Day 262: The Perfect Gift Idea

Something that really makes me happy is discovering great ideas for presents to give my family and friends. I love coming across that perfect something or an idea that inspires me and fills me with creative energy, whether it is something to make by hand or a fun store bought item, fabulous gift ideas are some of the things I love to collect. And I really do collect them. It is almost a hobby of mine. I am always on the look out for the perfect gift idea and I absolutely love the giddy feeling I get when I give these gifts away.

I get so excited that sometimes I nearly spill the beans and tell the person what it is. I did that when I was a little girl but it wasn't because I was excited about the gift being THE perfect gift, at that time in my young life it was more just the sheer excitement that bubbled up and out of me. Out of my mouth, specifically. One time I went shopping with my dad and my brother to buy birthday presents for my mom. After a very successful shopping trip we returned home and she asked me what we bought. I proceeded to tell her every single thing, all the way down to her Channel no. 5 and her orange-handled scissors, before I even knew what I had done. Suffice it to say that I was no longer trusted to keep birthday gift secrets after that. My mom got no surprises that year. Well, on her actual birthday anyway.

What can I say?? I was overflowing with joy and excitement and I wanted to share it. I still get that same feeling even though I am all grown up, but now I know how to control the urge to splurge and I hold my tongue. It can still be difficult however and especially if I feel that the gift is the absolute most perfect gift ever and that they will love it beyond life itself. Okay, maybe not beyond life itself but you get the picture. When I just know the person is going to love the present I cannot wait to see their face when they open it.

A birthday present decorated with photos. 

Each one is of either a very silly occurrence or is associated with a fond memory. 

Day 261: Kitty Slumber Party

I don't know why it makes us so happy when our kitty sleeps with us but it does. She doesn't sleep with us the whole night however, she "sneaks" into bed during the wee hours of the morning, usually kneading dough as she creeps over us. I'm not even sure when she starts her early morning dance ritual but at some point she wakes me up with violent head butts and purring that sounds like the engine of an eighteen-wheeler. Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration but at that early hour and being woken up out of a sound sleep it seems that loud. But I don't mind it. Honestly. She is so cute and cuddly at that time of the morning and then lately she kneads dough for a shorter period of time before settling in to sleep between us.

My husband woke up this morning and said he wasn't sure if it was my knee or the cat that was stabbing him in the back but since he thought it was the cat he let it slide. Ah... the things we allow our pets to get away with. Just a few hours earlier and you might hear my husband grunting irritated at my slightest movement but kitty can come walk all over us, meowing, purring and kneading dough and he just lets it go. We both just let it go and enjoy the fact that she wants to be close to us.

When kitty first came to live with us we had to discipline her a little bit to let her know what was and was not acceptable. Things like drinking out of our water glasses, jumping onto the dining table or climbing the shelves in the living room. She did not like to be disciplined and would go lie under our red metal cabinet in the living room and sulk. She would stay there the entire evening. A grudge holder. So coming from her grudge-holding days to "sneaking" into bed in the early morning hours to knead dough on us as we "sleep" and then settling in to sleep a couple of hours with us is perfectly acceptable. It's like having a kitty slumber party and we like it.

Day 260: Planned Happiness

What do bananas, peanut butter and chocolate chips have in common? They are all ingredients in the delicious muffins I baked for breakfast today. Well, chocolate chips were in half of them anyway. I'd like to just sum these up in one word: YUM. I could probably use a few more words and probably a few moans as well but we'll leave it at YUM. My husband and I have become addicted to banana bread during the past few months after one day I just decided to make a loaf to use up our overripe bananas. Normally we just freeze them to use later for smoothies but we already had an overabundance of frozen smoothie bananas and I was craving something sweet yet semi-healthy. 

I have made this particular banana bread recipe plain, I've added roasted hazelnuts, roasted walnuts and even a dash of ground cardamom. Now with the addition of peanut butter and chocolate chips I can honestly say that this was not only an excellent idea but maybe the best banana bread I've had. I love making peanut butter and honey sandwiches for breakfast and these peanut butter banana muffins really take the cake, no pun intended. The chocolate chips definitely make them a bit more decadent, maybe even verging on the category of dessert, but the peanut butter is a nice protein boost and besides, I reduced the amount of sugar and oil in the recipe with my addition of peanut butter. So they are actually healthy. Right. 

Okay, so maybe not exactly healthy but not terribly bad for you either. And on mornings when I need something a little yummier than cereal, oatmeal or toast, pulling one of these beauties out of the freezer to take to work will be an added pleasure for that day. Heck, it might even just be the thing that makes my day one day. Having these muffins in the freezer are like insurance for happiness. And in my book there is absolutely nothing wrong with planned happiness. 

And I love these muffin cups... The way they are pleated, all you have to do is pull it open a bit on the sides and the muffin comes out perfectly without sticking to the paper. :-)

Day 259: Sunbeams

"If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely" - Roald Dahl

For some reason the quote above sounds like something said by a child who was asked for his or her thoughts on how to look lovely. And yet it was not written by a child at all but written by none other than the man who created Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach and Fantastic Mr. Fox, among his varied and prolific works. I came across this quote on Pinterest of course. My new favorite adult babysitter (the previous one being Facebook). However, with Pinterest I really feel that I am being productive. I find so many things that inspire me in so many ways from new awesome recipes to try to quotes about happiness and positivity to easy DYI crafts to gorgeous photographs from places all over the world and on and on. The list is really endless. I have discovered some of my favorite blogs via Pinterest, which in turn inspire more creativity in myself. And I really feel that the inspiration I find there gives me a powerful energy boost. A boost that has sparked a vast new source of creativity inside me. It is amazing and wonderful and so very addictive. 

In many ways I feel that the gateways I've accessed via Pinterest have helped me to find a new passion. Since I stopped dancing it has been very difficult to fill the void that not dancing has left in my soul. I am a very visual person. I prefer learning things visually and I am greatly inspired by things that I see and experience with my eyes. Being able to look around and browse through the various "bulletin boards" on Pinterest is like being in a giant toy and candy store for adults and at the same time having access to the recipes and instructions to recreate everything I see. Nearly anyway, and that invigorates me and renews my zest for life. It is like riding on sunbeams through a clear blue sky. And that is lovely. Just like the quote above regarding good thoughts and sunbeams and always looking lovely. 

Day 258: My Umbrella

Our cat was full of it this morning. She was running all over the apartment like she was on fire. She does this quite often in fact and it always makes us laugh and laugh. So it isn't a horrible way to start a wet and rainy Friday. Normally I would be saddened by a rainy day, as that means no bicycle ride, but with today being Friday that helped push the rainy day sadness behind me. I merely put on my orange button-down shirt and pinned a pretty red crocheted flower to my cardigan (more girlie stuff) and headed to the bus stop with my cheery red and white Marimekko umbrella.

Several years ago I found this lovely umbrella at Crate and Barrel. It was after my very first trip to Sweden, with my at the time boyfriend and now husband, and after my very first introduction to the wonderful world of Marimekko. Marimekko is a design corporation specializing in bright, cheery and all around happy textile patterns. I instantly fell in love. I wanted all things Marimekko and we actually have quite a few Marimekko things gracing our home. Our shower curtain is the famous Unniko flower pattern and I also have a metal canister and apron in the same pattern in red. We also have one of the featured fall 2009 floral patterned oiled fabrics as our balcony tablecloth and my husband and I each have several items of Marimekko clothing. The designs and fabric patterns are timeless and classic and I just love them.

But one of my favorite and best purchases to date has been my Kivet red and white umbrella. I stumbled across it in Crate and Barrel some years ago and because of my previous Marimekko knowledge I knew it's worth and snatched it up right away. I think I would have liked it anyway but knowing what a find it was I was completely thrilled and even a bit sneaky as I walked sort of hiding it to the register, paid and ran out of the store before anyone realized what was before them. There are a handful of people in the US who now know about Marimekko and stores selling Marimekko are popping up everywhere so my secret is out.

One of the things I love about my umbrella is the fact that this particular design, by Maija and Kristina Isola, is from 1956 and made to appear like circles cut out of paper freehand with scissors. It's sort of whimsical and childlike and I love that about it. Using my umbrella when it rains makes me happy and lifts my spirits, even if I'd rather be on my bike with my orange scarf sailing behind me.

Day 257: A Golden Splash of Flower

There are many days when my getting dressed for work involves the bare minimum of effort and I just throw on what's clean, or even semi-clean, and hope that it matches well enough and looks presentable. When I'm going to be riding my bike I feel that I shouldn't wear my "nice" clothes because they might get messed up. So instead all of my "nice" clothes sit in the closet while the clothes that have been "bike riding" approved go to work with me every day. Well, today I decided that I was going to wear a nice dress despite the possibility that it may get messed up. And I have to tell you, riding my bicycle to work in a dress with a golden splash of flower made me feel pretty and feminine and even slightly chic.

Every day I see women riding their bikes in dresses and suits and the highest heeled shoes I've ever seen. Shoes that I wouldn't even wear if it was valet parking only. But there they are looking stylish and girlie and I think, "I could do that." Then I look down at my cargo pants and long-sleeve black shirt and tennis shoes and I tell myself that at least I am comfortable and warm. I've always been sort of a tomboy. In grade school and junior high I never brushed my hair during the day while I was at school. I would leave for school in the morning and by the time I got in the car when my mom picked me up after school my hair was nearly a rat's nest. And If I am being honest, I probably didn't brush my hair after I left the house in the morning while I was in high school either. But by then I had a huge perm so it didn't matter so much. (Thank you spiral 80's perm!)

Maybe I should make more of an effort to be more girlie. Before it gets to the point where I no longer have any high heels and I am looking more like the person coming to clean the office instead of the person who works there. Today I gave it a good go. It was more of a girlie day than most of my days. I had the dress and the pretty flower belt and even a pretty feminine scarf, but I still had on my lace up granny shoes, my sporty jacket and my bike gloves. I guess I have to start somewhere, right? But baby steps to being a girlie girl are probably all that I can manage. According to my husband however that is perfectly okay. He likes his occasionally girlie tomboy and I guess I do too.

Soft, feathery flower belt...

It gives my black dress the perfect feminine touch...

Day 256: Enchiladas

Fake beef and cheese enchiladas, smothered in tomatillo sauce, with spicy black beans and Spanish rice on the side. I was looking through the pantry the other day... But first I have to ask, do you ever accidentally find something in your pantry that you forgot was in there and coming across it puts a happy dance in your feet? For me it usually happens with a brownie mix or Williams Sonoma pumpkin pancake mix but this time it was a simple box of Spanish rice mix. I must have brought it back with me from Texas last year and somehow hid it from myself, in plain sight. I'll just blame it on my being short since it was on a top shelf that I rarely access, because I'm short.

I had been planning to make enchiladas this week so finding the Spanish rice as an accompaniment was a surprise bonus. I mean, enchiladas are always great, don't get me wrong. A la carte with a side salad and avocado is perfectly fine, or even with just a side of doctored up black beans. But enchiladas with beans AND Spanish rice? It is simply a Mexican feast heaven, especially on a Wednesday night. I miss getting my Tex Mex fix but this is the closest thing to it here in Sweden. So at this point it might be appropriate to send out a big thank you to all of our friends and family who have helped make Tex Mex in Stockholm a possibility. You know who you are... those cans of Hatch green chili enchilada sauce, diced green chilis and jars of the best salsa in the world have helped us survive this cold, Mexican food-less place. Here's sending you a huge thank you from the bottom of our enchilada loving hearts!

Insert: Yum.

In case you couldn't tell, enchiladas are my happy today. 

By the way, here's a great tip for preserving the freshness of your avocados. 

Click on the orange text below: 

How to Store: Cut Avocado