Last year in my 30’s

I turned 39 on the 28th. Age has never really bothered me before, but the whole week leading up to my birthday I became very aware that I would be older. I went through a small bout of depression thinking about when I was 20, I had all these plans of what I would achieve before 40. I have achieved some of these goals but not all of them. Maybe that is unrealistic, but nevertheless it all kind of hit me like a bag of bricks. I am lucky because my husband and sisters helped me get over my funk with silly antic-dotes and jokes. They helped me stop overthinking and just be OK with getting older! It is not a bad thing! This next decade will be pretty exciting I decided.

I was off work for my birthday, which is not something that happens often when you work in retail. The depression had passed and I woke up feeling thankful and happy. I snuggled on the couch with the pups and watched a movie first thing, and then took them on a nice long walk. It was pretty crisp out but the sun was shinning so I didn’t mind the cold. Our winters here in Kelowna are probably some of the mildest in the country, there is cloud cover which keeps it warm but then we don’t see a ton of sun.

After our walk I decided to practice for the upcoming Art Battle. This event is awesome, they travel to cities all over the world to host them. I am one of 12 artists who are competing for a final spot. We all paint for 20 minutes, and when the time is up, hands up and walk away allowing for the crowd to determine who goes to the next round. There are three rounds of this. So, I wanted to see what I could do in 20 minutes, here are the results.

That evening Luke and I went to the Waterfront Cafe and had a lovely meal with a great bottle of Brezeme 2014. After dinner we went next door to this French bistro to have an aperitif. They have this amazing cognac that you can’t buy anywhere but Quebec or France. If you ever have a chance to have a sip of this , it’ll blow you away.

So that sums up my 39th birthday. Here’s to another year….my last year in my 30’s!

Random pairings

My husband and I decided to eat mostly vegetarian throughout the week, he is a talented cook and gets very creative with recipes.  He has an Instagram account called Profane Pantry where he showcases his cooking. The name profane pantry came from him swearing when he has a plan but is missing ingredients and has to find substitutes.  I told him he should start blogging about it because I feel a lot of home chefs have the same experiences.

Anyway, the other night he made falafel’s from scratch, homemade tzatziki and salad. Last night he made this killer (not completely authentic) black lentil dal based on the recipe from Smitten Kitchen’s blog and even though we didn’t have all the ingredients he rocked it.  I decided to pair it with a lovely bottle of Hommage Cotes Du Rhone.  This wine typically has sweet, sophisticated notes,  but after a spoonful of the dal all of these spice notes rose up creating a dance on the palate.  Delicious!

This wine is a blend of Syrah and Grenache and it is such a great affordable easy wine to drink, and pairs with nearly everything as I found out last night.  Most of the wine I buy is under $20 and this particular bottle was around $14. 

If you are looking for amazing meal ideas check out the cookbooks below. I recommend them! Happy Cooking….and don’t forget the wine.

I may have slipped

I’ve been beating myself up for over a week now. I promised I wouldn’t falter from my resolutions, I broke that promise to myself. I’ve drank to much and have not exercised as much as planned.

It’s one thing to beat yourself up over a slip, it’s another thing to dwell on it.  The days I beat myself up for slipping are never good days. I have a hard time doing my job, because instead of focusing on the task at hand I am in my head. My job is very information based and when clients ask me questions I really need to be sharp.

Yesterday morning I re-calibrated my thought pattern, I need to think positively and redirect myself towards something less dark.  So I got up and worked out and honestly that set the mood for the day! I could feel the energy surging through my body! I felt better at work, I was focused and excited to talk to clients.

This morning Luke and I woke up to see we got a bit of a snow dump.  For our workout this morning we decided to be snow angels and shoveled not only our front walk but the walk of four neighbors as well. What a work out shoveling is!

Here’s to another day, stay positive and keep working towards bettering yourself, even if you slip!