Gypsy Spell

She dances to the songs in her head, 

Speaks with the rhythm of her heart, 

And loves from the depths of her soul. 

- Dean Jackson

SNOB

Rice Paper Rolls

Last night my girlfriend and I decided to make Rice paper rolls filled to the brim with yummy goodness. They are so quick and easy to make, really healthy and oh so satisfying. I could probably eat these all day every day.

Ingredients:

• Rice paper sheets
• Tofu
• Carrot, cut into thin strips
• Cucumber, cut into thin strips
• Mint
• Spring onion
• Vermicelli noodles
• Coconut oil

Sauce:

• Natural peanut butter
• Hoisin sauce

Sauce:

Mix the natural crunchy peanut butter and  tablespoon of Hoisin Sauce together until combined. 

Rolls:

Pan fry tofu with a tiny bit of coconut oil for several minutes until both sides are a nice golden brown.

Place the noodles into deep bowl/dish and pour enough hot water over noodles to cover them. Leave to soak until softened.

Once soft, drain soaked noodles to remove all excess water.

Chop raw carrot and cucumber into thin strips (you can boil 

or slightly pan fry the vegetables if you desire).

Pick the mint leaves off the stalk and place them to the side with the chopped carrot and cucumber.

Remove cooked tofu and cut into thin strips

Grab a shallow plate and pour an even amount of warm water onto dish

Dip the rice paper sheets into warm water until completely covered. Remove and place on dry plate.

Do not soak paper sheets

Place ingredients 1/3 across the rice paper. Add sauce and fold accordingly.

Here is a delicious recipe that is currently my go to meal. You can also mix the rice paper rolls up by adding different sources of protein such as chicken or tuna, other vegetables and good natural fats such as avocado.  Food for the soul, enjoy. 

xx

Love Story

A creamy piece of parchment, laced with a vintage doily, wrapped with twine and finished off with a bow. 

Vintage and simple yet elegantly chic; everything an engagement invitation should be.

Drawing on their love of all things vintage, the bride and groom to be, started organising their engagement party. If their invitation was anything to go by I could not wait to attend the festivities and throw myself into all things old fashioned and fabulous. Fast forward several months and I am walking into a sea of velvet and vintage; needless to say I was in love. Here is a little sneak peek of the beautiful couple.
xx

Handmade flower crown designed and made by Fox & the Fallow. Amazing!

Share the Love

Life is short. Love, live and learn. Whether you are with someone special, by yourself or hanging with friends, I hope you had an amazing day. Happy Valentines Day, sharing all the love

Ps I am totally loving this flower ;) 

Working 9 − 5

If you are anything like me and you sit behind a desk all day you could actually be doing your body a lot of harm.

According to an article from TIME there was a large analyses done involving both men and women of varying ages, that showed ‘people who spent more hours of the day sitting were more likely to develop a host of health problems.’ These health problems ranged from diabetes, obesity to even Cancer. This got me thinking about how much I actually sit and the amount of harm I might be doing to my body.

Here is my ‘sitting day’ in a nutshell. From the moment I leave my front door and catch the 40 minute train and bus ride to work I am sitting. If a seat is available I will grab it without a second thought and plonk my small booty down on that cushiony comfort. From the bus stop to my work is approximately a two minute walk and then I am back to sitting again. I will stay in this position for the majority of my working day exerting the same physical activity as a sloth. When I leave I am again sitting on some form of public transport.

Home time usually equals relax time. This involves sitting down enjoying a delicious meal, having a glass of wine with gfs (obviously sitting), blogging or laying down and reading. Even as I type this I am mentally going through how much I sit and it is making me quite terrified.

From the information I have gathered through both the article in TIME and having watched an amazing TED talk by Nilofer Merchant called Got a meeting? Take a walk,  our bodies burn as little as 300 calories during work hours because of the sedentary nature of sitting. Compare this to a pre-school teacher who is constantly on their feet, getting up and down. The active nature of their job alone will burn approximately 1300 calories. By sitting we are slowing down our system not to mention our metabolic rate (oh no stay away obesity).

Now that I have officially panicked myself into sitting hysteria, it is time to implement ways to improve my sedentary work lifestyle. This is hard because I generally don’t like to make rules that say I have to do this and I can’t do that. However, for the sake of my second persona, aka a sitting sloth, I will make some exceptions. Here is what I plan to do: 

• Exercise regularly in my lunch breaks. I don't care if it is a stroll for an hour catching up on workplace gossip at least my body is up and moving about
• Filling my body with wholesome, healthy foods. Even if my body is sedentary at least it is being nourished. Be gone sloth.
• Instead of taking the elevator two floors down, stairs will become my best friend.
• Finally I am going to try and implement a standing desk into my work space. For a minimum of an hour a day I will work from the standing desk just to get out of the regular habit of sitting all the time 

There are so many other changes I can make but for now I will try and stick to these four beauties. Even now the concept of taking the stairs instead of my old friend the elevator is not too appealing. Wish me luck.

Love from Sitting-sloth-soon-to-be-standing-goddess

xxxx

Photos by the ever gorgeous Eleanor Landford Photography and Design