Tag Archives: cupcake

Chasing Happy

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I don’t know when exactly I decided to make my own happiness a priority.

Maybe it was after I stopped sleeping for two straight months. Maybe it was during a yoga class. Maybe it was walking down the streets in Florence with a gelato cone in hand.

Yeah. It was definitely that last one.

Well, I did. I just got sick of not being happy, of focusing on other things that most people told me were “most important.” And there’s nothing like moving across an ocean to give you a little perspective.

When I figured out that not only did I love food, but that I wanted to make a career out of it, it was like taking in a huge gulp of air in and exhaling every last bit out. Total and utter relief. An incomparable high no drug could ever touch. Delicious.

And that high got me addicted – I had to have it, at all costs. What good is life if you’re not enjoying it, really? I’m not saying every second of every day has to be filled with some kind of orgasmic awesomeness, and I’ve had my fair share of pain for my young age (if not more) and I’m grateful for what I learned from those down-in-the-dumps moments, but what I’ve learned is that not much is truly worth being miserable.

Right now, I’m not happy, and it pisses me off. I am exhausted, confused, and feeling rather low. I have graduated college, quit a job for the first time, and moved to a different state twice in the past 2 months. “Stressed” doesn’t even begin to describe where I am right now.

Wait! Don’t leave just yet – I’m not whining just to bring my fellow readers down! What is helping me most right now is to focus on my #1 goal: happiness. Once I think about what will make me happy, I can focus on how to achieve it and it all just looks a little simpler.

Sound selfish? Probably, but I am a believer in the “good” kind of selfishness, and this, to me, is it. Family and friends are incredibly important and necessary – but you’d be nowhere without your self. It’s taken me a long time to figure that out.

So on this lovely summer day, think about what makes you happy. A cupcake, a trip to the farmers’ market, a walk? Do it. You’ll see what I mean.

Be happy!

All the Rage

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Oh, bloggies, do I have some things to share. It is high time I introduce the latest obsessions of the Gillianasana kitchen. Hold on to your food processors, people!
1. Xantham Gum
I finally bit the grit after seeing countless images of protein ice cream and banana soft serve and ponied up the 13 buckaroons for this little bag of magic. Considering I use 1/4 tsp. at most at a time, it was a very worthy investment. Worthy and delicious. Not only can I create fruitylicious ice cream with a light-as-air texture on a whim, in any shade of the rainbow…


Oh yes. Green Monster ice cream. Don’t be jealous – go make your own!

…but I have also created what may be one of my favorite oaty creations ever. Which leads me to obsession #2: Ice cream for breakfast, anyone?

Whip up your fave hot cereal & top with a fresh batch of ice cream. It will change your breakfast-lovin life. Seriously. It has that fun hot-cold thing going on, and it’s sooo much better than just throwing fruit in the bowl (which, don’t get me wrong, has it’s place – on a pedestal lower than this.) Carby, creamy, fruity, fluffy…this has it all. Next stop: as a pancake topper. Stay tuned.

#3: PB & Co.’s White Chocolate Wonderful

Oh. My. God. I don’t even like white chocolate. But apparently when combined with peanut butter, it’s a horse of a different color. A really, really, amazingly yummy & addictive horse.
[P.S. - I can't speak for the company, but I'm pretty sure no horses were/are harmed during the production process.]
Seriously, I cannot decide if I like this better than Dark Chocolate Dreams, and I’m a dark choc fiend. It’s sweet, it’s salty, and it’s good on anything – but my personal preference is a spoon. I have no words left. 
#4: Avocado

More specifically, Gena from Choosing Raw‘s Dilly Carrot Avocado Spread. I made this to bring up with us to Maine (I promise that post is coming!) and it was a HUGE hit. I have a history of not being much of a fan of this particular brand of produce – and it still bothers me in salads when it gets a slimy and odd (same issue with bananas…well, not so much in salads….you know what I mean) – but I have recently discovered a new love for this green goodness when smashed into other things. Sounds violent, tastes delicious. I have many future plans involving this little guy!
#6: Eat a cupcake – Save the world.
Ok, maybe the world won’t be saved. But there is something so comforting, so restorative, so blissful about stopping into a local bakery and treating yourself to a little buttercream bliss . And really, if you think about it, wouldn’t the world be a happier place if all the haters just stopped for a cupcake break every now and then? I think yes.
(I haven’t been eating a cupcake on a daily basis – that would take away its specialness – so this is less of an obsession, more of a discovery. Potay-to, potah-to.)
#7: M. F. K. Fisher

Dear Mrs. Fisher,
Can I please be you when I grow up? And also, could we do gastronomical tour of France together? Call me. Hope all is well in the afterlife. Thanks,
Gillian.

I’m making friends with this book, a collection of her best work, as I chose her as the topic of my senior thesis (of course). The way she writes and weaves food into her stories, it’s so…delicious to read.
“People ask me: Why do you write about food, and eating and drinking? Why don’t you write about the struggle for power and security, and about love, the way others do?…The easiest answer is to say that, like most other humans, I am hungry.”

P.S. – expect the quotes to keep coming. I have to write a small book about this woman and her writing…I’m gonna have some stuff committed to memory, methinks.

And finally, no list would be complete with chocolate.
#8: Stonyfield’s Organic Minty Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt

I knew this would more than likely be good. But it is SO much more. It just epitomizes that perfect combo of mint + dark chocolate. I’m amazed and impressed with my own restraint that three days after bringing this pint home, it still resides in the freezer not completely empty. YUM with a capital Y.
Tomorrow brings a new Over-the-Humpday Challenge…bring it on!
~Namaste~