Don’t skip this. Bossy me.

With the food processor on low, pour the oil(s) into the mixture in a slow steady stream. You can also use a whisk for all of this if you are a “whisker” type.

Add the parmesan, salt, and fresh-cracked black pepper. 

Pulse a few more times to mix it all in.

Now you are all set to roll. You can toss it over garden fresh torn romaine or butter lettuce – I’m in love with butter lettuce’s mild flavor and soft texture with this dressing, but it’s not the classic way, so don’t tell any Italians. K? 

You can also make this a day ahead and pop it in the fridge as it tastes even better the next day.

Note:
Anchovy: Get the best anchovies you can find. Store-bought pastes usually have that suspicious fishy flavor. Also: tiny bits of anchovy can be unappealing in a Caesar salad. Finely slice the fillets and smash with a fork to create a smooth paste.

Note: If you are totally non-dairy (like I am most of the time), you can substitute nutritional yeast flakes for the cheese. It actually tastes really great!

Big A$$ Important Note: It’s easy to over-blend dressings in a food processor. Olive oil turns bitter if it’s mixed too long. Hand whisking is a nice way to go so that you can judge exactly how emulsified your dressing is before it goes too far. If you are so inclined, get out the whisk. It’s a very Julia way to go.

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I do my Caesar without croutons most of the time, but when I do go for the full gusto version, I usually just buy them ready-made at a fabulous local bakery a good friend owns: Avenue Bread. They are wickedly delicious. Get there early in the morning as they sell out quickly!

But sometimes I am in the mood to make them myself, and here’s how that rolls: (adapted from Cook’s Illustrated)

Delicious Croutons:

Stuff you’ll need:

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon smashed & mashed garlic (about 1 medium clove)
1/2 Italian peasant loaf, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (about 4 cups)
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

How to make it:

Mix 1 tablespoon oil and garlic paste in a small bowl; Put bread cubes in a large bowl. Sprinkle with water and salt. Toss, squeezing gently, so the bread absorbs water. Place the remaining 3 tablespoons oil and soaked bread cubes in generous-sized cast iron or anodized skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring gently, until browned and crisp, about 7 to 10 minutes.

Remove skillet from heat, push croutons to sides of skillet to clear center, add garlic/oil mixture to clear, and cook with no added heat for 10 seconds or so. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan; toss until garlic and Parmesan are nicely combined. You can also put the skillet directly in the broiler to brown a bit more before serving. That’s what I do when I make them ahead. Or when I buy them at Avenue Bread and then “pretend” to make them

If you try this, let me know what you think in the comments below! OR better yet, what are your favorite ways to make a Caesar? Do you have tips to share? I’d love to hear them!

OH it’s Blueberry season!  I love this time of year for making gorgeous seasonal salads to serve with grilled fish or meat.  

Fresh organic local blueberries are only here for a smidge of time so I had to get right on it and find some great ways to enjoy them.  I made this salad the other night to bring to a dinner party and it was a hit.  Not in small part due to the rosemary balsamic dressing which I got from our generous recipe sharing Bellingham Community Food Coop.  

I adapted it a tad adding a bit of local honey, (fabulous sister in law is a beekeeper!) and a little less salt, to give it a summery feel. But without the honey it is quite savory and perfect for winter salads or even as a marinade for chicken or steak.  Also, you can change this salad combo up easily with different nuts and fruit, with whatever is in season. 

This salad is a new keeper for sure. So here you go:

Mixed Green & Blueberry Salad:

1/4 cup pines nuts toasted
1/2 cup fresh organic blueberries
1/2 avocado cubed
1/4 cup red onion thinly sliced
4-6 cups mixed greens (butter lettuce is fab)
1/4 cup shaved or thinly sliced fennel (optional)

Rosemary Balsamic Dressing

1 1/4 cups grape seed oil
2/3 cup balsamic vinegar
3 1/4 tablespoons filtered water
3/4 tablespoon peeled smashed minced garlic
3 1/4 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 1/4 tablespoons dried basil
3/4 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 tablespoon sea salt
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves
1-2 tablespoons wild honey (to taste)

Blend water and rosemary in a blender until rosemary is in tiny flakes. Add remaining ingredients to an immersion blender until completely blended emulsified. Chill.
*Adapted from the Bellingham Food Coop

For the salad:

Combine everything and toss with the dressing. May need to add a little water to the dressing to thin a tad. Fabulous!

How have You been doing lately? Ready for summer?

I most surely am………

We’ve had a lot happening around us, and frankly, it hasn’t all been Shangri-La in the past few months.
There have been some fabulous things and some not-so-bueno things that have gone down.

First, I’ll share some of the Good Things: Sunday, we leave for Italy for a few weeks; BRAVO!

And when I get back I’ll be all pasta-ed out and revved up to host a late Spring 14-day Clean & Lean GROUP Cleanse. I hope you join us, so we can ease into summer feeling fantastic. More info, later-gator.

Also, I’ve received notes from many of you checking in with me and sharing your stories and progress, and may I say: Thank You. I love hearing from you. J’adore.

Here is something that filled me with a massive dose of gratitude for all the glorious transformation that can come when brave women take some simple steps towards feeling better. It’s a note I received yesterday from a  Client:

“I completed the 14 days! I’m feeling great and so happy I did the Cleanse – it’s truly the nicest thing I’ve done for myself in about 10 years! I lost 16 lbs., and my blood pressure was 117/53 yesterday (really good for me)  – the weight loss is awesome, and I want to keep going, but the REAL reward is in how I feel. Sleeping so well – and just feel more like myself. Do you think it’s okay if I stay on the cleanse for a couple more weeks? I’d just like to keep going for a while if there are no drawbacks to doing that.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!! Love your program.
Jody M. Bellingham, WA

Here’s the thing about Jody: She came in feeling discouraged, tired of being exhausted, burnt out by not sleeping well, and she mentioned that she was sick, sick, sick of being on “diets.”

Here’s the deal: Clean & Lean is not a “diet.” It’s a lifestyle shift, a big difference.

We’d love to have you join us.

Moving riiight along….

Having a Difficult Time? Please READ THIS:

Finally, here’s what I’ve been dying to talk to you about for a WHILE: 
Recently I’ve witnessed a slurry of dis-ease (cancer) in the lives of some of the people I care about and those immediately close to them (no, not my direct family).
To say that I’ve been feeling sad, stressed, or melancholy would be a sliver of the emotions here. Like many of you are, I’m a fierce Mama Bear, so I try to FIX everything.

But we can’t always fix or bend our circumstances to make all things healthy and whole, can we?

Ever tried that?

Oh, so then you know…..

But here’s what can happen when life throws us for a loop. When things feel out of control, as Fixers, we can heave ourselves into the line of fire, care-taking and reacting with such intensity that we can neglect to take any respectful care of ourselves.

Oh, sure, we might take shortcuts and do things to soothe ourselves like overeat, work too much, rely on carbs, sugar, or wine to perk us up, sleep in late rather than exercising, distract ourselves with shopping online or watching back to back episodes of Downton Abbey while munching on truffle salted popcorn or chocolate….or both. Who me? Neeevaaah

And that is okay for a bit.

Until it’s NOT.  

These things are Band-Aids that help us change how we feel in the moment and only temporarily, but things that eventually leave us depleted and further away from our healthiest, most vital place.

The truth is that the better we care for ourselves, mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, the more useful, courageous, and wise we can be when circumstances feel crappy.

So what can we do? 

We Can Take Radical Care…..

What does that mean?
It means taking unapologetically, steadfast, and consciously gentle care of where our innate strength and true self reside. And that place is threefold: It’s within our bodies, minds, and spirits.

We can’t get around this truth or treat each area individually and experience a more profound joy, which is not firmly planted in our circumstances, and radiant health.

It’s always mind, body, and spirit as one continuous whole, not three separate things.

At 52, it’s one thing I know for sure.

As Deepak Chopra says:

The way you think, the way you behave, and the way you eat, can influence your life by 30 to 50 years.

Yikes. Better get right ON it, no?

So, let’s DO this!

Here are some things  to try:

• Allow yourself to feel what you are feeling. Let sadness, anger, fear, or whatever it is, come. Don’t stuff it down. Acknowledge, observe, and honor it, but don’t linger in it for too long. Recognize and listen to the thoughts that precede these feelings and write them down.
• Challenge Your thinking. I believe that much of our emotional pain is caused by our thoughts about a situation..not the situation itself…gulp. This is why no two people face similar circumstances and react the same way. Ever notice that? When we learn this truth and begin to challenge areas where we feel crappy or stuck, we can begin to move through our circumstances in a powerful way. Learning to think intentionally is a habit that you can cultivate, and it transforms everything. Check out the master life coach who trained me, Brooke Castillo, here. This is game-changing stuff. I promise.
• Tap into the spiritual side of life. I have a personal version of meditation and prayer that has been my deepest source of strength since I was in my 20s. It’s evolved and grown since then, but the ultimate truth is that we are not in this whole life thing alone. The benevolent force that created and continues to create all the beauty we know is available to all of us if we are willing to seek it out.
• Ease into taking a few positive steps. Don’t make huge pronouncements to yourself and others about what you are going to do to take better care of yourself. Pick one or two things to start with. Make sure they feel right for you. Don’t force. Just nudge.
• Spend time outdoors walking or hiking with a supportive friend who knows how to listen. Try to keep the conversation two-sided. Talking too much about what hurts doesn’t feel that great after a while. We simply re-live the pain in our “story” each time we give it all our attention. Move it along. Share the conversation, and let things go a little. Let yourself laugh.
• Say “No” to OPTIONAL things that feel like a burden. This is tricky and unnatural for many of us to do but stick to the core of what you really want to do when you have an option. And there usually ARE options.
• Go to yoga. I know I always say this, but there is much more to yoga than the physical aspect. Some people think that it doesn’t really matter what type of yoga you try, but I believe you need to learn the structure and principles first. Iyengar Yoga is where I began my love of the practice (after injuring myself in other classes) and where I’ve recently circled back. It also happens to be where I seem to get the fittest. But this, just like how we eat for ourselves, is individual. Whatever you choose, be gentle. Breathe. Listen. If yoga is entirely new for you and you know you want to start slow, try yin yoga, or for something fun, try intuitive vinyasa flow yoga, which I also practice. There is a cleansing and a building up that comes through meditative movement that I’ve found is easily accessed through a good yoga practice. It’s not always fun at first. In the beginning, it takes more pushing and pulling, but eventually, the flow becomes more effortless. And you will find that the lightness and vitality you bring in during this practice will become more and more accessible throughout your days. Yes, it’s THAT good.
• Cook your own damn food. Sorry for the D-word : ) This is something that can feel intimidating to some. It’s also tricky when you have a demanding schedule or you have a sticky relationship with food. But being more in touch with what you eat and how you nourish yourself is healing and grounding. It doesn’t have to be a huge ordeal. With all the controversy around food, it can be confusing, No? So don’t let all the B.S. You hear bog you down. Please keep it simple. Here are a few tips: When you get up in the morning, ask yourself:

“If I was truly going to eat gorgeous healthy food today, what would that look like for me? “

Then try going with Michael Pollan’s best food idiom: Eat REAL Food. Mostly plants. Not too much.  

It’s not really that tricky. If you clear out the clutter, your body will tell you what it needs.

Some ideas? – not rules:

• If you feel stagnant or heavy, try GREEN smoothies for light meals to alkalize your blood and infuse your body with restorative plant power and light, fresh energy.
• If you feel scattered and full of nervous energy or are struggling with sugar, carb, and other cravings, try beginning your day with protein-packed blood sugar balancing smoothie.
• If you can’t sleep, skip the vino at dinner, and ditch the electronic gadgets. Get a tantalizing book that takes you to a fantastic place – LIKE ITALY! Here’s one of my favorite books EVER. Then pop into a Soak it Out bath before bed. You won’t believe how well you will sleep after this while dreaming of lovely things.

Not too shabby, No?

Trials often = a new path. Lean in and see what you can learn from what is happening around you. When you become stronger, you become lighter. When you become lighter, life looks different to you.

It’s okay to ask for support. I’m here. Feel free to reach out.

As always, take radical care of your beautiful self and have a fabulous week. Ciao for now.

With Love & Respect,

Hey!

How are you doing?  Busy? Stress much?

Are you taking time for yourself, as I mentioned a while back?

I know I’ve talked a lot about this, and I’d imagine most of you are getting it by now, but If not, I’m going to push it a bit:

Here is something I’ve noticed and I want to share with you:

The women who most need to stop and have a moment to themselves are the ones with the strongest belief that they don’t have time.

Many of us jacked are up on stress:

We are stressed because of a demanding job or owning a business, stressed because of the responsibility of caring for our kids, stressed from trying to maintain a healthy rockin’ relationship with our partner…and usually stressing around being worried about ALL of it.

Oh yeah, and add a little crappy guilt into that mix: I used to think:

I feel like I’m DOING EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME & Nothing Very Well….. Good Times.

Instead of feeling calm & in control and enjoying the pace of our lives, we are freakin’ frazzled and rushed, never finishing one task before another gets our attention and feels like it has to be addressed; NOW.

• Have you ever been late because you couldn’t remember where you left your car keys?
• Gone into a crazy a$$ tizzy because you forgot the one main item you needed to pick up from the store?
• Or couldn’t remember why you were AT the store in the first place?
• Couldn’t fall asleep because you were worrying about work, money, laundry, food shopping, those jelly beans you ate, and whether those yoga pants ended up in the dryer(!)…?
• Or, years ago, if you are like me: So preoccupied, frazzled, and CRAZY, I literally drove away from the gas station WITH the pump in the car…TWICE in one week..uh……..EM-BARE-A$$-ING!!!  Even MORE embarrassing was the owner of the gas station calling me and asking me NOT to go there anymore………didn’t he GET IT??? Doing the best I can, damn!t

If you’re nodding your head, you may have a combination of monkey mind AND high cortisol. Monkey Mind is something we can learn to train (more on that next week). Cortisol is a muy important Gangsta hormone. In fact, in many ways, it’s the head honcho hormone, so it’s critical to keep it in balance. Cortisol wakes us up, gives us energy throughout the day, and helps us respond to emergencies. However, CORTISOL gone wild by overstimulation can cause major upheaval in our bodies, especially as we age (more on that later). Most of us are so freakin’ overloaded with things to manage that our brains start seeing everything as an emergency.

Forgot to pay a bill? Emergency: FOREST FIRE!

Need to make the kids’ lunch? Emergency: OUT OF BANANAS!

Girls’ night out for a birthday, forgot to buy a gift? Emergency: WEAKEST FEMALE IN THE TRIBE!

So, I invite you to join me in one of my favorite ways to lower your crazy cortisol and calm your monkey mind:

Tiara Time.

Don’t laugh. I learned this concept from Dr. Sara Gottfried, Harvard-trained OBGYN and author of The Hormone Cure; not too shabby.

Need some straight talk about this? Listen Here: Tiara Time can be just 15 minutes long, but it is absolutely luscious time.

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Here’s how I want you to ROLL:

Put on your tiara. Seriously. This is an excuse to buy something sparkly and fabulous. Then tell your family it’s “Tiara time,” and you’ll be back to help them with homework, or What-EVAH, LATER GATOR. Get them used to this:

“If the Tiara is a Rockin’, don’t come a-knockin’!”

Take 15 minutes to relax, lower your heart rate, and tell your brain to ease back on the cortisol it’s pumping through your system. Yoga, meditation, or simply deep breathing are all excellent and proven ways to de-stress quickly during this time. Think you can’t meditate? Yeah, I get it.  Try this. I did this meditation challenge for 21 days with a group of my powerhouse gal pals, and it was absolutely transformational. 

So with that: I’ve got MY Tiara on (in my mind), and I’m going to practice some meditation and get my monkey mind calmed down and my cortisol back to the place where it allows me to be my best almost zen self.

You do the same, okay?

Let me know how it goes down in the comments below.

Ciao for now,

Have you ever struggled with this bit of melodrama? You know the one where one of your favorite gal pals calls you to share about her new promotion at work excitedly, her spectacular Moroccan-themed dinner party, her kid’s ah-mazing report card, OR she simply shows up nicely tanned, rockin’ a fabulous new outfit, bubbling over after her relaxing trip to Costa Rica…

Well, how are you feeling? Are you really feeling happy for her, or do you ever find your voice sort of raising an octave, constricting a bit, while sporting that kind of crappy & creaky half smile we can sometimes do, with the unsmiling eyes and barely eeking out:

“Wow……that is…um…great..I’m so happy for you. – I made the most AH-Mazing Pesto last night with smoked paprika…..And, How about that, Miley Cyrus, did you see that? Isn’t SHE a Total trainwreck??“

……don’t you just freaking HATE that? You’re now not only shrinking because you feel loser-ish but also because you feel guilty; YOU are an evolved woman, riiiiigghhht? YOU know better than that……….

Note: Feeling like CRAP, and NOW add in beating yourself up. Good times.

We’ve all been there. We can be ESPECIALLY vulnerable to this kind of reaction when we are going through a challenging time ourselves when our life feels SUCKY in every way.

Why do we feel this way and act this way sometimes? We know we love our friends, so, W.T.F?

Usually, our inner and outer reaction lies in our own beliefs about ourselves. It has nothing to do with our friend’s skinny jeans. Yes……”It’s not you, It’s me.” has many creative applications, not just with the dudes.

Are you not buying it?

OK, ever noticed how when YOU are doing GREAT, words like AWESOME, FABULOUS, (insert YOUR fave happy dance words here_______ ) and general mental: high fiving comes much more naturally?

One of your Besties comes along, and she shares some news she feels is excellent, and: OH, you go grrrllll! Is your natural, even effervescent reaction?

But when we are not feeling so cozy in our skin, we can sometimes feel this little prick of envy, irritation, or worse: humiliation with the shared news.

Because: Check off any that apply:

• We are comparing with someone else and despairing about what and where we should be
• We somehow believe that their success, happiness, WHAT-Evah, somehow diminishes us
• We believe WE can’t have what we dream about
• We are stuck in areas of our lives, and we believe that there is no way out
• We believe we will never get it right -whatever IT is. Ever been there?

I geddit. We’ve all been there…

YUCK & STUCK. Not Fun.

So what if you knew you could change that? How do you begin to change that?

You challenge your own beliefs from the inside out.

That. Is. How.

What about this idea?

Envy is simply the masked upside-down desires of things that we are craving to create in our own lives, and we simply haven’t figured out exactly what they are and how to get there, YET.

Next time you are feeling FRENVY piping up, try this:

Get under it: When you feel Frenvy coming on, don’t ignore it. Instead, lean in and get UNDER the emotion, get curious and check out what you are really thinking. What’s really behind this SAD-itude? Envy can tell you a lot about what YOU are profoundly desiring. Perhaps you’d like a new job, a vacation, exercising more, eating healthier, or maybe you simply want one of those miniature pet elephants you can carry in your purse? Just making sure you are still with me ;).

OR maybe simply: to have more TIME, to have more CONNECTION, to have more LAUGHING, to have more LOVE, and to have more JOY in your life?

That’s what it gets down to most of the time.  

So, think about this:

• What is it that your friend has got going on that you’d like to have happening?
• How can you turn the situation around to be more inspiring and less unfulfilled upside-down desiring?
• How can you create more of what you are hungry for in YOUR life?
• What gifts & talents do you have that can help you bring more things you are secretly pining for into your life?
• What are some tangible things you can do TODAY to move it forward and bring that desirable thing into your life?

Note: Write it ON PAPER….it’s way more effective.

Do something cool for someone ELSE: Ever noticed how good it can feel to get your mind off of yourself and reach out to someone else, someone who needs YOU. Share your unique gifts with the world rather than fixating on someone else’s gifts. YOU are created perfectly to bring your gifts into the world. We are the most content when we are doing what we have a passion for and naturally do the best. Why do we overlook that stuff? OY-VEY!

Imagine your life without it.

Jealousy is a potent emotion, and if it goes unchecked, it can be a MAJOR obstacle in moving toward the life you are designed for. If you think it’s something you have to live with fo-EVAH; Nope, Nada, Not True.

And I’m not going to tell you it’s always EASY to change this habit.. Because I hate when people say that shit stuff.

Envy hurts you. It feels bad to YOU; ever noticed that? But I will tell you it is WORTH looking at it head-on and dealing with it.

And it also can hurt your beloved friends..so let’s deal with it, & heal this nastiness that is not showcasing who you are deep down under the crap that holds you back and keeps you stuck.

And also, there is nothing wrong with coming clean with your friend: “You know sweetheart, (I know that is not a popular phrase, but that’s what I call my friends), 

I AM happy for you. And I adore you. But I’m feeling; __________ (less than luminous is always a good one, or like a bag of puffy Cheetos, can work….) right now, so please forgive me for not being as cool as I want to be about how fab things are going for you.”

Transparency is the NEW BLACK.

I’d say TWEET THIS! But you already know; I hate it when people tell you to do that $hit ;).

Peace and Big Love,

I still can’t believe The Nicker is 80..what.the. hell???

Check out the hair.

It has been a long time since the whole family has gotten together, and we had a RIOT.

We also enjoyed some delicious food and gorgeous hosting courtesy of Nick & Carol in their magical home. Is it still considered hosting when it’s your parents? .

WHAATT – Everrr.

I am inspired to be in my parent’s casa as they are quite artful in the way they approach life, and that feels familiar and energizing to me.

Like any family, it’s not always Shangri-La when we hang out together.

We’re a fiery bunch; some of us more than others, including, Yours Truly.

But basically, since our gang is hilarious & free-spirited, we adore being together.

No one else is quite like us.

Speaking of hilarious, check out this video of my son and my little bro talking about my Dad:

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You can find out more about these characters here.

At our family dinner table, the funniest person is the Last Man Standing.  The competition is fierce, but also, um, rather sparkly.

Kind of like this:

DO NOT skip this video.  O.M.G……

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Okay…REALLY??? That was funny.

And this:

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Adore my sister-in-law; the other: Lisa Spencer.  She’s a beauty, no matter how you slice it.

And as I say:

The only normal people are the ones you don’t know that well yet;)

Besides that, normal is overrated.  I think if we’d get completely over that whole idea, people would be a lot more content with themselves and with those around them.

And don’t get me started on the idea of perfection.  That little seemingly innocent concept is straight from the devil.

Perfectionism will voraciously devour your lovely human spirit and leave you in a cold sweat heap on the floor if you’re not watching out for her. She is one cruel, not-to-be-trusted, raging task master mistress.

Can you tell I feel strongly about this? Sometime later, we’ll taaalllk.

Alrighty then, enough with my armchair rant.

Let’s get on with the loveliness:

The Bitterroot Valley has this luminous quality about it.

The air looks different. Not sure what it is.

No, I’m not smoking funny cigarettes.  Don’t touch the stuff.  

No Judgement.

It’s simply that I don’t enjoy driving WAY under the speed limit and eating entire batches of cookie dough;)

One of our best days was fly fishing with my brother Nick, and his  son, Nicky, my pal son Will, and my youngest bro, Alex.

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I’m extremely proud of my little (big) bro, Nicky: Apparently I’m the only person allowed to call him Nicky  

Getting ready for the big event:

At the big shindig, we had a lot of great food but this was my “way” favorite:

And finally, the recipe you’ve been waiting for.  My BRAND new favorite dinner EVER is the one my Dad both created and prepared the first night we arrived.

It’s simple to make and great for leftovers the next day.  I’m big on that.  Cook once, eat twice.

This version is totally Paleo (sans the freakin’ bacon;) and full of great nutrients and fiber.

Your body will say: I Love You, and your tastebuds will be in Shangri-La.

Without further a-do, here you go with my Paleo version of it: 

Chicken Marengo Tango

1 whole organic chicken

1 onion chopped coarsely

2 -3 cups baby tomatoes

1 medium eggplant

1/2 dozen Kalamata olives (forgot those this time)

1/2 lb. string beans (I used Romano beans)

1 red and 1 green bell pepper

2-3 green zucchini (smaller ones)

2-3 yellow summer squash

1 dozen small red new potatoes (optional)

1/4 cup olive oil

3 cloves garlic smashed & slivered

1/2 cup white wine

3 tablespoons fresh oregano

2 tablespoons fresh thyme

1/2 cup organic unsalted chicken broth (optional)

sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

First off: Get the freshest, local seasonal veggies you can find.  I am a regular summer stalker at  Joe’s Garden’s.  I actually have to fight back indulging in an ugly cry when they close at the end of the season. Joe’s represents just about everything I love about Bellingham.

Roast bell peppers until nicely charred. Let them “sweat” in a glass container to cool.

Anoint chicken and onion with oil. I simply rub it lightly on the whole chicken and toss the onion and garlic in a stainless bowl with a little oil. Put it in a big roasting pan with a lid.

I LOVE my graniteware for this recipe as years ago my Dad taught me to use these pans for almost anything roasted.

If you don’t own a lovely speckled roaster you have a few options:

Option 1: Call The Nicker and tell him you don’t own any granite ware, and he will most likely feel so terribly sorry for you, that he’ll buy you a roaster and send it to you.

OR:

If you’re not feeling that ballsy….

Option 2:  You can purchase one online or at a true value hardware store. They are really inexpensive!

Any-hoo A.D.D. girl, back to the task at hand:

Lightly salt and pepper the whole thing, toss about 1/2 the fresh herbs on top of the chicken and onions & garlic, add the wine cover the roaster, shake it around a bit and pop into a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes, shaking around occasionally. Do this quickly so you don’t let too much heat escape your oven.

Chop the rest of the veggies in big chunks. Toss in olive oil with a little salt and pepper and the remaining herbs. A big stainless bowl works well for this. I’m growing herbs in my garden-‘course, and I have this Cuban oregano that I added. It’s FABULOUS!

Add veggies to pan and cover and cook 45-60 minutes longer until juices run clear. Remove lid and put under broiler to brown the top. Cover and let cool for 15-20 minutes. Serve with: NOTHING! It’s all there. This tastes even more delish the next day.
Be prepared. It’s THAT Good..

Questions or comments? Scroll on down the road.

Try this recipe and let me know how it rolls in the comments down yonder.

Sorry.  Apparently I’m still thinking I’m on Bonanza

I DO love to hear what you have to say so let it rip!

OK…I’m clearly back on the West Coast now;)……………

 What I’ve been up to: Ridgeway Drive + Other stuff..

Have you ever gotten back from a fairly chill vacation in like, just say Italy, and literally had to PAY for it when you arrived home? 

It can be overwhelming when that happens, especially if you’re not the most organized + shithappens. 

But I do generally have a method to my madness and that mostly works out somewhat fluidly, and I’m grateful for that.

And I’m sorry if I sound entitled, because in this world, with all that is happening, these things I’m going to share are really NOT problems and I get that, more than you might know.

Moving right along…..when I got back to the PNW, I immediately decided to sell my rental home on 417 Ridgeway Drive in Bellingham. 

Fabulous Husband and I are on a simplifying rampage and……….

Don’t ask. It’s just how I roll sometimes.

I ADORE the place, so it was with a bittersweet feeling that I decided to get her garden spruced up, so that I could show her to the world. 

I did this with my pal Paco in 2 days flat + my fabulous friend Carrie.

Regardless of the help, I still became a hot mess in the process.

Actually, a driven, tornado planter of plants, imperfect perfectionist, and a whirlwind of over the top massive action, might be more the description, but hot mess,  crazed middle aged broad sounds more vague, and well, hot..what with my general temperature lately…oh, forget it!  I’ll go with that…

And so…. she just went on the market.  But only for the month of June.

Because..love.

And because I have tenants/whom I consider friends, living there, and they have a wedding coming up soon, so I don’t want to add any more stressedoutbullshit urgency, to anyones life including my listing agent  (one of my besties), or to my own life if I may be so direct.

Which I may be direct, because; it’s my website, right Ted? 

Anyhow, let’s get on with it!

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Contact Carrie!

Oh and:

 I’ve retired from doing interior design, but wanted help to a former favorite client and friend with a beautiful home. So if your in the mood to look at cool houses check this one out!

Rolling along like:

I’m asked this all the time.

My answer used to be: Throw that F-Bomb scale out the window.

Now I’ve changed my position.

I don’t know if you should weigh yourself, but you probably do.

Here’s the deal: People have various degrees of trepidation & terrifiedness (made it up) when it comes to what they make the number on the scale mean about who they are.

But it’s just a number—a fact.

It’s what we say to ourselves about the number that defines our relationship to the scale, Good or bad.

So when I was a freakin’ helpless yo-yo dieter back in the day, I would go on this fabulous low-carb diet program I called the Starvesdale diet (name changed to protect the possibly non-innocent). If you were a rabid dieter in the 80’s you know what I’m talking about;)

 I would get scarily giddy when I stepped on the scale every morning and saw I had lost a pound or two.

It meant I deserved to have a spectacular day.

I’d bucked up hard and won the battle of the day: Me VS. Evil Body. Booyah!

I’d lightheadedly head off to school, feeling almost good enough..

Never mind that I felt weak and shaky from lack of carbs.

Never mind that I couldn’t concentrate in class because all I thought about was the big-ass iceberg lettuce, tuna, and tomato salad topped with vinegar I was allowed to eat in just two hours.

Never mind that my eyelashes we starting to fall out.

Never mind that I had nightmares where I was seated at a long table, alone, with miles of food in front of me, and couldn’t stop eating. Only to wake up in a cold sweat and realize I hadn’t actually done that.

I had been good, and my thin rewards were just around the corner.

THEN I could go to the beach and wear a bikini or wetsuit with confidence.

THEN I could fit into my Calvin Klein jeans, designed for women with a totally different shape than mine with its natural curves – (big high five, Brooke & Cal. Um, don’t even get me started on Sassoon.) 

Side Note: Younger gals know this: Stretch denim is a gracious new thang.

Only THEN could I glance back at the guy I had a crush on, or talk to him at a party.

But until THEN, I’ll get through my hungry days on the Starvesdale,

one pound at a time.

Except after a few days of cramming my body into those jeans, I’d noticed a few things.

My life really hadn’t changed.

And I was hungry as hell.

And I was tired all the time.

But then who the hell cared? I was almost skinny.

Eventually, I’d give in to my ravenous, gnawing, obsessive hunger, which looked like this:

At a granola-chic California version of a health food store and restaurant, I’d order a platter of family-size nachos with copious amounts of cheese, guacamole, and sour cream to go.

Because God forbid anyone would catch a gander of me chowing down at the pace of a grizzly bear with a salmon.

While those were being cooked up, I’d hit the bulk bins to collect healthy bags of carob-covered malt balls, carob-covered almonds, and, oh, I can’t forget the healthiest binge food ever – yogurt-covered pretzels.

I had to get my fearsome food freak-out over with quickly before I realized what I was doing.

Because I was going back on the diet first thing in the morning; of course.

Never mind that after the first few bites, the food didn’t even taste good.

Or that I was getting so full, after a while, that my stomach cramped, and I was dizzy.

Or that I felt completely numb and zoned out.

Or that all I could think about was that I was a:

Fat Girl.

Ugly Girl.

Stupid Girl.

Angry Girl.

Hopeless Girl.

And the punishment the next day would be approaching a scale that felt like a guillotine.

I’d step on carefully, angling to the left side, which often produced more favorable results, only to realize everything I feared was true.

I’d gained five pounds. Who the hell was this hopeless chick?

The pattern would continue as the pounds relentlessly roared back at a pace of like 20 pounds in two weeks.

And then I’d do it all again.

Good times.

If you can relate, then you know that while diets can suck, the almighty scale can feel like the worst dictator you ever came across.

If you let it.

What you weigh on any given day is simply a fact.

It’s what you tell yourself about that number that determines what you should do about weighing yourself.

In the next while, I will be going to share the keys to long-term weight loss, a healthy relationship to food, your body, and the scale.

But here’s how I roll now:

I eat what I want.

I eat until I’m satisfied.

I have an ongoing romance with food, but I no longer binge or starve or obsess over the scale.

I am friends with my body. I listen to her and trust her when she tells me what she needs.

My weight doesn’t fluctuate much. I got very skinny (for my shape) during my divorce and I thought that was cool at the time. But it wasn’t a weight my girl likes to be at…

And it didn’t make me happy.

If you wage a war with your body you will lose, one way or another,  Fat or Thin.

More about that later. It’s key.

So now the scale? I hop on sometimes to check what’s up, but my emotion around the number has changed.

I don’t feel like a rock star if it’s lower or a helpless loser if it’s higher.

If it’s a few pounds lower, I’ll get curious and look at everything I’ve been doing lately and think: Hey, that’s why. If it’s a few pounds over, I think, Oh, Hey, that’s why. I know it will balance out.

No character assassination

No extreme proclamations about “tomorrow”

No jaded ideas about what I “deserve”

No scary giddiness over the number

No displaced depression over the number

No telling myself I’m either good or bad

Weight gain or weight loss is not a character issue. Word.  Tweet that.

OK, maybe don’t Tweet. No offense, but I’m allergic to the Tweet…

Take radical care of your beautiful self.

Ciao for now,

Have you ever experienced scale-induced scale and weight trauma?  What did you do about it?  Please share in the comments below!