Monthly Archives: April 2015

• Love Yourself, Love Your Life

  Posted at 8:38 AM by Brittany, on April 30, 2015

  I spend a solid amount of my time alone, simply because I enjoy spending time with myself. When I’m alone there is no one around to dictate what I do, or where I go. I can leisurely wander new locations, and I can eat at places I want to to eat.

  My favorite ways to explore are through food, coffee, wandering, and nature. Not many people think kale is Gods gift to earth, most people drink coffee and it all tastes the same to them, and only a few people I’ve come in contact with think spending an entire day (or days) in the mountains without a shower sounds like fun.

  Being alone means I worry about no one but myself. Go on, be selfish for YOU.
  

  

  I find great joy in the simple pleasures of life like walking along the water with the sun kissing my face, or meandering through antique shops soaking in the history.

  

  

  Discovering what makes you tick is like stumbling upon a $100 bill outside your front door. It’s a gift that you have no choice but to accept.

  

  I love the handful of friends I have, which is really more like a finger full these days, but I’ve become quite comfortable spending time alone. I wasn’t always this way, so I consider this a long awaited blessing. If you rely on other people for your happiness, what would happen if you were forced to be alone?

  

  I’m a simple person, living a simple life. I don’t work a 9-5 stable job, I don’t own a mansion in Italy, and I don’t have a strong mountain climbing husband to rub my feet after a long day. I work a job I enjoy (for now), I follow my heart when it leads me to things that make me happy, and I trust my gut when it tells me life is good.

  I (try to) love what I have instead of dwelling on what I don’t. At the end of the day life goes on whether you have a rolex on your wrist or tattered jeans on your legs.

  

  I don’t know where all this inner tree hugging granola talk comes from, but when it wants to escape I let it. Holding things in almost always results in discomfort. Case in point: the morning after a dinner full of cruciferous vegetables. Let it out..let..it..out.

  

  

  If the idea of being alone scares you, I challenge you to face the fear. Go somewhere alone like a coffee shop or a park. If you’re feeling wild go to a restaurant or a movie. Love yourself enough to be alone, and life becomes a new adventure full of light.

  

  They say you can’t love someone else until you love yourself, and I finally get it.

  Bring on the love. 😉

  

  Q: Do you enjoy spending time alone, or do you rely on others to go do things? I enjoy being alone perhaps a bit too much…. #loner.

  

  | 102 Comments Tagged Coffee, Life, Random, Vegan, Wander

• Lately I’m Loving…

  Posted at 6:45 AM by Brittany, on April 27, 2015

  …garlic, roasted and lathered in olive oil and herbs laying atop vegetables.

  

  …weekly lake runs, the only run consisting of further than 4 miles lately.

  

  …handmade vegan soaps, because they SMELL SO GOOD.

  

  …Wayward Vegan Cafe. I don’t eat a lot of bread, in fact I don’t even keep it in my house. When I do eat bread it’s usually in the form of a baked good, and often it’s gluten free. This keeps things moving right inside my tubes, and helps to ensure I don’t crash like a kamikaze plane.

  

  Stolen from YELP

  I’ve been dreaming about waffles for…forever, and I decided it was time to get one.

  I didn’t take a photo, because I was too busy conversing with the adorable solo diner to my left. This place just draws you in to feel comfortable dining solo, which was prime opportunity for sparking up a conversation with my fellow diner.

  My waffle was everything I’d hoped for, full of doughy bready goodness. Looks like I’ll need to go back for another one, oh darn.

  …sunshine and coffee. Slowing down to sip and savor.

  

  …alarm free wake up calls. I’ve been training a new hire at work, and he isn’t available until the afternoon. This means my early morning start times have been pushed to afternoon start time a few days a week. I don’t hate waking with the sun.

  

  Aka waking up at 6am instead of 4am.

  …giving back. My Starbucks family and I volunteered with our local park volunteers to help pull up one of the many noxious weeds – scotch broom!

  

  …life. Pretty self explanatory.

  

  Q: What are you loving lately?

  

  | 63 Comments Tagged Coffee, Random, Running, Starbucks, Vegan

• Early Morning Confessions

  Posted at 7:06 AM by Brittany, on April 21, 2015

  1. I know you’re all waiting on the edge of your seat to find out how my dental appointment went to get a foreign chunk of matter cemented to my tooth, also known as a crown. Well I’m jazzed to report I did not need one after all, and instead my tooth was stuffed with a composite filling. Big fat win because you can’t even tell I had a hole in my tooth, and I can now successfully move forward with my life.

  2. I’ve been spending a solid chunk of my time with other peoples fur children. Back to back to back house/pet sitting is keeping me busy. Meet my current time filler, Lobby.

  

  3. A customer came into Starbucks last Friday and handed me $100. He then leaned in and whispered to me, “I know this is a total pain in the a#$, but can you use this for the people after me until it’s gone?” Good Samaritan, it is no pain in my a#$ at all to pass on feel goods to the world. And for that, I thank you.

  4. I’ve had an insatiable craving for both cinnamon rolls and apple fritters lately. The kind you’d buy at a bakery laden with sugary glaze. I tried to combat these cravings by making my own cinnamon rolls. I put ground coffee in the center because why not.

  Well I’ll tell you why not…I put TOO MUCH coffee!! I never thought I’d type those words. I ate all of them, but they need some work.

  

  Before going into the sauna.

  5. I’m already wishywashing my current plans for my future. I’m a lost cause.

  6. When I’m not wrangling other peoples children pets I’m spending time with mine.

  

  7. I’ve been enjoying spending one of my days off each week in Seattle. I go run around Greenlake, walk around it, and then I eat. I eat all the things.

  8. I’m loving walking around my town lately, and pretending I’m somewhere else.

  Like Italy.

  

  I think this is what a rustic Italian building would look like.

  

  9. I seem to have some kind of digestive intolerance to nuts, specifically peanut butter. This is a very depressing discovery. I’m going to avoid nuts for a bit and see how it goes incorporating certain types back into my diet in the future.

  10. With that said, I tried a random new rice cake combo. Instead of my usual nut butter and fruit combo, I swapped in coconut oil. I tried it with cinnamon and dried figs, and loved it so much I ended up dipping the figs straight into the oil.

  

  My mind was blown all the way to mars. Obsessed.

  Q: What’s your confession?

  

  | 61 Comments Tagged Cats, Coffee, Confessions, Random, Running, Teeth, Vegan

• Moderating Indulgences

  Posted at 7:53 AM by Brittany, on April 16, 2015

  My eats have been somewhat black and white lately. Smoothies, salads, vegetables, sweet potatoes, tempeh, and pretzels. What can I say, sometimes I like simple.

  Dessert has been a hefty bowl of rice chex mix with almond butter and cacao nibs, because I’m currently obsessed with them. OH, and chocolate. Always chocolate.

  

  Starbucks has new smoothies (in select locations) made from cold pressed juice. I add fresh kale and banana to mine. Absolutely obsessed.

  

  

  Eating a consistent diet most of the time makes the days I do “splurge” that much more rewarding. If I eat like a teenage boy every single day, I pay for it.

  

  After my root canal last week I had plans to venture to Seattle for a run at the lake and a feast to follow. I planned this adventure days in advance. Thankfully everything went smooth with my tooth, allowing me to run and eat just fine.

  

  Very welcoming for solo diners like myself.

  I ran five miles, and walked another four miles before ending up at stop number one. A local vegan cafe with a menu packed full of hearty comfort food. I went with tempeh “bacon”, spinach, and tomatoes wrapped in a rice tortilla.

  

  Paired with the best spuds I’ve had in FOREVER.

  In an attempt to keep the space in my gut free for the main event, I walked to and from the cafe. My main objective was to visit my current favorite V/GF bakery in the quaint Seattle neighborhood of Fremont. I love eating local.

  Scratch that, I love eating…period.

  I walked in with my morals, and walked out with 5 extra pounds.

  

  It started off innocent, one cupcake for me, a scone to share, and a slice of berry coffee cake perhaps for another day. Then I saw the pizza…THE pizza that would soon become one of the best slices of pizza to ever pass through my largest facial orifice.

  

  

  Cauliflower, roasted carrots, spinach, red peppers with house-made garlic aioli on a gluten-free crust.

  I struggle to find the right words to describe this, I couldn’t believe it was gluten free.

  I thought I was home free after snagging a slice, and then I saw the discount bin. You know, the one that’s tucked to the side that slowly calls to your soul telling you to splurge on day old items that you definitely don’t need, but that you definitely want.

  

  On top of the scone, the coffee cake, the cupcake, and the pizza I also bought three brownies. Ready for the kicker? I ate a brownie right away. Then I ate the coffee cake, followed by half of the scone. The best part…I felt completely fine.

  No sick stomach, no bloat, no guilt. A few hours later I ate the pizza and then demolished my cupcake leaving me with nothing left (I gave the other two brownies and half of the scone to my mom and sister.) My soul and body were equally full.

  

  Moral of my story is this: when you eat clean 85% of your days, the remaining 15% of indulgences taste so much sweeter. Today I’m going to the dentist to get a crown, and if another day like this is coming my way I’ll get dental work done anytime. Kidding.

  Kind of.

  Four treats in one day will not be a regular occurrence. Thank goodness for running.

  Q: Do you eat whatever you want everyday, or do you moderate what goes into your tank? I feel really crummy when I eat poorly too many days in a row. 

  

  | 60 Comments Tagged Adventure, Food, Gluten Free, Running, Vegan

• Rooting the Canal

  Posted at 6:50 AM by Brittany, on April 13, 2015

  I need a t-shirt that says, “I survived my first root canal.” I would proudly wear it around town because the words are true, and I’m here to tell you everything about the procedure went as smooth as the inside of my freshly cleaned tooth canal.

  

  Before – big black hole apparently ate the bottom of my tooth.

  This is probably the most xra(y)ted photo I’ve shared on the blog. You can see in this photo the twilight zone like black hole I discussed in this post, which prompted my dentist to think I needed drilling, scrubbing, and plugging.

  Naked xray teeth and potentially dirty comments. I’m getting wild today.

  

  In an attempt to not bore those who don’t care, I’ll make this recap quick and dirty.

  1. I asked if I could see the stuff that was scrubbed out, thinking a linguine like nerve would still be there. It was not, and the endodontist thought I was crazy.
  2. A needle was shoved into my gum to turn the side of my face into a numb pile of jello. This was the worst of it all. Until I went numb.
  3. I went numb, and couldn’t tell if I was leaking drool on myself. It was adorable.
  4. A dental dam was placed on my tooth, which meant it was the now the appropriate time for conversation. At least that’s what the endodontist thought when he kept asked me questions about Starbucks.
  5. Drills were fired, and holes were made. OK just one hole, right in the center of the tooth. Tooth dust flew like magic fairies in the wind.
  6. Tiny brushes went in and out, in and out, scrubbing out any residual bacteria inside the canal. There wasn’t much in there. Like an empty saddened soul.
  7. Tiny files were also pushed in and out of the canal to size for a cone like plug.
  8. The cone like plug was placed into my tooth to close up the hole, some other stuff, some heat was applied, and the hole was covered.

  Bada boom, bada bing. 

  

  This process was not nearly as frightening as I anticipated. I was intrigued and totally fascinated by it all. I was able to watch in the reflection of the light a few times and I felt like a kid in a candy store. I think my interest in teeth is returning.

  

  THIS is the end result, like a cool science project. I’m just waiting for the tooth to start spewing lava or something else exciting that kids do at science fairs.

  Long story short the procedure was maybe 35 minutes top to bottom, the canal was cleaned, and then it was plugged. After inquiring about the process I was informed the main point of this was to clean and plug the hole so that bacteria cannot grow. Empty spaces are prime spots for bacteria to live. The nerves that usually live within these canals take up the empty space, but mine decided to go on a permanent vacation.

  Thus the root canal.

  

  Post procedure I felt completely fine despite not being able to feel my face for a few hours, so I went for a run in the sun and ate as much food as my belly could hold. Including the above cupcake. Recap of my solo foodie adventure in my next post.

  I drool in my sleep so this was nothing I couldn’t handle. The only side affect I felt was slight pressure in my ear the next day and some mild inflammation. I literally had zero post procedure pain, and went about my day. It wasn’t at all what I thought.

  If you want more, check out this video. Also I’d like to make very clear I did NOT loose my tooth, it’s still very much in tact. Next up – a crown.

  Q: Was this at all what you thought? I was terrified for nothing, it was fine. I feel like an elite member of a special club now. 

  

  | 58 Comments Tagged Dental, Root Canal, Teeth

• Humbled

  Posted at 5:58 AM by Brittany, on April 9, 2015

  When I was younger I longed for the chance to cover my eyes with glasses, and bling my mouth with braces. I also had a hair cut that resembled a mop and wore the same outfit daily, so I can’t say this was my strongest decade of life.

  I have 20/20 vision so the glasses were out, but when I was 15 my wish was granted for a face full of metal. My teeth were never “terrible” and I only had to wear the braces for a little over a year, but I loved every minute of them.

  

  2005 – the time when my hair was long and black, and my skin was orange.

  This is when my fascination with teeth was born.

  I wanted to work in the dental field for a while, and although I’ve detoured from that path I still find teeth to be intriguing and I take great pride in my own.

  

  I’m not a very fancy gal. My idea of dressing up is splashing some mascara on my lashes, and throwing on a loose fitting summer dress with Teva sandals. I proudly go days without washing my hair, and the only time I wear it down is when it’s cut so short I have no choice. What can I say, I’m a minimalist.

  The one physical attribute I take pride in, and put all my effort into is my teeth. If you asked me what my best quality was I’d probably say my smile. I may skip washing my hair, but my teeth always get the full treatment morning and night. I wear my retainers diligently, and my idea of pampering is alone time with my Sonicare.

  

  2010 – holding a clay molar. Still orange.

  I’ve never had any “serious” dental work, so you can imagine my dismay when my dentist expressed concern about a twilight zone like black hole that appeared at the base of my tooth on a routine panoramic x-ray taken at my last dental checkup.

  The words “root canal” were thrown around like a flying playground ball in a game of four square. My heart sunk, and my face went white. I was sent to the oral surgeon, who sent me to an endodonist, and he confirmed my fears.

  

  “You need a root canal. Your tooth died slowly and quietly, possibly shortly after you got your braces or wisdom teeth removed.” Oh swell, my price and joy is officially tainted, and I am officially humbled. This was an excellent reminder that not everything is what it seems. I had no external signs of a problem – no pain, no swelling, no extra red gums, nothing. Anything can have faults…

  …including teeth that look normal and are treated better than small children.

  There was no rhyme or reason behind why my tooth decided to go awol on me, it just did. My appointment to have the soul ripped from my body  root taken out of my tooth is today, and I admit I’m somewhat terrified. Once the rool canal is completed my next step is to get a crown. I’ve never even had a cavity, and this is like going from 0 to 60.

  

  Call me a contradiction, but I think my survival of this procedure calls for a cupcake.

  Just don’t tell my dentist. 😉

  Q: Have you ever had a root canal? A cavity? An ego blow?

  

  | 70 Comments Tagged Life, Teeth

• Finding Inspiration

  Posted at 7:03 AM by Brittany, on April 6, 2015

  I really enjoy walking among tall, unique buildings.

  

  I was able to wander the University of Washington campus recently, and it reminded me of the time I visited the east coast and wandered the streets of Detroit.

  

  I find it fascinating to think about the time, efforts, and thoughts that go into designing a building. I don’t have the patience for something like that, but I sure appreciate those that do. Everyone has their niche.

  

  College campuses have a certain air about them, a calmness that comes only when you’re a visitor and not a student. I’m in another transition stage of my educational career, so I can enjoy being on a campus without the stress of actually rushing to class.

  There’s also a subtle sense of inspiration that makes me want to create something new. Perhaps it’s the fresh spring air, but either way I’m running with it.

  

  9/10 times my idea of creating something new comes in the form of food. What can I say, I love to eat. I stumbled upon these noodles while perusing the inner aisles of the grocery store, and I was immediately intrigued. I had to give them a try.

  What sold me was what I saw on the back…

  

  Fiber and protein ON POINT. The noodles were a bit chewy, but overall they were good. I threw together a random meal that turned out quite lovely.

  

  Despite the ugly color of that sauce, I assure you it was packed with power. I blended the innards of 8 tomatoes (I used the “outards” for pico de gallo and refuse to waste) around 15 beet leaves, roasted garlic, sun dried tomatoes, spices, and olive oil.

  I was extremely fascinated by the separation caused by the beet leaves phytonutrients.

  

  Red ring from the leaves, what a powerfully unique vegetable packed full of betanin!

  I imagine one thing that would have made this meal taste better would have been to enjoy it inside a unique building. Perhaps a tiny home, nestled into the woods.

  Daydreams and inspiration.

  Q: Where have you recently discovered a sense of inspiration?

  

  | 42 Comments Tagged Explore, Food, New, Recipe, Vegan

• Perseverance

  Posted at 6:20 AM by Brittany, on April 2, 2015

  Last spring I delved into the wide world of hiking. I wrote a post that highlighted some of the random thoughts I had about how hiking can relate to life, and would like to emphasize life lesson number five in this post, including the side note/story.

  

  If you chose not to read the post here’s the CliffsNotes version: I ventured to a mountain, and upon my arrival at the top I proudly stood tall while eating a sandwich. I was nearly knocked on my ass by a ballsy bird that tried to steal my food. STEAL.

  

  I ventured back to this very same mountain last week, and this time I decided I wanted to share my apple with the birds, but only on MY time – not on theirs. I was determined to have one land on my hand, so I ate my apple and I tried to share.

  I tried, and tried, and tried.
  

  

  Failing with the birds, and failing to see.

  Then I tried again.

  

  After standing with my arm extended for a solid 5 minutes, victory was mine.

  

  And then victory was his as he stole my apple and flew away.

  

  Rude.

  This hike was mentally brutal. The amount of snow that fell overnight was a shock. My day hike shoes are not equipped for snow, slush, and deep puddles of mud. Needless to say my feet were soaked, and my hands were numb.

  

  My face was also numb, and as I took this photo I had no idea my nose was leaking.

  I never regret summiting a mountain, but sometimes I wish I had the ability to teleport once I’m done enjoying the view from the top. I’m convinced if it weren’t for some hiking poles I would have been crawling to the top. I had zero foot traction.

  

  My first time using hiking poles, and I now feel like a real hiker. Perhaps I will invest in some poles of my own, and I think it’s time I buy some waterproof boots if I want to ensure future sensation in my toes. 
  

  To piggy back off of my last post, this hike was an example of something I (briefly) wanted to quit simply because it was “hard.” I was uncomfortable, cold, and I had thoughts of hot springs and cinnamon rolls dancing in my head. My safety wasn’t threatened, so quitting was not an option. I persevered through the thoughts, just as I did with getting the bird to land on my apple.

  

  The lessons of life come in many shapes and sizes, and often present themselves when you least expect them to. I find keeping my mind open, my demeanor calm, and my perseverance strong sets me up to succeed with anything I set my mind to.

  Q: What do you find yourself persevering through most in your daily life? Sometimes I have to work really hard in order to persevere through the time between my meals. 

  

  | 75 Comments Tagged Explore, Hike, Life, Mount Si, Snow

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• BRITTANY- Self proclaimed minimalistic nomad striving to maintain a balanced, healthy life with good food, long hikes, deep connections, exploration, and lots of potatoes.

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• Contact: blissfulbritt@yahoo.com

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