Monday Musings: Week 7

This week's post got sidelined for a little bit thanks to the Houdini move my lovely fur baby pulled when I let him out to pee earlier this evening.  It ended with a chase scene (and an unindentified brown object flopping out of his mouth) through the woods, accompanied by expletives that I can only hope the neighbourhood children did not hear.  This was followed by an early departure on my part for my tea date and his early entry into his crate - no treat for him.  As I write this he is trying to eat the zipper on my jacket and all I can think about are the germs floating around his mouth from that unidentified brown object.

He's lucky he's cute!

So, to re-focus this post, I thought I would share a few successes and failures from my recent musings.  I tried two recipes from last week's Monday Musings - the Almond Snack Bars and the Brown Rice Cranberry Chews from The Brunette Bit.  The verdict?  I will definitely be making these again!  Of course, I had to alter them a little bit because I have a condition and cannot help but change perfectly good recipes.  I did give the Chocolate Avocado Pudding a whirl from week 2, but did not love it; however, not wanting to waste it I added it to my morning protein smoothie and it was a raging success!  

I also spray painted my Ikea Marius Stool a beautiful aqua colour - I wanted to use the hack I linked to on week 3 of this series, but could not find a round swing plate, so I just went colour crazy and am glad I did!

Gluten Free On A Shoestring - Old Fashioned Gluten Free Cornbread

This link stems from my gluten-free experience thus far.  It centers around my desire to find a suitable bread substitute.  I have tried many, but they all end in stronger longings for a baguette.  I am completely weirded out by the flour substitutions in gluten-free bread and baking recipes - I have no interest in buying several different kinds of flour and combining them into some sort of mess that somewhat resembles bread - but really doesn't.  So, any baking I have done focuses on almond meal or something completely flour-free.  In the end, I just want to be able to find a way to eat a proper piece of garlic bread.  I really need garlic bread. Not quite sure how much longer I will stay on this, I have not noticed a difference in my IBS or my possible fibromyalgia.  For this reason, if I introduce it back in and there is no terrible reaction then I will be gluten all the way - bring on lovely, fluffy white bread.  Can you tell I have a slight fixation?

Manger - Market Days

Mimi pens a beautiful blog with stunning photographs that tell the tale of her life in Médoc, France. Not only does she have delicious-looking recipes, her posts about life in Médoc transport you into her world.  Personally, this made me long for Angers, France where I studied for a year and met my husband.  We have only been back once since, but dream of owning a home there and living the life eating fresh produce, drinking wine and generally basking in the French language and French culture.  Mimi was able to bring me there, if only for a few minutes.

Lifescoop - 5 Awesome Apps to Help Revamp Your Home Decor

We are currently obsessed with trying to pull the house together - fixing things and placing furniture, trying to figure out how to make it our own without spending a small fortune.  This article definitely caught my eye; it looks like there are a few in there that even my husband will use!

Monday Musings: Week 5

I have made a few changes over the past week that have affected some of my link selections below.  The first change is that I am giving a gluten-free diet a whirl.  I would love to see a day when I don't have to buy Costco-sized toilet paper, or a time when I don't have to see my massage therapist every two weeks without fail.  On Tuesday I will be one week gluten-free and I have to say - I am jonesing for some wheat like I have never jonesed before.  I am dreaming of a huge slab of white bread from Smith's Bakery with tons of melted butter and homemade jam and peanut butter. However, I have not yet broken, so will keep at this for a month to see if I notice any difference.

In addition, I am giving running another chance.  I have rebuilt the muscles in my legs with spin class three times a week over the past eight months or so and am aiming to do the Run or Dye 5k challenge at the end of September.  This will be the third race I have registered for, but I am hoping to not be injured for this one so that I can actually run.  I have done two runs this week, one of which was a treadmill run at slightly under 4k and another 5.5k pavement run.  I took precautionary measures and iced my knees after each run and have had luck so far.  Fingers crossed this will continue!

Popsugar - 400 Calorie Tush-Toning Interval Workout

In honour of the re-introduction of running into my life, I am aiming to tackle this workout later this week.

Centsational Girl - DIY Personalized Notecards

I have a great love for stationery.  I obsess over letterpress, lined envelopes, 100% cotton notecards, envelope seals, monograms and more.  I love the idea of being able to create a notecard to my own specifications.  For times when I feel the need to indulge, my go-to source is Erika Firm at Delphine - she is brilliant and her work is top-notch - particularly the letterpress.

Oh She Glows - Quick 'n Easy No-Bake Protein Bars

My cravings for wheat have me dreaming of not only bread, but pretty much any type of pastry or baked good.  This looks like a viable option that contains two of my non-wheat favourite things in life - peanut butter and chocolate!

Sprinkle of Glitter - Baby Glitter at 2 Years

This is just too cute for words, I had to add it in!  I love the "loves" section, it made me smile!