Lucky Foods for the New Year 🍀🧧🤞😉

Happy New Year, everyone! I wanted to have a little fun with this blog, so I am sharing some 🍀lucky foods🍀 to bring in the New Year. 

Enjoy!

Black Eyed Peas

 📸 Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@jasmine_waheed

Because black eyed peas resemble coins, they are believed to bring prosperity. To ensure extra luck, some people add corn kernels because they look like golden nuggets. This is a tradition in the south which demonstrates frugality and promotes prosperity in the new year.

Buttered Bread

 📸 Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@rodolfomarques

New Years Day in Ireland is also known as “Day of the Buttered Bread.” Tradition says buttered bread placed outside the door symbolizes an absence of hunger in the household for the year to come. I will be serving this one for sure. Who doesn't love the simplicity of delicious, hearty bread and butter?

Raisins

 📸 Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@andreas_haslinger

Tradition in Spain says 12 grapes or raisins eaten before midnight (one at each chime of the clock) will bring good luck for all 12 months of the coming year. Provided you finish all 12 before the stroke of midnight, you will be all set.

Greens

 📸 Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@heatherbarnes

Because of their bright green color, hearty greens like kale, spinach, and collards resemble money. Belief has it, the more you eat, the more prosperous you’ll be (and healthier, too). Greens will be served in my home, for sure!

Pigs

 📸 Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@fraumuksch

In some countries, (including Cuba, Spain, Portugal, Hungary and Austria), pigs symbolize progress. Some say it’s because these animals never move backward. In my book, foods shaped like pigs (chocolate figurines, perhaps) count, too. This vegetarian girl will pass on the real thing!

Unbroken Noodles

 📸 Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@jckbck

Signifying longevity in Asian culture, a stir-fry of unbroken noodles is a tradition believed to bring good health and luck in the New Year. Anyone who can eat at least one long noodle without chewing or breaking it is said to enjoy the longest life and best luck of all! In China, Japan and other Asian countries, it’s customary to eat long noodles, signifying longevity.

Lentils

 📸 Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@bettysubrizi_

As lentils resemble tiny coins, the custom of enjoying lentils in the New Year is a common Italian tradition said to bring wealth. Going deeper into the myth, when cooked, lentils plump with water, symbolizing growing wealth. Lentils are also considered good luck in Hungary, where they’re preferred in soup.

Cornbread

 📸 Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@ralppie

Golden yellow and delicious, cornbread is especially popular in the South. Because its color is similar to that of gold, this bread is enjoyed by those hopeful for a prosperous year. A favorite throughout the year, cornbread is especially served as a New Year’s treat. it's fun and easy to make, and delicious too.

Clementines

 📸 Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@diaduit

Round fruits, such as clementines, are enjoyed on New Year’s Day as their shape signifies the old year has come to a close, and the coming days hold the promise of a fresh start. Clementines resemble coins and symbolize wealth. This is something I will be adding - I love the flavor and the bright, gorgeous orange color.

Whole Fish

 📸 Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@gregor_moser

In Chinese culture, serving fish whole (both head and tail intact) symbolizes prosperity, abundance, and a good year to come (from start to finish). According to Doris Lum, a Chinese cuisine expert, the Chinese word for “fish” sounds like the word for “abundance,” one of the many reasons fish has become a go-to good luck food.

I am wishing you a prosperous, healthy and happy new year, to bring you all the joy, adventure and love your heart can possibly carry. ❤️‍🩹😍💪

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Capricorn Season, The Zodiac Sign of Earthiness, Leadership and Reliability. 🌳👑💪

Capricorns are mostly serious people who don’t mind hanging in the background, allowing others to take center stage. They can come off as unpretentious, quiet and calm, but don’t underestimate the Capricorn in your life. They can be quietly determined, always with an eye on the goal. While others play, fumble and fold, our Capricorn friends know exactly what they want, and strategize how to get it. They often *quietly* win.

This does not mean they are ruthless. Capricorns are natural leaders, as they are the earth cardinal sign of the Zodiac. As the other cardinal signs Aries (fire), Cancer (water) and Libra (air), each bring their own style of leadership, Capricorns take on an authoritative role, adhering to tradition. They like to do things the right and proven way, as Capricorns are not frivolous or easily fooled. 

They are steady and earthy, tough and reliable. Their planet is Saturn, which is serious, hardworking, somewhat melancholy, and represented by the colors black, dark navy, deep green and brown. These colors, like Capricorn, are serious and dense, dependable, honest and earthy (much like my Capricorn love at home).

As you might expect, you won’t see them dancing on tables with lampshades on their heads, loudly belting out show tunes, as they do not like to feel they are making fools of themselves. Capricorns are refined with a stiff upper lip, and find outlandish behavior to be undignified. They are calm, deliberate, and don’t like to show all their cards or wear their hearts on their sleeves. Although they can be quiet, they are no pushovers. 

Capricorns, being an earth sign, are rooted like trees in the earth (read: stubborn and strong), so they don’t like, or encourage, unnecessary change. They love routine, and are persistent (and sometimes relentless) in their approach. Being strong and serious, they can take insults, disappointment, and duty better than most. They can suffer through situations, as they believe taking the correct path, no matter how long or hard it may be, will be rewarded. 

They love tradition and they mind their own affairs. Gossip, and witnessing public scenes involving raw emotions and uncontrolled behavior, embarrass them. 

Capricorns, even as young children, can seem to have a bit of an “old man" pessimistic attitude. Therefore, it is best for them to get outdoor exercise and be in nature, in order to enjoy the sunshine, and feel the rain on their face. Adopting a more positive and outgoing personality will keep them healthier in old age. 

Although Capricorns can be stern and cautious, they can be incredibly kind and deeply protective of those they love and hold dear. If they feel your devotion, and you have pulled at their (sometimes buried) heartstrings, they are equally, if not more so, devoted, strong and dependable. They stand strongly as rooted trees by those they love through every storm. And who amongst us can ask for better than that?

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Keeping the Holidays Sane, Simple and Real 🎄🕎🙏🏻

With the holidays coming at the end of the year, it’s great time to be reflective and thankful, and share with others what they mean to us. Sometimes with the holiday rush though, outside pressures, and need for everything to be perfect, can result in things getting costly, exhausting and frustrating.

Holiday Gifts: Instead of buying expensive gifts, maybe suggest token gifts and enjoy time together, even if it needs to be after the holidays. Instead of offense, you may just hear a sigh of relief! Some cool things to consider gifting are: 

🧶Something homemade 

💌A letter or poem letting someone know how much they mean to you

💍A family heirloom passed down

📺Subscriptions to websites, apps or streaming services

🎭Events or movie tickets

👟Association memberships

🥘Classes

💅Professional services

🥰You, and your time

Entertaining and Holiday Decorating: Truth is, people want to be around other people in order to feel a connection, not be bestowed with their decorations (at least that can be said for the people we want to be around!). And if there is an impression, it can be fleeting. What they will remember is the time with you. I used to worry endlessly about menus and setting everything up to impress, but now I enjoy the moment and the people I am with, and allow myself to be human. If you enjoy doing it and it’s fun, great. If you are doing it to impress, it may be something you need to re-think. Some of my best memories are being with people in one of our homes with no fanfare, just creating memories. When cooking recipes, things sometimes don’t come out perfectly, and that’s okay. It doesn’t matter. Just have fun with it and don’t let your need to be perfect stop you from trying new things. As Julia Child once said "One of the secrets, and pleasures, of cooking is to learn to correct something if it goes awry; and one of the lessons is to grin and bear it if it cannot be fixed.” Good advice for cooking, holidays, and life.

Schedules: To help keep holiday events and invites organized, I like to keep everything in my calendar, color coordinated, so I can see what I need to prepare for, and how many things I have scheduled. I get an overview of what my days and weeks ahead look like in order to plan new events. I am then able to manage my time without over-scheduling or missing commitments. 

Eating Healthy: When I eat out, I like to check out menus beforehand, so I can get a sense of what will be a good option, both in terms of taste and health. When going to a buffet-style event, I do the “food tour” before piling anything on my plate. I see what is available and then pick my favorites. When going to events at people’s homes, I take a little bit of everything to be respectful and appreciative of the host, and then enjoy what I am eating in moderation. 

The holidays are a great time for us to be present and connect with others. As people remember the way that they feel, (as opposed to the taste of the meals, the decorations, or expensive gifts) it’s great to focus on the experience and time well spent, and savor the moment as a result. The holidays can be a great reason to get together with people you haven’t seen in a while, and reflect and enjoy what can be the most wonderful time of the year. My wish for you is to enjoy, in whatever ways your holidays are spent.

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Is it really Mercury in Retrograde’s Fault? 🤷🏻‍♀️✨💫

Photo credit: NASA

When things go wrong, you might hear someone say “Well, it is Mercury in Retrograde!” But what does that mean, exactly? It means that there are multiple times of the year when it appears that Mercury is going backward in its orbit. It isn’t actually going backward - it just appears that way because Mercury has the shortest revolution and takes a quarter of the amount of time to circle the Sun as the Earth does. Because of this, it can appear that Mercury is going backward, but it is an optical illusion. All being said, this is the time when communication, intellect, memory and transportation can go awry, as these are the areas that Mercury is known for.

So when we see Mercury “going in the wrong direction,” computers won’t work, travel plans get delayed and we may start having miscommunication with people.

Being mindful that communication in all of its forms can be affected, including writing (articles, emails, texts and contracts for instance), presentation of ideas, and conversations with people. We may want to be cautious of signing any important contracts that we are not super clear on, read and review any outgoing texts or emails, and double check reservations are booked. Perhaps even give our loved ones a bit more wiggle room than usual if they offend us by saying something hurtful, or don’t get back to us in timely fashion. They probably didn’t mean it. 😇

Regarding transportation, long distance trips, or simply catching a local bus, subway or hailing a taxi can be affected. Plan accordingly and expect that our GPS may not work correctly, and know that we may hit lots of traffic or construction delays when we need to get somewhere in a hurry. 

Not that we can always avoid these things, but remaining flexible, calm and patient, knowing Mercury will “get out of its Retrograde” will help us feel more steady and grounded. 

So for that sake of planning, here are Mercury in Retrograde’s upcoming dates! 📅

December 13 to January 1, 2024

April 1 to April 24

August 4 to August 27

November 25 to December 15

* And thank you Niki for the idea for this blog! 😘

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