Tuesday, January 18, 2011

017: blue monday

Today is Blue Monday, which is supposedly the saddest, most depressing day of the year. I've found out that this is calculated by a very scientific formula (lol) that somehow concludes that this is the time of year when the weather is the worst, people are higly in debt from holiday purchases and their new years resolutions have failed. This was originally a publicity campaign for some travel company, so don't let yourself get too upset over the day... but I figured I would use this occasion to share some of the things that make me happy.

We'll see if this becomes a regular feature or not, but for now, here are THREE THINGS I LOVE:


Caffeine.
Typical, I know, but I had a phase where I was going through 5-7 cups of coffee a day. I am down to 1-2 cups of tea or coffee a day now and if I don't get my 'dose' in time, I start getting my withdrawal headaches. So I guess you could ask me whether I really love coffee or if I'm just dependent on it? eh, both.


Gardening
This summer I started my first backyard garden, with hopes of eating way more fresh food that I had grown entirely by myself. I grew raspberries, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, pear tomatoes, white currant tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchinis, hot banana bell peppers, cayenne peppers, chilli peppers, rosemary, sage & basil!
I made tons of amazing salads and made delicious pastas with just fresh herbs, zucchinis and mixed tomatoes. I even made some deep fried zucchini blossoms. It was so relaxing to just go outside & prune the plants everyday & watch them grow. I had no idea that I would love it as much as I did & ended up being quite the green thumb by the end of it :)


Raspberries
From most people I've met, I've found that you're either a strawberry or raspberry person. I'm a lover of both but raspberries rule my world. When I first planted my raspberry plant in my yard I babied it so much. 3 years later, I realize it's an UBER invasive species & it just takes over everywhere, which is not necessarily a bad thing... unless you are trying to grow other things!

Shoot. In a post that is supposed to make me feel better about the long winter, I'm just torturing myself with the hopes of summer :( ... and "island in the sun" is playing on the radio right now. UGH.

Also-- all my favourite things are edibles. dammit. What cheers you up during long, depressing winters?!

xo

11 comments:

  1. Ahh I'm totally a raspberry person too!
    My 3 things:
    - Ginger always warms me up, and I probably drink 10 cups of ginger tea a day ON TOP OF the 5-6 ginger candies I plow through...
    - Skating on the Rideau Canal - and then getting a hot coffee on the ice!
    - When all else fails, loads of blankets and an Audrey Hepburn movie - How to Steal a Million is good and cheesy and helps me forget the crappy weather :)

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  2. Ah the joys of living in LA. It's 77F outside and I'm going for a bike ride. I love your new website by the way. Way better than the LJ ;)

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  3. 5-7 cups of coffee a DAY?!? I've done 7 cups in one day after being awake for 30+ hours but I had a really hard time getting back into my regular sleeping patterns after that day. haha I used to be pretty addicted to coffee (had to have 1-2 cups a day) but I converted to a tea drinker starting in Sept 2010. I might have had a sip of coffee once or twice since then, but definitely not as dependent as I used to be.

    I'm super jealous of your gardening skills! I wish I were a strawberry or raspberry kinda person but I'm sadly allergic to both. Boo!! I'm all for blueberries though.

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  4. Jealous! I can't wait to have a yard so I can have a vegetable garden too! Your raspberries look absolutely delicious :)

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  5. Leja, EFF! I JUST figured out that you were Leiana. I AM EASILY CONFUSED YOU KNOW? The Rideau Canal comment gave you away ;)
    Ginger is a good idea-- I love really um, spiced(?) teas. Chai? yes pls. everyday.

    Minimal Bass, JUST GO RIDE YOUR BIKE IN THE SUN. I'm jealous, okay?! hahaha.
    Aw, you were around since our LJ store? Though embarrassing, I'm always really happy to hear that people still keep up with us after all this time. Thanks so much for the compliment, we worked forever & ever on our dot com & are super proud of it!

    Kat, I am SO SAD about your berry allergy! At LEAST you can still have blueberries!
    The coffee vs tea debate is a constant struggle for me, haha. I switched over to tea completely for a while & was having like 3-4 orange pekoes a day. My dentist asked me if I was a SMOKER because of the staining on my teeth. WHATTTT. That stopped me for a while. lol

    Kern, thanks baby! I can't wait for a garden too... cause there's still like 5 months before I can even start thinking about starting one up again. Winter is soooo long here :(
    You should get your hands on a raspberry plant & throw it in a huge pot! They are SO hardy and easy to grow, you can have juicy raspberries too within a couple summers :) xo

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  6. JEEZ SYL - internet privacy, yo!
    The alias came up when a shop lady misheard my name & called me Leja with such gusto that I didn't have the heart to correct her :p

    I'm a bit of a chai traditionalist - gotta make it on the stove with my mix of spices and with the milk steeped in... which isn't something I can do at the office. Ginger everything is a nice alternative.

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  7. omg, I've gotten into plants this summer too but only potted ones since I don't have a garden at my disposal... I mostly grew cacti and succulents which flourished in the Summer but are looking really sad right now cause they aren't getting enough light. So glad you're updating the blog more often!!

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  8. I just happened to see the photo of your coffee and my stomach started growling...can I really be 'hungry' for coffee at midnight?!

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  9. omg, I've gotten into plants this summer too but only potted ones since I don't have a garden at my disposal... I mostly grew cacti and succulents which flourished in the Summer but are looking really sad right now cause they aren't getting enough light. So glad you're updating the blog more often!!

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  10. Jealous! I can't wait to have a yard so I can have a vegetable garden too! Your raspberries look absolutely delicious :)

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  11. 5-7 cups of coffee a DAY?!? I've done 7 cups in one day after being awake for 30+ hours but I had a really hard time getting back into my regular sleeping patterns after that day. haha I used to be pretty addicted to coffee (had to have 1-2 cups a day) but I converted to a tea drinker starting in Sept 2010. I might have had a sip of coffee once or twice since then, but definitely not as dependent as I used to be.

    I'm super jealous of your gardening skills! I wish I were a strawberry or raspberry kinda person but I'm sadly allergic to both. Boo!! I'm all for blueberries though.

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