Eating, Reading & Watching Lately

I hope your weekend is going well! My weekend has been exactly what I needed – a perfect mix of friends and relaxation. While Geneva’s weather was less than stellar, gray and gloomy, it worked out quite well. I had no desire to leave the house today other than a short walk to Le Pain Quotidien and to take out the recycling. Luckily, our hike yesterday provided us with a break from the gloomy weather, as we discovered blue sky and sunshine above the clouds! I’ll save the rest of the details and pictures for tomorrow’s post, but safe to say it was another gorgeous Geneva adventure!

I spent five hours hiking yesterday with friends and then hosted a girlfriend for dinner, which means that I was able to enjoy some time in the kitchen cooking and baking! I went to bed exhausted last night at midnight, after falling asleep while watching The Holiday with a girlfriend. Waking up naturally, after 9.5 hours of sleep, was the perfect way to start this relaxing Sunday.

Most of today, this has been my view, save for an hour I’ve spent folding clothes and the other hour spent writing letters to friends and family. I’ve kept up with my note writing habit and am now mailing an average of 3 notes per week.

Today I wanted to take a break from reading and relaxing to share a few of the things I’ve loved this week ranging from recipes, YouTube videos, and articles.

Eating

This 10-minute pumpkin pie oatmeal was delicious and made six days worth of breakfasts! I just whipped up another batch today! As an FYI, I altered the recipe to include two scoops of protein powder along with only using a quarter of the brown sugar.

These pumpkin oatmeal chocolate chip cookies came out perfectly even when baked after a bottle of wine and cutting the recipe in half!

This pumpkin chili, flavorful and filling, was the perfect dinner last night to warm our souls on a cold Geneva evening. I added some extra veggies such as chopped peppers and a bit of spice to the recipe, but it’s a keeper. I loved that it was satiating even with the omission of meat.

We are hosting 21 people for Thanksgiving on Thursday night, and I think this pumpkin bean dip could be the perfect, easy appetizer to make!

As if she read my mind, Anne posted this healthy, homemade cranberry sauce recipe just as I was writing my Thanksgiving shopping list!

Reading & Watching

Even though I’m not as familiar with Amy Poehler as many people are, I’m enjoying her book Yes Please and really identified  with and appreciated her chapter on apologies.

In keeping with Amy Poehler and reading the book, I’ve spent some time on YouTube watching SNL clips referenced in the book. If you need a laugh, check out this hilarious clip from the 2008 Sarah Palin era.

This article is a good reminder that spending too much time on our devices is not only bad for the mind sometimes but also our neck. Just another reminder to keep going to yoga and put down the device.

I saw this inspiring video posted on no less than 20 of my Facebook friend’s pages this weekend and finally clicked through yesterday. Twelve minutes later I was a puddle of tears.

Have you watched Madame Secretary yet? If you like West Wing, Scandal, The Good Wife or other political dramas, you’ll love this new series. Bo and I both LOVE it!

Inspired by Meghann’s Instagram pictures yesterday, I had to click through to this article  about one persons experience visiting each Disney Park when I saw it on New York Times this morning!

Your turn: What are you eating, reading or watching lately?