Hello, darlings! I think that this fortune says it all…
I mean, how could I not open this post with that? Isn’t it the best/funniest fortune you’ve ever seen?! It was my mom’s. which is so typical of her to get 
There’s your hint as to what I had for lunch, but let’s rewind to this morning, shall we?
I left the house in quite a tizzy because I was getting blood drawn done before work. I did, however, manage to snap a photo of my new frock a la H&M.
I also grabbed a plain Oikos and baggie of cocoa roasted almonds to eat after I got my labs, since I had to be fasting. On the way to work I made a very necessary pit stop:
It was an exciting day at work because it was my co-worker/supervisor/friend Sara’s birthday! Because we have a small office family, we tend to have legit parties whenever it’s someone’s birthday. I was on “food duty” (obviously I nominated myself for that one) so just before noon I picked up this beauty:
Isn’t it gorgeous? It’s a 3-layer chocolate cake with raspberry filling and chocolate whipped icing.
Then I picked up lunch for the whole gang from our favorite nearby Chinese/Japanese restaurant. I got the sushi lunch special, which came with 2 maki rolls and miso soup. I opted for my favorite - Alaska Rolls.
(plus 2 pieces of avocado roll, which we got an order of by accident.)
I ate all but 4 pieces of sushi and half of the soup. Uhh…what’s going on with my appetite lately? It can’t be anything serious since I obviously still had room for cake.
I’ve mentioned before that I’m actually not a huge fan of chocolate (especially not chocolate cake or ice cream). But this baby was phenom. The icing was so light and fluffy, and there were whole raspberries inbetween the layers.
I mean really, how could you not like that?
All in all, it was a lovely luncheon. I actually left work soon after because I was all caught up =)
the importance of slowing down.
When I left work today, my mind instantly went to the (what I thought was) million and one things I had to do. I thought - I’m going to go to the gym on the way home so that I don’t have to go later and I’m going to pre-write my blog post and I’m going to do this and do that and yadda yadda yadda! And then I caught myself. I thought, what am I doing?! It made me realize that our culture is so incredibly fast paced, in every sense of the word.
We rush to work, rush through our meals (drive-through, if possible), and are constantly thinking about our next task before even finishing the current one. Do we ever take time to enjoy and savor the moment? Or even the day? Nope…instead we tell ourselves that’s what vacation is for.
Trust me - I’m not preaching here. I am self-admittedly guilty of rushing through the day life, and it’s something that I really want to work on. Look, I’m not saying that I’m going to quit my job and become a lazy, clock-less wanderer. But I do want to Slow. Things. Down. Maybe those age-old sayings are right….maybe we should “stop to smell the roses.” Maybe we really should “live each day like it’s our last.” The tough part is that we live in a society where faster is better and instant gratification is the gold standard. I guess that’s why slowing down needs to be a conscious decision, and it’s one that I really want to start making.
My mom always tells me how my late pop-pop used to say, “take your time and enjoy everything.” Such a typical grandfather quote, isn’t it? It’s so simple, yet so incredibly wise. Even the most mundane tasks in life have something worth enjoying. I don’t know about you, but I want to savor every conversation, ever beautiful sunset, and every bite of dessert (no surprise there 
). Like I said - it’s easier said than done. But it’s at least something to strive for, don’t you think? So let’s challenge ourselves - starting now - to SLOW. DOWN. I can’t help but think that it’s something we’ll certainly never regret.
Oh, and by the way, I did write this post as soon as I got home…but only because I was “in the zone” =) And I skipped an instant trip to the gym for a later (and much more satisfying) 60-minute Power Yoga class. SO glad I did. My muscles definitely needed the stretching after yesterday’s strength training…
I brought some Vitamin Water Zero (which, I randomly picked up at the store the other day) with me to drink after class.
I don’t know what to say other than I hated this drink. I don’t know if it was just this flavor (xxx), but it tasted like straight cough syrup to me, and I couldn’t even take another sip. Sorry Vitamin Water, but you do not have a winner here…
By the time I got home I was very ready for dinner…especially when I realized what I was going to make.
That’s Sweet Potato Pizza. I came across this lady’s Sweet Potato Pizza Pie yesterday, in which she used sweet potato in the dough, and I thought why not use it as a topping?
This was really, really delicious…and I made it in less than 10 minutes! While microwaving a sweet potato for 5 minutes, I toasted a whole wheat wrap. I then topped the wrap with (in this order) coconut oil, sweet potato, cinnamon, crunchy almond butter, and coconut shavings. LOVE!
I also had a small bowl of leftover beef & broccoli from today’s lunch.
Plans for the rest of the night include checking in on work, catching up on my blog babes, and reading for a bit. Oh, and I’m going to take my time and enjoy all of that 
Have a great night, boos! xoxo G
- Do you find yourself rushing through things? How do you slow yourself down?
- What’s the best fortune you’ve ever gotten?
Thanks for the shout out lady! I totally wanted to make a sweet potato roasted garlic sauce/ puree for my sweet potato pizza but I thought it’d be overkill for my “I don’t like sweet potatoes” husband.
I think you should just come visit. Then we can feast on sweet potato everything. Problem solved.
You are so beautiful Gracie! I love the top! For some reason, I can’t ever find anything good at H&M. Maybe I should just go shopping with you
During my run today all I was thinking was what I was going to do after my run…sigh. I totally agree that we need to slow down.
That sweet potato pizza looks incredible! You have some brilliant food ideas.
1) I love your top
2) I LOVE chocolate, but hate it with raspberries. I’m the only one earth!
3) I stink at slowing down. I need to learn how to take it all in more.
I really need to take that advice and slow down. I’ve been thinking about how crazy my weekend is going to be since the beginning of the week. I need to just enjoy what I’m doing at that time. Thanks for the friendly reminder, I really needed it!
I’ve never had a fortune (cookie). You look real nice.
Mmmm, that pizza looks so yummy! I agree that you have to slow down sometimes, life can get too hectic if we don’t relax and think things through.
http://www.loveandbistros.com
Love that cake…wish I could slow my mind down. It’s terrible…
the best fortune i’ve ever received via cookie - “slow down”
I definitely rush too much and it is something I know I should work on. It’s hard when there is so much to do and not enough time. But I’m sure there are things I really could give up that would make life more enjoyable as well. Great post!
Haha that fortune is awesome. And OMG, you look so pretty!! I would KILL for hair like yours! xoxo
Oh wow girl, that sweet potato pizza sounds amazingly delicious!!!! Must try that… SOON.
And the cake… oh boy. Oh boy. I love chocolate in any form and that cake looks perfectly moist and delicious. Add some sushi on top of that and you have my perfect meal!
You are so right about slowing down. We rush rush rush and never stop to “smell the roses!” I’m working on that too.
I know I tend to ramble sometimes on the comments I leave people but I’ve got 2 things to say to you:
But even if you don’t use me as a success story, I just want you to know that I appreciate everything that I have learned from you.
1. When you wrap up your tan free series, you are more than welcome to use me as a success case. Seriously! I’ve decided not to indoor tan anymore, for good. I give that credit mostly to you and my mom for the fact of her getting skin cancer. I have began to learn to love my natural skin color and that there are products out there that are good for me to use for a natural glow. So thank you. If you want a more detailed story about me giving up tanning, then I can email to you
2. You’re hair is so flippin amazing and I would love it if you would check out my “love your body challenge” post and if you think your best feature is your hair like I do and I know so many other people think it’s gorgeous, send me a comment or a pic and I’ll add it on the results post. Or you might choose something besides your hair. Sound confusing? just read the post. Love you girl!
I can’t relate to you today. You don’t much like chocolate? Are you a real girl? Ha ha.
I have such a hard time slowing down. I feel like I have 48 hours’ worth of things to do each day. If I slow down, I can’t squeeze it all in to 24 hours.
What great advice! I think that more often than not we are so focused on what’s next and what needs to get done that we forget how precious our time right now it. How sweet of you to get your coworker nummy yummy food for her birthday! Take care!
Alaska rolls are always the way to go! And that sweet potato pizza looks insane. It appeals to me even more than that pretty chocolate cake does! I think we can all benefit from slowing things down… it’s definitely something I’ve been working on!
First off, LOVE the outfit from H&M , that place has the cutest stuff!!
Wow that cake looks amazing! U did a good job getting an amazing cake and Im sure Sarah and everyone else loved it!!!!!!!!
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh sushi is always great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!! lol!!
I tend to rush alot, Im trying to slow down, especially when itcomes to eating!!!!!!!!!!!
Have a great day girl! xoxo
OH MY that sweet potato pizza looks SO SO SO good! i would love taht with cottage cheese or greek yogurt and a drizzle of honey or maple syrup and nut butter! ohh teh possibilities, but I do know that I will be making that ASAP! i wish I was home for lunch today!! boo…but snackie maybe?! ohh yeah!!
love that top and your HAIR! i wish I had volume like you do!!
what a great friend getting the AMAZING looking cake!
raspberries, strawberries & chocoltae is pure heaven!
I totally agree about the Vitamin water. I really like their normal XXX but the zero cal stuff is just waaay too sweet. I usually do a 1:1 mix with water.
Your blogs have been so great this week. Haters and taking time to enjoy life. Totally loving it.
The cake and sushi look phenom.
I’m totally guilty of rushing through ilfe. I always have a checklist and rarely just sit. Thanks for the reminder to slow down and enjoy moments instead of being so tastk focused. You are such a great writer girl.
Happy Friday!!
I’m wishing I had a tortilla right now to make that pizza, it looks and sounds delicious!! Lately (since starting to blog, actually!) I’ve tried to make a conscious effort to slow down sometimes. I don’t ALWAYS have to be on the go, and there’s way more to life than always looking forward.
We definitely need to meet up for lunch or dinner! I have a super flexible schedule until I start my internship in June, so let me know what days work best for you!
I love your fortune!! So great. That cake looks amazingggg. I definitely need to slow down sometimes. I eat too fast and I am always stressing about what I have to do later. Thanks for the reminder!
SLOW DOWN. BREATHE. So easy to say those things but how hard it can be to implement in our daily lives. When I was living in LA, I got 4 hours of sleep a night, sometimes less. When I did crawl into bed, I had a million things on my to-do list that I hadn’t done yet running through my head. There was always stuff that I couldn’t get to, too much work, too much play, too much running around from one thing to another and never just EXISTING.
When I moved to Mozambique, it became the complete opposite. In LA I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have a free day; now sometimes I sit around just dying for something to fill the time. I sleep 8 hours, I go to bed without a million tasks to do on my mind (usually), I have plenty of time just to sit and think. Granted, it is really boring sometimes. But I think I have finally learned the value and the utter importance of carving out time for NOTHING in your life, to just relax and refocus and recenter. I really hope I can keep some part of that in my life after I move back to the US. I am scared though, because I know how easy it is to get sucked in.
HEY GIRL!!
amazing post!! I LOVE what you said about slowing down.. our society these days is so GO GO GO that nobody really ever CHILLS!! We GOT to slow down in order to really appreciate our blessings!!
ive missed you! But ive still been reading your bloggie!!
LOVEYOU BEAUTIFUL!
Hmmm I need to slow down too. Your miso soup looks so good right now, the throat is really sore!
Oh man, SO RIGHT! I’m so guilty of this. Being more present and in the moment is something that I strive for and try to work on everyday. It is a practice, like yoga. And that’s why yoga is so AMAZING because I can “allow” myself that one hour, 20 minutes, whatever of an empty mind and just concentrate on what I’m doing at that exact moment! I know you like lists
and I’m starting to love them too. Pouring out my to-dos onto paper helps me to clear my mind a little. Did you know Einstein kept his phone number in his back pocket so he didn’t have to remember it? I think he was onto something. 
p.s. I just found your blog - love it!
Your outfit is SUPER cute! And so gonna copy your pumpkin yogurt creation.
I WANT that frosting! You can be the “food duty” girl at my work ANY day. I love your choices!
i don’t remember any of my fortunes…but spending time with loved ones helps me slow things down a lot better! happy weekend girl
I run threw things way to much & just wind up stressed out. SO i’ve learned to take things 1 task at a time instead of thinking about everything I NEED to do.
Dana
http://happinessiswithin.wordpress.com/
PS love your blog, added to my blogroll <3
I am SALIVATING over that cake!!!!
Oh man I am so guilt of rushing through things. You’re right, I should slow down and enjoy the here and now!
How cute are you in that dress?? If I was getting blood work done, I’d definitely be heading out in a great outfit, too!
You are speaking right to me when you say “SLOW DOWN”! I’m am so guilty of rush rush rushing that I never take time so slow down. I’m working on it, but for some reason it is really hard for me!
The best fortune I ever got was “You will receive cake”. My husband (bf at the time) and I were out to eat, and he had a surprise bday cake waiting for me in our dorm. What a coinky dink!
@Jessie - oh my goodness, “you will receive cake” is the best fortune everrrr. haha!!
I love this post Gracie! We are clearly on the same wavelength - I recently did a post on unplugging my life, so to speak. I completely agree that we get so wrapped up in the day to day fast pace of life, that we forget to do little things for ourselves and others. Your pop-pop was right it is really important to stop and enjoy everything.
I’m so guilty of needing to slow down! Especially since I’ve started blogging. There just aren’t enough hours in the day to blog, work full time, and have a long distance boyfriend!
Love the shirt. So cute! I’m totally guilty of speeding through life. I need to slow down. It’s really hard to find a starting point though. I’ve never even thought of a sweet potato pizza!
1) i have a small office family too! and we do birthday parties and “team building” events several times a year - corn maze, pumpkin patch, holiday pictionary, golfing, go-karting, etc…as a matter of fact, yesterday we had a cook out and landscaping/gardening party at our office. A regional visitor came by and said that our branch has a family chemistry like none-other he’s seen in the company. TEAR!
2) here! here! i would like to join you on this concious decision to SLOW DOWN!
3) you bet your bippy when i read the end of your blog post I read them to the tune of “X-O-X-O- Gracie Girl.” ahem.