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.

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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.

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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!

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Day 4: When I Do This, My Kitchen Confidence Increases By 100 Percent

Welcome to Day 4 of 31 Days to More Abundance!
Today's tiny thing that makes me feel accomplished and happy is this: Always put a wrung-out dishcloth under the cutting board.

At a party about ten years ago, I was about to chop something when a friend of ours took a dishcloth, ran it under water, wrung it out, and placed it under the cutting board. Here, he said. And my life has never been the same.

Try this once, and you'll see what a sturdy work area you get. The cutting board won't slide around, so you can chop with confidence, even carrots and other tough roots.

This tall, lanky dude who studied biochemistry by day, worked as a chef at a nightclub on the side. He also taught me that you can cut potatoes in quarters (not just half them) if you want them to boil faster (I believe I was making French potato salad and my party had started, oh, about an hour ago). Quarter the potatoes! Why not? What was I afraid would happen?

Back to the green dishcloth in the picture above - these types of kitchen cloths might be a European thing, but a regular dish towel wrung out works well, too (just make sure to really flatten it out under the board). In real life, I always have the dishcloth lined up straight under the board--in the picture above I angled the green cloth so it would be easier for you to see what I'm talking about. Also, usually I use a much larger cutting board and so this cloth completely disappears under the board, and that is fine, that's the idea.

Thank you for stopping by Pieliekamais! (What is "pieliekamais"? "The pantry" in Latvian)

Day 3: Hide Things (Yes, In Your Own Home)

For more abundance, create a secret stash of things you absolutely don't want to run out of. Usually I'm all about making do with what I have at home if it means I can skip going to the store at night (latviski: iztiksim ar to, kas ir). There are, however, a few non-negotiables:

coffee, coffee filters, milk, and, ahem, toilet paper.

The idea is to "hide" (from yourself) a few filters, a package of coffee, a roll of toilet paper, somewhere where it'll be logical to find it, but at the same time you shouldn't be able to see this stuff every day (since then you'll know you have it and you'll end up using this stash without creating a back-up plan). In the picture above, you can see a few coffee filters peaking out from a milk jug--they're almost next to my "regular stash" (far right).

Other items to consider for your secret stash: a ration or two of your dog's food (for your dog, obviously), some toothpaste, shampoo, and cotton pads for removing make-up.

Milk is probably the only item on this list that will make me put on shoes and go to the store (I love fresh milk in my morning cup of coffee too much).

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Day 2: The One Thing to Carry in Your Make-Up Bag (Besides a Band-Aid, a Tiny Hairbrush, and Pain-Relief)

This is something I learned from my fabulous Mom - always carry some chocolate with you, especially if you just thought, "yes, but I'm trying to eat healthier", or if you, like me, are not even very into chocolate.

Here's what a couple of squares of chocolate can do for you:

Best case scenario, you'll eat the chocolate in some fabulous setting like when you're on a flight and you get a cup of coffee, and a piece of chocolate is just what would make the moment absolutely perfect.

"Worst" case scenario, you'll remember/discover you have the chocolate when you're stuck somewhere and can't get food for a while.

For me, dark chocolate works best. Whenever I'm in Latvia, I get these Laima (the biggest and oldest brand of Latvian chocolate) ones, because of the double happiness booster: I get a sweet treat, and it makes me think of home.

Note: This is not a sponsored post. Also, the actual bag of necessities that I carry with me is much larger than this little sequined one.

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Day 1: The One Kitchen Item It Really Pays Off to Have Clean

Welcome to 31 Days to More Abundance!

We each have our own definition of abundance. To me, abundance is the feeling of having plenty, accompanied by a certain calm and gratefulness. Abundance to me is also about the feeling of mastery, or "life hacks" - the little things that make you feel like "I've got this".

How can we create more abundance, right now? That's what I'll be thinking about for the next 30 days.

For me, a big part of feeling abundance in my life is creating a loving, soothing feeling for my future self. You know those times when you think to yourself, "I better do this now, because I probably won't have time to do it later, or I will feel rushed and I'll probably forget"?

Then, when the moment comes and you happen to be rushed, the gratefulness that washes over you when you discover that you've thought ahead - you've put the keys by the door, for example, or - here comes one of my favorite tips - the one kitchen item it really pays off to have clean.

Have a clean frying pan waiting for when you get home. For me, a clean frying pan is often the difference between a quick warm meal, and sandwich night. There's nothing wrong with sandwich night, but an omelette and sandwiches, or sauteed zucchini and cheese sandwiches sound so much better when I'm thinking about dinner as I head home.

This tip works for pots, also, and the aloe plant is there just for show.

See you tomorrow for Day 2 to More Abundance!

Here are all the posts in this series, 31 Days to More Abundance:
Day 2: The One Thing to Carry in Your Make-Up Bag (Besides a Band-Aid, a Tiny Hairbrush, and Pain-Relief)
Day 3: Hide Things (Yes, In Your Own Home)
Day 4: When I Do This, My Kitchen Confidence Increases By 100 Percent
Day 5: The Most Stylish Travel Accessory Of All
Day 6: Snack Time
Day 7: The Fastest Way to Look up Your Go-to Recipe
Day 8: It's the Little Things
Day 9: More Cheese
Day 10: Beauty for All
Day 11: Cake
Day 12: Bulbs
Day 13: Navigate
Day 14: The Simplest Recipe
Day 15: A Warm Meal
Day 16: Closed Loop "Recycling"
Day 17: Choose to Notice Abundance Right Now
Day 18: Apples and Oranges, with No Sticky Hands
Day 19: You'll So Thank Yourself For Doing This Come Christmas
Day 20: Go Out and See Things
Day 21: Create
Day 22: Imperfect
Day 23: Gratitude
Day 24: Smooth Moves
Day 25: Culture Codes
Day 26: Craftsmanship
Day 27: Some Very Neat Feelings
Day 28: Stress Busters
Day 29:  Why Is There Sand in My Handbag?
Day 30: New Beets
Day 31: Connection, Together

After-party: some notes on 31 days

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