elyssa: pumpkin mania

location: starbucks, hamilton (the boy's place of employment)

week in review:

clean week went out with a bang. i.e. me baking scones at 2 AM. oatmeal scones to be precise. i took jenna's recipe - subbed in earth balance, for butter, and almond milk, for dairy. it's surprising how often this works without a hitch. all in all, 15 minute scones are pretty life-changing.

do i feel cleaner? a bit. mostly thanks to all the yoga shared with friends. yoga is one of those activities that's always better when shared - and i rarely say that about anything. something about doing your own thing as an individual - yet the same thing as everyone around you - makes it awesome.

all week i was dreaming of the food i would soon be making and eating. i've been scouring the blog world late into the night looking for new recipes. basically, i've turned into a huge blog copycat.

the weekend started off with pumpkin chili bowls from emily. definitely a crowd pleaser. too bad the only crowd was the boy and the cat. at least they were impressed..

after chili came angela's spiced gingerbread. i've never made anything with molasses before. i think it's love. it made for my absolute favorite fall dessert. i'd show you pictures but we ate it too fast for photographic proof. fail.

saturday brought a trip to the farmer's market. we bought plums and peppers. tomatillos and tiny ornamental pumpkins.

actually, the pumpkins were free. the vendor lady was so impressed by my fascination with the tiny pumpkins that she insisted i take them as a gift and put them to good use. in fact, she promised she would bring me an entire set of tiny pumpkins on a vine next week so i can save them for american thanksgiving!

the afternoon ended with an impromptu bouquet of sunflowers from the boy - my favorite flower. he's never bought me flowers before...

new goals:

the past week i ran myself absolutely ragged with school and exercise. friends and obligations. too too much. campus was beautiful - and yet the amount of times i criss-crossed from one end to the other left my poor legs quivering at the end of each day.

the law school

upper campus

mid campus

a beautiful place to learn.

the next two days will be ones of complete relaxation. family thanksgiving dinner. long slow drives to enjoy the changing colors of the season. maybe an impromptu yoga session or two. my legs (and my brain) need a vacation. columbus day/canadian thanksgiving is as good of an excuse as any methinks.

i will:

- sleep more

- drink more tea

- reevaluate my current exercise goals

- take as many pictures and do as much as possible to enjoy my last canadian fall

current obsessions:

chai tea. tiny pumpkins. countdown to christmas. making pumpkin butter. figuring out what to do with the massive sack of spelt flour the boy dropped off at my doorstep.