Fabulous Fridays: It's Spring!

Happy Friday and Happy Spring! I don't know about you, but I feel like every March I begin to notice new plants and flowers. I'm not talking daffodils and hyacinths springing up, I'm talking the plants I don't know the names of and never really noticed until this moment. For me, every Spring is brand new and I feel like I am seeing the world through the eyes of a child.

This week was a wonderful (though crazy at work) week. The highlight was certainly seeing my dear Swedish friend Ina, whom I have not seen since I left Poitiers, France 9 years ago. I also got to see two other friends I studied abroad with, which was great (the last time I saw them was probably around the time I graduated college, 8 years ago). Meeting up with them was so wonderful because we found ourselves falling into old patterns and everything felt familiar, as though no time had passed at all. Friends like that are priceless.

And now I'm going to leave you with a playlist, because it's Spring! So put on your dancing shoes and enjoy some of these groovy tunes- it's time to bust a move!

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Fabulous Fridays: It's Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! I've had that book up there since I was a little kid, and used to read it every year on Valentine's Day. It has all kinds of cute poems, and reminds me of the simplicity of being a kid on this holiday.

I'm going to get straight to it today! It's been an intense week, so I'm looking forward to some R&R this evening. Nothing sounds better than chocolate ice cream and doggy cuddles.

Before I leave you, here are some powerful self-loving posts from some rad women:

From [In]Complete Magazine

From All Things E

And what would a holiday be without a playlist? I've got you covered. Be prepared to feel all the feelings.

Enjoy! And tell me-- how are you going to celebrate love for yourself today?

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Cultivating Self-Love: Soul Music

If you've been following me for a while, you'll know that I have a thing for music and creating playlists. I have a bajillion of them on my iTunes and my Spotify. Given that I tend to come up with a playlist for every mood and situation, I thought it also fitting to come up with a playlist that ties in with this month's theme of Cultivating Self-Love for/by the spirit. So today, I share with you my soul music playlist.

True story: one of the best compliments I have ever received was actually something someone told someone else about me. The place was a soup kitchen in San Francisco, and the local soul music radio station was playing classics while us volunteers made sandwiches. Given that I love that kind of music, I was dancing around while making sandwiches. The lady in charge said to one of the other youth group members, while pointing at me, "she's got soul." It sure felt nice to hear that.

Soul music cuts straight to my very core and makes me feel things. Sometimes it's longing, sometimes it's pure joy. It's the kind of music that you feel in your gut and makes you want to move.

Listen for yourself, and see if you don't feel something:

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Goodbye 2013

Well, 2013 is going out with a bang of sorts, which makes me anticipate the new year all the more (appreciating the now be damned).

Before Christmas, I had planned on doing a Christmas Eve recap, regaling you with details of fondue, absinthe, and fun. Alas, Christmas Eve kind of exploded on me. In fact, all of last week was pretty stressful and disappointing. It seemed that almost everything that could have gone wrong at work did (why hello technical difficulties when there is an excess of paperwork to enter), and things outside of work were just as trying. I will be back on Thursday with a post that goes into more detail on one of the crappy parts of last week.

Oh, and mark your calendars! On January 1, I will be here with something very special. Big changes are coming and I cannot wait to share my plans for the new year with you!

Without further ado, here is a playlist for closing out 2013 and welcoming 2014. It may seem like a random mix, and it's definitely not hip, but these are the songs that have me revved up. And the Whitney song is my serious jam for life. How can anyone not dance to that song?

What are you happy to leave behind in 2013? What are you looking forward to in 2014? Do you have any songs that represent the transition for you? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below!

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Hot Cocoa and a Christmas Favorites Playlist

Hallelujah, it's the last Friday before Christmas! I'm taking another 3-day weekend, and hpefully this one will be less jam-packed than last weekend.

As promised, today I am bringing you two (yes two) recipes for hot cocoa, and a playlist that features all of my favorite Christmas songs!

For my first cocoa recipe, I'm sharing my classic, from-scratch recipe. I learned how to make this when I studied abroad in France. There, we made hot cocoa in a bowl, and let me tell you, it's a great way to enjoy cocoa.

Classic Hot Cocoa

1 heaping tablespoon of cocoa powder

1 mugful of milk

1 teaspoon of sugar (to taste)

1 splash of vanilla extract

1 dash of cinnamon

First, fill your mug with milk to 1-inch below the rim. Pour this milk into a saucepan and heat over medium-high heat. While the milk is heating, Combine the cocoa, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and a small amount of milk in the mug. Whisk this together to create a cocoa sludge- you just need to add enough milk to pull it all together. Keep an eye on your milk, and stir frequently to keep milk from scalding. I like to froth my milk as it gets close to hot enough- you just need to heat it to your liking. Once the milk is hot enough, stir it into the cocoa mixture in your mug. Enjoy!

Spiked Peppermint Hot Chocolate

1 shot Peppermint Bark Liqueur (from Eastside Distilling)

1 mug hot milk

This spiked hot chocolate is easy peasy. Simply heat up your milk in a saucepan, pour a shot of Peppermint Bark Liqueur into your mug, and pour the hot milk over the alcohol. Add more liqueur if needed, to taste. Enjoy (but please, seriously, consume responsibly and DO NOT drink and drive)!

And now, for my Best Christmas Ever playlist! I've got 2 songs from Otis Redding- note, my sister says it sounds like he's saying "mayonnaise" on White Christmas. Tell me you don't hear it. I also have Wham's Last Christmas, which I enjoy year-round. And I can't forget Christmas in Hollis. True story: I once got a standing ovation at karaoke when I performed this with my brother. Now you know I can rap.

And since Spotify doesn't have Boney M, here is my favorite Christmas song, the one that gets me in the Christmas spirit:

I hope you have a great weekend. Tell me, what are your plans? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below!

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Christmas Classics for the Weekend

Happy Friday, folks! I'm treating myself to a three-day weekend, mainly because I have vacation time to burn off before the New Year, and I have lots to do before Christmas. So, while I'm busy preparing Christmas presents, and baking lots of cookies, I will be listening to some Christmas tunes. Below, I'm sharing my playlist of Christmas classics- the ones that are so timeless, they make you feel nostalgic for Christmases past. Stay tuned next week for my playlist of Christmas favorites!

What are your plans for the weekend? I'll be attending Ladies Day Out with my sister in law. I was given free passes in return for blogging about the event, and I will be back next week with my recap!

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Baby, It's F'ing Cold Outside

Via

Brr, a record-breaking chill has settled into the Portland area, and my poor old lady body just can't handle it. Okay, I don't have an old lady body, but this weather sure makes me feel like it. Not only do I have Raynaud's, but my legs ache horribly when the temperature drops significantly, and my knees creak. And this has happened since I was a teenager. Also, as a side-effect of the Raynaud's, once my fingers do get warmed up again, they remain pretty useless. Simple things, like opening jars, are painful.

This isn't a post about whining about the cold. No, I'm here to provide you for a cold weather, Christmas time-y playlist. This playlist is full of less traditional songs, and new takes on traditional songs. Call me old-fashioned, but I've really been loving the old Christmas hymns these past few years, like Come Thou Fount of Ev'ry Blessing, and Come O Come Emmanuel. I hope that you will enjoy this selection of songs while cozied up under some warm blankets, sitting by a fire, and sipping some nice hot cocoa. I just realized now would have been a good time to introduce you to my personal cocoa recipe...is that something you guys would be interested in?

Finally, before I cut to the songs, I actually invested in some Christmas cards this year, but would love more people to send some Christmas cheer to! If you'd like to get a card from me, either send me an email at rach(dot)sed(at)gmail(dot)com, or leave a comment below and I'll be in touch.

And now, for the MUSIC!

Do you have a favorite Christmas song? I'll be back later this month with a playlist of my favorite classics (hint: Otis Redding is involved- more than once). I'd love to hear from you in the comments below!

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A Playlist for the Harvest Moon

In honor of this morning's Harvest Moon, and the beginning of Fall on Sunday afternoon, I am bringing you my Fall playlist. Here you will find songs that invoke rust-colored leaves, the smell of a bonfire, a chill in the air, and days that have grown dim. The cold is already settling into my blood, and it is time to wear my hand-warmers and wool socks once again. Whether you are feeling the changes or no, I hope you enjoy these songs, perhaps with a spiced latte or a cup of cocoa.

By the way, I am absolutely obsessed with that first song right now. I can't resist a pretty harmony.

Do you have a Fall playlist? What songs appear on yours? I'd love to hear form you in the comments below!

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I Heart Podcasts

Happy Thursday, folks! Today I'd like to talk about how I spend my daily commute to work. 

I love music- dancing to it, singing along to it- but given that I now have a longer commute than I ever have, I can get sick of hearing the same music all of the time. I'd also like to think that my time is not going to waste when I could use that time to be learning something. Enter: podcasts.

Podcasts are great because they can be fun and they can be educational. I am a bit picky about the podcasts I listen to- I've shut off podcasts within half a minute because the host had an annoying voice, or the intro music was too cheesy, or the quality sounded really poor. That said, here are some of my favorite podcasts, the ones that I listen to on the regular.

NPR's Ask Me Another. So, I have a disclaimer on this one: I find the host slightly annoying (I really don't like Emcee's, especially Gen-X Emcee's), and I really don't like Jonathan Coulton's singing (dude is pretty nasally and reminds me why I don't like modern Broadway singers, not that he is one, but he reminds me of one). That said, I love trivia that I can play along with. I love shouting the answers in my car. I love getting upset when someone gets something wrong (especially when it is so obvious to me). If you love trivia, then this podcast is definitely for you.

The Moth. Um, I love the Moth. Love it. I absolutely love when people tell stories, and this podcast does it so well. The premise behind this is that there are events around the country, sort of like an open-mic for storytelling. People tell true stories from their lives, and these stories are recorded and shared on the podcast. Some stories are hilarious, some heartbreaking. This week's podcast put a few tears in my eyes (if you only listen to one, it is a good one), and this podcast from a few weeks ago had me believing in hope and love. This podcast gets you thinking and feeling. 

The Dinner Party Download. This is the newest addition to my podcast playlist. It has a little bit of everything: it opens with a joke (score), there's a little history lesson, a cocktail, pop culture and current events, an interview, etiquette tips, and music. This podcast has a really good flow and at close to an hour long, is perfect for my longer commutes. I highly recommend this podcast if you want a little bit of everything and want to come away feeling like you've learned something (say, enough to keep up with dinner party conversation).

Stuff You Missed in History Class. I've always been interested in history, but not grandpa's history about wars and generals. I'm more interested in culture and people. This podcast is awesome because you learn about things from history that you knew nothing about. I've learned about the history of ice cream, about the real Robin Hood, Loving v. Virginia, and the princess who swallowed a glass piano. It is really fascinating to hear about the types of things that seem to be omitted from standard history curriculum, and if you like history (or even if you think you don't), you should give this podcast a listen!

Those are my recommendations for podcasts- do you have any for me? Do you listen to podcasts? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below!

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All American

Happy 4th of July, everybody! I hope that your day is filled with fun, food, sun, cold beverages, and fireworks! I will be spending time with my family, eating yummy food (I'm in charge of homemade baked beans), enjoying tasty drinks, and playing with my nephews. I will probably watch the fireworks from inside- I like the big ones that go off way up in the sky, but not so much the little squealers that shoot sparks out every which direction.

So, in honor of the holiday for all of my American compatriots, I have for you a playlist and my strawberry rhubarb pie recipe. Since I cannot show up on your doorstep with this pie while blasting this music on a boombox, I hope you accept the digital version instead.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

2 disks All-Butter Flaky Pie Dough

1.5 lbs rhubarb stalks

3 cups fresh strawberries

7 oz granulated sugar

7 oz light brown sugar

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp flour

1.5 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Cut the rhubarb crosswise into 1-inch pieces. Hull the strawberries and cut them in half. Combine the rhubarb, strawberries and sugars and toss gently until evenly mixed. Combine the cornstarch, flour, and lemon juice to make a paste (it will look nasty, but that's okay). Pour the sludge over the fruit and toss to combine.

Divide your pie dough into 2 even pieces and roll out until each disk has 1-inch extra dough past the edge of the pie dish. Put the bottom crusts in the pie plate, then fill with the fruit filling. Top with another crust and crimp the edge however you like, then cut steam vents in the top.

Place the pies on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, then rotate the pan and turn the oven down to 350 degrees F and bake for another 25 minutes, or until golden brown and the insides are bubbly. 

How will you be spending your 4th of July? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below!

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