hiya Pumpkin!

from my iPad

As I mentioned a few blogs before I like to eat pacifying, well-cooked foods in winter. Foods that make you feel snug as a bug in a rug. Often those are fairly sweet and require minimal mastication.

I do not advocate "substitutes" (almond butter is amazing, but is it really going to cut it if your craving the "naughtier" peanut version?) I do make healthier versions of recipes and enjoy them for what they are.

Pumpkin Pie for Autumn Mornings

or Afternoons

(It may not be your grandmothers seductive dessert, but it will give you lasting energy with low sugar content.)

3/4 pound tofu (silken if available)

1 can 16 oz organic pumpkin

3 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup half oil/half applesauce or whatever you have on hand

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup brown sugar (can substitute some but not all with maple syrup)

pre-made, whole wheat if possible, pre-made crust

whipped cream is a must- this pie is not very sweet.

1. Combine all ingredients, blend until smooth. I use an immersion blender.

2. Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for one hour.

3. Top with lots of whipped cream, enjoy with a maple syrup-sweetened soy latte*.

*If you guzzle a more than occasional fancy espresso-based beverage and are still at the mercy of Starbucks, free yourself and equip your kitchen! Barista-ing is a fantastic routine that makes the house smell wonderful and fully impresses guests. I can suck down a Starbucks as fast as the next guy, but I challenge you to become the maker of your own macchiato. My Nespresso(click!) setup is as follows: (I swear it was all J's idea.)

The frother makes a cappuccino so creamy you might pee your pants.

oh dear

from my iPad

Holidays and chill factor are just around the corner. It's time we winterfy our wardrobes and home spots. There is nothing I love more than a little fall shopping! First, shop your own closet and switch seasons. This is not elective, you must put away out-of-season items in order to keep things sleek and current. Store items in pretty, cloth boxes and put away more than you would like.

Then go shopping! I never buy anything just because it is on sale but I also never (almost never) buy anything unless IT IS ON SALE. I kid you not. In this economic climate everything goes on sale. Really. Especially the good stuff, the avant garde garments that the masses cannot appreciate. Don't even look at the non-sales racks. Not even a peek.

A catalogue you could live in? Mine is Gorsuch. Especially as summer turns to fall, fall to winter, and my mind to hot cocoa and ski chalets. Will I order everything out of Gorsuch and live the high altitude life of elegance? Of course not. That would be a quick road to broke, not to mention boring!

Scavenging and slowly collecting is what makes decorating and dressing satisfying and sentimental.

Stag head pewter bowls, candles holders and ice buckets can be found now at Tuesday Morning, an intimidatingly unkempt discount chain. Who would have thought?

if not now, when?

Stay connected to the moment through the body.

Feel your body at all times.

Be present to your physical self.

Notice how it tethers you to the now.

Breakfast Yoga

'Take a routine activity that is normally a means to an end and make it the end itself. Notice the sense perceptions attached to the activity. Pause and observe the flow of your breath.'

Astrid Parker Kirschenbaum HIGHLY recommends the Four Seasons Las Vegas

'Say yes to the present moment. The future moment exists in the mind, not in actuality. Surrender to what is. Accept it as though you chose it, make the present moment your ally. '

(The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle)

As two unabashed morning persons, J and I enjoy a lengthy, hearty morning meal whenever possible.

J's fluffiest pancakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 1/4 cups milk

1 egg

a splash of oil

Mix. Drop rounds, hearts, mickey mouses onto heated pan.

Accompany with REAL maple syrup, lots of fruits, green juice, tea, nespresso etc.

a soft landing

(on recycled paper)

J and I were engaged on the first day of Spring and then married exactly two seasons later in the first weekend of Autumn. Six exciting and exhilarating months of preparation and anticipation during our engagement culminated in three nights of sublime events filled with more love and joy than I knew existed. Following those days of bliss surrounded by friends, family, food, wine, and foliage that would make any man delirious, we were sent back to earth.

Here is how to make a soft landing.

Fall, season of transformation

Old ideas shed like the decaying leaves. New ideas wait in the wings.

-Roam around iTunes, buy and blast an uncharacteristic book-on-tape, and rearrange your cupboards.

-After a deep clean of your home, collect original sources of inspiration at the bookstore. Peruse new isles, peek into unchartered sections, demolish the magazine racks, spend a small fortune. Take your goods to the coffee shop and let the sparks fly.

-Test a new restaurant, take a weekend trip, try a class or explore an unfamiliar hobby.*

Autumn is a time to let go.

-Focus yoga poses on body areas that hold and store excess, such as outer hips, side waist and backs of thighs. Sit low in lunge, squat, warrior, goddess, and utkatasana.

-Free up the chest area with back-bending heart openers.

-Enhance lung health with pranayama. Take deep breaths every time you're in the shower.

-Aid elimination with a detoxifying twist or an abdominal massaging reclined knee-to-chest pose.

Cold brittle air seeps in.

-Stay warm and moist. Ayurveda, sister science to yoga, recommends sesame oil self-massages post shower.

- Enjoy soothing, well-cooked atumnal foods such as apples, squash, rice, oats, soups, stews, turnips, carrots, pears...

-I like to take left over rice or quinoa, boil it again with soy or almond milk and maple syrup for 'anytime rice pudding'.

In summation

-fresh resources/intense invigorating exercise/warm soft foods

Use one quality to balance another

All summer long, Miss P. attended slow, meditative yoga classes that kept my feet on the ground when my head was in the clouds daydreaming of veils, cakes, a new life... When I returned to the same class today, as Mrs. K., I found it irritating and painfully slow. And not in the if-your-resisting-it-you-probably-need-it kind of way, but with a "I-need-to-run-outside, breath-in-cold-air, sweat, and-move!!!" recognition.

More often than not I recommend slower, meditative yoga because it is intrinsically what we fast-paced, A-type westerners lack, but this prescription has its limitations. It is important to assess your current condition. Which attributes are overly dominant and need an opposing property for harmony? This is a question that needs reassessing almost daily, if not more. It is constant play; a dance.

In my case, proceeding an emotional high, outward energetic activities are a better remedy to assuage an inevitable downward spiral rather than partaking in activities that take me further inward as I rebound. That kick in the ass can be found in a brisk walk or jog outside or a burn-your-buns, not-for-the-meek yoga "level 2-3" (ugh) class.

No spring nor summer beauty hath such grace

as I have seen in one autumnal face.

-John Donne

*Projects

-Cover anything and everything in Candy Corn. If you want projects to stick better and last longer shellac the candy corn before you glue.

iPhone4 commercial

to buy or not to buy a new iPhone? My generation one is about 85 in people years, but I would feel like a traitor replacing him before he dies. Or would I be doing both of us a service?

I'll at least wait for the white.

make it your own

This girl needs some sun! the weather in Cali up until a week ago has been less than stellar- I can honestly say I felt like I haven't even had a summer.

Well, luckily I am in Cleveland now, where, like the rest of the world, (other than California,) it is hot! hot! hot!

Over the years I have spray tanned, St. Tropez tanned, dyed my body with tea and currently walnut extract, but tomorrow it's back to a little old fashioned vitamin D.

weekends are for daydreaming

in the countryside

just outside the city

with three pugs

and a freshly baked pie

nO One iS SaFE

If it looks like you it probably is.

Kisses from Above

I'm on a Boat

This will be an ongoing series...

I offer you an olive branch

When I first put the duvet cover, below, onto our bed, J remarked he liked it because it is "gender neutral."

Needless to say did this get me thinking. Poor guy! Is he living in a world of pink and sparkles? What does it mean to decorate for a man and a woman? I always thought of the home as the woman's grounds and that femininity came with the territory, but now imagining a dolled-up girly girl in a more masculine space has me intrigued.

I quite like the idea of me in piles of pink, chiffon and bijoux amongst large leather couches and deep grey pointelle. I am now understanding Kelly Wearstler's boldness, and how it lends itself to the androgyny I am looking for. If you want to make a statement she's the girl to learn from.

I have officially added Kelly Wearstler and Starbucks to "things I thought I hated but actually love." This list is getting so long that if I want to guess my next obsession I simply try to think of something I am repulsed by.

I'm kind of obsessed

I chose the duvet because Olive trees have always been meaningful to my Mediterranean influenced family . (I didn't realize what I was getting myself into.)

Olive tree symbolism: peace, wisdom, glory, fertility, power, purity.

red watering can and clogs

The jam:

feather earrings: a great DIY

all that is House of Harlow like the necklace above

ps: e-mail me for more info on this necklace and other House of Harlow jewels on sale!

coffee drinkers have more fun

in harem pants

Astrid Parker on the job

I know I am about 10 years behind the curve, but I just frequented Starbucks and finally understand the mega-obsession. Not just the skinny lates, but the little packaged fruit/nut/cheese/chicken/crudites are all essentials in the working and traveling world.

Extra shot of espresso please.

These Jimy Choo sunnies are wild, I saw mama Kardashian wearing them in Kourtney's baby shower episode then found them at OffSaks.

and this, my friends, is how it's done??

The making of a (not-so?) successful painting

16" by 20"

Dysfunctional Birds of Paradise