Day 31: Connection, Together

Savor the connection with another being. A lake counts, as does a tree, a bird suddenly on your windowsill, a potted plant.

You know when your cat looks at you and you just know that she is thinking "oh yes, now is the time that I am going to (like every night) race around the apartment all wide-eyed and pretend that I do not understand that you're trying to make the bed. I am going to (like every night) run under the sheets and race around and cause you to squeal. This is our game!"

Play the Memory game with a kid and secretly chuckle and feel your heart swim over with love when the kid decides to "help" you when it's your turn by peeking under the boards just a leeetle.

Those times when you're plowing through a DVD box with someone, and an episode ends, and you look at each other and say, "another one?"

When such moments happen, drop your shoulders and your to-do list, melt into the moment and savor it. Time expands, or stands still. You're calm, and happy. Abundance.

Thank you so much for reading along this series! The 31 days have now come to an end, and the project is finished. To celebrate, there's going to be a little after-party tomorrow afternoon, November 1, 2014: I'll post some notes on the project, share some links, and I'd be happy to answer your questions about "31 Days to More Abundance" - please feel free to leave a question in the comments. See you tomorrow!

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!

Day 30: New Beets

Today, I have some new beets for you:

Friends, you are looking at a variety of the beetroot called "Polka" in Swedish and "Candy cane" in my translation. I am happy to report that I have now tried this type of beet twice, and I love it! Who knew that you could grow beets like this!

Let's take a closer look:

this is what the candy cane beets look like unpeeled. To cook the beets, I cut off the root part and the stem part, halved and/or quartered the beets, and cooked them for about 15 minutes in salted water.

As you look at these gorgeous roots, you might be thinking, what stunning beauties, I am going to show off with them very much. Well, hold your horses, because this is as pretty as it gets. Cooked, my candy cane beets lost much of their color and most of the pattern. (I don't know if cooking the beets whole would have made a difference.) One last look at these pretty ones,

and here is the cooked version (below). Note that the beets are already peeled in this picture, and I tried to make them look as attractive as possible.

What do candy cane beets taste like, then? They taste great. Like regular beets, but a little sweeter. I used these beets in a warm potato salad with cannellini beans, feta-like cheese, and fried button mushrooms. The candy cane beets lent lovely pops of color to the salad without making everything pink like regular beets would maybe do.

More beets?
Here are some beets that my friend grew and how to cook them (in Latvian).
Here is a beet-fennel cream soup I made from Gwyneth Paltrow's book "It's All Good".
And here is a traditional Latvian soup that we only make and eat during summer, when it's unbearably hot outside, our "cold soup" prominently featuring beets.

Finally, it is thanks to this post that I have a renewed interest in beets.

I hope you feel abundance when you try a new vegetable or a new root, and like it. I do.

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!

Day 29: Why Is There Sand in My Handbag?

Today's abundance tip is this:

whenever you can, empty your handbag at the end of the day. Nine times out of ten, you'll thank yourself for doing so.

I came to this realization one day when I was pawing through my bag in search of something and suddenly I felt sand there, rough grains of sand.

Why is there sand in my handbag?, I thought. There was no sand, but I had put a couple of digestive cookies in my bag "for later", cookies that I had forgotten about and carried with me for a good week or two, during which they'd crumbled to "sand".

When you empty your bag at night, you'll often find:
- food that can be popped in the fridge and eaten later
- an important receipt that you want to save
- some brochure or other piece of paper that you want to read later, but won't get around to for a while and will probably keep on carrying with you for a while (paper weighs a lot)
- your planner that you needed to take a look at anyway
- your overstuffed wallet (edit!)
- your phone that needs charging
- shoes (need to be aired)
- random tissues or handkerchiefs
- a water bottle that needs to be rinsed out
and much, much more.

I hope you feel abundance next time you have the energy to give your bag the once over (I'm not saying empty your bag completely and shake it out every night, a once over is enough). The feeling of abundance - if not immediately as you're unpacking the bag (old plastic wrapper from some sandwiches, nice), then the morning after, when you pick up your bag on your way out the door and feel that you did something seemingly small, but important, for yourself.

Here are two things that I also often carry with me: this, and this. I read in a glossy ladies' magazine that some women carry hard-boiled eggs in their purses for the perfect power snack on the go. I have yet to try this. I am fascinated (a hard-boiled egg in your handbag, really? A quick snack between those meetings? Almost the same as whipping out an apple, yeah?), but I am not saying no.

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!

Day 28: Stress Busters

What often gets in the way of feeling abundance? Thoughts that stress us out. Today, I'll tell you about two things that help me stress less, smile more:

1. "Un-dramatize!" This is something I learned from a very wise teacher. ("Avdramatisera" in Swedish.) Un-dramatize means don't give whatever is stressing you out so much power. Un-dramatize is the fastest way to help yourself feel calmer almost right that instant.
I usually say to myself (can't remember which book I got this from, M.J.Ryan, probably) - "millions of people in the world right now are experiencing this/going through this. You'll be fine."
Example: you're late for something for some reason, and you start to spin around and stress out. Un-dramatize! So, you're a little late. Millions of people in the world are late, we're human, that's life. You'll be just fine. And just like that, you can act more calmly, have your wits about you, and maybe even make it on time.

2. Sometimes, if I'm lucky, I'll remember to think of some funny, talented people when I'm stressed out. I cannot simultaneously think of Will Ferrell and be stressed out. I just start to smile. The same goes for Owen Wilson (I love his work in "You, Me and Dupree").

I'll end with one of my favorite quotes from Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy:

"I don't know how to put this, but I'm kind of a big deal. (...) I have many leather-bound books, and my apartment smells of rich mahogany." 

Don't you feel better already?

Photo sources: 1, 2, 3. ´

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!

Day 27: Some Very Neat Feelings

Welcome to Day 27 of 31 Days to More Abundance! To read all the posts in this series, head here. Today's post was first published on September 28, 2013. For this post, I'm adding one new neat feeling at the end of this list, a feeling that makes me feel abundance in that way when you almost feel relief and well-being course through you whole body. Enjoy!

1. Settling in for a long drive
2. When you pick up your face cream and the jar feels heavy (=won't need to get a new one for a while)
3. Seeing that one of your favorite bloggers has posted again
4. Finding one more of something you thought you were out of
5. Putting on brand new dish-washing gloves
6. When you need to wrap a present in a hurry and you find you have everything you need on hand, and it's pretty
7. Seeing a bee gather honey from something you've planted

8. Being on time, a little early even
9. When your favorite magazine comes in the mail, and you discover that it's really thick this time
10. Slipping into clean sheets
11. When you recognize a moment that calls for kindness, and you choose to be kind
12. When you're in for the night

Happy Autumn!

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!

Day 26: Craftsmanship

Craftsmanship and the feeling of abundance go hand in hand for me. Earlier this fall, I had the pleasure of experiencing not one, but two types of craftsmanship in one day.

I did not know that there is a Latvian company that builds such luxurious beds and headboards (see below) right there in Latvia. I'm glad I happened to visit the store and showroom of Nakts Mēbeles, and even happier about the fact that I got to learn a bit more about the materials and how the beds are made, and that there is an actual old factory restored that's in use today. I loved the hot cocoa color of this headboard:

and the texture of the fabric was so cozy.

Very neat details, and I also loved 

this gallery wall (below) with the company history in photographs. I love the browns and the creams, and the gold here.

I am fascinated by people who are experts at something, people who are passionate about their thing, people who put in the time. It was therefore a pleasure to meet Žanis Raivo Behmanis, the sous-chef of the restaurant Kuk Buk, the creator of this:

My friend and I were presented with this "compliments from the chef" dessert tasting menu. I was very excited and so happy that someone would take the time to create something so beautiful. My friend said that a tasting menu like this would be an excellent ice-breaker for first dates, and I agree - there's nothing like bonding over a new experience, nothing like exploring all these tastes on one plate. I loved that the overall dessert theme was so Nordic early autumn:

we were treated to beetroot mousse made with cottage cheese and served with lingonberry chutney (above), pumpkin cream, a truffle brownie, meringue and a smoked apple jam.  And why not decorate with baby salads? Pretty and delicious. There were also raspberries and blueberries, the whole plate was a wonderful surprise, but the best part was getting to meet the chef and talking to him briefly about what's cooking now and in the future.

For another lovely combination, take a look at this chocolate-basil cake.

New here? Happy to see you! You can read all the posts in this 31 day series here.

Note: This is not a sponsored post.

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!

Day 25: Culture Codes

One of my favorite things to read is culture codes. There's almost nothing like being on the other side of the world and suddenly you see something that reminds you of home (like a Norwegian salmon sandwich for breakfast in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, or seeing a long hauler from your country when you're far away from home). The more places you get to know, the more codes you learn. Today, a very Swedish phenomenon for you. Who can tell me what this is?

I first encountered this in a print ad, and I thought it was broccoli cream soup or similar. Well, kids, you're actually looking at a Princess Cake, a classic Swedish cake.
Let's take a closer look:

as you can see, the cake consists of a simple "sugar cake" sponge layered with seedless raspberry jam, vanilla cream, and whipped cream. All of this is topped with green marzipan. One important thing to know here is that in Sweden, whipped cream is always made without sugar (which was a shock for this Latvian to discover).

So while the Princess cake might look very heavy and sugary, the unsweetened whipped cream in combination with the raspberry jam actually makes for a very "fresh" tasting cake (if you remove the marzipan cover, which is meant to be eaten, but it also makes this cake too sweet for me).

To get neat slices, run your knife under hot water, quickly shake the knife off and cut (no need to dry the knife with a towel). Run the knife under hot water after each cut.

The Princess cake comes in different marzipan colors (pink, yellow, white, and even blue), but this lime green is the classic version.

I hope you enjoyed learning about this classic Swedish treat. 

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!

Day 24: Smooth Moves

Today's abundance tip: if you would like to be happy for almost the entire time while you vacuum the floor, do this -

replace the glider pads of your vacuum cleaner. Glider what? The small pieces of felt-like fabric that were once glued to the hard, flat plastic areas of your vacuum cleaner nozzle. The soft pieces that are now probably so worn out they're hardly even attached anymore.

I've done this a couple of times, and the effect of this tiny action is fantastic. Suddenly, the vacuum and I glide around. It feels almost like an infomercial. (Note that glider pads of this type work best on hard floors, like linoleum or wood. Carpet vacuuming is different.)

This time, I did not try to find glider pads that would be an exact or a close match to my vacuum cleaner model. I bought the cheapest glider pad pack that I could find (at the grocery store), and just improvised with sticking the tiny grey felt-like pieces on the nozzle.

I had prepared the nozzle by removing whatever was left of the old glider pads, and I also made sure the plastic was free of any dust or dirt. I stuck the self-adhesive pieces on, and then decided to wait at least overnight so that the glue would really take (not sure if it was necessary, but it made sense to wait).

Also, I am saving the "skeleton" (the part of the glider pad that was left over once I removed all the pre-cut pieces, you can see it in the baggie in the picture above) - there is glue on the back of the entire square, so I'll just cut out creative pieces when it's time to replace some worn out ones.

Bonus abundance tip today: All this glue talk reminded me of a great book by Marina Lewycka, We Are All Made of Glue. I absolutely loved it. If you're looking for a book that will feel like you have a smart and compassionate friend to come home to, this book is it.

Note: This is not a sponsored post.

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!

Day 23: Gratitude

"Gratitude is magic." - M.J.Ryan

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!

Day 22: Imperfect

Today, I am inviting abundance by

accepting imperfect.

I got these kitty and puppy stickers on sale, and I'm thinking of using these stickers for address labels for my Christmas cards this year. No, they won't match. Nope, this pale pink and muddy mint - not Christmas colors. No, they're not my dream Christmas labels. But I'm thinking that addressing a few stickers now will maybe help me get the Christmas cards out on time this year. Imperfect, but it might just work. I'm starting to stockpile non-Christmassy stamps, too.

I received a card in the mail yesterday - a "real" envelope among the bills, with my friend's handwriting on it. Seeing it was such a treat; it made me so happy. Here's hoping that come December, an envelope with a "sad kitty face" address label might bring a friend a smile after a tough day.

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!

Day 21: Create

Every fall my city organizes a Culture Night. It's free, open for all, and this one-night festival has grown so much over the years that you could walk around all night and there would still be new surprises to discover. One of the most striking pieces I saw this year was this -

a flower dress made by Ellika Daunfeldt and Emelie Smedeby of the florist school Floristutbildarna. The piece is called "Nature's Haute Couture", and it was on display at our art museum. I just love all the details, and I am in awe of all this creativity.

Below is the front of the dress, with a few more details:

those two soft grasses on the shoulder strap - so beautiful.

I am so grateful that I got to see this piece live. Today's abundance thought is this:

when someone makes something that takes your breath away, enjoy it - every morsel, take it all in, because this enjoyment will make you create something amazing in turn.

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!

Day 20: Go Out and See Things

... and let yourself be surprised. Like what you like. Allow yourself to imagine.

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!

Day 19: You'll So Thank Yourself For Doing This Come Christmas

Today's idea for creating more abundance in your life is this:

organize your address book. Yes, it's a big job, but you'll be so glad you did it.

I hadn't majorly edited my address book for quite a while, so every time I'd need to look up an address quickly, I would need to be super careful about not scattering all the notes I had tucked inside the covers "to be filed away later".

While editing, some decisions were easy - get rid of any duplicates, throw away anything that's outdated. Yet other decisions - you tell me. What do you do with phone numbers and business cards of your grandparents who've passed away? (I miss you.) Throw away a card with your grandma's handwriting on it? (I didn't.)

As a result of this edit, I realized I need to stick all the wedding programs and birth announcements in a separate box. I also cannot bring myself to chuck envelopes that the kids in my life have addressed to me - seeing their handwriting just goes straight to my heart, and makes me want to be a better person. So I am open to the idea that some pages in my address book will resemble a scrap book.

I am not completely done with the "big edit", but I'm happy with the progress I've made. Now for the title of this post - from this point on, I am officially gearing up for this year's Christmas cards. Writing Christmas cards is one of my favorite traditions ever. My now much neater address book will be a pleasure to work with.

Finally, a super realistic bonus tip: snap a picture with your phone of the two or three addresses you use the most but don't know by heart. I've done this, and I look the addresses up in my phone (among the pictures) all the time.

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!

Day 18: Apples and Oranges, With No Sticky Hands

I don't mind eating an apple (or an orange) for a snack from time to time. What I do mind is getting apple juice on my hands. Here's my solution:

I slice and core the apple, pop the slices in this little container, and bring it with me. Then I eat the apple slices with a fork. The same principle applies to oranges. You're welcome.

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!

Day 17: Choose to Notice Abundance Right Now

Abundance: open your eyes and look at all that you already have. Instead of thinking that maybe I should plant some heather and decorative cabbage (a very classic Scandinavian autumn thing to do), I choose to

appreciate how much of my summer garden is still blooming. I sowed these little beauties back in February, and look at them bloom their little hearts out today, on October 17! (We've been having a very mild autumn.)

What will you notice today?

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!

Day 16 : Closed loop "recycling"

Today I'd like to tell you about a very neat way to create abundance for you and for your neighbors:

start a "free stuff" place.

In my building, we have one wall near the elevator bank that is the dedicated "free stuff" place. Got something that's not useful to you anymore, but it'd be a pity to just throw it away? Stick it by the "free stuff" wall!

Not everyone bothers to make a sign that says "free stuff", but we've put things there for so long that by now, everyone knows that anything that is put by that wall is fair game.

Just recently I scored nine (nine!) DVDs. That is quite a few hours of absolutely free entertainment - thank you, my neighbor!

What is absolutely perfect about the "free stuff" wall is that this "swap" requires no actual and potentially awkward contact with your neighbors. Your old stuff moves on, which is absolutely perfect from the environment point of view, and it takes you almost no time at all to do this good deed.

Examples of things I've "recycled" this way is books, house plants, magazines, flower pots, DVDs, and old balcony chairs.  I am amazed that everything goes, usually in a matter of hours.

What could you stand to remove from your home today? Is there an item that's not serving you anymore, but would make someone else's day?

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!

Day 15: A Warm Meal

Thank goodness for leftovers.

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!

Day 14: The Simplest Recipe

The simplest recipe for more abundance is this -

go out in nature. I need to be out in the woods just like I need coffee, and just like I need the internet sometimes. Look at what I discovered recently -

how beautiful this light, puffy type of moss looks together with the still green leaves and ferns. The moss looks almost like snow, but it's not, and the green against the pale, pale green, almost silvery white of the moss looks so lush and happy. It's like a winter fairy-tale in autumn; magic.

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!

Day 13: Navigate

I've mentioned before that for me, the feeling of abundance is often tied to the feeling of mastery. "I'm good at this. I've got this. I did it." Today's tip is in that vein:

When you get directions to a place, don't forget to think about how you'll get back home. It isn't always as easy as simply turning around and going back the same way you came from. See the tunnel with four lanes above, where you need to make decisions about exits.

Side note for anyone who plans on driving through Stockholm: in my limited experience, it is almost always awesome. People are very courteous and let you merge, even when you realize you need to change lanes at the very last moment. I didn't get honked at once.

I have an extra tip for you today:

if you print out the directions, and after the trip, if you think there's even the slightest chance you'll need to drive to that place again, save the directions in the glove compartment of your car.

You might not remember half a year from now exactly which exit you needed to take, or you'll need to drive there when it's pitch black out and you can't see many landmarks, or your GPS, or the internet in your phone might not work properly. "Worst case" scenario, you'll have some scrap paper to write your grocery list on, or you'll be able to jot down a few ideas while stuck in the car with nothing else for entertainment.

Are you new here? I am so happy to see you! Here is the first post in this series, 31 Days to More Abundance.

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!

Day 12: Bulbs

This autumn, the hope that maybe, just maybe, I could one morning wake up to tulip blooms on the balcony won over the feeling that it's probably not possible to have the tulip bulbs survive winter in a pot on the balcony. So, ladies and gentlemen, I now have

three pots of tulip bulbs planted out on the balcony! As you can see in the picture below, I planted the bulbs way too close together (the package said the bulbs should be spaced 10cm from each other). I also read that you should put sand in the holes so that the roots can take easier. I wasn't sure where to get sand right away, so I just used regular planting soil. Please imagine with me how incredibly neat it would be if these tulips really grew and bloomed come spring! I chose two "fancier" varieties -

the more round and almost peony-like "Black Hero", that will be a deep purple/burgundy color, and then an orange-light green variety called "Apricot Parrot".

I then chose three (cheaper) bulbs at the supermarket form the big "mystery bins". The three I picked should be white (from the box with a white tulip on it), and two more large bulbs from a truly mystery mix box. I cannot wait to see what happens.

What I need to do now is find out about insulation - how to insulate the flower pots to give the bulbs a chance. If you know of anyone who's successfully raised tulips in containers, on a balcony, and maybe even blogs about it, please do let me know in the comments!

I am setting an additional challenge for myself - to not only insulate the flower pots well, but to also make them sightly, using what I already have and or can get very cheaply.

Planting the bulbs was a leap of faith, but it made me think of spring, and flowers, and that made me feel abundance.

Thank you very much for reading this 31 day series, 31 Days to More Abundance!

If you'd like to read some more about container gardening on a balcony, here is a post on the purpose of a garden and some shots of my winter garden (the last paragraph is in English), and here are my thoughts on growing tomatoes on the balcony.

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!

Day 11: Cake

Sometimes, abundance means letting go of something. Sometimes, it's OK to serve your friends store brought cake. Yes, even though

there are expectations; even though you would have loved to bake a cake, or even a pie, or even "just" muffins.

Today, abundance for me was trusting that my friends would enjoy my company anyway.

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!

Day 10: Beauty for All

Next time you're driving in a roundabout, or waiting by an entrance to a mall, or when you're in any other public outdoor space, notice this -

what trees, plants, and flowers are planted there.

To me, public greenery is an art form. I love to imagine how maybe there are meetings to decide what flowers to use (probably can't use plants that are too expensive, or require very much care), what colors, how the flowerbed is going to evolve from spring to autumn, etc.

And all this beauty, it's free for us to take in. Notice, it's all around you.

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!

Day 9: More Cheese

Welcome to Day 9 of 31 Days to More Abundance! Today's tip is cheese-related:

instead of wrapping that last bit of cheese in some plastic, do grate it right away. What last bit of cheese, you might be wondering.

That's the bit that you have left over in your fridge when you come home from the store with a nice new block of cheese. I always open the new cheese and wrap the "last bit" in some plastic to be used "later".

"Later" use is usually to chuck it (unfortunately), because it has grown some mold. So let's all try to, from now on, to grate the "last bit" right away. Grated cheese is just so much easier to toss on top of an omelette, on top of some warm pasta and broccoli, on top of - well, on top of anything, really. Agreed?

Here is a recipe of a quick and easy, and warm, cheese snack.

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!

Day 8: It's the Little Things

Sometimes I'd like to be all macho and minimalist and be able to do all kitchen-related things with one knife. While I do try to keep kitchen items and cooking utensils to a minimum, today's tip is this:

it's OK to have one tiny knife whose only purpose is to cut out bell pepper seeds. I don't use the little knife above for anything else. I use a different knife to cut the bell pepper in quarters, and then switch to this little knife, because it fits into my hand just so, and is so absolutely perfect for removing bell pepper seeds.

Sometimes it's the tiniest things that make us happy. This is one of mine.

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais, and for following along this series of 31 Days to More Abundance!

Day 7: The Fastest Way to Look Up Your Go-To Recipe

When it comes to my favorite muffins, I want to be always ready to whip them up. I don't want to have to look in my recipe folder, I don't want to turn on the computer, or look the recipe up on a device. So here is what works for me:

I've taped the recipe on the inside of a kitchen cabinet door.

All I need to do now is just crack the cabinet door a little, and there it is. Sometimes, I don't even read the whole recipe, I just scan the ingredients for the correct amounts of sugar, etc.

In my everyday life, I don't even notice that the recipe is there, and since this little piece of paper is taped to the inside of the cabinet door, it in no way disrupts the calm of just white cupboard doors on the outside.

Here is the recipe and the muffin post. While the post is in Latvian, it does also feature a picture of a stunning succulent!

Note: This is not a sponsored post.

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!

Day 6: Snack Time

You know how you can go months without ever once thinking about peanuts, and then as soon as you hear the words "in-flight menu", you absolutely need to have a packet of about 11 peanuts (for a price of way too many euros)? My answer to this is

almonds.

They're non-greasy, so you can just chuck a handful in your bag if need be. I carry a cloth bag with me almost all the time, so the almonds go there.

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!

Day 5: The Most Stylish Travel Accessory of All

The most stylish travel accessory of all is this -

water.

Whether you're travelling to another country or another city, or between two errands, do drink water. Everything seems more abundant when you're well hydrated.

Be generous with yourself. If you get thirsty at the grocery store check-out lane, buy yourself some water. Don't wait until you get home; it's water, and you need it. You're smart and you'll find a way to recover the cost of a few bottles of water.

See you tomorrow for Day 6 of 31 Days to More Abundance!

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais!