Inspiration

I’m back into Duolingo this week to finish up my Spanish course and I am sad I ever left.

This post makes me want to create a standing coffee date/book exchange with a good friend, stat. Such a great idea.

11 ways to get through a Monday, or any day.

I finished reading The City & the City this week for my book club and really enjoyed it. Next up, I’m planning to read A Window Opens and The School of Greatness.

Speaking of reading, I liked these tips on how to read more from TheWhat.

I wrote this quote in my planner this week.

I’m heartbroken that I can’t get Book of the Month Club here in Ecuador or even at home in Canada. Come to Canada please!

The Blue Apron app is serving as a big source of inspiration for new recipe ideas.

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It was a mostly quiet week, just getting back into the swing of things after a week spent exploring the city. I went to a fun trivia night at a local pub, had a good meeting for work, recorded an episode of the podcast and tried out a cool new café. This weekend I’m looking forward to yoga in the park and my book club meet-up. I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

This article was shared by at least 3 of my friends this week, so on the off chance you haven’t seen it yet, I’ll share it too: to anyone who thinks they’re falling behind in life.

I’m thinking about taking this free online photography course from Harvard.

A thought-provoking article about weight, body image, and Oprah Winfrey.

I wasn’t really following the response to Beyoncé’s Superbowl performance, but I thought this was a very good commentary piece with some excellent points.

One of my best friends and I watched Life Partners this week and both thought it was sweet, interesting, and a little sad. I loved that it was really about friendship and personal growth as much as about romance.

Jess Lively had Brené Brown on the show to talk about setting boundaries and the (wonderful) concept of santosha.

I used this recipe to make pasta (vaguely fettucine-shaped) from scratch this past week. It was very messy, very fun, and very delicious.

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I had my friend Katie here in Quito with me all week and it was absolutely wonderful. We did so much exploring, and our days were filled with the kind of juxtapositions that make this country so great. We’d spend the morning on the top of a volcano, and the afternoon in the historic old town that feels exactly like Europe. We went on a chocolate-making bean-to-bar tour (with a healthy amount of samples) and then took showers under natural waterfalls. And all that aside, it was just so great to gossip and reminisce and have her in my living room every morning when I woke up. I miss her already!

This weekend has involved a lot of sleeping and a lot of reading – I’m reading this awesome book for my book club. I tried to hit the reset button and am looking forward to the new week. I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

I’m not ashamed to admit that I cried (like a baby) when I watched this beautiful video.

Go Axe, for finally including more than one type of masculinity in your commercials, brand and paradigm! A great Superbowl ad.

Humans of New York is always and forever inspiring, but this post in particular touched my heart. I’ve really been enjoying all of the interviews with prison inmates – they’re often surprising and touching.

I love both Seth Godin and Tim Ferriss, so this interview was wonderful to listen to. It’s long – 2 hours – but I barely noticed the time going by.

I’m considering doing a Camp NaNoWriMo (writing a novel in a month besides November) to get back into the writing groove. Their writing resources are very helpful as well.

I made this zucchini bread in muffin form this week and they are unreal – so good!

It was exciting to see new products and a shop update for the Get To Work Book.

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It was a quiet week around here, a long weekend for Ecuador until Tuesday so things got off to a slow start. We had my boyfriend’s family over for dinner last night though, which was lovely. I made a frittata (a riff on this recipe) and a big beautiful salad (with this homemade salad dressing) and everything was delicious and cozy and I felt very happy. This weekend one of my best friends is arriving from NYC (!!!!!!) and I’m so excited to show her around this city as best I can. Yay! Have a wonderful weekend, friends.

This list of 100 dreams inspired me to make one of my own. I’ve made one for my life overall before (kind of like a bucket list), but this time I decided to make one just for the rest of 2016.

An interesting technique that organization expert Marie Kondo uses to declutter her brain.

I am so hooked on the Serial Season 1 updates that have been coming out this week.

Dear Sugar Radio did a three part series on looking for “The One” which was sensitive, thoughtful, fascinating and helpful. You can find the first episode here.

Such a wonderful, beautiful photo series to encourage the adoption of pit bull-type dogs and break down stereotypes.

A lovely list of 52 places to visit in 2016 from the NY Times, although I was surprised by how many were cities in the USA.

I made this impressive-looking but easy bread this week and it was delicious. 

On the podcast this week, we discussed Laura’s experience getting an IUD, and we have been happy to be getting such thoughtful feedback from listeners.

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This week went by in an absolute flash, which seems to be happening a lot lately. I went to a book club for Modern Romance, checked out the wonderful Capilla del Hombre Guyasamin museum with a new friend, and helped out with a great webinar for work. This weekend we have yoga in the park and hopefully a good amount of reading. Have a wonderful weekend!