5 Things I’m Currently Loving {Recipes, Coffee & Podcasts}

Hey there! How ya holding up? If you’re anything like me, you’ve been up and down. Hopeful and grateful one moment, ugly crying the next. I hope more than anything that you’re letting yourself ride the waves and allowing yourself to feel all the feelings. Numbing out or pretending you’re okay when you’re not will only backfire later (trust me, I would know).

Now, truth be told, I’ve had this post written for a couple weeks now, so apologies that this isn’t totally current. However, I still very much love all these things, and I wanted to share some of them because we could all use a little extra joy right now, yeah? 🙂

I’ve been called lately toward more stillness, more quiet. I’ve been trying this new thing where instead of forcing myself to jump straight into “work” and doing the things I’m “supposed to” do, I let myself do what feels good.

And I’m finding that the “supposed to” stuff gets done anyway, oftentimes in much less time than if I’d muscled my way through it.

Yesterday this looked like waking up, meditating and journaling, then making these coconut flour pancakes (with blueberries inside) and enjoying them over conversation with my mom, along with some really good coffee, and then baking a flourless chocolate cake to have for dessert in the evening (SO GOOD).

And then I practiced guitar, went for a long walk + FaceTime call with my best friend, came home to do a quick and intense hiit workout, took a long shower, prepped and ate dinner, and then sat down to do the assignment I’d been dreading but now felt weirdly excited to do.

And it ended up being so much more enjoyable and painless than I’d anticipated! Ah, the beauty of flow.

Reminds me of this beautiful truth I saw somewhere on Instagram a while ago.

 

So anyway, here’s 5 things I’ve recently been loving.

YouTube Gems

I don’t know about you guys, but lately, I haven’t been wanting to watch anything like a show because it just feels like too much commitment, and frankly, because life feels a bit like a show right now. However, my YouTube love has been alive and well, and I love the bite-sized content that is perfect for a quick pick-me-up break. There’s a lot of good stuff on there right now, as many artists are doing videos of themselves performing, and different talk show hosts have been KILLING IT with their at-home content.

This amazing video of the Dear Evan Hansen cast performing You Will Be Found

Architectural Digest Youtube Channel – there’s something so soothing and, yes, escapist about seeing the beautiful homes showcased here. And it’s really cool to see how celebrities actually live! Oh and just for fun, here’s an SNL spoof of this that literally had me in TEARS.

One World Together At Home Concert – This is 8 straight hours of uplifting gratitude-filled music and love. Lady Gaga put together this socially distanced concert to give thanks to all of the essential workers who are currently holding this world together. The performances were heartfelt and so beautiful, and this just reminded me how universal and magical music is. Put it on in the background throughout your day and just soak in the good vibes. 🙂

Podcasts

Truth be told, I’ve been a bit lax with my podcast consumption because for a time there, I just felt very overwhelmed by different people’s voices. I just felt inundated by everyone’s opinions and felt like I couldn’t figure out how I actually felt because there were so many conflicting voices. Can anyone relate?

However I did suddenly have a craving to relisten to some old The Lively Show gems that I had saved in my archives. This episode with Brene Brown about boundary-setting honestly felt super relevant. It’s all about setting boundaries with the people you love so you can continue to be compassionate toward each other.

And this one with Elizabeth Gilbert is all about creativity that I highly recommend if you’re feeling creatively blocked or like you want to cultivate more creativity in your life, whatever that means to you. They’re both from a few years back, and yet they felt like exactly what I needed to hear. These women are like hugs, and it was nice to hear conversations from the pre-pandemic times. 🙂

But I also listened to and loved this episode of Brene Brown’s new podcast Unlocking Us, which is a little bit about the pandemic but is mostly about showing compassion for yourself in hard times.

And this one on comparative suffering (seeing a lot of that in these times). The best way to describe this podcast is it just makes you feel seen and heard, while also feeling like you’re learning because she is an incredibly knowledgeable researcher. Let me know if you check this one out!

Movement

I always knew how important moving my body is for my overall wellbeing – it’s something I’ve genuinely loved and had as a nonnegotiable part of my lifestyle since freshman year of high school – but perhaps never before has it felt as incredible to move as now, when it feels that we are so confined to one place.

I’m still taking walks when weather allows, making sure to choose off hours when the streets are more empty, and occasionally dodging oncoming people, exchanging small understanding smiles as we do so. I like that I can customize my walks, so to speak, in a way that really works for my soul that day. Sometimes I’ll go down to the water; sometimes I’ll just do laps around my street; sometimes I’ll explore some random residential streets in my neighborhood that I’ve never been to before and admire the houses.

I noticed that while before, I would always want to FaceTime someone on these walks, these days I find myself wanting a bit of silence and stillness instead. So oftentimes it’s just me and my thoughts, and occasionally some good music, or maybe a podcast.

Because I’ve always been an at-home workout kinda gal, the quarantimes haven’t much changed my workout routine. The only difference is there are now a lot more solo dance parties.

Still obsessed with this channel for yoga of all types, this channel for more intense power flows, and these guys for hiit and strength training. And of course I’m still doing my Blogilates. Cassey is the OG.

New Recipes

I have been LOVING experimenting with new recipes lately. I don’t do anything too complex because most of the time, I don’t feel up to that, and just want to relax when I cook, but I love that it gives me a chance to focus on something that is not the news or my phone or…It takes me away from screens, and also just feels like a piece of joy I can intentionally savor.

Here are some awesome things I made recently.

Homemade hummus (SO GOOD)

Homemade tahini (heh needed this for the hummus, and happened to have a random stockpile of sesame seeds in the pantry)

Healthier Tuna Noodle Casserole (so delicious and uber comforting)

My fave “fast food meal” of chicken tenders and guac.

This fantastical goat cheese apple omelet. Seriously, don’t knock it till you try it.

In baking news, I made a couple of old favorites for comfort’s sake. These flourless peanut butter zucchini brownies (so dreamy, and you can’t taste the zucchini!) and these flourless pb chocolate chip cookies (easiest, most delish recipe ever and sweetened with just a ripe banana).

I also made this blueberry muffin bread, except I used spelt flour and way less sugar, so it had this really hearty almost savory texture and was delicious with cheese (weird?).

Made these almond flour chocolate chip cookies that were a HIT in my household.

I also made three different kinds of banana bread (because it’s basically the official food of quarantine right?) – this marbled banana bread that is more dense and chewy and is a really satisfying snack, this old fave healthy banana bread (with extra chocolate chips, always), and this new nourishing almond flour banana bread that totally stole my heart. Clear winner and one of the best banana breads I have EVER made.

Great Coffee

Good coffee is one of those simple joys that just feels really necessary for me right now.

My two favorite coffeeshops in NYC are La Colombe and Birch Coffee, and though I miss both terribly, I am incredibly fortunate to have been able to keep enjoying both right from the comfort of my home.

My lovely friend Midwestern Boy (longtime readers, who remembers? 😉 ) sent me the sweetest package of oat milk draft lattes from La Colombe. I might have cried when I opened it it’s fine.

And then I’ve also been supporting the lovely Birch by purchasing their whimsically perfect (and necessary) “quarantine survival kit.” If you guys are in the NYC region, definitely go ahead and get this! Or just their beans. They’re doing some really amazing things right now and definitely deserve all the love, support, and thanks.

But like, if you’re anything like me, the pure delight alone of this trio is enough to purchase it (and let’s be real, no one would say no to an extra roll of TP in these times).

 

And there you have it! Can you tell me in the comments if you relate to any of these? Or maybe you have some things of your own that you’d like to share. I’d love to hear what you’ve been loving lately. Let’s spread some joy down below. 🙂

Hoping to talk to you all soon; I really missed you. Stay safe and keep your head up. <3