.domestic friday.

{image credit: ME!}

yesterday was a GREAT day at the massage clinic! totally positive experiences all around. i LOVE my job.

also, i feel totally suuuuuper productive today. i got up early (ok, ok, 8:30 is early on my day off!!), swept and vacuumed, washed the dishes, brewed a new batch of tea for our homebrewed kombucha, did an hour of yoga, sent my sister some sketches for her tattoo, walked the dog, blended up a delish smoothie, did two loads of laundry, hit up target (totally had to buy whip it!), the craft store (to get some things for finishing some necklaces i am working on), the sporting goods store (i needed new wrist guards for derby), mailed a few surprise valentine's packages, made a batch of granola, and cooked up a yummy dinner of polenta and mushroom sauce for the man-friend and i.

phew.

now? off to see a friend play at a fundraiser for local non-prof west side arts and then to see sweet mary bee at her cd release party!

busy day!

tomorrow starts my work week. i don't think i'm ready.

.smooth.

remember how i said i was going to make a kefir smoothie? well. i did and it was delicious. so yummy, that i had to share!!!

kefir is a delicious fermented, cultured dairy product. it is sort of like yogurt in a sense because it has live cultures and is super good for your immune system. but it is more of a beverage than yogurt (more liquid of a consistency). read this for more awesome info about kefir, what it is, what it does, and why you should love it.

here's how i made my smothie. a sort of DIY tutorial, if you will.

i started with a blender/juicer and added chopped up organic mango, organic banana and some organic frozen berries.
then i added some flax seed meal {about a TBSP}
flax seed is a great source of fiber and healthy fatty acids. adding a small amount to smoothies is a great way to add fiber to your diet. i also use ground flax seed meal as a substitute for eggs when i am baking for my vegan friends {heat 2-3 TBSP of water with 1 TBSP of flax until it takes on an egg-like consistency. this = one egg}. read this article for more about the awesomeness of flax.
anyway, after adding the flax, i added some local honey {local honey is GREAT for reducing seasonal allergies read this short article for more info on the benefits of local honey} , poured in the kefir and blended it up! it was pretty purple with bits of delicious mango floating in it! the banana and frozen berries gave it a great texture. the honey made it sweet like dessert, but really it was a great big helping of good-for-you fruit and cultured dairy!
remember to compost your fruit and vegetable scraps! {and pay no attention to the dog-hair balled up on my kitchen floor. i sweep EVERY DAY! malamutes are just fur-factories}.

there you have it! my nutritional overdose of information. that smothie was delicious. and served in an alaskan amber pint glass {procured fair and square from the summer i lived in juneau, ak}. my favorite beer, mmmmmm.

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spent the morning working in the massage studio and then ran errands in the FALLING SNOW after all my clients left. hit up the bank, post office, grocery store and . . . urban outfitters and details {a local socks/tights/legwarmers shop . . . they had a winter sale! legwarmers for $6!!!}. urban outfitters is weakness of mine. i got m ward's album "hold time" on vinyl for $4.99!!! yummy. i also picked up some arnica gel and homeopathic tablets . . . roller derby practice made me a little sore last night . . . remind me to tell you about "blood and thunder" sometime. so fun!

.recovered.

{photo credit: my man friend}

roller derby practice last night was the BEST EVER! it was so fun and challenging and awesome. i am spending today {my first day off in a while} recovering and prepping for my day at the massage studio {tomorrow} . . . as well as prepping for tonight's practice. i heart arnica and my joint salve(ation) from neohippiemama's etsy site. sooooo good for sore muscles!

so, while doing my research for my clients and designing a new coupon for an upcoming open house, i have been exploring cover lay down. this awesome site all about folk music covers! so cool to read about some of my all-time favorites as well as to discover new ones! favorite find of the day? j tillman covering townes van zandt. epic.

anyway, the H-bomb (my pup, hudson) is wishing i was paying attention to him. and my tummy was wishing i was feeding it (mmmmm, off to make a kefir smoothie!) . . .

.friday fancies.

pretty proud of my outfit today. got this new skirt on clearance for $5 yesterday. yessss.... i only buy things resale or on clearance. i just can't afford to be buying things shiny and brand new and full-price. but anyway, i knew it was a good choice when i was fixin' the hair and the man-friend walks in and says "hey cute girl!" so full of win.

hudson, however, is NOT impressed:
we got him that stuffed duck for christmas and he's already broken the squeaker. now he uses the duck as a pillow. so cute! i LOVE that he doesn't rip the stuffing out of his toys. he is actually really gentle with them. carries them around and grooms them. sort of like they are his babies. he's so special. we love him!

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in other news, i am being punished for making the most kick-ass dinner last night! the man-friend is SO FULL that he is making me WAIT for our friday breakfast outing until he is hungry. it's been . . . 13 hours since we ate dinner? and he's still not hungry?

it WAS a good dinner. i bought some rustic, sourdough olive bread from the local bakery. i sliced it open and topped it with grilled tempeh, swiss cheese (from non-hormone treated cows) and popped it in the oven to get all melty and toasty (both of those adjectives are REAL WORDS dispite what the man-friend might say) . . . when it was finished we topped it with fermented, raw cabbage (kimchi, or saur kraut) - at least an inch thick- and some organic thousand island dressing. put the top on that sandwich and you've got a vegetarian reuben to DIE FOR. pair that with a side salad of baby spinach, pecans and bleu cheese . . . you've got a delicious, nutritious meal . . . and apparently a meal that will cause some people to not be hungry 13 hours later.

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as long as we are talking about fermented foods, here is a great article about the benefits and history of fermented foods. in short, fermented vegetables (in the meal above this includes the tempeh, the kimchi, the cheese, the sourdough bread and possibly the relish in the dressing) are beneficial because of the awesome healthy yeasts, bacterias, flora and fauna that they can add to the delicate ecosystems in our digestive tracts. this helps the food we eat to be more easily digested and it helps our immune systems to ward off any unwelcome visitors.

as i continue to educate myself on the topic i will be able to provide better information. for now, read the article i linked to above and read up on the topic for yourself. i'd love to hear what you have to say!

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so, i hear the man-friend coming up the stairs . . . maybe that means he is FINALLY hungry and we can go to our favorite breakfast restaurant. check it out: julian's.

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oh, one last thing, for those of you who LOVE the fleet foxes, check this out.