“The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written.”
December went by fast!!! This month's City Life post will be light on photos because a lot of them will be in vacation recaps for my anniversary trip. The start of the month had a lot of promise and a lot of fun. As you can see here in the photo above I got my booster shot (left arm) and wrapped up my final event of the year at Hotel Alba. You know I could have sworn I was invited to a pool party so I showed up in my swimwear, but it was something else. Well, this is my only swimwear post for the entire year of 2021 and after I have lost 27 pounds so I was going to rock it anyhow.
It is that time of year where Im more likely to be out at night than the daytime because the sun is setting at 5:30pm which I hate.
Hubs and I pretty much decided to stay home after we got our booster shots so I entertained myself with photographing the cats.
I have gotten more plants and planters. This month's project was to buy planters for my plants that still needed them. These come from a great store called Peach & Pebble and they sale them in bundles of three at 20% off.
2 am musings:
-I like Summer rain and Fall days. Spring always brings promise and happiness.
After the last 2 years My heart's speaking louder.
-I haven't been to the beach since last May 2020 and I am so ready to go back after having not been in over a year when the pandemic started, but I live by the water and it is in my soul. It is always nearby, I chose to live close to the water and it gives me a lot of calm. So, I do miss the beach, but I will get there soon.
-I have spent 2 years studying Spanish grammer, I have always known enough Spanish to get by, but it wasn't formal and I knew nothing about grammer. I was really insecure about speaking Spanish, but now I have gained a lot of confidence thanks to my husband who has been learning Spanish with tutors for the last three years. I picked a lot up from him passively.
-Recently, I was going through my closets and trying to find things I need to donate and I realized I was way overdue, but also that my wardrobe is actually pretty alright. I try to not buy "fast fashion" and over the years I have learned a lot about that industry and the toll it takes on our planet.
A lot of my wardrobe is what I feel would be a good standard.I have a lot of clothes from one boutique in particular that is B corp Certified. I shop Zara once or twice a year, I actually didn't know that Free People was a large and habitual environmental offender and I have stopped buying as much from there (I thought it was safe haha).
-I would really love to finally start my closet project now that it is more safe for people to enter our home; there are many things I want to do to my home. (Well, at the time I wrote this Omarion was not on the scene yet).
-New music I am loving Natalie Lafourcade "Hasta la Ruiz", I actually listen to a lot of her music, it is all in Spanish and it helps with my pronunciation.
-FKJ: so, his series he did on YouTube during the pandemic last Fall 2020 was great. I listen to it a lot.
I also love his Calm Series that came out this year 2020 it is on his YouTube channel also.
-Don't hate me, but I like the Arianna Grande album Positions, I listen to her music, I like it, I always have. I started listening to it after watching Bridgerton last year (Surprisingly, I feel like I am the only person who hated Bridgerton, but oh, well).
I am a dreamer.
I have a lot of hope.
I think life is beautiful, but that may not mean I think I need to bring a life into this world. It is unwritten.
-I have met a lot of my goals that I set to be honest, and now it is time to set new goals. That is exciting.
Remember the world can be your canvas and it is ok if your biggest supporter is you or maybe just one other person.
HAULS/COLLABORATIONS/ AMBASSADORSHIPS
C/O Etttika
December Rocksbox
Vanilla bean Vodka and Woozi water cocktail mix w/ Florida Cane Distillary
Ybor City
"Make a craft cocktail, wherever you are, in a few simple steps! All ingredients are included. Just add your favorite Florida CANE Spirit! Woozi Water is a perfect gift for anyone on your list or yourself ;) Creates up to 8 cocktails and can be re-infused twice."
So, like many people I have become addicted to buying things on Amazon Prime. Every month I find new gadgets and buy them. I am pretty good at finding cool and useful items for life. I am actually an Influencer for Amazon, but I rarely post my Influencer Wish list. I can for this post in particular here. Ok, so this is a light therapy lamp. In a nut shell, it provides UV rays which are helpful if you work night shifts and sleep during the day, it is good for depression, seasonal depression, and insomnia.
This light therapy lamp was about 35.00$ and it's portable and easy to use; it also has a timer. I have been using it 2 times a week since early November. I started a week before the season changed to see if it will help with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). Yes, it has helped me tremendously! Just thirty minutes of this blinding light will simulate a days worth of sunlight that I miss because most days that I only see the sun for one hour or less.
This is another Amazon Prime purchase that we started in October and this is how it is coming along. If you want to have your own herb garden this is a great starter kit and you can find it here.
Fitness: December was not a great month for fitness. After I got the Moderna booster at the beginning of December I had pretty much all the common side effects except nausea. On day two both my husband and I were totally out of it. By the 48 hour mark I felt infinitely better, but I had massive joint pain. That joint pain I am still feeling now and it have been for a month. Keep in mind, I have arthritis so this didn't surprise me.
As a result, I did not work out after I got my booster shot. I did however maintain my diet routine as usual and I did small things like I make sure I walk up and down the stairs in my house 4x (up and down) and sometimes 8 full times. I also have a treadmill which admittedly, I haven't used yet. I feel like I'm coming around, but the arthritis pain is the worst and since it was triggered by the booster I am just trying to take it easy with light stretching and a small amount of yoga, no fancy stuff.
DATE NIGHTS:
Green Lemon
SOHO
DATE NIGHTS: the great American Takeout
Aussie Grill
GLUTEN FREE MEALS COOKED BY MYSELF- RECIPES AVAILABLE BY REQUEST IF NOT POSTED.
Fruitti Di Mare with gluten free Alfredo
1 small onion, chopped
5 garlic cloves, crushed
Pink salt, freshly ground pepper
2 Cans of diced tomatoes, plus ½ cup tomato juice
3
tablespoons chopped basil
¼
teaspoon red pepper flakes
½
1 cup clam juice
1 cup dry white wine
1 bag or 15 Littleneck clams scrubbed
1 bag or 16 mussels, scrubbed, debearded
10 large shrimp, peeled, deveined
1 can of Bumblebee baby clams
1 box brown rice or corn fettuccine
Instructions:
Stir in tomatoes, tomato juice, basil, red pepper flakes, and 2 tsp. salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until sauce is thickened, about 15 minutes.
Next
Add clam juice and wine and bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes. Lower heat and bring to a rapid simmer. Add clams and cook until they open, 8–10 minutes. Add mussels and cook until they open, 3–5 minutes. Return sauce to a boil, add shrimp and baby clams, cover, and remove from heat. Let sit until shrimp and scallops are cooked through, 5–8 minutes. Meanwhile, cook fettuccine in a large pot of boiling salted water until barely al dente, about 2 minutes if using fresh pasta, reserving 2 Tbsp. pasta cooking liquid. Add and pasta cooking liquid; simmer until sauce thickens, 2–5 minutes. Add shrimp and baby clams and continue cooking until well combined, 30–60 seconds. Transfer pasta mixture to a large bowl; Arrange clams and mussels over pasta.
Middle Eastern inspired baked wings
Instructions:
Brine the wings in water, lemon juice, white vinegar in the fridge for 30 minutes. Then remove them from the water and place on rack and pat dry.
Add seasonings:
Za'atar Seasoning from Trader Joe's
Sumac seasoning from Whole Foods
Salt and pepper to taste
Cook wings at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees.
I served these seasoned wings with seasoned basmati rice and sautéed Rainbow Chard.
Black vinegar stir fry.
I came across a recipe for black vinegar (which I do not have). I made this out of what I do have on New Year's Eve after our luxurious dinner was cancelled due to Omicron (yay). So, black vinegar can be substituted with Balsamic Vinegar which I always have. You can keep Balsamic vinegar for a really long time (like, years) in the fridge or in the cabinet depending on what you do with it.
This is a Black vinegar chicken breast stir fry with cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, baby corn and basmati rice.
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