lists!

February Link List

February 17, 2020 filed under: link love, lists!

Around the Interwebs

A must read, if you care about the election 2020: the disinformation campaign.

Also, knock it the fuck off. Agreed!

What if there is no swing voter?

Yup! Lessons we learn too late in life.

There’s more than one way to age. How are you doing it? This is a fascinating new approach to understanding aging.

How to make hard life decisions.

How to Stop Wasting Your Life Watching TV and Do Something Worthwhile With Your Downtime. I’d like to state for the record that I watch very little TV (or stream shows), but I still found this article intriguing!

Why don’t people return their shopping carts? (Pet peeve of mine. Do you return your cart?)

We’re already throwing out very little food, but here are some good times on how to reduce food waste.

9 pieces of practical advice about bullying.

Around the blogosphere

How to raise gracious kids.

Age is nothing but a number. I loved this post by Angela and I couldn’t agree more with her attitude. I feel like I am in the best shape of my life.

The 8 dimensions of wellness.

As someone, who has never been on a diet, I am super-intrigued by this book: Why everyone should read Anti-Diet. I am not sure if I’ve been just lucky, or if I’ve always been intuitive about eating, and I clearly feel like I can’t have an opinion about dieting because I never really had to, but I also believe that intuitive eating sounds like a really healthy approach to food and well-being.

Craftiness/DIY

Make your own DIY dish scrubber.

A colorful DIY spring pom-pom garland.

That looks cozy! The Home Girl Crochet Sweater.

For my runner friends

The forgotten art of squatting. I actually find it comfortable and should do it more often while I can.

7 tips to succeed with morning workouts.

Your guide to fartlek workouts.

Deliciousness

The soup for mushroom lovers like me: Creamy Hungarian Mushroom Soup.

How to roast garlic.

Omenakakku – Finnish apple cake with herbs. Sounds delicious, Tobia!

Oven Fried Cajun Popcorn Chicken with Creamy Honey Mustard. These look so good!

Share a good link with me in the comments!

Things I want to do in 2020

January 27, 2020 filed under: goals, lists!

Go skiing (and snowboarding).

Guess what, I already checked that off my list last week when I went to Tahoe with some friends. Skiing is secretly always on my goals’ list. It’s a real shame that I live two hours from the snow and go so rarely. I want to change that. It’s hard to get up to the mountains, if your husband is not much of a snow person, but I am hoping to go once or twice more this season.

Travel this summer with my family

I might have mentioned it here before, but if not: my family is coming to visit this summer; my parents, my sister and BIL and the kids, and I am beyond excited. They’ll be here for about three weeks and we’re in the midst of planning another epic road trip together. I wish they could just come and I could host them at our place, but unfortunately, we don’t have the space and of course, they want to see more than Sacramento if they come all the way over here. So we’ll be traveling together quite a bit and I am sure it will be a blast!

Improve my fitness and break the 2 hour-mark in the half marathon.

Does this goal sound familiar? Yes, because I copied it from last year. I did NOT run a sub-2 hour half marathon last year, so it’s staying on the goals’ list. I also didn’t run three half marathons (as two of the three I was planning to run fell during the time when I was traveling to Germany), which means I only got one shot at setting a new PR and since the only half marathon I ran was San Francisco ( = hills) I knew it was kind of a long shot.

Run at least 600 miles this year.

I want to up my running mileage again this year. I ran 469 miles in 2019, but I would love to hit 600 miles again this year. This amounts to 50 miles per month. That should be doable, even if I throw in cycling and more cross-training.

Work on my Etsy shop.

If you follow me on social media, you might know that I own a shop on Etsy. Once upon a time, it was a little endeavor I started with my neighbor-friend across the hall, but she moved away, had kids, and eventually decided that she didn’t have the time to invest time in our little shop anymore. For almost a year, I contemplated what to do; close shop or continue on my own. I eventually decided that I didn’t want this creative outlet go. I’ll tell you more about that decision in a separate post.

Continue to invest in healthy living

I have a lot of fitness goals on my list here and along with this goes a focus on healthy living. I’ve started tracking food and macros this month, not to lose weight, but to be more aware of how I fuel my body. I also set myself a goal of drinking at least 60 oz of water every day, because hydrating properly has been an on-and-off challenge for me over the years.

One act of kindness every week.

I always try to be a nice person, but I am hoping to purposefully make someone’s day every week. It can be through offering a helpful hand, a sympathetic ear, heartfelt advice, or a simple compliment. It’s so easy to make someone’s day better by adding some positivity and kindness. Yes, it’s awkward sometimes to offer a compliment to a stranger, but every time someone has done it for me, it buoyed me up through the day and beyond.

Be intentional with my time.

This is nothing new. I always feel pressed for time, have so many competing interests. Sometimes, I am guilty of mindless scrolling on social media and when people tell me that they’ve been watching this show or listened to that podcasts, I sometimes feel left out or like I am missing out, but I want to focus on the things that interest me this year and not feel bad to not jump on every bandwagon.

Keep up with my planner/journal.

I’ve tried my hand at bullet journaling the last two years and it was an on-again-off-again love affair. When I was bullet journaling, I was doing it 110%, until I wasn’t and didn’t touch it for a couple of months. I hated these empty pages in between. So, for 2020, I bought a new, traditional planner and I am hoping that I’ll better be able to keep up with it this year.

Did you set any goals for 2020?

January Link List

January 15, 2020 filed under: link love, lists!

Deliciousness

We made a lighter version of this Zuppa Toscana and it’s delicious!!

Maple Buckwheat Homemade Granola.

Freezer Chicken Fajitas.

Share a good link with me in the comments!

A wish list

December 16, 2019 filed under: holidays, lists!, love

I admit, I am kinda late putting my wish list out there, haha, but in all honesty, I am not expecting any of this under the Christmas tree. I am just having a little fun. I love the holiday gift guides that are popping up all over the Internet this time of year, and I have to admit that I love shopping for small gifts for my family and friends around this time of year.

Yes, I know, Christmas is not all about the gifts (and I’d prefer time with people over gifts any day), but I also love gift-giving and they don’t have to be expensive. For me, it is more about the gesture and thoughtfulness behind the gift than the actual monetary value.

I am always trying to fill my holiday season with all the holiday cheer I can get my hands on and sharing a little wishlist of pretty (and functional!) things that would be lovely to have is one way to do this. To be honest, I don’t really need anything, but it’s fun to browse and look at the things I’ve bookmarked throughout the year.

It’s a list of (mostly) inexpensive things that I think would make great holiday gifts and you who knows, maybe you find some last minute gift inspiration here. Some may be in my future budget, some are just things that caught my eye, but which I probably won’t get (right now or ever), but a little day dreaming hasn’t hurt anyone, am I right?

1. Mountains-long-sleeve shirt // 2. planner // 3. door mat //4. gym bag // 5. hair dryer //
6. running pants // 7. travel pillow // 8. stacking rings // 9. socks // 10. hand-held vaccuum //
11. mug // 12. satin pillows // 13. travel dispenser //14. shower curtain //

1. I found this Mountains-long-sleeve shirt and it’s so me!

2. I am still on the search for a new planner for 2020. I am not sure if I want to continue bullet journaling at this point and I am intrigued by this Good Busy Planner.

3. Isn’t that door mat the cutest?

4. You won’t believe me if I tell you that the gym bag I am currently using is 26 years old. I bought it at my first trip to the US (Boston) in 1993. You think it’s time for a new one? This gym bag looks nice and roomy.

5. I have heard so many good reviews about the Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer & Volumizer from some of you guys and now I feel like I need it, too.

6.I realized that I could use some extra long running pants for the winter months and I love the look of these. They also have a pocket (which is imperative!)

7. I don’t think I travel enough to really need a fancy travel pillow, but then again this travel pillow looks so soft and comfy.

8. I already have 5 of those stacking rings, but I’d love to add some more.

9. If in doubt, Balega running socks are always a good idea.

10. We have a kinda old and cumbersome vacuum, that I don’t really use this much… but for the areas that I use it, a hand-held vaccuum would be so much easier.

11. In case you haven’t met me, Hi, I am San and I have a mug addiction…aaand, I already bought this Red Jolly Heart Mug for myself. I really can’t be left alone at World Market.

12. I’ve heard that satin pillows are really good for your skin and hair, can someone confirm this? I’d love to try it out.

13. Do you want me to confess how many times I have bought cheap travel bottles that then leaked into my bag? This travel dispenser seems like a really good solution.

14. Isn’t this the most beautiful shower curtain?

What’s on your wish list?

9: Little everyday luxuries

November 9, 2019 filed under: about me, lists!, NaBloPoMo

Photo by Georgia de Lotz on Unsplash

Do you ever think about the little things in your day-to-day life that make your day a little better and brighter? I am sure that these things vary from person to person, but I am sure everybody has things or little rituals that help them relax or get through the day a little easier.

For me, some of those things are:

A scented candle. I don’t know what it is about candles, but especially now during the cooler, darker months of the year, lighting a candle in the evening is such a calming ritual.

A blank page in my bullet journal. I must admit that it’s been an on-again-off-again relationship between me and my bullet journal lately. I haven’t been as consistent with my weekly spreads as I want to be, but I am always happy to open my journal and have a blank page in front of me that I can fill with current thoughts or to-do lists, which in turn makes me feel more organized.

A hot cup of freshly brewed coffee. Honestly, isn’t that the best thing in the morning? The thought of that first cup makes getting up early worthwhile! I also totally bribe myself with coffee if I get my workout out of the way first.

Ordering takeout. As much as I like to cook, sometimes it’s just nice to come home and plop down on the couch with a warm meal that we picked up from somewhere else.

An episode (or two) of Friends. If everything else fails, watching Friends will pick me up like nothing else. Always.

Pajama pants and hoodies. I don’t belong to the group of people who have to take off their jeans right the minute that they walk in the door (I actually find them comfortable), but I still usually change into pajama pants and a hoodie when I get home. Especially, if I know that I don’t have to leave the house again.

Hitting the snooze button. I know some people argue that snoozing is not good for you, but I don’t actually sleep between my snooze alarms. Most days, I am awake before my first alarm even goes off, but I love to just snuggle into the blanket for another 9 minutes (why nine?) and enjoy the coziness of my bed before getting up.

Knitting. A friend once said to me that knitting in the evening sounded like extra “work”, not relaxation. I guess, one could feel that way if they’re a beginner and (still) have to really concentrate and practice this new skill. For me, however, knitting is a very calming, relaxing activity at the end of the day and I just love being busy with my hands.

A hot cup of tea before bed. I drink tea year-round, but especially during this time of the year, a hot cup of tea in the evenings is a must. It helps me relax, wind-down and warm me up (when it’s cold outside, which it isn’t really yet and it’s November! Where are you, fall?)

What is one of your little everyday luxuries?

I am doing NaBloPoMo this month. 30 blog posts in 30 days. Come join me. #nablopomo2019

Some of my favorite F·R·I·E·N·D·S quotes

October 10, 2019 filed under: friends, lists!

It’s been 25 years (WHAT?) since the first episode of F·R·I·E·N·D·S premiered on television.

I have to admit, I never watched the show when it first aired. Which is probably a good thing, as it would have been a horribly dubbed German version of it and it would have been awful. I’d say, I was almost a decade late to F·R·I·E·N·D·S and started watching it when the show had officially ended, but since I am a self-proclaimed 90’s girl, I could still relate to the show so much.

I know many people argue that the series hasn’t aged well and I would agree to some extent, but I am also not a fan of picking everything apart that was done 25 years ago. I still find the show laugh-out-loud hilarious (ask J, shaking his head, when he finds me giggling on the couch) and it lifts me up like no other show.

I even got to sit on the famous Central Perk couch at the Warner Brothers Tour a few years ago. (Hi Caryn!).

In honor of 25 years of F·R·I·E·N·D·S, I thought I’d share ten of my favorite quotes from the series.

But they don’t know that we know they know we know! – Phoebe (when the secret about Chandler’s and Monica’s relationship gets out, Season 5)

“You’re over me? When were you… under me?” – Ross (when he finds out that Rachel has feelings for him, Season 2)

“Isn’t that just kick-you-in-the-crotch, spit-on-your-neck fantastic?” – Rachel (when she finds out that Ross returned from China with a new girlfriend, Season 2)

“I wish I could, but I don’t want to.” – Phoebe (when she’s asked to help with moving, Season 1)

“I am not great at the advice. Can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?” – Chandler (when Rachel asks him for friendship advice regarding Joey, Season 8)

“Oh I am sorry, did my back hurt your knife?” – Rachel (when she feels betrayed by Monica, who went shopping with Ross’ new girlfriend, Season 2)

“Over the line? You’re so far past the line that you can’t even see the line! The line is a dot to you!” – Joey (when Chandler kisses Joey’s colleague, who he has a crush on, Season 4)

“PIVOT. PIVOT. PIVOT” – Ross “SHUT UP. SHUT UP. SHUT UP.” – Chandler (when they’re moving the couch up the stairs, Season 5)

“I think the most romantic song is the one that Elton John wrote for that guy from ‘Who’s the Boss?’… You know, ‘Hold me closer, Tony Danza.’ ” – Phoebe ( when she talks with Rachel about the most romantic love song, Season 3)

“If you’re afraid to be in a real relationship, don’t be in one.” – Monica (teaching Chandler a lesson about commitment and relationships, Season 5)

Do you love Friends as much as I do? Wanna share some of your favorites?

A Fall Bucket List

October 7, 2019 filed under: lists!

Photo by Daiga Ellaby on Unsplash

Since I completely failed on making a summer bucket list this year, I thought I’d make one for fall (because why not, everyone is doing it!). Even though I am a list person, I am usually not very good at making a bucket list and then trying to check things off during a particular season, but I am always inspired when I read other people’s lists and how much they were able to do and check off.

Since temperatures have been dropping (ever so slightly) and we had the first thunderstorm coming through, I am getting more excited for a new season. Fall is really the nicest time of year around here in Northern California.

So, without further ado, a things-I’d-like-to-do-this-fall list:

+ Decorate for fall (I rarely do)

+ Visit a pumpkin patch

+ Go to Apple Hill

+ Watch Halloween movies with J (just the non-to-slightly-scary ones though)

+ Use my crockpot

+ Bake apple or berry crisp

+ Participating in #NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) again in November, wanna join me?

+ Burn a bunch of yummy-smelling fall candles

+ Getting a head start on Christmas gifts

+ Got to the Causeway Classic football game (that’s an old tradition with J and me)

+ Go for a Halloween walk around the neighborhood to look at the decorations

+ Find more time for knitting

+ Drink seasonal drinks (hot chocolate and all the teas!)

What is on your Fall bucket list?

Tuesday Topics: What are your favorite summer drinks to stay hydrated?

July 30, 2019 filed under: linkup, lists!, Tuesday Topics

{via Unsplash}

Well, summer is definitely here in the Central Valley of California and it is hot. It’s imperative to stay hydrated every day of the year, of course, but it’s especially important in the summer and even more important if you’re active in the summer heat (like we runners tend to be).

I usually prefer hot drinks over cold drinks, so I usually do much better with hydration during the winter months (because I can drink pots and pots of hot tea), but I also try to stay on top of my drinking game in the summer, of course.

So today, I am linking up again with Kookyrunner and Zenaida for Tuesday Topics and share some of my favorite summer drinks to stay hydrated.

Water

I don’t think that needs much explaining. I (try to) drink tons of water during the summer months and it’s definitely my main source of hydration. While I like the idea of adding lemon, cucumber, mint, or something like that to the water to make it a little more interesting, more often than not, I just reach for a glass of plain ice-cold water.

Apple Juice or Lemonade Spritzer

In Germany, mineral water mixed with any type of fruit juice is a very popular summer drink. So popular and common that you can buy any type of juice spritzer in bottles. The most common one is Apple Spritzer and it’s so refreshing. I don’t know what it is about the carbonation, but it really quenches my thirst.

Tuesday Topics: What are your favorite summer drinks to help you stay hydrated? #Runchat #SummerRunning #TuesdayTopics Click To Tweet

Grapefruit Juice and Coke (60/40)

Ok, bear with me here, this might not sound like something you have heard of, or even would consider trying, but I beg you: do yourself a favor and try it. It’s a super-duper-thirst-quencher. I won’t have more than one glass of this (because of the sugar content, obvs), but it’s so good.

Funny anecdote: in my hometown in Germany, we call this drink “Erftwasser” (Erft is the local river and it’s pretty muddy most of the time and the color of the drink matches the color of the river water to the point). You can basically walk into any restaurant and ask for “Erftwasser” and they’ll know what you want.

Iced Tea

I mentioned earlier in this post that I drink a lot of (hot) tea during the winter months, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that iced tea makes it on my list of favorite summer drinks. It’s a pretty good source of hydration, because I drink it unsweetened and don’t feel guilty downing a couple of glasses of it (just try to be careful with the added caffeine when it’s not an herbal iced tea).

What’s your favorite summer drink?

A wish list

December 13, 2018 filed under: holidays, lists!, love

I love all the gift guides and wish lists that are popping up around the blogosphere around this time. I love browsing for ideas and seeing what’s on other people’s wish list.

I’ve never officially done a Holiday Gift Guide on this blog before, but I have shared Christmas wish lists in the past and I thought I’d do that again this year.

J and I haven’t really exchanged gifts in the past, or it’s something that we both wanted (like new iPhones) or an experience that we decided to “give each other for Christmas”. In all honesty, we would have done it either way, but for some reason declaring it Christmas gifts always has a bit more magic to it, doesn’t it?

Christmas is by no means all about the gifts (although it might often seem that way), and I feel that the most important thing about the holidays is spending time with family and friends (if that’s possible), but I personally also love the gift-giving. I wish I was someone who would completely forego the Christmas shopping madness, but I also have to admit that I love shopping for small gifts for my family and friends around this time of year and I equally enjoy putting a little wish list together for myself.

Although for me, it is more about the gesture and thoughtfulness behind the gift than the actual monetary value.

My biggest wish – as always – would be to go home for the holidays, but since this won’t be happening (for the fifth year in a row – womp, womp!), I am going to fill my holiday season with all the holiday cheer I can get my hands on. Sharing a little wish list of pretty (and functional!) things that would be lovely to have is one way to do this. Some of them are totally reasonable and maybe in my future budget, some are just things that caught my eye, but which I probably won’t get (right now or ever). Some might be a gift inspiration for you. Who knows?

1. Ogio Purse // 2. Food Storage Containers // 3. Seafoam Letterboard //
4. Running hoodie // 5. Herschel coin purse // 6. Resistence bands //
7. Lotta from Stockholm Pandora Black Chelsea Boots // 8. Giftcards //
9. Kitchenaid Glas Bowl // 10. Hydro Flask //

1. I randomly came across this Ogio Purse online and it had really good reviews and I’ve been looking for a casual, yet nice looking cross-body bag.

2. I’ve been looking to replace some of my plastic containers with glass container and these food storage containers have great reviews and are air-tight and leak-proof.

3. Can you believe I am one of the few (?) people who don’t have a letterboard yet? Well, this seafoam letterboard caught my eye, because it’s such a pretty color.

4. Baby, it’s cold outside and I think I could use another warm running hoodie.

5. I have a small coin purse that holds some cards and cash, which I use for travel, but it’s slowly but surely falling apart and this Herschel coin purse looks like a great replacement.

6. I’ve been thinking about investing in some resistence bands to use for some strength training at home.

7. These Lotta from Stockholm Pandora Black Chelsea Boots caught my eye on Instagram and since I had to sadly return the boots that I got last year in Germany (the sole came off prematurely), I’ve been looking for a replacement.

8. Giftcards are always a good idea if you don’t know what to get someone for Christmas. I used to think that gift cards are a cop-out, but they actually beat any random gift that was bought just in order to have something in hand.

9. There is a new Kitchenaid model that comes with a hobnail bowl and I am so in love. Unfortunately, the hobnail bowl doesn’t seem to be available by iteself (and I already own the Kitchenaid mixer), so I am opting for a glass bowl for my wish list instead.

10. I’ve been thinking about replacing some of my Nalgene bottles with a stainless steel bottles and the Hydro Flask looks like it would be a great choice.

What’s on your wish list? Did you publish your own? (Leave me a link to it in the comments!)

The thing about…

April 23, 2018 filed under: about me, lists!

I came across this post idea on Charlotte’s blog a couple of ~~weeks~~ months ago and I loved the idea, so I am finally stealing it.

The thing about uncertainty is that we all have to live with it, day in and day out, and that there is nothing we can do about it.

The thing about coffee is that it really only tastes good when it’s a quality bean and brewed the right way (says the coffee snob that is me).

The thing about time perception is that it is rarely accurate. Either time is creeping along or flying by like a rocket ship.

The thing about hobbies is that I have too many and don’t know how to prioritize (first world problems, I know).

The thing about books is that there are too many and that there is too little time to read them all.

The thing about travel is that there is so much to see and to explore and once you have seen a magic place, you want to go back there and also explore new places and then there is never enough time and money.

The thing about running is that sometimes it feels easy and like you can run forever, and sometimes it’s hard and you have to fight for every mile, but not giving up and finishing your run strong gives you a sense of accomplishment you didn’t know existed.

The thing about friends is that some will disappoint or reject you and others will embrace you and lift you up. Pick those ones.

The other thing about friends is that most of mine definitely live too far away.

The thing about relationships is that you can never know what is really going on behind the scenes and you shouldn’t make assumptions. But,…

The thing about people is that they will judge and make assumptions and you gotta find a way to ignore it, and sometimes that’s easy and sometimes it really freakin’ hard, but you also don’t owe anyone an explanation.

The thing about blogs is that I’ve met some really great people and made some really awesome friends and I don’t want to imagine a world without blogs.

The thing about Sundays is that I blink and it’s 5 p.m. already and I wonder where my weekend went.

Now, your turn: tell me a thing about something.

Around the blogosphere

Craftiness/DIY

For my runner friends

Deliciousness

Travel this summer with my family

Improve my fitness and break the 2 hour-mark in the half marathon.

Run at least 600 miles this year.

Work on my Etsy shop.

Read more than 27 books.

Continue to invest in healthy living

One act of kindness every week.

Be intentional with my time.

Keep up with my planner/journal.

Around the Interwebs

Around the blogosphere

Health and Fitness

Craftiness/DIY

Deliciousness