finding your way forward

recipe: quick chipotle tomato soup (creamy, vegan)

2011-04-05T12:56:00.001-05:00

I was hungry. This is what happened.

1 medium yellow onion; diced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
28oz can plum tomatoes
1 chipotle pepper, diced + 1-2T adobo sauce (from canned chiles)
2 qts vegetable stock
kosher salt
1/2c thick cashew cream (recipe here; freezes like a charm)

Sweat the onion slowly in olive oil; throw on a bit of salt to get this going. When just getting translucent, add garlic and chipotle pepper. Saute another minute.

Add can of tomatoes and liquid from the can, crushing tomatoes in your hand as you go. Messy but oddly satisfying. Add vegetable stock. Then test for seasoning - probably needs a bit more salt. Bring to boil.

Reduce heat and simmer soup for 20ish minutes. Add cashew cream and cook 5 mn longer (this will actually thicken things up a bit). Use immersion blender to get out the big chunks; alternatively, use your regular blender, but be prepared to do 3-4 batches. Fill the blender only to half full, cover the top with a dishtowel and avert your eyes before you press any buttons. Hot liquid volcano may ensue.

Adjust seasonings a tad (I liked a little smoked paprika to amp up the smoky chipotle flavor without adding more heat) and...mmm...you know what to do.

and then there were two

2011-01-09T09:23:00.001-06:00

In the midst of life-changing events last fall, another small fire was kindling away. Sparked during the summer, this teeny little flame was being fanned and fed, nurtured and stoked, until mid-November when a big rush of fuel came and our little fire became fully engaged. Now as we enter 2011, I am thrilled to officially announce my new adventure and partner-in-crime.

Chef Molly Herrmann of Tastebud Catering has been a client of Segnavia Creative since early 2010. I have been helping her create a fresh, new strategy and vision for Tastebud and putting some business development projects into play. During this time, I have also been consulting with Midtown Global Market to reassess their strategies, operations and marketing efforts. As kismet would have it, between us all, the idea for a new business came to fruition. Molly worked daily in a shared commercial kitchen space at MGM. A loosely organized, but committed group of caterers, chefs, and food manufacturers rented this commercial kitchen space to share costs, equipment and such. The idea? Wouldn't it be cool if this commercial kitchen expanded (allowing access to more chefs, having had a waiting list for nearly 2 years), the cooking classes expanded (so successful thus far, but not a ton of room to host more people), and we added a retail component (people are always wandering by, wanting to purchase those perky meringues and delicious looking wraps)?

Molly and I wrote a business plan, some initial financial projections, and then wrapped it all up with a bow, not thinking that it had a chance in hell of getting going. Seriously. There were just so many obstacles to a project of this scope. But, indeed, the idea was a good one, and the more energy we put into it, the better it became. MGM's management and board got behind the project. Next thing you know, all of that kindling and rolled up newspaper and dryer lint had the match it had been looking for.

When the opportunity was presented to me to partner in this adventure, it couldn't have been a better alignment of timing, my personal passions, my career experience and my know-how. Food, retail, cooking classes, a start up business, and a good friend by my side. I knew it was meant to be.

A new business took shape, construction began, chef-tenants signed up, marketing efforts started and Kitchen in the Market was born.

So, as I continue my work supporting entrepreneurs and growing businesses, I launch into a new adventure myself. The quick answers:

I am excited to work with and take on new clients for Segnavia Creative. In my strategic-eye-view, Segnavia is a significant portion of my work life in the foreseeable future.
I will take on fewer new clients in the next 2 months as Kitchen in the Market gets up and running.
I have been repackaging my consulting and coaching efforts for entrepreneurs and am excited to launch several new programs this spring. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, I hope to see you at Kitchen in the Market - online, on Facebook, on Twitter, and especially in person. Come check out our beautiful new kitchen, take a class in our cooking school, and take home something tasty from our soon-to-be open retail grocery. We'd love to have you.

Beef Stew

2010-12-05T08:25:00.000-06:00

(I can't/won't credit this recipe to any one source because I pieced together so many recipes, comments, and suggestions that I don't think this recipe will look anything like what may have published to begin with! But I definitely started with one recipe from epicurious.com and one from How to Cook Everything to get me going.)

1 1/2 lb stew beef, cut into 1" pieces (can go up to 2 or 3 lbs if you want to be extra beefy)
3/4 c. flour seasoned with s&p for dredging
4-6T olive oil, divided
6 large garlic cloves, one crushed and 5 minced
1 large onion, chopped into rought 1/2" pieces
4 carrots, chopped into 1/2" thick rounds
3 stalks celery, cut into 1/2" thick slices
8 oz container sliced mushrooms
4 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces
2 c. red wine
2 T balsamic vinegar
5 c beef stock (we really like this brand that does naturals and organics)
2-3 T tomato paste
1-2 t dried thyme
1/4 c Worchestershire sauce
salt & pepper
1 c frozen corn
1 c frozen peas

Heat 2-4T oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Toss in whole crushed garlic clove and brown quickly on all sides to flavor oil. Remove and discard garlic. Dredge about half of the beef in the flour mixture and add to pan; saute until brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove to plate. Dredge and brown 2nd batch of meat. Remove to plate.

Add remainder of oil to the pan, saute onions, celery, and carrots for about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic. Add mushrooms. When onions are starting to look translucent, begin building the base for the stew: add red wine and balsamic vinegar and keep the heat high to deglaze the pan, bring to boil for about 5-10 minutes or until the volume is reduced almost to 1/2. Then add salt & pepper, thyme, tomato paste, Worsestershire sauce, and the beef stock. Add browned beef. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes the mixture should still be quite soupy; if it's not add a bit more beef stock. Add the potatoes and cook another 20-30 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Add peas & corn in the last 5 minutes.

Not surprisingly, this stew is best 1-2 days after cooking so if you have time, cook ahead and simply reheat slowly.

Trixie's Tips: for the first and second serving, make sure to have plenty of crusty bread (we had a freshly baked rosemary ciabatta one night...so delish), or make the cute Pillsbury Grands Biscuits...easy and yummy. For the third serving, try scooping the stew out over mashed potatoes.
This dish loves red wine and dark beer as an accompaniment. In fact, if you get really excited, replace the red wine IN the dish with a pint of Guinness to Irish-up your stew.

everything changes

2010-11-15T15:53:00.001-06:00

I’ve been trying to figure out how to “restart” myself after the events of the past 3 weeks. There’s an odd reality I’m facing. And without being overly dramatic, I think I can say with all certainty that this event, accident, loss, trauma has literally changed everything.

I have spent much of the past 2-3 years resetting my concept of what my life is all about. What is meaningful and important. What is relevant and valuable. And who I really am in this world. In a weird way, I’m proud of myself for that. Because my old way of living and loving wasn’t working so well. I was unhappy at work and stumbling along with my personal relationships. I knew I was off track, but I didn’t yet know how to find my path. These past years have really allowed me to grow into who I am and figure out how I want to show up to the world. But more intimately, I’ve also grasped the importance of those I love, and I’ve carved out a co-existence that felt right. In the wake of tragedy, I can say that I’m happy with where I’m headed. Because had all of this happened even 3 years ago, I believe I might have reflected on myself with words like lost, unfulfilled, disappointed, without purpose.

Three weeks ago, a lightening bolt created a crack in our lives. A fissure. A permanent void. And while this loss is intensely personal to some, I’m starting to see this as more than just people who left us too soon. It’s about the enormity of life and the ridiculously simple power of love. It’s about living a life of purpose, and one without regret. It’s about remembering that we have only this day to live well, love deeply and act accordingly. With life growing more complex by the day, we’re reminded of the basics. This is a very good reminder, hidden in a cloud of literal heartbreak.

I can’t begin to capture all that I have learned in the past 3 weeks. But I can try to articulate a few of the important lessons that have jumped out at me. Let’s face it, writing helps me process. For me, these lessons are around four key things: faith, humanity, purpose, impact.

Faith
I’m speaking here of both the practical and theological versions of the word faith. For me, these became very intertwined with recent events. I have often thought about and used the word faith when it comes to explaining one’s ability to make ridiculous leaps (transitioning from employee to small business owner in a troubled economy to, oh, just grab one off the top of my head) or to just trust in the small decisions we make every day. Faith helps us trust ourselves and others. It’s helps us rely on instinct and experience. It drives us to accept the unseen & believed, along with the seen & proven - in business, in love, in friendship, in everything.

My own spiritual faith is a convoluted thing. But it’s uniquely mine and I accept it. And more than ever, I’m interested in learning more. Exploring a few unturned stones. Understanding the complexities in a new way. I don’t always understand your way of accepting a higher power into your life, but I am inspired by it. I’m grooving with it. Be it God, Allah, Buddha or whomsoever you choose, there are so many comforting similarities between religions. But I’ve come to realize that - for me - religion itself isn’t really the point. It’s more about connecting to a force greater than me and attempting to understand the purpose and extent of my very existence. Ok, that’s a bit much, I realize. So take it as the mental wanderings of a woman with a number of questions. A ready student.

Humanity
Human beings are amazing things. Biologically, soulfully, theoretically and practically amazing. We don’t experience enough the love that is possible between and among people, do we? The reminder has been bittersweet, of course, but I have never been more grateful to experience the power of humans to genuinely care for one another. It’s amazing to think that as my heart is breaking, it is also so full of warmth and energy because of how others have shown up - for me, for my friend, for those lost, and for each other. Again, sometimes this is intensely personal - about my heart and my experience. But it’s also about the collective - our hearts, our experiences. We each have the ability to simply be human, to connect and to love.

Purpose
As a business consultant, I have a keen focus on strategic planning. I intentionally work with a segment of business that oftentimes struggles with that higher-level visioning, namely entrepreneurs. But the one thing that (I believe) successful businesses of all sizes have in common is a specific, focused, stated purpose for being. It’s the start of your mission, vision, values and priorities. It’s the guiding principle for how you go about your business day to day. I resonate so strongly with this that I’m certain I drive people crazy sometimes. But if you’re going into business just to make money, you’re probably going to struggle at some point in your evolution.

As people, we’re not so different. But how many people do you know have a stated purpose for their lives? Ok, maybe you just don’t know they have it but, really, you’d probably pick up on it, right? It would permeate their behaviors, interactions, and how they go about their business from day to day. You would probably sense it in the air when they’re around.

My friend Luke lived a life of purpose - both personally and professionally. And I now know how deeply that purpose impacted everything and every single person around him. I’m inspired by this example. My purpose is just there - on the tip of my tongue. But feeling more apparent by the day.

Impact
What we do impacts others. That’s simple enough. So how do you want your interactions and your very existence on this earth to matter to others? I’ve thought a lot about this in the past few years and I think it’s such a key driver for me. I’ve made some uncomfortable decisions because I knew that saying yes would have led me in the wrong direction. The impact I want to have on others, on life, on this world is bigger than that.

So maybe this event hasn’t changed everything, after all. Despite the still-inconceivable loss, I am fortified by this experience. I am placing a higher value on these above items; I think I knew them before, but now I truly know. I believe in my soul, my cells, my brain, my fingertips. Every part of me believes. And with that, I suppose, everything changes.

trixie's yummy chili

2010-10-23T09:41:00.000-05:00

I have made this chili so many times and I swear to you it's the best chili I have ever had. Yea, super humble pie, huh? ;) Anyway, this is not a traditional Texas chili in that it has beans and happy stuff like that. This one isn't time consuming or difficult to make but somehow manages to have that nice complexity of spices that makes chili so much fun. I hope you enjoy it!

1 lb ground beef
onion, 1/2 - 3/4" dice
green pepper, 1/2 - 3/4" dice
evoo
5 cloves garlic, minced
1T+ cumin
2T+ chili powder (I love Penzey's Medium Hot)
1/2 - 1t cinnamon (again, Penzey's Vietnamese is sharp and zippy for this dish)
1T dried oregano
1 can cannellini beans, drained and well rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and will rinsed
28oz can chopped tomatoes
small can niblets corn (or you can use 1c frozen corn too)
20-24oz tomato juice
3c beef stock or water (I highly recommend the beef stock for this...yum!)

Use a big ol soup pot for this recipe - it's got some volume to it, but if you start in a big enough pot, you'll only need to dirty up one pan. Ok so start by browning the beef, almost 100% cooked through. Drain the beef on paper toweling and set aside. Add a few tablespoons of evoo to the pan and over med-high heat, saute the onions and green peppers until they start to soften. After about 7-10 minutes when the onions are not quite translucent, add the garlic. You don't want a ton of oil in the pan here but just enough to keep things from drying out; add more if you need to. A little browning in the pan is just fine. Once the garlic smells nummy and the onions are soft you can move on. Now, if you have some nice brown goodies in the pan, I'd start by deglazing with just a bit of the stock or some wine - maybe 1/4c and scrape up the bits on the bottom (these ingredients are not in the list above but you can just wing it or skip it.) Then, once the stock is totally reduced and the onion mix is basically dry again, add the spices. Stir them constantly while you're doing this - you're looking for toasty spices, not burnt ones. After about a minute or so, go ahead and add the remainder of the ingredients. If your tomatoes are whole, chop them up in the pan as you go (or mangle them by hand, that works too).

Once all of this gets in the pan, throw a lid on it until you get a nice bubble working. Check the seasoning but don't get too carried away adding heat (spice heat, that is) just yet...taste for salt and call it good for now. Reduce the heat to simmer and check now and then to make sure you still have a slow bubble going on. This wants to cook for at least an hour but optimally 90 minutes. Recheck for salt and now you can gauge the spicy factor too. If you can get your hands on that nice medium spicy chili powder, you'll find this to be a good level of heat but not too zippy for us self-proclaimed spice wimps.

This is sooo good topped with a good white Irish cheddar (shredded), sour cream, crunched up tortilla chips, chopped red onion, etc. Also highly recommend this with trixie's cornbread too, of course!

trixie's cornbread

2010-10-23T09:37:00.000-05:00

Not sure how this recipe came to be but I started researching cornbread a couple of years ago looking for the PERFECT one - didn't find it so I experimented until I got what I was looking for: a somewhat sweet cornbread to stand up to my spicy chili (this one has maple syrup!), very moist and flecked with actual corn. It's so easy to make.

Preheat oven to 375.

2 1/3c yellow cornmeal
1c flour
2-3T sugar
4t baking powder
1 1/4t salt
can creamed corn
1/2c cold butter, cut into 1/4" pcs
4 eggs
3/4c REAL maple syrup
1 1/3c buttermilk

This is a great place to use your food processor if you have one. If not, no worries. I forgot I actually own one now and made my last batch by hand...so it's really no big deal.

You'll want two bowls to start with. And spray or otherwise lube up a 9x13" pan. Whisk all the dry ingredients together. Then crumble in the butter cubes. If you have the food proc, give it 20-30 seconds of short pulses to get the butter all broken up into the dry ingredients - it will start to look and feel a little like damp sand and will hold together when you grab some of it. If you're doing this by hand, wash those mitts and get them in there. (Or you can also start the process with a pastry cutter thingie too, but it won't take you all the way to the end. Forks can also work but in my experience, it's a pain in the arse and your hands work better.) Basically you want to take the bits of butter and get them all coated with the cornmeal mix. Then sort of smoosh them between your fingers while you bring in more of the dry mix. The idea is to incorporate most of the butter and get it really small in there but don't worry if it's not totally blended. Get as close as you can. By hand, this will take a good 5 or so minutes of handling. Then just sort of check the mix by rubbing it between your palms while still adding dry mix. Make sure the butter bits are pretty teeny and well distributed.

In the second bowl, whisk up the wet ingredients. The idea here is just to get things well-incorporated and make sure the eggs are broken up. Add the creamed corn to this mix as well. Then you can just add wet to dry and stir until JUST combined. Don't go overboard or the bread won't rise correctly. Be gentle!

Throw all of this in your oiled pan and bake:
9 x 13" should take around 45 minutes
9 x 9" probably will take about 45 minutes as well, as they'll be thicker.
Either way, you're looking for a nice browned edge that's pulling away from the edge of the pan and when you insert a toothpick into the center, it comes out clean.

Voila!

trixie's tip:

Maple Butter: this one is so easy...but makes the cornbread so happy. Take a stick (or 1/2 stick, whatever) of room temperature butter and whip together with a few tablespoons of the maple syrup. If you have a nice flaky sea salt, add in a teaspoon of that as well. If your butter is already salted, you may want to skip this. In the end, it's an excellent sweet and salty happening on top of your cornbread. Apple butter is also highly recommended here!

finding my own way forward, 1 year later

2010-10-18T18:43:00.001-05:00

(also know as: rejiggering, repackaging, reworking, revisiting, reminding)

This summer, I marked my first full year of independent consulting. Though I started my business back in 2001, I have either worked full-time or under contract nearly all of those years in between. Oh and I was gainfully, blissfully unemployed here and there too. But once I "decided" (aka, due to the realities of today's marketplace), I ventured out on my own last year, full time, all in, committed.

I often have people ask, How did you get started? and the truth is, I took an "it takes a village" + "modified shotgun" approach. I knew that I had some marketable skills. And I knew that the market I wanted to serve could use these skills. So wrapping up my team, I set out on learning as much about this process as I could. I really didn't want to take a bunch of missteps early on, and I needed some real life perspective from people who were out there making it happen.

But beyond that, I wasn't exactly sure how to package my services. I did a lot of reading and decided that an hourly rate wasn't for me, selfishly, because I didn't WANT to track hours!! I did so much of that as a contractor and frankly I didn't think it served my clients. I decided, better to just set a project fee and deliverables and go with that. Everyone knows what they're getting into and what they're getting out of it. Just seemed sensible. I assumed that I'd probably take a beating on my actual hourly rate early on because I just didn't know how to estimate my time yet. I knew that I'd build that into the learning process. I knew I'd take some clients that maybe didn't completely line up, but I also knew that if I focused on the things I'm passionate about - namely, entrepreneurs, women and food - and employed a fair amount of patience and faith, I'd end up in the right place.

All of this turned out to be true. I gained amazing clients - not even a clunker in the bunch. Sure, I might be running on minimum wage rates with some of them, but heck, I didn't even care. I was learning so much about what I wanted to do, how I wanted to do it, how long it would take and what I'd need to invest to get the job done. It was a perfect experiment all around.

So, since the late summer, I've spent some time looking back at my business plan and assessing where I was in my own strategy - this elusive thing that I help my clients with on a daily basis. How was *I* doing against my stated goals: revenue (by project, by month, by hour), clients (type and number), margin, turn time, etc. And using the knowledge of the past year, I set about creating an improved vision. No, I didn't decide to turn everything on its ear. But I did decide that I needed to shift a few things, repackage a few other things and reassess my own expectations a bit.

Here's what I learned:

It takes twice as long to do a project than I thought - both in actual hours, and in duration of engagement. Why? Because entrepreneurs need coaching. And without setting expectations about how that coaching would occur, I spent too much time coaching and not enough time doing. Next, because I wasn't my client's only priority, and they weren't my only client, general things took longer than I thought. Also, adding in other complementary services - key to my offering - added another layer of time and complexity. I know better now.
I revel in strategy work. Sure, I love some of the tactical stuff too. But sitting down with my entrepreneurs and talking with them about their future of the business and then turning that into solid documentation of how to proceed, where to go, what to do and who to take along for the ride? Pure bliss. I even like creating financial models. Go figure.
Coaching is fun, and inevitable. Twice in a day last week - the very same day - two completely unrelated people articulated my work with entrepreneurs as "you're like a business life coach." Huh. Never exactly thought of it that way, but it's so true. The entrepreneur is the business, and the business is the entrepreneur (even if you have a staff of 12). Getting all of the goals, identity issues, self-fulfilling trouble spots, needs and keys to success down on paper - aka, recognized and articulated - is such an invigorating process for clients. Once they see the vision, understand the journey and can see themselves walking down the path to success? Electrifying.
Entrepreneurs want RIGHT NOW ACTION, but have no time. The duration issue is as relevant for them as it is for me.

And here's what I decided:

I'm going to repackage and offer a more diverse selection of services, based on the client need. Some may need a longer-duration project; but some may need a one day intensive launch. Some may want a 6-month small group seminar, some may need one-on-one coaching. Some may need strategy, others may need tactics. And I can wrap these all up in different services and not only meet or exceed the client expectations, but also keep my own head on.
I'm going to set better expectations on client:consultant interaction so everyone understands what they're in for. Pricing and deliverables aren't enough to keep things clear and manageable.
I'm going to lean heavily toward strategy (though that's not at all different from where I'm at today), and I'm going to make it my focus.
I'm going to update my identity statement, key messages, audiences, website and marketing collateral. Evolve or die, people.

And though it's easy to see how cumbersome and time-consuming this business/self work can be, I've also learned that it's critical. Every business needs a health check once a year. I'm going to give that to myself so that I can give better to my clients. Does this sound familiar, entrepreneurs? We are our businesses, our businesses are our lives. Our health - in business and in life - is all we really have. And that's a glorious thing to be responsible for. Carry on.

spiced rub for pork chops

2010-09-07T14:22:00.000-05:00

Or really, I suppose you can use this on just about any pork-related product. It's so good! You don't need to buy the Northwood Fire mix if you have all of the components; just mix up your own version. But it has just the right amount of smoke and heat in its prefab state, so makes the whole process easier. Then we amped up the garlic and added extra salts to get a good crust going on the grill pan. The smoked salt is just so divine, but the chocolate salt is key - gives a depth of flavor without adding a whole chocolate-y thing; just enough to get your tastebuds interested.

1/2 t Northwoods Fire seasoning mix (Penzey's mix of coarse flake salt, paprika, chipotle pepper, black pepper, cayenne pepper, thyme, rosemary & garlic)
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t dry mustard
1/4 t ground cardamom
1/2 t smoked salt (from Golden Fig)
1 t chocolate salt (from Golden Fig)
1/2 t dried aleppo pepper

Makes enough to generously rub down 4 pork chops.

fig berry jam

2010-09-05T14:16:00.001-05:00

I went to the Minnesota State Fair this weekend and watched a presentation by Laurie of Golden Fig - one of the best local foods purveyors (and manufacturers, actually) in the area. She was showing simple recipes for fun, fresh food on a stick. But what got me was the beautiful fresh figs she had - and they were on sale at Whole Foods. I drove straight from the fair to pick up 2 pints to play around with. Then I set about finding a recipe for fig jam.

Two days later, I saw Laurie again at the St. Paul Farmer's Market taste testing some of her mixes and flavored sugars. The cherry cardamom sugar caught my attention and voila! The flavor components of my Fig Berry Jam were born. Thanks for 2x the inspiration, Laurie!

1.5 lbs fresh mission figs
1/4 lb dried cherries
1/2 c honey (get good, sweet, local honey - I used wildflower)
1/4 t cardamom
1/4 t white pepper
1/2 t kosher salt
zest and juice of 2 small lemons
3/4 c St Croix Valley raspberry infusion wine (I just happened to have this, if you don't, just use red wine)
6 cardamom pods, cracked with the flat side of your knife
1 T amaretto

Heat 1/2c of the wine and the cardamom pods over medium-high heat until liquid is reduced by half or more. Strain out the seeds and pods; set reduction aside.

Wash & stem figs and chop into rough 1/2" pieces. In a large stock pot or saucepan, mix together all ingredients except for the last 1/4 c raspberry wine and amaretto. Bring to boil and reduce heat to maintain a nice bubbling simmer. Cook 30-40 minutes until cherries are well plumped and figs are cooked through. Add remaining wine and amaretto just at the end. Taste and re-season, if necessary.

Turn off heat and let mixture sit for 10 minutes. Pour into food processor and pulse until you get the desired texture. (I like mine with a bit of body, but pretty well pureed).

You can just bottle this up, can using the boiling process, or freeze. Makes about 25-27oz of jam.

Trixie's tips:

Enjoy with a cheese plate with goat cheese, manchego, marcona almonds and a pool of honey to smear on flatbread, crackers or toasted baguette.
We also rolled about a tablespoon each jam and goat cheese into a crepe for brunch. Yum and yum.
This will also stand in beautifully for your normal breakfast jam on toast.
Lastly, warm this jam with a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and serve over super dark chocolate ice cream. Alternatively, crush a few meringue cookies, layer with this warm jam mixture and just a bit of heavy cream (whipped or not, doesn't matter).

cooking away

2010-09-05T11:22:00.001-05:00

While spring is my favorite season (blooming flowers, first signs of local produce, and the hope of warm sunny days after months of snow), fall is my favorite cooking season. Flush with veggies and starting to crave jeans & sweatshirts, I can't think of anything I want to do more than cook.

Beyond that, cooking is also my way of decompressing and dealing with my over-active brain. The mindless chopping and peeling and fussing are the perfect balm for my anxiety. Plus, I'm not so bad at it so the results tend to be as enjoyable as the process.

This weekend, full of summer and the fair and weddings and otherwise over-committed days, I found myself longing for my kitchen. So I've spent the better part of the past 24 hours in full-on cooking, baking and exercising my kitchen modes. Thankfully my better half is an avid and enthusiastic cleaner upper and is the organized, recovery to my cook-and-destroy. So he's been a great partner in my maniacal cooking fest. Plus, he loves food and loves to cook himself so he's a truly willing participant.

Other benefits of my weekend onslaught included inspiration for our Christmas gift planning (we're doing all-homemade gifts this year - together) and making productive use of the abundant farmer's market. But mostly it tweaked the creative side of my brain which, quite frankly, feels as if it's been dormant for a few weeks. Rushing through life headlong gives me that "just subsisting" vibe. And that makes me even more anxious. Riff on this recipe. Tweak that spice mix. Dream up a delicious cocktail. And enjoy it all with the one I love. Cooking is just good therapy all around.

I'll be posting recipes as I get a few moments here (I actually wrote them down for a change!) and taking a break here and there to, well, eat. Therapy you can devour. Delicious.

Sigh

2010-08-08T09:03:00.000-05:00

Way too many conversations going on in the comments section of this blog. While that would normally be a fantastic thing, in this case it's a bizarre collection of Chinese-looking characters that are clearly not intended for me. On. Every. Post. So alas, I've put comments on lockdown until further notice.

a giant leap forward

2010-08-03T11:08:00.000-05:00

The past few weeks have been a jumble. Summer, a little travel, an illness requiring medication, lots of sleep and gallons of water to try to reinflate me to my usual form, some events, a ton of board work and some still-developing shaping and reshaping of my work life. It's been nuts. Part of me knows that when I get too crazy and have too many plates spinning, the inevitability of some sort of unintended slowdown lurks just behind me ready to whack me over the head with one of those precious plates. It's been this way my entire life, and especially in the past 10 years or so. I have learned to be better in tune with myself and my limitations, but let's face it, I still go too fast, in too many directions, all at once. It's just how I'm wired.

I've been working on refining my existence as a consultant and what that means for how I work. And part of this process has made me sit myself down and figure out all this running around. It's too much. I love my Segnavia Creative clients and spending time with them is one of the most beneficial parts of how I engage. But I'm doing it too much - I am simply not funded to travel all over town and sit with whomsoever I'd like, as much as I'd like to believe that I am. I have recently engaged with my first (as yet, potential) client out of state. Which begs the question: If I can do that, can't I do this other stuff differently? Better? Do I really need to meet with everyone, so often, all the time, all over the place? Do I need to be one more car on the road?

Which brings me back full circle to a dream that I started poking around last summer - could I live without a car? There are lots of reasons why this is a crazy thought. A car is mobility! Flexibility! Freedom! Heck, a car is pretty much expected, is it not? A car is one of the first noticeable outward signs of success - is it a nice car? A clean car? A cared for car? A car is one of the most obvious external indications of who we are, what our personalities are, what our style is. We're weird Americans, aren't we? A car is an indicator of my personal worth or success? Who the hell decided that?

As I continue on my own personal journey toward building and living this best life (for me), I have come to realize that I don't want a car. I don't want the entanglement, I don't want the expense and I don't want the parking hassles. (This summer construction season is grating on me, without doubt...let's see how I feel at 10 degrees and no seat heaters, eh?) Because while cars are all of the things noted above, they're also many not-so-good things. A car is expensive! A car requires maintenance! A car bears a heavy "green" load! And let's face it, my bike is way cuter.

I've done a lot of research. I've crunched the numbers. I've played with the bus schedule - mapping things and timing things, to and fro. I've thought about running errands and hauling stuff. But the reality for me is that I'm ubermobile without a car. I live and work in my downtown loft and can easily access all the bus lines (2-3 blocks), several HourCars (3-4 blocks), there's a Budget rental on the corner, I have my bike (which can go on the bus too!) and for that matter, I am perfectly capable of calling a cab in an emergency. I listed out all the pros and cons of the car-free lifestyle I was considering. And the end result was that I was happier with the list of pros. I'm pro bike, pro public transportation, pro eco, pro shoe leather, pro car share. I'm also pro being better organized, focused and thoughtful about where I'm going and how. And I'm pro $700 each month to do other, more interesting things with. Yea, I'm definitely pro that.

So I've done it. As of noon yesterday, I am no longer a car owner. I am car-free. I am free.

And I'm exhilarated by possibility. I fully recognize that there's a fair amount of test driving and trial and error that are going to happen here. I know that some days taking the bus or arranging a car are going to feel like a pain in the ass. But having the ability to choose,and the flexibility that comes with not having that car payment? That's pretty fantastic. And it's one more step towards creating the life that I want for myself. One big step, actually...in very comfortable shoes.

best. line. ever.

2010-07-07T22:51:00.000-05:00

Watching Dan Ho Show - have you ever seen this insanity? It's a really sweet "life improvement" show on Fit TV (stop laughing; my cable is limited) with this nutty guy from Guam. I love it!

"We tend to save our best things for some "what-if-a-cation." Phft, I could get hit by a bus tomorrow. And when I do, I want them to say 'Great boots.'"

smoky spanish gazpacho

2010-07-07T07:09:00.002-05:00

I actually started with a recipe and then abandoned all sense of order and made up my own. In the end, I decided that this gazpacho was maybe the best one I'd ever made. Smoky, spicy and yet balanced with the acidity and sweetness of the watermelon. These measurements are rough, but you'll get there by tasting and adjusting both as you make it, and again after it's chilled. Here's sorta how it went down.

In a food processor, combine the following ingredients. You're creating a soup base with part and the rest is being set aside to stir in afterward. You'll end up with a nice base and just enough chunk and crunch.

7 ripe Minnesota-grown, vine-ripened tomatoes - cut these in quarters and pull out the gooey, seedy part; chop about 2 tomatoes into 1/4" dice and set those aside
2-3 garlic cloves - chopped roughly
1/2 - 1 whole large red onion - about 1/4 of the total onion should be cut into 1/4" dice and set aside with the tomatoes

1 large hothouse/English cucumber - peel this just a bit and cut 1/3 of the total cuke into 1/4" dice; set aside
24oz tomato juice
1 small or 1/2 of one large jalapeno pepper - seeded and minced (all of this goes in the food processor); add more if you like it super zippy
1/4 of a whole watermelon - dice about 1c of this and set aside
1T smoked Spanish paprika - I love the Penzey's brand for this
1/4c Sherry or red wine vinegar
2-3T good Spanish olive oil - or you can use any kind, just make sure it's fruity and delicious right out of the bottle since there's not going to be any cooking or infusing going on.
1t kosher salt

Zip this all together in the food processor until pretty smooth and chunk-free, and then pour into a large bowl or container that will fit in the fridge. A metal bowl will help cool things quickly if you're in a hurry. Then stir in the diced tomatoes, onion, watermelon, cucumber and
1 yellow pepper - 1/4" dice

Taste and adjust the salt and paprika, if needed. Add more vinegar if you need that bite. But don't go too crazy. Flavors will meld and change as the soup chills, so re-season just before you serve too.

Chill this for a good couple of hours. Then, mmmm. Enjoy!

happy, happy monday

2010-06-28T09:33:00.003-05:00

I know this is going to sound like workplace kool-aid of a hallucinogenic sort, but I have come to really love Mondays. In my still-new world of independent consulting, I have been testing and trying and balancing. I've been time managing and retrofitting my week. I've been sorting. Culling out the unnecessary and unmanageable. All while maintaining a sense of an integrated, reasonable life as a whole. And sometimes this journey isn't smooth.

I don't get all excited about typical work hours - or even days, anymore. I work either when necessary or when inspired. So if that's 9pm on a Sunday evening, or 6am on a Tuesday morning - or any random time in between - so be it. And if I need to scoot out for groceries, a client meeting, happy hour with an old friend, my precious time at the gym, well then I do that too. I work when my clients need me (or need something from me) and I work when my brain is on and the productive juices are flowing. If I'm stuck or having a less-than-creative day, I stick to billing or financial models. Or I go for a bike ride to reset. And when I'm "on" I try to stay in the groove and follow it. Which doesn't always work out.

But I've also found that my fondness for working with small, entrepreneurial clients has necessarily led to engaging with more of them simultaneously. So I'm learning to develop that fine balance between rainmaking, base touching, networking, info gathering, relationship managing...and actually doing the work.

I won't say that all that old "traditional corporate workplace" mentality has bled out of me yet, but in the past 10 years I've worked for companies that have started to realize the importance of flexibility and adaptability in our jobs. With all the travel, conference calls with folks in other countries, and other whacky things in today's work world, we either get integrated or go lose our minds. And the other key? I think many company leaders - including me, in my tiny little company - have learned that productivity doesn't directly correlate to a 40+ hour work week. You don't get 8 quality hours out of an employee every day just because they "show up for work." You get quality, creative output when workers are energized and ready to work. Oh and whether I'm working for me or for someone else, 4 hours of meetings a day talking about the work doesn't offset the actual work that still needs to get done!

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for dedicated work time and dedicated personal time. It's just that I've come to believe - at least for me - that these times don't necessarily have to be scripted and consistent. On the other hand...

...recently I've come to adopt Mondays as my revered and fiercely-guarded "productivity days." And I've found this exponentially important as summer has hit and our weekends are as rushed and busy as our weekdays. Otherwise we end up arriving at Monday, feeling as if we need a vacation from our weekends! So I've blocked my calendar and started focusing on what's most important for setting up a solid week.

Mondays now look like this:

7ish - wake up, throw in a load of laundry, put on the kettle and deal with the dishes that were ignored yesterday
tea, email, google reader, review social media for myself and clients, switch laundry
SHINY OBJECT: reorganize junk drawer, sort through mail and take out the recycling
9ish - Starting to really wake up and get going. Refocus on the week ahead, aka go Post-It crazy. My technique includes:

Post-It Calendar - one section for each: clients, boards, bus dev/ops, and personal. This calendar is a giant pad where each week gets ripped off at the end of the week.
Post-In Notes - one standard-sized note for each client, stuck all over my desk underneath the Calendar
I review my Outlook calendar for the week and note on my Post-It calendar the appointments I already have scheduled - client meetings, networking, social, gym.
I sort through my notes & emails from the previous week, jotting down all the to-dos - by client - on their sticky note. Then I assign these tasks to a day the calendar when I know I can sit and do.
Sometimes I just do the work quickly while I'm jotting it down, giving myself that oh-so-satisfying checked off item.
(I've just found that this system works best for me, as most time management techniques fail miserably in my world. I've figured out that I'm way too ADD, multi-tasking, free-association, and overscheduled for something much more complicated.)

10ish - more laundry, email, a smoothie. But by this time, I'm hitting the productivity apex. So I'm starting to dig into client projects like crazy.
5ish - by this time I've done the rest of the laundry, given a light buff to the bathrooms and the kitchen, eaten something resembling lunch (though around 3pm so it's starting to feel a little dinner-ish), and been horribly hard-working with my client deliverables. I'm truly in "the zone" at this time and am running at full stride.
If I don't get wrapped back into my client projects, I'll take time to walk over to the studio for a 6:45pm yoga class. But honestly, the past 2 weeks I've completely missed it. At 7pm I look at the clock and realize I've blown right through the start of the class. Bummer, but I value the uninterrupted productivity on this one day so I SCHEDULE the workouts on the other days. Again, it's about finding a system that works.
And then sometime around 9pm, I grab a glass of wine and maybe either watch a Law & Order re-run or take my Kindle to bed and am asleep by 11.

And you see what's missing? No meetings, no clients and - if I've done it properly - no leaving the house, with the possible beneficial exception of going to yoga. Just a good solid 12 hours of being industrious, productive and effective. Sure, I go to sleep at the end of the day with the all-day-at-the-computer stiffness in my shoulders and neck, but that's okay. It's worth it to me to carve out this day of work - for all aspects of my life - in order to stay dedicated and present.

I have actually started to look forward to Mondays now. What a difference it can make when you joyfully anticipate settling in and being successful in your efforts. It brings a whole new definition to workplace productivity - one that I've defined for myself and one that I can continue to edit and refine and adapt. And I will...because I just realized I need a half hour for blogging...

perfect buttermilk dressing

2010-05-22T13:22:00.001-05:00

Ok, well it's possible that this ISN'T perfect but I made it for the first time today and really believe it to be true. I'm generally not a fan of creamy dressings at all, but this one ended up having just the right tartness to cut through any heavy feel. It's quick to make and full of nummy flavor and will probably be dressing my market greens for the months to come.

Having never made this before, I found a couple of recipes that sounded interesting and riffed on them. But I will say that this is shaping up to be one of those recipes that you can modify to your heart's desire. The other typical herb is tarragon (though I'm not a huge fan myself) but I also saw a version with lots of fresh basil that sounded delish. I actually measured it all this time!

1 small shallot, finely minced

1 garlic clove, minced and then mashed into a paste with a bit of salt (use the flat edge of your knife blade and just work it around on the cutting board)

1-2T cider vinegar

1/4 t white pepper
1/4-1/2t salt, if you didn't get too crazy with your garlic paste; taste first and adjust later

1/4 t dry mustard powder

1/2 c. low fat buttermilk, well shaken

1T mayo (I love the eggy Japanese mayo that you can get from Asian markets)

2T sour cream (though I only had Mexican crema and went with that instead)

1T dried or 3T fresh chopped chives

Let the shallot and garlic mingle in the bottom of your bowl with the cider vinegar to "bloom" for 5 min or so while you get the rest of the stuff together. Add the rest, whisk together.

Or, use a jam jar and shake everything together while dancing around the kitchen.

Particularly if you're using dried chives, try to let this dressing sit for 10 min or so once it's mixed, just to let them soften and let the rest of the flavors come together.

You really only need about 2-3T of dressing per LARGE serving of greens; the idea is lightly dressed not swimming in goo. I served this (to myself!) with a leek & goat cheese frittata and a crispy glass of white wine and thought myself quite fortunate.

reconnecting

2010-05-10T08:14:00.000-05:00

I’m not sure how it happened, but I lost touch with my food.

I didn’t put two and two together until I was giving myself a stern talking to about why my food cravings intensified and my will-power crashed proportionately. It would have been easy to slip into that mode where I beat myself up and make excuses, but the reality is, I just lost my way for a bit. And I was trying to put my finger on how, where and why that happened.

I love food. I love reading about it, eating it, cooking it, taking illicit iPhone photos of it, twittering about it, sharing it and writing about it. I truly – in the most basic sense of the word - honor food. Which is why it's so perplexing when I recognized some iffy eating behaviors that had taken over my life. So what happened? Well, generally speaking, life happened. But along with the usual and expected effects of a too-busy, too-frenzied, too-blessedly-full life, I completely lost touch with food.

When I'm disconnected in the food department my fridge is empty and my visits to the co-op are further apart. My kitchen stays clean, sure. But it's a little sad and lifeless too.

When I'm connected I spend more time thinking about food. I devour my Bon Apetit and Cooking Light magazines (ahem, amongst several others in the cooking vein). I'm watching more of my favorite Food Network shows. I'm picking up fresh veggies and experimenting with new grains. The kitchen is humming. People are dropping in after last-minute invites to nosh. It's fantastic and it feeds my soul.

What happens, I think, is that the further I slide away from these engaged habits and connected practices, the less mindful I become about what moves from my fork to my mouth. Even the effort of cooking (a practice which I really do enjoy) becomes less enticing. Then I revert - as so many people do - to eating more packaged and what I call "quick fix" foods. I'm pretty well-wired now to keep these foods organic and unprocessed as much as possible. But when I'm on my 6th day of living on cereal and almond milk and nothing green has passed my lips, well then. Houston, we have a problem.

So I've chosen to go back and dabble more. Play mad scientist. Try some new things that I normally wouldn't attempt. I've turned May into "mostly vegan May" and am cooking out of my two new-ish cookbooks: The Conscious Cook and The Kind Diet. I made a somewhat scary (read: $140) trip to the co-op and have visited the St. Paul Farmer's Market. I'm digging out the past few months of my cooking magazines and revisiting them, looking for inspiration. And most importantly, I've invited a few people round for dinner, cocktails, brunch. An excuse to cook and maybe even wow people a bit always inspires me to attempt new things. And I can't wait to see how the month plays out.

Also, stay tuned for vegan, vegetarian and unabashed meat recipes as I experiment through out the month. And please, share your knowledge. If you have some other great ideas for inspiration, recipes, mindful food habits, anything...please comment.

Happy nibbling!

my mom's jello salad

2010-03-31T10:09:00.001-05:00

A holiday food ritual in our home, a requirement really. This was the one and only dish that could make my mom happy when she was a kid. If she was too warm, too cold, under the weather or just simply blue, this molded jello happiness turned her around. Not surprisingly, it works the same way today.

1 package red jello (raspberry is our preference)
1 package yellow jello (ok, lemon)
(let it be noted here that you don't want to mess with the sugar-free versions; just stick to the tried and true)
4 oz cream cheese (low fat is ok, but none of this nonfat business) - room temperature
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
crushed pineapple; drained

Dissolve red jello in 1c boiling water. Pour into mold; chill for a few minutes - watching carefully. When it's just starting to thicken (but before you actually have to break up jello chunks), add pineapple and mix in gently. If you're using a metal mold, this will only take 10ish minutes. If it gets away from you, you're sorta screwed so keep an eye on things.

Dissolve lemon jello in 1c boiling water. Cool to slightly chilled (in fridge or freezer).

In mixer, whip cream into firm whipped cream Then, add thickened lemon jello and cream cheese and whip until light and well-mixed. Some small lumps may occur - don't stress it.

Pour yellow base into mold (red should be firmly set by now) and chill until ready to serve. Needs about an hour to really set up.

Unmold by lowering mold into a shallow sink of warm (not hot!) water for a few seconds and then inverting the mold onto a serving plate. Shake a bit to release the suction and the jello should slide right out.

Slice, enjoy.

and olé to you

2010-03-23T09:09:00.002-05:00

I'm a ridiculously huge fan of Elizabeth Gilbert - she of the Eat, Pray, Love fame and untold other pieces of writing genius. What I love most about her writing style (and that of another of my all-time favorites, Martha Beck) is that their voice - their personal, wonderous, unique sounding voice - comes through so resoundingly in their words. For me, this is what I strive for when writing. Either for myself or for my clients, it's my sincerest goal to have that honest, true voice speak through my words. Sometimes it's professional, branded and on-message. Sometimes it's funny, forthright and a tad sassy. Regardless, I always hope that I can bring the voice through the message so that it connects and resonates with the people to whom it's directed.

I love how Liz talks here about this insane idea of creative genius, spreading out the love/blame for the quality of writing and just continuing the work regardless. Olé indeed.

pretty as a picture

2010-03-22T16:29:00.000-05:00

This is a bit of an aside, but as I've written about the fact that I office from home and live in a smallish footprint loft, my home and work lives are gorgeously intertwined. Ok, not always so gorgeous (see piles of paper in the post before this...which I'm still working to banish to their rightful files: dropfile, circular file or recycling pile). But I'm working on it.

This weekend I was gifted with a beautiful photo - framed and all - and I think it's going to stay right here next to me on my desk. My fella is taking his photography to very lovely places lately and this particular one just screams spring to me. Plus, it's pink. And that's just how I am.

a little spring clean up

2010-03-16T11:15:00.002-05:00

Fully 2 1/2 months of the year have passed us by already...how did THAT happen!? More and more over the past 3 weeks, I've realized how completely disorganized my life has become. While embarking on serious relationships with both my health and a new fella (old fella, well, it's a long story) - which are both going amazingly well and feeding my spirit - I have completely lost the rest of my way. Sure, there's an issue of balance going on here but there's also the (wonderful) issue of being busier than ever with Segnavia Creative. So, this is me not complaining...well, maybe just a bit.

If nothing else, the past few weeks have made me step back, look intently at how I'm spending my time and then hone in on how to be more productive and less frenetic. Instead of taking things as they come (my natural and slightly procrastinating state of being), I need to find a way to get more proactive. Gain some semblance of control. You know, if that's possible.

And there's no denying that spring is the time to consider things such as organization, fresh starts, clean ups, clear outs and generally making life a bit tidier. And since this is a blog that's about my work/life integration, you can bet my entire world is fair game. Here's what I'm thinking about:

Generally detoxing my home. I wrote about this for Simple, Good, and Tasty (a website about local, sustainable, organic and fair trade food and the people who love it) back in January which you can read here: kitchen, bath/laundry, rest of the house. And I'm happy to say, I've taken a lot of these steps including reducing the number of non-homemade cleaners I use around here, adding plants to the house, using up old candles to make a complete switch to all-soy, getting organized (a bit more about that in a second), and re-enlisting many things around the house to serve new & improved purposes instead of just buying new. There's constantly room for improvement, but I'm feeling good about just getting started.
Putting better organizing systems in place, which inevitably has to start with some purging, recycling and an honest consideration of what my needs are. I know there are a bunch of things that either aren't working or weren't well set up when I re-launched my business last year. And you know, you just feel like, "Eh, I'm not that busy. I'll figure out a "real" system once I have more to organize." So many flaws in that logic, I can barely type it without blushing. So I'm re-dedicating my dining room as my office (no really, this was an intentional decision last year as I realized that I honestly hated working in my office...and quite frankly, everyone gathers around the kitchen island to eat, anyway) and finding better systems for sorting out business operations, typical home stuff and an awful lot of recipes. My curse and my joy.
Being more and more paper-free. I sit on two boards and, let me tell you, we produce a lot of paper. As the boards are becoming more dedicated to sending out digital versions of our minutes, agendas, and other materials, I'm just going to haul my laptop in and read through things on screen. It's not brain surgery, but it does make life a bit less complicated when all of these theories align to keep the paper down.
Treating my body to a regular cleanse and also a shift in my eating habits. I started off the year with a month-long detox; I'll probably continue to do that detox once or twice a year because it's my old standby. I know it works for me, and I know I can choose it without feeling deprived. Next, I'm test-driving a 3-5 day juice cleanse from Organic Avenue in NYC. Well, I wish I lived in NYC because you can just buzz over there and pick up your day's worth of juices, shakes and food to line up with whichever cleanse you've chosen. But from spring thaw-y Minnesota, I'm going to follow the version publicized by Gwyneth Paltrow in her GOOP newsletter. (Sure. She's always going to have that air of "my life is infinitely better than yours" but I think that's mostly because her's probably IS better than mine. And 99% of other humans as well! But I can't hate her because she's talented, happily partnered and raising beautiful children, fit & healthy, drop-dead gorgeous and connected. I (*gushes*) sort of love her even more for it.) Anyway, she was kind enough to use her connections to get a download on the program, the recipes and after I read this NYT piece about another woman who gave it a go, I decided I'd try it too. I'm only on Day 2 so I'll spare you any half-baked reviews at this point. If you get real excited, you can follow Organic Avenue on Twitter here.
Carving out time to write. This is one of my true passions and is also an area that needs practice and refinement. I get that - first and foremost - from just sitting down and writing. This blog, my personal blog, whatever. I also get it from writing for my clients (Simple, Good, and Tasty being my biggest blogging commitment at the moment). But I'm also hungry for feedback, so I have a couple of classes in mind from The Loft in Minneapolis.

Most of all, I'm looking forward to spring. It's - by far - my favorite season and the continuation of my January 1st fresh start is warmly welcomed. I can't wait to see what the rest of the year brings.

a different look at the new year

2009-12-31T09:20:00.001-06:00

Oh yes, it's that time of year when everyone's addressing the "best of" for 2009 or "why you should" and "resolutions" for 2010. It's certainly natural to become reflective at the close of the year (and the decade for that matter) and to think about both the past and the present. Trouble is, how do you turn this into something inspiring and motivating and not overwhelming?

This year I will - yes - create some goals for 2010. As a good friend of mine said, "When you arrive at December 31, 2010, what do you envision for yourself?" This is the exercise I'm taking my clients and myself through from a business planning perspective, so it makes sense to be thinking about them for my personal wishes too. For me, this will be about wellness, energy, strength, stability, expression, creativity, technology and community.

In the meantime, I'm also thinking about where I've been. What's taken place in my life that I'd like to carry forward. Here are some of the things I'm thinking about:

Gratitude: This year, more than any thus far, I'm finding myself incredibly grateful for the growth, change and energy that I have seen in myself. Sure, some days suck but overall I am so glad that I have had this year to work out some of my own personal roadblocks, set fire to my new business and really focus on what's good in my life. It's easy to feel overrun by all of the "other" out there, but I've taken a stance of gratitude and it's truly served me well.
Catalysts: Who knows how to best describe the serendipitous meetings and happenings in your life? I sure don't, but I'm certainly recognizing the importance of the people I've met and the experiences I've had this year as catalysts of change in my existence. I've been introduced to new manners to thinking, completely different approaches to my business and even been shown a fresh lens on my personal relationships. It never fails that these catalysts take on unexpected forms. Staying open - in your heart, mind and soul - can bring some truly wonderful things into your life.
Authenticity: You gotta walk the walk. Figuring out who you really are, what makes you buzz and then bringing that courageously into your life? This is where authenticity begins. I've been working on this for me, and helping others find it themselves. Aside from cooking for those I love, this is one of the most gratifying things I do in my life.
Food: This is a year that's changed my perspective on, approach to and interactions with food. I am excited about what's to come in this area as, well, food and I spend a great deal of time intermingling.
Hope: Sometimes it's the sheer audacity of being hopeful that gets you through the day. It's about plunging ourselves out into the world knowing what we know, accepting who we are and being joyously thrilled because of it. Not in spite of it. How about that for a New Year's twist?

Happy 2010, one and all.

wheee! i can't help you!

2009-12-07T09:51:00.005-06:00

"I can't help you"...one of the most freeing statements in the English language! And yet, one of the hardest to say.

I've realized lately that part of the reason I encourage entrepreneurs (and other individuals) to go through the personal branding discovery process is because I know the inherent value that comes along with it. I know it intimately because I tried to operate outside of my true, authentic self for many years and wound up a frustrated, directionless character filled with self-doubt. I was on a path alright, but it simply wasn't mine.

For me, dealing honestly with my true passions, strengths and what I have to offer to the world meant that I had to also honestly deal with what/who I am not. This took time - many hours of reading, therapy and plain ol' living my life. I didn't wake up one day with a fully formed idea of what it meant to be me. And quite frankly, I'm guessing this evolution will continue. I hope it will.

Hello, my name is Tracy and I'm a fixer. I fix broken relationships, workstreams and attitudes! I solve problems! I find solutions! I'm innovative, kind and engaging! I'm tenacious and strong! All of these traits that make me an ideal consultant - someone that people regularly seek out for advice and direction - also made me fundamentally unable to say no. When presented with a challenge, I ran into it as if I were saving it from a house fire. In my pre-consulting professional life, I wasn't sure how it happened but I was the one that leadership turned to when there was a problem. When someone needed to put a finger in the dam, or needed to create a business structure where there was none. No mountain was too high! And I never said no. I developed myself into a frenetic, multi-tasking utility player. Saying yes and plowing headlong into a challenge became my calling card: how I valued myself and how I identified myself. Without a nightmarish business challenge on my hands, who was I?

Sure, we could spend quite a bit of time reviewing my childhood and seeing where much of this started but the fact was, I never truly saw the big picture until massive change happened. Jobs disappeared. The economy tanked. Relationships failed. Once all those titles and paygrades and roles evaporated, I had to address who I really was. Who I really AM.

And then? What a relief. I finally realized I didn't need to - or want to - solve every problem all the time. By focusing on who I am and what I really value, I quickly saw how I could bring the best me to my clients, my relationships, my world. It isn't by tackling every insurmountable issue out there. It's about defining the sandbox I play in and realizing when others need help I can't provide. This is what I do. This is what I don't do. It's simplicity is maddening. I help my clients see that drawing a few boundaries around who they are and what they do doesn't mean stifling innovation or being less open to opportunities. In fact, it gives them even more room to grow. And somewhere in that process, I taught myself the lesson as well.

Now I really do feel freer. I am more focused on the areas of my practice where I really excel. And I help my clients call on someone else when I have to say, "I can't help you." It's scary because I'm leaving business on the table. But in the end, I think it's better for everyone involved. We're all taking responsibility for who we are and acknowledging when we need assistance that's outside of our normal comfort zone. The interaction becomes richer and deeper. And I know that I've done my very best. Which, I suppose, is what we all truly crave.

So just know...if I say "I can't help you," it's out of respect. For both of us. I want your success, maybe even more than my own. And I will doggedly help you achieve it. And because of that, sometimes I just may have to say no. Isn't that fantastic?

another candle on the cake

2009-11-16T13:06:00.010-06:00

Though the weather isn't giving many visual cues, it's becoming that time of year when I start sorting through recipes, dreaming of holiday entertaining and thinking about what kinds of little gifts I can shower on my loved ones. I love the ritual of pulling out all of my old November and December cooking magazines (yes, I keep them all), making notes, remembering favorite recipes that HAVE to be included and adding a bunch that may be interesting new additions. I'm thinking of who's coming for Thanksgiving, fun cocktails we can make, movies we can watch.

In addition, because this has been a big year of refining my foodie behaviors, I've tried eating closer to home and supporting local food providers. I've been watching my pennies but still trying to eat fresh, organic, well-tended food. And I've been focused on cooking...even more than usual. Which, as you probably know, is the perfect excuse to get friends to pop over on a random night when I feel like having something bubbling away on the stove. "Hey, I'm putting chicken caccitore on...are you hungry?" almost always gets a great response. And all of this food focus really matters to me. It's something I truly live to enjoy.

In the past few years, I've also been thinking a lot about the "stuff" of life. And trying to make a conscious decision to not to over-accumulate or bestow too much junk on other people. Recycle, buy more vintage, and donate things I'm not using well. Give of myself and of my passions. I've been thinking intently about what I need and what I really don't need. And then asking my family and friends to help me focus.

Today, my birthday kicks off a season of celebration and gratitude. For me, finding my way forward in 2009 has been about embracing a bigger life. A life with huge experiences, fantastic moments - large and small - and with lots of learning. And, since this year has also been one cradling and nurturing a very delicate upstart business, I've been thinking a lot more creatively about money - spending it, saving it, using it wisely.

So, I decided to try something a little different this year and ASK people for things that I wanted. Bold, huh? But everyone was really excited about sharing their talents with me, or with giving me something they knew I would truly cherish. I have friends who are chefs and I put them to work - a fabulous birthday dinner with several bottles of local wine, a gorgeous birthday cake, a box of delectable slice & bake crackers. I can see baking off those crackers and popping a bottle of bubbly on a weeknight, just because. I got all of my knives sharpened as a gift and am even more excited to be in the kitchen now...with a box of Band-Aids handy, just in case. I have a new webcam so I can Skype with my friends and my dear cousin who lives in Switzerland. Talk about things which kick-start my experiential lifestyle! I got a bunch of surprises too: my newly certified natural medicine consultant pal provided me with an herbal remedy, tea and the gift of her time to enjoy it. I am enamored by a set of new (and by new, I mean 1920's) Japanese tea cups & saucers from my cat. And I got a much-needed gift card for Caribou - my oftentimes office. I mean, honestly. I just love the idea that it wasn't about "stuff;" it was all about being together, enjoying each other's company and celebrating life.

2009 has been a deeply enriching, soul-searching year in which digging deep and finding my authentic truth has been central. Would I be the same person today if I didn't move on to my own business? I don't know. But I do know that taking the time to really focus on what matters to me - people I love, food that truly nourishes me, experiences which touch me - has returned a much more focused, confident and anxiety-reduced Tracy. And to me, there is no finer gift to celebrate another year of living. Cheers to that!

So, what about you? What do you truly crave this holiday season? If you don't want "stuff," can your friends and family support a charity that you care about? How do you wish to spend your holiday time? What new philosophies do you have to celebrate in 2009? And most importantly, what is YOUR favorite birthday cake? Mine's this one, hands down.

Here's to another fabulous year!

the trouble with self-marketing

2009-11-02T07:51:00.004-06:00

It seems that regardless of why I connect with a client, our conversations all start in the same place: who are you, what do you stand for, what makes you unique, how do you describe yourself and how do others describe you? If you've hired me, it's likely because you want help marketing yourself or your business. And when you hire me, I'll probably push you right into some uncomfortable territory about why you and/or your business are different. Why you are special. What you bring to the table that no one else can. Because at the end of the day, being able to market yourself is the key to making your business a success. Yet it's the one thing that seems to hold great business people back. You're well-versed in why the business is great, but less comfortable talking about why you're so darned fantastic.

(There's a massive aside here about why I think every college student should be required to have more than just a basic understanding of business and marketing before they graduate. I also think they should get a lesson or three on personal branding and appropriate corporate behavior, though I came to that a little later in my career. But I'll digress at another time.)

With my clients, I get them to dig in. Ask some pointed questions - of themselves and of those around them. The idea is to pull out the words, phrases, sentiments, feedback and criticisms that have helped to form the external perception of who they are, but also the internal perception as well. And you can guess which one is more important.

I willingly admit to being a fan of the TV show "Biggest Loser." I can't help it. There's something very inspiring and real about how these folks overcome everything from complex medical conditions to defeating self-talk to break through the barriers (perceived and otherwise) to good health. You can literally see it when the lightbulb comes on. When they stop talking or acting out of responsibility to something "other" and start engaging deeply with themselves, for themselves. Without exception. But it all comes from understanding who they are and what messages they're sending themselves about who they are...two wildy different things.

In consulting, I'm trying to uncover not only the features & benefits of your business or your product or service, I'm trying to identify the areas where you may end up holding yourself back, despite your commitment to success. There's a little psychology here, but I know that in the end, you have to be able to market yourself in any situation. If you don't believe the key messages that I help you create, you're not going to succeed in delivering the value promised within. So we start with the big chunks of personal branding.

For instance: if you're a consultant just starting out, why should someone hire you? (Hint: it's not because of the technical skills you bring to the table. Who cares? There are lots of great technicians out there. What else?) If you're a mom trying to get back into the job market, what makes you a compelling employee? What do people say about you, and what do you want people to say about you? And most importantly, do we have alignment?

One of the more interesting things I've seen lately is that not only is there NOT alignment, there is a little bit of loss. The personality that tumbled forth naturally when you were in high school & college - once hit with the realities of the work world/adulthood/parenthood - started absorbing different attributes. For one of my clients, the risk-taking goofball who'd likely be found splashing in the corporate lobby fountain now comes off as reserved, deliberate and straight-laced after many successful years in the insurance industry. Some might say that this is a good thing - experience, maturity and growth are all positive. But have you left something of yourself behind in the process? My client was surprised - that shift had all happened over years, but went virtually unnoticed. How could that be?!

I think most of us feel that we have, in fact, lost something along the way. And there are a million reasons why that might happen. We followed a certain path until we didn't. We took care of others' needs ahead of our own. Whatever the reason, taking the step back and thinking about self-marketing comes like a shock to the system. What?! Focus on myself? Toot my own horn? Act as if I'm better than someone else? Hmm...well, if I did that, what would I want to say?

It's easy to see why this is uncomfortable ground. And why it's so important. Keep in mind that you don't have to do this alone. There are a plethora of great books out there about personal branding, marketing, life strategies and empowering yourself. And there are lots of enviable examples. My advice to you is to not walk this path alone. You're too close to this to be objective, critical, or more importantly, encouraging. Find a mentor, hire a coach, take a class - use an expert so you don't wallow in the weeds. I promise you, once you start understanding your skills & talents from an objective point of view, you'll get as excited as I do. You'll see your potential and start dreaming bigger about where you could go next. Who knows, you may even jump into a fountain.

i have to share

2009-09-19T12:55:00.001-05:00

personal brand = a storehouse of power

2009-09-02T12:50:00.004-05:00

The past few weeks have really had me thinking about the power inherent in the development of your own personal brand. (Stay with me here, I've been reading a lot of Oprah again.) But really, I've been spending time with clients and friends and we've been sort of sitting back, watching the last long days of summer slip towards the chill of fall and thinking about how smart we've all gotten lately. Maybe not smart exactly but aware. And somewhere in that awareness has brought about a sense of responsibility and strength that I haven't felt in a while.

I think the economy and joblessness has taken it out of people. The fear of the unknown and unpredictable has sunk into to each of us. But, when used as a launching pad, these uncertainties have also gifted us with the ability to recreate ourselves a bit. Or at least, peel back a couple of layers and see what's really inside. Through this introspection, coupled with not just a small amount of acceptance, we're starting to see people act from a strength that enlivens and inspires.

I hate the stigma that's become attached to the term "personal brand" because I think it diminishes the process somehow. In fact, it makes it more like an outcome and less like a journey, which I believe misses the point entirely. Remember when you worked in a larger company and you were prodded into this thing called "networking" which felt so fakey and contrived that you couldn't see the possible benefit? And, if you're like me, you didn't really get a damned thing out of it other than to tell your boss that you were out there "networking!" I think that's where we've gone with personal branding too. If you work in a company now and have seen "develop your personal brand" creep up on a yearly review, raise your hand.

Instead of taking the life out of personal branding (as I talked about in this post), why not visualize the personal and professional confidence we could gain by wandering down this path in the first place? What I'm talking about here is the self-assured, electric, powerful feeling that we get when we're operating within our values, passions, strengths, personality and so forth. When we're (quoting Oprah here) "standing in our truth." When we have no problem turning to a friend and saying "No, I don't do that." Or turning down a job - not acting out of panicky fear - because it doesn't fit our true self. In my opinion, THIS is what the personal branding process should bring. Alignment breeds power.

Martha Beck did a great piece in Oprah magazine this month about power (actually the entire issue was about power, but Martha really knows how to get me thinking) and how we feel when we're convinced we don't have control or options or power over situations, people, things, what have you. And she talks about the differences between acting out of fear and acting out of love. The reality is, when you find yourself in that sweet spot of acting out of love (or in my term, alignment), there too you will likely find the core of your personal brand. And then you can set out to use it for good, and not just for performance reviews.

Go on. Plug in.

zucchini & leek vichyssoise

2009-08-07T10:16:00.004-05:00

This is a recipe from Ina Garten's Barefoot in Paris to which I have made a teensy alteration, simply because I think my stock was darker than Ina's and my potatoes weren't the white kind, so it didn't have that fresh, bright color I was looking for...so I cheated and added liquid sunshine instead. Also, if you - like me - are in the midst of detox or otherwise avoiding dairy, double up on the olive oil and skip the cream. I swear you won't notice a thing.

1 T unsalted butter
1 T good olive oil
5 c chopped leeks, white and light green parts (4-8 leeks - wash VERY well; soak and change water 2-3x)
4 c chopped unpeeled white boiling potatoes (8 small)
3 c chopped zucchini (2 zucchinis; unpeeled)
1 1/2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock (I love Pacific Organic)
1 t kosher salt
1/2 t freshly ground pepper
2 T heavy cream (I used half and half and it was just fine)
Zest from 1/2 lemon
1-2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
Fresh chives or julienned zucchini, for garnish

Heat the butter and oil in a large stockpot, add the leeks and saute over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes, zucchini, stock, salt and pepper; bring to a boil; then lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Cool for a few minutes and either:

process through a food mill fitted with the medium disc (Ina's way)
blitz with a hand blender right in the pot (my way)
process in small batches in the blender (careful not to fill more than 1/2 way; dangerous hot stuff expands in the blender)

Add the cream and adjust the seasonings. If you're looking for a brighter, summery-er flavor, add lemon. Zest the lemon directly into the pot, and squeeze in the lemon juice.

Serve hot or icy cold with chives or julienned zucchini threads across the top. If you have a bright, fruity olive oil (or chive oil or similar), give the top a little drizzle with this as well.

Green tip: don't be silly; this is a great way to deal with that insane garden bounty. I suspect you could cut some yellow squash in for some of the zucchini with great success although I haven't tried it.

oui oui! midsummer bounty

2009-08-06T09:26:00.007-05:00

I've been feeling rather French lately. I blame the vegetables. And the weather. And Molly Wizenberg. And the fact that it's August and - let's face it - I'm wishing I was with Anna right now in Brittany, soaking in the sun, buying cute little French soaps and sea salt (Anna, please - for the love of god - please don't forget my salt) and enjoying a nightly apéro.

But mostly I think I can blame the vegetables. Between my first week of being a CSA member, my effusive love for my Farmer's Market and my darling mother's garden...well, let's just say that my produce cup runneth over. And over.

First up, ratatouille. My dear friend Anna actually turned me on to this delightful dish several years ago and I have proceeded to enjoy it yearly since. There's something very effortless about whacking up a bunch of seasonal veggies and turning them into a hearty stew-like dish...which, after sitting in the fridge waiting for me, only seems to get better and better. I had just the right ingredients from the market and mom's garden: zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, onion, garlic. I got some peppers and started rifling through cookbooks - here, at Barnes & Noble, everywhere - looking for ideas. I went back to my old standby: Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything layered and baked number. On the first day, we enjoyed it with soft cooked polenta (his with cheese and butter, mine without...detox, afterall) and a crispy rosé. I plated up two little Apilco round au gratin dishes with leftovers, sent a bag with the chef to be turned into a stew the next day, and left the rest in the fridge for nibbling. The following morning, I drained the au gratin dish a bit, dug a couple of holes and cracked two eggs into the dish. Baked those at 350 for about 13ish minutes and I had the perfect breakfast. Of course, a toasted baguette would have been the preferred accompaniment but on the no-wheat adventure, I was happily surprised by simple corn tortilla chips stepping in and doing the job nicely.

Next task, leek soup. Or at least that's where I thought I was going with this. Only serving to exacerbate my little French problem, I also picked up the new-ish paperback version of French Women for All Seasons: A Year of Secrets, Recipes, & Pleasure (Vintage) and remembered her original advice about leek soup. I think it was called "Magical Leek Soup," in fact. So I was thusly inspired. Checking out my cookbook collection - and considering the rest of my bounty - I aimed instead for a slight riff on Ina Garten's Zucchini Vichyssoise instead (from Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home. Now THIS would be the answer to my late night, no energy for cooking question. This soup is meant to be eaten either hot or cold, and I'm guessing it will not be the first time this season it will be made. It's going gangbusters on the stove right now and will fill the lunch gap nicely.

Next up, addressing the lettuce situation. Every weekend I get this wild idea that I need salad. Lots of salad. So much salad that I might explode. And, of course, I buy salad greens. But my fridge is not a salad green-friendly location. In fact, it doesn't like much of anything that prefers to be crispy and sturdy. So I'm trying an experiment. About 3/5ths of my lettuce is just fine, 4+ days later. 1/5th is dead and headed for the compost. The remaining 1/5th seems salvageable; I'm soaking it in ice water to see if the shock will stiffen it up and make it lunch-ready. Feeling a little lousy about this, but I'm trying to recover. We'll see.

Lastly, I'm drooling over Molly Wizenberg. You may know her as that Orangette blog lady, or the writer of that great book A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table for which I waited patiently (ahem) from the library while 13 other people had holds on it, and the proceeded to buzz through it in 2 days. Now, I'm torn. I love almost every one of the recipes in there. Should I scan them for my collection, or should I bite the bullet and buy the book? (Those of you who know my book situation would probably calmly advocate for the former.) It's due tomorrow, I can't renew it (lots of others waiting in line) so I need to decide quickly. In the meantime, won't you check out her blog and, in particular, her index of recipes? She's a major Francophile - which shines through nicely in her recipes - and her husband is a vegetarian.

Because really, how much inspiration do you need this time of year? Gotta go, time to blitz the vichysoisse! Au revoir!

(Update: the soup was absolutely amazing - recipe coming later today - and the lettuce snapped to like good soliders. Successful lunch all around! Now, where's that baguette...sigh.)

Back at the beginning

2009-08-04T15:48:00.004-05:00

I'm on another adventure...this time, dealing with my health and well-being. Not unlike many other women (and men, for that matter) I have hit a point in my life where I am starting to feel the cumulative effects of many years of eating well, sitting at a desk, traveling for business, not being active enough, and trying desperately to find some sort of equilibrium in my life.

Yep, that sounds just like life, right? And add to it, in the five years past I have earned a check mark for almost everyone of those “top stressors” in life: divorce, job loss/change, moving (three times), death of a parent and – not inconsequentially – working with a couple of the least well-balanced people imaginable. Stress: been there, done that, starred in the made-for-TV movie.

As a result, I’ve seen my weight go up rather dramatically. Ok, maybe it’s not dramatic to you, but an additional 20+ lbs – though I can wear it pretty well – puts me comfortably over the edge into “not so healthy land.” Further, as I’ve started to peel away the layers of what’s really doing damage here, I have also seen some of the baseline wellness checks coming back less than perfect. And did I mention that my pants don’t fit?!?

A little more than two years ago, suffering mightily with some new fangled allergies that I hadn’t experienced before, I decided enough was enough. (And by that I mean enough Minute Clinic visits for sinus infections and definitely ENOUGH ANTIBIOTICS – I’m allergic to most of the big ones and really want to keep my usage to dire conditions.) I decided to call on a naturopath.

My initial consultation was pretty unique. I am very much an alternative medicine/holistic approach sort of girl, so the idea of this kind of assessment, diagnosis and treatment appealed to me. After hearing all of my complaints (weight gain, stuffy allergy head, poor digestion, etc) and doing some rather unconventional assessments, the first thing she did was place me on a very serious detox plan. Suspecting food allergies, we set about eliminating anything and everything that was potentially allergenic and went from there. Result: definitely wheat, maybe dairy. My naturopath also suggested to me that a periodic detox (1-2 times per year) could help keep my system functioning better.

Results were great. I was already engaged in Weight Watchers and throughout the summer lost just over 20 lbs. I felt much better. And then life took hold yet again – a serious relationship ended, a crazy job began and then during the winter, my dad passed away quickly from an aggressive form of cancer. Before you knew it, the tenuous hold I had on my own health and wellness started slipping. Five pounds became 10. I struggled through some pretty serious blues. Nothing much felt good. Ten became 20 again. All in all, 2008 was really not good for me at all. I made a painful job change the end of the year and vowed to start 2009 in a better place.

And I did. But I still hadn’t put my hands around what EXACTLY needed to happen to bring me back around to healthy and well again. The weight was killing me. After I got myself back to my fighting weight the year before, I got rid of everything that was more than a size up. I just KNEW I would never go back there again. Yet, there is precisely where I found myself.

There has been one positive and changing force that has been woven throughout all of this, and that is my passion for food and being a bit greener. Together, those pieces of me have set me on a path toward awareness and excitement for the efforts around local and organic food, and about limiting the toxins in my life. As you may know, this is not about perfection. This is about a journey and I’m happy to say that I’m well into mine. Which has helped spring me forward…

…to a new space and time. I went back to the books and studied hard. I read Jillian Michaels’ new Master Your Metabolism. I re-read Dr. Weil’s 8 Weeks to Optimum Health and Natural Health, Nat ural Medicine. I revisited Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food. Then I went to my doctor and had a few tests run to see just where I was at. Today? Total cholesterol is a little high, but good cholesterol is great (maybe to do with all that sushi?!); triglycerides are slightly elevated; alarmingly, blood sugar is also a little higher than it should be. And I’m still kicking around a virus that has been hanging with me since late last year. So I sat back, checked all my references and put myself back on track. Combining the learnings from these books about dealing with hormone levels (insulin and cortisol, anyone?), anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory diets with my already developed knowledge for the benefits of certain kinds of foods, along with my naturopath's suggestions, I’m off like a shot.

Here’s what’s happening:

First, another detox. I’m spending about 3 weeks this time (as long as my supplemental powder holds out) cleaning out the stuff that’s bad. YET, I’m not being insane about it either. I am not chasing a food allergy this time, I’m just trying to give my liver and a couple of other vital organs a break. Key for me is the food choices, and limiting my wine. And those are: no caffeine, no sugar, no wheat, no dairy, no meat other than fish. I’m keeping eggs this time and paying attention to the glycemic load of my fruits, veggies and rice.
Daily exercise. We bought bikes a few weeks ago and have been enjoying trying to get out and about in our town. I’m also walking a day or two a week with friends, and as much as I can in the course of my day (it’s fab living downtown and being able to walk everywhere). And last weekend we even spent 2 hours paddling down the St. Croix in a canoe. I realized that – for me – it’s all about keeping it fresh and fun. I neeeeeed to be outside in this glorious late summer weather we’re having (it’s crazy) and I need to stay engaged and not get frustrated. We’ve signed up to do a little golf tournament next month. I’m just trying for 30-60 minutes of something or another each day.
Supplements. This is where many people think I have gone ‘round the twist. But amping up my vitamins and supplements are important to my detox and also to the idea that I’m trying to kick my metabolism and immune system in the ass. I haven’t run on a healthy immune system since high school and therefore pick up and carry around every bug known to mankind. I need my immune system to rebound, shake off this virus and support me going forward. So yes, I choke down nearly 30 pills a day – everything from the standard multivitamin, fish oil, additional D, C, calcium to Astralagus and Lysine and a few other oddities. I’m also trying to take bitters again before meals…this one is less convenient but it sure is good for your digestion!
Portioning. This is actually easy now. It’s just a decision. Eat half, add a salad.
Cooking. I haven’t been spending quality time in my own kitchen for some time. Dating a chef means – unsurprisingly – that he doesn’t necessarily want to cook at home. He wants to go out! See what’s new! Try something different! All of which is very, very good but the by-product is that it has disconnected me from my kitchen. I’m back now.
Shopping as local as possible. Most of you know that I’ve been helping Lee over at www.SimpleGoodandTasty.com and using that as a big fat excuse to avail myself of many more local delights than I was before. I’ve always been a HUGE farmer’s market fan and visit mine weekly. But I’ve also joined a co-op this year and taken a crack at a CSA for half the season. So I’m experimenting and feeling more inspired in my food choices.

I’m just one week in so far. I’ve lost 3 lbs. And I know my system is running – ahem – cleaner already. I’m almost through my caffeine/sugar withdrawal headaches, but feeling a little under the weather again. I know the allergens aren’t helping matters (must deal with those next), but I’m feeling like the tides are shifting.I’m in the groove now and I’m getting lots of support from those around me (much appreciated). Now we’ll just keep on in a forwardly direction to being a healthier, happier me.

Here's to wellness!

have a dream, bring a lifeboat

2009-07-27T17:28:00.006-05:00

Wow, do I ever strongly (ahem) encourage my clients to stay on top of their content production...particularly when said content is a critical path to business development and execution of a strategic communications plan. I can see the forest, I can see the trees. I know how to help and guide. But you, gentle client, have to do the work. And then I go and do a pretty bad job at keeping up on it myself. For all of the very same reasons that my clients struggle. Life, business, busy-ness, summer, visitors, new clients, old clients. I could go on, but this is nothing new to any of us. And content development is just one of those areas that can fall off our radars. So, what's a consultant to do?

I guess I'm trying to put myself in your shoes, figurative client. And think about how I might help you through this facet of your business. There are so many "knowns" out there, so many reasonably expectable bumps in the road. And my general answer to this conundrum is two-fold:

Have a plan.
Anticipate the bumps.

You don't get into a car without fastening your seatbelt, right? You (theoretically) pay attention to the flight attendant's safety demo. If you have an allergy to bee stings, you don't leave the house on a sultry summer's evening without your trusty Epi pen. And most of the time it happens so subconciously that you don't even consider what the plan is. Mostly that's a good thing. But in other, trickier places in our lives - like our businesses - a little more cognitive, purposeful thinking helps.

So let's start at the beginning: a plan. How many entrepreneurs start businesses without a decent business plan, marketing plan, schedule to allocate their time, etc? Most of us are guilty of this...and in more than one of those categories. For whatever reason, we believe it's better to just get started than it is to plan. And believe me when I say, I'm impatient, quick-thinking, speed-talking and an Activator. I tend to jump first and measure how high that cliff was later...and not even always then. So it's one of those places where I have to work hard to impart the importance of a plan on not only my clients, but myself as well. Without at least a general map of where you are headed, it's going to be very difficult to get there.

Then we think about the glitches. I believe contingency planning is just as important as planning those basic elements of your business. What I refuse to believe is that naming and acknowledging contingencies is the same thing as opening yourself up to defeat. I appreciate those that say "failure is not an option" because I absolutely believe in the need for setting your mental energy in the right direction. But this isn't failure I'm talking about. It's the inevitable ups and downs and twists in the road that require our sharpest thinking and creativity. And it's difficult to be thoughtful and innovative when disaster (real, imagined or whatever) is at our door. Long-term planning is for stretching, big fat hairy audacious goals. Short-term planning is for tactics and contingencies, and identifying little course corrections that might be required to navigate through tricky waters.

Laying bare our fears of failure and thoughtfully addressing the "knowns" can make the unknown little surprise events much easier to manage. We aren't in crisis mode ALL THE TIME (have you ever had a job like that? I have.). We can stay level headed, we can ask for advice and brainstorming from other smart people, and we can put some switches in place should they need to be flipped.

So give it some thought. What are the top 5 things that MIGHT happen? Are they related to money, reputation, amount of work, what? What are the worst case scenarios? How would they affect your business and what ideas do you have about mitigating those impacts? Who would you call on for help? Advice? A kick in the butt? And what might you do next time to potentially avoid this situation in the future?

Create a plan. Then find the emergency hatch so you know where to find it.

bee in my small business bonnet

2009-07-07T17:05:00.004-05:00

Small business owners – listen up. There’s no sense running around any longer pretending social media isn’t for you. This is a brand new marketing world these days. No one’s saying you have to give up the old ways in order to embrace the new. And no one’s saying you need a MySpace page. Somewhere on the continuum of traditional horses and new media ponies, there is a ride for you. But, particularly for smaller businesses, eschewing this new fangled media because you don’t understand it or see how it could work for you doesn’t make great strategic sense. At this point, I just beg you to stay open minded enough to consider the possibilities. Ok? Ok.

Sorry about this, I had a couple of frustrating conversations last week with clients that made me want to whip out my PC and start blogging on the spot. My point isn’t that traditional marketing and advertising are bad. Nor is it that only new methods of marketing will help your business. That’s not my point at all. But, let’s face it, most small businesses are operating on a limited budget and cannot afford to put all of their eggs in a single gilded basket. A well-planned, thoughtful and strategic marketing and communications plan will help ALL businesses regardless of which marketing levers you choose to pull. Whether you’re retail, B2B, a consultant – whatever – there are ways to manageably blend social media marketing into your strategic plan to help build your bottom line. But the first question always should be: where on earth are you trying to go?

A targeted consultant needs to build up “subject matter expert” cred. A retailer needs to connect with her customers and know what they want. A restaurant needs to keep track of what other restaurants are doing in their market, genre and industry. And hear this: all of these things end up generating revenue! But you can’t just pull levers and push buttons willy-nilly and expect a successful (much less repeatable) result. Nor can you pull the blanket up over your head and wait for it all to just go away, already!

Social media is so NOT on one of my potential client’s radar that she laughed out loud, rolled her eyes and informed me that Twitter was only used by 20 year olds. (Her customer is 30-55 year old women.) I hesitated. Because realistically, any single tactic is not going to work if a client is disinterested to the point of venom. I realize that just because I have consumed the sugary beverage, it doesn’t mean others are here with me.

And yet this is where I go sideways. Because I think the best small business owners are the ones with natural curiosity and a desire to learn what’s affecting them. They are willing to put a goal in place, fight for it tenaciously but then retreat and course correct when necessary. Shutting down and fighting evolution in business – and believe me folks, you could call social media one of those evolutionary points – means potentially atrophying and dying off prematurely. Like everything else in life, leading from a place of fear and lack of knowledge does not propel you to wisdom and success.

Social media, like any single platform or tool, will be neither your deliverance nor your demise. It’s not a silver bullet and it does take some time and thought to implement. So, no. Social media isn’t for everyone. Unless you want to have a direct and immediate conversation with a particular audience, that is. To me, that’s an incredibly powerful reason to dip a toe in the water and ask a few questions. Dream a little. Adapt and evolve. Grow up.

take care of you

2009-06-20T07:15:00.003-05:00

When you're on an airplane, they always tell you: if the oxygen mask drops, put yours on first before helping others. We understand the issue here - if we can't breathe, we can't help. The "duh" factor is high.

Which makes the considerations I took out of out of my week of "Unapologetic Self-Care" and the self-care retreat that I attended on Thursday rather pronounced for me. First, a bit of a recap:

The workshop I participated in was filled with women of all ages (roughly 25-80) and in various states of wellness. Two, including one instructor, were cancer survivors; one has Stage 4 breast cancer and is going through chemo. One young lady has Crohn's disease, she was joined by her 2 sisters. One older woman is living with her husband's dementia; another lost her husband 3 years ago. Two women were in major personal/career transitions - one had just parlayed her love for her teaching career and Theology into a new PhD and a new career; the other recently retired and is interested in figuring out what she wants to do next (how great is that?). I was humbled by their braveness. And their insight - these ladies all knew that self-care should be on their radar, even if just by signing up for the retreat. We all had stressors to leave at the door.

The retreat itself was lovely. This wasn't a fancy spa or a time of indulgent, expensive pampering. We were in the basement of a former convent surrounded by healing practitioners, a library full of books and instructors who wanted to instill upon us the importance of taking care of ourselves. They created a simple, comfortable environment, walked us through an introduction to many concepts and techniques, and sent us away with some affirmations to try as well as a little marigold to grow. Lovely.

We explored a bit about how our mental attitudes and preconceptions impact our decisions around caring for ourselves. We talked about warning signals that stress sends (physical, emotional, behavioral, cognitive) and a basic roadmap to coping and problem solving. We had a 30 minute yoga class and started talking a bit about energy healing. We ran out of time which meant that a few things got dropped off the schedule, and unfortunately I think we missed out on a couple of potentially great lessons...but perhaps next time. And we got to connect and share with the other women in our group - uncomfortable at first, but once you start talking it's always such a great experience to hear that others have similar experiences or reactions or challenges. Overall, we were given a lot to think about and much inspiration to go on and learn more together or on our own. Definitely worth the price of admission.

And I got what I wanted out of my time there - inspiration and some renewed energy toward this "take care of myself" concept that I'd been intuitively sorting through. What I learned here:

Take care of your health while you have it: Since many of these women were having their well-being challenged through illness, death and even growth, it was obvious how important it is to build up not only our health but our healthful practices when times are good. Just as pregnancy may not be a great time to start hitting the gym, developing these habits today will help support us down the road. There are many sub-lessons that go along with facing women in these situations: be grateful, stop making excuses, stop feeling sorry for yourself, stop ignoring spirituality, basically - lean into life, even the tough stuff.
Don't underestimate the power of community: The woman facing Stage 4 cancer doesn't have a personal support group. Girlfriends. How could this be? The one that survived cancer (twice) and lost her husband found that her circle couldn't support her through those challenges. One of her key stressors, in addition to worrying about money, is aloneness. Again how can it be that in a society such as ours these bright, brave women wouldn't have a thoughtful friend or two they could lean on? So many studies, books, even our own personal experiences tell us how important it is to have a circle of friends. Not every friend "gives" us the same thing as every other. Some are "soul friends" - a term I learned this week - those that we connect with at a deeper level, those that we will likely keep with us til our end. Some are people who find their way into our lives for a reason - something to teach, something to learn, an experience to cherish - even if they may fade out of our life again. So, build your circle and build it well. These people will quite literally make your life.

I left this event inspired to create a retreat like this for those in my personal and professional circle. This group has nailed down how to support women who are living with health crises. I want to reach out to other kinds of women - those in other times of growth and learning. Other transitions that touch our lives. Can't you look back and see how interesting something like this might have been when we were 25? Or following divorce or a job layoff? The language changes, the lessons get more specific but the underlying message is there: know who you are, know who supports you best, take care of you. We aren't as strong and big as we could be in our lives unless we ensure our health and well-being needs are met first. Now, if we could just make that as plain as the symbols on the emergency card in your seatback pocket...

self-care, the workshop

2009-06-15T15:06:00.006-05:00

In honor of my "Unapologetic Self-Care Week," I signed myself up to attend a fabulous looking retreat. Well Within, a local nonprofit holistic wellness center, has put together a full day of learning self-care techniques in order to restore balance. Very cool indeed!

I have been doing yoga fairly regularly for the past 5 years, but unsurprisingly, it's one of the first thing that goes when LIFE interferes. Which makes absolutely no sense because it can also be the one thing to keep me glued together. I figured I could use more tools like this.

The Well Within brochure describes the retreat as an introduction to a variety of techniques which could be used for self-care in our everyday lives. I am already bought in on yoga but I'm also interested in getting a little head's up about meditation, healing touch, guided imagery and mindfulness. All of these resonate with my approach to wellness; and there's no doubt elevating self-care activities (as in, we need ACTION here) will give me more tools in my toolbox for when times aren't so predictable and stable.

Cami Smalley, program director and wellness coach (and personal trainer!) told me to expect some light stretching so to dress comfortably and in layers. They'll provide food and I am bringing my favorite journal and pen. This I can do. And in the meantime, I'm working through my own week of self-care with learning, moving, thinking, sharing. I can't imagine a better way to find my center ground again.

Well Within describes balance as:

Balance
Awareness
Laughter
Awake
Nurture
Create
Explore

EXACTLY what I need; can't wait to report back on Friday.

If you're interested in the retreat - either this week at Well Within or to bring the event to your own community - get in touch with the delightful Cami by calling 651.308.2763. Check it out online at: www.wellwithin.org

the role of self-care in your personal brand

2009-06-15T10:43:00.005-05:00

You know how this vicious cycle goes: get stressed, fall behind, stop taking care of yourself, sleep horribly, feel icky, fall off wellness wagon, lose patience with loved ones, miss a deadline, throw a muscle in your back...etc etc...next thing you know, you're immobilized on the couch in your least-restrictive fitting yoga pants, with mac & cheese and TIVOed reruns of Law & Order SVU, and wondering when the laundry will start doing itself.

Life happens. And there's nothing we can do about it other than decide that we're going to deal with it, hopefully with positivity and with good humor. A very smart friend of mine, in retelling a story of her own last week, explained the central thinking behind her enthusiastic and upbeat - but calm and thoughtful - approach to her life: "I can't control what's going on out there. I can only decide in here (pointing at her head) how I'm going to handle it." This is a woman who, not unlike me, has experienced just about every major life stressor that can be conceived of in the past 18 months: job change, death in the family, financial upheaval, work stress, and so forth. So to me, her mantra rang true. And I know she can't possibly feel that confidence every minute of every day, but it inspired me to think more about how I can bring my own tenacity, creativity and centeredness back to the forefront.

For me, and I think my above-mentioned friend, this boils down to self-care. Yes, another phrase bandied about by every self-help, Oprah-spewing life changer out there...but bear with me. My friend prioritizes her attitude and mental decisioning as part of her own self-care. And this process serves to help her stay authentic, to live her personal brand.

Being authentic to your brand means taking care of it. Growing it, nurturing it, caring for it when it's under the weather. Redirecting it when it gets off on a tangent. In a way, thinking about attending to my brand resonates with me. It's easier for me - and I suspect many women- to drum up energy and enthusiasm to grow or care for something as opposed to "taking care of me" in some esoteric, philosophical sense. This, I can get my hands around!

It's easy to see what happens when you get out of sync but like any smart strategic plan, it's critical to identify the risk factors and figure out how to use them to course correct. Notice, I said "course correct" and not "COMPLETELY CHANGE YOUR LIFE." Because I don't know about you, but the idea of "COMPLETELY CHANGING MY LIFE" seems a tad overwhelming. Gulp.

So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to declare this "Unapologetic Self-Care Week" here in Trixieland. I'm going to sit down and take stock of the patterns in my life that have caused me to wander off the road and I'm going to name them. I'm going to think about how each of these recurring scoundrels affects me and what I might do to address them immediately and with proactive attention. If I have a setback with my business, how do I usually "fall apart?" What can I do to self-care my way through that setback so that "falling apart" looks like a blip on the radar and not a Richter-sized event?

I've also carved out a day to tuck myself into a retreat and let the self-care techniques and strategies wash over me. This should be fun. We'll be learning about such things as guided imagery, meditation, setting intentions, journaling, guided touch and yoga. By Thursday of my "Unapologetic Self-Care Week," I should be primed to put on my beginner's mind and see what techniques I can try in my strategic plan to care for my personal brand: me.

strategic life planning? lifestyle blueprint? personal branding? ...shoot me now?

2009-06-04T15:51:00.010-05:00

I'm stumbling around in verbiage these days. Up to my knees and tripping through all of this overused linguistic blah-blah-blah. So called trendy terminology that only seems to make people feel more out of the loop than in it. And I'm finding myself paralyzed instead of inspired. My personal triggers these days are words like "life coach," "personal branding," "hurried woman syndrome," and when I see them I am overcome by the urge to crawl into my bathtub with a box of wine and the 5th volume of Harry Potter, never to emerge again.

I'm coming around to one of those big "life defining statements," I believe. I'm trying to unearth my true self, give her room to really breathe and grow, and challenge her to become more than she ever thought possible. Or maybe, I'm trying to get me out of her way so that she can be as big and forceful as she's always known she could be. Waaaay down deep. But part of me being in my way is that I need those damned words and concepts to help outline what it is that I want to make my living at.

As I've said before, I'm more of a lifestyle person vs. a work/life balance seeker. Instead of trying to measure myself by how many hours per week I work and how much time I allow for myself and for my family & friends (and then become increasingly bitter and overwhelmed by the whole equation), I'm approaching things from a slightly different perspective these days. I don't want work/life balance, particularly not in that order! In fact, I think it's a truly unattainable concept which serves mostly to frustrate and deaden our sense of true fulfillment. Who came up with this ideal anyway? It's based (in my opinion) in a very dangerous weighing of work on one side of the scale with everything personal on the other. Yes, we have to earn a living. And yes, we have to care for the people, spaces, pets, plants, and communities to whom we are responsible. But who gets to define what "balance" looks like?

It would be easy to dismiss my perspective. Sure, I've done the 70 and 80 hour work weeks, but I've never done them with kids at home, more than one mortgage or a life-threatening illness. But I did hop on the habitrail and wore the corporate dunce cap so snugly around my head that I destroyed my marriage instead of growing it. I made a lot of money, I made a lot of truly exceptional friends. I've been hired and fired and laid off. I dabbled in small businesses and large corporations. I don't mind saying that I've been forged by fire and I know what it's like out there - both by the unique and personal experiences of those dear to me, but also by the trial and error that is my life. I'm not saying I have all of the answers because if I did, I'd have picked the winning Powerball numbers long ago and punched out of this rat race. But I have my battle scars too. I like them. I earned them.

My argument is that the very acceptable pressures in our Americanized lives - personal ambition, family pressures to have this career, the simple choice of our college majors - all serve to define our boundaries instead of open our eyes. My approach these days is to remove all of these barriers - perceived, self-imposed, guilt-ridden - and let our creative selves out to be innovative and thoughtful and free! But we sometimes need the words to help us clarify and tell our stories. And then we get into trouble by trying to weigh one of those words or phrases against another. How much does "mommy" weigh? What about "Vice President?" Or how about simpler things like friend, sister, daughter, mentor, inspiration, energizer - because we need to be these things too sometimes. And we likely won't be getting paid for it.

But all of these words, they're killing me. So what do you call this process? Is it blueprinting your life? Charting a course? Creating a strategic life plan (much as I would create a strategic business or marketing plan)? And if I help someone else do it, what does that make me? If I tread near the "life coach" waters, am I only credible if I have a certification from some trade organization in order to call myself coach? I don't want to be a therapist; there are too many good ones out there that do amazing work. What on earth do I call myself?

I want to be a map maker, I guess. I want to help you start to put some focus on your journey, identify a few potential destinations, brainstorm a couple of possible routes, list the necessary equipment to navigate, and pick out some worthy travel partners, and provide a backstop upon which you can bounce crazy sightseeing adventures.

That's why my business is called Segnavia Creative; in Italian segna means sign, segnare means to mark or indicate. Via means road. "Finding your way forward" is my mission, both for individuals and the businesses I serve. Now, if I can just figure out what to call this voodoo that I want to doo...

quick & spicy tomato and chicken soup

2009-05-19T18:46:00.004-05:00

Modified this recipe after one of Giada's that struck my interest on a recent episode of Everyday Italian. It was a kitchen basics show and featured things you could probably whip together out of what you already have on hand. I altered it slightly to compensate for a quart sized chicken stock (didn't want leftovers), cavatappi (was on hand) and less than a full jar of sauce (was already leftovers). Also, with the addition of the breast meat of a rotisserie chicken for protein, this came in at 4 ww points for each of 6 servings.

2t EVOO

3 med carrots, diced

1 med shallot, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

2/3 of a jar of marinara sauce (really, whatever you have on hand works fine)

32 oz chicken broth

1 can cannellini beans, lightly rinsed

1c cavatappi pasta

14 oz chicken breast, in bite sized pieces (again, this is what my chicken had, use whatever you have)

Lemon juice from 1/2 fresh lemon (if you don't have fresh, just skip this)

Heat EVOO in medium stock pot, add carrots and shallot and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add garlic, saute another minute or so. Add sauce, broth, beans and bring to a medium bubble. Add pasta. Once the soup comes to a bubble again, reduce heat and simmer 8-10 minutes or until pasta is cooked through. Remove from heat, stir in chicken. (If your chicken is cold, you may want to add it sooner to ensure it heats through before serving). Squeeze lemon juice, if using.

This makes 6 sizeable servings.

Trixie's tips:

Add sprinkle of parmesan or crumbles of goat cheese as a topping.

Add chopped freshed parsley for a little more fresh zing.

Another suggestion from the comments on Giada's recipe recommended adding chicken sausage - yum!

busily separating eggs or baking cakes?

2009-05-19T10:59:00.006-05:00

How many times have you started an organization project by buying a bunch of cute baskets, clear boxes and a label maker? Or in a panic, dealt with a stressful job situation by applying for a bunch of wrong-level, wrong-fit jobs just because they happened to be on CareerBuilder? Or, like me, started a self-helpy project by throwing a library's worth of books, new journals and smooth-writing pens at the problem? Sigh. I wish I could express to you how many virtually new journals I am staring at right now...

In our fast-forward world, it's so enticing to grab ahold of the latest fad diet, popular relationship guide book or - let's face it - anything Oprah says. In these resources lie some sort of inspiration or appreciation or probably better defined: aspiriation. Something in there hooked us and made us believe that that resource ALONE was the answer. Or worse, again like me, I grab at pieces of this and facets of that and never end up pulling together anything in a complete sense. And spend a lot of time spinning.

So here's my advice (which, yes, it's probably the same thing you've heard from your therapist, Dr. Phil, Bob Greene, and Oprah herself), but maybe this helps put the concepts into a language that you're willing to grab onto.

1. figure out where you're going

Any time we undertake a big journey, we need all sorts of things. We need a map, a compass, snacks, fun people, a place to get off the road for awhile and rest. But if we don't even know where we're headed, we don't have any hope of getting there even with the top of the line GPS. Again, you may not have to say that you're going to Naples, but it's probably good if you can decide some basics: island, snowy mountain, tropical, a lake, a city, Europe...and so forth. Naples, Italy is a far different place than Naples, Florida and the journey there takes a whole different set of resources.

2. find your native tongue

I spent a few hours with a good friend the other day who's struggling with this. She proudly pulled out a notebook with tabs and colors and lists and sticky notes and declared THIS ONE "the Bible!" I took a deep breath and informed her that, no, that was in fact a notebook. A tool. A helper in her journey. But where on earth was she going? We talked through a marketing analogy (my bailiwick) and this spurred something in her. She landed on a baking analogy (her bailiwick). Spending time choosing the best chocolate in the world, having the best mixer or whisk or whatever, researching velvet cake recipes, calibrating your oven and so forth wasn't going to do her any good if she was trying to make a lemon cheesecake.

3. figure out who you are, where you're starting from

This is where those darned personal branding exercises come in so handy. Simply put, it's an authenticity check point. If you go on to the dreaming step too soon, there's a danger that you'll start wandering around in someone else's version of success, your own "baggage" version of fulfillment, some random number that you've always wanted to see on your paycheck but don't remember why. This process is critical to getting you on the path. Using the analogies above, it's sorta like admitting you're really not an airplane person even if you might randomly visualize yourself in First Class traveling at the speed of sound. You might truly be more of a train person, wandering a little more slowly, seeing the countryside pass by. Or in my friend's case, is she a key lime pie or a 6-layer wedding cake? And then accept it. If you're a cupcake, embrace being a cupcake. If you're a pedal biker, then give your bike a big warm hug.

4. dream big

I've talked about this before but when you're determining your destination, don't let the realities of your current job, the city you live in, your relationship with your spouse, your debt, your anything get in your way. This isn't a "visualize it and it will come" or "ask the universe" perspective, I promise. It's probably not a good idea to visualize yourself as Will Smith's wife, or Donald Trump's second in command because those jobs are sorta filled already. Trust me, I double checked.

But if your dream is to create a lifestyle that allows you to spend time watching your children grow up vs sending them to daycare, or exercise by walking on the beach each morning, then we've got something to work with. Are you fulfilling your personal destiny by serving the hungry? Are you becoming the go-to realtor in your market? Are you transitioning from the corporate world to teaching? Let your mind wander here a bit. Even if you decide later that some of it really isn't where you see yourself going, it's important to consider all sorts of things that appeal to who you are and what makes you tick.

5. then break it down

Whether or not this is career-related or relationship fueled journey, where do you see yourself waking up each morning? What kind of work do you do, functionally? In what environment? What kinds of people do you need to meet to learn more? Where do those people hang out? What do you need in hand to be ready to talk to them? Here you can start a list of tools you'll need, what the best ones look like and where you can acquire them. You can figure out the best way of tracking your progress (a calendar, a to-do list, a "bible" notebook) because now you know what progress should look like. You know where you're going. You know whether to whip egg whites into a stiff peak or melt chocolate.

This is the part where so many of us buy the label maker and have no clue what to type. Stop. Deep breath. Put the label maker away and go back to the dreaming a little bit more, in whatever way works for you. For me, it's a giant poster-sized sticky note and a Sharpie. Brainstorm. Figure out what feels right. And if you consider something as a tool, ask yourself: does this tool serve me on my journey? Or is a distraction? Because that networking group that someone told you that you HAD to join might just be a time suck that is taking you off track.

In the end, this is a process that no one can do alone. Again, trust me, I tried. You know how it's so much easier to perfectly see what's going wonky in a friend's romantic relationship or a business that you read about in the paper? It's called perspective. And lack of involvement. And a critical - though loving - eye. We can help each other see through the complications and emotions that tangle us up. So find yourself a first-mate (or whole crew, if you need one). Identify your transition team. Keep in simple and keep it tight. Then your journey can begin in earnest.

who's afraid of a little personal branding?

2009-05-15T10:09:00.004-05:00

Personal branding has become quite the buzz phrase these days. Information is coming at us in every direction saying why personal branding is "CRITICAL TO YOUR SUCCESS, TO YOUR VERY SURVIVAL EVEN!" Which has unintentionally made it a little scary. I've been trying to figure out what it means to me, and how people can really use it in "normal" life.

Part of this, for me, goes back to the idea of creating a lifestyle that supports and nurtures both my creative and wage-earning side (right now, much more creative than wage earning, but we'll get there) and my personal fulfillment side, or what it means to actually live in this life I have. These things are so inextricably intertwined for me as an independent, one-woman-show entrepreneur that they're hardly worth trying to sort out as different elements. Or are they?

Well for sure, I have a personal brand. Tracy Morgan. It's my personal values, strengths, personality, attributes and mission/vision that guide my decision making and my prioritization. These are the core of who I am, who I'd like to become. These days, I'm proud to say, they're more authentic and real than they've ever been. And they inform the brand that I've created for my business, Segnavia Creative. But because the business is its own entity with its own goals and measurements of success (however linked to me as an individual entrepreneur), it also has its own values, strengths, and so on. Several of these are the same as my personal brand. Several are different. Most are nuanced and refined versions of who I am, using the lens of what services the business provides.

When it comes to personal branding as an everyday thing, going through this exercise myself has highlighted to me why it's important for everyone to do. Big things like career changes, job hunting, etc need to begin with the end in mind. It's a little like planning a vacation - you think about where you want to go, what "kind" of vacation it would be (lying low and relaxing, intentionally soaking up the local color, or visiting every duomo in Italy?) and then start mapping out how to get yourself there. What form of transportation, what you need to pack, who you want to take with you. Resources you need. Questions you want to ask.

My version of personal branding puts you in a place to think about all of these things as they relate to your own individual journey. Thinking about how you want your life to look and how you want to spend your days - in a year, in 5 years, in 10 years - you can start to fit in the work you'd be passionate about, the way in which you prefer to share your talents, the type of job you'd like to do within that work/industry/service area, etc. Lifestyle first. Truly authentic to who you are. What a concept, right?!

So in the example of looking for a job, you consider where you want to end up. Think about how you package yourself - are you a marketing consultant? Virtual assistant? Public relations pro? Think about the types of people and environment you want to work in - in an office, with a W2, without a boss? Think about the people you need around you to get there, aka your network or - as in my case - transition team. Think about the tools you'll need - resumes, bios, LinkedIn profiles. Think about how you present yourself - what your image, dress, attitude, web presence, references say about you. Then, from a place of strength, you can push yourself forward.

It's easy to lose the core and possibilities of personal branding in all of the buzz words, technobabble and salesmanship lingo. Don't be afraid! In the end, think of personal branding as both a process and a tool. Acknowledging and celebrating who we are has inherent value even in the most general sense. And specifically, developing your personal brand will help you sight, measure and course-correct all the way along your journey.

launching some stuff

2009-05-12T18:23:00.004-05:00

I have been working on a model for a self-coaching circle as a way to experiment a little bit with my personal branding and coaching ideas. I figure, get a few friendly guinea pigs in a room together, start talking about how we all got "here" and see if that might be a reasonable method for getting us all in the mindset for self-improvement. A little inspiration, a few good ideas, some shared stories. All good right?

Except what I'm hearing from so many of my friends of all ages is the struggle with weight loss. It's not like the world needs another diet or online chat room or weight watchers meeting. Those all are fine and good, and many of them are truly helpful. What's missing is a venue for real connection and a big fat dose of the loving kindness we are all forgetting to give ourselves to get through this process.

So many of us launch into weight loss in a fit of self-hatred. Sick of the way you feel, sick of the way you look. Sick of feeling guilty for sitting on the couch and watching "Biggest Loser" with a glass of wine and 1/2lb of cheese (oh wait...is that just me?). Sick of everything, really. And unless you're a mindshifting magician, that's not a very positive place to start what is undoubtedly a tough journey forward.

You bang yourself about the head and make up irrelevant goals. "I'm going to lose 20 pounds by the reunion", "I'm going to fit into this dress by the wedding," and so forth. But these kinds of goals really don't speak to us. They are false ideals and fake milestones that just feed off the fear. They don't dig deep and address what really motivates us to take on such a challenge. And one size does NOT fit all here either - what truly inspires one person to take positive action, may not even register with another.

And in truth, one of the big reasons we haven't addressed our weight issues is because we haven't quite been willing to face it. We avoid the scale, switch up to the next elasticized waistband, and stop looking quite so closely in the mirror. We're in pain here, people. We are NOT ready to push all of that aside and just turn into that rose-colored-glasses-wearing woman we've heard so much about. And what a shame too. Because this is not the moment in our lives when we want to be encumbered by our more creative avoidance tactics. Like trying to figure out what is going to motivate us "this time." It's really supposed to be the ignition switch for us to shine.

This is the time when you need to feel as if you've been launched into the sky by the most brilliant power. You have wings! You have strength and stamina for the flight! You have places to land and nourish yourself, replenish yourself! You have outright approval for a martini! But how on earth do we keep ourselves aloft when the flight is so long and hard?

So that's why I thought it might be interesting to see if we could use the weight loss/health & wellness adventure as a topic for our first self-coaching circle. Self-coaching because what you learn here is meant to be used as tools for helping you along your journey. Circle because we recognize the need for the camaraderie, kindness and enthusiasm that we find so hard to provide to ourselves. I'll keep you posted.

(And while we're in the business of launching things, I'd like to introduce you all to my new logo. See? Up there on the right? Cute, huh? Many thanks to Kara Nielsen Design for creating yet another beautiful logo. Website is next...wild rides R US!)

cold carrot soup

2009-05-12T17:57:00.005-05:00

This recipe was originally featured in the June issue of Martha Stewart Living, and I gave it a go last week. Of course, I couldn't leave well enough alone and amped things up just a bit. I then proceeded to serve this as a starter to 6 men and myself for dinner. Nice odds, eh?

Half gay, half straight and they ALL enjoyed the soup. Can't argue with results.

2T unsalted butter

1/4c diced onion

2 lbs carrots, peeled & sliced 1/2" thick (loving my mandoline for this job)

4c chicken broth

1 1/2c water

1T honey

1/2 t ground ginger

1/2t white pepper

1t salt

juice of 1/2 lemon

topping:

1-2 t evoo

1/2c fresh unseasoned coarse breadcrumbs (I tried panko but they were almost too light)

2T finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until softened (about 4 minutes). Add carrots, chicken broth and water and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until carrots are very soft and cooked through, about 30-35 minutes. Remove from heat; add honey, ginger, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Check taste and re-season as needed.

Use an immersion blender or regular blender (in batches) to puree soup. Chill soup at least 3 hours (using a metal bowl speeds this process along) or overnight. Before serving prepare breadcrumb topping.

Heat olive oil in small saute pan over medium-high heat. Add breadcrumbs and saute until toasted and golden brown. Spread out on a paper towel lined baking sheet and allow to cool fully before mixing in parsley.

Serve by topping each serving with 1T of breadcrumb mixture.

Notes from the chief mess-maker:

soup, sans topping, registers in at 1 point per serving (assuming 8 servings) on ww
if you don't want to bother with the topping, try a dollop of creme fraiche, sour cream or goat cheese on this
seasoning with chinese 5 spice would also be delish

missing in action

2009-05-09T11:02:00.003-05:00

I'm a little lost this week, some journey-related directionlessness and some plain ol' busy-ness. So my apologies for the lack of post, but I will say that I have a number of good things on tap for the blog in the coming days. I'm thinking about:

why we will run headfirst into a wall for everyone else in our lives, but wait and wait to prioritize our own health, happiness, security
building a self-coaching circle
where is the balance in the misadvertised "work/life balance" sham?
book report on: Green Babies, Sage Moms
good tools for calculating your carbon footprint...and then what to do about it
my latest pea soup and carrot soup recipes

I'm also looking forward to spending some time with MY mom tomorrow. She's had a slew of MN-caught crappies on ice and we're going to thaw those babies, bread them in corn flakes and fry them up just like HER mom used to do for us! Really ready for that.

So, again, apologies. I'll be plugging in again shortly.

series: personal branding - dreaming it up

2009-04-28T14:01:00.003-05:00

When was the last time you took an hour or two to just dream a little bit?

I know so many people that, like me, are approaching the middle of their lives wondering how they've gotten from their childhood dreams and aspirations to...well, here. Part of this has to do with the concepts of personal branding, about which I've written in this blog and there are umpteen resources on webwide. The way *I'm* approaching personal branding is: Figuring out who you REALLY are, who you are REALLY meant to be and getting back on that path. But what I'm thinking about right here and now also has to do with acknowledging our child-like minds and letting them have some time in the sun.

As I consider my work in helping both businesses and individuals (frequently, entrepreneurs) find their way forward, I've been pondering ideation. Not in our all too familiar stuffy corporate-speak, but pure and simple dreaming. Laying on your back in a sunny patch of park and letting reality, encumbrances, the economy, swine flu, the last thing that showed up on your review as a "challenge", the number in your 401k - all of it - just float away with the passing clouds. Getting all of those boundaries - both positive and negative - out of the way long enough to let the mind play a bit. Wonder what could be. Ruminate on who might be there and what it might look like.

I love a book called The E-Myth, now in it's ba-jillionth reprinting I believe, authored by Michael E. Gerber. I don't just appreciate this book because of his lessons and the way he brings you through them (although these are really quite good indeed), but because of the way he approaches the creation of the business. Or reinvention, if that's what's applicable to you at the moment. I'm purposely glossing over the bulk of his message but not because it's not important to entrepreneurs and small business owners. Of more broad-based appeal, however, is his first step in putting together that business development plan...or as I'm thinking of it, a kind-of personal development plan. Your Primary Aim. He asks:

What do I wish my life to look like?
How do I wish my life to be on a day-to-day basis?
What would I like to be able to say I truly know in my life, about my life?
How would I like to be with other people in my life - my family, my friends, my business associates, my customers, my employees, my community?
How would I like people to think about me?
What would I like to be doing two years from now? Ten years from now? Twenty years from now? When my life comes to a close?
What specifically would I like to learn during my life - spiritually, physically, financially, technically, intellectually? About relationships?
How much money will I need to do the things I wish to do? By when will I need it?

Whew. What great questions! And not just for entrepreneurs and business owners, right? What if we started our personal branding and development journey by sitting back and conceiving of the life that we most want, now? Answering a few of these types of questions? Does this mean we wave a magic wand and every thing we dream of is possible for us? Well, probably not. Unless that wand lands you a winning Powerball ticket, but not guaranteed even then. I think if we take the time to think positively about our dreams (none of this "oh I wish I would have", "I couldn't possibly" business) and commit to acting in small ways towards reaching a couple of goals, I believe the resulting boost in our self-esteem, self-appreciation, perspective, and attitude would be immeasurable. Think of how great you feel after spending time with positive, energized people. It's a heady flush of possibility! I know I feel lighter and more nimble. My inquisitive nature is piqued. I start seeing connections and alignment between ideas, people, dreams. And the more I move toward understanding those ideas and people and dreams, determining if there is a role for me between the, well I naturally move toward action.

Sometimes it's just dreaming. But sometimes it's the start of a whole new adventure.

(Note: items in bold, italics above are directly quoted from Michael E. Gerber's The E-Myth Revisited.)

putting the "personal" back into personal branding

2009-04-23T09:02:00.005-05:00

Personal branding...whoa, did I open a can of worms there or what?! When I started "studying" the concept of the personal brand after stumbling upon my first fateful tome on the subject circa 2001, I had no idea what an impact it would eventually have in our new, emerging world. Slowly, we've seen great brands built around people (and what a no-no that used to be) succeed like Oprah, stumble but eventually persevere like Martha. Economies have faltered and jobs have been eliminated. We've had to take a frankly objective look at ourselves to regain our income-earning, title-having, respect-commanding status. We've put together resumes and cover letters and attended networking meetings, putting our very best foot forward. We've turned into master sellers of our most important product: us. And, believe me, as an independent I totally understand this process because otherwise I couldn't support my rather deadly lipgloss habit.

But isn't this also about separating ourselves from our jobs, in a way? I don't mean that bull about work/life balance (but that's an entirely different post for another day), but about NOT identifying ourselves in that pre-conditioned, Americanized, job-first way. About identifying ourselves with what's really, truly, deeply important to us?? Think about our culture: what's the first question strangers ask you after being introduced? Is is "Tell me about your family?" or "What's your life's quest?" No, I'm pretty sure that the standard opener is "So, what do you do?" And they don't mean, where do you derive your energy...

I've really seen it play out in my own personal world, as well. Not having a firm grip on my own mission, vision, values, image and so forth has slowed me. Looking back now - after having had many years of wild and wonderful, uncomfortable and unreasonable, well-intentioned and downright stupid life experiences - I think I intuitively realized that I had a path, but I frequently wandered off of it in search of something I THOUGHT I needed. I have done this with jobs, many of which I have loved and learned a lot from but haven't served my vision well. I've done this with personal relationships, again learning and growing, but straying from my journey time and again. Yes, part of this could simply be chalked up to growing older, growing up. Living and learning. But don't you get the feeling sometimes that there are people out there that "got it" so much earlier in life than you? What makes them so damned smart? Why can't I seem to get it?? Whether or not you believe in such things as reincarnation, there is a this-life equivalent that's widely understood: you will learn the same lessons - a.k.a., make the same mistakes - over and over again (date the same guy, hang around the same people, take the same ill-fitting job, lose the same 10 lbs) until you decide to stop. Until you realize where your path is taking you and what you need to do (and...ahem...stop doing, for pete's sake) to get yourself back on the journey.

I've been reading some incredible books and blogs and stories lately about personal branding. I even put together a couple of posts myself and threw them on Twitter only to see my own following grow and grow in response. This is a hot-button topic out there, people! But, I wondered, did I call it the right thing? Am I REALLY talking about Personal Branding the way these insightful people are? Because I felt like the incredible breadth of knowledge out there didn't really capture the finer essence of what I meant to say. No, I don't mean to say that I've struck on something new. But I do feel like I'm trying to highlight something important, something slightly different.

I mean here today to start putting some separation between Personal Branding: The Key to Success and Personal Branding: the Finding Your Way Forward version. Because if you take a strictly business view of branding and what it brings to a company, it's obvious to most why this is important. You see why branding yourself appropriately can lead to that businessy/career-type success. You may not know how to do it (and if that's the case, there are many fabulous experts I'd be happy to direct you to) but you know it's getting to be one of those no-brainer things to do. However, if you take it back to a PERSON inside of all of this, there are many ways that personal branding becomes just as applicable in your holistic life. Have you thought about:

why people struggle meeting their mate? keeping a marriage healthy?
why you keep fighting the weight loss battle?
why you're even keeping that ongoing family feud going?
why there are fears (named and unnamed) lurking around in your head?

There are MANY subjects such as these. I think we've all either been there, are there now or are watching a good friend struggle though something like this, right? And I guess this is where things start to get a little therapy-self-helpy but in my mind, getting a grip on who you are and what you stand for is the first step toward finding not only career or outward success. But toward finding internal contentment as well. In my circle of friends, we sometimes talk about acceptance. Not that you have to accept that your life is your life and that's all you're going to get, so buck up. But moreso that once you quiet down, acknowledge yourself and accept that you are really quite good right here and now, then doors can start opening for you. You will have a better perspective on your personal goals and assessing whether or not they're serving your real life's mission. You will start to see how you're sabotaging yourself from your REAL goals by letting false ideas suck up your time and mess up decisions. You can see why hanging so much of your pre-bottled expectation on a simple first date can send you spinning. You will figure out why panic and fear don't make good job search coaches. You will take responsibility for the role you played in some of your past not-so-stellar-moments. And so forth.

And, my theory? You'll start to see how to fix 'em.

happy green day!

2009-04-22T09:05:00.004-05:00

It's Earth Day! This year, more than any that I can remember in the past, there has been a lot of attention and focus on Earth Day in the mainstream - retail, media, internet chatter. I can personally say that I understand many non-Americans when they wonder why every day isn't Earth Day here in the United States. I often wonder that too. Just looking at Japanese and European lifestyles, I'm still surprised where we are today. We're slow to the party. But I feel like we're warming up quickly.

For me personally, I have always been a recycler. My mom has always had a productive garden. But moving into my loft three and a half years ago, I started taking other greenie causes more seriously. I don't know what it was about living here - perhaps the smaller foot print, the attention paid to green building, the lack of storage space leading to creative lifestyle changes, me and my social circle simply paying more attention to our surroundings, I'm not sure. But I know that I have taken many new (to me) principles to heart. And I know I have a long way to go.

This year, I'm making several Earth Day commitments to myself, my community and our planet. Are they revelatory? Perhaps not. But if this blog ever has a message it is that you can start anywhere, anytime and feel good about it. There's no measurement for your success as an individual, eco-freak, or what have you, other than the satisfaction you take from taking baby steps and moving forward at your own pace. No one's looking for a radical lifestyle change off the bat. But, as I've learned, once you start paying attention and learning the basics, it's awfully tough to turn away.

So Earth Day, for me, is about celebrating my own steps forward, assessing where I am in my journey, and putting some actionable goals out there in front of me for the coming year. This isn't just a day; it's a commitment. Mine happen to be:

continuing my education about food - I've been shifting focus to sustainable, local, organic and intend to keep moving in that direction
figuring out how to bring composting to my neighborhood (all condo and apartment dwellers...so this is a challenge)
making my own non-toxic cleaning products wherever possible
getting smart (and then reducing)my own carbon footprint - figure out all of these PCs, appliances, and the car...and use them in a cost- and energy-efficient manner
paying attention to the ingredients list on my skin care products and cosmetics
supporting local farmers, retailers, service providers through things like the farmers' market and the 3/50 project (a fun blog - new to me - that is written my a local fella and former colleague: http://www.simplegoodandtasty.com/)

Happy Earth Day everyone. Won't you give some thought to what you might do?

the soul of a restaurant...a cautionary tale

2009-04-20T12:09:00.006-05:00

I spend far too much time watching Food Network. I can't help it. If there's one thing you could accuse me of it's being waaaay too into food. Mostly, I'm a food experience junkie. I have become a student in what makes the enjoyment of food...well...enjoyable, and it's a job I take quite seriously.

For me, this all started in the mid-90's with the maven that is Martha Stewart becoming more mainstream. I poured over her original Hors d' Oeuvres cookbook imagining the first "big" party I would soon throw. And in the intervening years, I've continued my study of cooking, plating & presentation, serving pieces, thematic events, and generally bringing a heightened level of attention to the finer details of food experience. In the end, these details shouldn't stand out but instead become a backdrop to wonderful food, interesting conversation and the feeling of contentment that a well-enjoyed meal brings.

My travels to Europe have been more about sitting in restaurants than visiting museums. I was fascinated to see how people dined there - the type of glass used, the way the menu was organized, how the service was conducted, the length of time people lingered at the table. It was a very different world than ours and I must say it changed the way I enjoy restaurants. I became more intrigued by the process (the process of enjoyment, I guess) than the destination (a satiated tummy). I started warning servers when we sat down, "We're going to be one of those long, lingering tables" and started not ordering my entree until appetizers, wine and salad were handled. I wanted a slower service and the connection with my dining companions, the server or sommelier, and the restaurant. If the restaurant and I connected, I'd be a fast friend returning time and again. Something all business owners strive for - because it's almost always cheaper to keep a customer than get a new one.

After I started seeing more and more of a little Canadian show called "Restaurant Makeover" on the Food Network, I started paying attention to what the chefs and interior/restaurant designers were dealing with. Sure, they picked at the menu, the ingredients, the lighting, the tables & chairs, the chefs. But they also railed on about quality ingredients and the chefs' capital-P passion for the food. So much of this was couched in or formed around the one element that tends to go missing in restaurants: soul.

Cooking and feeding people - according to those who love to do it - is about love. Putting your own personality, love, and attention to detail into an expression of your appreciation of those that you're feeding may indeed be the highest form of compliment. When you decide to package that love and open up a restaurant, I think, restaurateurs may neglect the point. Yes, you have to pay strict attention to critical elements such as food costs and labor issues, and fine tune atmospheric elements such as wine glasses and the comfort of the bathrooms, but if you lose sight of your goal of sharing your love of this food with your customers it's easy to mislay the soul of your business.

I recently had a terrible dining experience at a restaurant on the lovely Grand Ave in St. Paul. They have been known for their southern-style cuisine and I remember several great meals there. And I love spending local! This is a restaurant that's held on through the years, has recently freshened up its interior and beautiful new patio, but managed to deliver a mediocre - at the very best - brunch. I was just sad through the whole thing. First, I generally hate buffets because they're difficult to execute in a way that lets the food shine. Second, they didn't give you the option of ordering off the menu in addition to the buffet so our hands quickly became tied. Third, the quality of the food and the ingredients was lackluster. Scrambled eggs looked like Styrofoam and the roast that was sliced for us was like leather - overcooked, overworked and sitting for far too long. Fourth, I sort of wasn't getting the interior design. It just felt weird in there. Many elements were beautiful and well done but many were disconnected. As a southern-style restaurant, they had many directions they could go - Floridian, Creole, Tara, New Orleans, French, etc - and seemed to take a page from each one. And what of the large screen TVs and the toy train circling above the bar? Nothing shone through. But worst of all, for me, was the fact that they had many great opportunities to let the food stand above all the riff raff, and they missed the mark wildly.

(Ok, I don't know why I'm being so secretive about the restaurant name. If you are from the Twin Cities, you probably know the place by now. I don't want to offend anyone but at the same time, as a customer and food lover, I WANT THEM TO FIX THIS PLACE SO I CAN ENJOY IT AGAIN! So fine, it's Dixie's. Sorry.)

Previously, their food generally was quite good and they were known for some specialities - pulled pork, BBQ ribs, fried okra, their signature beef jerky, gorgeous biscuits, etc. But was ANY of this on the buffet? No. And I get it, it's brunch. But do you have to give up your identity to deliver it? The jambalaya had no seasoning and no kick. The red beans and rice were underwhelming, and I love me some red beans and rice! What do unaccented scrambled eggs, greasy bacon, chunks of pineapple, A CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN for god's sake, and chocolate pudding have to do with Southern cuisine?! It was all too much. Yes, there was a lot of food but I could have been at Old Country Buffet for all I could tell. The bottomless mimosas were the only thing that kept us from feeling completely ripped off from the $19.95 per head that we paid. So we had 3 apiece. And started plotting.

Do I have some ideas for this place? Oh yes I do. I watch too much Food TV and believe I can spit harebrained ideas faster than the next person; I'm shameless that way. At my re-imagined Southern-style restaurant on Grand Avenue I'd be asking the proprietors to pick: is this a family restaurant for everyone, a special cuisine destination stop, a local bar that happens to sell food, what? I'd be wondering: is this Southern food with a Creole influence? (Because I think it should be...unique, loaded with food opportunities, thematic style options, etc) I'd be thinking: how will we get the word out? What will people say about us? What do we want them to say and are we managing that goal into everything we do?

Because I would want to rave about the perfectly seasoned jambalaya with delicate fresh shrimp. I would want to point out that they gave a little riff on the mimosa by adding some unique twist (a hurricane mimosa, perhaps?!). I would want a signature omelet menu instead of a list of basic ingredients I can get across the street at the Embassy Suite's free breakfast. I would like to see brisket and roasted chickens on the carving station, pulled pork and buns in the chafers. I would like to try the Key Lime Pie instead of it running out at 1pm. How about biscuits and gravy? A gumbo? Something that makes me feel the restaurant, experience what it's offering me. See into its soul.

And then work the execution. I understand the benefits of buffet brunches. But pick your shots. Have the right dishes on the buffet, don't fill the chafers full and let them sit too long. Make a few more "to order" dishes in the kitchen. Turn your carving guy into a carver and waffle maker, and don't serve those toppings looking like an afterthought. Use the best ingredients you can manage and charge accordingly. I'd gladly pay $25.95 or so for a really outstanding brunch. If I want cheap buffet food, I have lots of options. If you can't do buffet well, skip it. Do a beautiful, but more limited, brunch menu so I can order what I want. But be who you are and don't apologize for it.

Define your brand. Identify your message. Describe your soul. And then let the people eat.

get it gone

2009-04-18T08:25:00.005-05:00

Ok this might end up sounding like more of a rant than anything helpful but I have acquired a fresh perspective in the past 24 hours. My beau asked me to help him sell a few things on craigslist.com, and of course I agreed. I have done a lot of eBay, etc in the past and am more comfortable than he is on the PC, internet, basically most technology. He's better in the kitchen. It's a fair trade. In the end, shopping through craigslist - like eBay, thrift stores, my mom's shops (see below for another gratuitous plug) - is the ultimate in recycling. Nothing goes to waste, nothing ends up in the landfill and if you play your cards right, you get a hefty commission for selling off someone else's stuff...oh wait...maybe that's just me? Anyway, it's a good, green (and green$) thing to do.

I'd never used craigslist before but, because of our little vintage resale business I have lots of eBay experience and more than my fair share of garage and estate sales under by belt. So I'm laughing a bit because he definitely thought I was nuts when we got started documenting things for the sale. But I knew a couple of things:

people will buy freaking anything
it's nearly impossible to sell stuff without decent pictures
lots of details help

I know it sounds duh-intuitive but just take a gander at craigslist and see how many BAD listings there are and you'll get my meaning. So there I was, staging a photo shoot for practically every item, taking 6-10 pics of each even though you can only list 4, measuring everything to within an inch of its life. I was a online selling madwoman. He was sitting there thinking "no one is going to buy that" and I went into overdrive as everyone and their uncle started emailing me with interest. This morning I listed the last 4 items but already I have commitments for $1150 and another $650 in sales pending. So I'm feeling pretty keen on this whole craigslist thing!

I also realize that my experience here matters so I'm going to share with you just a couple things that I think made my online selling go smoothly.

get the description line right - There's plenty of room there so include relevant details like the diameter of the table or the height of the cabinet or - gasp - brands and model numbers! You'd be pained to see how many listings start "wood table" and make you click into the listing to get more. Not super enticing. Oh and if it works, say so. I guess people sell stuff that doesn't.
clean it - For the love of god, do not try to photograph or sell a microwave with baked on food in it. Dust off the stuff that's been in the basement, give everything a good polishing up. You'll drive good prices if it looks nice.
take key pictures - Yes, one of the whole item. But also close up shots of details like the back or seat of a chair, the inputs on the back of the TV, the manufacturer label (as long as it's legible of course), the intricate carving work on a statue. You get the idea.
measure! - adding exterior (and in the case of our chest freezers, interior) measurements can help a lot. I saved myself some quality patio lounging time NOT having to meet someone who wanted to make sure his home brew keg could fit inside the freezer. Between my measurements and his link to the keg specs, we determined that it wouldn't fly and I could quickly move on to the next interested party.
be nice, respond to everyone and keep good track - The uplifting high of "someone wants to buy our junk!" throws you in a frenzy, particularly if you have multiple listings. You'll get a lot of karmic credit just for nicely replying to someone and letting them know if there's an interested party ahead of them in line, apologizing if they weren't quick enough to get the item, getting back to them when you say you will. No, there's no rating system on craigslist but take the brownie points and be grateful when you need to go back to an interested party because your "I'll take it" guy flaked out.
and before you list, ask your people - I sold a ton of stuff to qualified, trustworthy and honest buyers: my friends. I uploaded all the pics to flickr.com, sent an email with the details and link to the pics and voila. Instant venue for selling, no listing and dorking around with strangers showing up.

There you have it.

Now if you want to see some really cool stuff that's had the hand of my mother, Queen of Clean, touch it, pop over to one of her stores and look for the booth that says "Pretty Things" at the top. It will be the one with the bright vintage household goods, old school Hawaiian shirts, fancy ladies scarves, and more.

Mall of St. Paul - Selby & Fairview
Sophie Joe's - West 7th, just outside of downtown St. Paul

growth spurt

2009-04-16T10:29:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I spent even more time thinking about and tinkering with my brand, both my personal brand and my Segnavia brand. Since I've recently undergone a redesign of my logo (making an appearance soon) and know I need to properly register the rest of my domain names, I thought it was time to take a good hard look at what I'm trying to present. How it should look, how it should act. Sigh, yes, my web presence and I are both growing up.

What this also looks like is that, due to the availability and flexibility of WordPress vs. Blogger, I may find myself transitioning over there. We'll see but for right now, it's looking like those who do a good job with the overall look, feel, organization and presentation of a more robust website and blog tend towards WordPress. I think I feel a headache coming on...

series: personal branding - claiming you

2009-04-14T14:28:00.007-05:00

I'm having one of those existential crisis moments where I'm feeling a little off track, waylaid, discombobulated. I know these feelings are real and important to my journey, so I'm trying not to stick my head in the sand and ignore them. I'm trying to sit with them a bit and figure out what they're here to teach me.

That said, it's in my nature to act. In every sense of the word, I'm all about motion. So even just trying to sit, for me, becomes an act of deliberate, paced, thoughtful movement. But in and of itself, this all goes back to the theory of knowing oneself well enough to start over, to find your way forward once again.

So I went back to my study of personal branding for some clarity. As you know, I've been reading (rather ADD-like) several books dealing with some pretty intense introspection and self-study. One of them has led me down the path of analyzing my own personal brand. I've written a little bit about why I think this is so important for each of us, and the timing couldn't be better. We have countries, policies, economies, lifestyles, workstyles all metamorphosing around us each day, and it's becoming all the more relevant to sit back and figure out where we want to play in what will become our new world. The essence of who we are and what drives us as individuals informs what we will do, what we will contribute in our lives from here out. It's an exciting opportunity to be very deliberate in our exploration and our launch forward.

We begin by figuring out what motivates us and gets us out of bed each day. One book takes you through the process of writing down (and all that goes along with that) what your personal values and passions are. It's one of many steps in crafting your own personal brand. I loved this exercise because it really encouraged me to think about ME: who I have become, who I still dream of being. But capturing it in specific words and descriptions.

Here's what I've come up with so far (and believe me, this may be a work in progress for some time to come). Following Robin Fisher Roffer's descriptions in Make a Name for Yourself, I'm calling values the "metronome for my personal behavior- what I stand for, what I want to live up to, what I consider most important to my inner life and well-being." I started by revisiting some old journals and work I did with my therapist and career coach. Then I crafted a laundry list of what I thought my personal values to be: authenticity, success, experiencing & learning, connectedness, creativity, acceptance, having fun, risk taking, kindness, love, integrity. These each speak to me in individual as well as comprehensive ways. But Roffer challenges you to boil it down to its essence and come up with three or four core values, and then figure out what each means to you. (Because as her examples demonstrate, integrity might mean something slightly different when gazed at through your lens than it is through mine.) So this wasn't a quick exercise as you might guess. It has taken place over years and months and days, in fits and starts. But I think I'm getting close.

My core values are:

authenticity - which for me means honoring and protecting my own truth, acting from a place of strength and gratitude (not fear), not being defined by anything "other"
empowerment - giving myself room to learn and grow, practicing well-being, inspiring others to thoughtful action, working for the well-being of others
connectedness - nurturing my inner social butterfly, being part of a community, helping others succeed though my efforts, respecting the resources of the earth, exploring and understanding the bigger world, listening
creativity - allowing myself time and space to let my passions out to play, finding new ways to do necessary things (in life, in business, whatever)

Gulp. While sounding quite accurate, it also helps put a lot of stuff in perspective for me. And I see plainly how big I really am, despite the days when I feel small. These beautiful things are the central core of who I am and how I interact with the world. If I work against these values, I gum up mentally, slow down emotionally, start to fail physically. When I honor these values, I simply soar. I have more fun, I am better to myself and others and I feel as if I'm in my own "right place." Now why on earth is it so hard to remember these things and keep them on our mental front burner? I vow that I will take this hard work and make sure to not let fear creep in and somehow diminish the importance of these as I move forward.

Next are passions. You know, what gets you all jazzed up and want to bounce off the walls? Roffer describes passions as more "of the world" than values, which have more "inner significance." These were slightly easier to put my finger on, as those of you who know me well will see below. It's the stuff that just makes me hum with anticipation, busy-ness, excitement, motion, storytelling and gong-sounding. My passions are:

food - cooking it, eating it, selling it, buying it (growing it too, although not necessarily in a dirt-under-the-nails sort of way)
travel - experiencing places and people (and food, while I'm on a roll)
learning - reading, studying, getting out of my comfort zone
networking - bringing the people I love and support together, using social media, spinning the web that we women spin so well
green issues - specifically related to what goes in and on our bodies
putting products and services in the hands of the people who need them
technology for good, not for evil (as in, useful, relevant, helpful technology; not just because Apple/Dell/Best Buy said so)

Many steps to go, but these were really great for me today. It's easy to forget ourselves for a minute (or a month, sometimes) and feel disconnected, irrelevant, useless. It's uplifting to be the wind beneath my own wings just by reminding myself of how far I've traveled on this path and where my road is headed. I'm claiming myself - becoming me - more and more every day and for that, I'm truly grateful. What about you?

the 3/50 project

2009-04-11T10:10:00.007-05:00

Man, am I jazzed about this. Last week mom was telling me about this project after having seen a news piece about it. It's smart primarily because it's simple; they've made it very easy for the average joe to understand and get behind. A total nobrainer. As you know, I'm a big supporter of the local economies and bringing together those who produce products, those who sell products and those who buy products in a very cost-effective, planet friendly and sustainable manner. I think the more people understand and appreciate what the local economies bring to their lives, they'll likewise vote with their dollars. I'm proud to know that I have impact in my local area and proud to spread the word. And I'm even further proud that this phenomenon started right here in the Twin Cities. Aren't we smart? Cheers Cinda!

And for me, this means I'll choose from a wonderful assortment of retailers (and restaurants too; while this program focuses on retailers, let's not forget our favorite neighborhood spots to chow down) in Saint Paul such as:

the Saint Paul Farmer's Market (not exactly a retailer but clearly needs support; I predict a banner year for our market)
Mississippi Market - was a college staple for me and I've been meaning to be more supportive; now's a great time to get on board
Bibelot Shops - tons of seasonal cuteness, picked up some...well, bibelots for my mom for Easter
Corazon (ok, across the Marshall bridge from St. Paul but close enough and SO CUTE)...festive, arty and irreverant selection
Elva Pottery (Grand & Dale) - am in love with their bowls
Ecotique/Nature of Beauty - so good, so green. All natural beauty products, to boot. Terri pulls together a smart and cool vibe. Loved my green makeover!
Phresh - both for services and for products; see Megan for best facials and wax services
StormSister Spatique - new find in St. Paul, love that they carry new Intelligent Nutrients line...and fun blog too!
Paper Patisserie - love the wrap and ribbons
Karma - great clothes and accessories, love the new location
The Yarnery - my knitting obsession increased proportionately to the incredible amounts of beautiful yarns stocked here. To wit, my new Misti Alpaca in sushi. Lots of free patterns and helpful assistance.
Cooks of Crocus Hill - classes, Oxo storage containers, All-Clad pans and so much more; what's not to love?
Ten Thousand Villages - fair trade and unique; I always find great gifts here
Garden of Eden - has my favorite bath salts, Dresdener Essenz
Haskell's - I loved finding their Naples location when I was on vacation on year, talk about bringing home along for the ride!
Thomas Liquors - will always love this tiny Grand Ave shop

hip hop yum

2009-04-10T10:23:00.004-05:00

Easter is upon us! This is one of those holidays I love not because I have a strong religious affiliation (I don't) but because, to me, Easter is the perfect embodiment of spring. Spring, glorious spring! The weather is finally warming here (50-55F) and the past weeks of me pretending that spring is here seem to be behind me. My blossoming quince branches are in full bloom, my spring cleaning is nearly finished (tomorrow is the day), I have developed an almost unhealthy fascination with eggs lately, and I have been getting out to walk nearly every day. It's really feeling like spring!

One of my favorite rituals this time of year is setting the menu for Easter brunch. As I mentioned, we're not celebrating Easter the way that many others are but we do gather family (genetic and chosen) and spend time in the kitchen, on the deck, playing games and generally hanging out and enjoying each other. This year I think we'll have 5 or 6 people here, which is a lovely size for this hostess. Not too crazy, not too fussy but still allows me to bust out the pretty napkins and entertain. Perfect!

I'm still nailing down the menu but I think this is how it's going to go:

pork tenderloin (will either be: spice rubbed, herb marinated or smoky chipotle marinated)
my mac & cheese
perhaps something to do with salmon?
roasted asparagus
some sort of salad, thinking
lemon-tinged angelfood cake with raspberry sauce & mango sorbet
chickpea dip (also with lemon)
perhaps the chef's snow peas with sesame/miso sauce

There will also be early/late appetizers (I bought stuff to make the absolutely FANTASTIC pâté from Bon Appétit...again...we're all addicted to it) and plenty of vino to go around. Cheers to spring, friends, family, food and enjoying each other!

trixie's infamous mac & cheese

2009-04-10T10:10:00.004-05:00

Thought I'd start bringing over some of the Trixie recipes to share with new friends. Enjoy and have wine with this to counteract the hardening of your arteries...

8oz small elbow macaroni (a nod to Ina, I'm trying cavatappi for Easter)
¼ c white wine (or chicken stock)
2c (packed) grated Gruyere & sharp white cheddar cheeses (I did roughly ½ and ½ - about ½ lb total...note, lean toward a younger sharp ched as the more aged ones are drier and can tend toward oiliness when baked)
1c whipping cream
1c whole milk
3oz thinly sliced prosciutto, coarsely chopped
¼ t grated nutmeg
½ t white pepper
½ t salt
3T grated parmesan
¼ c bread crumbs
5T butter
4T flour
2-3 roma tomatoes; seeded & coarsely chopped

Separate ¼c of the grated cheeses; combine with breadcrumbs and parmesan & toss. Set aside.

Cook pasta according to package directions; drain & set aside.

Preheat oven to 350.
Melt 1T butter (I used the same pan that I cooked the pasta in) & sauté prosciutto for a few minutes until lightly browned. Remove from pan & set aside. Keeping heat about med-high, add wine & deglaze pan. Boil until almost completely evaporated.

Add remaining 4T butter and melt. When melted, begin whisking in 4T flour, slowly. Should make a rather thick paste, but add the flour slowly and stop before you get glue! Add cream & milk & continue whisking. Cook for 4-5 minutes, whisking pretty much constantly, until slightly thickened & mostly smooth.

Add nutmeg, salt & pepper. When mixture is quite hot, turn off heat, add grated cheeses & prosciutto. Stir until cheese until melted. Stir in cooked pasta.

Pour into glass or ceramic baking dish. (I also read somewhere that you can make this up to this point, cover & refrig; then just let it come to room temp before adding the topping & baking).

Top with tomatoes and breadcrumb mixture. Bake 40 minutes-ish or until cheese is bubbling and topping is golden brown.

sunny d

2009-04-09T09:31:00.003-05:00

I got a newsletter in my inbox today from Oprah and Dr. Oz wondering if I'm getting enough Vitamin D. So kind of them to inquire.

Dr. Oz (one of my all-time health idols along with Dr. Weil) and his YOU book compadre have developed some content on Oprah.com and one segment explains how somewhere between 40-85% of Americans are Vitamin D deficient. And it doesn't take much to make you deficient! If you, like me, are religious about sunscreen for instance, you are leaving much of the sun-generated D on the table. Such a conundrum! Check out this article for more information on how much we need and how to get more.

With that in mind, I'm headed out to soak up a little lower-risk, early day, northern latitude sunny sunshine. I've already added Vitamin D to my supplements, and I eat lots of delicious fatty fish. And, although a major inconvenience, I'll be taking apéro on my deck as much as possible.

green eats

2009-04-08T11:08:00.004-05:00

This weekend I had the very unique experience of catering a dinner at the home of a prominent - indeed famous - businessman who has probably done more for the organic, natural, green, and even standard beauty industry than anyone. I've mentioned the name in passing but I'll refrain from either doing that or providing any private details here out of sheer respect. My point in telling the story is that my beau's restaurant was contacted to create the menu and provide the dinner, with the twist that it be as organic as possible. Twisty twisty indeed!

Now, let's also mention here that the restaurant in question is a fabulous Japanese restaurant (obvious bias intended) with a quite loyal following. But it's certainly not professing itself to be green. The food of Japan may have its green tendencies, but preparing and selling it in the Midwest isn't always as ecologically sound as one might hope.

In my time together with the chef, I have learned a lot about Japanese cuisine. Lest we think me an expert, however, know that this particular well runs deep. It will probably take me years to figure it all out. The culture and food of this amazing country is thousands of years rich, but recently we've all become more aware of the health benefits inherent within. My limited study of books such as The Blue Zones and Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat: Secrets of My Mother's Tokyo Kitchen has highlighted the benefits of eating this way. My personal experience with Japanese food has revealed a very nice alignment with my own beliefs about food: quality, fresh ingredients; simplicity in preparation; beautiful presentation; plant-focused with fresh fish and so forth.

The trick here - as with so many other facets of our lives - is reconciling our values and intentions with the availability of ingredients. Or in the case of running a restaurant, stepping up and stomaching the transition and ongoing costs of being greener. The nature of a Japanese restaurant doesn't lend itself well to using local food suppliers, as we're not catching bluefin in the Mississippi these days (uh, yuck). But there are small steps restaurants can make. And it all starts with awareness. Sound familiar?

A few little examples of how we started: Two of our event chefs shopped at a local organic co-op for produce and other standard ingredients. A third chef availed herself of organic sweet potatoes from Whole Foods. I went about finding sustainable - and beautiful - bamboo chopsticks that would hold their own in this amazing gallery home. We brought a load of our own towels to eliminate the need for paper towels. We checked to be sure the fish was sustainably farmed or caught. It was a start. But we had to ship in top-of-the-line traditional Japanese ingredients (think kombu, bonito, nori) that can't be found here. Thankfully they are dried and light as a feather, so not as carbon-footprint-impacting to ship. Yet, the fish came from afar.

But the real revelations happened later. My chef gleefully admitted that even though the price was considerably higher, the organic goods simply tasted better. And this man has a palate for food, wine, sake, etc that I can't even contemplate. So I knew that he really meant it. We both laughed as we packed up the food and supplies that we were about to alight in this man's very green home with all this plastic packaging and wrap and perhaps they'd just take the food and chuck us back out past the security gate. We were more than just a little aware at that moment. I think you'd call it ashamed.

In his beautiful commercial kitchen we found only green cleaning products, his own line of hand cleansers, and under counter bins for recyclables and compost. There were paper towels and napkins, but primarily there were lots of washable linens. Organic aromas were sprayed throughout the house. The whole place just felt green. I felt a little greener for just having showed up.

I think we all walked away from the experience with some questions in our heads. Could we do better? Could the restaurant? There's lots to learn and again, I'm intrigued enough to go further. I can't wait to learn more. And I'll see if I can get him in a bamboo chefs jacket soon...

Found a couple of great articles by way of the Green Restaurant Association:
A Tall Order of Green
Going Out to Eat, but Staying Green

(Disclosure: am I a caterer? No, I'm really not. I was mostly doing this to help my boyfriend. Can you say cheap labor?! But I did work for a catering company during college and have more experience in every facet of that business than I'd care to admit or even clearly remember. I also have done my fair share of event planning throughout my marketing career. And let's face it, I'm a picky biatch. I can plan the details to the nth degree and crank out a beautiful table. I simply love entertaining. With these wonderful chefs around me all the time, I get very tempted to go back that way again.)

in the zone

2009-04-07T18:16:00.004-05:00

I suspect we're about to be faced with a phenomenon. I've been enjoying my library copy of The Blue Zone for a week or so now, and wondering: why have I only learned about this recently?! The hardcover version of the book was published in January of 2008, and despite the fact that I have an interest in this type of living/learning/eating genre and that the author Dan Buettner lives here in my very own Twin Cities, there wasn't a lot of splash for this book locally. To be fair, maybe I missed it. I spent the better part of the months between traveling, working exessively, being absent. So, there are a number of things that I've missed, without doubt, not the least of which was my very own life. This book is wonderful though. It just makes so much sense to your emotional, intellectual, food-loving, life-living sides. It's a holistic approach to understanding why life and longevity are quite positive in certain areas of the world...and what we mere mortals can learn from these studies.

To cement his ubiquitousness, Buettner appeared today with Dr. Oz on Oprah. And oohhhh, the Oprah effect! (PS, the softcover version of the book is coming out in just under 2 weeks)

Buettner and his team identified 4 places in the world that have more centenarians than any other. And it sounds as if they're getting ready to announce a 5th Blue Zone. Interesting, indeed. His book is lush with scientific facts and personal stories telling why and how life is just that good in these places. They looked first at the stats - where the most people live to be 100. Then they sent in a bunch of smart people who could analyze the conditions in the area, the behaviors of the people, the lifestyle. And so now tons of information supports the nine lessons that we can incorporate into our own if we want to live longer, healthier, more enriching lives. Here's a quick synopsis from the book, but I have to tell you, reading the book is much more informative and helpful than just a quick run down...I've simply paraphrased.

Lesson 1: Move Naturally - the idea here is that you can just make physical motion part of your day. No earth-shattering suggestions here but if you have fun, eschew modern conveniences (cars, elevators, blenders?), be social in your motion, plant a garden, do a little yoga, you add some beneficial movement into your normal routine.
Lesson 2: Hara Hachi Bu - as I've been getting more and more interested in Japanese cuisine and have already bought into the social aspects of French and Italian eating, this makes so much sense to me. In theory, the idea is to stop eating when you're 80% full. As you have undoubtedly experienced the PAINFUL fullness after a big meal, you can relate to this concept. Realizing that your brain and your stomach need time to confer, the longer dining rituals - eating more slowly, with mindfulness and respect for the food, and being present with others at the table - lend themselves well to this idea of stopping before Tums become a necessity. In addition, serve yourself away from the table, use smaller plates, buy realistic packages (although this may seem counter to some of the greener initiatives), weigh yourself regularly (read: not obsessively), and for the love of Pete, SIT DOWN!
Lesson 3: Plant Slant - this is easy. As Michael Pollan advised: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." Eating 4-6 servings of fruit and veg each day is a no brainer theoretically, but less simple to enact. It's a real decision to make each and every day - eat 2 servings per meal, use meat as a side/accent, love legumes.
Lesson 4: Grapes of Life - a daily drink provides benefit, but the key here is consistency and moderation, says Buettner. A daily glass or two of wine, sake or whatever helps to keep heart disease - the biggest killer of men and women in America - low. But too much puts one at higher risk for other diseases. So have one or two a day, not 14 on Saturday night. Sigh. Days of yore coming back to haunt... But the bigger issue with the daily cocktail isn't just the alcohol itself, but the ritual of sharing that "happy hour" (or apéro) with friends and family.
Lesson 5: Purpose Now - "why I wake up in the morning" is a key and crucial element of contendedness, healthfulness and happiness in those studied. The first recommendation is to craft a personal mission statement, and as you know how I'm such a proponent of understanding your own personal branding, this concept speaks to me loudly. Next is to find a partner you can share your purpose with, whether this comes in the form of a spouse, family member or friend. And finally, keep learning...because this keeps you sharp!
Lesson 6: Downshift - this is as much to do with being social as it is about being alone. Finding your personal happy place where there is little congestion of tv, emails, and other blah blah clutter. As Buettner says, "Most electronic entertainment just feeds mind chatter and works counter to the notion of slowing down." Well said. He also underlines reducing stresses that you can control like being on time. And making room - phyiscally and otherwise - for meditation.
Lesson 7: Belong - faith, community, tradition, ritual. Not much explanation needed there, I feel.
Lesson 8: Loved Ones First - coming from a divorced girl with no kids and a small immediate family, it may sound weird. But I understand the notion of putting family first, maybe because it hasn't always been a strong suit of mine. But this lesson also talks about living in smaller, more connected homes and respecting our ancestors, which I absolutely love. My favorite part of this lesson, and one that I have fought hard to create in my own life, is that of creating rituals. In my family, we didn't always fuss about with holidays or celebrations. If Thanksgiving happened on another day, so be it. As an adult, I've practically arm wrestled my mom into pulling people together for Easter (we're not really Catholic), Thanksgiving (despite the fact that a turkey is a hell of a lot of work) and all manner of other events, mostly because I just love bringing everyone to a single place, enjoying each others' company and indulging in our food and wine habits together. Thankfully my boyfriend also shares this intention and we've tried to establish a regular "sashimi and sake night" ritual that we can always go back to. Lovely.
Lesson 9: Right Tribe - this is simple. Surround yourself with the people who know, understand and exhibit your own personal values. Be positive, attract likewise. And be diligent about allowing time with this "inner circle" of people.

Simple. Straightforward. Sensible. Get the book and read it. Better yet, live it!

to market, to market

2009-04-03T09:57:00.004-05:00

I went through an almost euphoric moment of enlightenment when I realized that it's already April! And that means the Farmer's Market is officially opening! But then I thought, wait a tick. It's supposed to snow this weekend and that's just wrong, wrong, wrong. Then I remembered: Farmer's Market doesn't officially kick off their summer season until the first weekend in May. Sigh.

In the meantime, my market is open shorter hours each Saturday morning so it's not as if I'm totally left out in the cold (and snow). I haven't been visiting yet this season - please don't ask me why - but I think I'm going to run down there tomorrow. I'm excited to see what kinds of dairy, cheese (because I'm almost back on the cheese wagon - yay!), chicken, etc they have on hand. I got my April issue of Cooking Light magazine yesterday and was overly jazzed that their content is based in local, seasonal and artisanal wonders. I can't wait to try some of the recipes in the issue, particularly the ones that complimented the feature on a fabulous creamery in Alabana called Belle Chèvre...because this creamery produces my favorite cheese on the planet: goat cheese. I'm in heaven and going for these:

Berry Salad with Goat Cheese Dressing
Grilled Turkey Burgers with Goat Cheese Spread in fact, I'm sort of considering bathing in this herby, yogurt-based, goat cheesey goodness. What? Is that wrong?

My food frenzy is hitting a new high these days, which is in turn fueling the continuing work that I've been doing on my career. I haven't found quite the perfect niche to attack, but I'm beginning to think it's time to take my heartfelt love for food on the road. What does that look like? Well, of course it probably looks a lot like my own skills and experiences, only with a new twist. I'm also feeling a bit of puffy chestedness when I realize that some of the PR that's being done in this town (for restaurants that I know well, ahem) is weak. I may not yet have the network or the contacts, but I have a lot of passion for this area of the market and believe that the time is right for us Midwesterners to pay more attention to what's going onto our plates and into our mouths. It's a trend, as you all know, that's blossoming nationwide. Just ask the people at Cooking Light, Bon Appétit, Gourmet and other foodie magazines if you don't believe. Combined with this current green evolution, food is well-positioned to be the poster child for good living in the US.

As much or more than that, I also realize how the absence or availability of nutritious food affects many living creatures in our country, not the least of which are families. There are so many wonderful people out there doing so many incredible things to help put food in the hands of school children, hungry families and even rescued pets. That abundance sharing and pitching in to help others resonates with me to the core. And focusing on food is something that I can incredibly excited about. I want to see how I can help.

So right now I'm thinking about:

dinner clubs
farm-to-table food raves
bake sales
herbs, herbs and more herbs
natural and organic dog food
bringing restauranteurs together
Cooking Light also has a REALLY COOL thing going on where people are signing up on their bulletin boards to do a bag swap. Essentially, you pick up a resuable shopping tote from a local store and swap with someone in another part of the country with whom you've been paired. Everyone gets a neat new bag and a great story to tell. How fun is that? How many other social food connectedness ideas are out there?

We'll see where this all goes.

forcing it

2009-03-30T12:25:00.006-05:00

This weekend I decided to embark on the exaulted spring ritual of convincing detatched tree limbs that it's in fact warmer and springier than they realize. So I picked up a big bunch of what I believe are probably (and somewhat ironically) Japanese Quince branches. They weren't marked, I just thought they were pretty. And considering I saw the flowers, you can extrapolate how little work I would need to put into this endeavor. Even in their little refrigerated room at the florist, they had already set a ton of buds and launched a few open. And just a few days later, I have beautiful pink blossoms adding a nice little touch of newness and rebirth in my home.

Never mind that, after several near-70 degree days in the past month, we're awaiting another late season snow/rain storm and are experiencing temperatures around 15 degrees below average this time of year. Mother Nature is confusing everything around here.

Which just goes to show you, even out of our element and under difficult conditions - with the proper care and feeding - we can still flourish, bloom, and make our own little world a more lovely place.

restart

2009-03-27T09:19:00.003-05:00

Ok it's official: the bathroom floor is complete, round deux. And I think this one's gonna take! After being sans bathroom for the day yesterday, I returned to find a lovely new floor - with the seam between the two bath rooms in the right place - and breathed a major sigh of relief. This bathroom project has really set me back in terms of cleaning, house organization projects and my emotional stability. I am just so glad to have this almost wrapped up.

I also headed back to yoga this week. And while I'm very, very sore today I realized upon waking that my neck is no longer knotted to within an inch of its (my?) life. I've been miserable in the neck department for weeks now and threatening to return to the chiro while simultaneously hoping that the administration's economic stimulus package would provide me less-overpriced access to him. And not wanting to spend money frivously (you know, like on my health) I've been waiting.

But yoga. Oh man. My instructor ROCKS and, as usual, I found that spending a lot of time in shoulder stand really helped my neck and upper shoulders get themselves realigned again. This position is actually really easy to get into and, if you can hang out there for awhile, does wonders. According to YogaJournal.com (where I nabbed this great photo), this pose is also good to help relieve stress and mild depression, along with stimulating abdominal organs and improving digestion. No wonder I feel better! But most importantly, my head actually rotates on my neck properly again. Whew.

apéro

2009-03-25T08:56:00.007-05:00

Several years ago, I had the glorious pleasure of adding a "just like the locals" segment to a trip to Paris: we traveled by train to Nantes in the Brittany region and stayed 4 or 5 days with friends at their family home near the beach. I say "4 or 5 days" because, honestly, it was a stretch of time riddled with jet lag recovery, deliciously cheap French wine and one day blending seamlessly into the next. Breakfast was strong coffee and the leftover baguette from the night before, toasted and covered with jam. And a fabulous thing - apéro - started around lunchtime during those lazy summer days (well it WAS August, after all).

Apéro, for all intents and purposes, is cocktail hour in France, the word sort of a simplified version of the beverage - apéritif (French) or aperitivo (Italian). In whatever form, it's another reminder of how much more social, laid back, food/beverage focused, and so very cool our European neighbors can be. Apéro is that time well before dinner is even started in the kitchen (or a path is mapped to the local restaurant) when everyone gathers around, has a tasty beverage or two, and just interacts with each other. My cousin in Switzerland calls it "closing out the day and starting the evening," a ritual for transition from the work day to social/family time. Typical drinks are champagne, Campari, pastis, sherry or maybe some ouzo if you find yourself in Greece. Little nibbly food is served, sometimes as simple as a bowl of nuts and sometimes more elaborate like cheese, crackers or maybe those cute little cocktail weinies. Personally I have been getting a LOT of mileage out of the large packages of cocktail weinies, baked off in the over for 10 minutes and served with a blob of really good dijon. It seems everyone loves these for cocktail hour. But in the end, it's all about staving off the late afternoon munchies while priming your palate and appetite for dinner. I often wish I can keep this schedule all the time.

Spring is elusive in the midwest during March and April. It pokes its head out for a few days, lulls us into that warm sunny reverie and then disappears again. We had a lovely stretch of sun filled days late last week and into the weekend culminating with one of the more gorgeous Sundays I can remember. I got out and walked 5 miles and started Sunday apéro at a local French restaurant around 3. It was fabulous.

Monday, I was inspired. Although the weather fell off to wet and gloomy, my happy hour mindset remained and I ran off to my local SuperTarget for supplies. I have been ever-impressed with SuperT and their private label food items. Two weeks ago I stumbled upon their Archer Farms Organic Sea Salt Flatbreads and couldn't believe how great they were. The ultimate in simplicity, just wonderful crackers seasonsed perfectly with big flakes of sea salt. No, it wasn't the wonderful Brittany grey salt, but one can only be so choosy without making crackers from scratch! On Monday, determined to find some great apéro nibbles before dinner, I checked on the Archer Farms selection again and found: Apple Chardonnay chicken cocktail sausages, Chipotle Honey Mustard dip and added it to a mix of their Balsamic Almonds, cashews and Craisins (those are 3 different products that I mixed myself) and some sparkling wine. A generous apéro spread; I was hoping I wouldn't ruin my appetite for dinner!

The flatbreads are perfection (and organic, no less!), the sausages were delish, low in fat and well flavored. Although I thought I'd use the Chipotle Honey Mustard for a sausage dip, I ended up preferring good ol' Maille dijon for this purpose. But the next day, I discovered that adding a little olive oil and red wine vinegar to the dip loosened it up into a nearly perfect salad dressing. Or in my case, dip for a couple of chunks of sweet apple. The Balsamic Almonds are really stellar though - the perfect combination of tangy sweet balsamic with salt...oh! So nice! And when you mix those guys with roasted cashews (my favorite) and the Craisins, you end up with a lovely, balanced blend.

My passion for the evening cocktail hour is reinvigorated. Warm days are ahead of us. And Tar-zhay can join me for apéro anyday.

recipe: bon appetit's green pea soup with tarragon

2009-03-23T10:07:00.007-05:00

On the other hand, this sounds delish and springy, is getting good online reviews, and I'm headed to the grocery today to pick up frozen peas. So there.

(As an aside, the April issue of Bon Appétit is chocked full of amazing sounding things. My copy is groaning under the weight of the 17 dog eared corners and I'm not even done going through it yet. Some of those ears are marking: Pasta with Peas, Asparagus, Butter Lettuce and Prosciutto; a Rose Margarita from Stack in Las Vegas; Chocolate-Dipped Frozen Banana Bites; Five-Spice Roast Chicken with Ginger-Scented Rice; Gougères; the entire pizza and prosecco party feature...and so very many more.)

recipe: smitten kitchen's cream cheese pound cake

2009-03-23T10:06:00.002-05:00

I think the universe is mocking me for giving up cheese this month. It's just a month, people! I can make it! And until then, I'll be dreaming about versions of this.

controlled chaos?

2009-03-20T12:50:00.003-05:00

For those of you who aren't familiar with this rather unproductive, panic-inducing method of cleaning, a.k.a "A.D.D. Cleaning," you will find the process below to be entirely counter the advice given by experts on such matters. Behold:

take all contents of bathroom cabinets out, spread along dining room table and living room floor. earnestly begin the process of separating out what needs to be combined (lotions, hand soap), donated (unopened samples of god only knows what), and tossed. make progress but become overwhelmed when lipgloss and eyeshadow depths are understood. take 2 days off.
reinvigorated by a weekend guest's pending arrival, reduce and sort bathroom goodies into well labeled boxes, similar things together (much as experts would advise).
brew batch of iced Passion tea. leave to cool on counter.
realize must unload dishwasher, do so. reload while here and handwash a couple of items.
remember came to kitchen in the first place to ... what was it again?...
start much needed loads of laundry. fold and hang clean clothes - leave in utility room.
change air filter, god, when was the last time...?
magazine-induced anxiety strikes. sit on floor with cup of tea and weed through first stack. back hurts, must move again. leave piles.
put next load in dryer and look intently at the area where the dryer filter goes. gross. grab chopsticks and pull out random lint that doesn't stay in the filter.
take on clothes closet, as clearly must make room for clean clothes. start another big pile of clothes that really. must. just. go. dust surfaces, realize that some dust isn't coming out without vacuum attachment.
hmm. vacuum quite dirty and clogged-looking from drywall dust and abuse from contractors. take filter part apart (thank gods repeatedly for Dyson), and bang out all of the icky stuff. multi-use chopsticks grab most of the leftover gunk. need dental scraper pokey thing to push the remaining clogs out. satisfied...
...switch loads...
hang boots and put shoes back into nice storage boxes. will vacuum hallway when back and forth is done, which is convenient as vacuum still sitting here.
put bathroom towels away in newly cleaned shelf area. pretty. remember artwork sitting in hallway from painting, rehang.
return to closet. vacuum and then clean floor with lovely Caldrea Basil Blue Sage All-Purpose cleaner. take large bag of to-be-donated to utility room intending to add more as stuff comes out of the dryer. feeling particularly ruthless now.
start attacking entry closet and decide to part with 1 winter coat and will hang others in main closet for the season. but need to wash coats first. clean out pockets of random change and tissues, toss into utility room. difficult to pass through here again, but return to pulling clean clothes, towels, etc and putting them away.
stop to blog
realize starving, haven't eaten since rice krispies at 11:30am. think about making pasta for dinner...

So you can see where this is going. But I'm so used to my horribly bad habits that I'm actually feeling really good about everything. Each project (magazine recycle, closet clean out & clean up, laundry, put laundry away [yes, for me, this is a separate project entirely], bathroom/toiletry reduction, etc) is underway and each is at a differing level of doneness. But each will get done between now and when my girlfriend arrives tomorrow. And I can already taste the sweet satisfaction of my tidy, pretty home...which, now that I've had a little sit, I'm energized to attack once again.

...now, why did I come back into the kitchen...?

review: Green Clean & recipe

2009-03-19T09:48:00.005-05:00

In my ongoing research for safe, effective and yes, natural ways to clean my home, I found a book at the library (love the library - how thrifty AND green!?) called Green Clean: The Environmentally Sound Guide to Cleaning Your Home and found it intriguing enough to pick up. First, the form factor: an eco-friendly book printed on a non-recycled paper?! Whaaaa? Well yeah. It's actually printed on a synthetic paper that makes it waterproof, stainproof and therefore infinitely durable. It's also resistant to tearing (shhh, yes, I checked). It's called a DuraBook™ in fact, which seams to suit the material perfectly. I like this concept quite a lot, particularly considering the abuse softcover books tend to take in library environments. Long live the library!

Anyway, I found the book to be a straightforward, helpful guide. There was some excellent reference and educational information, some basic housecleaning tips turned green, and lots of recipes. This probably isn't a book for an already-educated, hard core green household, but an excellent starting point if you're just beginning this phase in your life. And, as the book describes, you can just store it right in your cleaning bucket next to your products. It won't fall apart under the pressure!

Here's a recipe I'm going to try...(directly quoting from the book)

Vinegar of the Four Theives
Legend has it that grave robbers during a plague outbreak rubbed this on themselves to prevent illness.

2 quarts organic apple cider vinegar
Small handfuls of dried lavendar, rosemary, sage, rue, mint
Large jar (about 2 quarts) with a screw-top lid

Mix all ingredients in a jar and cover tightly. Let sit for at least four weeks and strain out the herbs. Pour into a spray bottle. Spray anywhere that's ripe for germs - such as places where lots of hands have touched, or in a sick room.

going blue

2009-03-18T12:26:00.005-05:00

In combined fit of guilt for watching Biggest Loser while drinking wine, and wanting a good solid kick start to getting my health and wellness back on track, last night I committed to a girlfriend to avoid meat and all but nonfat dairy for a month. Starting today. No sense drawing out the anticipation, as god knows where that kind of craziness can lead. She and I are both locked in.

For me, this means I'll be testing the edges of a mostly-vegetarian diet that I've been wondering about for awhile. As I've mentioned before, the more I learn about the care, feeding and upbringing of the animals that make up our diets, the less I've been interested in eating them. I'm not going - ahem - whole hog here, though. I don't see myself ever giving up milk, cheese, eggs, etc. But to aid the progress on my scale and to address my friend's recent bloodwork results, we thought that eliminating most of the animal fat would be good. She's keeping chicken and turkey; I'm not. I'm keeping eggs. We're both keeping fish. Regardless of how you mix and match, this should push us toward lean, healthy proteins, less cholesterol, and good fats.

Twice last week, I found myself intrigued by a book called The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest which talks about the common elements in the diet and lifestyle choices of folks who live well and long in certain areas of the world. And there are common elements, whether in Okinawa, Costa Rica, California or Sardinia, ideals such as physical activity, grain-laden vegetable-based diets, rich social lives and low stress. Huh. Makes a hell of a lot of sense, no. I've done a lot of studying about anti-oxident rich and anti-inflammatory diets (as in, way of eating, not weight loss regimen) and they're awfully similar in nature. But I really like the way the book addresses your outlook and the tribe of people you hang out with as part of the assessment. It does matter how you are wired and how you handle stress. It matters who you surround yourself with. Feels right to me.

I wondered how well I was doing. I haven't had my cholesterol checked in awhile and I know my yo-yo weight over the past 2.5 years won't have helped. So I went to the Blue Zone website and checked out their Vitality Compass. I had to sign up for a free account with them to proceed, naturally. But it took 3 seconds and only required my name, zip code, a user name, password and my email address. Pretty straightforward. Then I took the quick little quiz about my habits around eating, exercise, drinking and social interaction, height/weight, etc and it churned out my age, life expectancy, disease-free live expectancy, and how my habits have affected my biological age. Oh, and the fact that I could add another 8.5 years to my life if I changed a few things. Here we go:

Biological age - 35.4 years (real age: 37.4)
Life expectancy - 86 years
Disease-free life expectancy - 75.2 years
My habits have added 3.8 years to my life expectancy
I could add another 8.5

Then the system churned out a little report. My key issues are around my Outlook area: I've been worried, tense and anxious lately and I felt better about my health a year ago. No big shocker there. 20 lbs lost and then regained will do that to a girl. In my Eat area, I don't eat a lot of whole grains and I enjoy my wine too much. I have a wheat allergy which takes out all but my most favorite bread products and the rice I eat is primarily white. Hmm, need to work on that. The wine is a no brainer. In my Move area, I get a pretty decent amount of short-spurt movement (20 mins), but not a lot of sustained movement (60 mins). Easy to fix with some springtime walks. I probably sleep too much with my 8-10 hours a day, but I think this is related to my stress/outlook issues and will likely right itself when I start getting more movement into my day. In my Belong area, I don't have a regular outlet for spirituality and I'm not satisfied with my work today.

All of these make sense to me and yes, I realize it's simply an online tool that doesn't take into consideration my family health history, the crappy economy, etc but it's a pretty decent down & dirty litmus test. And apparently they're now testing a Vitality Coach program: for $9.99 they'll start with your initial results, ask you to pick 3 things you'd like to work on in the next 60 days, and then send you notes each day. Based on your responses to the questions in these notes, they'll adjust the plan as needed. I'm totally intrigued! For now, I'm searhing the library for the book so I can check it out. Can't wait to read this and feel good about my meat-reduced ways this month!

happy green day!

2009-03-17T16:27:00.004-05:00

I found an Irish proverb that roughly translates to "Your feet will bring you to where your heart is." I like that, it speaks to me. Sort of lines up with my thinking these days: first, you are where you are, no sense fretting about it. Second, you are completely in control of the choices that take you forward - towards happiness, health, prosperity, whatever. Likewise, you're also in control of the choices that take you towards discontent - in whatever form it manifests itself. It's a frustrating truth. But it's one of which I repeatedly remind myself. Giving away my happiness to someone or something outside of my own little locus of control has never worked well for me. I try very hard to set my heart on a path of positivity, gratitude and well being even when my situation and surroundings may be conspiring to dirty my rose colored glasses. Particularly, especially, specifically when things around me aren't what I'd consider optimal.

The next step is to will my feet into action - taking those steps down the path to where my heart is. Certainly this is a more difficult task if the first portion of the exercise isn't successful. For me, this is a constant struggle but also a choice that I make each day when I get up. Does that mean I'm happy and upbeat each day? Emphatic no. I flounder around, unsettled and unaware for days sometimes. But setting these intentions in front of me reminds me of my goals and gives me yet another opportunity to choose a path towards my own version of happiness.

Your path is paved with your own goals, intentions, dreams. What are they? Are your actions today leading you closer or further away from your heart? What kinds of reminders or signposts help keep you on the path and moving forward? From where do you seek inspiration? Strength? Guidance?

I have found these signposts in so many places, small and large. Sometimes it's enough for me to read an inspiring piece about a clutter free bathroom and my happy cleaning side kicks in. Or taking a walk and stretching my legs helps motivate me toward another walk, and a more sensible dinner that night. The effect is undoubtedly cumulative, as well. Once you start paying attention to and caring for one facet of your life, the snowball starts rolling. I love this part!

My path has a few milestones, sure. But taking away hard numbers or dates or destinations, I can see my path having some common themes. For me, they are:

a revived attention to the well-being of myself and our planet
physical activity and strength
a peaceful, organized home
simplicity in more areas of my life
having enough money to be comfortable
work that fuels my creativity and passions

I figure, focus on the big concepts and take the steps down to bite sized pieces. Otherwise it's all too overwhelming. Deep breath, take a step. Deep breath, one more step. Next thing you know, another signpost is in sight.

So on that note - Slainte! to all and enjoy the wearing o' the green today. Much to celebrate in our world!

boo moo

2009-03-14T11:49:00.005-05:00

Last night I was watching an episode of that crazy Food Network show "Will Work For Food" and the host, Adam, turned into a 19th century cook for a day. One of his tasks was to milk the cows and, although not strictly relegated to an 1830's to do list, it's something I've never experienced before. They went on to skim the heavy cream from the milk and - catch this - throw the skimmed milk into the pig's trough. Apparently milk was treated more as a means to a food-related end, and they'd really only use it for the cream and then to make butter. Skim milk wasn't drunk as a beverage and perhaps wasn't even fit for human consumption. Huh.

Like most kids, I grew up on 2% milk. As I got into high school, we started veering towards 1% but my mom couldn't get her head around skim. My girlfriends drank it and peer pressure be damned, 20 years later I'm still drinking skim milk. When I went through my first naturopathic detox (as opposed to court-ordered, that is), cutting out dairy was imperative. I started really enjoying almond milk. I never liked soy milk so having a dairy alternative that I could actually stomach on my corn flakes was a new idea for me. (Note: I have yet to get excited about an ice cold glass of plain almond milk, however.) Since I leanred too much years ago about hormones and antibiotics given to dairy cows, I decided that if I am going to drink milk, I'm going to suck up the $5.39 a gallon and buy organic. Two plus years later, I'm still skipping back and forth between my almond milk and organic skim cow's milk. Which, I think, is where the trouble began.

A handful of times now, I've picked up ultrapasteurized organic milk. I understand the concept: because there isn't so much "stuff" in the milk, they need to take a few extra steps to ensure they don't go around getting their customers sick. Talk about bad PR. But you know how cheese in Europe tastes so much better than cheese here? Other than the accompanying wine and the amazing views? Well, it's because they use unpasteurized milk to start. Heating the be-jeezus out of the milk, while customer-friendly and germ-unfriendly, really takes the heart out of the end product. And this from a girl who only knows pasteurized milk! But it simply doesn't taste very good when it's been cooked til within an inch of its life. And the organic regularly pasteurized keeps going bad in my fridge after about 4 days.

So what's a girl to do? If I buy organic pasteurized, it goes bad faster than I can consume it. Waste of money. If I buy conventional, I'm worried about what I'm ingesting. I might as well go back to almonds; I know what's in those. And if I buy organic ultrapasteurized, it simply tastes terrible. The national brands aren't great; the local brands don't seem to be much better. But milk it good for you! It has lots of great stuff in it! I feel trapped.

"Talk about being a long way from our food," the budding locavore in me sighs deeply. And one can only wonder what milk tasted like back before we started doing all of these crazy things to it. I'm taking this down to the farmer's market and asking some questions. Because I know there must be a better solution that doesn't require me giving up my nutrition, good taste and money...because all of those things are incredibly valuable to me. Maybe there's just some sweet local cow that roams the meadowside, munching on grass, that can help me understand what milk is even supposed to taste like these days. And maybe some smart producer will realize that some people live alone and need a smaller-than-half-gallon option for organic milk. In the meantime, I'll give up the hot cocoas and tall glasses of moo juice with a cookie. I can wait.

spring fling

2009-03-13T09:58:00.006-05:00

Amazing. Two days of hovering-around-zero temps earlier this week and tomorrow it's going to be high 40's. All together now, folks: only in Minnesota! But I feel a little more confident looking at the weather report for the next 10 days that perhaps spring has - finally - sprung. And I am so ready.

This week has been overwhelmed by my as-yet-developing bathroom redo. My beautiful new Marmoleum flooring has some sort of issue and at least 1/2 of it will have to be torn out (again) and reinstalled (again). This also means a minimum of another entire day without a bathroom...in about 10 days when the flooring arrives. I still have all the under-cabinet boxes and buckets in the middle of my living room! It's a pain, to say the least. But I figure, if I'm going to go through all of this, I certainly want it done right!

On the upside, the new paint started going on yesterday and the color is exquisite. It's a deep grapey plum color that brings a fair amount of sophistication and swank to my loo! But I think it's going to make me want to reconsider some of the decor in there. I also had the contractor pull out a completely irrelevant towel bar, providing another expanse of wall space that I didn't have before. I'm starting to think about ways to use that space...

But here's the fun part: I've decided that once the drywall dust and flooring adhesive settles, I'm going to sort of redecorate my entire loft. By that I mean the little touches, the little decor items that are in each room. I'm going to pull everything out that makes sense (as in, not the bedside lamps which can only really go right there) and put it all on the dining room table. I'm going to add the items that have been in storage for the past 3 years. And then I'm going to start fresh. Decide what each room needs, pull from my stash and repurpose everything that should be repurposed. Then, when I see what I have left to deal with, I'll fill in the blanks from my favorite vintage shops, thrift stores and maybe even a little trip to IKEA and Target to round things out. I'm excited to re-look at everything with new eyes and put things together in new ways. And for as little cash as possible! BONUS!

Of course, as I do each room, I'm going to give it the spring cleaning and purging of its life. After it's all redecorated and cleaned to a high shine, the rest of this stuff is going to the Goodwill. This spring cleaning is going to be intense. I can't wait for the feeling of a fresh start!

gloom rx

2009-03-10T09:24:00.005-05:00

Today is one of those late winter days in the Midwest when we wonder, truly, will spring ever come? We've had 2 straight days of overcast, foggy, spitting gloom from the sky...and a promise of snow today. I don't think we'll be anywhere near the 10-15 inches they're predicting for northern MN but still. I don't want to think about snow at all. I want to think about cute open-toed sandals and sitting on my deck with the sun on my face, drinking my morning tea.

So I'm improvising. Because sometimes you've just gotta fake it until you make it. Lots of warm light around the loft this morning - some plain basic candles in strategic spots. Some wonderfully nummy scented candles, like my favorite Votivo Deep Clover, adding a little dimension to the flat day. Upbeat music. Freshly juiced orange juice. Crossing fingers...

These candles rock although, forgive me, they're not overly green. They're made of a really high quality parafin wax (meaning super long burn time) and they do have a nice papercore wick, so that's a plus. The end product is a beautifully handmade, hand packaged little lovely. They are incredibly scented and I've found that Deep Clover will actually remove any funky odor from your home - fish cooked in olive oil, cake overflowed onto oven floor, what have you - it just seems to eat the unwanted scent. I burn these very judiciously because they're not cheap; but at times, they're just what the doctor ordered.

PS - for those that have been eagerly awaiting the much more eco-friendly soy candles that I've been pimping for years, hang in there just a little longer. We're close to an assortment breakthrough that I think will make everyone happy! More to come!)

series: personal branding, starting out

2009-03-06T15:56:00.007-06:00

In the past week, I have been reminded several times of the importance of a personal brand - the individual, identifiable face we put out to the world - in our everyday lives. Things are changing all around us. Things are changing in our checking accounts, our retirement balances, how we make our living. Things changing that much would be enough to send the most secure, introspective person into bed for a week with the covers over her head. Crafting, or really documenting, our own statement about who we are and what we stand for can bring some real clarity. And the truth? It's already in each one of us. Even if it's hidden deep beneath all of those notions about "what I should do," "who I thought I would be," "what used to be passionate about before I simply ran out of time, " it is really, truly, positively already inside us. Sometimes we just need to help it out.

Many people are being sort of forced to self-evaluate due to job loss. I've SO been there over the years, and I know many people I know are in this mode now. To even start thinking about what do I want to do now? is incredibly overwhelming. My answer to so many of these fork-in-the-road life challenges is to research, read, ask people to share their experiences and ask people who do this kind of thing for a living. And I really tend to put a lot of faith and attention towards those who are outwardly living their values. When you meet them, you just know. It's almost electric just being around them or reading their words.

About 3 years ago, I went through my 2nd layoff. I took a year off and did a lot of navel gazing. I thought about the values and beliefs I had deep under the façade of my job, my title, my paycheck. When I could take that GIANT step back and gain some perspective, a few things really stood out for me. I knew - really knew this time - that getting back on the corporate roller coaster wasn't going to work. I constantly felt like a square peg in a round hole. Would you have been able to tell that about me at the time? No. I did my best to put my work face on and go in each day determined to do my best. Even if I wasn't doing what was best for me. I look back now at some of the work situations I allowed myself to get into and realize that I was doing the direct opposite of being authentic. I let others define the role I would play in my work life and, quite frankly, bought into the entire program. Led by false values – title, perceived status, money – I made career decisions that didn’t really fit who I was. And that took me off course. I set my own dreams and aspirations aside. Well, no more.

So how do you start figuring out your own authentic values, your personal mission statement, your brand? Here’s what I’d recommend:

Do your own self-inventory and exploration. Get a great journal and a nice pen that feels good in your hand. Be consistent about using them both; you’ll have to set aside time to really do this.
Get inspired. Read books and magazines like the ones listed below. Watch motivational movies. Watch Oprah! Do whatever it takes to get your head into a positive, uplifted, and open place.
Don’t try to cram it all in at once. If you get a book to work through or just wing it on your own (or even with my guidance), don’t muscle through it with the idea that you’re going to quickly resolve things. It just doesn’t work that way.
Be patient with yourself. Not every day is a day of significant insight. Leave that pressure to the Nobel prize winners of the world.
Start with gratitude. One of the first things that I recommend is to take that notebook and about 3 pages from the end, start a gratitude list. Write down 100 things you’re thankful for in your life. You probably won’t crank it all out in one sitting but make sure you do finish it.
THEN, dig in to the exercises that will help you put a finer point on your personal brand. I'll be pulling together some of these and posting here if you're interested.

A few resources I love:
Oprah's website and magazine and tv show, of course. Lots of great content on living authentically, simply, honestly...in your truth. A definite idol for me.
PINK website and magazine. Good insights for working women...and what woman really isn't working?
Make a Name for Yourself: Eight Steps Every Woman Needs to Create a Personal Brand Strategy for Success
Finding Your Own North Star: Claiming the Life You Were Meant to Live - another wonderful idol
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It - this one is wonderful if you've ever considered going out on your own, but I also found it to be a great resource for the "finding myself" process even when I worked for others.

sparkly

2009-03-06T10:48:00.008-06:00

About a 100 years ago, I was one of those avid "I make my own home cleaning products" dorks mostly because I really wanted things that smelled pretty. I can't say that I was driven to reduce the toxic chemicals in my home; there really wasn't any decent smelling products on the market at the time. The nontoxic, earth friendly versions weren't widely available and cost too much. Of course, since then we've undergone an evolution in home cleaning.

Favorite brands like Caldrea and Mrs. Meyer's have wrapped my home in yummy goodness for years now. Seventh Generation, Ecover and other less mainstream brands have become commonplace in Target and Walgreens. All good things. Best yet, I feel like my skin doesn't suffer as much when I use good stuff in the cleaning water or in the laundry. But I've always reverted to basic Windex to clean so much of my bathroom and kitchen since it really just does such a good job of dealing with every kind of sticky, greasy, icky mess. With no streaks! Well I won't say that I've found a really great alternative for that yet, but it's only because I haven't really tried. Lately, in an effort to be cost-conscious while getting greener (which sometimes seems like two opposing efforts), I decided to try making some of my basic household cleaners once again. If you'll forgive me the pun, I've been scouring around the web and other resources to find the best formulas out there.

If you haven't gotten my joke yet, I tend not to just put a pile of links or whatever on this blog. I really try to give you recipes, resources, books, lipgloss, etc that I've already tried and can feel good about recommending. Of course, sometimes I'm yearning for something I haven't actually used yet, but I believe in adding value to this process. Any fool can post a bunch of links. On the other hand, sometimes things just speak to a person and a list of resources can be a great way to quiet an inquisitive mind or kill a good 20 minutes of office time. Whatever moves you. So there will be a list of more links and resources coming at you once I have a chance to check them out and give them the Trixie Stamp of Goodness.

In my chilly day funk, I decided that a bath, some candles and a nice green tea were in order. So, in a slight bastardization of a recipe from The Naturally Clean Home, I just mixed up a little scrub for the tub consisting of 1 part castille soap (I used Dr. Bronner's tea tree scent), 2 parts baking soda and one ground Vitamin C tablet for every 1/4 c baking soda. I smooshed it all together in a travel sized squeeze tube I picked up at Target the other day and I gave the tub a quick shine. I also tried out a 100% biodegradable sponge that I had picked up last fall. It's from Twist and made of a material that will completely biodegrade. And how cute is this: they've designed the cardboard sleeve that held my Euro Sponge to turn into a bird feeder with a little crafty effort. How can you not love a fun product like this?

Well, it certainly helped quickly remove 2 weeks of bathroom remodeling deritus and smelled delish. And I'm not at all worried about whether or not I rinsed every gritty bit out of the tub...a considerably different experience from when I use Soft Scrub with Bleach! I very well may need to keep that bleach product handy for other purposes but I'm guessing that with a little more research, I can come up with a perfectly fitting replacement for just about every task in the house.

I'm working to use up what I have first so this won't be a wholesale switch. But I'm having fun adding the tools of the naturally clean trade to my loft. My goal: spring cleaning this year using at least 80% natural products. For now, if you'll excuse me, I have a nice warm bath waiting for me.

seedy business

2009-03-04T08:47:00.003-06:00

Everyone's talking food these days. Eating better, eating at home, eating cheaper. Mark Bittman recently posted a small piece about growing garden-like items from seed and got a number of really great comments. According to the USA Today, seed sales are already cranking for the year, signaling a return to homegrown and thrifty. I get caught up in this condundrum: I love the concept of growing things but never seem to conjure up the dedication to keep said green things properly fed and watered throughout the summer. I set out with the best intentions and then things just fall miserably by the wayside. Nine of the last 10 summers have started off with me buying little pots of herbs and tomatoes to grow. I totally skipped last summer because I couldn't deal with the guilt. Now traveling 3 weeks out of each month probably contributed to my gardening lethargy, so perhaps life will be different now?

My mom keeps a large vegetable garden, as she has each year since that same plot of dirt was turned and planted by her father. We have a ritual each year that it's my job to taste the very first cherry tomato of the season, thus promising us a bountiful harvest. Or something like that. And in the last 8 or so years, she's started composting which has helped us both by turning out rich soil (really good for pot planting if, like me, you don't have a garden) and by absorbing the scraps which are an inherent part of being a good green girl. But even her passion wanes over the summer. By the time I'm all wound up about having fresh basil and tomatoes, she's over all the weeding and picking that needs to happen daily. Somehow this year, we have to do better together. Otherwise those farmer's market bushels of tomatoes are coming home with me again for fresh tomato sauce...and that just seems dumb!

Yes, I'm a city dweller so don't exactly have the perfect growing conditions at the loft. But truth be told, I have some SERIOUS sunshine available on my deck. I have direct light from about 9am in the summer until about 7pm. This is both a blessing and a pain as with direct sun in that duration comes fried out, dried up green things. You really have to water each and every day. (Last year was a successful year with cacti and succulents, if I may say so myself.) But this year, I want green things to eat. I can do a lot with the downtown farmer's market being just blocks away, and with my mom's garden 3 miles north. What I really want is herbs here, at my fingertips.

So I'm going to start a little research. I have no interest in, nor space for, those stupid greenhouse lights so I am not sure if I have the right conditions to start things from seed. But they're so damned cheap that I'm definitely going to look into it. Right now, the $2.99 per package of fresh herbs is killing my sensibilities. I won't live without the fantastic flavors, so I've gotta figure something else out. Will report further...

recipe: the new birthday cake

2009-03-03T08:37:00.009-06:00

This recipe was adapted from the Beatty's Chocolate Cake in the Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook. I decided to give it a slightly Mexican twist and to kick the coffee flavor up. It doesn't end up tasting tremendously coffee-y or cinnamon-y. Just super rich and decadent without being overly sweet. A great grown up birthday cake.

And I just messed around with a fairly basic cream cheese buttercream frosting to go along with it.
This is one of those places that I believe in sticking with the very best ingredients. You won't be disappointed.

Cake:

butter for greasing the pans
1 3/4c all purpose flour, plus more for the pans
2 c sugar
3/4 good cocoa powder
2 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t kosher salt
1-2 t good cinnamon - I like Penzey's Vietnamese for this
1 c buttermilk, shaken
1/2 c vegetable oil
2 extra large eggs, at room temperature - or 2 large eggs + 1 extra yolk
1 t+ pure vanilla extract (I used the paste here, probably about 1 1/2 t)
1 c freshly brewed hot coffee
1 t+ espresso powder (dissolved in coffee)

This is so easy. Preheat oven to 350. Butter two 9" round cake pans (the recipe calls for 8" but I swear to you, after two go-rounds with this cake blowing up into my oven, I think either you have to have very tall 8" pans or just step up to 9" and call it a day), then add a circle of parchment to the bottom of the pan to fit. Butter the parchment, and flour the insides of both pans.

Sift all the dry ingredients together: flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda & powder, salt and cinnamon. Pay attention to what's left in your sifter or strainer, as I almost lost all of my salt this way! Pour the dry ingredients into your mixing bowl, using the paddle attachment.

In a separate bowl, combine: buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla. With the mixer on slow speed, gently add the wet ingredients. With the mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom with a rubber spatula as you go. Taste the batter here and decide if you need more cinnamon or salt. (Or if you just want to sit down with the bowl and a big spoon.)

Batter in pans. Pans in oven for somewhere between 30-40 minutes. Toothpick will come out clean and center will be set. Now, be patient because this cake is super moist. Let the layers cool in the pans for 30 minutes; then turn them out onto the cooling rack and cool the rest of the way. If you don't frost the same day, wrap each cooled layer well with plastic wrap and leave on the counter. Heck, I think you could freeze them at this point too.

Frosting :
2 - 8oz pkg cream cheese (low-fat works fine); room temp
1 1/3 stick butter; room temp
4 t vanilla (I did half with the vanilla paste and half with vanilla extract to get the little black flecks in my frosting)
4 c (approx) powdered sugar
pinch kosher salt

This comes together best by sight/taste. You may not need all of the vanilla, or you may want more if you're looking for a sweeter flavor. I think somewhere around 4 c of powdered sugar works well but you may adjust that as you go too.

Start by creaming together the cream cheese and butter. Add vanilla. Slowly add powdered sugar about 1/2 c at a time. If it gets too thick, you can always add a tablespoon of cream or milk.

Frost the cake:
I strongly suggest crumb coating the layers first or you'll have a mess on your hands. Put the first layer on your cake plate and slide 2" strips of parchment under the edges all the way around; you'll remove these later and have a lot less frosting to clean off the plate. Add a good cup or so of frosting to the middle and smooth it out. Don't worry if the excess drips off the edge. In fact, it's almost better if some does squoosh out.

Add the second layer on top. Then add about 1/4 of the remaining frosting to the top. You're looking for a thin layer - just enough to coat and lock the crumbs down. When you go back to frost it, you don't want ANY chocolatey pieces coming into play. Just nice frosting.

Chill the cake and the remaining frosting for about 20 minutes here. Keep an eye on the frosting though so it doesn't get too thick. You may have to pull it out before the cake.

Then frost - be generous on the top and let the stuff goo down the sides of the cake. Add more to the sides and do whatever you do to straighten out the edges and put a nice finish on the top. Again, chill for at least 20-30 minutes after frosting, up to a few hours. Remove the parchment strips and tidy up the plate with a damp paper towel. Then back into the fridge if necessary. If you do leave it chilled for more than an hour or so, give it 10-15 minutes to come up to room temp before you try to cut it.

(Cake also works out perfectly as cupcakes; pipe the tops with a thick ribbon of frosting and sprinkle with some of that clear edible glitter for a beautiful finish.)

swallow it down

2009-03-02T11:31:00.008-06:00

Many of you know that there was a day in the not-so-distant past when I put a ton of time and energy into starting a business. A retail business focusing on natural and organic bath, body and cosmetics. However, due to many contributing factors, that business never came to be. I have, however, harbored a lot of passion and attraction for this type of business. I really wish I could have done it three years back!

Which is why I'm both SUPER excited and not just a little jealous to tell others about a new retailer on the prowl. Housed in the still relatively new Ecotique on Grand Ave (right by the Lexington-end Caribou Coffee and the cutest little shoe shop called Shu), the Nature of Beauty has recently opened its doors. They're featuring cosmetics, skin care, hair care, baby and a number of other categories of product culled together with a firm adherence to some simple values: no bad for you ingredients, no animal testing, and a wonderful operational policy that keeps them greener than green. Primarily an e-tailer, they have an outpost in Ecotique - a great concept that allows for some physical presence without having to staff or stock an entire store. I won't say I didn't consider that very idea myself! It's a great way for a startup particularly to get going, economically and greenly (hmm, now I'm making up words too). I think it makes such sense for retailers to combine efforts when they can. Collaboration is my middle name!

I share this with you for a couple of reasons. One, I have a undying love for entrepreneurs, particularly women, and want to support their efforts. Sure, there are other places to buy these types of products but why not support the our local chicks if we can? Two, I can't help but support the foray into green business. This is the wave of our future and I'm BIG on it. Three, I'm all about providing information...and if that information just happens to intersect with someone getting their hands on a great new lipgloss, well, that is the burden I must carry.

Speaking of, I am dying to try this product: Lip Delivery Nutritional from Intelligent Nutrients. You remember our friend Horst? After divesting himself of the salons and the Aveda brand, he's still busy making fantastic products right here in MN. This one looks particularly num and, as the site alludes, when you think about how much lippie we consume (ick-worthy, yes, but where on earth did you think your lipgloss was running off to?), it makes an awful lot of sense to ensure it's made of things that won't do harm.

If that's not enough, there are a ton of resources to be found within their site. Check out the Press page, and blog. Thanks NOB! Can't wait to give this fresh sprout the ol' college try.

chow down?

2009-02-28T08:36:00.009-06:00

Ugh. I'm disgusted.

And this feeling comes in waves every time I dig in and try to learn more about greener practices and healthier food. I've always joked that I'd really just like to believe that hamburger magically shows up on the shelf in the grocery on a nice styrofoam plate, wrapped in plastic. Because if I knew more, I'd be the quickest vegetarian convert in town! And then it sinks in, and the whole concept embarrasses me. I'm not kidding, my face is red and warm as I type this paragraph. I read a quote last night in a great green book called Gorgeously Green about how in Nazi Germany "the road to hell was paved with indifference." Well, yeah.

The author was using the quote to draw a parallel to how so many of us choose not to get involved with issues of organics, sustainability, global warming, what have you. We all have our reasons for doing what we do, and that's fine. Sophie (the author, you know, like we're friends now) is quick to lay out the theory of her own greening: no judgment, no guilt for the past, no being anything less than gorgeous (which is more of a life concept and less of an appearance thing).

The companion book in my current green education is called To Buy or Not To Buy Organic and I've actually been picking my way through this one for about a year or so now. And I thought I'd give you a little relevant bite of it here, but then I got side tracked into reading about how conventional meat moves through the consumer lifecycle before it ends up on our plates. And I'm back to being horribly embarrassed about my own apathy. Sigh. I have theories about hormones in our foods contributing to larger baby weights and earlier menstruation in our children. Yep, that's an entirely different blog subject that someone much more educated than I should write.

The truth is, food is one of my passions in life. And honestly, women's health issues has become a really big one for me growing up and becoming one myself. You walk 180 miles for Breast Cancer, you start thinking seriously about your role. And yet, between those two things, I can't help but feeling more than just a tiny bit guilty about the decisions I often make about what goes in and on my own body. To Sophie's point, I will just acknowledge that I can do better and line up my values and my actions. That's the whole point of this blog anyway, right? Moving forward?

So for today, I'll focus my attention on dreaming about the coming months' bounty of fruits and vegetables, and on how we can afford all of this luxurious food. Because, let's face it, eating green takes more greenbacks. And today, that requires choices, people. Choices.

In To Buy or Not To Buy, here are the 12 foods that author Cindy Burke calls the "dirty dozen" - meaning, if you eat them, make the effort to buy organic:

strawberries
red/green bell peppers
spinach
cherries
peaches
nectarines
celery
apples
pears
grapes
raspberries
potatoes

And the "clean fifteen" - you can go ahead and buy conventional here:

asparagus
avocado
bananas
blueberries
broccoli
cabbage
garlic
kiwi
mango
onion
papaya
pineapple
shelling peas
sweet corn
domestically grown watermelon

I read a quick piece yesterday about how 3 families cut costs during this economic downturn, and one of them was committed to organic foods. Honestly, I didn't find it all that helpful. The big organic-related revelations: if you can't give up your pricey supermarket, commit to going half the time; if it has a peel, you don't need to buy organic; use your slow cooker. Hmm. Now, I adore my slow cooker but I think we already know that the peel concept doesn't hold. Potatoes anyone? The list above helps me pick and choose better than these lame directives.

So, I'm going to continue to study this and figure out how to make some impactful decisions. I'll let you know what I find out. Right now, I'm going to stick with juicing from my little neighborhood "crash & smash" produce store and visit them often to see what's come in. And I'm going to stick with organic, hormone-free milk or almond milk. And I guess I'm going to figure out where that cow came from.

Here are a couple of interesting things I found poking around the internet today. First is the blog of my favorite cookbook author of all time. He also has a new book out about more conscientious eating called Food Matters; I haven't checked it out yet, but it's on the list. He's a total idol of mine. The other links I just found worth the read. Enjoy!

Mark Bittman: Bitten Blog
5 Ways to Buy Organic on a Budget
Top 10 Reasons to Support Organic in the 21st Century

how oxo saved my kitchen

2009-02-27T11:33:00.013-06:00

I've been in a bit of a declutter/organize/sort/purge mode this week. As I'm putting the final touches on my business, I'm also trying to make sure my office is moving in the direction of a room that inspires me. We have a ways to go. But I have made progress and found additional inspiration from the recent Oprah episode about the "Clean Up Your Messy House Tour" and the cute clutterbuggies. So I'm trying to use some of their tips (not that these are revelatory or anything, but sometimes practicality escapes our best intentions) and set aside a small amount of time each day to deal with a little project in there. It's going well! But more on that later.

For now, I'm reminded of the one room that works pretty darned well in my home: my kitchen. I love cooking and I love kitchen gear. (I may have a little obsession with Penzey's spices too.) And it's not perfect but by all accounts, I know where to find things and I feel like everything has a place.

Last fall, I started investing (and I do not use that term lightly) in some better storage for the things in my pantry. I fell in love with these OXO Pop Storage Containers and picked up a few to try them out. Then a few more. Then even a few more after that. Before you knew it, I had thrown out a bunch of old staples and sorted the rest into the proper sized containers. Like Oprah's guy recommended, I got the similar items stored together - not 4 kinds of rice spread between 2 cabinets. DUH! My cabinets looked beautiful AND I'd managed to "find" a bunch of available space while I was at it.

Now my 4 kinds of sugar have a home (bakers sugar, powdered sugar, coarse sprinkling sugar and this nifty powdery stuff that I brought back from Switzerland...my kind of souvenir!); the flour doesn't go all over the place when I open it up; crystallized ginger doesn't turn into little ginger rocks; the extra spice bags all cram in one tall container waiting to refill their glass jar friends. Pretty frickin' slick.

But I'll warn you: the price point isn't for the faint of heart. I watched diligently for sales and the lowest prices. Crate and Barrel seems to have the best everyday prices, Cooks of Crocus Hill and Sur La Table both put them on sale for 20% off, and although limited, Williams-Sonoma carries them as well making for an overall great assortment and selection. I'm considering more. I'm also considering a second mortgage to help pay for them. Sigh.

The containers themselves are cool - the top fits snugly so you don't have stale cereal or rock hard brown sugar. When they're sealed, they are stackable to the moon. And the majority of the container is dishwasher safe, just a twist to get the top apart and away you go. So simple all around.

Loft living means being creative with your square footage, a lesson I'm learning and relearning on a daily basis. Trying to be more green, I like to buy things in bulk when I can. Worthwhile storage solutions are key. I must say that stumbling on these nifty containers really has helped make my life a little easier to manage. And who can't use a little of that in their world?

Now back to my office...

getting unstuck

2009-02-25T08:20:00.003-06:00

I frequently return to this book when I have those days of unmotivated, indecisive, lethargic blah. And somehow it always seems to make me feel like I can get a grip again. To me, If the Buddha Got Stuck is sort of a digestible and practical take on some basic Buddhist concepts. It's not rife with God or religion or anything that feels heavy or overwhelming, or to the point, something that will make me feel MORE stuck. It's bite-sized chapters that you can just poke through and pick what moves you for the day. There are some journal-y exercises to do, as well. I'm thinking of throwing it on my Kindle just so I don't have to be without it; it's that valuable of a tool for me during this process of transitioning my life. Talk about potentially overwhelming.

Best of all? It has siblings: If the Buddha Dated, which I could definitely use at this point in my life, and If the Buddha Married, which I clearly should have made friends with already. But part of this whole process is learning and not being too hard on one's self, right? Mostly I think this wonderful author, Charlotte Kasl, is joining my list of idols along with Martha Beck.

Today I'm enjoying chapter 50 titled: Seventeen Strategies for Staying on Track. Which could actually be the name of the manual for my life these days. I'll give you the list and just a few of the concepts that are working for me today:

(the bolded portions are directly from If the Buddha Got Stuck by Charlotte Kasl)

Do not demand perfection.
Have realistic expectations, be flexible, and start with small goals.
Develop strategies to make life easier. This is key to success with so many things and she mentions here about eating healthier; buy healthy prepackaged foods like washed salad greens to make the whole good food thing easier on yourself. After my time with WeightWatchers, I absolutely know this to be true. And while you're at it, portion those suckers right when you get home. Nothing like a little bag of potato chips to satisfy a salt/crunch need vs. half a bag to fuel your guilt.
Start with whatever is easiest.
Get help from a friend or be near other people.
Change the setting.
Hire someone. This is a wonderful lesson that applies to all facets of life: don't stress about something you need to repair or create or whatever if that something doesn't really fit your passions or your available time. Find someone else to do it. Focus your unique skills and energies on what does move you and let the other experts do their thing. So sensible. And with a new business and a crappy economy out there, this is also giving way to another of my favorite concepts, bartering. Get creative while you move forward!
Give yourself rewards.
Readjust your goals.
Do something for a given period every day. I'm taking this one to heart this week; I've been craving schedule and structure so I figured out how much of my time should be dedicated to writing/researching, networking, finding new clients, taking care of myself, etc and then I'm starting to give them some borders in my calendar. I'm excited about this one.
Stay focused on the big picture.
Make appointments on your calendar. Whoa. See #10. Fantastic alignment, no?
Hang out with your resistance.
Give yourself a whack. Kasl describes this as tantamount to "just say no" or giving yourself a little lecture about not going there anymore...wherever there is that keeps you stuck.
Take one extra step. This is so critical to finding your way forward, because we all come with these notions of who we are and what we're comfortable doing. Who came up with these ideas anyway? In the end, we're setting (or accepting) our own boundaries, sometimes unintentionally. So, if they're in our control anyway, why not just push through them and set new ones?
Do it anyhow - anxiety and all.
Lighten up. I'm going to hope Kasl forgives me but I think this is a really important one to leave you with:

"Remember, in the big picture it all matters - but it's not serious. Whether you keep moving down the track, sit by the roadside, or even have your feet stuck in the mud, it is just where you are at this moment - nothing is better or worse - it's all part of the big cosmic dance, the One Energy. We take the steps to lower stress and bring ease to our lives so we can have more clarity of mind and peacefulness of body. Make your best effort, and watch the unfolding drama.

Imagine flying up in the sky and looking down at homes, hospitals, prisons, office buildings, bars, and movie theaters and watch the unfolding dramas of so many lives, very similar to yours. Not on the surface, perhaps, but at the heart everyone wants to be free of suffering, be cared for, know happiness, and find some form of peace. Above all, be kind and merciful with yourself."

moleskine madness

2009-02-23T16:35:00.009-06:00

I inherited my mother's obsession with paper. Stationery, notebooks, journals, what have you. To this day, we both have bizarre - and extensive - collections of paper products. You'd think that neither of us would need to venture into a stationery store again for as long as both shall live. But, as I said, it's an obsession. Regardless of my love for technology, I nurture a life-long affair with things paper. I love the feel of all sort of paper - heavy weight card stock, filmy vellum, textured writing papers. I adore the tactile sense I get from just the right weight and finish of the paper in a really beautifully bound notebook. I even love the smell of paper. I can't get enough of the Paper Source, Paper Depot and even places like Anchor Paper. And I really can't have too many journals.

Journals or plain notebooks are the epitome of the unwritten story. A pure and pristine place to start. I know, more than anything else, that this is the concept that appeals to me so viscerally. It is the reason I keep buying more notebooks even when there are pages left to be written on in another tome. I feel like I need to stretch my creative muscles and try again. I need to begin anew.

I get this notion that I will use this notebook or that journal for THIS PARTICULAR PURPOSE. One will be for my consulting work. That one over there will be strictly for party planning. This one, I keep on the coffee table to jot down recipes I want to try from the Food Network. And then there's the one that I put my my bed to capture dreams, thoughts that occur to me. Lastly, there's the one I kept for many years - a Tiffany blue leather bound number with a snap closure that I called "the oracle." The concept of the oracle was simple: just write everything in one place. To heck with the idea of having different journals that are never in the right place at the right time. This also lessened the impact of the million and a half Post-It notes that were always strewn around my workspace...but that is another story for another entry. More than anything, that oracle became part of me, part of my own personal brand, if you will. It was faithfully at my side and ready to receive. I switched to a more conservative, more Washington-appropriate version in black but it doesn't really move me the same way. It feels too much like work.

In the end, I simply can't hold the obsessive nature of my notebook lust at bay. And good thing too. Otherwise I'd miss some pretty amazing products out there. Last few years, I've been spending a lot of time in Moleskine journals. Plain kraft paper ones, stiff backed black ones, and now pretty pink, lime green and more. I just bought this lovely red one from Barnes & Noble as a place to capture my blogging ideas.

I go for the simple ruled notebooks but there are also blank pages, pages with grids, and even sketch-weight pages. A little something for everyone; there's just something accessible and lovely about them. Made in Italy - where they know paper - these notebooks are classic. They were first made in France and used by the likes of Hemingway, Van Gogh. After a brief hiatus, a Milanese publisher revived the brand and the gorgeous product. Thank goodness.

I give them away as gifts for others to capture all of their creative thoughts and ideas. Especially the people that have heads so full of thoughts that they can't see a way forward. I feel like maybe, just maybe, the perfect journal will pull those ideas out in a way that can be carefully shaped and gently coaxed into that person's next big thing.

If only to make room to start again new the next time.

party: girls dinner

2009-02-21T12:56:00.005-06:00

One of the coolest things I get to do is get together with an amazing assortment of women that I am blessed to call friends. Eight or so years ago, long before book clubs and cooking clubs were all the rage, a handful of us who worked together decided to start a “girls dinner” night once each month. And although we took some time off during the past year or so, we have been regularly meeting each and every month since then. It’s truly become part of the fabric of my life.

Our original group was made up of cooks and non-cooks alike, as is the new incarnation of this girls dinner group. We’ve broadened the focus a bit and opened up the guest list. And as we’ve grown up, our group has too. We focus less on bitching about men and our jobs and more on meeting new friends and genuinely connecting as women in this crazy world. Good food, good drink, and just being together – some of the truly elemental and basic parts of life. Our group exists to honor those ideals.

Oh but do we have fun, too. Those that cook, get in the kitchen and wow. Those that don’t aren’t pressured to perform. A theme helps us tie everything together and rotating venues makes the commitment easier to manage. This month’s theme is Mexican and we’ve come up with a great menu – fajita/taco/tostada bar, margaritas and a batch of my world famous (or just in my head) sangria. I’m also attempting to whip up a dessert on the fly: Mexican chocolate cake (spiked with coffee and cinnamon) with ice cream, caramel and a Kahlua chocolate sauce.

Practical lesson learned today: when sleepy Saturday baking, measure carefully. Adding 2x the vegetable oil will bring a whole new meaning to the term “molten lava cake.” And this, folks, is where marketing comes in. I picked this up by watching the Food Network show “Chopped” – sell it. As long as it tastes good, no one will ever know what you MEANT to make. All anyone will remember is the fun, the conversation and feeling like part of the group. Oh and the sangria.

Make:

Vanilla scented sangria: dry red wine, vanilla vodka, Grand Marnier, mango juice, raspberries and a vanilla bean. Let base ingredients mingle for a few hours. Strain out berries and replace with fresh when ready to serve; leave vanilla bean in for pretty factor. Mix 2 parts base with 1 part sparkling water.
Chicken & steak fajitas: we followed Tyler Florence’s Ultimate Fajitas recipe
Mole chicken: roast chicken breasts (or nab a rotisserie bird) and shred meat. In a small sauce pan, thin Dona Maria mole sauce with chicken broth until soupy. Mix with chicken shred until it’s all coated with sauce.
Mexican chocolate cake: adapt any good chocolate cake recipe by adding 1 tsp good cinnamon. I used Ina Garten’s Beatty’s Chocolate Cake recipe and amped up the coffee flavor by dissolving another 1 tsp espresso powder in the coffee. Then added the cinnamon. Serve with store-bought caramel sauce, cinnamon/coffee/dulce de leche ice creams and the chocolate sauce.
Chocolate sauce: melt ½ package bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips (depends on your preference) with ½ tsp espresso powder and 1T Kahlua.

Gather:

Tostada shells, flour tortillas, hard shells for tacos
Avocados, tomatoes, lettuce, black olives, green onions
Mexican crema and/or sour cream
Queso fresco, Monterey jack, sharp cheddar
Tortilla chips
Salsa
Guacamole (or if someone has a good recipe, make this by hand)
Good margarita mix, tequila and Cointreau

Green tip: Although it takes a storage commitment, stockpiling appetizer-sized plates, basic tumbler glasses and cloth napkins keep the bulk of the post-party refuse to a minimum. I make liberal use of thrift stores for juice-sized glasses that can be used for vino, cocktails, margaritas, water, etc. Over the years, I've picked up a ton of old china plates. I try to stay with a simple color palette - cream with gold trim - so that I can combine a number of different patterns, eras, styles together on the table.

series: personal branding

2009-02-19T12:51:00.005-06:00

When going through the process of establishing oneself as a consultant, much attention is paid to the concepts of "who are you" and "what do you offer the world." Now that may seem rather esoteric and floofy, but ironically it's the concept of finding my own personal brand that has really helped me cement my thinking about my life.

Through the years, everyone encounters moments of redefinition. Sometimes triggered by a life event, sometimes instigated by the natural rhythms of growing and maturing as a person. But I think many of us have sort of put our heads down and moved through life without a lot of this kind of introspection. It feels more natural to tie our identities to a learned goal - a job, a degree, what our parents wanted for us - instead of integrating our identities and our aspirations. For example, we may strive for corporate successes such as promotion and recognition - but we don't always take a good hard look at how that aligns with our personal passions and values. I keenly remember days in my former corporate life when I sat back and thought to myself, "What on earth am I doing? Do I really care if another [insert product here] makes it to the store? Will this actually impact someone's life and make a real difference?" The irony here, of course, is that I am the consummate consumer and I love the idea of bringing products and services to market! And at the time, I didn't give myself the room to sit back and think about what I'd prefer to do, and how I'd prefer to do it. I just chased the next paygrade and put 110% of myself into jobs that probably didn't register 20% passion.

And the not-so-surprising thing? A LOT of people are talking about this kind of stuff today. The economy has a hangover. The markets are tired. The heartbeat of American consumerism is thready. While we're all looking intently at our pocketbooks and retirement accounts, we're also looking deep within ourselves. Maybe that mortgage or credit card balance isn't really aligned with how we want to live our lives. Perhaps the investment we've made into the career isn't showing the long-term payoff that we thought it might. As companies are faced with "evolve or die" in their business practices, offerings, ways to reach customers, etc., so too are we thinking about our own evolution. We need to figure out how to live right again. Live rich.

I'm starting a couple of series in this blog, the first one about personal branding. What on earth is it? What does it mean? How do we work it into our lives? My expertise comes from a lot of study and reading on the subject (which is far from new), and my own personal journey. I am witnessing a lot of my friends working with this subject matter. So the point is to share what I've learned and how it's become part of my more-authentic life these days. Stay tuned for more.

iHad no idea iWanted an iPhone

2009-02-18T10:05:00.011-06:00

Let's be clear, I'm a gadget junkie. I love having great technology that's intuitive, easy to use and actually adds value to my life. I was an iPod lover from early on and am actually on my 3rd upgrade (which I justified to myself by saying something like, "Well, if I just buy the 160GB now, I'll never need another iPod again, so long as we both shall live.") This was partially true and also partially covered up for the fact that my local Best Buy store didn't have the 80GB instock and I had bonus money burning a hole in my pocket RIGHT THEN. But that's another story altogether: Instant Gratification and Low Instocks Conspire! News at 11.

I have been very faithful in maintaining a 4+ year love affair with my BlackBerry. With the exception of the most recent model last year, I have purchased each and every one of them myself. I just loved the technology, and having everything at my fingertips was key for me. I'm too forgetful and scatterbrained to exist otherwise. I really came to depend on it. I used it overseas and domestically while traveling for work and fun. Staying in touch mattered. Recently, I've come to love the GPS capabilities and that thing has gotten me unlost more times than I care to admit. I simply love having everything all in one easy to carry package that is 100% backed up at all times. Nifty! After all, this is my one and only method of outside communication other than the internet. I gave up my land line years ago.

So when the iPhones started making news, I played shy. I mean, what did I need one for? I already had the mother of all iPods which took care of me everywhere I went. I had a camera (no, not a camera phone...somehow I missed the BlackBerry revs where they realized that incorporating those might be a good idea). I had a phone. Nevermind its gorgeous industrial design - it's in the Apple DNA. I swear they feed those people something special out there in Cupertino. Spike the water. Something. I was intrigued, but I decided to admire from afar.

Well, fast forward a few years and now the iPhones are everywhere. You can't swing a laid-off banking executive without hitting one. So I started paying a little more attention. My neighbor entertained a small group of us one night while in the sushi bar's little private tatami room with her iPhone on speaker; a little music made the evening's ambience that much better. A colleague sold me on the neat messaging interface. So much more intuitive than my BlackBerry. And let's face it, the thing is cute as pie.

So, despite our agreement of "no gifts," my guy presented me with an iPhone 3G for Valentine's Day. This guy really knows how to knock one out of the park! I was shocked; first, at the generosity (although I'm not sure why, this is his trademark), and next by the thought that I'd be forced to give up my Berry. My constant companion for the past 4 1/2 years. My lifeline. Was I really ready for this?

My excitement for the latest and greatest won out. A scant 14 hours later, I held in my hand my precious new 16GB iPhone 3G...in white, claro. I've had it for just a day now. I'm still getting used to it, figuring out how to protect and love it, and finding out all of its secrets. So far, I absolutely love it.

The oddest thing I've found so far? This piece of technology has really grafted to me in a way that I wasn't expecting. Did my boyfriend have a plan other than - I suspect - a rather unsubtle hope that I'd learn how to use my new iPhone so I could teach him how to use his? Was he seeing me making changes in my life and subconsiously helping me down the path? I have to type slower, so I am slowing down overall. I simply can't text in the car anymore so I talk to people more...what a concept. (Oh and I won't get that nasty ticket either.) And because it's not that same old Berry, I feel like this isn't ho-hum work anymore; it's play. Even when it is work. This is my new work philosophy come home to roost. The iPhone and its timing fit my own transition. I'm sure there are things I'll find that I don't love and I'll work through them.

But for now, it seems like this pretty piece of technology is going to make life easier to live, make me happier and more productive, and make my transition to "whatever this is I'm doing" more fulfilling. What a gift, indeed.

itchy scratchy

2009-02-16T16:07:00.002-06:00

Full disclosure: I have very tempermental skin. And right now, it's had enough of winter, thank you very much. Another disclosure: I am a complete bath fanatic. And these two counterparts of my physical happiness do not always get along like kindred spirits. In fact, conspiring against me happens to be their favorite activity.

This starts every year around November and doesn't let up until I can open the windows in my home on a fairly regular basis. This building was constructed like a vault and is possibly hermetically sealed against any and all moisture getting inside. The good news is that it's very efficient, and the bad news? Well, you can do the math.

Humidifiers help. As does drinking about a freaking gallon of water a day. But I've also found a magical recipe to making bath time a happy event versus one which I want to peel my skin off afterwards.

First, the tools of the trade:

SIGG water bottle - this has become my new favorite thing in the past year. I originally bought it to use at my former office but now lug it all over my house. The designs are absolutely beautiful and make me feel like a very stylish eco-citizen indeed.
Arm & Hammer baking soda - what doesn't this stuff do? Besides taking that funky smell out of laundry that I've left a day too long in the washer, making my favorite cookies go poof, and inexplicably, giving me something to gently scrub my face with (mix equal parts with Cetaphil cleanser)...baking soda also makes an awesome bath. Add about 2-3 cups. Don't be shy.
Epsom salts - doesn't matter what kind but Walgreens seems to make a nice private label one that is quite economically sensible. Again, a couple of cups.
Japanese bath salts - I'm not sure how to tell you how or where to buy this other than to say that I found a grip of different kinds at the Japanese market outside of Chicago. The colors are insane and the scents an assortment of florals, earthy scents and just simple minerals. I've found that when I mix the baking soda, Epsom salts and bath salts together I get the perfect blend of pretty soft color and scent and massive skin softening power.
Something lovely on my iPod. Today it's Lisa Shaw: Cherry. Swanky and lovely.
Oh and sometimes I add a cocktail. Or a glass of wine. Or a cup of tea. I still can't understand why Jacuzzi didn't make a ledge big enough on my tub to hold one of these within proper arm's reach, but oh well.
And don't forget a very serious application of lotion when you get out. I've recently been into both Eucerin's Calming Itch Relief formula and Kiehl's Superbly Restorative Body Lotion (plus, sheesh, what a nice website they have).

Because I'll be damned if I'm staying out of the tub.

pucker up

2009-02-14T16:49:00.009-06:00

In honor of the holiday and, again, because of my feverish quest for all things springy, I had to mention the luscious lipgloss I scooped up recently.

To set the background on this, a few years ago I set out to put together a little retail shop featuring primarily organic and natural beauty, bath and similar girliesque products. And I road tested a LOT of stuff. One of my favorite finds at the time was a beautiful little pot of lipgloss from Lucy B. Cosmetics. Lucy B. specializes in using yummy botanicals and essential oils in the creation of a very well-edited line.

My first experience was Nudie, a most perfect pinky-brown gloss that smells like a sugary confection. I was in love. Then, just a week or so ago I snagged a little Lucy B. threesome with a fresh pot of Nudie, the clear and lovely Stung Lips Lemon Myrtle Lemonade Balm, and finally - the answer to my cabin fever - Pink Bikini. This is a very cheeky chicky pink balm, sheer but with just enough pink color to make me feel like I should be on a beach sipping something with an umbrella in it. So delicious. With a generous dose of my M.A.C. Mineralize Skinfinish (mine's called Petticoat; think shimmery pearly bronzer), I almost feel like I've had that sunny mid-winter break that I so desperately need. Shhhh...don't ruin my daydream.

Happy Valentine's Day. Mwwwwaaah!

live rich

2009-02-13T15:45:00.005-06:00

Downshifting. Right sizing. Lifestyle change. Living an authentic life. Call it what you will, it's been on our minds. The economy is sporting a big black eye and everyone is feeling the headache. I have found it interesting these past months to read what's being written in the media these about how people and businesses are being impacted by the recession, layoffs, foreclosures, etc. And how many are taking this as an opportunity to look more deeply at their lives and their work. In some cases, tough economic times are bringing about very positive changes. To me (and because I'm experiencing this very phenomenon first hand), it's starts with gratitude. And looking around you and seeing what's really important. And then acting from a place of strength, not fear.

I personally made some headway into a pretty big lifestyle change 3 years ago when I bought an 1100 square foot loft and moved downtown. After visiting Europe a few times, I really embraced the way that they lived: a much smaller footprint and making smart use of every single inch; striving for green habits at home, in hotels, even in large factories; valuing a slower pace and social time, particularly around meals; walking and making use of public transportation. Those Europeans just seemed so damned smart to me. Sophisticated in their simplicity. Much cooler and healthier than we Americans in our bloated, oversized lives. It felt to me, in Europe, there was much less excess. That felt good.

I haven’t perfected the smaller lifestyle yet, but I’m learning. Those were my first steps, and I’m looking forward to taking a few more. I’m thinking a lot about what my next life phase will look like. I’m thinking of cleaning out my office. I’m thinking about organic food and juicers and walking more. I'm thinking about those I love and who feed my soul. I’m thinking about my true passions. And I'm petrified about what the next few months will bring, but I'm so ready. And I'm so excited for the possibilities!

Even if you’re not contemplating a major lifestyle shift, there are some wonderful lessons to be learned here. This isn’t rocket science and clearly I’m not the first person to mention them. But all the reading that I’ve done lately about charting your own course has led me to think pretty intently about a few things. Everyone does this their own way but here’s my short list:

Be grateful every single day – regardless of your situation, there are always things to be grateful for. Finding even the small things can help bring about that elusive perspective. I’m a big fan of those “gratitude lists” – every day, 10 things you are grateful for. Or a big list of 100 things.
Dig deep and learn your truth – your own truth. Not your parents’ or your partner’s or even that “truth” you’ve been carrying around about being an employee or a spouse or a parent. What’s your authentic self telling you about what’s important to you now?
Figure out what you really want your life to look like, now and in the future – I mean, sit down and envision how a day will go. How are you going to work today to make that happen? Steering away from your truth will not help you get there.
Focus your resources on moving the ball. It can be overwhelming, to say the least, to contemplate big life changes. So, like any good project manager would advise, just break them down a little bit. Cross a few things off your list. But keep moving forward.
Live rich. I read an article the other day about couples who run restaurants together. One couple talked about their success and said “We’re not rich, but we have a rich life.” I can’t think of a better way to life.

Some of my life and business inspirations come from reading these fabulous authors: Martha Beck, Dr. Andrew Weil, Oprah, Michael Gerber.

queen of vintage

2009-02-13T09:40:00.008-06:00

Adding to my disdain for the late winter drag, signs of spring are starting to pop up everywhere. Granted, not the signs we really love: tree buds, fresh grass, the first tulips fighting their way through the thin remnants of snow. Instead, we're bombarded by spring clothing hitting the racks, fresh colors in every retail store in the mall, and even the Food Network is featuring citrusy deliciousness. It's a conspiricy! For my mom and I, the first hints of spring arrive in the form of...you guessed it...SALES! Garage sales, estate sales, and before long, yard sales.

Because, you see, mom & I have a little vintage resale business that we feed. And maybe a little bit of a "sale-ing" itch that demands to be scratched. Chicken, egg, what have you.

About 8 years ago, while laid off and between jobs, I started going to sales with my mom during the spring and summer months. Shabby Chic was getting hot in California then and I kept saying things like, "All it needs is a coat of white paint! So easy! People would buy this!" And the next thing you knew, her garage was full of furniture and accessories, she filed the relevant paperwork, I got out my paint gun and we were in business. Over the years, she's been running this sweet little operation and getting some help from me, despite the fact that I periodically had to return to gainfully employed status. Such a bother.

We started out having a sale or two ourselves, borrowing garages in hot neighborhoods and eventually partnering up with a couple of ladies who were having occasional sales in their cute little barn in Oakdale. We created some hype and did pretty well. We started selling to local retailers. Then mom decided to take the full retail plunge and signed on the dotted line for a spot at a local antiques/vintage shop. Bringing us to today and we are just getting her set up in a second shop! It's been a wild ride.

I'll be posting some pictures here as the blog develops and show off some of the nifty mid-century vintage goods that she's now specializing in...the fact is, the design of these lovelies is über-fresh and modern looking. Just right for so many of today's homes. Since moving into my somewhat modern and industrial-tinged loft 3 years ago, I have loved having some of her amazing finds as part of my ever-revolving décor.

Tomorrow we're kicking off our spring sale-ing. Personally I'm hoping for some fun kitchen items in a disgustingly beautiful shade of yellow. Bring me that sun.

Green Tip: At the end of the day, buying vintage is one of the greeniest things you can do. Stylish recycling! Not to mention the very fashionable prices.

Come visit Pretty Things, located in:

The Mall of St. Paul

1817 Selby Ave.

(corner of Selby and Fairview)

Sophie Joe's Emporium

453 W. 7th Street

(same side of the street as Cossettas, heading west from the Xcel Center)

We've also been known to sell on eBay (id: prettythingsshop) and will be back on there again soon. If you want to see something mildly entertaining, check out the eBay Guide I wrote a couple of years back about packaging things for shipment. I rocked the packaging.

well, why shouldn't wine come in a box?

2009-02-12T18:57:00.009-06:00

Listen, don't be judgemental ok? I know that many of my friends (at least the ones that maybe don't know me well enough to know that I cry at Biggest Loser) think I'm some sort of perfection-driven, Martha Stewart-esque gourmand. (Shut up already. I am NOT!) But I do love to throw a good party and I am all about making things 1) beautiful, and 2) easy on myself. This, after suffering through the Worst Party Known To Mankind, aka, my wedding reception, which I thought I could simply manage on my own and with, yes, Martha Stewart's Hors d'Oeuvres book. I've gotten much smarter since then. Frankly, so has Martha.

So while you're all sitting there wondering if I have an overpriced sense of wine or something, let me assure you: I have spent the past 10 minutes disemboweling a box of wine. You know, when you get to the bottom and it requires a lot of massaging and/or cutting open of the bag? We've all been there. Right?

But let me say without question, the box wine at Target/SuperTarget is by far the best value on the market. (Yes, I've tried. Ok?) The "Wine Cube" that is distributed uniquely for Target is a compact, simple design which holds either a) 4 bottles (~$17), 2 bottles (~$10), or 4 adult juiceboxes (also ~ $10). They are truly cubes, which leads to efficient storage and, well, prettily designed perfect squares. So cute! My experience tells me that the cab/shiraz blend is infinitely drinkable, the sauvignon blanc makes me crave summer, and the pinot grigio juiceboxes are going to be my answer to "the public park doesn't allow alcohol." Oh, and the "dammit, I dropped another glass in the bathtub. Why can't Jacuzzi just make a properly sized ledge, already? WHY?"

The big bummer is that we don't sell wine at Target here so for the Twin Citians reading, do what I do. Make that 17 mile journey to Wisconsin. For the rest of you, acknowledge and appreciate your "wine with grocery" benefits. While 17 miles isn't all that far, it can be a long road when you're just wanting a sippable, inexpensive pour that won't go bad in 24 hours after opening. You know, like when you have wine left in the bottle?

Green Tip: Boxed wines are still transported a long way from their source, but the boxes are actually quite efficient. Less packaging per liter, you can recycle the outer box, and the remaining bag is flat as a pancake.