Disclaimer**** I wrote this post, got all the pictures edited, added all my links and finished up around 11:30 this morning. My eyes are fuzzy today and I must have hit delete instead of publish 😡. I took a nap. I came back to it and started again later this afternoon. I tried recreating the post but I had already trashed my rough copy and ALL my pictures. So I had to go through ALL my photos in the garbage can, including the edits, the Instagram copies and videos (which are’t in order BTW!!) to find the pictures for this post. To save my sanity and give myself grace, I didn’t put pressure on myself to find the exact pictures or write the same heartfelt post I had done earlier. I’m sorry to my readers because I really liked what I had written about self-care but can’t for the life of me remember what I wrote!! 😂 This is my next best attempt I suppose…
This week we have a ton of family in town! I am grateful after so many years that I am finally able to see my Bro and my beautiful niece, PrettyP. I am also super grateful that my Cousin from Edmonton and her family can finally come into our house! The past 2 summers that they have visited we have followed the Covid rules very carefully and maintained our boundaries. Now that we are more aware of how to protect ourselves, they were finally able to come in! How crazy is that that after 2 1/2 years, the only people that have seen our “new” home are our Parents, our Siblings and now my Cousin! We have had an amazing weekend filled with yummy dinners, the beach, the Wibit, drinks, and catching up!
Today I’m in bed.
Today I thankfully lay down in my bed and rest. Recharge. Take some time out to replenish my body and my mind. I am so grateful that not only does my family not hold this against me but they encourage me to do what I need to do. They know that I need this so that I can be my best self for the rest of their visits!
As my family has been visiting we have been talking a lot about mental health and self-care. We have talked a lot about looking at self-care not as a waste of time or being selfish but as a necessity to keep ourselves healthy. I have really been trying to embrace this way of thinking for the past few years. You need to learn to love yourself before you can love others. You need to learn to look after yourself in order to take care of others. We have been in a cycle of looking at self-care as a weakness for so long that it makes us feel guilt and shame to spend any quality time looking after our own needs.
If you’re just learning how to take time out for yourself (like I am), here are a few tips from my daily self-care challenge! I have also attached 5 of my favourite products from my affiliated link that you can check out to help you begin to treat yourself as kindly as you treat others 💛.
Check out How Was Your Week, Honey? Episode #286: Ambrosia Salad HERE! This week,we have the onset of summer family visitors to discuss: early dating, snack science, brand names, local crime, hot tub debacle, election finance, trivia and NW England.
I have told you all about Half Baked Harvest before but I’m going to do it again… Half Baked Harvest is amazing! She has a way of doing gourmet dishes that are actually super easy to make! I always get scared of recipes that ask me to roast my own cherry tomatoes to make a pasta sauce 😳 but honestly, all you have to do is put them in the oven and then purée them! It’s so easy and the taste is incredible and SO worth it! The sweetness of the tomatoes, the saltiness of the prosciutto and the creaminess of the ricotta… oh my God! This is an impressive dish that you can make on a Wednesday if you want! I know! Cooking a Sunday dinner in the middle of the week?!? CRAZY but it’s true, trust me this pasta is amazeballs!
Roasted Cherry Tomato Pasta with Crispy Prosciutto
Adapted from Half Baked Harvest
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large container cherry tomatoes
6 cloves garlic, smashed
3 tablespoons thyme, chopped
2 tablespoons rosemary, chopped
kosher salt and black pepper
8 slices prosciutto
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 pound pasta
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
10-20 basil leaves, chiffoned
Preheat oven to 425° F.
Toss together the olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, 2 tablespoons thyme, rosemary, and a pinch of salt, and pepper on a baking sheet.
Remove 9-12 tomatoes and set aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Just before draining, remove 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain.
Melt together the butter and 1 tablespoon of thyme. Cook until the butter is browning, then add the tomato puree and pasta cooking water, stirring until combined. Melt in the mozza and parmesan.
Add the pasta to the sauce, tossing to combine.
Top with parmesan, prosciutto, tomatoes and fresh basil
It’s hot out. Not heat dome hot but definitely heat warning hot! In the evening as the sun is setting, our balcony is the perfect place to catch up on some screen time, read, or just sit out there to contemplate life. I’m so glad we built that space for ourselves!
There’s been so much cuddling! Especially when PrettyP and my Bro got into town early Saturday morning! He brought us tons of Kube and pierogies from Winnipeg! Thank goodness because you just can’t get good Ukrainian pierogies here in Penticton! Ninja took Dad and Bro to Abandon Rail Brewery for a flight, we checked out the crawlspace, played outside, went to J’s friend’s birthday and private beach, and welcomed my Cousin from Edmonton and her Family to our new home! We have had delicious dinners, bedtime cuddles, morning waffles, and a fantastic day at the beach/Wibit. I am feeling so incredibly blessed ❤️.
