Yesterday... Time went buy, so slowly...

Yesterday... All my troubles seemed so far away....

Well, perhaps not. But I certainly had time on my mind.

I did however have a lovely day that I would like to share with my wonderful readers :)

It all started out with a wonderful breakfast. For the first time in a very, very long time, I had steel cut oats! I was planning on having these (1/4 c. steel cut oats, 1c water, pumpkin) two days ago before my driving lesson at 7am, but they took too long to cook so I had to abandon them mid-way in favor of some puffins. Thus, I left them in the fridge for two days, half-cooked, and pulled them out this morning, totally plump and hydrated! I warmed them up and topped them with cinnamon, jam, and pb. So Yummy! I may just be a convert. 

In the garden, reading The Bronte Project.

Somehow I whiled away the morning doing mindless things, and suddenly it was time to head to therapy! I drove the half-hour it took to get there with my mom (which is the freakiest thing ever, by the way! She would say the most frustrating things to me while I was driving, like "So, you have a tendency to drive way over on the right side of the road... And I don't know why that is..." Actually, mom, I had a traumatic experience in my childhood where I saw a chicken in the middle of the road and have since avoided that center divide like the plague. Joking!)

Therapy was good. We talked about replacing the eating disorder with other things in my life (art, studying, socializing, living...), my fears of weight gain (I have to gain a little weight to be safely in the mid-range of my set-point), and my plans for the rest of the summer. I love my therapist Diana, because she's so smart, eloquent, yet kind and empathetic. I feel so relaxed and reassured after I see her. In control of my life and inspired.

Afterwards, my mom and I headed over to this cute organic vegan restaurant near my therapist's office. I've been there once before with my dad, and I was so excited to go again! I love restaurants that boast healthy, natural, veggie foods. It warms my heart and makes me feel so light and happy!

Gotta love their slogan! Being vegetarian or vegan helps the environment so much! We reduce food miles, and require less investment into our foods for high yields!

They have the coolest stuff inside! It's like, if all the healthy living food bloggers came together and created a restaurant, this is what it would be like!

I mean, almond butter on your vegan Cranberry Walnut Bread? Yes please!

Kombucha outside of Whole Foods? Kombucha at a restaurant?

Loads of delicious vegan and raw cakes! They had mocha, chocolate, raw strawberry pie, key lime pie, vegan cheesecake... Gosh, it was like being on Katie's recipe page, but without the work!

So what on earth to order?

I finally decided on a tempeh wrap with avocado, lettuce, and tomatoes on an organic whole wheat tortilla. The tempeh seemed to be blended till smooth with something divinely creamy - hummus perhaps? The wrap was paninied into warm, gooey perfection. So yummy! I also had a small cup of salad made of grated carrot, plump raisins, and chopped pineapple drizzled in a creamy sauce. My mom essentially got the same thing as me, except it was called a "Tempeh avocado BLT." Basically, tempeh with veg and avocado in a sourdough sandwich. We both loved our lunches! We split a green tea jasmine bubble tea, which was delish! And of course, no meal is complete without dessert...

Shared chocolate cake, minus a few bites ;)

I really wanted to get the raw strawberry cake, but it turned out to have cashews in the crust (darn allergies!) so I went with the chocolate cake, which was good, but too dry for my taste. I like really rich, creamy, mushy desserts. Next time I'm getting the cheesecake :)

At the end of our meal, we went into creative mode. I started taking photos of stuff, and my mom did what she does best: drawing furniture and architecture. She drew this quick sketch upside down of my bed-side table that is in the process of being created. It was part of my old desk, which we chopped it into thirds, this being one third. I cleaned it, sanded it, and spray painted it silver, but now it needs a counter - I'm thinking glass or metal to go with my silver and turquoise color scheme.

Dessert! And teas...

After lunch, it was time to drop more money! Okay, I hate spending money, but I love shopping. It is quite a dilemma.

First we went to Anthropologie. I love that store. They not only have cute, unique clothes, they have the best home ware section ever! And boy did I take advantage of it. 

I must have spent hours perusing their knobs (clock knobs! What??), hangers, bowls, plates, mugs, cook books... Oh, there is such pleasure in seeing and appreciating beauty.

Plate (On sale for $3.50 down from $12!!), mug, bowl (only $5!), and two metal brackets for supporting a shelf.

Such beautiful dishes... It will be a joy to eat out of these :)

I'll be using these two brackets in my room to support a large (8' by 17'') piece of glass that will be resting on two chests of drawers as my desk. Apparently the glass will need support in the mid section between the two chests, so these brackets fit the bill nicely while also looking slightly antique and pretty!

Anthropologie done, we popped into a little antique shop across the street.

They had all kinds of great knick-knacks. 

 

I found these bowls of cheap thrills - watch faces, jewelry bits, bracelets, old keys, and was immediately drawn in. I realized I could use them to cover up some of the holes in the side of my bed-side table (above).

First, I started considering the variety of silver jewelry - squares, trapezoids, circles. Then my eyes were drawn to the square analog watch faces, and I remembered the time-themed knobs at anthropologie. I dug through the bowl, and started sorting them into little piles of similar brands of appearance, each match sending a quick thrill through me, and inspiring me to continue the hunt.

I eventually went for these round watch-faces. I found four small, identical Elgin brand pieces that had an old, weathered look to them. I was so pleased at my findings, and can't wait to put them to use!

I loved taking photos in this store. These bowls of, well, stuff, didn't seem like much to look at at first, but after spending way too much time browsing the clock faces and jewelry findings, I acquired an warm appreciation for the unassuming beauty these treasures, and their arrangement, had to offer.

Do you like shopping for antiques, home ware, or bargain treasures?

Points if you can identify the two songs in my title!

Mad Monday

Okay, so it's not really mad at all. It's actually been pretty mellow, so far.

I'll just jump right into it. I've been struggling lately.
It all began at Grandma's - she has trouble walking, so basically the whole four days I was there (minus a short run, a jazzercise class, and a ride or two up and down the street on the bike) I basically sat on the couch with her, watching The Food Network. Goodness. I never realized how active I am at home, aside from 'real' exercise (aka intense, purposeful exercise like running, yoga, biking...) I'm constantly running around, painting my room, gardening, baking (standing on your feet in the kitchen for that long is exercise, ;) )

So, as time elapsed and my sedentary lifestyle got to me, I realized I wasn't as hungry as usual, and my carb and protein intake diminished. By my last meal, I was eating a huge fruit salad and maybe a 1/4 cup of kidney and garbanzo beans with haricots verts.

When I came home, I thought to myself "oh, you know, I could just have salad for lunch." And so... I did. A big salad of leafy greens, some chopped fruit, tomato, dried cranberries, and a 'lite' dressing. With dessert, of course ;) I can never forgo my favorite part of any meal. Then, I read Gena's philosophy on breakfast. She reiterated something I'd read in Skinny Bitch that sounded logical to me. Basically, when you wake up, your body is emerging from 'hibernation' and still processing last night's dinner. Thus, you shouldn't shock, or load it up with a bunch of heavy food. Rather, you should eat really light foods that your body can easily digest, like fruits, smoothies, etc.

So, of course, being the impressionable and slightly eating disordered person that I am, I grip onto her words and vow to eat only smoothies for breakfast as a sort of 'cleanse.' Bad idea. Not sure if it's the xanthan gum, or the amount of veggies I've been consuming, but my digestive system has not been happy. That, and I've been feeling super fat and bloated.

Obviously, this is not a good way for me to proceed, especially as I am still in recovery from anorexia. Sooooo, I've decided to try to get back on track by doing what I did in treatment. Basically, every weekday, I'll do a post that deals with the same topics covered in the groups at my treatment center on that day.
So, it'll look a little like this:

Monday: Goal Setting or interpersonal relations
Tuesday: Art Therapy
Wednesday: Body Image
Thursday: Experiential or Nutrition
Friday: Process

So, today is Goal setting. Basically, I write up a maximum of four goals for the week.

1) Exercise more regularly
My injuries have been rather discouraging, and have forced me to get out of the habit of exercising regularly. I think the lack of exercise (endorphins, baby, endorphins!) has made me feel pretty sluggish and depressed lately, and I have had little to no desire to exercise.

I think I'm over my tendonitis, but now my calf muscles are as tight as cables right now, so running hurts. However, I went for a short run this morning, and it was glorious. It felt great to get out there and feel completely free, unfettered by earthly bonds like a purse, my dog straining on her leash, etc.
So I want to take really good care of my legs, like so:



My legs were covered in goose bumps by the time I took off the cold packs. My mom made them individual little sleeves to cover them. Isn't she sweet?


and continue doing exercise like walking, yoga, pilates, biking, and a tiny bit of running.


2) Get together with a friend
Pretty self-explanatory. My parents are at our house in France, and I'm by myself at our home in California. I think part of the reason I've been feeling depressed is the isolation.

3) Finish reading my book

How To Read And Why by Harold Bloom (professor at Yale.) My mom got it for me for X-mas, and I just finished Dear John, so I needed new reading material. This book is pretty good, from what I've read so far.



Mhmmm. Kombucha and Literature. Symbols of my two loves in life: Nutrition and English. Please disregard the huge thing of charmin' toilet paper in the background ;). Oh, and check out Bella in the background, lounging around and living a dog's life :P

Side note: does anyone else listen to Yale's open courses from iTunes? They're amazing. Really really good. Basically they're recorded lectures that Yalies actually take on various subjects. I've listened to Steven B. Smith's Introduction to Political Philosophy more than once, and find it so fascinating and informative. I really recommend you check them out on iTunes. Just type in Yale university, and a bunch will pop up. Best part? It's completely FREE.


So... yeah. Those are my goals for the week.

Cuestiónes:

Do you have any goals for this week?

Can anyone else relate to the calf tightness thing? If so, do you have any recommendations for how to heal it?