June 16, 2011

DIY: Travel Bucket List

I have been dying to make one of these for awhile now.

It’s bookmarked with all the rest of zillions of DIY posts that I find across the internet… I’m sort of a DIY junkie.

There’s just something to be said for making things from scratch, and I love the homemade quality of decorating. Paired with anything vintage, it just makes the energy of a room so… home-y. And cozy.

I recently took on cleaning out and re-decorating my bedroom, and realized that it was the perfect opportunity to make a dent in my saved craft list.

So I pulled a world map out of one of our atlases, and got to work. With this project in mind, I bought a couple of cork squares at a craft store a couple of weeks ago.

I glued them together, and then glued the map on top of it.

Simple!

And now, the fun part:

The clear pins are where I’ve been, and the colored pins are where I am dying to go sometime in my life.

Obviously, I plan on doing a lot of traveling.

Does this have vital function in my life? Obviously not. But sometimes it’s important to have things just because. Isn’t that what inspiration’s all about?

2 Comments

Filed under Live

Tagged as crafts, DIY, inspiration, travel, wisdom

June 15, 2011

Slow-cooked Heartiness

I’m telling you, once you go steel-cut, you don’t go back.

At least that’s what it was like for me.

(If you still love your old-fashioned rolled oats, I’m not judging.)

Steel cut oats are a nutritional powerhouse. They are less processed than rolled oats, and contain much more fiber. They are chewier, with a nuttier taste. They also take WAY longer to cook.

I’ve read several recipes for steel-cut oatmeal slow-cooked overnight in a crock pot, which is supposed to create an amazing texture and really let the flavors of add-ins shine through. However, I’ve never really used my crock pot before, so, following the advice of several foodies, I decided to test it during the day first so I can keep an eye on the cooking time. Luckily, I woke up pretty early this morning and was feeling patient. The only difference between what I did and usual recipes was setting the crock pot to high heat instead of low… it still took nearly 3 hours to cook, so I imagine it would take about twice as long on low. I would probably set it to 6 hours on low and let it automatically switch to the “warm” setting while I slept to avoid burning the oatmeal.

We have fresh peaches so I added those, golden raisins, and spices, and a little bit of almond milk. When it was finished cooking, I added a dollop of plain greek yogurt. The result? ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. The texture was AMAZING, and the slow-cooked fruit added the perfect amount of sweetness… I didn’t have to add any! The raisins also re-hydrated… plump, juicy, and delicious! And to top it off, it’s definitely a hearty breakfast… I’ll for sure be full for awhile!

Peaches and Cream Slow-Cooked Oats

Makes 4 large servings

1 cup steel-cut oats

1 peach, cut into pieces

1 generous handful of golden raisins (or regular)

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp vanilla extract (I also added 1/2 tsp almond extract)

1/2 tsp each of ground cloves, nutmeg, and allspice

2.5 cups water

1 cup any kind of milk (I used almond)

Place all ingredients in slow-cooker. Stir, cover, and set on high heat for about 3 hours, or until almost all liquid has been absorbed (whatever your desired consistency is). Top each serving with a tbsp of plain non-fat greek yogurt and a pinch of cinnamon, brown sugar, or fresh peaches (or all of the above!)

Leave a Comment

Filed under Eat

Tagged as breakfast, food, oatmeal, organic, recipes

June 14, 2011

The Simple Things

We have hanging plants on our front porch. Every year, without fail, a family of birds decides to make at least one of them their home:

This happens every year, sometimes more than once, and still I get so excited. I’ve always been weirdly attached to nature… when little girls my age were playing dress-up and having tea parties, I was knee deep in a muddy stream looking for salamanders. Yep, I was that girl. And I loved every minute of it.

I’ve obviously grown up a bit. I still like getting my hands dirty, hiking, swimming, and spending every waking moment of the summer outside. But, ironically enough, now I also love dressing up… in a different sense, of course. Shopping? Oh yes, please.

Still, it’s little reminders like these incredibly blue, tiny eggs that we don’t need to step much further than our front doors to find something beautiful and amazing. Or memory-triggering.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Live

Tagged as nature, photography

June 14, 2011

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Leave a Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

June 14, 2011

My Daily Yoga

Like I’ve mentioned before, yoga has found its way into my daily routine. I practice it first thing in the morning, before breakfast, literally right when I get out of bed, and my sessions usually range from 40 minutes to an hour. The resulting feeling makes a huge impact on my day… I immediately feel healthier, stronger, lighter, and energized, ready to take on whatever lies ahead of me.

Yoga is a workout that involves constant self-evolution: meaning that there is always a new personal challenge; always a way to make a sequence of poses interesting, new, and beneficial to the body. I definitely have a basic routine of poses, but I do variations and I definitely have challenge poses that I strive to perfect… my summer goal is to dominate my headstand!

Today my “pose of the day” is my very favorite: the bridge pose. It’s simple, but the benefits are incredible: improved digestion, toning to the core, butt and thighs, and it’s totally energizing.

HP_193_Bridge_248.jpg

My challenge? The upward-facing two staff pose:

/MC_210_DwiPadaViparitaDandasana_248.jpg

I can definitely get the position, but it’s still a little uncomfortable, and my transitioning isn’t as smooth as I would like it to be yet! My flexibility just needs to improve a little.

**The pictures are from www.yogajournal.com. Please please PLEASE refer to the site (or ideally, an instructor) before attempting a pose on your own! The site is also great for reference if you have any question about the yogic lifestyle.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Move

June 12, 2011

Sunshine in a Bowl

Good morning.

And, well, hello in general.

I’m Victoria and this is the inaugural post to my blog! I try to live my life as naturally as possible, and find inspiration through nature, food, and really everything that the world has to offer. Join me as I take on life one organic recipe and yoga pose at a time! If you want to learn more about me, check out my about page.

Bear with me as I get the hang of this whole blogging thing. I’m still working out the kinks! And there is definitely more info and more pages to come in the next few days and weeks going forward.

Anyways…

This morning I woke up to this:

Summer, where are you?

Yes, summer decided to take a short vacay here after arriving briefly last week. Fortunately, I decided to lighten things up with one of my very favorite breakfasts, which I affectionately refer to as “Sunshine in a Bowl.” A perfect contrast to a gloomy morning!

Imagine a lemon poppyseed muffin in pudding form. Yes, it tastes EXACTLY like that. YUM.

It’s also so very very healthy… It’s a light breakfast that will still manage to keep you full until lunchtime.

Sunshine in a Bowl

3 tbsp dry rolled oats
1/2 cup non-dairy milk (almond, soy, or coconut work best)
1/2 cup water
1 tsp poppyseeds
1/4 tsp grated lemon zest
3 tbsp plain non-fat greek yogurt
1/4 cup wheat puff cereal (I used Kashi)**
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
Stevia or other sweetener to taste

In a glass measuring cup, combine the oats with some sweetener and the milk and water. Heat in microwave until water is very very hot and the oats are completely cooked (do this in intervals, checking often, to be sure that the mixture doesn’t boil over!).
Pour the hot mixture into a blender. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until combined. Pour into bowl and let sit for a couple minutes to thicken. Enjoy!

**You can use any grain or plain cereal you like, I just recommend wheat puff because when blended with the rest of the mixture, it helps to thicken it to a real pudding consistency after sitting for a couple minutes.

1 Comment

Filed under Eat

Tagged as morning, recipes